simple snacks

Hi guys!

After a food overkill last weekend I've been trying to eat some less hearty things again. I try to get a certain gym routine anyway, so paying attention to balanced eating habits is reallly important now. I've never been a fan of diets because if I forbid myself to eat certain things I want them even more - no discipline. And I have accepted that I will never be as skinny as I used to be when I was younger, so what's the point in torturing myself with dieting anyway?!
I rather try to balance a dinner date with salads and fruits the next day and I try to eat after some basic rules like carbs in the morning, less carbs for lunch and if possible only proteins in the evening. I've already lost 1,5 kilos with these rules but I don't expect a wonder and I don't have a bad conscience if I don't manage to eat like that every single day.
I'm taking it easy because I love to eat ;)



One of my favourite snacks is avocado cream - especially on hot days when I don't feel like eating warm meals.
Simply purée the pulp of two or three ripe avocados, ad fresh garlic, chopped onions, a squirt of lemon juice, salt and pepper et voilá: delicious spread.
So yummy on wholemeal bread!




I'm not a big fan of mere salad, but it's one of the easiest and quickest meals ever so I pimp my salad with some grated cheese, croutons and a mix of yoghurt and balsamico dressing to make it taste more interesting for my taste buds.

Do you guys have some favourite healthy snacks? I'm always open for new recipes.
Have a lovely day! :)



now playing: the red jumpsuit apparatus - face down

a monkey in the kitchen

Hi guys!

Today it's Patrick's birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!! - so I'm off to spend the evening with him. I hope this preset post here will publish itself correctly.
It's nothing exciting, just some random photos of things I did or bought lately.



ate instant mashed potatoes out of my coffee glasses


bought these delightful pieces for only 5€ each


listened to The Gaslight Anthem's The 59 Sound at least once a day and still love love love it


bought this!! :D


it's a silicon oven mitten - awesome!!! :D



Have a great day!

everytime I look for you the sun goes down

Hi guys!

I couldn't blog the last two days because my weekend again was filled with dinner dates. I'm always eating - ALWAYS! ;) Somehow these days between Thursday and Monday have turned into food weekends: Friday my mother had a belated birthday party and invited us and her friends for dinner, yesterday was our monthly girls night at a Brazilian restaurant (pictures soon) and today I baked lots and lots of sweet treats for Patrick because it's his birthday tomorrow.
I swear I'll be eating salad for at least three days now, I love food but the last days were an overkill for sure.



♥ cardi: vero moda ♥ top, jeans + shoes: h&m ♥ belt: gift ♥ necklace: kleiderkreisel ♥ hat: accessorize ♥



These outfit photos are a little older but I wanted to post them anyway because they show one of my well-tried everyday looks, cute and perfectly comfy. Jeans, tunic, cardi, sneakers and I'm ready to go. And if the weather allows it also a knit hat for bad hair days ;)
However the weather forecast says it will be hot and sticky the next few days so I have to go for breezy outfits instead.




unfortunately the bike's handlebar fell off :-(

The next two or three weeks will be stressful due to my oncoming exams and the essays that want to be written and all. I'll prepare some posts and hope Blogger will publish them correctly (the last time I wanted it to post something automatically at a certain time it went all wrong somehow).
Of course I'll try to keep on reading your blogs and I'm sure I will to procrastinate learning for the exams :D But please bear with me if I don't manage to comment back. I'll catch up with that asap.

Have a lovely Sunday!!


now playing: the killers - when you were young

some favourite videos

Hi guys!

I finally had time to create a new blog design. How do you like it?

I have a bookmark folder full of links to songs resp. videos that I really love. Everytime I find such a video I save it there. Uunfortunately some videos in the web get deleted after some time, but most of them stay online in archives or on Youtube.

Now I thought it would be cool to show you my favourites. I'm a sucker for unplugged/acoustic versions so that's what you'll mostly see below. Enjoy! I hope you like this:

My favourite TV ad ever! I love the Jose Gonzalez song and all the pretty bouncing balls. This video radiates this very special mood... Plus it subsequently features the making of the clip.

