60 15 - Month No. 2

I am so sorry for not posting at all during November, but I have started university again this semester, while still working full time, so it has been quite stressful with the first examinations taking place and all.

Anyhow, in November I managed to go 12 days without using my car and only now have I finished up the first half bottle of shampoo that I'd had in use already when the challenge started. So much for living sustainable...

As for the other tasks: I have read the novel Hothouse Flower by Lucinda Riley, which I can only recommend to you, because it's such a great story about two families and how it's been interwoven for more than a century. Also, my boyfriend ordered himself a few classic children's books, because he finally wanted to read them, so I read Alice in Wonderland to tick off the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge.

Through coincidence I got to tick off task no. 58, because my aunt got herself a new dressing gown, which she gave to me because she didn't like it after all.

During last week, I've been meditating a lot, because I feel like I'll need to be calmer and not get upset so easily when the new year comes around. There are a few possibilities and options that might become real, which will bring big changes to my life. I will tell you more about it, once it's decided.

For now I'm in full christmas mode, decorating, buying presents and simply enjoying this magnificent time of the year!

Xoxo, I hope, you are having as much fun as I am having!

60 15 - Month No. 1

Wow, the first month of the 60 tasks in 15 months challenge is over already! Time goes by so fast!
Anyway, I've been trying to work on as many tasks as possible so that maybe  - just maybe - I'll be able to finish all the tasks a little early.

This past month I've completed 3 tasks. Of course I've also been working on a lot of other tasks which can't be completed in just one go but take some time and efforts.

Now, I'll try to give you the highlights of last month:
First, and most important to me: I've finally made it through Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. (I've written about that here) It's been my 4th attempt, so I'm quite proud that I actually read the whole thing this time. It's only one out of ten books that I'm supposed to read, but this one's been a tough one, so I feel like I need to share this milestone.

Also, I've picked out a nice wing chair that fits perfectly into our living room.

Then we had my boyfriend's brothers over for a game night, where I also tried (and succeded) to make cake pops.

Aaaand I watched all episodes of Lipstick Jungle, so that's another task completed.

Above all that I've been trying to not use my car, which isn't so easy because my parents live about 30km from our apartment, so every time I wanna go there or go shopping, I just have to use my car. Also, I'm studying again, so now that it's suddenly turned cold outside, I sometimes use my car to go to university.

Usually my enthusiasm for challenges fades rapidly after the first week or so, but this time I feel like I'll actually pull through and complete all the tasks. I'm so motivated :)

Xoxo, have a great week!

RGRC Update #5

Wow, it's been more than 6 months since I last posted an update for the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge! I'm shocked.

But I just didn't feel like reading anything on the list - I prefered light and entertaining love stories above the sometimes quite hard to read titles on the list.

However, at my 4th attempt in as many years I finally made it through the original version of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. It has been hard to understand her 19th Century language, but after a while it got easier and I finally read the whole story about how Elizabeth's and Mr. Darcy's lives got intertwined. And I loved it! So romantic - but at times a little strange to see how things worked back then.

I hope to be reading some more books of the list soon. Let's just hope that I'll have some more free time and motivation this winter than I had last summer.

Xoxo, happy reading!

60 tasks in 15 months

Recently I've seen a lot of 101 things in 1001 days-lists pop up all over the internet and decided to also make a little list for myself. I figured, once I have everything written down and published, I will complete the tasks more easily - mostly to being able to ticking stuff off the list. So I've set down and come up with 60 tasks, that I am trying to complete until the end of 2015.

Usually the time frame is 1001 days, but I've decided to shorten it to 15 months, because I was afraid I wouldn't go through with it, if I set too big a timeframe.

I have already started completing tasks at the 1st of October, and I have to say until now it's going pretty well - except for the tasks where I wanted to exercise for 2 hours/week and meditate for 20 hours/week. I haven't even started, so I'm afraid I'll have to change these two.

I'm excited that I made myself write down all these tasks and also still be working on the list 3 weeks into the project.

To make it even more binding for myself I've decided to blog about it and write a post about my progress once a month.

Here you'll find the tasks -->

I hope to inspire some of you to make a list of their own or just follow my progress. Maybe some of you even have some tips on how to actually follow through and complete all the tasks.

Xoxo, let's hope I'll succeed!

20 ways - Inspiration

source

Makes me smile - Baby edition

Sometimes, when feeling down, I just type cute baby into Google and enjoy the instant lift of mood. Here are a few of my favorites that always make me smile.

sources (from left to right): 1 2 3

Xoxo, have a great week!

