| I've moved! |
[22 Mar 2008|07:02am] |
A while ago, actually.
If you want to, you can now find me here:
http://litchi7.blogspot.com/
Hope to see you there! Anke.
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| happy new year! |
[01 Jan 2007|12:12pm] |
Okay, I missed blog christmas... But I wish all of you the best and happiest new year 2007!!!
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| don't panic |
[13 Sep 2006|09:15pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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 sneezy |
] |
(Here is a picture of the veil thing I made for Pamelas wedding...not to show of, but because all the pictures of the receiption are on my brothers teeny tiny snapshot camera. It is actually very similar to the one I made for my own wedding. The fabric flowers were 'left overs' from here dress and I was asked to incorporate them into the design.)
Ah...were shall I start? This wedding should be made into a movie!
- three weeks ago my friend couldn't get hold of her wedding planner (he is actually more of a guy that can get you interesting locations for all kinds of occasions and then does the music, catering etc. as well...or...em...not...). After 100 phone calls, email etc. they finally reached him and he said that he is super busy and everything is under control. and didn't she get his email??? Hm...
- a week before the wedding the gospel singers canceled...
- and: they were unable to reach the wedding planner again...my friends fiance finally got hold of him because he was stalking his house...and met another man who was trying to do the same...and...it was the first time he admitted that ther 'might be some problems'...
- four days before the wedding...my brother googled the wedding planners name and found a post in a forum (posted the day before) that warned people to work with this particular wedding planner because he ruined wedding receptions and parties before (personell not showing because they weren't paid, even so the clients - like my friends - paid everything in advance; bad food, etc.) plus it said that he had a criminal record and the police is after him
- at the same time the guy finally admitted that he was totally broke and would not be able to deliver what he promised. My friends then called every caterer in town, called the lady that owned the location (who let them hold the reception there even so the guy already owed her 4000 Euro), the man that supplied the tableware, flowers, the boat, the band...you name it. They more or less had to pay everything again.
- the day before (my train was more than two hours late and my husband forgot his ticket at home...but those were just minor details)... the day of the wedding actually - it was not clear if we would have tables or chairs. While I helped the bride getting ready for church another friend kept me up to date on the mobile ("No food yet. Oh, and they confiscated the tables...good news is there are other ones, but now we have to change the seating plan...I haven't seen the chairs yet...do we have chairs???")
- the day of the wedding they closed off the street from the hotel to the church for an iron man competion...
I don't know. There was so much more. Nothing was going according to plan. I can't even remember all the details because at some point you just have to laugh it is so surreal.
But you know what? Everything went fine in the end...more or less. Friends were helping out everywhere and with everything. The priest more than made up for the missing gospel singers...if there is justice he will be reborn as a Las Vegas showgirl (my husband said:"At one point I was afraid he might stagedive from the altar!") and almost got standing ovations. The only thing that made the bride cry was when the grooms relatives (strange strange people, even so he is supernice and polite) and some of his friends were so rude to the dj (a friend of a friend who took the job at the last minute out of the goodness of his heart) that he left the reception in a haste and almost reduced to tears. After that a friend of the groom took over (with the help of a laptop) and played really really bad party music. That was too much for my friend who wrote down a long list of what not to play...this seems a small reason to start crying, but I guess it was the nerves from the days before.
In all, it was a stressful but wonderful wedding. Definitely one that people will remember!
I'm sure there are is a lot of misspelling in this post, but I'm just too tired to deal with it right now...I got a busy day again tomorrow but will try to get back to answer your comments on the last post (and this one?) as soon as I can.
It seems I have so much to show and tell but I just don't know what comes first. Now that autumn is here and we are not travelling so much anymore i can finally concentrate on blogging (and reading/commenting on blogs) again. Last week I woke up and really had to think about where I was...
Ah...and the big news (don't be too dissapointed): I'll be moving my blog! Which hopefully means: more pictures, links to friends pages, etc. More updates... And if I could have added vanilla scent to the site as well, believe me, I would have. :)
Good night for now and sweet dreams...
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| WEDDING DILEMMA |
[07 Sep 2006|09:56am] |
Another month, another excuse...but this time it's a really good one.
