Sonntag, 30. Dezember 2012

Sunday Social 30/12/12

Sunday Social



1. Favorite New Years eve you’ve had before

My dad's birthday is on December 31st, so I had a lot of rather special New Years eves - I remember being really excited by the fireworks when I was small. Although my favourite New Years eve is probably the one I had all my best friends over, it was foggy and snowy and we couldn't really see a thing. Somehow we started singing and dancing to keep us warm and all around us were dim reflections of colourful sparks in the mist ...

2. Are you doing anything for NYE this year and if so what?

I will be working, but that's okay.

3. Name a book we should all read come January?

I would like to suggest that we all read our all time favourite book once again and remember why we love it. But if I have to name a book, I would highly recommend "How to be a woman" by Caitlin Moran. Although I don't agree with all of her views I find her writing hilariously funny and true. And it's going to be made into a film!



4. What are your new years resolutions?

Hmhmhm ... I usually don't make any specific resolutions but it would be nice to achieve or at least try to achieve some things in 2013. Getting my act together and starting to approach literary agencies. Cooking in my own kitchen again. Getting Hamish's (my cat's) teeth done as soon as possible. Little things, you know ... :)

Thank you very much for visiting my blog - I hope you have a wonderful Sunday and a glorious New Years Eve!

Love, Qaroline

Freitag, 28. Dezember 2012

OOTD: Blue Hues

Cardigan: Takko Fashion; scarf/Schal: selfmade/selbstmacht; dress/Kleid: selfmade/selbstgenäht; tights/Strumpfhosen: Ulla Popken; socks/Socken: H&M men; boots/Stiefel: Bluntstone

Christmas has been very rainy here in this part of Germany, everything was dark and muddy - but now the sun shines again and I took the opportunity to do a quick OOTD out in the garden. Today I will be going to town to buy new wool and maybe a few extra bits ...


This loop scarf is made from gorgeous mohair wool and I really love this shade of dark blue - I am a bit obsessed by loop scarves at the moment but I guess I am not the only one!

Love, Qaroline

hair ornament/Haarspange: H&M; earrings/Ohrringe: Bijou Brigitte; glasses/Brille: eyes+more
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Weihnachten war dies Jahr so richtig verregnet, alles grau und so richtig hell wollte es tagsüber auch nicht werden. Aber heute scheint endlich wieder die Sonne und da habe ich mir gleich mal die Kamera geschnappt und ein ganz fixes OOTD im Garten gemacht. Heute werde ich in die Stadt fahren, neue Wolle kaufen und vielleicht noch so das eine oder andere im Winterschlussverkauf, hmhm ...

Diesen Loopschal habe ich aus ganz feiner Mohairwolle gestrickt, die Farbe ist einfach phänomenal - ich mag dieses mit Dunkelgrau abgemischte Dunkelblau ganz besonders gern. Im Augenblick bin ich ein bisschen besessen von Loopschals, aber ich schätze mal, ich bin da nicht die Einzige im Land!

Love, Qaroline

Sonntag, 23. Dezember 2012

Sunday Social 23/12/2012




This week's questions:

1. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? 

Uh, that's a REALLY hard one. I'd have to say 'mango' -  although 'nougat' and 'pistachio' certainly are candidates for the title.

2. What is your favorite smell?

I simply love the smell of grain fields baking in the sun, especially during harvest season -  reminds me of hot biscuits. 

3. What is your favorite TV commercial?

I don't watch that much TV, but I really laughed when I first saw Hugh Laurie's commercial for Loreal.

4. What is your favorite day of the week?

At the moment I really enjoy Sunday - this is the day I usually go swimming and to the sauna afterwards.

5. What is your favorite way to waste time?

Watching Doctor Who whilst knitting, crocheting or spinning.

6. What is your favorite article of clothing? 

This seafoam-coloured cardigan. It features in embarrassingly many of my outfit posts:


Thank you so much for stopping by, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!


Love, Qaroline

Sonntag, 16. Dezember 2012

Bookshelf Revisited: Fantasy Literature Overload

"Second hand books are wild books, they came together in vast flocks of variegated feather, and have a charm which the domesticated volumes of the library lack. Besides, in this random miscellaneous company we may rub against some complete stranger who will, with luck, turn into the best friend we have in the world."

Virginia Woolf: Street Haunting: A London Adventure

I read a lot of fantasy literature when I was a teenager and although I have become a bit bored with the usual orks-and-elves-variety, I still try to read some fantasy literature now and then, especially the one aimed at children and teenagers. 

During the last weeks I have read more than my usual share, for instance: "Sabriel", by Garth Nix, which I really loved because it had steampunkish elements (although rather Edwardian than Victorian style). "Das Labyrinth der Träumenden Bücher" by Walter Moers ["The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books"] is the sequel to "The City of Dreaming Books" which I HIGHLY recommend if you love the Discworld Novels or anything that is a bit out of the ordinary - Moers's books are brilliantly illustrated by the author and I love his approach to the fantasy genre. The third book I want to write about is Joe Abercrombie's "Best Served Cold". I was very smitten with his First Law Trilogy and I simply loved "Best Served Cold" - it is ruthless, bloody and has very believable characters. The description of the of Shivers, a Northman who wants to become a better man in the South and how he deals with his moral dilemmas were very addictive.

