Rosemary Potatoes & Steak

Sometimes the easy things in live are the best. I really like cooking and baking but during week days after work I don´t want to spend long time in the kitchen. 

Coincideltally I came across the cooking directions for these potatoes at a German food blog named Einfach Guad. I haven´t tried potatoes in the oven before because I thought they are really too oily and greasy but with this recipe they are so tasty and crunchy. A dream come true, yummy. 
Just sliced potatoes, chopped rosemary and spilled olive oil, salt and pepper over it. Put the potatoes for approx.35-40 minutes on a bun tin in the oven. Take this "quality" time for yourself and enjoy it with a book to wait for the potatoes to get ready.


As my hubs likes to have a good chunk of meat, we brought some beef fillet steaks to go with the potatoes...yes, this way round, not the other. There were potatoes first.


We had a fun evening cooking our meal together in the kitchen, chatting, eating and had of course some white wine. No, I have no wine problem...just La Dolce Vita!


Next time we will probarbly combine a green salad to get some more vitamins in our meal. :o)

Review Glossybox July

Hi girls! My Glossybox for July arrived on Thursday and I´m very happy with it´s content. Really great products and I am excited to gibe them all a test for a longer term. But here are my first thoughts about it:

• Avéne SunscreenlotionSPF 50+ (Original size) - It´s my favorite in this box. Avéne is a good quality brand that you can get mostly in pharmacies in Germany. The SPF is great for my light skintone, especially for the face and the formula isn´t oily as other sunscreen products tend to be. It´s water resistant and has a broad UVA and UVB protection and should be used on normal or combination skin ( which I have). I recieved an original product. The container holds 50 ml and sells for 16,90€.
• C:ehko Intensive Care Shampoo (Travel size) - This shampoo smells so good and fruity and I´m keen on trying it. A while ago I got another care product from this brand as a gift. Little capsules with a mixture of different oils that made my hair look incredible good. So I´m excited about the shampoos quality and formula.
• Alessandro Pedix Feet Care Rescue Balm (Travel size) - This feet balm smells a bit minty like most feet products do. Especially for summer season you have to care for you feet so they look good in sandals and flip flops. For me this product is like heaven sent because I have rough skin and a tiny bit hard skin at the heels. What I can say until now my skin feels really soft and great. 
• Dermasel Spa Dead Sea Pomegranate Face Mask (Original size) - Can´t say much about this product yet because I haven´t tried it yet and it´s for one time use. So I can´t tell you how it smells but the pomgranate gives it a fruity fragrent for sure and the Dead Sea should be good to cleanse you skin.
• Secret brand lipstick in ´coffee toffee´ (Original size) - When you open the lipstick the brand isn´t that secret anymore as you can see the big X for Maxfactor but anyway... The coffee colour isn´t a shade that I favour. I´m more into pinkish colours and some kind of reds. The colour isn´t as ugly as I thought on my lips but for sure I will check out the stores to try another colour as the texture is great, creamy and so smooth on your lips.
• As a gift from Glossy box there was a sleeping mask in the box. I think the design is kind of cute but the fabric is a bit firm. Think it´s a bit softer when it´s worn out. I haven´t used sleeping masks for some time but I had wished for one when we were on the plane to Bali in may to get better sleep. As another goodie there was a bookmark in the box with a water colour style design and a holiday beauty checklist on it´s back. 

High Five for Friday!

Happy Friday everyone! Working week is done, thank God!


1. This week was so sunny. After all the rain all over Germany the past weeks this was a pleasure to feel the hot sun on my skin and fill up on endorphines! 
So dear sun, hopefully your here to stay for the next weeks of summer. I cross my fingers!

Source: nadiaaboulhosn.tumblr.com via Jasmine on Pinterest

2. We did a house tour on Wednesday and I have to say we gain so much knowledge of what we DON´T want that there has to come the time where we find our house or a piece of land any time soon now. Can´t tell you anything that I wish for more.
There were so much houses that we checked out that weren´t appropriate (yes, appropriate...don´t get me wrong we are not that snobbish but we want to get some value for our money, no time to fool around with that). 
Everytime I think this one will be IT. But it hasn´t happend to be THE ONE yet.

