health – that lemon life

Let’s go for a hike

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to my blog and also, depending on when you’re reading this, another lovely start of the weekend. I hope you’ve all had a great week and that you’re doing well. I, for my part, am doing pretty good. I’ve been spending the past few days tinkering about either in the garden or the kitchen and I’ve also recently taken on doing yoga again, which is making me feel at ease, thank god. I seem unable to get this feeling of like I’m hanging in the air off of me. One second I feel great, and the next the realization of everything that happened the past few months and the longing for the summer that should’ve been hits me like a train, which always drags me back to that sad hole I was stuck in for so long. I guess that’s what all the newspapers have been saying – this whole ordeal hits and affects us, the youth, way harder than anyone would think. But I know that we as a whole are strong enough to get through this together. I will do too.

Anyway, spending a lot of time surrounded by nature has helped me quite a lot in processing all of this, and thankfully I went on another little hike a few days ago with my parents. Actually, I visited them on their holiday for a day to wander across the mountains together, which actually wasn’t that far away from where we were on our last trip (click here), and I’m so glad I went because it was just so damn beautiful. There are only so few things that can beat the view you have when you’re up on a mountain and looking down on the world. It kinda makes you feel infinite.

And as I knew the trip would be absolutely magnificent, I obviously took my camera with me to take a few shots, which I would like to share with you today. Basically, the whole hike consisted of lots of greenery, little to no people but even more cows. It was lovely. And I hope you think just the same about the pictures. The only bad thing that came from the whole day was that I had immensely underestimated the strength of the sun, which lead to a little surprise in the form of an intense sunburn on my shoulders that I’m still coming off of. I’ve now moved onto the shedding phase, I feel like a snake.

Alright, and now I’m gonna stop oversharing again and let the pictures do the rest of the talking. As already mentioned, I hope you enjoy the pictures and please don’t hesitate to leave your comments and thoughts down below, I’d love to hear them. And until then I wish you all a great weekend and, as always, thanks for reading. x

Look what quarantine made me do

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to my blog. How are you all doing, my lovelies? All doing good? I hope you all had a lovely week and that you’re looking forward to the weekend. Today, I thought it would be nice to share another few short stories of and insights on life during quarantine. Thankfully, that horrific time has come to an end here at home in Austria a long time ago (should be over a month now), but whenever I slow down and reflect on those strange one and a half months of lockdowns, anonymity, unfamiliarity and distance, I notice that I was a different person before compared to who I am now. But let me explain.

To put it short, I did some things during quarantine and during the past three months that I probably would have never ever done if life was still normal. If I was still in London, if gigs were still happening and if our local cinema wasn’t singularly playing dumb, boring movies. Humans are a very adaptive and creative species, which I noticed by my own actions. Even my mum was surprised by most of the stuff I did. That’s how strange I was acting. And I know this must sound super dubious and weird, but actually it’s anything but, as most of the things I did happened in the kitchen. Not strange, but very very delicious.

I mean, as probably everyone stuck at home, I’ve been cooking a lot. And that’s saying a lot too, as I usually already cook about twice or even three times per week. But because of quarantine and because I needed to find a way to let my creative spirit run free and do something I’ve never done before and something that would keep me engaged and interested, I’ve been cooking even more. I just needed a bit of a challenge. Also, somehow I finally got to make and cook all the stuff I had been planning on for years, so that’s quite cool too.

My very first project was stinging nettle spinach. You’re probably thinking ‘what the hell is that’. Well, it’s that interesting green plant you can usually find on roadsides and in the woods in late spring. Oh, and the ‘fun’ part, once you touch it it stings like hell. You probably know what I mean by now. Here in Austria it’s pretty common to go into the woods and harvest some of it to cook with it – make spinach, tea, soup, whatever. And when I was still very young, I remember my mum once made me pureed spinach from nettles and I’ve been wanting to recreate that ever since. And thanks to quarantine, I finally got the chance. The stuff you do when you’ve reached another level of boredom. But actually, it was pretty cool to make and tasted amazing as well. I highly recommend it – here’s a recipe for you to try.

And speaking of staying local and being one with nature – the next thing I made was elderflower syrup, another long-planned project of mine. The amazing thing is, when we bought the property for our house, this big patch of land, it already included a few trees and a huge elderflower bush. So the syrup I made wasn’t just homemade but also homegrown. And yes, I’m pretty proud of that. Anyway, the process of making the syrup was super fun as well and oh my god the taste. It tastes so freaking good. I mean, I usually like building myself up and being my own biggest fan, but this time literally everyone I had try the syrup agreed that it is absolutely stunning. And with some frozen berries and a few mint leafs it makes for the perfect summer drink. You should definitely try it – here’s a recipe.

