.SOMETIMES RAW.

Hello and Happy Friday!

Isn’t it amazing how some things work out in life? I am still trying to find my childhood friend Esther Schenkel and while on my journey to get in touch with her I ended up hanging out with her brother, the artist, Mischa Schenkel. Le husband, petit Joel and I spent the afternoon with him in his atelier to finish an interview, shoot a little movie and take more pictures of all his artwork. Fantastic stuff! I will share the interview and pictures most likely tomorrow if I get it all done. Here some pictures already. And read what else we have been up to if you would like. 

Reading:  I finished Maestra by L.S. Hilton and I did not like it at all. As soon as I was done, I gave the book a BookCrossing ID and left it at a local store entrance. It actually has been picked up already. I hope whoever took it likes it more than I did. Or not. I think it is pretty bad. I will write a book review regardless. Currently, I am reading The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own. It is a great book, especially if you are new to minimalism and need some tips and tricks on how to downsize and get rid of a bunch of stuff. Stuff that owns us in a way. Big spring/summer cleaning everyone! It feels awesome. 

Watching: Family Guy, Season 14! The last episode Road to India was so funny, I almost peed my pants. This show is fantastic. Cannot wait for more. 

Discovering/Learning:  I found a store in Coburg that actually sells TOMS. I love those shoes and literally live in them all summer. So comfortable! I used to order them online and have them shipped to my US address or bought some at WholeFoods in the US. Since I am in Germany and constantly wear them and to buy them right here is more convenient I have to say. Even though they are slightly more expensive.  You find those and many more at Schuhhaus Jasmin Franz! 

If you are a true New Yorker or lived there for a long time you know Pearl Paint. This place was great to find any art supply, pens, paint and so much more and I browsed around so many times to find something new. And if it was a glitter pen to write with. This place closed and I did not even know. I haven’t been in New York or Manhattan for a while now so I missed out on all the fun. 

I have only great memories when it comes to Pearl Paint.  I spent way too much time there looking at paint and secretly squeezing the tubes to mix colors. [This is probably why they needed to close the place down. Mmmmmm.] Those red walls used to be Pearl Paint, the most wonderful art supply shop where I practically lived. One of those NYC moments when old and new worlds collide. This pace at what NYC changes makes you try to catch your breath. If you are into art and art supplies and live in Germany, you can go to Boesner. I have never been there but according to their website, them seem to have it all. 

Beauty Products: When it comes to deodorant I usually simply use baking soda. Then I found out about this product. It smells awesome and is an all-natural deodorant that is free of paragons, propylene glycol & phthalates and aluminum. Yay!  Check out Page Ashbury’s website for more products. 

I love Macarons. There is this great place in NYC that serves pretty decent ones if you don’t have the chance to eat them freshly made in France. However, to find them in Germany it’s pretty rare. So I decided to make my own. Cannot be that difficult, right? I will update on my progress on the blog of course. 

A couple of days ago, le husband, petit Joel and I have been to Tambach Wildpark. This place is great for kids! All the animals he saw; and some he even touched and fed which made him so happy. Also the amazing playground with the excavator, helicopter and so much more, he was in heaven and cried his eyes out when it was time to leave. We will be back for sure. 

Thinking about: Look at those eyes. He wakes up and looks so cute. His eyes, oh I love his eyes. So deep, dark and full of understanding. The other day he had a bad day however and looking at this picture now makes me think that I dealt with a different child. He was mean, angry and the worst – he hit and kicked me. Do you even think that this sweet child could harm anyone? I decided a while ago to never hit him. Not beating him up; I am talking about a slap on his heinie. Usually, when he is in a bad mood, I am in a bad mood. So I try to change the situation by calming down myself. He is usually fine after. Or I step out of the room for a bit, take my phone and lock myself in the bathroom. That helps to cool down. But the other day, he seriously pissed me off. Hit me again on my arms, kicked even after I told him to stop. So I hit him on his hand. Hard. His hand turned red. He looked at me puzzled because I never hit him. Then he cried. Ran away and curled up on his bed. I feel so sorry. I felt sorry for him and that I could not control myself better. But otherwise, I have to show him that he cannot hit mommy, no? I talked to him afterwards, he curled up and he said, “Sorry mommy, won’t hit again.” My heart almost burst. He was so cute. He then kissed me goodnight and I went to downstairs and cried while I told le husband the whole story. He just laughed and said that he loves me and that it is all good. Mmmmm! Also, have you read my latest post about Racism? Food for thought, people. 

Have a good weekend! Enjoy whatever you are doing. 

Hello and Happy Tuesday! 

I started reading Joshua Becker’s book The More of Less yesterday and the book  got me inspired again to clean up a bit. I am into minimalism and read a plethora of books on that topic. For me, it feels good not to have too much stuff. I cleaned my son’s room today and found my parent’s photo albums. Minimalism or not, my Mom took all of our pictures when we were kids and kept the photo albums which are damn cool. They are amazing and we need to keep those albums. My uncle took the picture above and I wore my favorite scarf mom gave me. While cleaning up, I also found a little box of un-albumed photos. This box was in a closet for a long time, not hidden away but just kept in a safe spot. When I saw these pictures for the first time I was in awe. So many pictures of my parents, when they first met, my grandparents, landscapes and so much more. For some reason, those pictures never made it into a photo album. So many photos of everything in our little life that are such great memories. 