Lists all over

I love lists. Shopping lists, wish lists, to-do lists, bucket lists. Basically all kinds of lists. I make them in my head, on notepads, on old receipts, on my phone and on the internet.

I really enjoy writing them, but what makes me real happy is ticking off items and tasks I've completed. Nothing motivates me more than ticking off items.

Off the top of my head I can think of at least 5 different lists I am working on right now. There's the obligatory shopping list, a bucket list, a wish list, the list for the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge, a list of books to read and movies to watch and a list of gift ideas for my boyfriend. Oh, and of course the list of recipes to try on Pinterest.

Usually I keep my lists simple and don't decorate them or even try to use a nice writing, but sometimes I invest a little more time in lists, that I know I'll be consulting a lot.

How about you? Do you write lists? What do you write them on? Does it motivate you to tick items off?

Xoxo, I wish you a great week!

Liebster Award Nomination

I've been nominated! :D Yay!! Colli and Michelle from ToBeYoutiful have picked me and my blog to take part in this Question-and-Answer post series.

I feel very honored that I've been chosen to answer their questions. Let's see what they wanted to know.
(As the Liebster Award is in German, I will answer the questions in German too, but there's a translate button in the sidebar.)

1 Wieso habt ihr mit dem Bloggen angefragen? Ich habe immer gerne Sex and the City geschaut, und hab mich von Carrie und ihrer Kolumne inspirieren lassen.
2 Welche Kamera benutzt ihr zum Fotos schießen? Meistens meine Handykamera (ich hab ein HTC One S), da es auf meinem Blog meistens um den Text und nicht so sehr um die Fotos geht und ich meine, dass die Fotos von meinem Handy auch sehr schön werden.
3 Welches Kameraequipment würde ihr euch gerne noch zulegen?
Momentan keines, da ich keine Kamera besitze, aber wenn, dann würde ich mir gerne eine Spiegelreflexkamera von Nikon zulegen.
4 Grüner Tee oder Kaffee? Schwarzer Tee. Lust auf Kaffee hab ich nur alle paar Wochen einmal. Ansonsten trinke ich liebend gerne schwarzen Tee mit Sojamilch.
5 Wo seht ihr euch in 5 Jahren? Hoffentlich mit einem Master-Diplom in Betriebswirtschaft. Ansonsten lass ich das Leben so auf mich zukommen.
6 Geschminkt oder lieber ungeschminkt im Alltag? Im Büro auf jeden Fall geschminkt, zu Hause ungeschminkt.
7 Welche kleinen Dinge des Lebens machen euch glücklich? Ein süßes Bussi von meinem Schatz; wenn ich ein neues Lieblingslied für mich entdecke.
8 Welches Lied läuft bei euch zur Zeit rauf und runter? Kein besonderes, ich warte noch auf ein neues Lieblingslied.
9 Schnee oder Sand? Im Sommer Schnee, im Winter Sand. Immer das, was ich grade nicht haben kann.
10 Ward ihr schon mal auf einem Bloggertreffen? Wenn ja wo? Leider nein.
11 Welche Blog-Themen interessieren euch am meisten?
Kommt ganz auf den Schreibstil der Person an. Sonst aber eher kurz und knackig gehaltene Dateblogs, wo ich von den Highlights und Reinfällen auf Dates von anderen Leuten lesen kann. Ansonsten aber auch immer wieder Nagel(lack), Outfits und DIYs.

Hier die Regeln:

• Die Person verlinken, die dich nominiert hat
• 11 andere Blogger nominieren, die weniger als 200 Follower haben
• 11 Fragen deiner Wahl an die Nominierten stellen
• Die Nominierten informieren
• Den Nominierten eine Link zu deinem Post bereit stellen
• Alle Fragen beantworten, die dir gestellt wurden

So, jetzt zu den Nominierten. Ich nominiere:
Cupcake Werk
Melinas Süßes Leben
Wolkenweiss
Hoy hablar es vivir
Lines Bücherwelt
My exchange year in the USA
Paris Rom Athen
... und alle anderen, die gerne teilnehmen würden. (Hinterlasst mir einen Kommentar mit dem Link zu eurem Post und ich verlinke euch hier)

Meine Fragen:
1 Dein Lieblingsgericht?
2 Hose oder Rock?
3 Ausgefallenes Nail-Design oder Natur pur?
4 Dein Lieblingsbuch? Warum?
5 Was würdest du mit 1.000.000 Euro machen?
6 Welche Sprache würdest du gerne lernen?
7 Welches Land/Stadt MUSS man in seinem Leben mal gesehen haben?
8 Seid ihr noch in Ausbildung oder schon im "richtigen Leben" angekommen?
9 Welches Jahrzehnt würdet ihr gerne mal besuchen?
10 Ein Wunsch, den ihr euch auf jeden Fall mal erfüllen wollt?
11 Worüber habt ihr das letzte Mal so richtig herzlich gelacht?

