Summer Garden
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All posts tagged: home & living
The Desk Mess
Das Schreibtischchaos Yap! That’s my desk. And that’s how messy it is. At least for now. Of course, it doesn’t always look that messy, but lately it has. Why? Because I’ve been creative. And because of that I have a good excuse for such a messy desk: You shouldn’t constrain a creative mind. So, I’m not going to stress about my messy desk and just go on to create flowers and other pretty little things. Jap! Das ist mein Schreibtisch. Und so chaotisch sieht er zur Zeit aus. Klar sieht er nicht immer so schlimm aus, aber in letzter Zeit schon. Warum? Weil ich kreativ bin. Und deswegen habe ich auch eine ganz tolle Entschuldigung für so einen chaotischen Schreibtisch: Kreative Köpfe sollte man nicht einschränken. Also mache ich mir über meinen Chaosschreibtisch mal nicht so die Gedanken und werde weiterhin Blumen und anderes Kleinzeug kreieren.
Party with a Chocolate Fountain
Party mit einem Schokoladenbrunnen We got a special treat today: for a little youth gathering my sister pulled out their chocolate fountain. And for any chocolate lover like me that’s like being in paradise. Chocolate was so abundant that not only our appetites got satiated but so did our clothes, the table and pretty much everything else as well. Wir wurden heute besonders verwöhnt: für ein kleines Jugendtreffen hat meine Schwester ihren Schokoladenbrunnen aufgebaut. Und für jeden, der Schokolade so mag wie ich, ist das wie ein Tag im Paradies. Schokolade war in solchem Überfluss da, dass nicht nur unsere Mägen mehr als genug abbekamen, sondern gleich auch noch unsere Klamotten, der Tisch und so ziemlich alles andere auch.
Hybrid Hub: Scrapbook Paper for Easy Christmas Wall Decor
Bastelecke: Scrapbook Papiere als weihnachtliche Wanddeko One DIY post per week isn’t enough, when I’ve been working on a number of seasonal DIY projects over the last couple of weeks. So, I decided to share with you something I’ve made lately. On Pinterest, my sister found this idea to frame fabrics and hang them on the wall. Well, I thought, I don’t have pretty Christmas themed fabrics, but I have those three frames in my living room that I’d really like to use with something that goes along with the season. And then a brilliant idea hit me: I have so many pretty digital scrapbooking papers, so why not print out a couple and place those in the frame? And since I really like the color scheme of my latest freebie collection, I decided to use the papers from Holly & Pine. (You can find the downloads to this collection in the freebie section here at mistyhilltops.com.) It was a super fast project that only took me a couple of minutes and look how it …
Our Daily Woe
Unser täglich Weh Check this out: Seht euch das hier mal an: Yup! That’s lunch in our dining hall. More precisely: baked potatoes (a yummy dish, although it might not look all that yummy on the photo here; but that’s beside the point). Take a closer look at the silverware used here to handle the meal. Yes, you’re seeing quite right. And no, I wouldn’t choose chopsticks to eat a Western meal of baked potatoes and fresh salad. But that’s our almost daily woe in the dining hall – the lack of silverware. Sometimes, genius strikes me and I remember to pick up my silverware before I join the line to get my food. But more often than not the forks are gone and then it means make-do with whatever options you have. And well, with the help of the knife you might actually be able to tame that baked potato and get small enough pieces for your chopsticks to be able to handle! Well then, cheers, everyone! Jap! Das …
The Lights in the Hallway
Die Lichter im Flur This is our hallway: Das ist unser Flur: And this is our hallway when the lights are off: Und das ist unser Flur, wenn die Lichter aus sind: Which happens every once in a while and then you have to find your way through the darkness. Unless, of course, genius strikes you and you get the brilliant idea to try out the light switch. And then you notice, it’s not a problem with the hallway’s electricity. Just, no one before you thought of simply trying out the light switches. Of course, the big question remains: Who gets the idea to turn off all lights in the hallway? But I guess that’s a question for which we have to find the answer another day … Das passiert hier hin und wieder mal, und dann musst du halt einen Weg durch die Dunkelheit finden. Es sei denn, dich trifft ein Geistesblitz und dir kommt der brillante Gedanke, dass du vielleicht mal den Lichtschalter probieren …