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3. We had barbeque twice this week and I feel really stuffed and heavy. A good reason to work in some good workouts this weekend to feel fit again and exercise to get of the savory of this great meals off my hips. 
Forgot to take barbecue photos both times, but it was so yummy. Even without photos you can imagine that when you love barbecues!


4. My Glossybox arrived and I really like the products. Will do a review soon!

5. I have finished the seasons cycle, four books by Nora Roberts about four woman leading a wedding agency in Connecticut. They have four different passions, one for photography, flowers, cakes and wedding planning regarding their business and are about to find their true love happening. Happy ending preprogrammed.

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Have a look over at Lauren´s Blog From My Grey Desk and check out what everybody´s  highlights of the week are!

Oh, how Pinteresting Wednesday!

Hey girls, the days have flewn by and it´s Wednesday already. It´s been extremely sunny the past days, so I spend most of my time after work outside and you haven´t heard much of my lately.


So of course the motto of todays pinteresting Wednesday is summer goodies.


A yummy barbecue with tasty sauces and salads is one of my favorite must haves. Plus my hubs feels really masculine with cooking on "real fire" and enjoying good chunks of meat.

Source: etsy.com via Patrizio on Pinterest

Of course I like to have a savory glas of withe wine with my barbecue. Actually I´m a bit of an philistine because you should have beer with a barbecue, shouldn´t you?

Source: stumbleupon.com via Flavia on Pinterest

I really love maxi skirts. They are a bit boho but still way more elegant than hotpants. Let´s be honest, not everyone can wear hotpants and look awesome like let´s say Kylie Minogue. 

Source: fashionworship.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Ice creme is another summer essentail. If I wouldn´t grow very big I could just live on ice creme. How about a zero calorie ice creme? That´s the idea I´m getting rich with...hey don´t snatch it. ;o)

Source: google.com via Crystal on Pinterest

Spend a day at the beach or at the lake...of course with wearing sunscreen.

Source: google.com via nan now & next on Pinterest

Hope you have a great week so far and enjoy summertime!

Have a look over at Michelle´s to see what the other girls have pinned.

Be fabulous!

"Be yourself, everybody else is already taken"  - Oscar Wilde

I really had a tough time with figuring myself out and this livelong journey isn´t finished anytime soon as you learn new things about yourself every day. But looking at me now and the me of a few years ago I had definitely walked a good way down the road to myself and a happy me.

One of the hardest tasks was and still is to accept that you can´t make it right for everyone. But girls you know, that´s not the point!

 YOU have to be happy with yourself and the things you do and accomplish. 

Choose happiness and choose to be yourself!

Than you grow strong, step by step!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just had a look at the other pictures we took at our dinner on Thursday and it appears that while taking a photo of my espresso Rolf took a photo of me, too. Can you find me?

It´s a bit like a where is Wally photo, isn´t it?

High Five For Friday!

Thank God, the week is done. But it was a good one...! Right now we embrace our beloved friday and the weekend will start in no time!


1.
This week I discovered KidneyKaren while surfing the internet. I think this is a really cute way to protect you from getting bladder infection or kidney issues and is a trendy accessory, too.
Think I´m about to order one for the fall/winter season.

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2.

Thursday night the hubs and I went on a little dinner date at a lovely place called "Zum Lichthaus" located in Bremen. We both enjoyed rump steak with Ceaser´s Salad and fried potatoes. So delicious and good for our green conciousness because the products used there are all organic from a local farm. A bit more pricier but the good stuff!

3.

After doing the Level 1 video of Jillian Michael´s 30 day shred for some time now and then I stepped further and started with Level 2 today. Gosh, I sweated like a beast and it was really exertive but it was worth it and I felt great after finishing it because I knew I did great. And all the endorphin after working out...!

4.

We got a price for our dream home which we "build" last friday with the sales rep with all the goodies we´d like to have and with a great package of information of the standards already included. The hubs and I have now a hard time to rethink our house what we really need and what is not necessary. 
The hardest part will be to find the right estate to build on. That´s what´s missing lately...so searching is the keyword these days.

Source: media-cache0.pinterest.com via Jasmin on Pinterest

{Okay the house will definately be a lot smaller ;o) but as I don´t want to show the actual draft yet this is kind of a place holder}

5.