Ich würde mich sehr freuen, wenn die Nominierten mitmachen und meine Fragen beantworten würden. Ich habe mich sehr über die Nominierung gefreut und hatte viel Spaß, die Fragen zu beantworten. Ich hoffe, euch geht es genau so.

Xoxo, ich wünsche euch eine schöne Woche!

My 20 ways to live a sustainable life

Today I want to show you what I do to live a greener life. I'm a huge fan of change as long as it doesn't involve changing your whole way of life at once. Small adjustments here and there are more my cup of tea.

1. I never print anything I don't essentially need printed out.
2. I always print documents double-sided.
3. I use the blank side of receipts to make shopping lists or notes on.
4. Currently I don't use a dryer.
5. When I still had a dryer I used to collect the water from the dryer and use it to water plants.
6. I only iron blouses and shirts that need ironing.
7. I collect left over water in glasses and the kettle to water my plants.
8. I turn off the lights when I leave the room (unless I am too headless to remember ;)
9. I try not to use plastic wrap.
10. I almost always bring my own shopping bag - if not, I reuse the bags I buy as bin bags.
11. I separate my waste into plastic, paper, glass, metal and residual waste. And once we have a garden I'll be sure to also separate organic waste and compost it.
12. I try not to buy stuff I don't need and also only throw stuff (especially electrical gadgets) away that is actually broken.
13. If there is a choice between paper towels and hand dryer in bath rooms I use the air dryer.
14. I try to use as little paper towel and toilet roll as possible - it's amazing how much water one piece of paper towel can absorb.
15. I make my own body butter/body lotion, so there are no unnecessary chemicals in it. Here's a great recipe for homemade body butter.
16. I try to get every last drop out of paste tubes and shampoo bottles by cutting them open.
17. From September on I will live in walking-distance to my office.
18. I grow my own herbs, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. Of course it's not enough for for us yet, but it's a start.
19. I always use the cooking top on pots and pans and switch off the stove/oven a few minutes before the food is done, as the residual heat will be enough to finish the dish.
20. I am trying to reduce the number of actual books I buy and get ebooks instead.

Now that I've finished the list it seems to be quite long and extensive, but I feel like it only took a few little changes to get to where I am now. And, as a bonus, almost all are also great if one wants to save some money.

Xoxo, let yourself be inspired!

Sparkly, yet elegant nail design

Today I've got a sparkly, very elegant nail design based on the colors black, silver and gold for you.
I've had these rhinestones at home for quite some time, but never had a nice idea on how to use them. So last week, when I had some time at my hands I thought up this easy to do, but great to look at nail design.

What do you think? What kind of design would you create with these colors and rhinestones?

Xoxo, have a great week!

Jealousy

interesting story about jealousy source

In light of recent events in my life I've been doing some thinking on the subject of jealousy. And I asked myself: What is it that makes people jealous?
Is it the fear of losing someone, or the feeling of simply not wanting to share a person that's special to you with someone else? Is it the fear of the other person getting more important and - consequently - you getting less important and less attention?
Personally, I belive that it depends on the situation and mostly is a mixture of all the reasons stated.

Also, how does it start? Does it always start with the same situation? For me, sometimes it's the mere thought of that other person that makes me go nervous and queasy from one second to the other. And sometimes it takes a little more, like an affectionate mentioning or anecdote that you get to hear.

I guess, everyone has at least one person they're occasionally jealous of. It might beyour boyfriend's ex-girlfriend or your grandma's favorite grandchild.

Do you ever have feelings like that? In which situations do you react too sensitive? And what do you do to snap back out of it?

Xoxo, have a great week!

