DIY Valentine's Day Inspiration

Saturday is Valentine's day! I'm excited for all the pink and delicious desserts you could make for your sweetheart to show them your love. And there are so many simple, yet so beautiful DIY ideas out there too.

sources: Jerry Jam Heart Pie Pops - White Chocolate Bark Bites - Heart Mugs - Banana Message - Chocolate Pretzels

sources: Wall of Paper Hearts - Heart Shaped Lotion Bars - Key Valentine's Card - Paper Votives - Borax Crystal Hearts

Xoxo, have a great Valentine's day!

Happy New Year

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Happy New Year to all of you! I wish you that this year all of your resolutions and wishes will come true and that it'll be the happiest year of your life!

Remember the New Year resolution I made last year - finding my very own Mr. Big? At this very moment it seems this NY resolution has come true!

Last summer, when I finished my studies and started working, one of my new colleagues caught my eye and - because of my other colleagues selfishness (that, in this case was actually a blessing) he and I went for lunch together almost every day and the rest is history. We've been dating for almost three months now and it's still so amazing and so different to all the relationships I had before. It's not the I am so excited, butterflies in my belly-type of relationship, but one of those it feels so good being together and everything is absolutely relaxed and feels as this is the one-type of relationship.

I feel like I should have told you about the goings-on before, but I really didn't want to spoil anything by making prophecies to soon. However, as it is, I feel like (and truly wish) this will
be going on for a long time to come and I can't wait to savor every single minute of it.

I wish you all that you will be able to make a NY resolution that will come true just like mine did.

Xoxo, Happy New Year!

Love is...



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Xoxo, enjoy being in love, it's the best thing that can ever happen to you!!

No men, no problems

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It took me until today to realize that if there are no men in your life - in a romantic way, of course - you've got a lot less problems then when you are in a relationship. Of course there's the occasional misunderstanding with your co-workers or a little fight with one of your friends.

But there are no evenings spent on the sofa crying and watching Dirty Dancing. There are no long hours of waiting for his call or text. No days spent at home, because you feel too depressed, tired, ugly, ... (fill in your feeling here) to go out of the house. No worried phone calls from your mum saying she's going to send out a search party to rescue you from this world shattering mistake you're about to do or, alternatively asking when you'll finally get married.

Instead, you have a lot more time and muse to practice your hobbies, meet with your girlfriends, drink wine and eat chocolate while watching Sex and the City for the thousandth time or dancing along to this one embarrassing favorite CD. You don't have to shave all the time, no one minds if you've gained a few pounds and there's no reason why you shouldn't spend hours on some online shopping site spending your money on beautiful shoes and bags.

And the greatest benefit: Knowing yourself. You've got so much more time at your hands
to get to know you.

What do you think are the greatest benefits of being single?

Xoxo, that's a great life, don't you think!

11 things that make a great life

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1. Being loved by your friends and family. I'm not talking about the occasional phone call from your mum asking how you were, but being supported in everything you do - even if it is a stupid idea.

2. Living in a secure and stable society.

3. Having a group of friends that fit you just right. Friends, that are funny and childish when needed, friends that take you back down to earth when you're too high up in the clouds and help you get up when you fell.

4. Being free to do whatever you like e.g. travelling, saying what you want, reading what you like - I guess you get the picture here.

5. Having financial security. I'm not talking about having millions in your bank account, but having a secure job and a little money saved - maybe even a boring, little pension plan.

6. Being able to enjoy hobbies you like in terms of having enough spare time and money - and friends.

7. Having enough to eat - whenever you like - and only having to "starve" because you want to or because you were to lazy to go grocery shopping.

8. Living in a healthy, unstinking and clean environment.

9. Having a job you don't absolutely detest, that pays the bills and where you've got nice colleagues.

10. Knowing that whatever it is you are doing - either at work or at home - isn't useless but has an impact, somewhere. Seriously, everything I can think of makes a useful impact somehow - just think about the butterfly effect.

