Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2012

Okay the picture says 2011 but I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2012!

I hope you are celebrating a wonderful Christmas with your family and can enjoy spending some time with your beloved ones. Whether you are celebrating on the 24th or the 25th, enjoy the christmas time and use the calmer period between Christmas and New Year to calm down and to relax.

  

I hope you found a lot of presents under the tree and all your wishes came true. I personally love to give my presents to other people, so I hope you also enjoyed giving all your present to everyone and seeing their joy.

Between Christmas and New Year I will travel to Vienna which will be really exciting and unfortunately, there won't be any posts during this time. Thus, I wish you a Happy New Year right now. I wish you good luck in this new year, that you will reach all your aims and I hope that when you do New Year Resolutions then you mean them seriously :) I will tell you my New Year Resolutions in a few days!

Again Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

Love,

Christmas & Holiday Tradition Tag!

Hello everyone!

The third advent has passed, we have set up our Christmas tree and it is only one week left and we have Christmas. In between I have to write three major exams which kind of inhibits my Christmas anticipation, but I hope that I will feel at least a bit christmasy after Thursday. As it is close to Christmas I thought it might interest you to get to know a bit more about my Christmas habits and because only found one Christmas TAG created by Zoella that I really loved, I though I am going to do this today!

The Questions
1. When do you start getting excited about Christmas?
This changes every year and is really depended on my current stress level. Last year, I was in christmas mood way to early so that I was almost annoyed of Christmas when it was Christmas. This year I was really excited about christmas at the end of november, but then with december my exams started so that this mood faded into nothing. I really, really hope that I will start getting excited about Christmas when my exams are over which is on Thursday.

2. Do you still have advent calendars?
Yes! I live in Germany and here the advent calendar is a huge tradition and so everyone which I know has one.
 
3. What are your favourite Christmas Films?
I love "Love Actually", "Polar Express", "The Muppet Christmas Carol" and a rather sad one "The Family Stone".

4. Do you have any funny Christmas memories?
Uff, well not really. My grandparents are really funny people so there always happens something funny every single year, but these are just spontaneous sometimes a bit embarrassing moments.

5. Talk us through your typical Christmas Day?On the 24th we have a relaxed start with a nice breakfast, then do some arrangements till lunch and have a light lunch. In the afternoon, we usually watch a film, at 6pm we exchange our presents and have dinner. At the evening, we always do something in the family (playing, watching film etc.). Then the next two days are always family meetings and I celebrate Christmas with my father separately.

6. What do you eat for Christmas Dinner?
Traditionally we eat goose, dumplings and red cabbage (yes really german!). We are going to eat this at my grandparents' house this year, so we are going to make something in a pot-au-feu where you can build fish, meat and vegetables in vegetable stock. At my father's house we are probably going to eat deer or feral pig.

7. Do you have any Christmas traditions?
Decorating the christmas tree is always a whole family event for us and is really a symbol for the Christmas time. Here in Germany, we also always bake "Plätzchen" which are a bit like a mixture between gingerbread and sugar shortbread and taste absolutely amazing! On the 24th we always watch a film, the Santa comes at 6pm and we always sit in the living room together. The family meetings are mainly about eating and spending some time together.

8. Which are your favourite Christmas songs?
All christmas songs from Michael Bublé e.g. "Cold December Night", "I's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" and "All I Want For Christmas Is You". Then I also enjoy listening to "Driving Home For Christmas" by Chris Rea and "Merry X-Mas Everybody" by Slade.

9. What is the best Christmas present you ever received?
Oh, I don't know. I am seriously happy about every present that I get because I think, it's more about the thought of the person. I actually start getting terribly excited about giving the presents to other people and seeing their joy and their reactions. I don't know what it is but giving presents to other people make me so much happier than getting one.

10.Real or fake christmas tree?
Real! We had a fake one last real because newspapers had warned for insects that might be in the christmas tree because of the mild winter. However, due to the fact that we have all missed the smell and look of a real christmas tree, we had to buy a real one this year!

