Leap day

29 February: The day women are "allowed" to propose to their men. I don't think I had ever come accross this tradition in Germany and having googled it tonight it does indeed seem much more widespread in the UK.

If the man doesn't accept the proposal, he has to buy her 12 pair of gloves - this will allow her to hide her embarrassment of not having an engagement ring. Why 12 pairs I wonder... And why have men not come up with a penalty for women who refuse their proposal?

While there is a 29th day in every other month, I think it still looks weird or just plain wrong to see it written down: 29 February. Is that just me?

Chicken pie

I spent most of today in a meeting, that seemed to go on forever... Worst of all, I wasn't actually due to attend this meeting but somehow managed to talk myself into attending it. Maybe it was my subconscious that - knowing how much work was awaiting on my desk - tricked me into signing myself up to sit through this meeting instead. Not very clever, as it just means that even more work is waiting for me tomorrow.

So, after a just very slightly tedious day in the office, I then had the pleasure of spending an evening with my friend Denisa and her absolutely gorgeous son Milan. First and last time I had seen Milan, he was about 2 months old. Even though he is only a month older, he has grown so much and looks like a proper person already. He inquisitively scans everything around him and when he gives his Mummy a big smile, he lights up the whole room (very cliched, but so true!).

I had a wonderful evening with loads of chatting, a delicious chicken pie and baby cuddling.

Many thanks, Denisa, and I hope to see you again soon!

*Good night*

The postman always rings twice

Not today though: my two amazon orders were delivered in one big package.
And this is what I got:

This is the next book I am reading for our little German bookclub. The bookclub was born about a year ago. We made the huge mistake (?) of starting with an exceptionally good book: The Lazarus Project by Aleksandar Hemon. Everything that followed was simply disappointing by comparison. Some of them were even just disappointing in their own right. I can't even pick the worst! I do wonder how Herta Müller managed to win the Nobel Prize in Literature... But then, what do I know?!

I've developed a fear of flying over the past 6 years or so. I have no idea what triggered it. I basically am scared of dying and can manage to make myself panic whenever there is a turbulence. It's a horrible feeling. I rationally know that flying is much safer than driving for example but my brain doesn't seem to function rationally when I am on a plane.
So, I came across this CD and thought I'll give it a try. 


I'll let you know how I get on with it.




I've recently been having problems going to sleep. Besides, I've met a few people at the meditation class who had experiences with hypnotherapy. I thought this CD would be an interesting experiment: "it combines skilled hypnotherapy techniques with state-of-the-art digital recording technology to guide you safely into a deep sleep every time...Track 2 includes 'Lucid dreams for problem solving', which will not only guide you into a deep sleep but will help you to find solutions to any problems through your dreams." I'm sceptical about the latter - but who knows!

Linked to my fear of flying is my fear of dying. Quite some year ago, I read one of Yalom's novels and really liked it. In "Staring At The Sun: Being at peace with your own mortality: Overcoming the Terror of Death" Yalom 'explores how the knowledge of our own mortality affects the unconscious mind of every human being.'

A bit of a self-help package this month.

Animal Farm

I love animals. Well, most animals. I really don't like snakes, for example. Or lizards. Or spiders.

Anyway, today I visited Hackney City Farm. They have pigs and goats and donkeys and sheep and chicken. It seems a hugely popular place - not only for kids. The little cafe was absolutely crowded. Seems a trendy, hip place to be at! We actually decided not to queue and went to a Mezze place instead. Turned out not to be such a wise decision though, as we had to wait for the food forever. Never mind; before the food, we had a look at the animals:

One of these donkeys is Larry. Larry is about 15 years old (donkeys can apparently live to be 60). According to the farm's website, he is also a TV star and has featured on BBC and ITV and Google. Rumour has it that he's played a part in The Bill. Even though we couldn't quite imagine why a donkey would feature in The Bill. And he has also taken part in a nativity parade at Westminster Cathedral. Impressive, no?!

These two goats were majestically sitting on top of a hay stack. Calmly looking down on the hordes of screaming kids. And yes, those kids were annoying and the screaming very unnecessary. Maybe the animals have already gone deaf and therefore weren't bothered.

Isn't this a pretty (big) pig?

Look at the chicken!

Wenn es passiert

Music from German band Wir sind Helden: "Wenn es passiert"

Transform your life

From the book "Transform your life - a blissfull journey" by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso:

As Bodhisattva Shantideva says:

All the happiness there is in this world

Arises from wishing others to be happy,

And all the suffering there is in this world

Arises from wishing ourselves to be happy.