20 ways to reduce CO2 emission

All over the world there are roughly 33 billions tons of carbon dioxide emitted every year. More than half of said amount is produced in China (23%), the US (19%) and the 27 countries in the European Union (17%). source and source
Although a lot is produced by industry, the biggest part - around a quarter of the overall CO₂ emission - is released during energy production. Compared to these the transportation sector's emissions may seem small, but in this sector almost all the energy is produced by using fossil fuels, so there is a big opportunity there to reduce emissions. source

In the following I compiled 20 easy ways and opportunities to reduce your personal carbon foot print.

1. Walk or take your bike whenever it's possible
2. Use public transport
3. Go by train instead of flying, if possible
4. Buy electric cars
5. Use car sharing platforms
6. If your car is very old, invest in a new car that doesn't need as much fuel
7. Take vacations close to where you live
8. Combine trips, e.g. shop at stores on the same route
9. If possible, work from home
10. Buy local food and reduce food miles - visit this website to calculate food miles
11. Grow your own food - there are quite a few herbs, vegetables and fruits that are very easy to grow
12. Don't waste food
13. Eat less red meat - for more information read this article by The Guardian
14. Use renewable energy like sun or wind power
15. Cut back on your energy use and reduce waste
16. Plant trees
17. Buy carbon credits which will be used to make up for the CO₂ you couldn't avoid producing
18. Recycle as much as possible
19. Send e-mails rather than actual letters
20. Read newspapers and journals online

I really do hope that everybody takes up this opportunity and picks one or two of the options above to actively do something against the ongoing climate change. I'd love to hear which ones you picked and how it worked out.

Xoxo, have a wonderful week!

Makes me smile - Animal edition

Sometimes you just need a little inspiration to put on a big dazzling smile. Here are a few pictures of animal babies that always make me smile.

sources (from left to right): 1 2 3 4 5

Xoxo, have a fabulous week!

"Sugarfree" Cotton Candy

A long, long time ago, I posted a few nail designs here, today I've got another one for you! A few weeks ago I found this amazing idea for Cotton Candy Nails on Youtube and decided to give it a try. It kinda looked a little tricky, but I was surprised how easy it actually was and how great the outcome looked! But see for yourself:

In case you are interested in a how-to, klick here for the video.

And, because my introduction to this post made me think of Don McLean's American Pie, here's the video:

Xoxo, have fun creating "sugarfree" Cotton Candy!

20 ways to save electricity

... and cutting your electricity bill

Every year, US residentials use 4 billion dollars worth of stand-by power, which accounts for 5% of all residential electricity use in the US. source
A lot of the energy we use is still produced in coal powerstations and nuclear power plants, so in order to protect our environment and in further concequence ourselves, we need to cut back on our use of electricity. Below I have compiled 20 ways on how to do so.

1. Make the most of natural light - open your curtains and shades
2. Turn off the lights when leaving a room
3. Use energy-saving bulbs
4. Use lower powered bulbs
5. When you don't need full light use up those half-used candles you've got lying around - as a bonus candle light creates a romantic atmosphere
6. Turn electric devices such as radio, TV or Computer off when not in use
7. Don't leave devices on stand-by
8. Unplug your phone chargers - they do use a little electricity even though they are not in use
9. Don't blow-dry your hair, let it dry naturally
10. Use solar heaters to heat water
11. Use less hot water
12. Produce your own electricity with photovoltaic panels
13. Turn down the temperature on the washing mashine
14. Air-dry your laundry. You don't even need sunshine, a cloudy day is just fine, too
15. Replace old appliances with new, energy saving ones
16. Use your air conditioner less
17. Try opening your cooler/freezer/fridge as short as possible
18. Boil water with a kettle rather than on the stove
19. Use lids on your pots when cooking and keep the pots closed for as long as possible
20. Turn off the stove 5 and the oven 10 minutes before reaching the cooking time

I hope, you'll be able to adopt a few of the suggestions above in order to cut your electricity use and save some money.
Have you got other ideas on how to save electricity?

Xoxo, have a great week!

Pinterest Favorites: Summer Investments

Summer's in full swing and I've been dreaming of wonderful, wonderful things that I'd invest in if I had a little (or a lot) more money to fling away. Unfortunately I've just bought a car, so I don't really have too much spare money right now. Anyway, one can always dream, right?

I'm dreaming of spending hot summer days on an elegant yacht, reading lots of books in my very own tree house and watching the hot life guards from my beach lounger right on the waterfront. At night, I'd like to dance, chat and sip champagne - all dressed up in insanely expensive, fabulous chiffon gowns.

sources: yacht - beach lounger - tree house

sources: white gown - red gown

What are you dreaming of this summer?

