Friendships

Last weekend two of the AuPairs I met in New Zealand came to stay at my place. It was kind of a spontaneous decision but one I wouldn't want to have missed. 

Both L. and D. arrived in NZ a little later than I did so we didn't spend a whole year there together. In fact we didn't even spend that much time together at all but somehow managed to like each other either way. L. and D. are incredibly beautiful human beings and I am not talking about looks (although they are quite beautiful in that department as well)

The three of us just seem to fit together even though we don't spend a lot of time together. In fact I hadn't seen either of them in two years, but when I heard they were coming to the south of Germany I immediately offered them a place to stay. Having them in my home just seemed like something that could be fun and as it turned out it was. 

Things like that make friendships special and they also are what I love about people you have real connections with. 

There will be people in your live that will make it really hard for you to truly connect with them. Even if you spend every waking minute with them. And then there are those who you just instantly seem to click with. And no matter how much time you spend apart you never loose that connection. 

These are the friends that you should keep. We spend far to much time running after people we want as friend then we do with friends who we are already pretty close with. I would rather have 10 of those then 100 people who it just takes o lot of energy to stay friends with. 

I know this sounds very easy but I just feel like we would be a lot happier if we got rid of people who just take energy.

Friendship is a two way street and I know that some of the people you don't really connect with put in an effort as well but evidently you will loose contact with them. It just takes to much effort.

And yes you should work on a friendship and never stop investing time but it has to be effortless on the most basic level. 

A friendship should never feel draining!

So L. and D. spend a weekend with me and I showed them around Munich for a bit and we had a great dinner at a Bavarian restaurant (I will blog about it tomorrow). 

And the thing that really showed me that this feelings about the friendship were mutual was not only the god conversations we had and the fun but also the fact that they left me a little note. 

When I made my bed after they had left I found a card underneath one of the pillows and I might have even shed a tear.

Those are the kind of friendships you want to keep. The ones that surprise you, challenge you and make you feel loved in the most simple ways.

x

J.

Musical Monday - New Zealand Edition

This week I ahve a little special. Two of the AuPair friends I made in New Zealand are currently staying at mine and I asked them about their favourite songs of all time.

So this weeks collection includes their songs and one of mine :)

I hope you can enjoy the slightly different taste in music :)

x

J.

Blogger Collab : Favourite Makeup

I have had this idea in my head for a while now and have finally managed to bring it to life.

I love makeup and all things beauty related and I always think it is nice to read reviews on products. The problem I have with that most of the time is that you only get one opinion. If you want another one on the same product you have to go looking for a while.

So I thought it would be kind of cool for you guys to get another opinion on the things I like.

In exchange I will be reviewing products from other bloggers.

A little blogger collab as you might say :)

This time I have sent a list of some of my favourites to a lovely blogger called Kris and in exchange got a small list of hers. 

We each chose 3 items of that list and tried them.

Kris recommended:

Nyx Butter Glosses

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

L'oreal True Match Lumi Foundation

I am an idiot who couldn't find the powder when I took the pictures. Please forgive me :D

And I have to say I quite liked all of the above. But was really blown away by the Nyx gloss. The texture is great and it is very long lasting. 

It also took me a lot of time to choose one gloss only from their gorgeous colours. I was surprised to see that the colour looked exactly like the bottle on my lips. I have various lip glosses that have a lot less colour payoff.

I will definitely going back for more butter glosses because one colour isn't nearly enough!

As for the Rimmel powder and the foundation I have to say I was very pleased with both. 

The only problem I had is that I am very fair-skinned and the lightest shade of the L'óreal foundation wasn't quite light enough. And due to me being allergic to sun I don't really tan either, so it wasn't a perfect match but I still loved the foundation. 

It is light on the skin and doesn't look like you are wearing a whole new face. It also blends well with concealer. However what I loved best about the foundation was, that you can wear it only on parts of your face as well. It works really well with even out your skin tone. Yesterday I only wore it around the nose to get rid of the redness I had there and you weren't able to tell that I was only wearing makeup there. 

I can really recommend this foundation.

The Rimmel stay matte powder is a great finish for your makeup. It doesn't dry out the makeup and keeps everything in place. There isn't that much more to say about it really :) 

To check out what Kris said about my products on her blog: http://bluefairiesworld.blogspot.de/

Also pay her Instagram a little visit :)

x

J.

I think I washed your clothes a bit too hot!

When my nan told me that, after she had washed most of the stuff I took home with me, I felt like dying.

I don't know about any of you, but when I go on a short trip I tend to pack all of my favourite things. Knowing that, my nan's call felt like the end of the world.

I have this weird things with clothes, where I try to wear my favourite pieces till they literally fall apart. 

So to think my nan had shrunk them all by two sizes was a nightmare. 