11. Not having to work or live close to people you hate - or, if you have to work or live with them, learning to be at peace with yourself and the people around you.

What else would you
count as an important part for a great life?

Xoxo, enjoy your life!

Ode to the nice guys

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The following is dedicated to all the nice guys out there, who are still single because they haven't found a girl yet, who appreciates their qualities.

I found this text by chance while spending some time on StumbleUpon and it made me realize, while I've always been dating the mysterious, interesting, bad guy, I'll only be happy for the rest of my life with a NICE GUY.


Ode to the Nice Guys
This rant was written for the Wharton Undergraduate Journal   This is a tribute to the nice guys. The nice guys that finish last, that never become more than friends, that endure hours of whining and bitching about what assholes guys are, while disproving the very point. This is dedicated to those guys who always provide a shoulder to lean on but restrain themselves to tentative hugs, those guys who hold open doors and give reassuring pats on the back and sit patiently outside the changing room at department stores. ... This is in honor of the guys who respect a girl’s every facet, from her privacy to her theology to her clothing style.

This is for the guys who escort their drunk, bewildered female friends back from parties and never take advantage once they’re at her door, for the guys who accompany girls to bars as buffers against the rest of the creepy male population, for the guys who know a girl is fishing for compliments but give them out anyway, for the guys who always play by the rules in a game where the rules favor cheaters, for the guys who are accredited as boyfriend material but somehow don’t end up being boyfriends, for all the nice guys who are overlooked, underestimated, and unappreciated, for all the nice guys who are manipulated, misled, and unjustly abandoned, this is for you.

This is for that time she left 40 urgent messages on your cell phone, and when you called her back, she spent three hours painstakingly dissecting two sentences her boyfriend said to her over dinner. And even though you thought her boyfriend was a chump and a jerk, you assured her that it was all ok and she shouldn’t worry about it. ... This is also for that time she didn’t have a date, so after numerous vows that there was nothing “serious” between the two of you, she dragged you to a party where you knew nobody, the beer was awful, and she flirted shamelessly with you ... And even though you were invited purely as a symbolic warm body for her ego, you went anyways. Because you’re nice like that.

The nice guys don’t often get credit where credit is due. And perhaps more disturbing, the nice guys don’t seem to get laid as often as they should. And I wish I could logically explain this trend, but I can’t. ... many girls are just illogical, manipulative bitches. Many of them claim they just want to date a nice guy, but when presented with such a specimen, they say irrational, confusing things ... Yet, they continue to lament the lack of datable men in the world, and they expect their too-nice-to-date male friends to sympathize and apologize for the men that are jerks. ... I can’t figure out why the connection breaks down between what they say (I want a nice guy!) and what they do (I’m going to sleep with this complete ass now!). But one thing I can do, is say that the nice-guy-finishes-last phenomenon doesn’t last forever. There are definitely many girls who ... realize they should be dating the nice guys, not taking them for granted. The tricky part is finding those girls, and even trickier, finding the ones that are single. 

So, until those girls are found, I propose a toast to all the nice guys. You know who you are, and I know you’re sick of hearing yourself described as ubiquitously nice. But the truth of the matter is, the world needs your patience in the department store, your holding open of doors, your party escorting services, your propensity to be a sucker for a pretty smile. For all the crazy, inane, absurd things you tolerate, for all the situations where you are the faceless, nameless hero, my accolades, my acknowledgement, and my gratitude go out to you. You do have credibility in this society, and your well deserved vindication is coming.
Read the full article here

Isn't that just the most beautiful text to read? I was, maybe sometimes still am that girl, who isn't appreciating the nice, quiet guys, who do everything in their power to make you happy and know what to say at the exact right time, but I still have hope that one day I'll be able to actually change my ways and choose a NICE GUY.

Xoxo, I suggest we try to appreciate all the nice guys out there a bit more, girls!

Seeking attention

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I did it again. I registered on an online-dating site. I have to confess, I don't really believe in online dating, but I really feel like I need some male attention and it's quite hard to find male attention when all you do is sit at home and study...

