family – Page 11 – that lemon life

Paris Haul

Hola everyone.

I know, it took quite a while to get here, but here it is, finally. My big shopping haul from Paris, as promised. Please enjoy.

You know, I love fashion. And going shopping. I know, what a typical girly thing. Blah blah blah. But seriously, it really is a lot of fun. I don’t even need to buy something to have fun. Because it’s not really about that, at least not for me. It’s more about the places I go to and the people accompanying me. And I love going shopping with my mum, we always have such a great time.

Anyways, although Paris is basically the city of fashion, I didn’t actually buy as many things as I thought I would. Probably because, and that’s no joke, I already have everything I want and could wish for. At least I do now, but we’ll get to that. As always, there was far much more on my list than just clothing. Plants, books, bags and so on. Those are usually the things I’m going for. So, let’s jump right into this haul.

Clothing and accessories

Okay, so clothing-wise, like I already mentioned, I wasn’t really feeling it. I mean, I was, but having planned to buy some Doc Martens, which aren’t really the cheapest pair of shoes, I actively stopped myself from buying a lot of other things.

Okay, that was the plan. Yey to the plan. But the theory is always easier than the practical part, right? So, exactly that happened to me. Mum and I walked into Zara, which was basically the coolest Zara I had ever stepped into, and then I saw it. This amazing, mind-glowingly dope ass jacket. Hanging there, just waiting for me to try it on. And then I looked at the price… 70 €. Great. Now what? Long story short, I just had to try it on. And the second I had it on, I didn’t want to take it off ever again. Did I ever mention that I have the best mum ever? Here’s another reason why. After I had walked around with the jacket for about 15 minutes, mum looked at me and said: “You know what, take it. I’m buying it for you.” I nearly freaked out. God, I was so happy. What an amazing mum, holy moly.

So yeah, I now have this incredible cool jacket hanging in my wardrobe. It’s made of black velvet and has this amazing, delicate embroidery all over it. I just love it so much. On the one side it’s so damn elegant, but when you wear it with black skinny jeans and a pair of Docs it suddenly turns into this rock chic and I love it so much.

And speaking of Docs. Yes, I got my second pair of Doc Martens. This time some short black ones. I actually had purposely waited for our trip to Paris to buy them there, because what’s cooler than a pair of Doc Martens? Exactly. A pair of Doc Martens from Paris. And yeah, I love them and I’m so happy that I get to wear them in the summer too as they aren’t as warming as my other pair.

And accessory-wise, I got two things. A supercute, little necklace in gold with the word Merci on it and a plain tote bag with Van Goghs painting “The Starry Night” on its front. I immediately fell in love with it the moment I saw it, seeing as I love the painting too. It’s just so beautiful. And I love the artsy aspect of it.

Books

Of course I had to get some new books. Of course. And I think I don’t even have to mention anymore why. So let’s get right to the titles.

The Romantics by Leah Konen
Truth Or Dare by Non Pratt

The Romantics is pretty much the book I’m most excited to read. After I have finally finished the Harry Potter series, I’m getting to the end of the fifth book right now. I got both books at this historical bookshop called Shakespeare and Company which I already mentioned in my post about our trip to Paris. I really really loved this shop. It’s super old and so quirky. And they actually stamp your book when you buy it, which is so cool.

Plants

Last but not least, of course I had to get some plants, especially as I had intentionally searched for interesting, cool plant shops in the city. We got the first plant, or how I call it our own little egg, from a shop called The Green Factory. They are specialized in manufacturing these amazing little and also quite big terrariums, which is so unique to me. So I just had to get one. And the second plant, the little cacti, is from a shop called “Les Succulents Cactus”, which, as the name already hints to, solely sells cacti and succulents. You can probably guess that I felt like I just stepped into heaven when we got there. And there were so many plants to chose from, the decision was really tough for me.

So yeah, there you go. Those are pretty much all the things I took home with me from Paris – apart from my tattoo, of course. I really, really, really loved my time in Paris with my mum and I’m already looking forward to traveling to Paris again in the future.

I hope you enjoyed this post and my haul and the pictures. I you have any questions or anything else, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment down below, I’d love to hear from you. And until then, I wish you all an amazing week, and, as always, thanks for reading. x

Monet’s Water Lilies

Hola everyone.