And also, I don't know any other nan's apart from mine, but nan's are aces at all things concerning households . I just couldn't believe that a beginners mistake like washing clothes too hot could ever be something my nan would do.

I went over to her place with shaky knees and hoped for the best. And turns out I didn't have anything to worry about.

as always my nan was just a bit confused by today's fashion choices. This had happened once before when she asked me and my sister why we were wearing ripped underwear and bought us a bunch of new ones. Turns out she thought thongs were not meant to look like that. Which is also the reason why she threw all our thongs away till we explained to her that they were perfectly fine the way they looked.

The confusion this time came from me finally investing some money in crop tops.

The poor woman was furios with herself for shrinking 4 of my tops. It took a lot of explaining on my part to get her to believe that she hadn't done anything wrong :)

I will admit it was hilarious :D

Now why am I telling you this, you might wonder.

I am telling you this little story so you can keep a look out for a post featuring some crop tops :)

I will now happily eat the pizza I just ordered and get back to work on my new blog design right afterwards :)

x

J.

Musical Monday

Music that gets me out of bed every morning!

I don't know what kind off alarm sound you have but I need a good song or it is very likely that my phone is getting thrown at the closest wall.

But not all songs make a good alarm sounds do they? Mine always need to be something I could just as easily be dancing to in front of a mirror. Or songs that are easy to sing along to and that I just love!

Here are some of my favourites :)

I tend to switch between the three so it doesn't get boring :)

x

J.

Awesome

Look what I found.

They are brilliant!

Rarely seen such an amazing X Factor audition!

x

J.

One's Value

- Your Value Doesn't Decrease Based On Someones Inability To See Your Worth - 

I feel like this little quote speaks to me, like it was made just for me. Until I realized that I am not the only person who puts themselves down based on other people's opinions.

Just recently I had to learn this again, not every decision another person makes is necessarily a reaction to something you have done.

Not everything that goes on around you has something to do with you.

It is not easy to accept the fact that sometimes we just don't get along with people. Or that friends change and we have to let them go because we don't get along anymore. 

It's never easy to loose someone but that doesn't mean it is always our fault.

My value doesn't decrease just because someone can't appreciate me as a person. I am still worth so much. We just have to let go of the idea that we are defined by what other people think. 

What does it say about our favourite pair of jeans when someone says they don't like them? Nothing is what it say. They are still our favourite pair of jeans it just means that the other person doesn't like them.

Which is absolutely fine, I mean how boring would it be if we all bought the same clothes.

And yet somehow we question ourselves the next time we pick this particular pair of jeans.

Do they really look good or are we the only ones with that opinion? Maybe everyone else thinks like that one person who said they hate them.

We suddenly feel like our own opinion isn't good enough. We start questioning our every decision just because one person didn't like a pair of jeans. 

But our value doesn't decrease just because someone isn't able to recognize it.

We are perfect just the way we are. And if we don't get along with everyone that isn't a problem. That shouldn't put us down. 

Sometimes it is best to just not give a f*** about what other people say.

x

J.

Hiatus

It is Tuesday and I am blogging something must be wrong.

You wouldn't be completely wrong there, but things are starting to get better again.

As you may have noticed, well I hope you did anyway, I was away for a bit and neglected this blog. I took a little hiatus without telling you guys.

I realize that may have not been the best move but I just really needed some time to myself.

Over the past 2 weeks I have hardly felt like myself. I needed to take some time away from everything and just learn to breathe again. 

I felt like being cut into pieces and than have all these pieces cast in the wind.

I had to collect myself and heal. So I took a couple of days away from everything and went home to recharge. Get some family love and just let my family take care of me for a bit.

It definitely was exactly what I needed and now I feel like I can start over again. 

I am still not fully over being hurt and it will continue hurting for quite some time but at least I feel like there is and end to this.

As opposed to last week where I thought it was going to swallow me whole. 

Everyone handles being hurt differently and I tend to crawl into myself for comfort. At least for a couple of days until I feel like taking on the outside world isn't going to make it worse.

Some people surround themselves with loved ones but I can't do that. Not in the first couple of days anyway. At the beginning I just need to be left alone to figure out my own mind.

During that time I usually take to myself I kept blogging, which looking back at it probably wasn't the best idea, but I just needed to keep doing something. 

Only eating greasy food and loads of sweets wasn't doing it for me anymore, but blogging didn't help either. It might have even made it worse because I wasn't saying what I wanted to say and just trying to keep up appearances. 

So the break I eventually had to take to get back on my feet came a week later and without warning. 

Sorry to all of you for probably coming back more than once and not finding anything new.

But also I want to thank you for still coming back, it means a lot :)

From now on there will be no more moping and self pity but happy thought, at least that's the plan :D

Thanks for you patience and understanding :)

x

J.

Zoeva Brushes and Nail Polishes

Over the last couple of months I have been investing money in some quality makeup since my skin has become a bit difficult with certain products.

