sun – that lemon life

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

New Music Friday

Hola everyone.

And we’re back with a new “New Music Friday“. I hope you’re all doing good and had an awesome week. Just a little update from my side: this week has been pretty amazing and god, guys, the sun is finally out and it’s just so nice. Walking around in Vienna at night has been my favorite thing to do lately, it’s so warm. I’m also already looking forward to the weekend and I hope you are too and that this little selection of songs can contribute to your weekend playlist. Please enjoy.

Thought I Told You – The Academic

If you’ve been following some of my latest posts, then you know that this is the band I just saw live last week (here’s the post). And I mean, I loved their music before, but since then I’ve learned to really appreciate the fact that I got to see them live. They’re really awesome.

Standing On Ghosts – Two Door Cinema Club

Well, well, well. Who would’ve known that TDCC was hiding such a bop from me all these years. You guys know my relationship with this band and I just adore their music, especially their older songs, and this is one of those. They just recently released it again to celebrate the anniversary of their very first album. And thank god they did, because this here is freaking amazing.

Moving On – Sarah and the Sundays

This is one of the songs, that Spotify recommended to me and I just adore it. I mean, it perfectly fits this time of the year, when everything starts to bloom and become alive again. The perfect song to listen to while lying in the sun, maybe reading a good book or chatting with a friend.

Fresh Air – FLOWVERS

The same goes for this sun. Such a fantastic spring/sommer song. I don’t know how the algorithms of Spotify work, but hell, whatever they are doing, they are doing it bloody well. They give me exactly what I need.

Sad Boys / All I Wanna Do – TRASH

This here is one of those bands where I love listening to their music but never really go into my fangirl mode. But that doesn’t change the fact that their music is freaking amazing. And again, thanks to Spotify for recommending this and pretty much all their other songs to me, I owe you one.

Ride Or Die – The Knocks ft. Foster The People

Guys, if you want to listen to the spring/summer song of the moment, then you just reached the right place. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty convinced that it’s this one. I’ve seriously heard this song in pretty much every single store I’ve been to the past week. It’s literally everywhere. And the thing is, it’s actually so awesome. I mean, I love Foster The People and their sound is perfect for this song. It just fits.

Cos Love (If You Miss It) – Tom Rosenthal

I’m sorry guys, but it wouldn’t be a music playlist without Tom being a part of it. I just love his music so much. Tom, can you please go on tour, like, right now? Or at least when I’ve moved to the UK? Please. He’s literally my number one on my list of musicians I want to see live. I need to hear this song live. I need to hear all of his songs live. According to him, this song right here is the best song he’s ever written and I mean, I can’t deny that. It’s just so cute and romantic and sad. I love it.

So yeah guys, there you go. Those are the songs I’ve been loving the past days and weeks. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Oh and please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts down below. And, as always, I wish you all an amazing weekend 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

The country I love

Hola everyone.

Long time, no see. But hey, here I am, back at it again with some nice stories about my recent trip to the UK and of course the best pics. So without further ado, let’s get right into it.

The trip itself was actually a gift for my stepdad for christmas. Mum had bought him tickets for The Open in the UK, which is like the biggest golf tournament there. And as the UK is pretty much my favorite country on this planet, I just stuck to them and added myself on the people-going-to-the-UK-list. No UK trip without me. Nope.

Although the trip wasn’t that long, just four days, I think we saw quite a lot. On the first day we visited Manchester, than we drove to Blackpool and on the last day, while my parents were watching the golf tournament, I drove to Liverpool.

Manchester

As already mentioned, Manchester was the first city we visited. Our plane actually landed there and I told my parents that I would love to take a stroll around the city, so we just stayed there for the whole day and then drove to Blackpool where our hotel was in the evening. And I have to say, it was magnificent. I mean, I never expected it to be anything else but amazing, but I was really surprised by how “hipster” it was. All those old buildings with cool pubs and cafés and shops, street art everywhere, a town hall that looked a little bit like how I would imagine the real life version of Hogwarts and, of course, really cool people. For me, the whole city just screamed HIPSTER. And I loved that. After we had walked around a bit and me and my mum had done a little shopping, we walked back to our car and agreed that mum and I would have to visit this city again. It was just too cool not to see it again. Oh and the last plus, they actually have like two Wagamama restaurants there. Their food is something I’ve been craving since I had my first seafood ramen there last year in Brighton. Of course we went to eat there. Of course I loved it.

Blackpool

To be honest, I don’t really know what to say about Blackpool. I guess Blackpool is what you would call the Vegas or the Ballermann of England. There are thousands of game stores, things like rollercoasters and a giant ferris wheel and hundreds of people being distracted by the whole entertainment show that is going on down at the piers and the beach. Too much for me, honestly. For me that was like the ugly part of the UK. At first, mostly, because on our second evening we walked a little further up North next to the beach and got to the more laid back, chilled and quiet area of the city, which was and looked a lot nicer to me. So I guess we just had to look for the right part of the city. But except for all the party stuff that’s going on in Blackpool, I really enjoyed going for a little shopping stroll there (more to come in my next haul post) and, of course, the beach. I looooove the beach and the sea. Really. I think living right next to the beach is one of the coolest things ever. No wonder I can see myself spending my later life in Brighton.

Liverpool

Another great city, another reason for me the love the UK. As I said a few passages before, I actually visited Liverpool completely on my own. I got there by train and, honestly, just the train ride was so freaking amazing, I was so happy. I think the countryside of the UK is something really special. Everything is so green and glowy. You can seriously see the life. And after the ride, it just got better and better. I think Liverpool is especially cool, as it looks so modern and new. Not to mention the piers and the waterfront, which make it so unique and cute. I enjoyed it so much, just walking around the city, taking pictures and sitting at the pier, listening to the waves and breathing in the fresh sea air. After going to Liverpool, I had the idea of visiting the UK next time by driving from one city to the next by train and just visiting city after city for a week or so. Because it is so easy. You could start right in the North and then visit city after city by train and end the whole trip in London or so. This way even the train rides are a supercool event. I’d really love to do this.

So yeah, there you go guys. That’s my little trip to the UK. I really hope you enjoyed it and all of my pics. I extremely enjoyed visiting the UK again, it just feels so home-like for me. And I can’t wait to get back – what a surprise. If any of you guys have questions or want to know more or just have anything to say, 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

Bloom

Hola everyone

The weather is warmer, the sun is shining, shorts are allowed and the world gets a little bit more colorful day bay day – that’s what summer is about. Don’t you love it? Because I certainly do. And I can see that every single day when I’m at home and look outside into our garden.

Since the past weeks the garden has been a big project for my parents, especially my mum. We recently got a greenhouse and now that summer is here, literally everything in our garden is blooming. And because I think everything looks so pretty, I thought I’d quickly grab my camera and take some pictures. I hope you like them.

Ih and besides that I hope you’re all doing well. And I wish you an amazing weekend. Actually life is quite stressful for me right now, you can probably guess why. Yep, it’s exam season. My favorite season of all (caution: sarcasm). I can’t wait for the 27th, half past 8 in the evening, then everything will be okay again. Hopefully. So, if any of you are in the same position as me, I wish you all the luck for your exams. When can do it guys, I know it. And, as always, thanks for reading. x