To stay with the summery theme, the last thing I recently made is perfect for anyone who loves frozen yoghurt and fruit, but doesn’t have a frozen yoghurt place in town (like me) – a yoghurt bark. Inspired by the amazing Jenna Joseph (thanks Jenna), I made the probably easiest icecream on earth. It really is just spreading out greek yoghurt and mixing and topping it with literally anything you like – chocolate, fruit, nuts, anything. There are no limits whatsoever. And once it’s frozen and you can break it all apart and enjoy it in the sun, it’s just the best thing ever – here’s a recipe for you.

And last but not least, the quarantine has also given my green thumb an intense push. I mean, I’ve always had a green thumb – my room is literally filled with plants, I currently own 17 – but before the quarantine, it was limited to indoor plants. But all of a sudden I’ve been helping my mum with the garden, repotting plants, checking on them on a daily basis. I think that’s actually what surprised my mum the most. And the cherry on top of all of this is definitely that I recently planted my very own lemon trees. I know, lemons and me, what a coincidence (ha). But, seriously, they are just the cutest and I call them my lemon babies and have been looking after them all day and all night. I know that the journey together with them will be a long one and that it’ll take years for them to grow tall and strong, but that’s what I’m here for. Also, I think they’re just so beautiful and elegant once they’re bigger, so it’s definitely worth the wait. They’ll hopefully be with me my whole life. For any of you who would like to plant their own lemon tree, here’s how.

And with that, we’ve already reached the end of today’s post and the stories of all the stuff I did during quarantine and the past three months. Overall, I think that quarantine was one of the hardest periods of time I and most people had to go through, but looking at what good came out of it, I’d say that it didn’t just have bad sides, but some positive ones as well. Speaking of that, I’d absolutely love to hear about all the cool you stuff did during quarantine to keep yourself busy – even if it’s creating the most beautiful island on Animal Crossing (I envy you) – so please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and opinions down below. And apart from that I hope reading about my stories brought you a bit of inspiration and happiness. And yeah, as always, I wish you all a lovely weekend and thanks for reading. x

What day is it?

Hola everyone.

How are we all doing today? Getting through the quarantine okay? I’m gonna guess you’re all as fed up with all that #stayathome and people telling you to be happy and just read a book or something and shoving their sourdough bread in your faces. As for me, I’m so irritated, I think if someone tells me to try that relaxing yoga fitness lovey-dovey Ayurveda session one more time, I’m gonna freak out. But hey, people are bored and they are all probably as frustrated as I am, so I’m gonna let it pass. Just don’t show me your bread anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I love bread, probably more than I should. But no, stop, please.

So that’s Instagram in a nutshell right now – bread and yoga and books and people telling each other to stay at home. Not the best days that platform has seen, I know. But there’s also this one small corner left of people sharing real moments from their real lives and that’s what I love. I love seeing those crappy pictures taken with their iPhones. I love seeing photographs of dogs and cats sprawled across feet on couches, dinners on plates and flower bouquets lighting up the rooms. Because that’s what life looks like right now. And it’s just a strong reminder that, at basis level, now that we’re all stuck at home, there is only so much that parts and differentiates us. Of course today would be different if I lived in a villa at the beach or had tons of money to spend on stuff online (like the Nintendo Switch with Animal Crossing on top), but at the end of the day, that’s all there is. They still watch the same shows, read the same books and only get to leave their houses for those small moments every day. We’re all the same. We’re literally all in this together (*instant HSM flashbacks*).

And because I love those snapshots from current basic normal life so much, I thought it would be nice to share some moments from my life right now too. In short, most days have consisted of me sleeping in late – as always -, going for walks with my parents and Molly, cuddling with Peaches in bed, doing some uni work, watching TV or YouTube and then reading my book before bed. On a more interesting note, I’ve been cooking a lot for my family and myself – I even made my first pickles yesterday, with chard stems -, I have taken up drawing again and of course I’m always tending to the little jungle in my room. I recently bought two new plant friends, who seem to be super happy with their new home and are quite literally thriving. And another positive thing to come out of this shitty quarantine is my parents and me being forced to find new trails to walk on every day, which has led us to (re)discovering our home and the surrounding lands. We literally got lost in the woods yesterday. I didn’t even know that we had those woods. I do now.

So, now you know what I’ve been doing. Time for you to actually see. I chose my favourite pics from the past month of my camera roll, all taken with my iPhone, and I hope you like them – for all see down below. As always, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you want to talk or just to share your opinion. Also, I’d love to see what you’ve been doing this past month, so please feel free to share your favourite moments on here. And until then, I wish you all a great week and hope that you’re doing well. I’m sending you all the tightest of hugs and, of course, thanks for reading. x

Find what feels good

Hola everyone.