So this was my Christmas Tag for this year! I seriously can not believe that we are that close to Christmas, I can only imagine writing my autumn blog posts for you and here we are really close to a New Year which also means nearly one year of blogging continually! I hope you all have a beautiful christmas time!

Wish you a wonderful day! Love,

3 Beautiful & Wearable Christmas Makeup Ideas

Hello guys!

A few days ago I posted my three fashion outfits for Christmas and I thought I might share with you my three Christmas makeups that I am going to wear. If you want to know which outfit I am going to combine with this makeup look than have a look at that post. I know that these are actually not makeup looks that are created on my own but I seriously didn't find the time to do anything ore time-consuming as I have my final exams going on. So please excuse! I also know that it is a bit late concerning that Christmas Eve is tomorrow, but I hope you find one of them inspirational.

Makeup look No. 1: Christmas Eve

This is not a typical Christmas eye makeup, but I love the combination of pink and ashy browns and because we are just staying at home I though I will do a natural but still visible makeup. I will probably add some black liner on the upper lash line and when we will exchange our presents, I will add a nice red lip.

Makeup look No. 2: 1st Christmas Day

This is a German Youtuber, but you will be able to understand the tutorial as it has no further explanations. A really nice cranberry makeup that focuses on the eyes which is great when you are just going out for a dinner.

Makeup look No. 2: 2nd Christmas Day

This is the most dramatic makeup from all three and incredibly beautiful. The focus is definitely on teh eyes which is again great for a dinner and the more dramatic version suits to my whole outfit and to the occasion. This is actually a makeup look that I am really looking forward to recreating it.

So that's it for my makeup during Christmas. I still can not believe that Christmas is tomorrow and then we have to wait another year until the magic of these days will come back again. Hopefully I won't have all my final exams during this time again. Comment below which makeup you are going to wear!

Wish you a wonderful Christmas! Love,

Have a Christmas Tree You Can Be Proud Of

Hello everybody!

Last Sunday we finally decorated our christmas tree, but because I am still living at my parents' house and thus, we have a christmas tree together, I can not decide how we are going to decorate the christmas tree on my own. My family loves to mix different styles and to hang up a lot of unique, artistic christmas ornaments, so that at the end our christmas tree looks lovely but quite kitschy. Inspired by this decoration, I thought about how I would resp. how I will decorate my christmas tree next year as I am going to move to my own flat. So here is my creation:

My christmas tree:

As my favourite colours are neutral shades, beige, cream, white, silver and gold, I also wanted to incorporate this into my christmas tree. I also would top my christmas tree with a beautiful cream bow instead of the classy golden star. In general, I really love this elegant and sophisticated look! The lion represents any more unique ornaments that I declare as being beautiful e.g. silver or gold snowflakes or fir cones ;) . What do you think about this design and how does your christmas tree looks like?

Wish you a wonderful christmas time! Love,

3 Christmas Outfit Ideas for 3 Different Occasions

Hello guys!

5 Days left and then it is Christmas! I seriously can't believe it because of my exams, the weeks flew by without any christmas emotions and so FINALLY today I can start getting into christmas. I actually went to a really funny trip to the christmas market with my course today and on Friday I will wrap all the christmas presents. So I thought this is a great time to show you my 3 christmas outfits that I am going to wear for three different occasions. Perhaps this might be an inspiration for your christmas outfits. 

Outfit No. 1: The laid-back family evening time - Christmas Eve

 

Trousers: Only. Sweater: Only. Socks: Christmas Socks.

In Germany, the Christ Child comes on Christmas Eve, so we exchange our presents in the evening and no one goes out in that evening. Thus, we all stay together in our little family throughout the whole day and there is seriously no need to dress up. I am just going to wear my Christmas sweater and my Christmas socks.

Outfit No. 2: The official family meeting - 1st Christmas Day

Dress: H&M. Tights. Heels: Buffalo. Jacket: Esprit.

This is a great outfit for an official family meeting because it is a bit dressed up and fashionable, but still rather cute and sweet because you don't want to look to overdressed on a family dinner especially when all your grandparents and grandaunts etc. are there. Because the dress is sleeveless, I added my new tweet jacket which I absolutely love and just adds a glamorous touch to the outfit.