I guess I always loved to read. Even the ADAC magazine way back when. 

I was lost and entranced in those pictures for quite some time and in a way overwhelmed with happiness and nostalgia. I haven’t really paid too much attention to many of those pictures, even though I have seen them all. Today, I really took a closer look at them and it was amazing. It also made me realize that I have hundreds maybe thousands of pictures on my computer but a photo album is just something more nostalgic to look at. These days,  we can just click on a video and watch it. Simple. Easy. But looking at all these pictures of myself today, I saw my son’s features clearly in many of them. So awesome. He makes the same face reading than I make. 

Just the other day, le husband and I browsed through the videos I made for him every single day when he was stationed in Mali. Such great moments. Browsing through those pictures today made me realize that I focused so much on the love or what happened in those moments. I looked at one more photo album over dinner and told le husband so many stories on what happened that exact day. He said, “Wow, you have a story almost for every single picture”! Great stories, great memories, good times. I had the best childhood a child could possibly ask for. Hands down! 

While looking at the photo albums I am realizing that most pictures were little snapshots of happy times. Happy times I spent with my parents, grandparents and my uncle. Most pictures I adore. Me smiling with my whole face and  laughing so hard. Looking curious, just like my son does. Those pictures have been taken because the moment was special and to have a memory. And that is that. And sometimes I think how my son will deal with all those pictures that are mostly on my computer. Well, I do have some photo albums but these days, it is not so much about that anymore unfortunately. These times will come when he will look at those pictures in my photo albums and see a happy mom and dad and baby Joel, or even better, his birth video. Yep, le husband recorded the labor and it is so precious to us. All my son will see is love. This is what he experiences every day. Of course, not every day is happy sunshine but believe it or not, 99% of the time it is. There is just no time to waste on taking sad-face pictures or living a sad life. You only have this one shot. And that is all we have to keep in mind. All that matters. 

Here, I was most likely on my way to Death Valley with a broom stick. And what’ s up with this amazing retro-wallpaper? LOVE IT! 

I think it is just amazing to capture the moment. No matter how you do it. Photographed, written down and whatnot. These days, there are way too many opportunities. Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest and more. Some say I don’t focus on the moment because I am standing there with my camera but this is exactly what I am doing. Focusing on the moment and of course thinking if I could blog about this later because some things are so amazing I want to share them. Many times however, I am aware of being present in my everyday life and that sometimes the camera, phone and other gadgets need to stay at home rather than trying to capture the moment. 

Here are some recent pictures of my son. He has my eyes for sure. 

Do you have photo albums? Did you find some at your parent’s place? Or do you have all your pictures on the computer? 

Hello and Happy Saturday! 

I know that “crazily busily” are not actual words but I read them in an email that had been sent to me and thought it is kinda cool and fits for today’s post. Hah! Today was packed with things to do. We piled 10 meters of wood which was inane, bought a bicycle, went to the city to buy two theater tickets (yay, I love theater and plays!), cleaned the house and went out at night to meet my parents friends who invited us to dinner. This woman knows how to cook! It was such a delicious meal and we were glad to enjoy it. Food tastes different if someone cooks it because they love and enjoy to do it. We were in a hurry to get to their place however because of all the other things we wanted to finish.  Throughout all this mess and rush to get there I forgot to take diapers for Petit Joel and he had the worst rash when I took him to bed at night. I felt so sorry for this little guy. We have been running around all day long and his little legs are moving so fast and strong but he was in a bad mood all day long today, no clue why. Crying, not eating, the whole thing. But I have been reminded again that Haste makes waste! So the next time I won’t forget the diapers, take my time and plan accordingly. Sometimes it is important to take a step back and reflect. 

When I took him to bed he was so cute however. He told me, “Mommy, I love you. Kiss” and everything was good again. There is so much I can learn from this little guy. Learn to be more patient, learn to listen, learn to take my time, learn that it is fine not to eat or barely eat for one day just because I don’t feel like it. Who says there needs to be a set time to have breakfast or breakfast at all. The same goes for lunch and dinner. He is not hungry, he does not eat. Period! I know that one day I will remember this beautiful chaos very well – especially days like today. When I saw Petit Joel today after he fell off the swing, holding on to his daddy who wiped away his tears I thought that I could not have imagined all that a couple of years ago. When I thought how my life would be, picturing myself studying and then studying some more, living a single life in New York City and out of a sudden there is this little guy next to me, asking to hold my hand and he smiles and laughs and wants to have his nose wiped. It is just this realness of moments like this that almost makes me cry sometimes. This perfection. Me, the mother of this little guy. My dreams have become real and this is just very emotional and powerful. We are healthy, we are a family and we enjoy life to the fullest. What else could I ask for? What else is important? Maybe slowing down a bit here and there but I am getting better at this. Home is where the heart is. Today was a good day. I appreciate the little things. It’s home. 

Enjoy the little things. And if you really want to laugh, read this article and watch this clip. This woman is right on!