Remember the last time I wanted to try online dating? My big "Next Step"? I didn't even have a chance to really get talking to anyone because I met Mr. French like five minutes after I registered. So, somewhere in the back of my mind, I guess, I'm hoping that maybe this time it'll work out just like it had last time.

I don't really trust in finding Mr. Right on an online-dating site, but who knows? And if nothing works out, I'm sure I'll have some fun and get some material for new posts ;)

Xoxo, let's see how it works out!

Romance on demand

As I am currently on my own (=single), I've got a lot of time to dream about Mr. Right,  but also to watch quite a few TV shows. The last few weeks I've been watching North and South with Patrick Swayze and Downton Abbey. And now I wish Mr. Bates and Orry Main would be real. They are just the most romantic and attentive gentlemen I know. They always seem to know the right thing to say and do, they never do anything that could break a woman's heart. They'd wait years to finally be with their love and never even look at another woman in the meantime. And, on top of all that, they even look good - Patrick Swayze, at least. I'm not really sure about Mr. Bates, but I think that all the attentiveness makes him more attractive, don't you? Or maybe it's the time difference? I think that like a decade ago, you dedicated yourself to someone and that was it. There was no getting cold feet or changing your mind. You either loved the person right from the beginning or you didn't - end of the story.


Also, as I can't watch TV all the time (because even that gets boring after some time), I've been reading a lot, too. At first, I've been reading a few books I've had lying around forever, but then I started on a really nice book I got for Christmas - Chasing Perfect by Susan Mallery. And tell you what, it was just so nice to read a light, funny and romantic book. I had it finished in about two days because I was so anxious to know how the story would continue and if the main characters would be together in the end.


Xoxo, enjoy being carried away by all the love and romance on TV!

NY Resolution: Finding Mr. Big

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Only a few more hours to go and we'll be celebrating a brand new year. Now everyone's thinking about how they will improve their lives through their New Year resolutions. This year I've made a resolution, that's slightly different to the ones I've made the last years. This year I'm set on finding my Mr. Big, my Prince Charming, my other person.

I'm sure, you're smiling at my foolishness right now. Smirking, how I could be as foolish as to think that I can just decide that I  want to meet Mr. Right this year and it's actually going to happen. Well, I've always thought the same, but I've been reading a new book - The Secret - lately, and the author claims that it is possible to get everything you ever wanted - happiness, wealth, love... All you need to do is to control your thoughts. They say, that your thoughts become things. That means that you only need to think about and imagine the things you want to happen. For example, imagine how it will feel or what you will do when your wish comes true. And, never, ever think about not getting what you wish for...

In light of this I wish you all a very happy New Year and that all your wishes may come true in 2013!

Being Single

Here's another nice guest blog of my dear friend Bernhard. Hope you enjoy it!

Being Single

If you are single you want to be in a relationship and if you are in a relationship you sometimes wish being single again - we all know that feeling. The worst thing that could happen is that you always wish you were single. Because if you do think that way something is not right with you and your partner.
But is being single so bad? Is the idea of living your own life - and even if it is just for a few months - really that crazy? If your partner always says what you shouldn't do and what he doesn't want you to be then I think it is not a bad idea at all. The point of being in a relationship is loving the person next to you with all their flaws and even if it gets rough you want to figure something out together.
I am telling you now: If you have ideas of your life and someone wants to hold you back then please leave before you regret it. It will hurt but if you finally reach what you were looking for - is it a job or a country you want to live in - then you can still settle down.
I am 21 years old and want to see things, i feel like i could move mountains when i think of other cities. So now I am free - once again, but i don't regret it because i know i have dreams and if being single is the key to move on I am willing to let go of my relationship.
We have only one life - we shouldn't waste it with thoughts like: Why didn't I do that?
We should say - I learned from that experience and it was worth it!

Xoxo, enjoy your life and do whatever you feel is right!

