christmas – that lemon life

Meet GEM

Hola everyone.

God, it’s been so long since I last wrote down those two words. Way too long, to be completely honest with you. But I guess that happens when you are in the middle of your last year at university and also doing something very important and exciting on the side – the special something that I want to tell you all about today. First of all, I want to take the time to say that I hope that you all had a lovely Christmas and that, despite all the chaos that’s happening right now, you’re having a nice time with your loved ones. I’ve been back at home in Austria for two weeks now, spending some quality time with my family, but now we’re also back to a full lockdown, so I guess we’re all in the same boat (except for a few special ones… looking at you, Australia and New Zealand). Anyway, it’s been quite nice so far, but I’m also praying that I’ll be able to go back to London once the time has come, I really miss it. It’s actually pretty cool to have not one, but two places that you can call your home. I feel very lucky. Which also brings me back to what I wanted to show you all today.

I’m incredibly proud to present to you my very own magazine – GEM. Yes, I really did it. I went and launched my own magazine, with the help of my incredible friend Lauren, who is also my co-founder and co-editor, and our fantastic bunch of super talented writers, creatives and journalists. To be honest, even while I am typing this out, I cannot believe it is really true. I can’t even begin to explain how insanely excited and thrilled I am to share this with all of you. I have been dreaming about having my own magazine for so many years now and now it’s really become true.

So far, the whole experience has been nothing short of an insane dream. All of a sudden, I have this thing that belongs solely to me and that gives me the opportunities and freedom to interview my favourite bands and to review gigs and albums and so much more. It’s become my ultimate creative outlet and basically one of the most important parts of my life – even in such a short amount of time. And I mean, I’m not going to talk around the bush for long… having freaking Wallows on our first cover and then Nothing But Thieves, my ultimate loves, on our second one is just… I mean, that’s the material my brain usually comes up with during a dream at night or when I create a nice scenario in my head during a mellow ride on the top. Basically, it’s the stuff you usually make up, not the stuff that just becomes reality all of a sudden. But now it has become reality for me and I still can’t believe I’m now living a life where I can say I’ve already interviewed most of my favourite bands, and all of that for my very own magazine. Peak craziness, I’m telling you.

Naturally, I could spend all day and night telling you about the interviews and the overall insanity of this all, but I guess that would take a bit too long for all of us. What I can say though is that I loved every single one of them and that Conor, the lead singer from Nothing But Thieves is probably the most incredible person I’ve had the honour of talking to. Best interview of my life so far, without a doubt. Which makes me even prouder to have the guys on our cover – a band that has meant so much for me for so many years already. Not to mention that their album ‘Moral Panic’ is easily the best album of the year for me. What a gem (pun not intended… or maybe, yes).

As with all things that take up such a big part of your life, the magazine has kept me and Lauren busy all throughout the past months and also through the Christmas holidays, but it’s always been good busy. Of course it can sometimes get a bit much, especially if the world around you has been in flames for way too long, but I would never complain about the magazine. It means way too much for me to do that. And now that our second issue has been out for a month, we’re already busy working on the upcoming one, which will be out at the end of January. I already can’t wait to share it with the world and every single one of you, it will be a great one.

And now the moment has finally come for me to share the magazine with you all. The excitement is real, honestly. First of all, here are the links to our website, our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. And here is the link to where you can read our latest issue online and here is a link to our shop where you can buy a print copy of the magazine if you would like to support us or if you are just a paper person, like me.

I truly hope that you like the magazine and enjoy reading it just as much as I do. Naturally, I would absolutely love to hear what you think, so please don’t hesitate to leave your feedback and comments down below or to get in touch with me to discuss it further. I’m excited to hear from you. And until then, I wish you all the best time and already a very exciting happy new year. Let’s hope 2021 will be a lot better than 2020 in a whole bunch of aspects. And yeah, sending you all the tightest hugs and, as always, thanks so much for reading. x

Hello 2020

Hola everyone.

Happy new yeaaaar. (Oh my god, I’m so late, I can’t even believe it.) I hope you all are doing good and that you had a fantastic Christmas break and a great New Year’s Eve/Day and so on.