A Hunter’s Life
Ein Jägersleben Alright, alright! Admitted, it’s my fault. I left out some fruit stuff for too long. So I can’t really blame those little critters, though they certainly were not at all welcome in my home. But welcome or not, they did come. And not too few, and here I was, having myself a pretty nice little fruit fly invasion. But I wouldn’t be me, if I’d allow that to bug me. So, I put on my hunter’s gear (aka a cup of water with vinegar and some fruit juice, and – most importantly – dishwashing detergent) and went on a fruit fly hunt. And if you look closely, I was victorious! I managed to catch quite a number of these things and have to conclude: invasion evaded! On to new adventures! Also gut, ich geb’s ja zu: es ist meine Schuld. Ich hab so ein paar Obstsachen zu lange draußen gelassen. Also kann ich diesen kleinen Viecher wirklich nicht allzuviel in die (nicht-existenten) Schuhe schieben, ausser dass sie wirklich wirklich nicht bei mir …
Smokin’ Good
Verr(a)ucht Do you see this? Seht ihr dies Bild? This is our lobby. And no. This isn’t a bad picture taken of the lobby (though, admitted, the picture is pretty bad). But this is our lobby during harvest season. The mist you see in the picture is actually smoke. From all the harvest fires. And that smoke doesn’t just give our lobby a sweet and dreamy appearance. That smoke is everywhere, wafting through the hallways and into our rooms. Smokin’ good, ain’t it! Das ist unsere Eingangshalle. Und nein, das ist nicht nur ein schlechtes Bild von unserer Lobby (obwohl, zugegeben, das Bild ist ziemlich schlecht). Aber das ist unsere Lobby während der Ernte. Der leichte Nebel, den ihr da seht, ist eigentlich Rauch. Von all den Erntefeuern. Und der Rauch gibt nicht nur unserer Lobby eine verträumte Erscheinung. Dieser Rauch ist überall, wabert durch die Flure und Hallen in unsere Wohnungen. Ziemlich verr(a)ucht, findet ihr nicht auch?
Of Buckets and Bowls and a Very Risky Shower
Von Eimern und Schüsseln und einer ganz riskanten Dusche The announcement came a couple of days ago: There will be no water on Saturday due to some maintenance work (or should I say because there’s been a number of colleagues who haven’t had hot water in their showers for quite a while?). A friendly reminder came in last night, once more emphasizing that water would be out from 8 am to 6 pm, or in other words the entire day. Someone had mentioned to me a couple days ago that this only applies to certain parts of the building (where I live wasn’t supposed to be part of that). So, I kind of ignored those notifications and merely made a mental notice that I’d fill up a bucket and a bowl before the water was gone, hoping that I’d remember. It being a holiday, however, I “forgot” to wake up before 8 and by the time I saw the notification again, which reminded me, it was nearly 10 am. Oh no! I said to …
Of Rain, Lobbies, And Missing Buckets
Vom Regen, einer Eingangshalle und fehlenden Eimern Check this out: It’s been raining (yes, I talked about that blessing yesterday) but by crossing our lobby, we have no other way to tell than by looking out of the windows. Yes, as a matter of fact, our “rain-proof” in-lobby weather report doesn’t work anymore. All the buckets are gone, and there are no puddles around to tell us to beware that we might need to prepare ourselves for odd weather circumstances outside. Whether the fact that the buckets are missing and the leaks are gone – in other words, whether our personal weather indicator has finally been put out of order is a tragic thing or not, I leave for you to judge. Seht euch das nur an: Es regnet (ja, über diesen Segen habe ich ja schon gestern philosophiert), aber wenn man unsere Eingangshalle kreuzt kann man nur noch erkennen, dass es draussen regnet, wenn man aus den Fenstern guckt. Tatsächlich funktioniert unserer “regensicherer” In-Lobby Wetterbericht nicht mehr. Alle Eimer sind weg und auch …