(sorry, I couldn't embed the video, you have to click the pic to see it)

Young The Giant playing an acoustic version of their single "Apartment" for a German radio station. I didn't know the song before but when I first heard this I fell in love with the lyrics.

The Gaslight Anthem, one of my favourite bands ever! When I see and hear Brian Fallon perform "Casanova, Baby!" it gives me goosebumps because in these few minutes he's putting all of his heart into this song.

(sorry, I couldn't embed the video, you have to click the pic to see it)

Okay, maybe a bit embarrassing, but yes I watched X-Factor last year and yes I loved the "Purple Rain" cover and performance of this handsome guy Anthony Thet. There's a short Garmin ad before the real video starts.

This is a German singer/songwriter called Gisbert zu Knyphausen performing his song "Melancholie". The song is slow and atmospheric but the most amazing thing about it are the profound lyrics.

I'm not a big hip hop fan but this song is cool. MC Solaar's "Le Belle et le Bad Boy", it's from SATC and I love that the video is cut together of scenes from the episode where Carrie is in Paris with Petrovsky.

This is Tim McIlrath of Rise Against performing "Hero of War", one of the most touching and sad songs I've ever heard. I was at the exact same gig where this was filmed and the atmosphere was so beyond words that I was close to tears. The whole crowd sang with him, it was pure goosebumps feeling.

And last but not least these are the Sick Puppies (long before their success in Germany) performing their wonderful love song "All the same". The video is nothing special but I love Shimon Moore's voice and the part where the bassist Emma joins in singing.

So, I hope you guys are having a nice day (or holiday)! :)

into this world we're thrown

Hi guys!

Today is a strange day. Nothing goes the way it was planned and everything feels irregular. This morning I was getting ready for uni, brushing my teeth, whilst checking my emails and then - thank God - I discovered an email saying my classes are deleted for today because of a university sport event. I tend to neglect my uni email account.... but it was a nice surprise.
I didn't really know what do with myself, so I got dressed and styled and since then I've been editing photos, pre-scheduling blog posts, looking for stuff on Ebay, smoking on the balcony and drinking vanilla coffee.
I'm also in the mood for The Doors right now, their music matches this strange day and weather perfectly.



♥ pants + cardi: pimkie ♥ shirt: h&m ♥ bag: nook art ♥ shoes: converse ♥ beanie: accessorize ♥



Say, how do you guys like these pants? I bought them last week at my new favourite store Pimkie. It's still hard to admit for me because this shop used to sell cheap polyester stuff and their bad reputation has been lingering in the heads of German girls... but I was surprised about what cute stuff they sell now. I couldn't see a difference to H&M or Zara's TRF collections. Plus - just like H&M - Pimkie always has many many things on sale. Last time when I went there and to get these pants I also bought like 5 other pieces and only spent about 60€. I like!






It's not even afternoon yet and it already feels like evening. Can somebody tell me what's wrong with the whole atmosphere today? I can't help but feeling a little mock-sorrowful, I don't like this myself but somehow it won't go away.
Oh well, this will pass too. Maybe later on in the afternoon when I'll have to run some errands with Patrick. I'm probably a little annoyed because we had planned to go to a concert tonight but now unfortunately we can't because Patrick has to be on call.



♥ necklace: six ♥ ring: ebay ♥ bangle + leo bow: accessorize ♥



God, I have so many photos today! I'm running out of text between them ;)
Ehm one more thing I wanted to show you is the hair and make up. I had time enough to try something new, so I flipped through the pages of some magazines and thought "How about a braid today?". No sooner said than done. Oh my what a catastrophe! I wanted to create a braid like this one, but was a miserable failure. I need at least three more hands to do this... So I made a normal braid instead. Have you ever tried such a complicated braid alone?


(sorry, red allergy eyes...)


After the failed braid I applied myself to the make up. Normally I wear my eyes all black, black kohl, black eyeliner, black mascara. My cosmetician always advises me of the hard contrast the black is to my pale skin, she says I should try out brown hues for they look softer. So I dug out all my brown stuff and tried it out. It's unusual to me but I like it, however I don't look that badass anymore haha ;)
What do you think? Is the brown better than black?