Much more often

As a child, my Mum would take my sister, my brother and me to the library every week. I loved reading and would read several books a week. The obsessive reading continued into my early teens, when I raided the school library.

I don't actually remember, when this stopped. Well, it never stopped altogether, but the number of books I am reading has decreased significantly. Which really is a shame, as I still love reading just as much as I did when I was a child. I completely immerse myself in the story. It feels as if I am part of it, as if I personally know all the characters (whose names I can never remember though. I generally have a good memory, but when it comes to character names in books as well as films, I'm absolutely rubbish...). The moment I put down a book, there is always a little pang of disappointment about having to leave this fictional world.*

So, another one of my New Year's resolutions is to read at least one book a month. February's pick was The Understudy by David Nicholls. I absolutely LOVED his book One Day (while the movie is allright, I thought the book was wayyyyyyyy better), so I thought I'll give this one a try. The book is about Stephen, an unsuccessful actor, divorced with a young daughter. He works as the understudy for Josh - a successful, famous young actor, who can be as charming as pretentious and obnoxious. Stephen meets Nora, Josh's wife, and falls in love.
For the rest, you will have to read the book - or reviews.

I liked it. Maybe not as much as One Day - but then I LOVED One Day! I think it's funny, entertaining and while it's also a little predictable, I still really enjoyed it and didn't want to put it down.


*By the way, I don't usually read thrillers or crime stories - if I did, this would probably be a bit of a weird statement to make

Spring has sprung

After a belated and very cold (for English standards) winter, temperatures soared today and it felt very springy. Time for some flowers:

They do look nicer than the photo suggests!

Glossybox February

excitement rises...

Tadaaaaaaa!!

After a red December box and a pink January-Valentines box, the February Glossybox has arrived in a pale pink. And here's what I got (from left to right):

• Dr Bronner Lavender Hand Sanitiser: nice smell, very practical, but maybe not what I expected in the glossybox
• BM Beauty Pure Mineral Eyeshadow, colour My Majesty: not what I would usually wear, but actually quite a nice shimmery colour
• DuWop Venom gloss in buttercup: Here's what their website says: If beautiful shine with stunning color and the Venom tingle is what you're looking for, Venom Gloss delivers. Blending that same spicy concoction of cinnamon, wintergreen and ginger with skin softening ingredients like jojoba, avocado and sunflower oil, beeswax for protection, and green tea for soothing, Venom Gloss gives you full, soft, hydrated lips.The spicy concoction really does make my lips tingle, and apparently plumps your lips. It smells nice (I guess that's the cinnamon), but I really do not like the tingling. So, I won't be using it.
• Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Relaxing Balm: Intense hydrating treatment for my hair. Haven't tried it yet but look forward to trying it. It's meant to calm frizzy hair, which is always a good thing!
• Como Shambhala Invigorate Shower Gel: Smells nice, but haven't yet tried it.

Overall it's an ok box, but compared to the December and January box I was a little disappointed. Bring on the March box!

Helau and Alaaf on Pancake day

It's carnival time in Germany (and other places). I have to say that this is the time of year, where I am glad not to be in Germany. I really don't like carnival. I wonder whether this is a result of a childhood trauma - never will I forget how my Mum made me wear a pair of (ugly) trousers underneath the pretty blue satin princess dress, when I was 6. Yes, it was cold, but this just completely ruined my look!

Since moving to the UK, I've been introduced to Pancake Day*. So, it's no longer Faschingsdienstag!

Despite my best efforts, I didn't get to eat a pancake today though... I ventured out at lunch time with my colleague. The new cafe that just opened round the corner from the office, did offer crepes on their menu (close enough to pancakes, I'd say), but it turned out that they didn't have any today! Judging from the waitress' reaction when I commented what a pity that was right on this day, she seemed to have never heard of pancake day. Can this really be true?

OPI Let them eat rice cake with I'm Indi-a-mood for love dots

To finish the post for today I'm showing you my nails, as they look a bit clown-like (not on purpose...) - my discreet way of fancy dress today.

I found this tutorial on youtube on how to make your own dotting tools. And no, I had never heard of "dotting tools" before, either.
I think the dotting worked really well, I'm just not very happy with the dotting design.

Oh, and I've been to the gym again tonight - motivation is still going strong!

*I have so far refused eating them with lemon juice though - that just seems wrong!

Everyone

... is precious. Cherish others.

The pursuit of happiness continues.

Wishing you all a good start to the week.