Outfit No. 3: The posh Christmas dinner - 2nd Christmas Day

Sweater: Montego. Skirt: Vero Moda. Tights. Heels: Buffalo.

The sequin skirt is definitely the eye catcher of this whole outfit and suits perfectly to a posh dinner in an expensive restaurant. I wanted to incorporate the signature christmas colour red into my outfit which is the reason why I chose this sweater. You can also wear a nice blouse to the skirt.

So these were my three Christmas outfit ideas for three completely different occasions. I hope you found this post helpful and you were able to get a bit inspired by my outfits. Let me know in a comment below what you are going to wear for christmas or what do you think is the perfect christmas outfit?

Wish you a wonderful pre-christmas time!!! Love,

Corduroy Shorts Festive Winter Outfit of the Day!

Hello everyone!

Today I want to share with my outfit of the day. It start to get really freezing outside and because of the fact that we slowly start to get closer to christmas I wanted to boost my christmas mood by also dressing a bit festive. Thus, I decided to go for this green, lavender and white argyle sweater and my comfy but quite dressy corduroy shorts. Combined with tights and some nice and warm grey or black boots, it will keep you warm.

The outfit

Sweater: Montego. Corduroy Shorts: Esprit. Tights: Primark.

Hair:

Today's hairstyle was a bit extravagant. I french-braided my fringe back on both sides and tied them together into a bun. Really easy, but quite effective.

Make-up & Jewellery:

Earrings: Konplott.
Make-up: all over the lid - Sleek Storm Palette light rosy colour. eyeliner - manhattan blue felt-tip liner. lips - Rimmel Vintage Pink Lipstick. (a lot darker than in the picture)

It's rather unusual that I wear a darker lipstick for university, however, since it's stays so grey and cloudy during the whole day, I really like to wear darker colours. Im fact, the whole day was an experiment, because I have never worn a blue liner before but I think that this liner is dark enough and even looks like black with the normal room light. Anyway, I hope you liked this outfit and tell me what do you think about corduroy textures in the winter time?

Wish you a wonderful day! Love,

My New Hair Colour!!!

Hello everybody!

Have you ever experienced a moment where you know it is the time to do something no matter what you want to do. When you just can not live under the current circumstances anymore and you have to change it immediately. Well, this exactly happened with me on Wednesday. I couldn't stand out my hair colour anymore. It just didn't fit my lifestyle and my personality anymore. I don't know why it came and how it came, but I have never wanted to change my hair colour that urgently in my entire life yet and I have never scheduled an appointment at my hair dresser without thinking about it for at least 2 weeks.

Well, I did it. I am blonde! Okay, to be honest, I have already been blonde before, but it was more a medium blonde which turned out to be really dark during the winter time. So I have already talked about my Balea Lightening Spray which, unfortunately, made my hair a bit orange as I have a red undertone in my blonde and so this was the right time to get some nice and professional light blonde highlights.

My main inspiration was Scarlett Johansson even though I don't look nothing like here, but she has got the same fair complexion and natural hair colour as I have. My real hair colour is pretty similar to hers:

And here is Scarlett Johansson with blonde highlights and some other inspirational pictures:

And with this spirit I walked into my hair dresser, decided to get a lot of thin and natural blonde highlights all around my head and I love it! Of course, I have to get used to my new look but I think, that it makes me a lot fresher, brighter and awake, especially during the winter time. It also suits better to my personality, I just don't "feel like my old hair colour any more" as I find that blonde highlights transfer a certain atmosphere with them like joy, happiness, lively, experimentally.

Even though this was a rather spontaneous action which I so untypical for me, I love it so much guys. One reason I never wanted to dye my hair is because of the roots but since this week I know that these are just excuses or worries of a person that doesn't want something for 100%. I can just say to you: If you want something - Just do it!

What do you think about highlighting your hair?

Wish you a wonderful day! Love,

My Winter Music Playlist!