First of all, I want to apologize for being gone for so long. Like many others, I went home for the holidays and thus didn’t really have the time to focus on this blog. I mean, I’m sure I could’ve just posted some stuff, but this blog means way too much to me to post some mediocre content just for the sake of uploading something. That’s definitely not what this blog is about. But now that I’m back in London, I finally have the time again to sit down and write again.

As a little update on my behalf – the time I got to spend at home was absolutely fantastic. I mean, it was so lovely that for the first time in forever, I actually feel a bit homesick now that I’m back in the UK and away from home and my family. That’s how beautiful it was. I met up with my friends and my family, celebrated Christmas and New Years with them and went on a short holiday to Croatia with my parents and Molly. I fell asleep on the couch watching a movie with Peaches in my arms, went on countless walks with my mum and Molly, won and lost at card games, cooked delicious meals for my parents and overall just had a really really nice time. I really love my home. And I can’t wait to go back again in March.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that I’m not happy to be back in London after that month at home. Not at all. I think it will just take a bit of time for me to get into my routine here again. Go back to uni and work. Meet up with my friends and go to the cinema together. All the stuff I couldn’t do while being at home. And I truly am looking forward to the upcoming few weeks and months. I love it here, I really do. And I’ve already got so many exciting adventures and events planned, that there isn’t even any other option than to fully enjoy my time in London.

These plans also include this blog, which I really want to get rolling again now that I’m back. I still owe all of you my list of my favourite songs of 2019 and I’m thinking about doing a cute, little “goodbye 2019”-post, to basically reflect on the year and talk about the good (and bad) stuff. So I’m definitely going to write that. And maybe I’ll write a little thing about Tom’s gig that I went to at the beginning of December, the day before I went back home, which, unsurprisingly, was absolutely fantastic. Tom really never fails to blow me away.

Regarding today’s post, the one you’re reading right now (thanks for being here, btw), I thought it would be nice to just welcome the new year in. 2020 has arrived and with it a lot of things to look forward to, but also a few things that I would rather not have in this world. Australia is on fire, the USA (Trump) is trying very hard to start a fight with Iran and other countries and besides that, there’s just a lot of stuff happening that definitely doesn’t put a smile on my face (or any face, really). And I know that might make everything and the start of 2020 look a bit dark, but especially in situations like these, it’s crucial to focus on the good stuff. On all the things that actually do make you smile. The ones that are worth thinking of. Naturally, it’s very important to not just ignore today’s issues, but there are still ways to think positive while dealing with them. For example, I donated some money to the Wildlife Rescue Center in Australia. And the moment I did it, it lifted my heart a bit, because I was at least trying to help. So no matter how bad it might seem, there are always ways to help and make things better. And that’s kind of also my mantra for 2020 – to focus on the good stuff and try to do good as well. Say no to bad vibes. Or at least try to turn them into good ones.

I truly hope that you are all doing good and that you’re as excited for this year as I am. And maybe also for the comeback of this blog after the short hiatus. I am incredibly happy to be back and I can’t wait to continue sharing my adventures, stories, and thoughts with you guys. 2020 is going to be a blast, I can already feel it. So let’s all make sure it really will be. As always, I’d be super happy to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch. And, of course, I hope you enjoyed this post, wish you a nice week and thanks for reading. x

The ultimate update

Hola everyone.

I know, I know. Where the hell have I been? To be honest, I can’t even really defend myself here. The only thing I can say is that I’ve been so incredibly busy the past two weeks that running from uni to work and then back again has been basically the only thing I’ve been doing (besides sleep, which is the most important part, let’s be real). And I’m not complaining, but it has definitely led to me having nearly no time at all to concentrate on this blog, which is a shame. Buuuuut I’m finally back again and as it’s been quite some time – actually, just a bit over a week, but it feels like ages – I thought a little update post would be nice. Also, so much has happened, I just have to share it with you. Please enjoy.