After our holiday in Sweden, the hens night camping weekend and Helens christening I thought I finally would have the time to write a long post and show off some of the gazillion pictures I took.
But get this - my friends wedding planner (the wedding is Saturday...) is bankrupt and wanted by the police! It's like in a really bad movie. We are all trying to sort this mess out until Saturday, or about 80 people will not get anything to eat or drink, no chairs, tables, plates...and all that after it took them about a year to plan the whole thing...not to mention he got a lot of money from my friend to pay the caterers which is lost forever. And - the wedding planner told her that he has a feeling that either the police or a raging former customer will crash the reception. Can you imagine?
Oh - and yesterday morning when I was sitting in the kitchen somebody tried to break into our appartment! I'm not kidding. I heard him fumbling with the lock and ran to the door and he took off...
Okay. If anybody is still reading this blog, I'll tell you how the impromptu reception was next week...I'm very curious myself.
Have a great weekend!
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| ...as always... |
[01 Aug 2006|11:12pm] |
...I left this to the last minute...packing is always the worst part of travelling...here is a little hint where we are going...if you have kids (and even if you don't) you should try to get these...they are truely magical, some of my all time favourites. We won't have internet or even a phone (but hopefully the mobile will work in case of an emergency)...
I'll be back next week after some 'summer hibernation' (sorry, but 37 degrees for over four weeks killed any notion to blog) and the 'big' surprise...no no, don't expect too much, it's not that interesting...I don't want you to be disappointed (and no, I'm not pregnant!) :)))))
See you next week and everything will be muuuuuch better then!
mlesnapshot - you can order the ipod baby tee here. :)
Moki - I think I know what you think it is...but it's not...yet...! Not without you anyway! ;)
My favourite Lisas:
Lisa/sparrow - I would never do anything without telling you too!!! I'll write you an email next week, okay? xxxooo
Lisa/dressform - the yellow eagle has taken off! The yellow eagle has taken off!!!! ;))) xxxooo
With much love, hej då!
Anke.
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| ...not gone away again... |
[18 Jul 2006|05:59pm] |
...I'm just preparing something some of you have already found out about...duh...well, but not quite. ;)
So again I try to entertain you with the latest photo of helenPod:
Finally she is big enough to wear the iPod shirt we got for her when she was born. Her mother just regrets that it doesn't come with a mute button... :)
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| Italy deserved to win... |
[05 Jul 2006|10:08am] |
...as sad as it is, but it's true. Congratulations! :)
(And hey - most of us were sure the German team wouldn't even get this far...they did a fine fine job.)
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| I didn't want to... |
[30 Jun 2006|07:49pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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 ecstatic |
] |
...get sucked into the whole soccer World Cup craziness...
...until I made the mistake of turning on the tv to see the quarterfinals Germany vs Argentina...
...I wasn't really going to watch, just you know, wanted to see how it's going...
...I even went to the supermarket during the match (which was totally deserted, I actually expected tumbleweed rolling through the aisles)...
...but I was glued to the screen when I came back...
...the score after extra time was 1-1...
...the suspence was killing me, I ate a whole batch of tiny chocolate chip cookies...
...followed by half a bag of miniature carrots (to even out the cookie binge)...
...and then some more...
...carrots...
...'cause the cookies were all gone...
...eating/watching standing up...
...good thing I skipped lunch today...
...very exited...
...almost choked on a carrot...
...as my husband said...I'm my mothers daughter after all...
...and...
...they did it!!!
...they won 5-3 following a penalty shootout!!!!!
...and I am the first to admit that I was very wrong about our German team...they are really doing well...playing fair, which makes me proud...
...people are going crazy outside now (in a good way I hope)...
...I dare not think how many cookies aehm...carrots I will need for the semi-finals...
...the occasion might call for some "Little Balls" (and cola/beer)...
...but I don't eat meat...
(...am feeling slightly nauseous now...)
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| we have a secret lodger... |
[30 Jun 2006|11:31am] |
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mood |
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 amused |
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 (Hiding somewhere... Wait a second...did that lantana blossom just chirp?)
