Happy New Year 2009!

Our New Year's Eve was pretty good. Not that exciting but quite relaxing. With some Schmalzkuchen I made. (I used the same recipe as here for the dough but added a little bit of extra sugar, cut them into little rectangles, let them rise again and fried them in sunflower oil for a few minutes).They turned out so yummy that even my Dad (who is my worst critic) asked for a second (and third) serving.We watched some TV, had a nice dinner and played Coloretto for hours.We met our neighbors on the street at midnight to wish them a Happy New Year and headed back inside quickly because it was really really cold.

School is going to start again on Wednesday and I'll spend my last couple of days off with reading books about teaching German to 1st graders. Such an interesting subject but also a sort of scary idea to be responsible for this very first and super important year... I want to do it right!

Shhhh!

I'm totally with Susanne on this one! No fireworks around here except for a few sparklers. Our first dog spent New Year's Eve in the shower each year. It was the only place she felt save. And Mücke and Juri, our two cats, will probably spend tonight behind the couch or under the bed. I don't even want to know about all the animals outside! Hopefully they'll all find a good place to hide.A happy New Year's Eve to all of you! And remember: Shhh!

Loud!

Turn up your volume really loud and party on!A great suggestion from the very sweet Sofia who's music taste is the best! The Fratellis are really awesome and so are The Ting Tings (who I also listen to because of Sofia). You really should check them out as well. I'd post another video here but I think it messes with my blog...

It's already over?!

We had a good time! We spent Christmas Eve at my parent's, had some yummy dinner and ice cream. The non vegan kind looked pretty good......but I'm sure the vegan kind tasted way better (especially with the green jello)! We played some games and exchanged gifts (I got a new lens for my camera and a flash!)
We drove to C's parents on the 25th. Had some yummy lunch, played with the remote controlled dragonfly my sister in law had given to her boyfriend, ate some cake, drank coffee and left for our little trip to Zingst at the coast. Went for a walk, had to watch the (traditional) Christmas diving......couldn't wait for the divers to recover the hidden treasure because it was so freezing cold.
Met part of C's family who came to visit us and went window shopping through the town.Ended the day with some good pizza and seabuckthorn glogg (Sanddorn-Glühwein).

Ch... ch... change!!!

Are you still there?! (Insert deep sigh here) I don't know where to start! It's been quite a while since my last post and a lot has happened during that time. Plans were made, were revised, new plans were made.
Summing it up it would probably go something like that: C and me finally (after months and months of (re-)consideration) signed the contract and will begin to build a house this winter.Then I also got notice that I can start my internship at a school on Monday, November the 3rd. The school is (a bit) further away than what I had wished for so I'll be moving to a (super awesome!) flat the weekend before that and will only come home on weekends and during my vacations.These two big undertakings kept us busy during the last weeks. Looking at show houses, talking to people at the bank, deciding on the layout of our new house, looking at kitchens, looking for a flat near my new school, buying furniture, ... there was a lot to do and think about!

Unfortunately me starting to work at a school also meant that I had to say bye to my beloved "job": taking care of little Pandabär.And since I don't know how much spare time and energy I'll have for sewing it also means shutting down my Etsy store (at least for now). I suppose even if I get to sew a lot, I'll be working on stuff for my little flat and the new house most of the time.

So, a lot has changed in my life and I think this blog might change a bit too during the next months. I predict lots of school talk and of course I'll also be talking a lot about wall colors and kitchen tiles and furniture and so on in the near future even though all these decisions have to be made when all the big stuff is already done. Let's hope it goes well!

A winner and a big thank you!

C enjoyed being the important person to draw the lucky winner when he came home from work last night. He turned it into a big show and I wish you could have seen it too (very entertaining!). In the end he finally managed to draw one piece of paper from the bowl and it's emma (emsan)!!! I'll make sure to get your little package on its way as soon as possible, Em! Now I need to thank each and every one of you! Your suggestions are deeply appreciated!
I am in the middle of trying to put your ideas to practice. The suggestion to add some less expensive items, which came from quite a few of you, is probably a very good one!!! I already have something in mind. Let's see how that will turn out.
I don't think I'll be able to lower the prices in general. Of course I do love to sew and it does bring a lot of joy but unfortunately fabrics, thread, buttons, zippers, a.s.o. are fairly expensive in Germany and I'd really like to make some profit too... just to make up for all the time I spend on every single item and just so I can buy more fabris and sewing supplies actually.
Once I'll add some more items I'll most definitely start to use different categories and if I should actually have a creative moment I might even come up with better names for the things I make.
To list items as often as possible is probably another very good advice... at least that's what I read now in some forums too! I never thought of listing one item at a time but that way of course one will be easier to be found during searches.