How are we all doing today? Welcome back to my blog and this beautiful, though rainy Friday (at least where I am right now). I hope so far you’ve had a great day and that you’re looking forward to the weekend. I have to admit, when I woke up today, I didn’t really know what to write for today’s post. But then I did a yoga session (a gentle one because I’m a bit sicklish at the moment) and suddenly it came to me – why not write about my yoga journey? As it’s a pretty funny one, I thought it would be nice to share with you, so I hope you enjoy it.

First of all, I need to mention that about ten months ago, I was the complete opposite of who I am today. Because today, I like to do yoga on a daily basis and I really am completely in love with it. But before October last year, I was a thorough hater. My mum had been practising yoga for a very long time already and always wanted me to start as well, but I was just so irritated by it. I didn’t understand the hype. I always said it was just a fancy way of stretching. And looking back at that opinion now, I must say that I was a complete idiot. I didn’t even know what I was talking about, let’s be honest.

The big turnover then came as I moved to Brighton and was stuck in my room as soon as it got colder outside. Going for a walk wasn’t an option anymore because once it gets cold in Brighton, rain is a daily occurrence and the strong winds make it impossible to go outside. But as I was so used to doing some exercising every day, I needed to find something else. Something easy that I could do inside and didn’t need any equipment for. And that’s how I ended up doing yoga. At this point, I have to thank Adriene Mishler and her yoga channel for getting me into this awesome practice, because ever since beginning with it, going back isn’t an option. And I don’t even want to go back.

I know it might sound a bit weird, but yoga really has improved my life. Not just my physical body, which indeed looks so much better, wow, but also my emotional world. I often suffer from something I would call my brain acting like an internet browser. I’ve got ten different tabs open, one stopped mid-load and somehow there’s always music playing in the back. And this, as you can probably imagine, can become a bit much after some time. Especially during the time of me living abroad and doing interviews with bands, which ended up in me being almost always on edge, yoga helped me calm down and basically shut up my brain. Because in those 20 to 60 minutes, depending on the session, I completely focus my mind on the practice and on Adriene. The rest of my brain is silent. It’s like a short vacation for the mind and the body. And that’s why I love it so much. I doesn’t just help me get or stay in shape, it also helps me relax and focus on the rest of my day and life, on and off the mat.

So, for any of you who’ve never tried yoga or who want to get into it, I can only recommend beginning your yoga journey now. Maybe even with Adriene. Of course, going to a local yoga class is also an option, but I personally enjoy the freedom of being able to do my practice anytime and anywhere I want. And Adriene, in my opinion, is just perfect. She’s super nice and funny and whenever I practice with her, I feel like I’m really doing it with her. She manages to create this connection with the viewer and I’m super thankful for that. Also, her dog Benji is almost always part of the video, which is like the cherry on top. I started doing yoga with her 30 days of yoga playlist, which gave me the perfect start as a beginner. So I can only recommend that.

And yeah, guys, that’s pretty much it. That’s how I became a yogi. So far, it has been absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to improve and get into it even more. Also, if you’ve been practicing yoga as well, I’d love to hear about your journey and experience, so please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. And until then, I hope you enjoyed this post and wish you a lovely weekend. And, as always, thanks for reading. And Namaste. x

Power to the local dreamer

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to another Monday and another week. I hope so far you’ve had a great day and that you’re doing good. Today I’d like to talk about something very special – how the move to the UK and my time there and basically the aspect of living my dream has influenced me personally and my view of life. I know, it might sound a bit philosophical now, but, actually, I want this to be a story of a dreamer. Of us, I daresay.

First of all, I obviously need to say that moving to Brighton and attending BIMM was definitely one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Yes, it was a big and quite scary step. Far away from home, completely on my own and surrounded by strangers. And yes, it was difficult when I first got there, but I knew that it would get better. And I knew that it was what I needed to do in order to get one step closer to my dream. My goal. And that’s actually the easiest way to get through something – if you’ve got something to actually work for, something to look forward to. It might not make the stones in your way smaller, but you’ll grow a tiny bit bigger.

And it all paid off because in a matter of two months, I was already at a place I never thought I’d get to in such a short amount of time. There I was, living in the UK for the very first time, on my own, and living my dream. Interviewing musicians, going to one concert after another, actually becoming a part of the music industry. The risk had paid off.

I often talk to my friend Leni about how the whole trip influenced me. And all I can say is that it taught me to firstly value myself and secondly my dreams. And to fight for them, no matter how crazy they might sound. I would’ve never believed that I would manage to actually be stuck in a room with Hippo freaking Campus for over an hour. Or that I would get to hug Tom after seeing him live for the very first time and doing an interview with him. It all would’ve sounded way too crazy for me if someone would’ve told me about it a few years ago. But it all happened. And it did because I was willing to fight for it and try my best to reach all of my goals.