I just caught a great tit (I double checked that the German word 'Kohlmeise' is indeed 'great tit' in English!!!! Seriously...isn't that term a bit confusing??? As in "I have some great tits I want to show you..."?) in our lounge/kitchen. Well, I didn't really catch it since she seemed to know her way around pretty well. She didn't get exited when she saw me, she just hoped on the windowsill and slipped through the window crack. Pretty cool bird (and very cute and tiny too). I'm sure it's the same birdy that tries do hop on our table whenever we eat outside on the balcony. No matter how often we shoo her away, she keeps coming back. I was joking that she is probably disguising herself with some kind of big blossom on her head and sitting in the flowerbox keeping us under surveillance 24/7 where we can't see her. A little James Bond bird. I was actually wondering a couple of days ago if that was purple bird poo on the lounge floor... but until today had no proof that she really comes and goes inside as she pleases. When I spoke to my husband on the phone he said "I didn't want to tell you because I thought you might freak (I'm always afraid when birds get inside they panic and break their necks flying into a window screen), but I saw her too. A couple of days ago she was sitting among the bottles on the liquor cabinet."
So she is more like a 'Schnapsdrossel' (the German word for 'boozehound' which actually refers to a bird)...can birds be alcoholics? Coming to think of it, we had wine with our meal on the balcony...
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| test, test... |
[29 Jun 2006|11:24am] |
...it works!
Thanks everyone for telling me how to post photos using flickr (it was so easy, I'm a little embarrassed now)...your reward is this hilarious picture of Helen relaxing by the pool... ;)
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| just a little reminder to myself that this used to be a craft related blog... |
[21 Jun 2006|09:55am] |
...until I find out (or maybe someone will take pity on me and just tell me) how to blog multiple photos in one post using flickr. I have swap packages to show you! :)
When I moved in with my husband three years ago I almost totally surrendered to the 60s/70s style that is so popular here in Berlin. I've grown a bit tired of that lately, so I'm going back to my roots...I used to have a really girly appartment. So I dug out some of my 'shabby chic' accessories and am slowly but surely transforming our space. I don't want it to be too girly this time, but nice and cozy (my husband got odd looks from his buddies when they saw the flower lighting chain in the hallway).
I got this tray on ebay a couple of months ago (an absolute 1 Euro bargain) and gave it a makeover.
If you want to make your own, be sure to protect the wicker frame with tape before starting to paint. I used a color copy as decal (you can find similar ones for free here) and attached it with modpodge. To seal use several coats of clear matte varnish, spray the wicker frame too.
Ready for tea and scones. :)
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| the cola and beer thing |
[21 Jun 2006|08:51am] |
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mood |
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 geeky |
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When I wrote in my previous post that Kathrin outed us as Germans by ordering coke mixed with beer I got an outraged comment from piepsi, saying that she would never ever drink that. Well, neither would I. But I'm not a beer fan to begin with. In fact, I find it puzzling too...
The whole thing started when Kathrin invited about 30 of her English friends to join her for her thirtieth birthday in Berlin. Since she works in London in a law firm 24/7, her friends here helped to organize it. My husband booked a restaurant, I found an English pub where the boys could watch the FA Cup and another friend researched bars and clubs. Then Kathrin said: 'You know, there is one other thing...you have to order cola and beer at the party when the English are watching you..." "?????????" "Aehm...they gave me a hard time when I ordered it in London so I said all Germans drink it." "?!?!?!"
We don't really. I mean some do, or they wouldn't make this stuff.
So imagine my surprise when we were at a pub in London and Kathrin ordered her drink "I know this might sound weird...but could I have a Stella mixed with cola?" "That's not weird at all - a lot of Germans drink that!" And Kathrin - even according to native speakers - doesn't even have a German accent.
This whole thing reminds me of the Seinfeld episode in which Mr. Pitt starts eating his Mars bar with knife and fork and suddenly everybody around town does it too. :)
And if you had a chance to catch the World Cup opening gala...Lederhosen and Dirndl are not everyday German attire either...nor is waving 40-pound cowbells a popular sport. Just in case you were wondering...
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| More London |
[18 Jun 2006|01:00pm] |
Ah...bliss...finally! It seems Mads brought the rain with him and I'm eternally grateful. It's still sunny but not brain scorchingly (is that even a word?) hot anymore. When you are on the top floor and can't open the windows because they are still trying to remove the roofing cardboard with giant torches on the house on the other side of the street you are grateful when it's not 34 degrees outside.