Hello everyone!
Today I want to share with you my winter music playlist which I just created yesterday for the upcoming winter time. I really love music and seriously, can not live without music. It's like music intensifies every emotion and able to get you into a certain mood. Thus, I do a little music playlist every now and then through the year in order to boost my mood while I am driving a my car. Yes, this is a car CD, thus, for this playlist, these aspects are important:

❆ it is a car CD, hence, we have max. 18-20 songs
❆ it is a winter playlist, not a christmas playlist (will come soon!)
❆ imagine you are driving through a calm & snowy winter wonderland

My winter playlist

1. I Will Talk and Hollywood Will Listen - Robbie Williams
2. In Love with the world - Aura Dione
3. Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground - Coldplay
4. White Christmas - Bing Crosby
5. The Hardest Part - Coldplay
6. Merry Xmas Everybody - Slade
7. The Power of Love - Frankie Goes To Hollywood
8. Born To Die - Lana Del Rey
9. Postcards from Far Away - Coldplay
10. Mr. Bojangles - Robbie Williams
11. The Old Hardy Joins Bagger By the Sea - Rachel Portman
12. Merry Christmas Everyone - Shakin' Stevens
13. Amsterdam - Coldplay

This is my winter music playlist for 2012. I intended to express a really calm, only a tiny bit of christmasy, more relaxing, slower atmosphere which fits perfectly in the winter wonderland. I always to these kind of CD because firstly, my car doesn't owe an iPod docking station and I was still not capable of organising one for me and secondly, the music quality from a CD is so much better than from the radio!
I hope you liked this little post and tell me whether you also create your own playlist for your car?

Wish you a wonderful pre-christmas time! Love,

In 2 Minuten zu deiner individuellen Schokolade!

Hey meine Lieben!

Weihnachten steht vor der Tür und nun beginnt wieder die verzweifelte Suche nach dem einem oder anderem Weihnachtsgeschenk. Genau dieses Problem besaß ich in der Familie auch und nach einigem rumstöbern entdeckte ich die Möglichkeit, eine individuelle Schokolade übers Internet bestellen zu können. Ich denke so gut wie jeder, vor allem Frauen, mögen Schokolade und würden sich über solch eine Schokolade mit ihren Lieblingszutaten sehr freuen. Das Problem jedoch ist, dass meine eine Freundin und auch ich laktoseintolerant sind und viele Schokoladen zum selber kreieren enthalten Laktose. Jedoch habe ich bei der Firma Baldimo eine dunkle Schokolade gefunden, die keine Laktose enthält und gleichzeitig fand ich die Auswahl der Extras am besten. Heute kam das Paket an:

Ich habe drei Schokoladen bestellt, wobei alle aus dunkler Schokolade bestehen, demnach also laktosefrei sind. Je nach dem wie viele Zutaten und welche Verpackung man am Ende auswählt, ändert sich der Preis. Insgesamt stehen einem drei Schokoladensorten (weiß, Vollmilch, dunkel), verschiedene Formen, mehr als 150 Zutaten und 6 unterschiedliche Verpackungen zur Verfügung. Der Preis der Schokoladen reichte von 5,75€ bis 6,40€ zzgl. 5,90€ Versandkosten. Ich empfehle daher, gleich mehrere Schokoladen auf einmal zu bestellen. Die kostenlose Standardverpackung ist die orangene.

Meine Kreationen:

orangene Verpackung: Zartbitterschokolade in klassischer Schokoladentafel mit Limettenpulver, Kardamom, Erdbeersnacks, Himbeeren 

braun-weiße Verpackung: Zartbitterschokolade in klassischer Schokoladentafel mit Kandierte Zimtäpfel, Macadamianüsse, Zimt, Blaumohnsamen

Winter Verpackung: Zartbitterschokolade in klassischer Schokoladentafel mit Green Khorog Rosinen, Lebkuchengewürze, Galgant, Kirschen x1,

 

 

Da zwei von den Schokoladen als Weihnachtsgeschenk gedacht sind, zeige ich nun nur die oben zuerst genannte Schokolade, da ich sie für mich gekauft habe. Wie es bestellt habe, kam die Schokolade im klassischen Design und ist ca. 6mm hoch. Die Verzierung ist wirklich sehr dekorativ und appetitanregend, doch nun zum Wichtigsten: 

