Valentine's Day

L O V E can change the world!

On Valentine’s Day most people buy flowers, ginger hearts, cute little necklaces etc. and give them to their loved ones. There is nothing bad or wrong doing so, but imagine that you don’t know where your loved one are or you know that you will never see them again. This has happened to hundreds of refugees in the past years and even though the media does not report about them as often anymore, there are still people leaving their home without knowing where they are going and if they will find their family members again. With that in mind, I decided to not go for the usual kind of Valentine’s Day post this year, there are plenty of those on other blogs and don’t get me wrong, I enjoy reading those too, but I want to give some love to those who need it more.

A friend of mine spent most of her time last year in Greece where she volunteered and helped building a school and a community center for refugees. I know how much hope and love and a feeling of “home” she and other volunteers give to them throughout the year.

@mishliin_

Money can’t buy love – but it helps to support those who put their heart into something that makes an impact.

If you don’t have a Valentine or you simply want to give some love to another human being, then you know what to do. Even a little can go a long way.

Be Aware And Share (Facebook & Website)

BKB - Basler Kantonalbank

Konto Nummer: 40-61-4

 

IBAN: CH 42 0077 0253 8101 3200 1

BIC: BKBBCHBBXXX

 

Kontoverwaltung

Massari Mara

BAAS - Be aware and share

4402 Frenkendorf

 

 

Happy Valentine’s Day! And do not forget: YOU ARE LOVED!

Make Memories

My grandpa turned 90! I know it's a sad thing to say but since he's quite old now and most of his friends are living in an retirement facitity or do not anymore (you know...), we figured we grant him a wish. He instantly decided on a boat ride on Lake Thun. It was a gloomy day but we had fun anyway as the whole family got together and consciously enjoyed this special gathering. Grandpa and granny both suffer from dementia and not all days are good days, nevertheless, they appreciated every second of this day - you could see that in their eyes. I am so proud of them and even though I now they won't be here forever, we still will have mememories of these fun days together.

happy birtday grandpa, may you lead a happy life and tell many more of your jokes!

Sunday Hike // Hardergrad

This was probably one of the last sunny and warm sunday we get this year. My dad and I decided to hike the Hardergrad to get a good view over Interlaken and the Augstmatthorn, which we want to hike up next spring. I personally love the neutral fall colors in contrast with the blue sky and lake - it makes everything pop out!

I'm pretty bumped by the fact that winter is right around the corner and I won't be able to go hiking as much. However, all the Sundays we got to stand on the top of a mountain totally make up for the few months you can't go out without freezing your butt off ;)

 

  

 

moving on

So I am moving out of my shared apartment in November. I finally decided that with 26 I’m old enough to live on my own. A whole apartment all to myself. Ok, it’s not big or anything but it’s cute and in November it’s my cute, little apartment. 43m2, one room. Who needs walls when living on their own? It’s going to be only me. Cooking, chilling on the couch, sleeping in the bed next to it. I don’t even need to close the door to the bathroom when peeing. That’s what I call freedom. Peeing with an open door. I am a simple girl.

Speaking of simplicity, I also decided that it’s time for me to declutter the apartment which I am sharing with my friend. I feel caved with all the stuff that’s around. I own so much stuff. I don’t need “stuff”! Who needs stuff to live with? For my new place I want to live in an open, minimal styled apartment. This of course is a huge challenge, but I am determined to make it happen. I’ll be donating lots of my clothes to charity and just go through my things asking myself “Do I need this? Does it make me happy? Can I live without it?”.

I am thinking of buying this book called “the life-changing magic of tidying up” by Marie Kondo. Maybe it’s worth the hype.

Anyway, I keep you updated. In the meantime, I am going crazy on my Pinterest boards, looking for Inspiration on interior and decor.

 

the better option

I’ve been reading Maddies blog dariadaria.com for quite some years now and even though I am far from being vegan or wearing only fair fashion, I have started thinking about the things I’m buying and consuming.  I’m not sure if I could go all in but I think a little still goes along way and it’s better to do something than nothing at all, don’t you agree?

For example, I started washing my hair with products from Lush a while ago. Not all products are vegan but as far as I’m concerned they are doing a great job with fair trading and what I particularly like is that they list the ingredients in a way everyone can understand.  As I mentioned in this post, I am washing my hair only once (during winter) or twice (during summer) a week. I can’t tell you how much time I have to spend on Youtube now instead of washing my hair every other day ;)

See who I like to watch here, here and here

Since I got my acne treaded with Isotretinoin a year ago I try to stay away from chemical creams and serum. I love the brand Aesop. The products might smell funny but work miracles on my skin. At this point I have to admit that they first tricked me with their branding and design but after trying out their stuff I can’t imagine putting anything else on my face. Follow this link for the most hilarious product (that actually works!).

For my body I use only vegan products as for example Lush’s the olive branch and Biokosma’s aloe vera.