Let's not talk about it

I'm so glad I didn't go to see Liverpool play Brighton in the FA Cup today. While I would have loved to finally see Liverpool and Anfield, I don't think I would have coped very well with having to watch the seagulls getting trashed. Oh wait - I think they trashed themselves: 3 own goals????!!!! That must be some very sordid record.

6:1 for the Scousers. I haven't read any match reports (and won't), but it seems well-deserved.

Sunday living

I've been to the gym again!! Maybe my motivation will come from blogging about it? Who knows...
My other plan is to get some nice pictures of my self-made jewellery pieces. But I just don't seem be able to get good photos. How does the rest of the world manage (on ebay etc)???

Below some failed attempts:

Sport ist Mord*

I've never liked sport**. I quite frankly detested the PA lessons at school (with swimming being the worst of all evil). This is quite possibly linked to the fact that I am just not a sporty person. And the fact that I am scared of balls - I instinctively close my eyes when a ball comes in my direction. Which generally doesn't help, as the probability of getting hit and hurt by said ball, increases quite a bit.

All the same, I have actually been a gym member on and off for the last 12 years. Vanity was the motivator at first, and recently the fear of dying of a heart attack before I turn 40***, has also started to play a role.

The flat I currently live in comes with a small gym, which is literally a 3 minute walk from the flat. [to avoid any misunderstanding: this is not my personal gym, but available to all residents in the apartment block] And I somehow still manage to find millions of excuses of why I can't possibly go. Quite disgraceful really. The irony is, that once I am there and especially once I've finished the workout (despite all of the above), I actually feel really good! Shouldn't that alone be an incentive to go more regularly?****

If you have any advice on how I can successfully motivate myself, please get in touch!


*Sport is murder
** Cycling is the only exception to the rule - but only if I don't have to cyle uphill
*** In addition to my aggression problem mentioned in the commuter's diary, I also have a family history of increased cholesterol level and heart problems.
**** Jointly with improving my chances of having a long and healthy life.

A day full of surprises

In no particular order:

1) German President Christian Wulff announced his resignation.
The news about the home loan scancal broke about two months ago and he somehow managed to cling on to his post since then. I'm not sure whether it's more surprising that he did eventually quit or that he didn't quit earlier.

2) While Rochester is a town in Kent, a hotel in London can also have Rochester in its name.
This in itself is not surprising to me. What was surprising though was that another chain of hotels in London did not know this and tried to educate me, by pointing out that Rochester was in Kent. They must have thought I am a complete idiot for trying to get a hotel in Kent for a meeting that is taking place in central London.

3) One of my pastimes is to take part in competitions and surveys.
And today, I had the following package in the post:

Kellogg's Special K Hazelnut & Almond for me to try and enjoy and pass a verdict on to them.

I like surprises. Sometimes.

The Commuter's diary

It takes me about 45 minutes to get to work (door-to-door). And I pretty much hate every single minute of it. To be perfectly honest, I am surprised that I haven't yet had a heart attack in the rush hour or got stabbed... We are all in the same boat, but instead of trying to make this a little more bearable, we make it worse for each other. Isn't it bad enough that we regularly have to deal with signal failures and "minor" delays due to a broken down train? There aren't that many rules to follow nor are they complicated and they still seem to overburden the average commuter (and even more so the tourists...).

Here are my top three public transport annoyances:

1. People who do not understand the announcement to let people get OFF the train first. Seriously: why is this so difficult? Do they not realize that they are slowing up the whole process and they will NOT get on any quicker?
   
2. People who get on the tube and then just stand there. Moving down, anyone?
   
3. People who push and push in. We all need to get somewhere!

Rant over. The story I want to share today is actually a sweet one:
This morning at Limehouse, a family got on the DLR: Mum, Dad and toddler (about 2 years old, I would guess). Mum sits down next to me and pulls toddler on to her lap. Boy wriggles free and off her lap. Points at my seat and says: I want to sit THERE! Mum: smiles apologetically at me and says to boy: But the lady is already sitting there. A couple of minutes later, we approach the next station. Boy starts waving at me and says: Bye-bye lady. Nice tactic! And it worked! Well, I had to get off anyway. So I got up and did say to the parents that I had to get off anyway. For some reason they still thanked me. Not entirely sure what for...

(You had to be there really ... doesn't sound as cute in writing as it was in real life! Also, in case you think that I should have given up my seat: there were other free seats around.)