Have a nice day!




now playing: the doors - riders on the storm

200x thank you giveaway winner

Hi guys!

Just a little post between the posts ;)

Yesterday I forgot to announce the winner of my 200x Thank You giveaway, so here we go. The winner of the little cosmetics and accessories package is:

Tadaaa: La Bohème!

Thanks for participating and for the kind words dear! :)

Please check your e-mails.

summing up favourites #6: black summer

Hi guys!

I'm really tired today, somehow the weather is getting me down at the moment. Actually I didn't want to blog tonight, I already started my lazy TV evening on the sofa but then I thought about my browser bookmarks and the fab outfit posts I collected during the last weeks...well and then I had to write this post here about some really inspiring and awesome summer looks in black for the not so summery summer days ;)
Look at these stylish ladies:


This is Elli of Let Them Eat Cake looking all lovely. I wish I had her pretty hair, it looks so fab with this bohoesque rock chic outfit. Perfect festival look isn't it? Really cool!



My pretty fellow Düsseldorf blogger girl of My Eye rocking a black jumpsuit. She's the queen of black looks anyway, so of course she knows how to pull off all black outfits for summer.



The superstylish Annemiek of Mode d'Amour. Do I have to say more? I mean, come on, her style rocks, each and every one of her minimalistic outfits looks high end fa(shio)ntastic.




Dylana of Color me Nana in breezy summer pants combined with a black blouse and jacket.I just love the mix of textures here, she looks awesome!



Okay, this might not be black but brown, BUT I'm always so stunned by the outfits and photos of Frou Frouu that I had to include her into this inspiration post. Her style is amazing, always effortlessly cool and look at her beautiful hair!


So as the weather will be rather drab here until the middle of July I might be inspired by the looks above and try out a black summer look too very soon. What do you think, is black cool for summer?

Have a great day!

a canadian in düsseldorf

Hi guys!

Maybe you remeber the post where I solved the mystery about who I met on my very first blogger meet up in March April? It was Mona of Summertime Dreams.
Well, we had planned to write our posts about our day and then post them at the same time so we could link back to each other and now three two months full of other things to do have passed and I'm finally posting it, yaayy ;)
Due to the time difference between our countries she will post hers some hours later but oh well at least we finally made it, right? So here it is.


Düsseldorf's famous tv tower


one part of the famous Gehry buildings

So on a wonderfully sunny day in March April I worked until noon and then afterwards I went downtown to meet Mona. We had been blogging buddies and e-mail pen pals before and she had written me about her friends in Germany and that she was going to visit them and if I'd like to meet her when she'd be visiting Düsseldorf with one of her German friends in March and somehow six month went by so fast and she was there :)
Funnily enough we both were so occupied with the whole situation that we forgot to take photos, that's why we don't have that many of us together. But even without taking many photos we had a lovely day :)


Mona in front of the Gehry buildings


sunshine on the silver façade

We actually started our Düsseldorf tour downtown at the Kö (the city's luxury shopping street), wandered around in the old town, went to the Rhine and through the little lanes. Afterwards we went to the Medienhafen to look at the famous buildings and to grab some food. All the photos in this post were taken at the Medienhafen and fortunately Mona's friends and a stranger were so kind to take photos of her and me. Now at least we have the evidence that we were both there at the same time haha ;)
To top off the day we sat down in a restaurant called Zollhof and had delicious pizza. Yummy :)


tadaa that's us :)



the four of us (I had to garble the heads of Mona's friends)


walking down the promenade

It was a really nice day: nice people, beautiful weather, good food. Meeting Mona was awesome! I had never met an other blogger before, especially not a Canadian one and she even was so cute and brought me some Canada souvenirs from her homeland (I LOVE the beaver in the Mountie uniform so much!). She is such a lovely person and it was cool to be able to talk to her and show her Düsseldorf. I wish I would have been able to accompany her on her Germany trip! Düsseldorf was only one of the many cities she went to with her friends. You can see more photos of her trip over at her blog, for example the ones she took when visiting Berlin or Hamburg.
Mona, thanks a lot for the great time we had! The day was too short but I really enjoyed it and I hope we'll be able to meet again someday (maybe if I ever manage to travel to Canada?!). Until then we have e-mails and Facebook ;)

I hope you guys enjoyed the photos and maybe even head over to Mona's blog to read her post about our day! :)





now playing: the gaslight anthem - even cowgirls get the blues

new feature! About a blog: IFoughtPiranhas

Hi guys!