Xoxo, have a great summer!! Enjoy the sun, heat, beach, holidays...!!

Keeping a diary

Ever since I was 11 or 12 I have kept a diary. My diary is like my very own biography with gaps - and a little (or very) subjective. At times I wrote down my thoughts every day, at times I haven't written a single word in months. I think, the longest time I didn't use my diary were about 8 months.

Rereading my diary always feels like living my life again. It makes me feel sad, happy, excited - whatever feeling I had at the time. I have always used my diary as some kind of therapy to cope with thoughts and feelings. To me, writing my thoughts down equals pouring my heart out to someone in person. It's like my thoughts become clearer, calmer and less overwhelming.

Writing my diary is a way to calm myself down, to motivate myself, to sort things out.

I know, that a lot of people keep diaries, but I've never thought about the reasons they might have. Do you keep a diary, and why? What are your reasons?

Xoxo, have a great week!

20 ways to reduce waste

Every minute, one million of plastic bags is used worldwide. That makes 60 millions an hour and about 1,4 billions of plastic carrier bags a day that are only used once and take 1000 years to degrade. source & source

Another nice fact I found online is this one: If every starbucks customer used reusable coffee mugs, this would save as much water in producing disposable mugs as is needed to supply LA with water for 8 days.

1. Bring your own carrier bag when you go shopping
2. Reuse carrier bags
3. Buy food in bigger units, e.g. 2 liters of milk in one instead of 4 half liter bottles
4. Buy water or other drinks in glass bottles
5. When storing food in the fridge/freezer use reusable containers instead of plastic bags
6. Buy products in reusable/recyclable packaging
7. Use reusable coffee mugs
8. Use tab water instead of bottled water
9. Use reusable drinking bottles
10. Only buy what you really need
11. Buy products with little packaging
12. Cancel unwanted mail
13. Don't throw paper and envelopes away, use them as scrap paper or to make shopping lists on
14. Reuse carrier bags as bin bags
15. Reuse jars and pots as small containers
16. Compost food waste and yard waste - makes a perfect fertilizer for plants and garden
17. Donate unwanted clothes and items to second-hand stores
18. Buy products made out of recycled materials
19. Use reusable dishware when having a party/barbecue
20. Use rechargable batteries

You will find many more ways to reduce waste on these websites:
- Rethink Recycling
- Pedal people - Ways to reduce waste
- Recycling Guide

I hope, this list inspired you to change a few things!

Xoxo, have a nice week!

Summer love

Summer's finally here and so is nature - everything is in full bloom!

Xoxo, enjoy!

What NOT to have in your cosmetics

source

Today I have another post for your health, in terms of which cosmetis to use and not use.
I have found this picture on Pinterest and it made me think and check my cosmetics for toxic ingredients.
I got to say, most of my cosmetics - which I mainly use because they are working very well - actually contained a few of the toxics mentioned.

I have not had the time to go shopping for surrogates, but I am planning to do so this weekend.

The ones in my picture are only a few of the toxic chemicals used in cosmetics, but there are many websites and articles about this topic.
For example, this website (The campaign for safe cosmetics) has a list of toxic chemicals to be concerned of. And the David Suzuki Foundation has also listed a lot of toxics to avoid.

I hope, this'll open your eyes a little - as it did to me - and make your live a healthier one.

Xoxo, until next week!

New addiction and pure deliciousness

screenshot of 2048

2048. Have you heard about it? It's a new online game, which is so addictive, that I only had to play it twice before it had me hooked.

Basically, all you do is move tiles in order to merge them. For example, if two 2-tiles touch, they will merge into a 4-tile. This goes on until you have a 2048-tile (hence the name ;).
Until now, I haven't been able to achieve that, but I had a 1024-tile twice already.

This game has been a revelation for me. I have been so bored with the usual stuff I spend my time on the internet with, that I happily let myself be infected by this game.

If you want to give it a try, here's the link: http://gabrielecirulli.github.io/2048/

sorry for the quality, but I couldn't resist long enough
to get the camera

Also, last week I made a few variations to a recipe I found on pinterest. I named them chocolate-marmalade croissants. Here's the link to the recipe.

I simply added some apricot jam to the chocolate spread in order to make it taste a bit more fruity. And they did taste heavenly - a little chocolaty, but also fruity and a little ! I almost ate all of them at once.