I hope to get it all fixed within this month and will probably post about it once its done. Thanks bunches! You all rock!

Overwhelmed!

I really am overwhelmed by all your responses to my last post!!! First of all it sets a new record (regarding the numer of comments and I really could get used to that!) and then I really like all your thoughtful ideas and suggestions! I'm definitely going to consider each and every one of them. I'm already working on some things I'm going to change/add.
All of your comments are very helpful to me! Thank you so much for taking the time and sharing your thoughts!I now do remember why I didn't have more giveaways on here. The thought that just one of you will be rewarded for her efforts is not a very nice one! Unlike last time I unfortunetly won't be able to change my guidelines and can't sent something to everybody who participated (6 people where much easier to handle back then).Time to show you what exactly you could win, I guess. I decided to keep one item a surprise though. I hope you'll like these as much as I liked your comments... keep them coming! You still have until Sunday night!

A Giveaway!

I just realized that I missed my blog anniversary, my 100th post and even my 15oth post! Since my last (and only) giveaway was ages ago I figured another one was more than due. I really want to thank everybody who ever commented here and also every silent reader I might have. (I'm not a frequent commentor myself but there are a lot of blogs I enjoy on an almost daily basis and I'm glad there are so many creative people out there which inspire me and keep me going!)Now here's the idea:
All you need to do to be entered into the drawing is check my Etsy store and then come back and leave me some constructive feedback or give me some advice on what to change or tell me the selling-strategy that works best for you. Anything goes! I swear I won't take it personally. You may keep it short if you prefer to do that.
What do you get for all your effort?!
The chance to win some strawberry goodies! This little bag and some other cute things I'll put inside. I already have three items I'll include but I'm also waiting for something else I ordered. For now you'll have to believe me that it's awesomley cute stuff but I may upload a picture once I got it all together! You can only enter into the contest once (even though I'll appreciate each and every feedback you might want to leave me at any time!) and it is important that you comment here and NOT on flickr to be entered into the drawing!
I'll close this contest next Sunday, August 3rd at midnight (CET). Then I'll let C. do the drawing on Monday and announce the winner here.

Thank you for participating and GOOD LUCK!

What to do...

...with all those pretty scraps?

ETA: Thanks to marzipan I know what to do with them now: fabric pom poms. You all need to look at Molly Chicken's tutorial. Isn't that fabulous?!

On the roof top!

Our cats like to hang-out on our roof or the surrounding ones. They can just jump from one to another or balance over the connecting balks. Of course the cats of our neighbors think that these are cool places too, so today I was met by this girl who greeted me very friendly.I'm not sure what she thinks of Mücke and Juri or what they think of her. I'm sure we'll see find out soon because my boys certainly won't give up this spot. See this grumpy and feisty little guy?On another note... Mass production is not my kind of thing but I think I should do it more often. It saves a lot of time that's for sure!I hope to finish these WIPs tomorrow.

A Whimsy Jar!

My first actually. I've seen quite a few on flickr before and really liked how the looked. I think that is a super special way to pack your gifts. I like the fact that there is no trash involved and that you can use the packing again and again for lots of different things.And you know what I like about it too? You get to store all the little gifts together until it is time to give them away. Unless you forget where you store the jar you won't be searching for all the tiny gifts you bought along the way. Oh, I think it's just neat!I made this one for a swap on swap-bot but it certainly will not have been my last! Decorating alone is so much fun. I might need to keep a few just for me... you can never have enough jars in your house to store all the bits and bobs, can you?

A little red!

Look at all the goodies I scored at Charlotta's! Actually the picture does not show all I bought and there was also a lot more I would have wanted! I could say I restricted myself because I'm a good girl but the truth is, it was so crowded that day that I FORGOT some of the things I wanted since I wanted to rush it. Umh, good thing is Johanna wants to go to Charlotta's soon and I'll definitely accompany here. Oh wait! That could be the bad thing as well...No, it's not! I do NEED some robot fabric and some Michael Miller fabric too. Not to mention some more ribbon! Everybody NEEDS ribbon, right?

And guess what! I'm not only buying fabric... No, I'm also making stuff with it! Yes, it's true. I've been crafting. Unfortunately I can't show it to you yet because it's for the fabric button swap on little red caboose. I mailed my little package off today and will show you the contents as soon as my partner received them.

Las Vegas, NV - Victorville, CA - L.A., CA

Day 23:
Woke up to lots of sunshine, couldn't wait to get to back on the road. Drove along some pretty roads all the way to Death Valley N.P., enjoyed the heat until we took a short walk through the sand dunes and I thought my feet were on fire, were really thankful for our air condition inside the car. Drove to the visitor centor, watched the movie and looked at the exibiton, explored the park a bit more (definitely a favorite now!).Left in the late afternoon to get to Las Vegas, saw some casino road signs just minutes later and thought it was like at the beginning of our trip (got kind of sad 'cause that wasn't the case).Reached Vegas, checked into The Signature at MGM (the best hotel on our trip - the most expensive too), said good bye to our road trip.Went gambling and wished we didn't afterwards.