As some of you may know, I love art. So freaking much. And in the past years I’ve become more of a fan of galleries, museums and art overall. So when mum and I planned on traveling to Paris and I prepared our to-do-list it was a must for me to put one museum on it – the Musée de l’Orangerie.

You might know one of the works presented there – Monet’s water lilies. Basically it’s one full floor, two round rooms covered in 8 huge paintings. All drawn by Claude Monet, of his waterlilies from his own garden in Giverny – which I visited two days before visiting the museum and seeing this amazing pieces of art myself. To be honest, it’s pretty crazy to see the garden and the plants and flowers in reality which inspired and basically represent this unbelievably awesome paintings. That was an incredible moment for me. Even more so when I finally walked into the this round rooms, covered these paintings. I was so speechless.

I think I could have spent the whole day in there, looking at every single aspect of the paintings, every single flower and every single brushstroke. I loved it so much. And as I enjoyed this experience so much, I thought I’d share it with you guys too. Especially as I think it’s pretty cool to compare both the pictures of the garden and the pictures of the paintings (here’s the link for this post: Monet’s garden). So, please enjoy this amazing art. I really hope you do. And please don’t hesitate to leave a comment down below. And, as always, I wish you all an amazing week and thanks for reading. x

Monet`s Garden

Hola everyone.

As following my previous post about my trip to Paris together with my mum, I thought I’d turn this whole experience into a little series of posts to share the whole beauty of the city with you guys.

And before heading straight for a haul or something like that, I thought I’d share one of the nicest days with you – the day my mum and I visited Claude Monet`s garden and house in Giverny. I found out about the possibility to visit this magnificent place while sorting out the to-do-list for Paris. As soon as I saw it, I just had to visit it. Especially as Monet is one of my favorite painters due to his pastel color scheme. Thankfully my mum was up for it right from the start, so that was fixed.

We got to Giverny by the direct train from Paris and then took a shuttle, I think it took us about one hour and a half to finally end up in front of Monet’s house. Unfortunately we had to wait quite some time, but it could have been worse, because even the streets and other houses of Giverny looked so beautiful, flowers blooming everywhere, the sun lighting up the walls. But that was nothing compared to what was waiting for us beyond the stonewalls of the garden.

Guys, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful garden than that. I can now fully understand Monet’s love for gardening and plants and painting. That place was and is so beautiful, of course you’d want to capture that in some way. Every centimeter is covered in plants, flowers and pots of colorful blooms. It’s crazy. And the house is so cute, with it’s light pink walls and green doors and windows. And don’t even get me started on the interior, it’s breathtaking. And the view from the windows on the first floor, oh my god.

What I loved the most was the calming feeling it brought to me. I mean, Paris is a buzzing city and in comparison to that, the garden felt like a oasis. Like somebody turned off the whole world. At one point my mum and I sat down on a bench in front of a small river floating through the garden, eating a croissant and just enjoying the moment. It was so beautiful, I don’t know how to describe it any better. I guess you have to experience it yourself to really be able to feel it.

And for me as a photographer, the place felt like heaven on earth. I think I could have spent the whole day there, maybe even two, just taking pictures of every plant, every single corner of the house and every magnificent leaf. I loved it so much there and I’m so freaking happy that we took this little journey to get there. It’s really unbelievable to be able to stand at the same place where once Monet himself stood while creating one of his breathtaking works. I’m still shook, to be honest.

And without further ado, I think I’ll leave the rest to all the pictures I took. I hope you like them as much as I do. And of course the post overall. If you have any questions or want to talk, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment down below. And if you ever get the chance, I can just strongly recommend you guys to visit this garden. You won’t regret it, I swear. And until then I wish you all an amazing week and, as always, thanks for reading. x

Paris

Hola everyone.

I’m baaaack. Yeeeeeey. And oh my god guys, I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing Paris was. God, I love this city so much.