Junior Doctors

Series 2 of Junior Doctors started a few weeks ago. While the first series had been filmed in Newcastle, the second series is being (was) filmed at Chelsea and Westminster hospital in London. I hadn't watched any of the second series, but today I found out that someone I know also works at that hospital (as a junior doctor, as it happens). So, when he told me that he was in some of the shots and knows the whole lot, I of course had to watch it!

Thanks to BBC iplayer you can of course catch up on all previous episodes, so that was my evening's entertainment sorted!

Having watched it, here are my thoughts:
Firstly, I do hope that I (or anyone I know) won't have to go to hospital during the first week of August. Ever. That's when the junior doctors all start. While I fully appreciate that everyone has to start somewhere, I would really rather like to avoid being treated by someone who has just left university... According to their own admissions, they felt like "fake" doctors. And who can blame them: one day you are still studying, the next day, you're thrown in at the deep end!

Secondly, I don't think I could do the job. Not least as I haven't been to medical school (this does seem like a compulsory element)!

In all seriousness though, I don't think I could cope with the level of responsibility that comes with it. Constantly being under stress, never knowing what the day will throw at you. Having to make - sometimes life-saving - decisions in an instant. Getting attached (or trying not to) to some patients, and really not getting on with others. Not for me. So, I really do take my hat off to them.

Lastly, in comparison to the importance of their jobs, my own job seems really just a bit silly. And it's rather shameful how much stress I often create for myself. Note to myself: I should try more often to put things (in general) into perspective. And chill a bit more.

Monday meditation

Another meditation class. The teacher talked about love vs. attachment, about practicing patience and not judging. If you follow the principles, you achieve happiness.

Everything she says just seems so obvious (and still I'm unable to recount it... something wrong with my memory or my ability to express myself - or quite possibly both) and like a "no-brainer". But implementation is so hard.

I'm really enjoying the course and look forward to next week. And I will try to practice patience a little more each day.

A bit of colour

I discovered OPI (and China Glaze) nail polishes about three years ago. Since then I've got quite a collection together. The colours are great and the polish lasts up to a week without chipping. And with a wardrobe that has A LOT of black in it, the polish brings some colour into my outfit.

This one is called Malaga Wine. 

My nail wheels (yes, I like pink!!)

The secret of the Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club has five branches in London. We went to the one in Angel, in the Camden Passage. Quite amazingly, there always seems to be a queue (at least during weekends). We were looking for some coffee and cake, and ALL the places seemed to be really busy. So, we somehow ended up queuing, too. An Australian couple asked what was so special about this place, that there always was a queue. Well, we didn't quite know ourselves, as we were really only queuing, as all the places were full (I wonder whether they all have a queue, but the queues are just INSIDE the places, as they have more standing space...).

Anyway, it's a nice, quirky place. Service is very friendly and the smoothies are excellent. Whether or not I would queue for more than half an hour, I am still not sure. But find out for yourselves! (Apologies for not actually revealing the secret of the Breakfast Club - I will, should I ever find out!!)

The red one:
Pommy Granny:
Pomegranate, blueberries, raspberries, apples & ginger

And the green one:
Green is good:
Melon, mango, papaya, pineapple, spinach, mint, yoghurt & apple
No worries: this does not taste of spinach! It's very refreshing. I could primarily taste the mint and apple.

 

Pancakes and berries
with maple syrup and vanilla cream

I only tried a little: the cream with the strawberries (also not quite in season...) was delicious! Pancakes were nice, too, but I prefer the thinner "European" pancakes rather than these American ones.

Apple and Cinnamon French Toast
Thick eggy bread with roasted apples and cinnamon

Again, I only had a little taste (was still full from lunch!). The apples with cinnamon were great. The toast a bit too thick and eggy. But then, that's what it is, isn't it? (eggy bread)

Home

I took these pictures outside the flat a little while ago. At the moment, the view is obstructed by the building work that is going on for the cable car that will connect the Royal Victoria dock with the O2 Arena in Greenwich.

View over to the O2 Arena and Canary Wharf

The derelict Millennium Mills, contrasting with the modern ExCel exhibition centre right opposite and the various modern apartment blocks and hotels around the dock.

It's JESS!

Watching the latest episode of New Girl - and I love it!
(I really, really, really, really do NOT want Jess and Nick to get together!!!!!!! and I love Schmidt)

In case you haven't heard about this new American television sitcom: it's about Jess, who catches her boyfriend cheating. After the break-up, she moves in with three single guys (aforementioned Nick, Schmidt and Winston). Jess is kooky, likes to sing (a lot of made-up songs) and is very sweet-natured. She also happens to be very pretty...

