Musik für Mittwoch

Selah Sue // Mommy

My dear friend Courtney sent me a link to a Selah Sue song ages ago, but it wasn't until this week that I really got around to listening to her music.  To be honest I don't even know how to describe her sound, but I like it.... and this song especially.  Happy Wednesday to all of you :)

and the bride wore valentino

Cruising pinterest the other day, I literally squealed when I saw the top right image.  "Is she wearing polka dots on her wedding day?!?!?!?"  (I really wanted to, but then that Monique Lhullier magically fell into my lap and I couldn't say no, so I instead I rocked the polka dots to our wedding clambake)  After a second click I realized that homegirl was wearing the Valentino dress I had lusted after for a greater part of last year, and while they are technically not polka dots, they look that way from a distance.  SO chic and unique, and the rest of their Italian celebration looks equally as fabulous, check it out here.

Photos by Bayly & Moore

christmas in germany

First of all, thank you all so much for your lovely comments on last week's post.  It means the world to me to have such lovely blog friends, your notes brought some light to what was otherwise a pretty dark week.  I am flying back to the states next week to spend some precious time with my friends and family and I feel incredibly blessed to be able to do so.  We are trying hard to stay positive and hopeful, but sometimes life just feels terribly unfair.

Here are a few random snaps from our Christmas celebration with my parents which I never got around to posting, and what better time to share them than the end of January? It was wonderful to have them here for the holidays, but it was hard to be without my brother, his fiancé and my uncle, who we always spend Christmas with, fortunately skype helped make the distance a little easier :)  I wish I had a picture of our very first Christmas tree- it was a whopping 3 feet tall!  It was really fun to decorate, I raided some of my mama's stash of ornaments last Christmas and finally got to put our Christmas pickle on a tree.  Have you heard the story of the German Christmas Pickle?  Apparently it is not a German tradition at all, but it was a gift and as I really love pickles it is quite fitting to have a pickle ornament on our tree :)  Cinnamon rolls are a Christmas morning tradition in our family and I think after 10+ years I have perfected my recipe.  They were pretty amazing if I do say so myself, and just looking at the picture makes me hungry.

I hope all of you had a nice weekend, I am back in Berlin and after a crazy month of commuting for work I am really happy to be back sleeping in my own bed and spending time with Andreas, being without him last week made it EXTRA hard.  Thank goodness for husbands :)

disappearing act

Normally I try to keep my little piece of the internet a happy place, but I can't lie- this week has been really rough.  My greatest fear in life is that something bad could happen to the people that I love.  I know it is terribly naive to live my life under the impression that those I love are surrounded by some sort of bubble, but so far in my 27 years I have been very blessed.  And then suddenly, the words "stage IV cancer" came to describe someone I love more than words, and I am slowly digesting everything these 3 words mean.  The perspective on life which I thought I had has suddenly been turned upside down and inside out.  I just wanted to say that I am sorry for leaving the blog quiet lately, I promise to be back next week blogging happier things.
Thank you as always for reading and all the support you have shown me- you really are the best.

xox
a

iphone photo as we drove through ultra foggy luxembourg

road trip to Luxembourg

When my dad told me he had business meetings in Luxembourg during their time here in Europe I quickly figured out a way to join him, because: a) I have never been to Luxembourg and even though I knew next-to-nothing about the tiny country it sounded interesting and b) I love road trips and find any and every excuse to see more of Europe.
My mama, Andreas and me drove to meet up with my dad after his business meetings and of course since I took the day off from work to explore the city, it was nasty, cold and rainy, but we still had fun despite the weather.  Apparently Luxembourg City has the world's largest crèche but we instead decided to spend our afternoon huddling by the outdoor heaters drinking glühwein and eating crepes at the Christmas Market.  Our our way back home, we drove to the little village where my dad lived back in the 60's near the Luxembourg/German border outside of Bitburg.  The house he lived in for three years was still there and it was great fun to hear about how much had changed and his adventures learning German at the local pub.  He is convinced the German language is really not that easy to learn... and I am convinced he is crazy.
I found the mix of languages in Luxembourg fascinating-  I heard and saw a mix of French, German and English as well as Luxembourgish which seemed to be a comboination of Dutch and German.  It was a trip hearing so many different languages being spoken, I am always amazed by people who can effortlessly switch between multiple languages in a conversation.  For now I am just trying to speak two... and that is hard enough for me :(  One not so good thing I have noticed living abroad?   I see my English skills (esp. my grammar) are slowly getting worse, which is terrifying (and embarrassing).  Does anyone else have that problem from speaking with mostly non-native English speakers?  Surely no one's fault but my own, but just another reason why I would need to (& would like to) speak more german!

our wedding on style me pretty

We feel super honored to have our wedding featured on style me pretty yesterday.  Surely I will never get sick of looking at these photos, we were lucky to have such incredible photographers to capture our weekend.  They posted lots of images on style me pretty which I didn't include here on the blog :)  If you are interested, you can check out the post here.

2011 in photos

I am posting this about a week late, but I had a great time looking through photos from the last year and thought I would share them.  Be warned, this is a very photo-heavy post.  Although I am sure you are probably used to them around here :)

We rang in 2011 with Travis Jay and Randall eating WAY too much delicious food and champagne in Santa Barbara.  Intimate New Year's celebrations are my absolute fave.

We gave Andreas a proper (and very short) tour of Los Angeles

sent out our save the dates

traveled to Berlin to photograph a story for Matchbook Magazine's second issue

celebrated Andreas's 29th birthday in Karlsruhe watching fußball

had lazy afternoons by the river in Strasbourg

took lots and lots of bike rides

sold my car and bought a VESPA!

 went to Messdi and drank some schnapps

 visited Istanbul and fell in love with the city (again) and wrote a travel story for Matchbook Magazine

we spent our summer exploring new lakes and appreciating our gorgeous region

went to Paris to celebrate Nica & Didier's wedding

went to Santa Barbara to celebrate Travis and Randall's wedding.  this was right before I gave my maid of honor speech.... on a stage in front of 150 people.  so so nervous.

I photographed my dear friend Kala's new baby, Elaia.  She was one week old :)

my girlfriends in San Francisco surprised me with a bachelorette party on a boat!

 

we fell head over heels for Emmy Lou

 watched the Giants crush the Dodgers

enjoyed the glory of summer in the Black Forest.  Late evening swims with our niece and nephew

went to the Titisee for my birthday

we got MARRIED!

explored Provincetown

relished in newlywed bliss

made our annual Faux-giving

freezed in Munich visiting Mary for her birthday.

celebrated our first Christmas together in Germany.  and then moved across the country.

all in all, 2011 was pretty amazing... but I think 2012 might be even better :)

Hope 2012 is off to a great start for you too!