To keep up a (new) little tradtion I introduced when my other two followers singed up, I´m happy to wave a warm hello to a new follower over here at The Cosy White Cottage. It´s Jen. She´s writing a blog over at Whyyyjen Blog, check out if you´ve got a minute. I will definately do.

A happy weekend to all of you and if you´ve got a minute check out the highlights of the past week summed up at Lauren´s Blog From My Grey Desk and have a look at the girls link up party.

My Favorite Movies

Hi girls, had a great night yesterday evening while chilling on the couch and watching one of my favorite movies. That´s when it came to my mind to write a post about my preferences when it comes to movies.
Brace yourself it´s getting kind of girly as I´m not that much into the action or horror genre.


So the movie I watched yesterday was The Notebook based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks. When it came to the movies in 2004 I went there straight ahead with one of my dear friends and we cried our hearts out. Even after watching the film over and over again I´m always in tears at the end. 

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The lovestory of Noah and Allie always touchs my heart. To see how they met and which struggels they had to face makes me believe in real deep love that bonds you to one another. But my favorite part of the movie are the scenes in the retirement home when Noah and Allie had grown old together and they had to face the influence of her dementia. She mostly can´t remember their story and the happy time they had Noah is reading the story of their lives to her every day and hopes she remembers.
I cannot hold my tears when there are those really short flashes when she is "herself" again and is aware that it is Noah, her husband, that is talking to her all the time and not some random stranger.


Another movie not to miss is The Holiday staring Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and Jack Black, a dream quartett. Shaken by guy-problems Amanda and Iris want to escape their troubles and swap houses over the holidays. London - Los Angeles. 
Even though they don´t intend to - of course - they fall in love during their vacation and have their ups and downs.
You get to know the two very different femal charcters really well and I have to say I adore Iris and her soft and hearty nature even though I like the plot with Amanda and Graham ( hey, Jude Law what else to say) better. 
If I would have to choose one of the houses my pick would be the little cottage in Surrey/London to live in.

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As a third all time favorite movie I have to admit it´s Bridget Jones´s Diary based on the novel by Helen Fielding. I´m in love with the clumsiness and her ever present struggle with love, alcohol, her weight and lots of other issues in her live. In some parts we are all a bit like Bridget, let´s face it. Her lovestory with Daniel and Mr Darcy is heartwarming and I´m always struggeling which one of the guys I like better. Scenes like the granny underpants, the gala performance with Mr Titspervert... ahm...Fitzherbert, the blue soup or the reindeer sweater just to name a few.

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In generall I like movies with different plots and I tend to pick my my favorite parts of the movie. Let´s say Valentines Day...I would pick the Ashton Kutcher plot, Love Actually, the Hugh Grant plot, New Years Eve, absolutely the Zac Efron plot...you get the picture. Probarbly I´m driven by cute guys. Can´t help it.

Which movies are your favorites to watch over and over again?

Oh, how Pinteresting Wednesday!

It´s the middle of the week already and I´m here to show you what caught my eye this week on Pinterest.

I decided to show you pins this Wednesday and the following that have the same topic. So this time I´m going with braceletts or as trendsetter call it armparties these days.

Of course from fashion point of view just as from the DIY point of view as well to not spend a fortune on being fashionable.

Source: theberry.com via Jasmin on Pinterest

The golden bangles are so cute, the little bow and the writing! Adorable!

Source: makeitandfakeit.com via Jasmin on Pinterest

Looks kind of easy to put those together, but haven´t been to the craftstore yet. Hopefully soon to get finally startet with trying some jewellery making. I need some birthday presents for my lovely girls.

Source: oh-so-glam.com via Rose on Pinterest

Source: linesacross.com via Jasmin on Pinterest

Source: michaelkors.com via Jasmin on Pinterest

I am so in love with nearly everything by Michael Kors. Especially the watches. But as this topic is braceletts, I show you this elegant one with horn and gold. There are different kinds of watches with this fabric, too. A light one and a brown one like this.

Source: oh-so-glam.com via Marta on Pinterest

The light pink and gold wristlets are really cute perhaps you have already recognized that I tend to choose more golden jewellery. Until recently I was more the silver or white golden typ of girl but since our wedding band is bicolour with white and rose gold I feel more open to the other gold colours and mixing them.

Source: thechrisellefactor.com via Haley on Pinterest

In this Pin I like the chunky bangle in peach and light pink. It has a stubborn style but has a feminine look to it, too.