While her kookiness would quite possibly drive me crazy in real life, it just makes her adorable and funny to watch on screen. And a tiny, little voice inside whispers that it would be quite cool really to be a bit Jess once in a while.

A good start into the weekend, after a week which seemed short and long at the same time. So many good and exciting and new things and quite a few not so nice, sad and old things.
But that's life. Innit?

Tschaka - You can do it!

Psychologies (the magazine) organized an event on "Make it happen in 2012". Four speakers gave short presentations before the group split in four with one of the experts doing a mini-workshop.

Admittedly, I was a little apprehensive: would this be all hollow motivational speak? With group hugs and "You can achieve all your goals if you really want to" pick me ups? And what kind of people attend these kind of events anyway??

All sorts. Attend these kind of events, it seems to me. Women (I think I saw one man) shared their agendas: ranging from relationship issues to (a lot of) work related changes. It was really interesting as well as touching how people opened up. And how we often seem to have a tendency to put ourselves down and to be overly self-critical. And impressive how a lot of people had made quite substantial progress already in their quest to achieve their dreams.

I've come away not only with a goody bag (I LOVE goody bags!) but also with lots of food for thought.

I'm very happy I signed up for it.

just like at a festival

As I mentioned before, it is bloody freezing. What I haven't yet mentioned is, that the low temperatures have led to (or contributed to?) one of the main water pipes in the estate, where my office is based, bursting. This happened some time early on Monday. After about 2 days, they now seem to have allocated the problem and hope they can fix it by Friday. In the meantime, it means, that all the offices don't have any water...

A number of portable loos have been dotted around the estate.
This morning it then turned out that the water for the wash basins had frozen. So, they are now providing bottles of water to wash your hands. The good news (?!) is that the stuff that is used to flush the toilets contains some anti-freeze - so at least the flushing isn't affected.

And to top it all off, we are having a meeting at our office tomorrow. I somehow think that our guests won't be too amused to find that they have to go into the freezing cold to use the loo (and it of course also means, that I cannot work from home).

Good times on the island.

Mmmmmmmh... food!

With very good intentions I remembered this morning to pack my camera (and I was very proud of myself, especially, as I am still half asleep when I leave the house in the mornings - I'd say I am the archetype of the not-a-morning person...).

Unfortunately, by the time I sat down for dinner in Magdalen Restaurant, I had forgotten all about it. Remembering just when I had cleared the last crumb of my plate. Well done, me. Therefore you will have to imagine the food.

This is what we had tonight:
Starters:

• Warm potatoe pancake with smoked salmon and creme fraiche
• Devon crab with warm potatoes

Mains:

• Shallot and cheese tarte
• Brill*

And coffee for dessert. All in all, a nice place with nice food and good service. I would probably recommend coming during the lunch hour, when they offer a good deal on 2 or 3 course menus. Portions could have maybe been a little bigger...


(*apologies, I didn't memorize the menu very well - there was a little more to it on the menu!)

Happiness lies within

Things sound so simple, but can be so hard to implement.

I attended one of the Meditate in London courses tonight. I had been before, but more than a year ago.

Happiness lies within our mind.

I feel calm and relaxed and very much hope that I can carry some of that calmness into my day at work tomorrow. And I'll definitely be back next Monday (not least cause I bought a pass for 5 courses...).

Best fried potatoes EVER

Just tried this recipe for Bratkartoffeln, which I found on Chefkoch.de and I can only wholeheartedly agree with all those who have already commented: it's very, very yummy! I greedily tucked in straightaway, so no photos this time

Physiology

I went to the gym this morning. Which is by the way, another item on my resolutions list. Probably the one that is going least well so far.

So, I was cycling away, while listening to Skunk Anansie and my thought were drifting. I usually do the "quick start" thing, where I manually decide at what resistance level and how long I cycle for. I decided to "mix it up" a little though, and went for the fat burning programme*.

For that to work, I had to continuously place my hands on the sensors next to the seat, which were measuring my pulse. The interesting thing was that my pulse significantly increased when I thought of one particular work related issue. I guess this isn't generally surprising. I guess it surprised me in as much as I didn't feel my pulse increasing - but I noticed it on the pulse sensor. So, it basically affected me, without me being consciously aware just how much it affected me (for example in relation to other issues I thought about, that didn't have any impact on my pulse).


*Given that I have a naturally high pulse, this was rather pointless, as the resistance level stayed the same throughout the 30 minutes. Based on my pulse, the machine thought I was burning fat already at the lowest level...