First of all, the architecture is so freaking beautiful. I mean, the whole city feels like a huge museum. There are so many sightseeing points and even when there’s no palace, historic building or gallery near you, all of the residential buildings are literally breathtaking. The whole city is so romantic, you can really feel it in the atmosphere. And we had the cutest apartment ever. Seriously. It was one of three rooms in a huge building that all belong to one big apartment complex. It felt like we were actually living in Paris, in our own little, cute flat. We had to climb the coolest and narrowest spiral staircase ever to get to our own room. And the most amazing part was the little french balcony we had. I immediately fell in love with it. And I can tell you, having breakfast in the middle of Paris on the cutest balcony ever while looking over the city and watching other people starting their day while the sun is shining in your face is literally the best way to start your own day. I miss the balcony, I really do.

Apart from that I seriously, overly fell in love with the city. It’s beautiful, cute, historic, really damn elegant and it just glows. If I had to describe it in one word, I’d probably say decadent. The whole city is pure decadence. Every day we would walk around long after midnight, strolling around the city and looking at the buildings glistening in the city lights. I can’t decide when Paris is more beautiful – at daytime or at night. It’s such a tough decision. And I think I took like about 800 pictures, most of them are photographs of buildings. Paris really drew me into the whole street photography stuff and I just let myself fall into it. So please excuse the massive amount of pictures (right down below).

But what did we do? Actually, I think we had the perfect mix of everything. We pretty much walked around the whole day, we didn’t even buy a card for the metro. I think mum is still a little bit “mad” at me for dragging her around all day and night. But hey, this way we literally saw everything. We visited museums, of course took a look at the most important sights like the eiffel tower – which I absolutely love -, we went shopping, enjoyed the amazing food, sat in bistros and watched people walk by and live their lives and just spent time in Paris, basically. Oh and we drove to Giverny for one day to visit Monet’s garden and house, you know the famous painter. He’s one of my faves and when I found out that you could actually walk through the garden where he painted his famous works, I just had to put it on our to-do-list.

What I also loved is the amount of art and culture that is packed into the city. Literature, art, music, photography, fashion – all in one single place. It’s crazy. And all the famous people who lived there, like Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald or Picasso. You can really sense the history while walking the streets of Paris and even more so when visiting the most amazing places like the historic bookshop Shakespeare & Company or the Café de Flore. That’s one of the things I enjoyed most on our trip. Every few minutes mum and I basically had to stop and google things we just came across to know more about the city and it’s fascinating history.

Oh, and another really mind-blowing thing happened. Now that I can’t decry it because it already happened, I can finally tell you that me and my mum seriously got our tattoo appointments in Paris. Yes, I know, how freaking crazy is that? I still can’t believe it, no joke. Let me tell you the little story of how we got an appointment that actually would have never been one. A few weeks before our trip I stumbled across the artist Carin Silver who works at a tattoo studio in Paris called Les Maux Bleus. You can probably guess what happened afterwards. I actually had the wish of getting a new tattoo done for quite a while now and when I saw that Carin even specialized in doing exactly what I dreamed of – flower bouquets and thin lines – I completely went crazy. Unfortunately I had to wait quite a while for a reply and after some mails the studio told me that she was completely full the week we would visit Paris. And yes, I was sad. Really sad. So, after a few days we were already in Paris, at 11 pm at night, right in front of the eiffel tower. Did you know that it sparkles at night for 5 minutes? It’s so damn beautiful. Anyways, after sharing that amazing moment, mum and me realized that my phone was blinking, meaning that I had received a text. It was a mail. From Carin. Telling us that she had found literally the perfect appointment for us both. I couldn’t believe my eyes. And I still can’t. I now have the most beautiful flower bouquet on my right arm and I couldn’t be happier with it. But I’ll tell you more about the appointment in one of my next posts.

So yeah guys, that was my trip to Paris together with my mum. Actually I took so many pictures and we had so many adventures, I think I’ll split the whole week in Paris in a few different posts. That’s why I thought I’d limit this post to a summary of the whole week and leave the rest for the pictures. I hope you enjoy them and this post. Oh and please don’t hesitate to leave a comment. And until then I wish you all an amazing weekend and, as always, thanks for reading. x

Short Update

Hola everyone.

You know, sometimes there’s just nothing going on. That’s how it is with me right now. So, because I have nothing extremely incredible to tell you guys, I thought I’d just give you all a short update on what’s happening now and in the next few weeks.