Okay, let’s start with the most recent and also most exciting thing – basically the best thing that has happened to me this week. This month. Eternity. Whatever. Guess who today, literally just a few hours ago, bought tickets to see her favourite boys in Dublin next year? MEEEEEEEE. It’s me (duh). I can’t freaking believe it. I’m really going to see Ty and Josh again, at their (maybe) only solo show of the whole year. How is this real life? For those of you who are a bit confused right now, I’m obviously talking about Twenty One Pilots. Only my favourite band, in like, ever. And now, after the incredible year that was 2019, I’m also going to see them next year. This is just too crazy. Even more so considering that Jenna is pregnant and Josh and Debby are planning on getting married and the whole fandom thought they’d go on another hiatus after their shows finished this year. But no. There is this one solo show (besides a few festival appearances) in Dublin, with Nothing But Thieves (!!! my other boys) and Blackbear as supports. And I’m going. Holy freaking moly. At this point, I really have to thank my friend Lauren, who luckily was awake and could buy the tickets for us, as Ticketmaster decided to be a dick and not let me verify any of the credit cards I used (thanks guys). She was my savior. And I’m just so happy right now, oh wow. The 25th of June 2020 can’t come quickly enough – just to add, I’m going with my mum (because she’s the coolest, obviously) and the gig is literally on her birthday. Do you see now how crazy this all is? I’m literally the luckiest girl on earth.

So far, so exciting. Now let’s roll on to something I haven’t really talked about since I moved to London – my job. Or let’s call it the story of how literally the soberest person on earth ended up being a bartender. I know, what a weird concept. But it works, trust me. Because even as stressful and exhausting the job might be, I absolutely love it. I’m not going to explicitly name the venue I’m working at (you know, for safety reasons and all that), but it’s definitely the best place I could’ve found. The team is absolutely fantastic and feels like a little family, the customers are always incredibly nice and I basically get paid to attend concerts. In short, it’s literally the best job ever. And although I might not be able to tell the customers which gin or which rum tastes the nicest, I feel like I’m doing my job pretty well and I really do look forward to every single shift. I can only repeat myself – what a lucky girl I am.

And last but not least – Christmas is coming closer and closer and I can’t even begin to wrap my head around it. It’s literally lurking around the corner. Can you see it? Because I can and I’m immensely shocked how fast time has flown by. It feels like I only moved here a few weeks ago. And now I’ll be home again for the Christmas break in less than two weeks. How crazy is that? And although I’m unbelievably in love with London, I really can’t wait to finally be home. It will be nearly three months since having seen my parents, and, in all honesty, that’s simply way too long. I miss waking up with Peaches in my bed and cuddling with her late at night. I miss going for daily walks with my mum and Molly. I miss playing cards with my parents. I even miss having to wake them up every few minutes when they fall asleep on the couch while we’re watching a movie. I just miss being home.

Also, I don’t know about you, but I seriously can’t wait for Christmas. But not the presents or anything like that, I’m way over that age now (yep, I’m getting old). I mean the get-togethers with the family, the waking up to a snow-covered garden, the setting up the Christmas tree. And the fairy lights. I’m definitely ready for the fairy lights. Give me all the fairy lights. Might have to add now that London does an incredible job of basically covering the whole city in cute lights. I really appreciate it. So, yeah, Christmas can come. The chocolate-filled calendar is already propped up on my table.

And with that, we’ve already come to the end of this post… Oh, no, I forgot one thing. My interview with the one and only band half•alive has finally been published and I’m so so so happy to share with all of you (click here). I’m insanely proud of it and I really hope you enjoy it. Please don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts and comments – this also includes the ones for this post right here. And yeah, to come to a close: in a nutshell, I am currently doing incredibly well and I hope you are too. Also, I wish you all an amazing weekend and, as always, thanks so much for reading. x

Hello 2019

Hola everyone.

I know, I know, where the hell have I been? I’m so sorry for not positing anything for such a long time, but I thought it was the best to kind of just relax during the holidays and concentrate on spending my time with my family and friends at home. But now that I’m back in Brighton, I thought it was time to come out of my hole again. So, welcome back, guys, and hello 2019.

Now that I’ve been here for a week already, I have to say it feels like I’ve never been away, which is both good and sad. To be honest, I wasn’t in a really good state after I got here. I don’t think I’ve ever missed my home this much. But I’ve been talking a lot to my family and my friends, videochatting with my mum and stuff and now that uni has started again and I’ve got more stuff to do, I’ve been feeling better every single day. So yeah, back to business, right?