Long-distance relationship II

Remember Mr. French? The one who promised me countless massages and who I had successfully convinced to at least try a long-distance relationship when I had to go back after my internship ended.

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But a few weeks before I had to leave for uni he came to my place and, after a few minutes of small talk he just announced: 'I don't want a long-distance relationship'. At first I was real calm and it seemed I would be able to take it like that, I even tried to comfort him, because he seemed a bit shattered.
That's when I broke down, too. I cried and simply couldn't understand why he would do that to us. I couldn't understand why he wouldn't try at least. He was so sweet and stayed for over an hour trying to comfort me, but I knew I'd never calm down as long as he was there, so I felt like I had to send him away.

Before he left he asked me to stay friends - I know, people say that all the time when they break up, but I had the feeling he meant it. So, after a few weeks we made an attempt at staying friends and met for dinner and drinks. At first it was kind of awkward and we didn't really know what to talk about, but in the end I felt like it had been a nice evening and I started to believe that we could actually stay friends.

Xoxo, try to enjoy what you have as long as it's still there.

Long-distance relationship?

I've been dreading the question forever. I've been thinking about it for weeks. Don't ask me why, but somehow I knew I wouldn't like the answer. Until I finally plucked up my courage and asked my precious boyfriend how he imagined things would go on after I had to go back to university for one more year.

To make things more clear for you, we've been dating for about three months, I am madly in love with him and the town I'm studying in and where I have to go back to in about one and a half months, is about five hours by train away.

At first he didn't react to my question at all, but then after a minute or two he cuddled up to me and held me real tight - I could actually feel him shake, and I do suspect that he even shed a few tears, but I'm not too sure about that :) This gave me hope. If it made him so sad just to think about being separated he wouldn't finish off things as soon as I had to go back.

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He explained his rather extreme reaction by telling me that he didn't know how to answer my question and that he was sad to let me go indeed. I tried to reassure him that everything would be fine, as long as he promised me not to break up with me as soon as I had to go back. And that was the moment, when the worst happened: he hesitated. He didn't assure me that we'd be fine, that we could do the whole long-distance relationship-thing.

Until that moment I had been on the verge of tears, because I had been dreading the question for so long. Then I just couldn't hold them back anymore, and he went: Oh no, sweetheart, don't cry! But I couldn't stop myself, because for me it was crystal clear: If he couldn't agree to at least try and make the long-distance relationship work, this would be it. I didn't want to pretend being happy for a few more weeks, knowing that it would be over the moment I went back. So I desperately tried to change his mind, telling him it would only be for a year, that we could at least meet up twice a month and that of course it would be hard, but I didn't want this to end right there. But as he still wasn't convinced to try making it work, I decided to go home. I kissed him goodbye one last time.

Back home I broke down and cried until I couldn't even cry anymore. I couldn't imagine being all by myself again, having to go through a breakup again. So I called my sweet French and asked him to come over and spend the night, because I couldn't stand being alone. When he came he finally agreed to at least try to make it work, but I still suspect that he had only said it to make me feel better.

Since then we haven't talked about it again, but although we agreed on at least trying to make it work, it took me a few days to get over it. However, I always had the feeling that something was between us, something, that was separating us and it feels so much better now as we have at least tried to talk about it.

Xoxo, do you think this is going to work? Have you ever been in a situation like that?

Love or Truth?

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My dear B is asking himself - Is his relationship strong enough to take what he's about to do?

Love or Truth?
It's come to the point where I have to decide telling the love of my probably whole life that i might move to another city. He doesn't know that I applied for the job and I know that he wouldn't want me to accept it because we gave ourselves a second change. I mean it's not even for sure that I am moving but should I tell him? Or is it better to enjoy the time I have with him? I couldn't help but wonder - Is it sometimes better to not tell the truth when it's not even sure you do something in the future? Or should you tell him- get into a fight with him and if u don't get the job be happy?

Xoxo, let us know, have you ever been in a situation like that?

Men are like Drugs

Today I got an awesome guest post from my dear friend B. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.

