It´s official: it´s spring!
And with spring comes my need to eat delicious light and homemade food.
So it seemed quite obvious to create my own little garden (on my balcony): tomatoes, sage and basil…
Can´t wait for the tomatoes to grow.
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Eye youth roll on and Energizing face mist
12 AprMaking my own beauty products has started to become a real obsession, and every time it gets better and more effective.
For the “Eye youth roll on” you need an empty roll on bottle and… wheat germ oil. Yep, it´s that simple and soooooo effective against wrinkles even the ones that come from laughing and not from aging. ;-)
For the “Energizing face mist” you need:
- 20g of apricot oil (organic obviously)
- 15g of aloe gel
- 40ml of water
- 20 drops of algae youth concentrate
- 15 drops of conservatives (organic as well)
- 1g of Emulsan
Here it goes:
In a water bath, warm up the apricot oil and the Emulsan until the Emulsan is fully melted and the oil reaches a temperature of 70°C. War um the water then pour the water into the oil mix while whisking it with a cappuccino whisk. Then start adding the aloe and ones it starts to become a homogenous milky liquid you can add the conservatives and the algae youth concentrate. Fill in a spray bottle and tadaaaaaaa: Hello fresh faced you!
Enjoy!
PS: I can´t wait to get my new camera!!!
Ready for Easter
27 MarWhat I love most about Holidays is the fact that you can decorate your home in order to welcome a special day.
In Austria you find can find so many things, colours and details to decorate your easter eggs and it is great fun to make an arts & craft day with your friends an family.
Let´s just say that some are very gifted and others are not 
What´s in your trunk?
21 FebLately, I have been quite obsessed with organizing space and where to put all my stuff.
Have you ever noticed:
The larger the city, the smaller the space!
The older you get, the more stuff (junk) you have…
Twice every year, I grab a huge garbage bag and try to detox my flat by throwing away all the junk I don´t need, all the junk that is broken and that I intended to repair… eventually.
But what is left once you throw out all the junk?
Piles of shoes, books, memories…
And here comes my new DIY project:
I am not a big fan of useless decoration. Somehow everything in my flat must have a practical purpose, like a vase or a pretty table…
But still, you somehow whant your flat to be cosy and pretty and nice, and this is when I thought about vintage trunks!!!
I walked by the Louis Vuitton store the other day and saw that beautif LV cabin trunk with all those drawers.
My first thought was: perfect for my shoes!!!
Well, not everybody can afford such an expensive shoe cupboard so I thought why not surf the internet and try to find a cheaper version online.
I found so many versions of how you can actually use a vintage cabin trunk that I am going nuts here.
I want one for my shoes, one as a bar one for… I don´t know what I am going to put in it yet, but I am sure I will find something.
Now all I have to do is find a vintage trunk and build drawers in. Easy
Christmas decoration
23 NovThis week I have been to the Christmas market and drank my first mulled wine this year with friends from work.
Even though I think it is weird to be all Christmassy in mid November… I love the Christmas market for the lights, the smell of mulled wine (more facts about that later) and the wooden toys like nutcrackers.
As usual I got all inspired and busy, making my home holiday ready. ;-)
For the salt dough you need:
- 2 cups of flour
- 1 cup of salt
- 1 cup of water
Mix everything in a bowl, and then roll it out with a rolling pin. Use Christmas cutters or a knife, then place the forms on baking paper on a tray in the oven, previously preheated at 150°C , for about 45 minutes.
It is completely up to you how you would like to decorate them. I used:
- Watercolours
- Acrylic colours
- Various sprinkles
- Glitter glue and pearl maker
- Golden, green and red string
This is great fun to do with friends, as everybody can get creative. I like putting them in a cellophane bag with a nice bow as a gift.
PS: Did you know? Apparently, if you spend more than six hours wandering around at the Christmas market, you can get drunk on the mulled wine steam… poor guys at the mulled wine stand. Or lucky them ;-)
Modular Zombie make up
25 OctWhatever your budget or your artistic aspirations, here are some ideas for realizing your very own zombie make up for Halloween.