Although I am trying to buy “better” products now and do my research beforehand (I like to use codecheck.info), I am not just going to throw all the other products I already own away; I don’t want to waste anything. I’m using them up and then replace them with a better option.

That’s just all about: finding a better option.

Stormy Sundays

It's pretty stormy in Switzerland these days, which is why Sundays mostly are for late breakfast and binge watching tv shows. I personally don't mind as relaxing is what my body needs after long working days. 

When I was a kid my mom would always tell me to not play with my food, but I'm a grown up now...

Just do it!

It’s February already but I just thought I would share my new years resolutions with you anyway (better late than never). It honestly took me the whole month of January to come up with some and even now it’s more some kinda bucket list. Anyhow, I guess everyone needs those little dreams and things to look forward to.

Let’s start with the resolutions from last year which I didn’t quite accomplished:

Drink more water

I’m doing pretty good guys! I tend to forget about my water bottle sitting next to me on my desk, but in January I managed to fill up my Camelbak (750ml / 25oz) twice a day every day – YAY! I had to use the restroom every 10min though…

Stay active

2015 started good with lots of exercise such as running, yoga and biking. That only lasted until August though. I don’t know why I stopped but that definitely proved to be a bad bad bad decision (hello +4kg on my belly – OMG that’s like being preggers and more!!!). Totally want to get into exercising again. Already signed up for a yoga class.

The new ones:

Do more of what makes me happy (and not others)

I like to make other people happy but sometimes I tend to forget about myself and my needs. I want to do things I feel good about and I want to tell people without feeling bad.

Learn a new language

I already bought some Spanish study books and downloaded the “Intro Span” app to get a basic vocabulary. My intensions are the right ones but it’s also hard to do the studying by myself. There is a lot of self-discipline involved. Let’s see how that goes...

Volunteer and give more to charity

A few of my friends volunteered in Macedonia, Greece and Croatia and I find it so brave and selfless! I donated money to them and to organizations they recommended to me.  And even though I did not work as a volunteer just yet, I think every little help is needed. And as we all know: money is not everything. Even an open mind, a smile, a conversation or a little gesture such as sharing your food can have a huge impact on someone’s life. I want to support those who do great things for humanity and I want to be a better human. Big words I sincerely want to live up to.

 

The big ones aka life goals aka dream on:

·         Carpooling with James Corden

·         Adopt a pet

·         Hiking a trail (Cheryl Strayed style)

·         Flying in a light aircraft (e.g. Cessna)

·         Save a life

·         Be role model for my (not unborn) children

·         Go skinny dipping on a beach

·         Living in a foreign country (kinda did that already but I would like to live there for at least 2 years)

·         Set foot in all 7 continents

·         Get a photograph published

·         Dance a whole choreography

I could go on forever but who has time for that. Instead, let’s start with one of the above!

 

Home Alone

I don't know about you but I'm feeling 22 I love those days where I'm home alone and really can do whatever I want without feeling stupid, childish or judged :) You'll find my litte dairy right here:

I woke up like this, flawless (-beyonce)
I like sleeping in but when I'm alone I would set my alarm at 9am, so I get more than only half a day out of it. In summer though, I don't even have to set an alarm because the sun would tickle my nose at around the same time. That's just the best way to start your day, really!

Singing in the shower, dancing in the mirror (-becky g)
First of all, I like to take a steaming hot shower for at least one hour. You know, put on a hair mask, face mask, do all the shaving, even wash that part between your - no, not what you think dirty bastard - toes, remove that scarf-skin and sing as loud as you can during this whole procedure because that's what relaxes you the most. It's better than any therapy I promise!

I'm just a girl (-no doubt)
I refuse to wear proper clothes for the whole day. Even though I think that there are a few pounds too much at the wrong body parts, I love running around in underwear or just a sweater and socks on colder days. I would cook myself a good meal and watch some youtube videos while eating. 

Hey now, your an all star, get your game on, go play (-smash mouth)
I never told this anyone before, but I love to watch soccer or basketball games when I'm home alone. It's not that I could remember the players name or whatever but I find it very interesting and totally whoop for "my" team xD I usually also like to drink a cold beer while doing so but since I'm taking medication - nothing serious though - I'm not allowed to drink alcohol for the next half a year. Cheers to that - oh no wait...

Anyone can play guitar (-radiohead)
From 4th to 9th grade I played the guitar - mostly latin - and I gotta say I was surprisingly good at it! Unfortunately, I stopped playing and now after about 9 years I would have to start all over again. However, I sometimes get out polly - that's how I named my guitar - and try to teach myself some songs using youtube tutorials. I suck big time but no one's listening so..whatevs ;)

About time to let all this go (-ben howard)
Sometimes I also try to do a handstand on the wall. Seriousely, my arms are pure jell-O! I collapse every single time..poor neighbor down stairs..xD What's this all about? I'm acutally trying to tell you that I'm very much into pilates and yoga. I love how stretchy and at ease I feel afterwards. oooommmmm....