Also, they are super-quick to make, so if you get visitors on short notice, try making these! I'm sure your visitors'll love them!

Xoxo, have a great week!

20 ways to save water

Besides the air to breath, water is the most essential thing on earth for a human being. Full stop. And there are so many people around this world who don't even haven enough water to drink, let alone bathe or splash around in. That's why everyone should at least make an effort to conserve as much water as possible.
What most people forget is the fact, that for the production of almost every product there's a lot of water involved - water, that could have been used for other, more important purposes.

Now, here are 20 different ways to save water:

1. Turn off the tab while brushing your teeth.
2. Turn off the shower while lathering yourself.
3. Collect rain water and use it to water your plants and garden.
4. Don't take baths every day, shower instead (bathing requires 260 liters while an average shower uses about 30 liters per minute, which is 150 liters for a 5-minute shower)
5. Use a water-saving shower head.
6. Try to shower as short as possible.
7. Don't do the dishes with the water running. Fill the sink with water.
8. Use the save-water mode at your dish washer.
9. Reuse the water collected in the dryer.
10. Water plants only when necessary, some will grow even better with less water.
11. Don't let broken pipes and leaking faucets as they are - get them fixed as soon as possible.
12. Keep a pitcher of drinking water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap.
13. Don't defrost food under running water, but in a bowl of hot water - or even better, slowly and for hours in the refrigerator.
14. Convert your toilet into a dual-flush toilet.
15. Soak pots and pans instead of letting the water run while scraping them clean.
16. Reuse towels and clothes and only wash them when dirty.
17. If you drop or don't need ice cubes, put them in a house plant instead of throwing them in the sink.
18. Cook food in as little water as possible -  keeps the vitamins in the food too, because while cooking vitamins will be transferred to the water.
19. When shaving, plug the sink instead of running the water to rinse your razor.
20. Use leftover water from glasses or jugs to water flowers instead of pouring away.
And a bonus 21: Don't just buy stuff, because you want it. Buy it, because you need it. There is so much water necessary for the production of stuff - so much stuff that'll only lie around after a while anyway.

Xoxo, happy saving!

I plant a tree

I just found this great project, where this group of people plants a tree for your blog in order to make up for the environmental damage caused by blogs. You wouldn't think a blog can do any damage to our environment, but there are so many servers involved, that it sure does.

I have decided that this blog will plant an oak tree, because an oak is such a majestic, classic tree that can live for centuries.

The project is almost over, but maybe a few of you guys out there will still be able to also plant a tree!

Xoxo, happy planet saving!

20 ways... New series

There's a side of me that until a few years ago I didn't even know I had. I don't know what changed since then, but over the last two years it has become more and more important to me to live a sustainable life. The environment we are all gifted with is such an amazing miracle and we are well on the way to destroying this beauty.

As soon as I realized that, I felt like I had to turn my whole life around and live like a role model for sustainable living. But I'm not. And I didn't I still take occasional flights in my holidays, I don't take public transport all the time and I deny myself all imported goods. Nevertheless have I made a lot of little changes to my way of life.

Lots of people say they don't want to make an effort because it won't actually have an impact at all, but I believe, that if every person out of a big number of people makes a tiny effort, together they will be able to move mountains.

I am writing this series to inspire you to also make some changes. Every three weeks, there will be ideas on how to save water, save electricity, simply live a greener life and a lot more aspects - and all that without having to make big changes. And, best of all, most of the ideas will even save you some money.

I am sure there will be lots of little things that will be easy to integrate into your life. To me, this will be a big success, even if only one or two of you guys take up a few of my suggestions.

Having said all this, I want to ask you guys to remember what a beautiful, delicate thing our planet is and what we could do to save it from being destroyed by us.

Xoxo, let's save this world together!

Great Lent - Easter Preparations

source

The 40 days of great lent are almost over and I thought I'd share share with you what I gave up on. Before waiving I had had this habit of checking my phone every 10 minutes to see if there was any news. Most times it would only be a newsletter or some other boring notification I weren't even remotely interested in. So I thought about it and decided to waive internet my phone for 40 days.

And it worked! I don't feel like checking my phone every few minutes and sometimes even completely forget about it. Which led as far as forgetting to switch it back to loud mode and therefore not being able to answering any calls for a whole afternoon.