What you need:
- Light and dark foundation (or concealer) and matching powder (or just transparent powder)
- And/ or brown and purple shadows
- The Make up forever flash color case (or black liner and red to purple lipstick)
- Plastic sealor (special effects skin glue) or false eyelash glue
- A set of brushes (or your finger and Q-tips)
- Make up forever plasto wax (or tissues and soap)
- Fake blood
Here it goes:
- If you are going for the tissue version, start with ripping tiny pieces of tissue and glue them to your face (with whatever glue you chose)
- Apply the plasto wax(or soft soap) on the eyebrows till they seem almost vanished
- Start putting on a light foundation (two tones lighter than your normal skin colour)
- From this point on you can either work with the flash colour case (which I prefer, in case I mess up I can still correct my mistakes without having to start from scratch) or powder your face and start with the shadows, light colours on nose, cheekbones and over your eyebrows
- Use a brown shadow (blush brush or fingers) and blend it on temples, cheeks, both sides of the nose and around the eyes (darker around the very eyes, then blend it to the outside until fully blended into the foundation), if you haven´t powdered your face yet, that would be your moment.
- Use a purple shadow (smaller brush) to accentuate the contour of your eyes and the dark circles
- If you have applied tissue pieces that working on the contour, applying black and purple underneath and blend it onto the surrounding skin to make it look as if you had a rash. Because of the foundation you applied earlier, it will look as if your skin was coming off. If you like, you can also use one of these patches and darken it with black and purple, then add some fake blood.
- If you want to use plasto wax, take a tiny bit and warm it between your fingers. Then apply it on your face and make it melt onto your skin until you can´t see the application line any more. Same as with the patches, apply black in the inner contour to create an impression of hollow, then red and purple and finally fake blood.
- Same applies for the nose, just don´t forget the thin line in the middle (to be blend on both sides onto the skin)
- Final touch lips: use the light foundation or a nude lipstick
So that´s about it. Go on and slaughter yourself
Falling into Autumn
21 OctBesides the growing cold and the rain, automn is one of my favourite seasons.
It´s the season of hot coacoa, cute kitten jumpers, gum boots, comfort food and last but not least; reflection.
When you are staying at home, and there is not much you can do on a rainy day, you start reflecting on all that has happened this year.
What has happened? What have I done right? What have I done wrong ? What can I improve?
This reflection affects everything; your actions, your habits, your health, your spiritual health and your dreams and ambitions.
It´s the time to set reasonable goals to improve your life (not like New Years´s resolutions that you forget as soon as the Champagne stops bubbling in your brain).
For myself, I have decided on the following:
- I have a healthy breakfast every morning (I normally don´t do breakfast)
- I try not to stress about things ( breathe through the tummy)
- I take half an hour per day for myself, relaxing, pampering or whatever that makes me feel good
- I read more
- I go to bed early in order to get at least 8 hours of sleep
- I try to do Pilates every day (after a long day of siiting of front of the computer it´s a big relief
- I try to do something I seldom or never do (knitting, playing the guitar, try new recipes, go to a concert, dress differently…)
The point of all this is to improve everday life in all ways, figh the gray and never be bored.
Indulging myself isn´t always easy but it´s the little things that make you happy and strong enough to bear whatever crap comes your way.
“Say yes more!”
(Yes Man by Danny Wallace)
DIY
5 JulOn saturday I realized that we were in the middle of the sales… after having a look in a few stores I got back home frustrated.
There was nothing there for me.
But frustration always makes me creative or inventive… so… I have decided to make my own dress.
With this in mind, I bought a new sewing machine and some nice fabric.
And there you go. It isn´t perfect yet but give me some time and some practice…
In the mood for Christmas
2 DecI came home today and my flatmate had transformed the place into a winter wonderland. Everything sparkled, snowed or smelled nice. There is a hint of cinnamon in the air and she wore a christmastree-green jumper…
I came home wishing for summer… now all I want to do is bake cookies shaped like stars, angels and trees.
Have to leave you now… I am off to see Gingerbread Boy who has prepared me a special treat: Oysters! 
Merry December Everybody!!!
Living with an original
6 NovI love my flatmate. Besides being my best friend, she is absolutely nuts and fashionable. I love the fact that she is like a chameleon but still always is herself. I am always impressed about the way she dresses. Sometimes it doesn’t make any sense but it always does look great. I am always more on the careful side… she doen’t care. She just wears whatever comes into her hands first. Even my clothes look great on her… on me they look bored. I think I am depressing my wardrobe but I am willing to learn and develop my own fashionable self…
PS: In case you might wonder… the dog is called Gerard Voltaire…
