Bedroom sanctuary

Some people's bedrooms are a calm sanctuary, mine in all honesty is usually a complete mess. I have an inability to put clothes away and they end up all over the floor and bed. I must have always been like that as I remember my mother regularly threatening to throw everything out the winder. My poor husband has reluctantly gown used to it - but that's ok because it's really the only flaw I have (hahaha).

Since I have started studying again our bedroom also functions as my office and I have a little desk set up in there. I found it hard to concentrate when the room is messy, so now I just throw everything into my wardrobe before I sit down in the mornings - easy!

You might recognise the painting from our lounge in our old apartment in Germany here

I do like it in our bedroom as it's very soothing. Another bonus is that a canvas on your head at night during an earthquake hurts less than a wooden picture frame. Got to keep these things in mind around here :-)

I have only one more week to go until the Uni semester finishes and will hopefully have some more time to visit this space. I have also been busy sewing up a storm - my bump is growing by the day and these maxi skirts are a lifesaver. I whipped up three yesterday - so easy. 

Tschüss...

Some {spring} changes around home

With the days getting longer and the temperatures rising I felt like a bit of a change at home - my grey cushions have been replaced with light pink ones and I have re-arranged a few things around the lounge. What better opportunity than the change in season to keep things looking fresh.

The window seat has been a recent project. Originally dark brown, I painted the seating area white and made the black & white blind. I am still planning on covering the seat with a large cushion but really don't want to spend a fortune on foam & fabric as this is a rental home. I am pleased with the temporary fix though. It us such a great spot to snuggle up with the kids and read to them. 

I hope you have a wonderful week. The boys are on holiday from kindy for the next two weeks and we have lots of exciting adventures planned. I am working on a teepee at the moment - I will share some pictures when it's ready.

Tschüss... 

German "Gemütlichkeit"

Hello friends, thank you for stopping by today. While the northern hemisphere is enjoying the start of spring, down here autumn has definitely arrived. The days are getting shorter and cooler but the air is crisp and clear. I love the mood of autumn - the leaves are turning golden and we can witness the most amazing sunsets and sunrises above the sea. More time is spent indoors than out and while we love wrapping up and bracing the cool winds we love coming home to a hot drink and that lovely feeling of german "Gemütlichkeit".

My long awaited Moroccan plate arrives all the way from Germany. I simply couldn't find one here at a reasonable price and so turned to the wonderful Dagi who sent one all the way around the world for me. I love it and it will no doubt get used in many ways as I decorate my home.

Last week I was invited to my friend Fran's new house. I was very impressed with her little slice of paradise. She spoilt us with the most delicious afternoon tea and after a little search I found the recipe online. I was cutting a few corners and used my bread maker to knead and rise the dough but you can find the full recipe here.

One of my big projects last months was making four little flower girl dresses. I loved the job and was pleased with the way they turned out. Sewing was once a huge part of my life but with two little ones it is tricky - now that they are getting older and one is at kindergarten I am hoping to steal a few hours here and there to get back into it. Who knows where it may lead...

Finally I went on a major hunt for some bedding for the boys. I spent what felt like a whole month searching for something that did not have Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder or any other cartoon figure on it. Bad enough they watch these things on tv they don't have to dream of it at night :-) I wanted something plain and simple that would work with a red roman blind I made for their room. 

I finally found a blue and white striped cover and it works perfectly with their small letter cushions I made for their old room in Germany (here).

The room is tiny but sleeping is all they do in it and they have a large playroom for all their toys.

With one million interruptions by my little one this post has only taken me 3 hours to complete :-) 

See you again soon, I promise.

Tschüss...

Easter Decorations & Lounge Update

I hope you are all having a nice week? I just wanted to let you know how happy I am to have you stop by and how grateful I am for every single comment. 

I managed to find my Easter decorations (or should I say my husband did, after he spent an hour in the garage looking through unopened boxes) I was keen to bring a little Easter feeling into the home. In the northern hemisphere Easter is associated with springtime yet here we are heading into autumn - it does feel a little strange. I don't know too many people that decorate their homes for Easter in New Zealand but I am determined to keep a little Germany tradition going in my home - mostly for the boys. 

We used to go for a long walk on Easter Sunday with the whole family and my grandfather would drop little chocolate eggs along the way without us noticing. I still remember the excitement as a little girl discovering the treats amongst freshly sprung flowers. Do you have any easter traditions that you are keen to pass on?

This cute little pair of ceramic bunnies was a gift from my mother. She has always been a keen decorator and she celebrated the change of season by updating our home.

I received some new cushions from H&M last week - my mother sent them to me along with some 

Haribo - Mmmmhhhh :-) The pot plant was a recent project I did. I noticed them in many scandinavian interiors and never found one ready made - so I used a circular wire and twisted ivy around it. Easy!

Tschüss...

IKEA live Magazine

I am sitting all wrapped up with a cup of coffee enjoying a lazy Sunday morning. It's been really quite cold and I am struggling a little with the lack of central heating. Germany has made me soft. At least I can dig out my nice Merino jerseys which were too warm to wear inside our old place in Koblenz.

Talking about our old apartment. Two days ago I received a little surprise package containing two copies of the latest IKEA live magazine. I was asked to submit some photos months ago and hadn't really thought about the feature for some time. It's nice to have a reminder of our old apartment "officially" printed and forever treasured in my growing pile of interior magazines.