And now that I’m back home, I get to really digest everything that happened and I noticed that after having been at that point of total happiness, of living the dream, there’s simply no way I can go back. I now know what it feels like to do the one thing you were always meant to do, you always dreamt about doing, and for me, there’s no way back now. And that’s totally fine. Even when I’ll be growing old, I don’t want to look back and just see this as the phenomenal time I had while being at uni. That’s just not how it goes. Because that’s simply not who I am. Not anymore, at least. I want the dream to become my life. Permanently.

I often see people just walking around, living their life, not complaining much but also not doing anything overly exciting. They’re simply alive, doing what they’re supposed to do, earning the money they need to stay afloat and once in a while, they go on holiday or a weekend trip and that’s when they’re free and get to feel alive. And I don’t mean to sound like that’s something bad. I know people who’re extremely happy with their lives like that. They just have other dreams and goals than I do. Or than some other people.

I remember back in school when my teachers would ask me what I wanted to do when I’m older and I always said that I wanted to move abroad, to London. I was 16. And I definitely received more than one strange look from my classmates after saying this. Because, at the age of 16, having the ultimate goal of moving abroad simply sounds strange. And crazy. But I really meant it. And still, I kind of thought that I was a bit weird, maybe also a bit delusional. Because I had never met anyone with the same ambitions as me. Maybe I was crazy.

But then I moved to Vienna and met one dreamer after another. People like me, who also had those crazy dreams they were fighting for with all their power and will. And then I met Leni and now we’re moving to London together. We are doing exactly the one thing nobody ever really believed we would truly accomplish. But now that we have that, it’s “go bigger or go home”. Especially for me. I want to wake up every day happy about the fact that I get to go to work. I don’t want to always think “oh, I’m going to be happy or going to do that once I get home or once the weekend is here”. That’s not what I want from life. I mean, what a total waste of time. Why can’t we all be happy all the time? I mean, of course, we can’t, because we’re humans and we’ve all got our problems and struggles, but still. And after all this time, I think it’s more than okay to ask these questions. Because we all deserve to be happy with the life we are living.

I know, this really turned into a huge philosophical post now (sorry), but that’s kind of what has been floating through my head the past weeks. Maybe because I miss the craziness that was BIMM and doing interviews and rushing from show to show. Another reason why I can’t wait to be back. But I think it’s also because I notice how more and more people are now actively ready to fight for their dreams. And I think that’s so damn important. One of my friends decided to move to London with Leni and me. Another one started a new program at university to fulfil her passion. And my mum quit her job and just started her own company. They all did what they had to do in order to be happy and I’m so damn proud of that. Some people might have told them that they are taking way too many risks or that it could all go wrong. And of course it could. But they’re all still here and probably happier than they were before. And isn’t that the most important part?

What I want to say: it’s totally alright to want more from life. To dream big. To fight for what you believe in. To take risks in order to be happy. Do whatever you need to do in order to be happy. Seriously. It will all work out, I promise. Power to the local dreamer (yes, that’s a Twenty One Pilots line and, yes, I had to add that in).

And with that I’m going to end today’s post. I hope that some of you could get a bit of reinforcement and strength out of my words. If any of you want to talk, please don’t hesitate to comment down below. And until then I wish you all a lovely week and thanks for reading. x

Let’s go on a hike

Hola everyone.

How are you all doing? I hope so far your Monday has been fantastic and that you had a great weekend. I for my part am doing amazing, especially now that the weather has been so nice the past days. I can’t really tell why, but it feels like summer just started a few days ago, although I’ve been at home for over a month now. But I don’t mind, not at all.

For today’s post, as I thought it’s Monday and we’re all probably in a chill mood, I’d start this week off with a nice, easy post about the hike I went on with my parents and Molly a few weeks ago, which was so so so nice. You guys know that I’m from the countryside, which is why I’ve always been drawn to the city. Big clouds of people. Busy streets. High buildings, scraping the sky. And new chances and adventures waiting around every corner. At last, that’s kind of also why I want to move to London. Not just because I love the city itself, but also because it’s a really cool city. It’s busy and crazy and beautiful.

But even though I may be a “country-girl-gone-city-girl”, I can’t help but completely fall in love with the countryside and the mountains and long hikes and clear skies when I go on trips like this one. And this hike specifically was an absolute dream come true that made me daydream about a life on the countryside, far off any real civilisation, where the only sounds you can hear are the bees buzzing and the cows walking around with their bells. I mean, that’s what I call peaceful. Obviously, I would go crazy after about a week, because I would simply be bored out of my mind, but that’s again just another reason why I love hiking trips like this one. They make me appreciate my country and where I come from. They make me love my home.

Thus, I’m so happy that I get to share these pictures I took during the hike with you. As always, I hope you enjoy them just as much as I do and please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. And, of course, I wish you all a lovely week and thanks for reading. x