London: I forgot to tell you that we had a great time watching the England vs. Paraguay game in a pub. Kathrin outed us as Germans when she ordered beer mixed with coke, other that that it was great fun. :)
I also got a chance to browse some book shops. I love book shops... Especially the big ones. And in summer. They are airconditioned and mostly very quiet, so I usually go there to get a little rest. And it gives me the chance to look inside the English books on my amazon wish list before I actually order them. So I crossed some books off my list since they where not what I had hoped, but added about 15 new ones, like:
- Creating Vintage Style by Lucinda Ganderton
- Purestyle by Jane Cumberbatch
- Flea Market Style by Emily Chalmers
- Style on a Budget by Emily Chalmers
and I bought this one on the spot: Real Simple: The Organized Home. I loved the Real Simple magazine website before it was accessible for subscribers only.
And why the knobs you ask? I was looking for nice towel hooks for a while now. I couldn't find any, so I decided to go with porcelain furniture knobs instead. I planned to order them online when we got home, but stumbled over them in London while I was checking out the Zara Home store. Beautiful stuff!!! And very very affordable (the knobs where 90p a piece while I would have paid at least 5 Euro online). Too bad we only have the Zara clothing stores in Germany.
There are a few more London pictures on flickr, though probably not very interesting ones and of bad quality (I took my small old camera instead of my new heavy one).
That's about it...it was hot, we took things slow and were mostly lazing about...just like at home. ;)
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| Stine has a little brother |
[18 Jun 2006|11:35am] |
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mood |
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 excited |
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Most important news of the week: On friday morning my friend Solveig gave birth to her second child, Mads Henrik. Congratulations!!!!
He was originally scheduled for the 6th of June...you know...6/6/06... "Damien" and "Omen" jokes were not well received as you can imagine. ;)
We saw some pictures and he has the cutest chubbiest cheeks - well, he had plenty of time growing them!
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| London is hot... |
[14 Jun 2006|07:55pm] |
...and so is Berlin...oh my, the heat seems to melt my brain...
I took this picture on Saturday after my husband, Kathrin and I saw Jeremy Irons in the play "Embers". Very good, but the book might be even better. It's supposedly a two-man (and an old nanny)-play, but Irons was more or less giving a monologe while Patrick Malahide kept nodding his head on cue (but that he did brilliantly). We were walking from St Martin's Lane past Trafalgar Square, Houses of Parliament etc. to Victoria Station and I couldn't stop thinking how beautiful this city is. Especially at night. So much history.
The weather was fabulous but really really hot. You see so much but still there is so much left you haven't seen. My husband has vowed that this was his last time though...it's much too crowded for his taste.
Now we are back and all the things I wanted to tell you about just vanished from my brain...it's over 32 degrees today and I had to protect some of my plants from scorching by putting up a my little paper parasol...so more tomorrow...weird...now that I actually have a lot to write about, my head is too mushy to do it...
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| world cup madness |
[09 Jun 2006|04:43pm] |
Look what I bought for my husband yesterday! (Somehow that didn't come out right...) I think the name of the product is very very funny, especially with the macho goal keeper in the background. But that might be just little old immature me (Or as my mother remarked while reading the movie title "13 going on 30": 'Look honey, they finally made your life into a movie!' Thanks, Mami.) I'm sure this product won't be well received in English speaking countries... I wonder if it qualifies for Engrish.com.
Anyway...Berlin is ready for the World Cup... every café and restaurant in our neighbourhood has dragged out even the tiniest and oldest tvs so your can sit outside and watch Germany lose...aehm...and watch the games. And the English expression 'public viewing' (meaning watching football/soccer with gazillions of people on a giant screen in a stadium or a tiny tv in front of the small Italian place around the corner) was added to the German vocabulary.
I found some funny articles (in English) about Germany and Germans, ...this one about German frankness made me laugh out loud as did the piece about German flirting.
