Saying Goodbye

Étagère

I got a hot glue gun for Christmas so yesterday I finally did what I wanted to do for years. Some months ago I bought everything I need for it in my favourite little second hand store around the corner and with the glue gun I was at last able to put them togther: a pretty, simple etagere. At first I wanted to make it one story higher but I liked the way it looked with just the two and I also didn't want it to be too high to put it on the middle of the table.

The only problem was to be quick enough to put the pieces together. Once the hot glue was on the bottom of the cup I only had some seconds before the hot glue had been cooled down by the cold of the porcelain. That's why it is not super duper straight but still for the first try I am pretty satisfied with the outcome.

The napkin holder next to it by the way was a present from my sister that I got for Christmas 

and I really love it! 

Home again

Christmas and New Years Eve are behind us. It was a lot of fun to be home, spending time with friends, my family, my awesome little nephew, my cousins and all the other people. Christmas Eve was very nice and relaxed with my family at my mums place. Sitting under the Christmas tree with my little 2-year old nephew trying to convince us that it was him that put it there and helping us opening all our presents. I got a lot of wunderful things even though I enjoy giving presents almost more than receiving them. Guess I am getting old. 

We spent New Years Eve with some of my close friends at my place, eating Raclette and playing games, having some champagne and watching the fire works of the neighbors. Just a cozy evening full of love and laughter... that's seems to be the perfect ending to 2012 as well as the best start into 2013. 

Now its time for a new start, new goals, new perspectives, new challenges. According to the fortune telling with lead pouring on New Years Eve, a new project as well as a lot of work lie ahead of me... Hearing that just evokes the wish to stay in bed and hide under the blanket. 

Be brave, everone, face your fears and accept the new challenges and 

2013 will be as good as 2012! <3

Strasbourg - Capitale de Noël

We decided that we will connect Cléments job interview in Strasbourg with a little trip to visit his friends there and to shop for some christmas presents. Calling themselves the "Capital of Christmas" seemed pretty outrageous at first. But offering 11 christmas markets made it look quite legit.

Every little space that the city offers is covered with little cabins where people sell amazing things to eat, to wear, to play with or to decorate your house. There are stages with choires singing that it gives you chills that are not caused by the minus 2 degrees. Every street has some different kind of lightning and the the thin layer of snow that covered the city made the impression of a winter wonderland complete.

Mail box of Santa Clause :)

We met Sabrina on one of the christmas markets and took a little walk around. Then we found a little cheese restaurant to fill our stomachs with wonderful french cheese. Afterwards we rolled home.

Raclette and crusty cheese 

The next day we did another trip around the markets with Sabrina and Mathieu, ate wonderful Gauffre and Schuupfnudels and did some shopping before taking the crowded train with a lot of drunk football hooligans home which was quite sad because it ruined the peaceful pre-christmas atmosphere we built up in Strasbourg.

Sabrina & Mathieu

So everybody who loves christmas and christmas markets, I can only recommend you Strasbourg with its wonderful diversity between kitsch and art.

Advent, Advent, ein Päckchen bringt

And there is was.... the 1st of December. And every kid in the world knows what starts on this very day, starting the christmas marathon of christmas decoration, gift shopping and card wrtiting: the advent calendar! To start every day with a smile, I made one of my famous and proven to be fun calendars for my friends in Enschede, Laura and Frank.

I took some pictures that Frank shot when they where visiting me and Clément here in Ulm and turned them into a 100 piece puzzle. I wrapped some pieces in some paper and made 24 little parcels. I can say that this kind of advent calendar is fun, because I tried it last year with Clément, who was actually not able to keep himself from opening the parcels before the date that was written on it was reached!

One could say, it might even be too much fun.... Or that Cléments self-regulation is not very well developed. Either way, I sent a box with the 24 little parcels along with two jokers to them and yesterday and with a six day delay it finally arrived . Lucky for them, because they were allowed to open six parcels at once.

And I got this picture showing how far they have come.

Have fun guys, with your advent calendar!

And Clément got another one this year, again with a puzzle so he can work on his ability to delay gratification. And this year, I can keep an eye on him and make sure he stays on shedule.

Visitors of Heart

Last weekend we had dear friends over from the Netherlands. After more than half a year without seeing each other this reunion was far overdue and Laura, Frank and us spent a few precious days together here in Ulm. When you show your (new) home town to friends sometimes you are surprised by how much and how little you know about it. I know quite something over the old buildings and their purposes and also have my few places I like to go for coffee. But then there are a million things I haven't done yet such as climbing on the Münster.

Being surprised by blinding sunshine proving the weather forecast more than wrong, we took our chance and made our way up the what seems to be a million stairs. And every one of them was worth it. When my mum and my sister came to visit some weeks ago we climbed a tower on one of the surrounding hills but being so high up in the middle of the city and being able to see the Alps was a whole other dimension.

The next day the weather forecast was right (damn it) but still did not prevent us from going to Blaubeuren where the source of the Blau is, which is a little river flowing into the Donau in Ulm. The so called Blautopf is an underground cave which reach far into the mountain and were discoveres only 50 or 60 years ago by divers. The pictures they show about the inside of the cave are just fenomenal!

On Monday I had to go to work because one of our projects were due on that day and we had to finish. So Clément played tourist guide and took Laura and Frank for a little bike trip around the city. For evening we had home made Käsespätzle, which seem to become a tradition when we have visitors over.

It was such a nice relaxed weekend, spending hours on the couch catching up, watching movies and drinking tea... Thank you so much for coming and filling our home with your geniality!! <3

Musical discovery...

One new discovery in the shiny music skies. Blending in very well withour record collection of all-time-favourites such as Ben Howerd, Angus Stone, Bon Iver and Ed Sheeran. 

Presenting James Vincent McMorrow.