home instead of berlin...

i was gonna go to berlin tonight, instead i'm home due to - uhm - infrastructural problems. i was pretty frustrated since i was looking forward to going there for about 3 years (ok ok, but at least 4 weeks).

so i sat down on the sofa with the cats, a glass of red wine, a huge plate of sushi and booked a new ticket for tomorrow morning.

can't wait to go to sleep and wake up again.

my plans include these:

si an - one of the best vietnamese restaurants i've ever been to.

watch funny people.

cupcake berlin - so good.

get some new fabric supply from frau tulpe (source)

stop by fräulein herz's new shop

have i mentioned i can't wait?

letters & writing

source

source

source

source

source

source

my zurich

don't be suprised if you don't recognize the swiss capital :)

some time ago, i decided to not take pictures of famous sights or monuments any more, because i believe they have been photographed so many times before - and so much better than i would ever manage. instead, i try to capture what made a place special to me.

so, depending on general attitude or current mood, in this case this could mean:
* old clutter * rusty containers * sugar, fat & colourant * scungy shed *

or:
* lovely pieces full of history * the coolest store you've ever seen * pastel deliciousness * a cheerful euphemism*

which suits better for you?

bartering en petit

i've been hoping, praying, swearing and conjuring.
completely in vain.
it's not gonna stop snowing.

in times like these, i can recommend having a lovely colleague who knows how to knit and will knit beautiful winter accessories, like these supersoft wrist warmers:

personally, i'm not a knitting person, not patient enough. so i prefer having someone knit for me and keep the more coarse stuff for myself, like baking. i made these cakes for her:


i'll be off to zurich tomorrow, taking my camera and hopefully come back with loads of photos.

have a nice weekend!

zurich & chopsticks

my first (and only) time in zurich was when i was 19. i visited a friend who had just started going to university in constance.

we drove to zurich because a) it's not far and b) the gas was cheaper in switzerland. besides that, the only thing i remember is that we went to a beautiful japanese store where we bought chopsticks.


chopsticks.

not for eating - by that time, i wasn't very interested in home improvement articles. my friend and i returned them to their true determination, as we believed: hair accessoires. seriously, they were perfect to pin up our long, curly hair, and so much prettier than regular pencils or whatever else could be found in our bags during boring classes.

so this is my connection between chopsticks and zurich, and since i will be going back on the weekend, i had to think of that.

btw, what are you favourite guidebooks?

the postman always rings twice

fortunately so. if he hadn't rung twice, i wouldn't have received these beautiful flowers (although i wanted to kill him at first, because it was saturday, 10 o'clock in the morning and i was still in bed with a heavy hangover.)

and actually, it wasn't the postman. it wasn't a fleurop guy either, it was a taxi driver! luckily it wasn't the same one who took me home just a few hours earlier.

anyway. thanks, lucy! you're the best.

and you gave me the chance to test my new macro lens. for the lack of another motif (cats have no appreciation whatsoever for macro lenses) i took about 467 pictures of the bouquet.

the second exciting event of my sunday: the self-timer function of my camera.

happy sunday!

silver and gold

the snow slowly started melting today, but the weekend was still entirely covered in snow.

here's what kept me going inspite the crisp white coldness:

a tarte tatin

a stash of freshly swapped clothes

a set of old fashioned bobby pins (thank you, niandra!)

take care,
j x

will it ever stop?

source

to be honest, i don't think so. i'm pretty sure the whole global warming thing was just a big misunderstanding - or, even worse, part of a large-scale conspiracy. i'm not sure at all if it will be sunny and warm ever again. so i figured i'd better get used to it - otherwise, the disappointment would be to big to stand it.

so by my standards, i've come to terms with the snow quite well. since i don't leave the house any more unless i really have to, i've got lots of extra-time to spend with my sewing machine. here's what i've sewed in the past 5 days:

*a rain- and snowproof sponge bag
*a rain-and snowproof camera bag
*a rain- and snowproof shopping bag
*a pair of striped, lightweight cotton pants for summer
*a wrap-around skirt for summer

you see, i have not quite entirely admitted defeat, there are still parts of me that keep on fighting. but the snow is really wearing me down.

so, if you're fighting against the urge to coil up and sleep until spring (like me), i recommend some fun projects to brighten up your day. as promised, here is the tutorial for the rain- and snowproof shopping bag:

1. gather your materials. i chose a waterproof fabric, soft linen fabric for the lining, some trim and a doily.

2. cut the pieces the size you want them to be. you need 2 big pieces for the bag plus 2 for the lining (same size). afterwards, cut 2 long pieces for the handles.


3. applique your trims etc. on the fabric before you sew the two pieces - left side on left side - together.

3. sew and cut off the edges to make the bag a little spacier. do the same with the inner bag.

4. sew inner and outer bag together. though i hardly ever use needles to fix the fabric because i'm too lazy, this is the right moment to do it. it'll help you to get the stuff toghether without unwanted pleats.

5. make two handles out of the small fabric pieces and sew them onto the bag. stitch back- and forwards multiple times to make sure they won't come off or tear.

6. done! now take your new bag for a walk in the snow - if you dare.

happy snowing - uhm - sewing.