Love, Qaroline

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Früher habe ich wirklich viel Fantasyliteratur gelesen. Obwohl ich von der üblichen Orks-und-Elfen-Fantasy mittlerweile eher gelangweilt bin, versuche ich aber doch hin und wieder das eine oder andere Buch zu lesen, besonders Fantasyromane, die sich an Kinder und Jugendliche richten. In den letzten Wochen bin ich dann doch wieder etwas rückfällig geworden und möchte an dieser Stelle über drei Bücher schreiben. Das erste, "Sabriel" von Garth Nix, hat mir sehr gefallen, vor allem wegen seiner Steampunk-Elemente (obwohl es eher Edwardianische Zeit als Viktorianische Zeit ist). Das zweite, "Das Labyrinth der Träumenden Bücher" von Walter Moers, ist wie immer total zauberhaft, wenn man vor allem ungewöhnlichere Fantasy mag und eine originelle Herangehensweise an das Genre bevorzugt - zugegeben, es hat ein paaaaaar Längen, aber die Beschreibungen des Neuen Buchhaim machen das alle Mal wieder wett. Das dritte, Joe Abercrombies "Best Served Cold" ist unglaublich gut, wenn man es eher hart und blutig mag. Den Charakter des Shivers, eines kampferprobten Nordmannes, der ein besseres Leben im Süden führen möchte, fand ich sehr faszinierend. Zum Einstieg in Abercrombies Fantasy ist aber auch seine First Law Trilogy sehr gut - und macht hochgradig süchtig!

Love, Qaroline

Sunday Social 16/12/2012


I love the idea of this "Sunday Social" and really wanted to participate this time!

This weeks questions:

1. What is the wallpaper on your cell phone? 

As I am very low-tech at the moment [partly due to my financial situation, partly due to my only ever buying new stuff when the old stuff stops working] - I have a very bad picture of the Leibniz temple in the Royal Gardens of Hanover on my cell phone. I lived in Hanover for almost three years and this place was my favourite [a temple of the same design features in one of my stories]. This is a much better picture of the same temple:

source: Wikimedia Commons - photographed by Breogan67
2. What do you keep beside your bed? 

Well, chaos basically. All the books I want to read as soon as possible, the pink docking-station for my iPod, pencils [for writing in the margin of books], a list of all the books I have read this year [I am currently on number 108], a lot of hairpins, nasal spray [I had quite a bad cold and still keep this by my bed for emergencies], my keys ... a retro design liquorice tin [now empty].

3. What is your least favourite chore?

Hoovering. Everything else pales in comparison.

4. If you could eliminate one thing from your daily routine, what would it be? 

Cleaning my cat's litter box. But I love him - so this has to stay on the list.

5. What do you do to vent anger? 

Baking bread [kneading dough is perfect for this]. Eat. Silently fume. Not very healthy, but well ... this is how I deal with it.

6. What is your favorite Holiday of the year and why? 

Christmas. Because my family has made up all this quirky traditions which nobody else has. For example when we get together to pick out our Christmas tree [for this we drive to a fir plantation and carry an assortment of various saws] we have oysters afterwards. The Christmas tree will be decorated differently each year - we had an "Ocean Tree" with lots of shells and nautical thingies, we had a tree covered in real flowers [my brother worked in a lab and brought home lots of test tubes which we made into tiny vases], we had a tree covered in butterflies ... this year is going to be flowers and birds.

Mittwoch, 12. Dezember 2012

OOTD: Snowflakes & Lace

Cardigan: Takko Fashion; dress/Kleid: H&M; tights/Strumpfhosen: Ulla Popken; boots/Stiefel: Bluntstone
I have tried this dress on three times in the shop before I finally bought it - as you can see it IS a bit on the short side and I wasn't quite sure about this. But I really love this colour and it is astonishingly comfortable.

It has been snowing for some days now and I really enjoy being able to wear my hair like this - usually I have to pin it up or do something else imaginative with it because I feel much too warm!

Love, Qaroline

glasses/Brille: eyes+more
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Dieses Kleid hatte ich ganze drei Mal im Shop an, bevor ich es dann endlich gekauft habe! Es ist ja ein bisschen kurz und ich war mir unsicher, ob ich mich wirklich darin wohlfühlen würde. Die Farbe finde ich ziemlich großartig und es ist erstaunlich gut zu tragen.

Es hat jetzt ein paar Tage am Stück geschneit [Straßefegen ist ätzend] und ich könnte mich glatt dran gewöhnen, mein Haar nicht mehr hochzustecken - normalerweise ist mir nämlich sonst viel zu warm!

Love, Qaroline




Sonntag, 9. Dezember 2012

OOTD: Taking the Black

coat/Mantel: Ulla Popken; top: H&M; cardigan: C&A; skirt/Rock: C&A; tights/Strumpfhosen: Ulla Popken; socks/Socken: H&M (men); boots/Stiefel: Bluntstone
I hope that you all like this new variation of the blog design - somehow this seems to fit my current mood. I am reading a lot of fantasy novels again (I will write more about this later) and am feverishly waiting for the next Game of Thrones season to start again!

When I saw the snow outside this morning I decided that it would be fun to do a black(ish) OOTD in the snow (the parts that deal with the Wall and the Nightswatch in Game of Thrones are very much my favourite ones, in the novels and in the TV series ...).

Love, Qaroline

snow melts on the lens
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Ich hoffe, euch allen gefällt diese neue Design-Variation - sie spiegelt ganz gut meinen momentanen Gemütszustand wider, denn ich lese gerade wieder ziemlich viele Fantasyromane (mehr dazu später) und warte zunehmend ungeduldiger auf den Beginn der dritten Staffel Game of Thrones!

Als ich also heute morgen den Schnee draußen sah, dachte ich es wäre ganz lustig, mal ein schwarzes bzw. schwärzliches OOTD im Garten zu machen (die Handlungsstränge in Game of Thrones, die sich mit der Wache und der Mauer befassen, gehören ganz klar zu meinen Lieblingselementen, sowohl in den Romanen als auch in der TV-Fassung).

Love, Qaroline

I forgot my glasses