First something exciting. I recently found an amazing tattoo artist in Paris (Carin Silver). I love her style and right now I’m dreaming about getting a small flower bouquet on my forearm. The best thing is that we’ll be in Paris in two weeks – I. CAN’T. WAIT. – and getting a tattoo in Paris from such an amazing artist would be just mind-blowing. I already got in contact with them, I just don’t know if I’ll really be able to get an appointment. That’s why I’m stopping myself from getting too excited. Because I don’t know what I’ll do if it doesn’t work out. And it will be even worse if I get even more excited than I am already. So, guys, please wish me good luck on that. I really, really, REALLY want to get that tattoo.

And apart of being totally excited to fly to Paris with my mum, I am also recently planning my next trip. The trip to Amsterdam with my friend. I think I already told you guys about that, but now that we’ve booked the flights and the hotel, it’s getting so real for me, I’m going absolutely crazy. I seriously can’t believe that we’ll be there for the Amsterdam Dance Event and see Martin with his show. That’s such a dream come true.

Oh and besides that, nothing much is happening actually. I’m still working until the start of September and then I can finally relax for about a month. I know I always say that I like going to uni, but honestly, can the summer just please last for another couple of months? Seriously. I don’t even want to imagine sitting in front of my laptop again, pushing information and facts into my head I’ll forget a week afterwards. But oh well, the things you do to make your dream of being able to do something more, something bigger with your life come true, am I right?

So guys, that’s basically it right now. My days consist of going to work, writing articles for the magazine I’m working for and mostly worrying about the possibility of a tattoo appointment in Paris. I’ve been staring at my phone for the last couple of days, like such a weird person, waiting for an answer from the tattoo studio. God, I’m praying that it will work out. Please let it work out.

But enough of me, what’s going on in your life? I hope you’re all doing well. Oh and I wish you all an amazing weekend. And although it’s not much, I hope you enjoyed this post. I’ll see you next Monday. And until then guys, as always, thanks for reading. x

We are all mad here

Hola everyone.

Today I want to talk about another amazing tv show I’ve fallen in love with the past month. Bates Motel. Some of you may probably know it already, as I think there was quite a big hype about it when it came out first. To make it short first, the series is totally fascinating and you need to give it a go.

So, what is it about?

Does the movie title Psycho remind you of something? Exactly, it’s this classic, groundbreaking horror/thriller movie by Hitchcock. And Bates Motel is just like that, because it tells the story of how the psycho became the psycho. The one that kills his quests in his hotel. Mad, I know. The story begins with the death of Norman Bates – the psycho guy – father. Shortly after this his mum Norma (yes, really, Norman and Norma) decides to move to another city with him, White Pine Bay in Arizona, and buys a motel and a house for them. That’s why it’s called Bates Motel. After this the series basically continues to represent the madness of both Norman and his mum and their really, really strange relationship, which is quite freaky sometimes. And definitely not normal. People are going missing, guys are being killed and thrown into a lake and let’s not forget that the city lives off the sales of it’s own “secret” marihuana field. Crazy people in a crazy city. The perfect conditions for pure chaos.

I can’t really tell you why I started watching this show. I knew the name and saw it on Netflix and just basically gave it a go. I watched the first episode and it was clear to me that I would be binge watching this show throughout the summer. And the best part is that my parents enjoy it too, so we’re all deep in the mad story of Norma and Norman and we all love it. I especially, as I’m a huge fan of creepy stories. No wonder as I also watched every single season of American Horror Story.

So yeah, that’s Bates Motel. So far I’m right in the second season now and it’s so great, I can’t even describe it. Freddie Highmore is literally the best actor for this role. You look at him and you can really, clearly see the madness in his eyes. That’s what I call good acting. And let’s not forget Vera Farmiga, my lovely friend from The Conjuring. She’s the best, seriously. She embodies the character of Norma so well that we’ve all become such big fans of her acting, it’s crazy.

There’s literally nothing bad to say about this show. It has crazy people who do crazy stuff, a lot of secrets, mind-blowing actors, a great scenery, super weird relationships and a huge amount of surprises and twists. I really love it. And I can just recommend it to you guys. If you’re into some mad stories, this is the right aisle for you.

So, there you go guys. Another tv show recommendation from me to you. I hope you like it. Oh and if any of you already know the show or want to talk, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment down below. And until then I wish you all an amazing weekend and, as always, thanks for reading. x