But enough of me – how were your holidays, Christmas and New Year’s Eve? Did you get to spend time with your family as well? I’m literally so happy that I got to be home for a whole month. It’s crazy how, when you leave your home and then come back again, you start to appreciate it all so much more. I mean, I’m honestly the luckiest person ever. We are the luckiest people, seriously. At least from my perspective. I’m so utterly grateful for my home and my family and my friends and just everyone and everything in my life. I think we as people often forget to appreciate those things and people we have around us everyday. Having dinner with your family. Having a comfy, warm bed to lie down in after a long day. Having a dog or a cat sitting next to you, who love you to the moon and back. Sometimes we all forget that all of this isn’t self-evident. Most people would probably do anything to have what most of us have and sometimes we kind of just forget about that. And that’s basically what the holidays and the time I got to spent at home taught me – to be more grateful for everyone and everything and to share happiness and love. At the end of the day, that’s the most important thing.

Bet you missed my deep, philosophical talks, right? Feels amazing to be back, honestly. I can’t wait to share all that has happened during my month at home with you and continue chatting about music and movies and more. I’ve missed you guys and being on here so much. This is literally my little home on the internet and I’m so grateful for that.

As always, I hope you’re all doing good and wish you an amazing week. If you’ve got any questions or anything else or if you just want to talk, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment down below. And, of course, thanks for reading. And again, welcome back, thanks for being here. x

Welcome to 2018 and Happy Anniversary

Hola everyone.

And welcome to a new year. I seriously can’t believe it’s 2018. Time is just flying by, it’s crazy.

You’re probably wondering where I’ve been the past week – at least I hope so – and I’d really really love to tell you that I spent my days watching movies, going out, meeting friends and family and basically just chilling, but unfortunately I can’t. I mean, of course I did all of these things, but today has only been the first day of uni and I’d really be up for a good holiday, what do you think? If there is one thing I haven’t been doing the past three weeks, it’s chilling and relaxing. I had one day I did nothing for uni and that was christmas eve. Apart from that, uni has been running and overtaking my mind day after day and I. CAN’T. STAND. IT. ANY. MORE.

I know, I know, stop whining Laura. Actually, I do have a reason to be happy, because in less than a month, I’ll be sitting at home, having completed and hopefully nailed all of my exams and finished my bachelor thesis. You can’t even imagine how much I’m looking forward to the 1st of February. The first day of semester break. I can’t wait.

But enough of that. What has been going on in your life? I have to say, as much as I had to work and study for uni, there actually happened quite a lot the past weeks. I am currently about to finish my application for uni (wish me luck guys), my first ever bachelor thesis finished alway through (yey), I’ve had the best christmas in years and new year’s eve was amazing too. I spent both events with my parents and my family, but I’ll tell you more about that in further posts. I of course have some pictures in my pockets, so stay tuned.

To be honest, I am actually so excited for this year. There is so much on my list, it’s nearly overwhelming. The concert season starts next month and if I’m not mistaken, I seriously have at least one concert scheduled for every single month until August – expect for May and June, but I’m more than positive that there is still more to come. I can’t believe I’ll be seeing two of my favorite people again this year – Martijn and Ed. It will be the third time seeing my favorite ginger and actually the fourth time seeing the cutest DJ on earth. I am so excited, I don’t even know how to articulate it. And holy moly, in March I’ll fly to London with my parents to see Fall Out Boy. So crazy. So awesome.

And there are so many amazing movies coming up. The first Infinity War movie – I’m already so excited. And Oscar season. And so many horror movies. And so many more. And oh my god, so many albums are coming up. Fall Out Boy, The Wombats and and and. I’m just really really excited.

And let’s not forget that I may or may not be moving to the UK in September. But honestly, if I start thinking about it I may get a panic attack and start to cry, so I’ll stop talking about it right now. Isn’t it crazy how a thing can both light up and break your heart?

So yeah guys, that’s just a little update from me. Here’s to 2018. Oh and guys, tomorrow is a really exciting date – it will be the two-year anniversary of this blog. It makes me so speechless. And I don’t even know how to thank you all enough. I mean, these past two years on here have been two of the best years of my life. And I got to share it all with you guys. You can’t imagine how happy this all makes me and how much this on here means to me. Seriously. Thank you all so much. And happy anniversary.