This are my Pins of the week. Check out what the girls over at Michelle´s Blog The Vintage Apple pinned for this week.

An Irish Blessing

May the road rise

to meet you,

May the wind be

always at your back.

May the sun shine

warm upon your face,

the rains fall soft

upon your fields.

And until 

we meet again,

may God hold you in

the palm of his hand.

When we went to Ireland last year we visited Kylemore Abbey and we donated for the restauration of the old Benedictine Chapelle there. 

I always feel encouraged by this blessing and I hope you do, too.

I wish you a very happy Tuesday.

My Hair Routine

Today I had a good hair day and I´d like to share that with you. Sadly there are a lot of bad hair days too, when my hair is curling too much or not the way it should be. 


Honestly, dear hair, please listen to me once in a while and stick to my rules, deal?


So anyhow, that´s what it doesn´t do today. No mean and unwanted waves, shiny healthy texture and great straight bangs without flatironing them. Thumbs up for that.
I´m not a huge supporter of using too much heat on my hair on a daily basis as I already strain it  by colouring it every eight to ten weeks to hide my roots...and ahm, yeah some greys, too. I admit.


So here we go. That´s what I do every other day.

1. I start with shampooning my hair with a cheaper shampoo for the first round just to "clean" it. Today I used L´oreal Nutrion Highlights. Then rinse it out but not that accurate.
2. For the second round I use a pricier shampoo with quality ingredience and massage it in more carefully. These days I am using Kerastase Bain Riche Dermo Calm for sensitive hair and dry scalp. Especially after our tropical holiday my scalp tends to be a bit scally. After foaming I rinse out very well.
3. Then I put in a conditioner focusing on my ends. It´s EverPure Conditioner by L´oreal these days and I really like to use it. It has a great fresh minty lavendery smell that I adore. Rinse out this third round as well.
4. I swing my hair up into a towel and wait approx. 5 minutes doing some other morning routines while letting it dry a bit.
5. After that I put some Nivea Volume Foam in my towel dry hair and work it in very well
6. I blow dry my hair with a Russel Hobs hairdryer. That tool was highly recommended by my hairstylist Mareike and she hasn´t exeggerated a bit as it is really strong and drys my hair within approx. 5 minutes. Let´s face it, time is money in the morning! A great plus is the amazingly long cord so you don´t have to crawl that near to the plug.

Due to rainy weather the photos weren´t that nice so I played a bit with Picasa ;o)

DIY Polka Dot Candle

Inspired by the little cupcake candle in on the righthand side I thought why not pimping the candle glass with a few dots, too? So the things I got on hand where nail polish and some hole strengtheners (normally for office use when the punch hole of documents are ripped apart, you know what I mean?) 

1. Place the stickers all over you candle glas
2. Paint the inner circles with different ( or all with the same) colour
3. Don´t let it dry too long, otherwise you will pull off the nail polish with the sticker
4. Let it dry completely
5. Finished!

Review Glossybox May and June 2012

Finally I´m writing my review post about my first two Glossyboxes which I got in May and June.
For those who don´t know Glossybox, you sign up for a monthly abo and get 5 luxury samples of different beauty products. When subscribing you have to fill in a small questionnaire about your skin and hair tone, beauty routines and styling taste. Then you get your monthly box for 15 € incl. shipping.


So here they are:

The content of the May Glossybox was this:

• Dr. Hauschka Summer Impressions Powder Duo (Original size): This is the most amazing product in my May Box. The bronzing effect is really cool and for my needs it´s perfect. Your skin looks healthy and fresh. Just sunkissed and the texture is amazing to apply. 
• Big Sexy Hair Spray & Play (Travel size): Should give you more volume, texture and shine. Yes, that´s what it gives your hair...as any other hairspray does, too. Nothing really special but a good size for travelling or the purse.
• The Body Shop Rainforest Radiance Hair Butter (Travel size): Great protection for coloured hair. My hair feels smooth and is really shiny. I like the natural ingredients that are used for the Body Shop Products.
• Korres Guava Shower Gel (Travel size): Amazing fresh smell but apart from that it´s a shower gel. Fullstop. For everyday use it´s a bit pricy for my opinion. 
• Payot My Pavot Jour (Travel size):Great smooth texture and amazing peachy smell. I think it´s a great quality daywear moizturizer and if I am ever in need for a substitue of my beloved Estee Lauder Daywear moizturizer I will pick this one.
• There was a blush brush from Glossybox as an extra goodie in the box. Unfortunately I don´t like it that much because the goat hair is really stiff and not very soft. Has a really cheap feeling I think.