Good thing we are leaving for a long weekend... It's my husbands birthday and we are visiting Kathrin in London. (Yes, again...yay! It's nice to live in Europe and to have friends in different countries!) My husband warned me not to take to much clothing... I'm a lazy dresser, but I do like fresh underwear every day... I wish I would pay better attention to the "Pack 5 pieces of clothing - create 30 different outfits!" magazine articles...you know, the ones where your jacket doubles as skirt and by simply attaching a shoelace to a handkerchief you create a sexy top...
Have a wonderful weekend! (...while I figure out how to fold a spiffy hat out of my underpants.)
P.S.: It feels good to be back. Thanks everyone for your sweet comments yesterday.
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| builders, balls, blogs, breaks and being nice |
[08 Jun 2006|08:41am] |
This morning, when I opened the second blind of our bedroom windows and a whole crew of builders waved back at me I knew it was a good day to get back to blogging...
We live on the 5th/top floor so having people looking at us while we get dressed is highly unlikely, but they are fixing the roofs on the other side of the street... You see...every morning we open one blind first to see what the weather is like, walk around in our pyjamas, have coffee, take a shower, get dressed and THEN we open the second blind...who knows how much they saw today...eek!
And it's only one day left to the Soccer/Football World Cup in Germany, so I had to hurry...I can't tell you how happy I will be when this is over! For months now the whole country is going crazy and I think tampon commercials are the only ones without 'funny' football/soccer puns or a football/soccerball jumping somewhere in the background (even so the female German national team is better than its male counterpart...ha!). My mother (!) and my husband (he even got pay tv for that purpose) love watching soccer, my father and I are not really enthusiastic...we even thought about my mother moving in with my husband and me with my dad until this is over, but I guess we just have to grin and bear it.
So...
I'm sorry my break took so long. I didn't intend to leave for such a long time. I didn't really intend to take a break at all coming to think of it. It just happened. But there were several things that made me question the whole concept...
At first I was too busy even to read other blogs or take a look at everybodys flickr pics. After I stopped working I was busy fixing up the appartment (I still am). I thought about blogging but some personal issues made everything seem too shallow to write about. And then there were some incidents that almost turned me off blogging completely... Weird people contacting me. Or people that never commented before more or less demanding tutorials in a rude way. People not even bothering to say 'thank you' after I went out of my way to help them (someone who I never even heard before!) and to top it all off a swapping partner that disappeared from the face of the earth after receiving my package and never sent anything back.
I was so fed up with everything I didn't even want to read or see anything related to blogging and crafting. I didn't read any blogs, didn't look at flickr and didn't check my blogs email inbox for a long time.
But when I did check, I found out that some of you where missing me...which moved me a lot and this is actually why I decided to continue.
So thank you Lisa, Lisa "Sparrow", Moki, ...a special thank you to a_clementina (for the virtual kick in the b... via livejournal) and to Sandrine (who I don't know yet but who left some sweet comments) and to all the others I might have forgotten...every comment is appreciated, even if I don't answer immediately.
Now I'm back to blogging but on my own terms...no planning ahead, that never works. No updates if there is nothing to say, but more than one a day if I feel like it. No swapping with people I haven't heard about before here or over at flickr. No tutorials of things I'm selling (except for good friends). Rude people will not get any help or info. Be nice. Perverts will be blocked (if possible) and ignored. Did I forget anything? Oh yeah - in return I vow not to take such a long break again...and other things I can't tell you now because that would be planning ahead. :)
Thank you for being so patient with me.
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| back next week! |
[02 Jun 2006|10:07am] |
promise...
:)
XXXOOO Anke
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| easter parade |
[16 Apr 2006|10:48am] |
These little chickies live among our pink daisies...chicklets with straw hats and bow ties...
Again...Happy Easter! ;)
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| easter art |
[16 Apr 2006|10:34am] |
Easter egg painted by my late uncle. He must have created hundreds of them over the years, all with amazing details...the top of this one reads - in tiny tiny letters - (roughly translated): "Chaos is the beginning of everything". The day of his funeral we went to see to the last exhibition he prepared before he died...easter eggs. He also did huge paintings, drawings, sculptures and ceramics, but somehow these were always the most fascinating to me.
Happy Easter everyone!
P.S.: Sorry, I just realized how huge this photo is...
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ask_anke's journal