As always, I hope you’re all doing good and that 2018 has been good to you so far. I wish you all an awesome week and please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or thought down below. And, as always, thanks for reading. x

My Songs of 2017

Hola everyone.

The year is really coming to an end, isn’t it? I think not even my shock can change that. And as the year is ending, I thought I’d look through all of the songs I added to my playlist this year and then make some kind of list of my songs of the year 2017.

And what a year it has been. There were so many amazing songs and albums published. Ed has pretty much taken over the year with his album “Divide” and became the most streamed artist of 2017. And I’m so proud of him. I really am. And Paramore. Their new album “After Laughter” is pretty much breathtaking. And Nothing But Thieves surprised us all with their amazing new album “Broken Machine”. And I found my love for the fascinating Tom Rosenthal and his beautiful, calming songs. And Fall Out Boy teased their new style of music with three singles and I can just say, I’m pretty stoked for their new, upcoming album which is being released in the first half of January. And Martijn also released so many amazing songs, not to forget the show in Amsterdam I went to. I still can’t really believe that I experienced that. So crazy. And also all the other amazing, unbelievable concerts I attended. I flew to Zürich to see Ed – one of the best nights in my life. I saw Paramore and The 1975 in a matter of three days. I went to a festival to see Kings of Leon for the second time and had some kind of reunion with Two Door Cinema Club in Vienna, the one band it all started with. And so much more. What a crazy, amazing year it has been.

So, without further ado, here is my list of the songs of 2017. Please enjoy:

The Killers – Mr. Brightside
Saint Raymond – Night Crawling (Re-Edit)
Bad Decisions – Chills
The Hunna – Sycamore Tree
Hippo Campus – Monsoon (live)
Ed Sheeran – How Would You Feel (Paean)
BØRNS – 10,000 Emerald Pools
Fall Out Boy – Young and Menace
Paramore – Rose-Colored Boy
Kristian Kostov – Beautiful Mess
Kraftklub – Chemie Chemie Ya
Sidney Bechet – Si tu voics ma mère
Imagine Dragons – I Don’t Know Why
Martin Garrix – Pizza
The Wrecks – Favorite Liar
Nothing But Thieves – Amsterdam
Tom Rosenthal – Bob in the Rain and the Lizard of Hope

All of these songs mean something to me. Some of them are my favorite songs of an album. Some are songs I’ve been listening to basically 24/7. Some of them are songs that I just recently fell in love with all over again. And some are connected to really important, lovely memories of this year – whether it was a special moment at a concert, a nice evening on a holiday trip or a track in a movie. They all mean something. And through that they’ve all become a part of me, a part of myself.

And also, it seems like I wasn’t the only one who had the idea of doing some kind of musical summary of 2017 – Spotify did too. So they made some kind of list and statistic of my year on Spotify. And it’s pretty fascinating, I have to say. But it describes me in the very best way.

I think it perfectly shows what I enjoy most in music. The only thing that shocks me is that Martijn is missing from the list. But I think it’s so funny that the list of my favorite artists starts off with Tom Rosenthal and Ed, both really slow, calming musicians and then it does like a 180 degree change towards the more indie rock and pop zone with Nothing But Thieves, Fall Out Boy and Paramore. Also, I’m actually pretty proud of the amount of minutes I’ve listened to music – 17.408. That’s like 12 whole days. How crazy is that? Especially when you look at the amount of minutes of 2015 – just about 4700, I think. That’s a pretty huge increase, I’d say.

So yeah guys, there you go. That’s my musical year. And actually I already have so many concerts planned in 2018 – I think I’ve never had so many concert tickets waiting in my drawer. And I can’t wait to attend all of them. And I can’t wait for all the albums, songs, concerts and festivals that are waiting for me, waiting to be published, waiting to be attended. I’m really excited to see what 2018 has in store for me. And until then I’ll just enjoy what 2017 gave me. And I hope you do too.

Also, guys, I won’t be posting anything on Monday, as it’s Christmas, of course. So I wish you all an amazing Christmas and nice holidays and happy days with your loved ones. And I hope you enjoyed this little post. And, as always, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment down below and thanks for reading. x