And here we go with the June Glossybox:

• Alessandro Nailpolish Peachy Cinderella (travel size) : This is my favorite product from my June Box. The coral colour is absolutely great and it applies well on the nails. It stays for a few days without chipping. Not remarably better than other nailpolishes but good.
• Emmi Nail SOS file (Original Product): Good product with good texture to shorten your nails. I think Emmi products are mostly for gel/acrylic nails but to trim your nails it´s perfect. It comes in a great case so you can keep it in your purse.
• Tiroler Nussöl SPF6 (travel size): I am totally dissapointed by this product. The SPF is way to small for my light skin tone and with an SPF 6 I would hardly ly in the sun. Nearly the same as going without. Additionally I hate the smell of it. Something like tea-tree oil ...simply blahh and no good pick in reference to my beauty questionnaire.
• Kryolan Satin Powder Eye Shadow turquoise: Summery colour with it highly pigmented and has a great shimmer to it. Usually I am not that into powders but this one is great. Another colour would have been great because this turquoise colour is a bit to bright for the everyday use bu anyhow a good pick to get to know the brand.
• EUBOS Hyaluron Repair & Protect SPF 20 ( Travel size):I like that this product has SPF 20 so you are protected for your everyday facial routine. Sadly the smell isn´t that nice in my opinion and with my nearly 25 years I am using this kind of wrinkle filler just for night time and not even on a regular basis.
• As a goodie I got a tote bag in this box. Functional and for my green consience.

So as you can see, there are some products that I really like and I keep subscribing for the box. There are always some highs and lows and I don´t expect every product in the box to be a big hit. That what testing is for and everyone likes other products. 

Lets see what in it for me in the July Box.

In matters of custmer service I am content with the response I got because of my belated June Box. There where some issues with the shipment and for some reason it wasn´t progressing. But with a short mail they fixed it and simply send out another one. Which arrived very quickly. If I have any further issues I am sure to contact the Customer Service again as they where quick and helpful. 

So what are you thinking? Do you like to test new products and brands?

I definatley do.

High Five For Friday!

It´s time, it´s time! Wow, it´s friday again! How the week has flewn by in a small blink of an eye! I was really busy the past week running errands and had a lot of stuff on my mind at work so it´s great that friday is finally here! Timne to take a break!


I just love to take a second to wave to my newest follower Bonnie! Thanks sweetheart for your kind words! I really appreciate it and you totally made my day! Taking the time at the weekend to have a proper look over at your blog.

1. Had a relaxing evening doing a bubble bath! So good to take a break after a long day! I have this great bath pralines with shea butter which are absolutely amazing for dry skin like mine. Its important to arrange small time slots that are just for you!

Source: google.com via Amy on Pinterest

2. Amazing Thursday evening watching Vampire Diaries on SIXX. Just loving it....ahmm....them! For my taste the boys may be a little bit more beefy...there are a lot of muscles but I really like wider shoulders and something to grab. But hey, they are dead, aren´t they?

Source: goo.gl via Minerva on Pinterest

3. There is a new little feature on my blog. I am going to adapt a picture and title of the book I am currently reading. Perhaps you get inspired by the suggestion.
Right now I am reading in German but I do read a lot of novels in english, too. Especially the girly ones. I think some passages don´t sound that cheesy in English. That´s what I like better about it and another reason for switching the language of my blog to English a few weeks ago. 

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4. The birthday party on Wednesday was real fun! I had more wine and Ramazotti as I planned on so I woke up on Thursday, well, with the wine flu. Really hope it´s not epedemic ;o).

Source: via Jasmin on Pinterest

5. At last and perhaps the utmost important thing of our week is the appointment at the building company Tönjes & Meichsner that we have today. We are excited to get to know the possibilties we might have when buildung a whole new house instead of buying an already used house.

This is the house of San-ta Claus

Check out what Lauren and the other girls experienced this week and give them a good high five!