I'm moving!

Hi everyone! Thanks for your visit but from now on you'll find me on my brand new and own URL 

http://www.look-whativedone.de 

Enjoy!

Jenny, xoxo

Thoughts on... Being grateful

I need to get some thoughts out of my head, this is really personal.

Usually when I think life is getting better from day to day, all of a sudden things are getting worse. Things hit me very hard during the last couple of months because when I just got over some bad news there were new ones, even worse, coming in. And then, sometimes, just when you need some support, you realize that there are people that only make you feel worse when they're supposed to make you feel better. So I suffered in silence and somehow made it through.

I'm still miserable sometimes, and I know I have the right to have bad days, just like everybody else. I still think that life is unfair sometimes. But I'm also grateful. My family, the greatest family anyone could imagine, hasn't had the best of luck when it comes to health and accidents. Whatever illness you can imagine, be sure someone around me has had it. Car crashes, too. But they're all strong people and they all survived. I'm sure that we won't always be that lucky but for now I just have to be grateful. Sometimes I moan about little things (I'm only human) but then I realize that I am the luckiest person because 1. I have a family who I love and who loves me just as much 2. we do get second chances (or third, or...).

These are just some thoughts I'm having right now and I don't want to make anyone feel bad. If anything, I want to encourage you to share your feelings (sometimes it's easier to talk to a stranger than to people you know) and to think about the things that you are greatful for.

Jenny, xoxo

Ireland - The End

Hi everyone,

here are the last pictures of my holiday in Ireland. This time I wanted to show you the beautiful National Park right outside of Killarney in Co. Kerry. I used to live in Cork which is beautiful but Kerry is, too. And it''s where my favourite butter comes from. Hundreds of cows and beautiful greens everywhere... That's my Ireland!

Ireland - Part 2

As I promised, here are some more pictures of my little trip to Ireland.

On my first day I went to Dingle, which is a small village by the seaside on Dingle Peninsula. I have been there before on a daytrip but I wanted to go there again as it is incredibly beautiful. See yourself:

Short visit on my favourite island

At the end of June I finally got the chance to go back to Ireland for a couple of days. I travelled around a little, went to the sea, to Dingle, to Killarney with its National Park and to Cork of course. I got the chance to meet some friends and my beloved Irish family. It's so nice to still be in touch with them and they made me feel at home in an instant when I got there. Unfortunately I only had six days but they were good anyway and I enjoyed the little break especially as things got a lot harder around here but that's a different story.

If you wonder why I love this little country so much, here are some reasons:

Weekend reads

Hello there,

Danielle inspired me to share my summer reading list with you. For me, every season is reading season but there are different things that I like at different times of the year. In winter there's nothing better than lying on my couch with a hot beverage and a book or to go to bed early (as it's dark anyway) and read for hours. In summer I prefer getting up early and sit outside in the sun reading a book and gaining some energy from all the light. I also love to sit outside in the evenings and read until it finally gets dark and I can't see the pages anymore. Anyway, as you know, I love lists and I keep track of every book I read and want to read so here are the books that are on my list for this season: 

(Original/English titles below)

1. I know I'm late but I just finished reading part 1 of The Hunger Games and really enjoyed it. So, of course part 2 
2. and 3 are already on my nightstand.
3. = The shadow of the wind = La sombra del viento
4. = Fear the worst
5. There's no English version I think
6. Love in the Time of Cholera = El amor en los tiempos del cólera

1. pretty well known, I guess, but I have never read it (deutscher Titel: Wer die Nachtigall stört)
2. = I wish someone were waiting for me somewhere = Je voudrais que quelqu'un m'attende quelque part (I so wish I could read that one in the original version...)
3. sorry, no English version
4. = In July (There's a movie, too, but I've never seen it)
5. back to Jane Austen this summer
6. no English version but there are translations to Italian, Dutch and Spanish if that helps ;-)

Maybe there's something in my list that you would like to read to, go on, do it, now! And if you have other suggestions for me be sure to share them!

Jenny, xoxo

28 things

It was my birthday yesterday. I am 28 now. It feels pretty good actually, not very different than 27 though but maybe step by step I'm growing up (which was my biggest fear a couple of years ago but being a grown-up has lots of positive things, too, I'm just finding out).

I drove down to my parents' on Monday and had a really bad day that day so I was really looking forward to spending a nice day with my family. My Mom and I went shopping in the morning and found some really nice dresses and then we ate out which was fantastic. In the afternoon my aunt and cousins came over and brought a lovely cake which we had with coffee and lots of talking and laughing and love. I'd say it was exactly the quiet birthday I needed.