I have been all consumed with trying to sort this place out a little more. The windows here are huge and the first thing I did when we moved in was take down all the horrible curtains - which now leaves me with blank windows everywhere. I have started buying fabric to make roman blinds for some of the windows and am waiting on an order of curtains from Germany. I know that seems a bit crazy but I just couldn't find what I wanted over here so back to good old IKEA. New Zealand doesn't have one :-(

I do feel like we are settling in very well though. My oldest boy started kindergarten and my youngest has two mornings in daycare which he is enjoying very much and gives me some time to myself - which is something I haven't had since they were born.

Tschüss...

Last night I went for a walk down to the beach and had some time to let my thoughts drift. 

I am often asked what life is like being back here in New Zealand. I don't think my happiness has ever been directly tied to one place or another. Life is busy and most of the time we go about our day to day business and we don't consider our surroundings too much. Then you get those moment when you feel a deep connection to a place - and for a short time your life is perfect and beautiful because of where you are right at that moment. I love the ocean and living so close to it fills me with happiness.   

I don't think I will ever get used to this view from our new home - it feels like a reward for the heartache of not having my family and close friends nearby. Obviously it also helps in luring people in to coming to stay with us - that's if they don't mind the occasional jolt. New Zealand was always known for it's adrenaline sports - now you just have to sit around and wait for a decent earthquake to get your heart rate up :-)

Tschüss...

The missing piece

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. It is a public holiday here in New Zealand on Monday so we get to enjoy a long weekend. Unfortunately the weather isn't quite playing the part but that means more time inside to work on making this place homely.

I left Germany with a little regret that I never ended up purchasing an older style piece of furniture. I had been looking to take something back here, knowing that what we in Germany refer to as "Gründerzeit" pieces are hard to come by. In the end I ran out of time and just didn't find anything for the right price.

Luck was un my side when I spotted this lovely piece on a local auction website. It was brought back from Switzerland by it's last owners 10 years ago and I managed to get it at a very good price. I am so pleased about it and it puts a smile on my face every time I walk past. It gives me a feeling of home and is a great addition to our mostly new furniture. I know what you'll be thinking: is she going to paint it white? I will not it's perfect just the way it is :-) 

This lamp below is also a new addition to our home. I purchased it on an auction as it reminded me of TineK's lamps - which I love. I sprayed the base white and added a simple white shade. 

Thank you so much for your lovely comments on my last post. It's nice to have people from home reading this blog too. Maybe I need to think about making this a bi-lingual blog? 

Tschüss... 

A little peek into our new home

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

I have really missed this space and can't wait to get back into regular blogging 

once my life is a little more settled. 

We still have boxes everywhere and life is pretty crazy around here. I have been interviewing for a job and looking at daycare options for the boys. My main priority however will always be creating a warm, comforting home for my boys to grow up in. They just absolutely love our new house with it's big "jungle" garden to explore. I will take you on a little garden tour soon but for now I will give you a little sneak peak into our home.

I still have a million things to do here but I enjoy creating little corners in the chaos that make me feel happy when I walk past. 

This weekend I swung the paintbrush and transformed an old bookcase, a mirror and a vintage suitcase I found in my mother-in-laws garage. It's the perfect place for our DVDs and the best thing is the boys can't open it - yet. 

Yesterday I went into the city centre for the first time and was blown away by the worlds first container mall that has been put in place where Christchurch's main shopping street once was - prior to the earthquake. I will post some pictures on here as soon as I can.

Tschüss...

Welcome Back!

I did promise I would return ;-) 

So here I am on the other side of the world blogging from our new home. So much has happened since we left Germany in early December. I think this has been one of the most emotional times I have ever experienced. 

Joys and Sadness so closely interlinked. 

Saying goodbye to my family and friends in Germany has been heartbreaking but then we've had the most wonderful welcome here in Christchurch and I feel deeply happy about being back here.

After two wonderful weeks with my mother-in-law (thank you Jane!) we have shifted into our new house yesterday - just in time to celebrate the start of a New Year.

I am so excited to turn this house into a home. We chose location and size over style so there is a lot for me to do to turn this ugly duckling into a pretty swan ;-) 

I will also be blogging a little about life in New Zealand for those back in Germany interested in a slice of the kiwi lifestyle.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful start to the New Year!

Tschüss...

And we're off... almost

Hello friends! I am sitting in utter chaos with boxes piled up around me. Our shipping container arrives in a few days and then it's only a few weeks until we board our plane to New Zealand.

Although I should be getting pretty experienced with moving countries - this time feels quite different. 

With two kids in tow the whole effort of moving turns into a logistical mammoth exercise. 

How did we accumulate so much stuff after only 2 1/2 years in Germany? 

People keep asking me how I feel - quite honestly I don't think I even have time to feel anything right now. Everything will probably sink in when I take my seat on the plane and finally stop moving for 24 hours. 

I am really looking forward to all the new opportunities in New Zealand. Moving into a new home is really exciting and I can't wait to create a home for my family once again.

I will of course keep you all up to date with our progress of finding a house in Christchurch. Which in itself could prove to be quite a challenge but one I am more than happy to tackle head on.

 Tschüss...

(images: Nina Lamb)

Autumn Decorations

I've got a nasty cold and have been stuck inside the house unable to enjoy this glorious autumn weather. Fortunately I decorated our house a little last week and was able to enjoy the things we collected from our visit to the forrest. 

I think the hardest thing about being a mother is not being able to call in sick and being forced to soldier on looking after the kids when all you want to do is curl up in bed and rest. Well, it's been pretty chaotic at our place this week but it's lovely having a little corner in your home that you can walk past and take delight in even when everything else is a little out of control. 

The black cabinet in our dining room is the spot I decorate frequently and the best thing: it's not within the boys' reach. Do you have a spot in your home that you pay particular attention to and that provides you with a sense of calm even when chaos rules?

(images: Nina Lamb)