Must be the music (-de la soul)
I would also just listen to every kind of music, laying on my bed and just day dream for hours. I'm acutally day dreaming a lot - I always have. Even as a kid you could talk to me and I would be totally lost in my thoughts. But funnily it only happens when I'm listening to music, so that's exactly what I would do at days like these...aaaaaaand I'm off..

spring has sprung

spring always makes me such a 24/7 happy person. the flowers, the trees it all is blossoming and makes everything look prettier. even if i am newly experiencing a light pollen allergy (no ichy eyes but i couldn't breathe through my nose properly since early march), i can't resist the urge to smell on every kinda flower and placing lots of them on the tables and shelves at home. not to mention all these beautiful pictures i see on pinterest ;) aren't they super duper cute?!

via

in love with a movie

hi love bugs,

as you seen on this post i was invited to the pre-premiere of the hunger games:catching fire movie yesterday. i didn't read the books but i really loved the first movie. not just because i've got a huge girl crush on jennifer lawrence but also because i associate the story with the reality. People who are getting oppressed, living on nothing and people like us having it all. i'm not saying that we are doing it on purpose but we don't really do anything to make a change, right?! - or at least just very little of us.
movie doesn't only convince with the story but also with great acting and super cool special effects. it's so catchy and touching! i actually even got scared two times and almost stood in my chair. not to mention that i almost cried 5 times (really had to hold it back, guys)!!

i highly recommend you to go watch the movie! if you didn't happen to have seen the first one, go rent the dvd and watch it first - you really should see all of them to understand the action.

can't wait for the third and last part!

catching fire

hi lovies,

thursday was not a good day for me. nothing went right and by the time i got home from work i was devastated. luckily i didn't forget to check the mailbox this day and what i found between all the bills was my savior of the day ;) the guys of "20 minuten", sent me tickets for the movies. i really am into the hunger games (part 1) movie (didn't read the books though) and now that the second part comes out in switzerland, i'm really looking forward to it! i'll let you know what i think about it.

plus size?!

hi lovies,

today i'd like to talk about an article about the plus size model robyn lawley i read in the german cosmopolitan. since the article is in german and i'm more comfortable in writing in my mother language, this post's gonna be in german as well. please feel free to use the google translator in the sideboard if you're intrested in what this is all about and read this article of elle.com for more information.

als erstes möchte ich sagen, dass ich sicherlich verstehe, dass cosmopolitan nicht verantwortlich für den ausdruck "plus size" ist, sondern diesen ganz einfach übernommen hat. ich persönlich finde jedoch, dass "plus size" robyn lawley's körper nicht entspricht. entschuldige bitte aber wenn dass "plus size" also sozusagen übergewichtig ist, was bin dann ich? ein mugel - halb mensch, halb kugel (idee geklaut von sophie remme)?? klar bin ich nicht zufrieden mit meinem körper aber wer findet seinen schon so richtig toll? ich muss dazu aber auch sagen, dass ich mit meinen körper vor meinem sprachaufenthalt in amerkia so ziemlich zufrieden war. 
meine masse: 1.74cm, 70kg (vorher 63kg -> mein idealgewicht)
wenn ich dann aber solche artikel lese und mir diese bilder ansehe, wird mir schlecht! robyn ist kurvig und sexy, kein knochengestell halt. ich finde es nur unheimlich schade, dass dann gleich der stempel "plus size" drauf gedrückt wird. es existieren bilder von ihr (google sie doch mal) im bikini, die ich tausend mal schöner und ästetischer finde als die von einem victora's secret model. 
 

via

was ich eigentlich sagen möchte:
frauen dieser welt, ihr seit wunderschön und wegen euren kurven noch lange nicht "plus size"! 
ich möchte hier nochmal klarstellen, dass ich selbstverständlich z.b. blogs von frauen lese und anschaue, die meist schon fast modelmasse haben. ich interessiere mich aber mehr für ihren modegeschmack - wie man also was kombinieren kann ect. - und nicht für ihre figur. ich liebe auch food blogs! echt, ohne gutes essen könnt' ich nicht leben! essen ist ja nicht = fett und ungesund. essen ist leben, geniessen und vor allem seinen körper mit nährstoffen versorgen. wer dies tut und nebenbei auch noch ein bisschen sport macht, der ist meiner meinung nach gesund und schön - auch mit rundungen!

danke für eure aufmerksamkeit.

home grown

hi there,

the first days when ally and i moved into our new apartment were quite an experience as we live in the 4th floor!! when we moved all the stuff and figured out where to put everything we decided to add some "nature". even though my dad says flowers and plants won't survive with me in charge (how sassy he is ;)), ally and i went to the garden center to get some. well dad, after more than a month they are still very alive, blossoming and not so long ago i discovered that our tomato plants even sprout! can't wait to pick home grown, red, juicy tomatoes! 

we're planning on buying some more plants in the not too distant future.

citing my dad: "not even a cactus will survive"