 

 

Der Geschmack:

Die Schokolade an sich schmeckt nicht zu bitter oder herb, sondern sehr weich nach dunkler Schokolade. Sie ist jetzt nicht vergleichbar mit der aromatischen Vielfalt und Tiefe einer Schokolade vom Chocolatier, doch liegt hier der Fokus eher auf den Extras. Insgesamt finde ich meine eigene Kreation sehr gut. Die Limette hätte noch ein wenig saurer sein können, doch gibt der Kardamom eine sehr spezielle würzige Note. Die Erdbeersnacks hätten auch vom optischen her ein wenig größer sein können, jedoch weiß ich jetzt, dass ich das nächste Mal die richtigen Erdbeeren nehme. Ich hatte nur Angst, dass die Schokolade zu überladen aussehe.

Insgesamt kann ich die Schokolade von Baldimo nur empfehlen! Die Bestellung hat wie vom Hersteller angegeben problemlos innerhalb von 7 Werktagen funktioniert und keine Schokolade ist zu Bruch gegangen. Des Weiteren liegt hier der Hauptaugenmerk auf die Zusatzzutaten und nicht auf eine besonders hochwertige Schokolade, obwohl diese auch echt gut ist. Ich denke, dass eine, für eine bestimmte Person, individuell gestaltete Schokolade ein ganz besonderes Geschenk ist und sich sicherlich jeder darüber freuen würde.

Ich hoffe Euch hat der Beitrag gefallen. Habt ihr schon einmal eure persönliche Schokolade kreiert?

Ich wünsche Euch noch einen wunderschönen Tag! Alles Liebe,

Winterlicious Tag!

Hello everybody!

It is the second advent which means 15 days left until christmas. It is snowing outside, I am sitting in my bed with my christmas pyjama, we baked tons of christmas cookies yesterday, so I thought what a better time to do the Winterlicious Tag right now. It was created by MacBarbie and I like this TAG so much that I decided to do it. So let's go.

Questions!

1) Favorite Winter Nail Polish?
Myfavourite nail polishes of this season of this seasons are three ones, all for different occasions. Max Factor Max Effect Mini Nail Polish in 01 Ivory is perfect for a glamourous party or dinner, Essence nail polish fairytale (LE) in 03 Once Upon A Time is the perfect christmas red and P2 Colour Victim nail polish in 700 Rich & Royal is a beautiful dark nude and thus, my winter all rounder.

2) Favorite Winter lip product?
My favourite lip stick is Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Vintage Pink. It is a beautiful cooler pink that suits me best in the winter time. And then as a lip product I can not survive the winter without my Blistex MedPlus. This stuff is amazing and keeps my lips moisturized enough even in extremely cold days.

3) Most worn Winter clothing piece?
I don't vary a lot with my trousers, however, I prefer to wear corduroy trousers in winter. So here are my two favourite sweaters even though I recently purchased another white sequin sweater, but until now my go to winter clothing items are these two sweaters. The white one is my christmas sweater from Only and is so warm. The other warm is my general winter sweater as this light pink sweater from H&M is extremely warm.

Then I can't live without any kind of thick warm socks during the winter time. These are my christmas socks, but on a daily basis I wear more decent ones from Burlington.

4) Most worn Winter accessory?

This would be this scarf from H&M. I love these gold, brown, and red pattern which can be worn from two sides. Another must-have are my black leather hand gloves from Roeckl. Even though they don't have wool or etc. in the inside, they keep your hands really warm.

5) Favorite winter scent/candle?

Well, my favourite candle would be cinnamon or vanilla, but I love them the whole year and my real favourite winter scent is the scent of christmas tree / from fir branches. This is the ultimate christmas holiday scent!

6) Favorite Winter beverage?

I love to make my own Chai Tea Latte with cinnamon, nutmeg & ground cloves.

7) All time favorite Christmas/Holiday movie?