Like every year there is a list of things I want to do during the next 12 months and here it is:

1. Practise my Salsa dancing and go Salsa dancing more often
2. Have a look at Lindy Hop dancing
3. Travel further than I have ever been
4. Travel at all
5. Go to Hamburg
6. Go to flea markets
7. Try new clothing styles
8. Buy a pair of black high heels and learn to walk in them
9. Make my own lamp for the living room
10. Pay off my kitchen
11. Keep working hard for my study programm
12. Learn Dutch
13. Practice Spanish and French
14. Go out on my own (do things I'm afraid of)
15. Start doing all those little jobs right away
16. Get a new tattoo

this year the list has only 16 things on it so far. But they are things I can all really achieve during 12 months so I'll work very hard. And maybe I'll find a few more things I can add during the next weeks.

What are things that you really want to achieve during the next months?

Jenny, xoxo

Weekend work

Hello there,

I have always liked drawing, whenever I could reach a pencil and a piece of paper I'd started working on something. People told me I was talented but I actually think that I just had a lot of practice. And I'm not even THAT good. I actually thought about studying arts after school but then I didn't even apply. Somehow it seemed more reasonable to get a "proper" job. My parents were pretty glad, I think, although they would have supported me in any way, like they always do. I have to confess there was another reason. To apply for the good schools I needed to pass a test and send in samples of my work so they'd see my talent and creativity. But that is the problem. I have thousands of ideas in my head, sometimes it's hard to get them out all at once, they keep coming. But when someone says "draw me something", I can't. I just can't. It's not that I don't want to see people, not at all. But I want to do what I like to do. There were phases when I wanted to draw bodies. So I did. One after one, day after day until I got sick of it. That's how I practice and I like it that way. Someone telling me to do something else wouldn't have worked although it would have been nice to learn some other techniques and materials. But then, I can still try...

Anyway, I didn't go to art school and for a couple of years I stopped drawing nearly completely (like unfortunately I quit a lot of stuff in my teenage years). Just lately you can find me sitting around in my flat with paper and pencil again. I'm practicing a lot to be as good as I used to be and I love it even more because there's no pressure at all. Right now it's all about faces. Eyes, Lips, Noses. Maybe you like some of the things you see, maybe you have some advice for me, then please, let me know!

Jenny, xoxo

I'm not sorry

Dear readers,

I really hope that some of you still have me on their blogroll or RSS so you're going to notice that I'm back. I'm glad you're still here and I am planning on staying for a while but I needed a break. I'm not sorry that I took it, because this is a hobby and I had to figure some things out that are more important to me at the moment. Anyways, I'm glad you stopped by and I hope you'll like what I'm going to share around here. To everyone who waited for me and came back here: Thanks for your patience. To everyone who's new here: Great that you found your way here, I hope you like what you see. Maybe tell me if you do or if you'd like to see other things around here, also don't be afraid to ask questions, I'd love to answer them! If you want to share something yourself around here, present your own blog, project or just something that is important to you, let me know. This blog isn't a huge thing but maybe you're reaching exactly the readers you want to reach.

That's it for today, I'll be back very soon (promise!) to show you some stuff I've been doing lately.

Jenny, xoxo

What's new this year?

Well, this year will be all about me. That's not supposed to sound selfish but I have made the experience lately that I tend to do what's best for others and not for myself. That's okay when it comes to family and close friends because they'll give it back some time. It's also fine at work because I like to think that my profession is more than just a job and you have to put something in it. But I've realized that from time to time I surround myself with people who suck the life right out of me. They're not only wasting my time but take all my energy and in the end they leave me like that and I just feel sad and tired. That is over.

2013 Recap: Music Part II

Did you enjoy my recap a couple of days ago? Ready or not, here's the second part:

Pink - Just give me a reason

2013 Recap: Music Pt. I

Here are some of my favourites from 2013. There are many missing but at least I wanted to share some of them. Here we go:

Macklemore&Ryan Lewis - Same Love

2013 Recap: Books

Like every year I kept track about the books I have been reading. Check out my older lists here. In 2013 I nearly reached my goal of 40 books and 15,000 pages. But have a look here:

• Haruki Murakami - 1Q84 (1024S.) ****
• Jilliane Hoffmann - Mädchenfänger (OT: Pretty Little Things) (464S.) *** 
• Sigrid Goddard - Die Männer, die wir lieben und die Luschen, die wir kriegen (175S.) **
• Sebastian Fitzek - Amok Spiel (224S.) **
• Alexandra Reinwarth - Das Glücksprojekt (250S.) ****
• C.J. Daugherty - Night School. Du darfst keinem trauen (463S.) ***
• Klaus Maria Pfifferling - So ist das Leben eben (49S.) **
• Joy Fielding - Im Koma (OT: Still life) (415.) ***
• Stefan Bonner & Anne Weiss - Heilige Scheiße: Wären wir ohne Religion wirklich besser dran? (245S.) ***
• Aaron Kahlan - Was uns falsch beigebracht wird (21S.) **
• Daniel Glattauer - Mama, jetzt nicht! (176S.) **
• Veronika Immler & Antje Steinhäuser - Die Monster anderer Eltern (199S.) ***
• Andreas Ehrlich - Schwarzer Humor (179S.) ***
• Christian Thiel - Suche einen für immer und ewig (212S.) ***
• Petra Diekel - Persönlichkeit steht jeder Frau (126S.) **
• Jeanette Walls - Ein ungezähmtes Leben (An Unfinished Life) (365S.) *****
• Philipp Andersen - Warte auf mich (320S.) ***
• Jaimy Blazynski - Crush (118S.) ****
• Claudio Paglieri - Kein Espresso für Commissario Luciani (417S.) ***
• Pierre Franck - Wünsch es dir einfach, aber mit Leichtigkeit (208S.) ***
• Gregory David Roberts - Shantaram (1088S.) *****
• Karim El-Gawhari - Frauenpower auf Arabisch (204S.) *****
• Noam Shpancer - Der glücklose Therapeut (256S.) **
• Anne Freytag - Irgendwo dazwischen (586S.) ***
• Jenny Downham - Bevor ich sterbe (Before I die) (320S.) ***
• Jojo Moyes - Ein ganzes halbes Jahr (Me Before You) (512S.) ****
• Marc-Uwe Kling - Die Känguru-Chroniken (272S.) ****
• Marc-Uwe Kling - Das Känguru-Manifest (304S.) ***
• S. J. Watson - Ich. darf. nicht. schlafen (Before I go to sleep) (400S.) ****
• Audrey Niffenegger - The Time Traveller's Wife (519S.) *****
• Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones' Diary: A Novel (310S.) ****
• Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason (422S.) ***
• Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones: Mad about the boy (386S.) **
• Rath, Hans - Und Gott sprach: Wir müssen reden (270S.) ***
• Legardinier, Gilles - Julie weiß, wo die Liebe wohnt (375S.) ****
• McBeth, Colette - Zorneskalt (Precious Thing) (382S.) ***
• Fitzek, Sebastian - Der Nachtwandler (318S.) ****

That makes 37 books and 13,072 pages. Not exactly my goal but it was more than the year before and I haven't read anything that I didn't like or that dissapointed me because I made the decision to only read the books that I find interesting and put all the others down straight away.

My favourites in 2013 were "Ein ungezähmtes Leben" (An unfinished life), "Frauenpower auf Arabisch", "Shantaram" and "The Time Traveller's Wife".

There are still loads of unread books in my shelf and they are becoming more and more so 2014 will be a lot about reading again.

What have you been reading? What were your best reads in 2013? I'd love you to share (because I'd love to hear what makes a good book for you!)

Jenny, xoxo

That was... 2013

The New Year has already started, time to look back at the old 2013 and see what we've had there. For me there were lots of ups and downs like every time I had the feeling I've reached something good, something put me back down. Sometimes it was hard for me to stay positive but somehow the year is over and I'm pretty sure 2014 will be so much better. But I don't want to forget though are the positive things that happened in 2013, like:

I moved into my dream flat

I went to Maastricht with Caro

I went to Berlin and visited a couple of people that I really like

I went sailing

I went to see Amy MacDonald with my Mama

Raphaella came to visit me

I went on a weekend trip to Amsterdam with those two <3

I went on a day trip to Antwerpen with Caro

I also went to Hannover to visit my girl Kiki and in the end I got to celebrate Christmas with the whole family!

And thinking about all those good things make me forget the not so good ones a little bit, so thanks for letting me share this with you!

What was your 2013 like? Good? Not so good? Or mixed like mine?