I have to confess, the first two weeks or so I was bored out of my mind at times, just because I couldn't be on Facebook or play my favorite game. But that got easier every day. Also, I had to switch mobile data on a few times, because I had to use google maps and transfer some pictures. But apart from that, I have sticked to the plan and am very proud of myself!

Did you guys also waive something? How did you feel?

Xoxo, happy waiving!

RGRC Update #4

source

It's update number 4 on the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge. So far, I haven't been working so hard on the challenge, but nonetheless have I read 16 out of 340 books. Aaaand, I've been reading a bit more than last time, but I have to admit, that Brave New World, The Wizard of Oz and The Scarecrow of Oz are quite short and easy to read.

The wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum is a colorful, exciting and entertaining story for children, which I will happily read to my future children. Except, of course for the scenes where the lion beheads some of their enemies.

Just as The wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Scarecrow of Oz is a nice adventure tale for children, taking place in many wonderful, strange and fantastic places. Also, we get to meet a few characters again, that have been in the story about the Wizard of Oz.

A bit shocking, but definitely an eye opener was Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. With all that's going on in Russia right now, it is more relevant than ever to think about what could happen if there was only one government that made all the rules and regulations for everyone - especially a government like the one they have in Russia.

And then there was Madame Bovary, written by Gustave Flaubert, which is a book about a bourgeois woman's (love) life during the early and mid 19th century. The book gives the reader an broad insight, but is a bit lenghty at times.

Xoxo, happy reading!

Writing a novel

I've always dreamt about writing a book. I knew it should be a novel, a cheesy, romantic novel with a big happy ending. I never wanted to write a scientific report, or a non fiction book. If I ever wrote a book, it would be a fictional love story - mainly because I love reading them myself.

Ever since I discovered this genre for myself I've admired Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Jill Mansell for their stories. They are all so different, as if written by different authors. However, the writing style - which I really like - remains the same. These two women have written over 50 novels and are both still working on new ones.

My plan was or still is to some day write a novel as amazing as theirs, and then use the earnings to finance my life. Until today I have made one or two attempts on writing, but unfortunately I haven't been creative and persistent enough to even finish a short story. Maybe, just maybe I will start a new attempt this summer and hopefully even finish what I started. I know I won't write a full 400 pages novel right away, but it would be a huge success if I finished a short story.

No matter if I ever write a book or not, it's nice to have something to dream about and to work towards.

Have you ever had or still have a dream like that? What are your dreams?

Xoxo, have a nice week!

10 easy ways to save money without having to cut back

Summer is fast approaching and I've been thinking about going on vacation and a shopping spree for some new spring/summer clothes. And in order to still having some money left to put into my savings account I've come up with a number of ways to easily save money without actually having to cut back on anything.

1. Turn off your electric devices properly instead of leaving them on Standby. This will save a lot of electricity.
   
2. Try to use less of basically everything - tooth paste, shower gel, shampoo, toilet paper... You won't even know you've used a drop less, but in the end it'll make a big difference.
  
3. Use your old and unused eye shadow to create your own nail polish like this girl here.
  
4. Grow your own food. Spices and vegetables like tomatoes or cucumbers are quite easy to grow on your balcony - and gardening has a calming, therapeutic effect.
  
5. Buy stripe tickets instead of purchasing a single ticket every time you take a public transport.
  
6. Whenever you cook dinner, make a little more so you can eat the left overs for lunch the next day at work and don't have to go out and buy an overpriced sandwich oder salad.
  
7. If you like reading rent books from your local library instead of buying them. Or buy e-books instead of hard copies - they are usually cheaper.
  
8. Take and use whatever you get for free - for example sometimes in cafés you get these little sugar sachets, instead of leaving them if you haven't used them, take them with you and use at home. Or, on long distance flights you might get a dental kit, there's enough toothpaste in there for at least 3-4 times of brushing.
  
9. Use the coupons you get - no, I'm not talking about converting into the next couponing queen, but using a coupon once in a while will save you a lot of money.

  

10. Print your documents double-sided. You'll only have half of the papers to carry around with you and save a lot of printing paper.

What are your tricks for saving some money?

Xoxo, have a great day!

Vacation wishlist

With spring fast approaching, it's time to think about where to travel for vacation. During winter I've been dreaming of going somewhere warm like Hawaii, Thailand, Greece, Vanuatu or Italy. I know I won't actually be going to Hawaii or Vanuatu this year, but there's always room for dreaming, right?