In addition to quality makeup I thought it was time to get myself some proper brushes. I thought my makeup was finally deserving of good brushes. Great excuse there :D

After having owned a fair view cheap brushes I was wary of just going for the least expensive option and actually started looking for quality brushes.

I know there is always the option of going Real Techniques and don't get me wrong I love their brushes and have a fair view but they are just really hard to get here in Germany. Which sucks, since when you actually get them they are quite a bit more expensive then they would be in the UK.

So I have been looking for brushes that were easily available and had the same quality as Real Techniques brushes.

I did my research and came across Zoeva.  They don't only do brushes but also various different makeup things.

I had only read about there brushes, but after being very satisfied with those I am more than willing to give their other products a go.

Maybe next month :)

The Zoeva brushes vary between natural-synthetic hair mix and synthetic hair. They are super soft and makeup appliance is perfect. Especially with eyeshadow the Zoeva brushes do a great job at blending and applying it. They do pick up the product perfectly and you get a great outcome.

And they ship worldwide: Wehe!!! :D

142 - concealer buffer

106 - powder

128 - cream cheek

I do have more but those are the clean new ones that I just got.

On to nail polishes shall we?

So besides buying new brushes I have also rediscovered my love for nail polish. I didn't use it that often over the last 2 years, so I had to throw away most of my older ones. This was a great opportunity to by new shades and obviously also get some that were a bit more grown up. The ones I had before were a bit crazy and just nothing I would wear now.

I have really gotten into nudes, creamy shades and light pinks recently, not only nail polish wise but also clothes and accessories wise.

It shouldn't come as a surprise than that my nail polishes that I got fit that theme :)

Dior - Muguet 108

L'Oréal - Boudoir Rose 204

Artdeco - 610

I bought the Artdeco and the Dior nail polish almost in the same shade since I wanted to see how much different they were because of their price.  Eventually telling me if it was worth investing a bit more money in viewer shades or just buy a wide range of shades of cheaper polishes. 

I am still wearing the Dior one, which I love by the way. And you only need 2 coats which is great because I am lazy with applying nail polish and waiting till it is dry :D So yeah! 

As soon as I know which one I like better I will let you know :)

But I think all of these colours are great for summer if you want to keep your nail polish quite simple. I do occasionally like a strong red on my nails but I always feel like that limits my choice of outfit. Maybe that is just me! I feel like especially the Dior and Artdeco nail polish can be worn with almost everything. They even work quite well with a lovely dress for a garden party or you could wear them for a festival, I don't think they really limit your choices. 

x

J.

Musical Monday

As promised no Ed Sheeran today :)

Any my newly discovered favourites: Sigma

Enjoy

x

J.

'Goodbye'

It is like a cool summer breeze on overheated skin.

A moment when fire turns to ash!

This light touch left on me that felt heavy in my heart.

Nothing stayed pristine.

In the end all it will ever be,

is the brush of your finger as you said Goodbye

and all that is left are empty spaces, in my life, my home and my heart.

The aftertaste of a Goodbye is the worst to get rid of. It's a warm brown sugar that melts softly into brine.  - 'What Goodybye means' Shinji Moon

This is not me saying goodbye to this blog

 but me saying goodbye to a part of my life that is over now.
Sometimes things end without us realizing they will. And we get surprised by it and feel like somethings is missing for quite some time. These things happen and most of the time it is just easier to actually say goodbye. Say it out loud so you can believe that it is over and not coming back.
It doesn't mean the hurt will stop right away and it doesn't mean that you will miss it any less but it is a start. It is you accepting that it is over and that always brings you to a point where you can start moving forward.

Tomorrow will be less melancholic I promise :)

Have a good start into your week! And maybe I will turn the first bit into a full poem at some point, we will see.

x

J.

Cotidiano

A little while back I stayed over at my cousins place in Munich.  In the morning, we were to lazy to make anything, so we decided to go out for breakfast. We didn't exactly know where we should go so we just ventured about till we stumbled upon this lovely little place called Cotidiano. 

Neither of us had ever been there before but it looked good and they had a sign that said: All day breakfast. You can never go wrong with that, can you?

The place itself is furnished with only wooden tables, chairs and has shelves filled with homemade jam and other delicious things.

It has big windows which let in a lot of light and it gives the restaurant quite a warm feeling. It's a very comfortable place.

It took us quite some time to figure out what we wanted to have, since you could combine all sorts of breakfast-y stuff or order a whole breakfast. 

In the end we decided to order one of the smaller breakfasts and just add some little bits and pieces from the menu. 

If you know me, which you do if you read this blog, than you will know that a picture of me isn't complete without pulling a face. As you can see my cousin is the same, must run in the family after all. 

For drinks we both got something called hugo but without alcohol. It essentially is sparkling water with elder syrup, mint and limes. It is very refreshing and since it was a really hot day it was the perfect way to start our breakfast.