*LOL*

Just finished reading "I, Partridge". And loved it. It's really laughing out loud - funny.
Last summer, when I was in Germany, I was watching German comedy - and rather than laught, it made me cringe.

I wonder: Have I
a) lived in the UK for so long, that my sense of humour has changed?
b) German comedians have deteriorated in quality since I left the country?
c) I never found them funny and just forgot?

Which reminds me though of one German comedian, who I really like: Henning Wehn. He's not working in Germany though, but here in the UK as "German Comedy Ambassador". You can sign up to his monthly newsletter via his website - which I can highly recommend!

GOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As a die hard fan of the Seagulls, I decided that it would be much better not to watch today's game in the stadium. The cold would have surely numbed all my senses, so I wouldn't have been able to follow the game* and more importantly ENJOY the game.

Result: 1:0 for the Albion
3 red cards, winning goal scored in 90th minute. Not sure whether it was a really exciting or a very boring game... possibly a controversial one

[we played Leicester City, by the way]


*To be quite honest, I have difficulties following the game under normal circumstances [Why did they get a freekick? Why is everyone booing? And a lot of the times, I think we should have gotten a penalty! ]

Candy coloured shopping

I bought this skinny jeans today from New Look:

doesn't really capture the colour very well

I've really fallen in love with all the pastell colours that are in the shops right now. So much so, that I bought this even though it is a skinny jeans (as I couldn't find a mint coloured straight or let alone bootcut jeans). This is my first skinny and I'm not even sure it suits me. But I just had to have the colour! :-)

Question now is: what shoes to wear with it??

[By the way, I am not a fashion victim AT ALL!]


This also goes nicely with my soft pink, mint, white beaded necklace I made the other day:

I really need to work on my photographic skills

I also bought a basic black and peachy coloured short-sleeved T-Shirt at Primark (at £2.50 each, I couldn't not buy it!):

 

I also bought two metallic nailpolishes from Topshop, which I had seen in a magazine the other day:

Left: Cosmic Karma; right: Eyes of Steele

Last but not least, I bought these three eye shadows from KIKO:
 

I'm not so sure about the one on the right - it's a bit too reddish, I think. But otherwise, I'm happy (these are my first KIKOs): the colours are highly pigmented and stay on nicely.

Just like Christmas!

The other day I received my second glossybox*. I had read some disappointing reviews with regard to the German January glossybox, so was a little apprehensive. But I was very positively surprised.

I love the fact that it's like unwrapping a present (well, in my case it IS actually a present!!).
Here's what was inside my Valentine's Special Edition box:

Look how pink it is!!

see the heart sticker? I love all the details ♥

I missed out the glossybox candy that was also inside...

• Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner in midnight blue:
• very soft pencil, easy to use
• while it's a really nice dark blue, I think the colour might be a little too dark for me; but can probably use it for a more dramatic evening make-up
  
• Clarins extra firming night cream:
• haven't used it just yet
  
• Clarins extra firming day cream:
• have only used it once so far, but it has a very nice feel, is absorbed very easily and makes the skin feel very soft
  
• FAB Body moisturizer:
• haven't used it yet, but the smell isn't that great (it's fragrance free - maybe that's the problem?)
  
• Murad Skin perfecting primer:
• I was a little sceptical, cause the colour is relatively dark, but when applied to the skin, it actually blended in very well

So, I'm very happy with the January box and cannot wait for the February one!


*Thanks to my dear colleagues from work who got me a gift voucher for my birthday!

Really???

London is apparantly set to get colder than the antarctica.
Not sure whether this is true, but it is certainly bloody freezing.

When is the cold going to go away? That's what I want to know.
In the meantime, I have switched on the heating.

Interesting fact:
This is only the second or third time this winter, that I had to switch the heating on. I'm not sure whether it's the fact that the flat is tiny, the neighbours heat extensively, or the hot water boiler emits so much heat from its little cupboard, that the flat always has more than 20C - without the heating being on.

These pictures have actually been taken several years ago - but the current climate reminded me of the snow - which put the whole city on hold. Even though, the weather back then seemed nearly tropical in comparison to today...

I love pictures of paths

cute duckies

sleep

Looking forward to getting some sleep.
I was able to take a day's leave tomorrow. Sleeping, shopping and cooking.

Drinks with Beckham

...at Madame Tussaud's.
Free drinks and food + loads of photo opportunities with Beckham & Co.
The perks of event management