Hawaii source - Thailand source - Vanuatu source

Now that spring is actually here, I feel like I want to take at least one little sight seeing trip too and explore London or New York City - or maybe even both ;)

London source - New York City source

London has been one of my favorite cities ever since I've lived there for about three months when I was 16. It's such an amazing, fascinating metropolis with so much to do and explore. There is such a broad variety of shops, theatres, restaurants and museums, which gives you something new to discover every time you get there - no matter how many times you've already been there.

And New York - Sex and the City has been my city guide. I haven't yet made it to New York, but I'm curious and can't wait to visit the Big Apple.

Where would you like to go to this year?

Xoxo, have a nice first week of spring!

In need of motivation

I'm in need of motivation - motivation for my job, motivation for my DIYs, motivation to not let myself drag my bad mood with me. To not being so lazy and just going with the flow, but to make myself feel better by watching the right kind of movies, listening to some feel-good music or just reading a good book. Instead, I'm just spending my days reading stupid stuff on random websites

You know how you feel like you've got a cloud in your head and your brain's just too slow to think properly? That's how I feel today. This may sound as I've got a serious depression, but actually it's just a lack of motivation that's been going on for a few weeks now.

I am trying to motivate myself by reading motivational quotes and wise sayings and getting some little things done in order to feel like I've already accomplished something today. However, I feel like I need to find something that'll get me all excited and occupied for some time.

Do you sometimes have that same feeling, this lack of motivation? What do you do if this happens to you? How do you get yourself motivated again?

Xoxo, curious to hear about your experiences!

PS: I felt a little better once I had finished this post. I believe, because first I had accomplished something and second I used to write a journal every time I felt sad or depressed to help me feel better when I was younger.

Spring is finally here

It is finally getting warmer! :D Spring is on it's way and I can't wait until it's warm enough to sit outside, enjoy the sun on my skin, and drink a nice cocktail with my friends. Or read a book in the breeze on a nice summer evening on my balcony. Or just enjoy the amazing pictures nature paints.

Like these ones I took on a stroll last year:

Xoxo, enjoy spring!

Did you know?

I just found out that the squares on paste tubes - that I always thought were random - had a secret meaning about which ingredients where used.

Did you ever notice they had different colors? There's green, blue, red and black.

Apparently green means that only natural ingredients were used, blue indicates natural and medial ingredients, red is a mixture of natural and chemical ingredients and black is pure chemical.

I think this knowledge makes it much more easier to decide which tooth paste or cream to buy. Especially in times like these, where the body is exposed to so many chemicals which can cause a great number of illnesses, it seems like a good idea to minimize this exposure wherever it is possible.

What about you, do you pay attention to ingredients and how your toiletries are made? Or are you more like me and choose whatever is cheapest, smells best, has the most outstanding packaging or just caught your eye first?

Xoxo, have a great week!

Top 10 favorite websites

1. Pinterest - probably the website I use most after Blogger
2. checkfelix - my favorite website to search for and compare flights
3. freerice.com - a website where you can donate rice by answering questions, which I have described here
4. bookrix.de -  thousands of books - classics, new releases, fanfictions & bestsellers can be read and downloaded
5. picmonkey.com - a very easy tool to edit your pictures or make collages for free
6. Blog-Zug.com - a community for bloggers and people who are interested in blogs
7. Upjers.com - the host of my favorite browser game My Free Farm
(which I'm absolutely addicted to, I have to admit ;)
8. StumbleUpon.com - if you've got hours and hours to waste, that's the website to spend them on
9. orf.at - the local news site
10. dict.cc - to help me translate whenever I'm at a loss for words

Tell me, which are your favorite websites? What sites do you spend a lot of time on?

Xoxo, happy surfing! :)

Pinterest Favorites

board: Gardens by multiple people

board: Wise words by Cent4urThoughts

Xoxo, happy pinning!

RGRC Update #3

source

Wow, I can't believe it's been three months since I last posted about my progress in the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge.

Over Christmas I had been determined to read at least 3 or 4 books that are on the list, but all I managed to read until now was “The strange case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde”, and I didn't even read it until on the plane to India. And I have to admit, I didn’t get it. I didn’t understand what Mr. Stevenson is trying to say in this book. It is well written and I enjoyed reading it, but I can only imagine that maybe he wanted to illustrate the transition of a nice man into an evil one. Or maybe he’s talking about some kind of psychological disease. Or even something entirely different. Who knows?

What do you guys think this book is all about?

Xoxo, keep on reading!