Day 24:
Stayed in our hotel room until check-out time, went shopping for the last time, had lunch at a wonderful Indian restaurant, bought tons of vegan donuts, left Vegas, drove to Victorville, checked into a hotel for the last time.

Day 25:
Packed our suitcases (which took forever), cleaned out the car, drove to L.A., returned our rental car, went to the airport, had to wait quite a while, flew back home!

San Francisco, CA - Oakdale, CA - Mammoth Lake, CA

Day 20:
Took a little walk at the beach of Mendocino.Looked at all the gorgeous gardens.Would have liked to spend another day but started to get scared we wouldn't make it back to L.A. on time, drove along the winding coast (I got car sick!) until we reached San Francisco.Had been there 9 years ago, remembered it all very differently, didn't like our hotel at all (even though it was sooooo much better than the first time - why is it so hard for us to find a nice hotel there when that wasn't a problem ANYWHERE else?!), went to Fisherman's Wharf and Chinatown.

Day 21:
Went to the Japan Center (awesome!), did some shopping (at Sweet Papery!!! Where I bought all the materials to make our own wedding anouncements, which I'll tell you more about soon), had some pizza, left the city and drove all the way to Oakdale so our next stop could be Yosemite N.P.

Day 22:
Had been warned by our book that it might be crowded at Yosemite but the receptionist of our hotel told us that this wasn't true especially not in May, had high expectations concerning wildlife viewing, reached the park and realized that our book was right once again: way too many people for my taste and probably because of that NO animals (not for us that is), instead some beautiful landscapes.Lots of wonderful viewpoints.Didn't feel like freezing temperatures, snow and ice anymore at all, left the park at the east entrance, took a short trip to Mono Lake where it was really stormy, were met by a seagull which agreed to be my model so I could try out the new lense we had bought.Drove to Mammoth Lake, found a hotel and hoped for sunshine for the rest of the trip.

Kerby,OR - Mendocino,CA

Day 18:
Drove to Crater Lake National Park (which meant kind of a long detour), didn't expect that much snow at all, watched the movie at the visitor centor.Took the road up to the lake, enjoyed the stunning view but were a little disappointed to find that many people up there with us who where all standing at the only accessible viewpoint (so it was really crowded!), were freezing, left again.Drove for a long time through the mountains to get back on our route. Were really tired when we stopped at a hotel in Kerby.

Day 19:
Reached the west coast, went for a little walk in Crescent City.Drove through Redwood National Park, took a couple of small hikes to look at all the amazing trees, thought of bringing one back home to my dad who would probably turn it into something amazing, decided that this was probably against the law and wouldn't leave enough room in our suitcase for all the other cool stuff we bought.Had to drive through the Chandelier Tree (twice of course!).Took #1, enjoyed a beautiful sunset.Were still searching for a hotel when it was already really dark, tried to distract myself with taking pictures (I hate driving at night because I'm always scared of running over an animal).Finally reached Mendocino, found a lovely hotel which also offered fine vegetarian dining in Mendocino but it had no rooms left, were sent to the Mendocino hotel were we got a cozy little room w/o bathroom, were too tired to go back to the restaurant at the other hotel, fell asleep.

Portland, OR - Cottage Grove, OR

Day 15:
Reached Oregon, stopped at the visitor centor, got advised to take the Historic I 84 as soon as possible to get to Portland, didn't regret it:a winding road, beautiful views, much less traffic than on the new interstate, wildflowers as far as you could see, old and lonely places,a rainforest with beautiful waterfalls.Reached Portland when it was getting dark, checked into our hotel, went to an all vegetarian Chinese restaurant with super delicious food.

Day 16:
Went to Herbivore and Food Fight!, had lunch at a nice little restaurant at the next corner, drove downtown, fell in love with Portland instantly, did a little sight seeing and a little shopping (I bought my very first blind box toy and a super cute side dish bento box at "Hello Portland - Where all the cool kids shop!" And you know that's so me, don't you?).Had dinner at a brewery, did a little more sight seeing, went to Powell's, could have spend the whole night there but weren't allowed to, headed back to the hotel.

Day 17:
Thanks to the lovely owner of Hello Portland we visited Hawthorne Blvd., had lunch there and did a little more shopping, had to leave Portland even though I didn't want to, got back on the road, realized we didn't take any pictures in this wonderful city (arrgh!), drove to Cottage Grove.