Men are like Drugs
Once we have them for more than 3 days in a row we get addicted.
But we always have to remind ourselves that it is not the letting-go that's bad. It's the moving on. Getting through life without the drug we used for such a long time.
Find a new drug - a better drug. I know that drugs are never good but everybody uses them anyway so why do people judge if u have one big drug that's called Michael? I loved the way he got me high and i think there is nothing wrong with that feeling!

Not too long, but also not too short. Straight to the point. I've never thought about it that way before, but I actually feel like going through a deprivation after a break-up.

Xoxo, have fun finding your new drug called James, Andrew, Brian, Chris or whatever his name will be!

Next Step

I've been thinking. About my situation. About being single. About being sick of going everywhere alone, feeling like the fifth wheel on the wagon, returning home to an empty apartment and having to cook for one person only.

I'm dreaming of someone waiting for me at home, taking bubble baths together, watching cheesy movies together, feeling safe in his arms, falling asleep and waking up right beside my Mr. Big.

So I figured, I'd try my luck with one of those online dating sites, that seem to be so popular. I'm not sure which one to pick yet, but I'll definitely let you know all about this new part of my search for love.

Xoxo, wish me luck!

Imagine

Today on the tube home from work I saw a couple in their sixties and almost immediately saw me and the guy I've been in love with for the last three years. Sitting there, talking, smiling at each other. The woman even let her eyes drift to her husband's lips sometimes as if she was fantasizing about kissing him.
This picture made me happy. Though I don't know if said guy and I will ever get back together... Long story short: we met at work and I was instantly drawn to him but never even imagined we'd eventually actually be together, so I kept admiring from afar. Then he left the company and we didn't have any contact for more than two years until he started texting me on facebook because as he said, he had never forgotten me. So after a few weeks we started dating and I was on cloud nine for quite some time, but unfortunately he had to move to another continent because of his work - only for two years, but still it wasn't the same anymore although I felt like he was my Mr. Big.
So although I don't know what's going to happen I always got my imagination and hope!

Xoxo, use your imagination to feel happy!

It’s Christmas time

Only a bit more than two weeks to go until it will be the one evening every child looks forward to during the whole year. The day, when it’s going to turn out if the kids have been nice enough throughout the year to receive a lot of magnificent Christmas presents.

For me, the last weeks before Christmas are some of the most wonderful weeks of the year. These weeks, full of enjoyable rush to decorate the home and the Christmas tree, to pick out the right Christmas presents for the beloved, wrapping and hiding them, shopping for a beautiful outfit for the Christmas dinner and New Year’s Eve, baking delicious Christmas biscuits and just enjoying the cozy and festive atmosphere.

Love is all around, especially at Christmas, and it is so rewarding to give and receive love – maybe even the love of your life. So, enjoy this magnificent time with your friends and family and keep your eyes open for the One.

Xoxo and Merry Christmas!

Search for Love

Isn't there a time in every girl's life when she does something only in order to "find love", like Carrie says, when asked, why she moved to NYC? Aren't there times when every girl vows to herself that she is done with love once and for all when she has been heart broken for what feels the hundredth time? Times, when a girl swears that she is never going to cry because of a man again?

However, I am sure that, no matter how often a girl's heart had been broken and had to be mended by lot's of kind words and boxes of chocolate, every girl is about to find her Mister Big. Sometimes it only takes a short while to find him, at times it takes a slightly longer journey to be in for the biggest treat on earth - a girl's personal Prince Charming.
Sometimes this search for love makes a girl wander through dozens of countries, hundreds of "Sorry, but you are not the One-speeches" and thousands of more or less embarrassing situations. This journey leaves us looking for more and makes us love our Mister Big even more when in the end, we finally meet him.

Nevertheless, don't forget to enjoy your search, it might be the only chance you have, before you'll never be able to do all the crazy things you got on your "All-I-wanted-to-do-before-I-find-Him-list".

Xoxo, enjoy your search!