Guess what? I've been planning to add a new feature to my blog called "About a blog". I know it's nothing new in the blogosphere, but I've been wanting to introduce you some of my favourite blogs and/or lovely new blogs I stumbled upon when clicking through the web, so here I go.

The first blog I'd like to introduce is

IFoughtPiranhas

Its blogger is the lovely Rosa who shows her readers that her wardrobe provides the most adorable dresses and skirts ever. Plus she wears red or pink lipstick and has some awesome tattoos! She was so kind to answer me some questions so me and my dear readers can get to know her a bit. Enjoy! :)

name: Rosa

age: 20

place: Las Vegas, USA

profession: Merchandiser/Fashion Blogger


What influences you when choosing your outfit for the day?

My influences would have to be my mood and my environment. For example,I find when I'm happy I go for more "bright colors", if I'm feeling lazy I'll go for the more "loose fitting/easy to take off" outfit.
As far as my environment goes, If I'm going for a day at the park, for example, I usually go for something that will POP. Perhaps a bright floral that will be complimented by the sun??
I'm sure the environment (weather/setting) influences everyones OOTD's, but no matter what the weather or my mood, I always make sure to KEEP IT GIRLY.






How would you describe yourself and your style?

I would describe myself as a perfectionist, a girly girl & a DIY connoisseur. A lot of what I wear has been altered to fit/for style! For example, I do a lot of hemming to shorten the ugliest, longest dresses & make them the shortest, cutest cocktail dress! I am all about being feminine & never too scared to accessorize, accessorize, accessorize! Also, I like combining things that wouldn't normally go together. Like my back in the day punk rock T's with my brand new thrifted floral skirts.


What are your favourite brands/shops?

I don't really have specific brands I go for. I get the majority of stuff I own thrifting. Out here, in Las Vegas, we a gigantic chain of thrift stores called SAVERS. It is usually my one stop shop. There's also a vintage boutique here called GYPSY DEN which I LOVE. If anyone is ever visiting my town, I always recommend those stores. Nevertheless, when I'm looking for a specific article of clothing that I just cannot find thrifting, H&M & Forever 21 are usually where I can find what I'm looking for


How has your style developed in the course of the last years?

Actually, I think I have more of a fashion sense than I did last year. For a while I didn't work & I needed a hobby, so I took up sewing/altering my clothes & it totally worked out! Also, now I work as a visual merchandiser which I also use as a creative outlet! Definitely has helped develop my style. I accessorize a whole lot more & I'm not afraid to combine things that wouldn't normally go together. I have a way easier time creating palettes.








What season is your favourite concerning outfits?

My favorite season is definitely SPRING!! I love bustin' out the florals and it's still cool enough wear a light cardigan and tights (LOVE TIGHTS!)!


What is your favourite music or what are your favourite bands?

I'M 100% ON A LADY GAGA AND BEYONCE TRIP at the moment, but I really like all sorts of music!


How come you started a blog?

I used to hella lurk on these fashion blogs before I started mine, so I'd say the lovely ladies I follow were definitely my inspiration!






Any advice concerning fashion or blogging?

I'm not great at giving advice, but I guess if I had to, I'd say to NEVER BE AFRAID OF WHAT PEOPLE WILL THINK. Everyone has their hit or misses when it comes to fashion, but if you have people placing an opinion on what you're wearing than YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT.



click: http://ifoughtpiranhas-ifp.blogspot.com

wtf?!

Hi guys!

Just a little modification of one of the photos from yesterday.
I also posted it on my tumblr.
Hope you have a nice day! :)