And after taking forever to decide we finally managed to find the perfect breakfast for us.

My cousin got a bircher muesli with fruit bread and a almond croissant.

 I settled for egg with tomatoes and granola with berries and yogurt.

At Cotadiano all the bread that you get is homemade and there is a jar of homemade jam on every table.

And the food is absolutely delicious.

So if you are ever in need of a place for breakfast, Cotadiano would be my recommendation!

I swear it was heavenly, I have no idea why she looks so grumpy :D

x

J.

Why don't you drink?

That is a question I get asked on a regular basis and it is not like it bothers me to be asked about it, it's what comes after that gets annoying.

Almost 4 years ago now, I decided that after I had tried everything there was to try alcohol wise that I would stop consuming it altogether. 

I had been tipsy, I had been drunk of my ass, and puked my guts out to a point where I was afraid of eating the whole day after wards. I was pretty sure there was nothing left for me to experience with alcohol that could convince me to keep drinking. 

To be fair alcohol never did anything for me. I have always hated that state of mind you get into where your speech slowly starts to slur together and you have to start thinking about walking. 

That state kind of freaks me out. It is a loss of control that I don't like.

I am in no way a control freak but I like knowing what is going on. I like to be in control of my body, which I guess is also the reason for me not smoking, taking drugs or drinking coffee. All three of these things as well as drinking are addictive. Some more than others, but being addicted to something for me means handing over control to that thing that you are addicted to. 

And never did I ever want to be controlled by a substance. 

Having said that I still felt like I should at least try all of the above so I wasn't just judging things I had no idea about. 

So yes: I have had a drag of a cigarette, I have eaten hash browns and I have been drunk. All of these just once so I could be able to say I honestly didn't like it.

And I didn't. In fact I hated it.

So I am proud to say that I don't drink and most people are absolutely cool with it, some even go as far as saying it's impressive how 'clean' I live. 

I have made this decision for myself and I couldn't be happier with it, that is why I hate people who belittle me for it.

Occasionally I will meet someone new and they will offer to buy me a drink and I will have to refuse and say they can buy me a coke instead. That will than mostly end in me explaining why I don't drink and yes I have been asked if I was pregnant before. No I am not, just to clarify! :D

And after telling why I don't drink there are these people who will say: Oh that sucks. So you can't even have a beer. 

I mean what part of: I don't drink was so hard to understand? Also they make it sound like someone forbade me to drink, like I was some sort of victim.

No I made that choice out of my own free will and I don't need people telling me that it sucks. 

Sorry but being drunk every weekend and making a fool out of myself isn't my thing. 

I guess there will always be people with an opinion very different to yours but why can't we just let them be?

Why am I being talked into drinking with people, why do people see me not drinking as a challenge? 

It is not! I am not seeking attention with this, it is just something I decided I didn't want for myself.

And people should respect that.

If you are convinced that what you are doing is something you are absolutely sure of than don't let people tell you otherwise. They have no right to criticize your choices or to try and trick you into abandoning them. 

I guess what I am trying to say is: Be strong in your beliefs and don't let people's opinions shake your conviction!

x

J. 

Summer Dresses

I was short on summer dresses so what better place to restock than an asos sale? So I got my computer out and started my shopping madness. I got all of the stuff I have ordered yesterday but I will only keep three of the dresses I bought.

So without further ado:

Since I thought it might be nice to see what kind of make-up I would wear with the dresses I put that up as well :)

1. Outfit:

dress - asos

shoes - h&m

foundation - clinique (even better SPF 15, 24)

mascara - Maybeline (Big Eyes Rebel Black)

kajal - Manhatten ( Khol Kajal Eyeliner, cha cha choco 96W)

nail polish - Natio (Berry You)

lipstick - P2 (pure color, 090 red square)

blush - nutrimetics

perfume - Christina Aguilera

2. Outfit:

dress - asos

shoes - just fab

nail polish - Manhatten (Collection)

perfume - Parada Candy

palette - Real Techniques Modern Natural Make-up Kit

mascara, kajal and foundation: see above

3. Outfit:

back

dress - asos

shoes - h&m

flower crown - cotton on

lipstick - Revlon (colorburst lip butter, 090 sweet tart) 

eye shadow - Urban Decay (Naked 3)

nail polish - Scotch (natural, atholl brose)

mascara, kajal and foundation: see above

All of these outfits are extremely me and I am really happy with the purchase. I have already worn the dress with the ladybugs and hearts and managed to stain it as well :D All the dresses are fairly short but they are supposed to be worn when it is hot out so I am not complaining. I especially love the fabric of the pink-is dress and the flower cut out around the waist accentuates it perfectly.

And if you feel like buying a new dress yourself, head over to asos their sale is still on!

x

J.