I have to favourite christmas movies: Love Actually is really sweet and great to get into christmas mood & The Polar Express is my favourite christmas move for the actual christmas eve.

8) Favorite Christmas/Holiday song? 

Oh, I love all christmas songs from Michael Bublé and the classics e.g. "Driving Home For Christmas" by Chris Rea or Robbie Williams did a great cover of "So This Is Christmas".

9) Favorite Holiday food/treat?

It is definitely the time of cinnamon and dark chocolate. I also love apples and have to say that my apple cranberry crisp was definitely a highlight this year. 

10) What is your favorite Christmas Decoration this year? 

As you have already seen in my latest Christmas Decoration Haul, I have purchased a beautiful golden sparkly deer and this is for me my favourite christmas decoration. It doesn't has to be always that sparkly, but deers are really sweet and does transfer a christmasy and calm atmosphere.

11) What's at the top of your Christmas list? 

Definitely my Yonanas ice cream / sorbet maker. It fascinates me that you can do a sorbet only out of frozen fruits within seconds.

12) What are your plans for the holidays this year? 
Our plan is really traditional. In Germany we get our present on christmas eve, so I am celebrating christmas eve with my closest family. The next day we are going to visit our grandparents and have a massive meal there and the day after that I am going to see my father and spend some with him.

So this was the Winterlicious Tag. I hope you liked this little Tag and are also a bit in christmas mood. Tell me whether you would like me to do a Tag focused on christmas?

Wish you a wonderful second advent! Love,

My Winter Beauty / Fashion / Lifestyle Essentials

Are you ready for winter? Well, I hope you are because it's starts to get freaking cold here and I kind of think that we have skipped the autumn in our region. For me, winter needs some special preparations and products, thus, today I want to show you my beauty / fashion / lifestyle essentials for winter that I really need during the winter.

Beauty
1. Tissues are an essential item in everyones handbag because when I go from the cold into the warm, my nose always starts running. And it's really impolite to snuffle all the time.
2. Hand cream is so important because of the cold weather and the dry heated air, my hands are getting so dry and rough. So I think, every one should have a little hand cream in its handbag too.
3. & 4. Because of the cold weather not only the skin is dry but also lips are chapped way much easier, so I have to have a really deep moisturizing lip balm and also a rich body butter.
5. Then I love to swap the scent from my body butter and shower gel to a more spicy, aromatic, maybe sweet and nutty scent. Or even invest in a really nice gel for beautiful foam bath.
6. You have to change your moisturizer to a richer one. Because of the wind, the cold temperatures, snow etc. your skin has to endure a lot more exertions and so it is important that you keep it well moisturized also because dry skin will cause wrinkles.

Fashion
7. Really warm boots that are giving your footbed enough support and have a good profile are essential.
8. During the winter I seriously can't live without warm socks. I just can't stand out house slippers so I have to wear my cozy, warm socks to feel comfortable at home.
9. That's quiet obvious, but in order to survive the winter everyone needs a proper scarf, some good handcuffs and, if you have a cap-face, a cool winter cap. You actually lose 10% of your body heat through your heat.
10. THE essential piece is a warm jacket. And I am not talking about a stylish, designer jacket made out of satin, no, we don't want to freeze and be sick during the whole winter, so invest in a good, warm jacket even though it is not the stylist version. Additionally, I also like to have a warmer indoor jacket like a fleece jacket where I can cuddle myself up.

Lifestyle
11. When it's getting darker outside and we are all staying more inside the house, I really enjoy lighting a candle while I am reading a book or actually writing blog posts.
12. Hot drinks are my life saver and my source of happiness during the whole winter season. I personally love to drink tea, but whether it is hot chocolate or a arm cup of coffee, I just love snuggle myself into the corner with a warm cup in my hand.
13. The best thing about winter and staying mostly at home is spending some evening night with your family watching christmas DVD or nice films in general.

All these aspects are on the one hand essential and necessary for my well-being and on the other hand just complete my christmasy winter feeling. I am really looking forward to coming into christmas mood and to experience the whole christmas spirit this year!

Wish you a wonderful day! Love,