Jenny, xoxo

What makes me happy

I am happy. Most of the time. Of course, sometimes things make me angry, there is always stuff to worry about (but I'm doing that way less than I used to) and there are situations when I am close to tears. Normal, right? But most of the time I remember that there are things that make me happy and my mood changes in an instant. I want to share some of my happy moments with you:

• Last week I was driving in my car which by now is special itself because I'm not using it that often. I was listening to the radio and singing along with a song. I had to stop at a traffic light and looked in the mirror to see the woman in the car behind me was singing the same song. Great stuff, made me smile big time.
• I visited my family when I had a couple of days off last week. Since I moved to Cologne I only see them every once in a while and sometimes I'm even too busy to talk to them on the phone so whenever I come home it's like a great big reunion. I just love my big, crazy, loud family so much I can't even tell you.
• Christmas time. I started listening to Christmas songs about two weeks ago. People call me crazy because I'm so obsessed with Christmas music, Christmas markets, decorations and all of that. And I sometimes wonder why I didn't really like it when I was younger. Doesn't matter because I'm making up for it now by being the biggest Christmas fan around. Now I'm only waiting for the snow to come!

Christmas isn't complete without this one ;-)

• Work. Just like that. I was never able to understand how people don't like their work. Just choose a job that you like and things are great. Right now the job at ICU takes a lot from me, my brain seems to be bursting with all the stuff I'm learning each day and physically I am terribly tired when I come home. But it satisfies me, I love it that way.
• Dancing. Sometimes when I'm at home I turn on the music and just dance around. When I have to clean the flat, wash the dishes or do stuff that I don't like that much it goes so much easier when I go a little bit crazy. I also do it in the mornings. I hate getting up early but when there is a good song I'm standing in the bathroom in my pyjamas, toothbrush in my mouth and do a little dancing. And things feel better immediately. Try it, too, haha!

this guy knows how to do it!

I might share more things that make me happy in the future because I am really grateful for those big and small things and when something goes wrong from time to time I like to remember that life is great and being sad and angry is just a waste of time.

What are the things that make you happy?

Jenny, xoxo

To new beginnings

November is almost over which is crazy because it means soon it will be Christmas and then 2013 will already be over. Does anyone else have the feeling that this year went by even faster than all the others? I mean there were times when things didn't seem so easy around here and that usually keeps time from going by quickly but not this year. Everything was just flying by.

Anyway, maybe it's already time to sum up the year but I'm doing this to myself because some things are just too personal to share around here but I'll share what happened around here lately:

• I started going back to school and after one week I could say that it was definately exhausting but fun. My classmates are pretty nice and I'm excited to learn some new stuff. I also realized that it's going to be tough though but I chose it myself so here I go
• I started work at ICU and I like it there so far. I was very nervous because I don't have any experience there and I was pretty sure people would expect me to know a lot of things. Well, they do but they also seem to understand that I have yet to learn a lot of stuff. But it was cool up to this day
• Winter is here. Autumn went by really quickly, probably because I was busy preparing for my studies and all so I have the feeling I totally missed it which is a bummer as I love it. Now it's all cold outside and I still don't want to wear my winter coat and boots but I have to. I'm just waiting for the snow to come but sure enough, THIS is not going to happen
• I know that sometimes I get too busy to really do stuff around this blog and all but I love writing and as I have been writing over at Buchpiraten and enjoyed it I thought I might try again to start a second blog about books, movies and music. It's in German, but don't be afraid to come by and look around! It's called More than I can read.
• Still no step forward in freelance working but that is on my bucket list for 2014 for sure!

What have you been up to?

Jenny, xoxo

Cooking From Scratch: Carrot&Ginger Muffins

I have been baking like a lunatic lately. Every couple of years I remember how much I like muffins and I get really creative and have lots of ideas I want to try. This time I made Muffins with ginger and carrots. They are not at all like carrot cake (although I LOVE carrot cake), they are less sweet and very filling so you don't have to feel too bad if you have one of those on your coffee break.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1cup oats (coarse)

1cup milk

3/4cup wholemeal flour

3/4cup all purpose flour

3tsp baking powder

1/2tsp cinnamon

1egg

3/4cup brown or white sugar

1/3cup sunflower oil

1cup grated carrots

1tsp freshly ground ginger

Instructions:

preheat oven to 180°C

soak oats in milk for at least 10 minutes

put dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, cinnamon) together and mix well

whisk egg in big bowl, add sugar, oil, carrots and ginger

add dry ingredients and fold in carefully until wet

put into greased muffin baking dish and bake for about 25-30 minutes (depending on oven)

now wait...

and there they are, half eaten already

Have you got any other muffin ideas for me? Will you try these ones? Would you like me to share my other recipes as well?

Jenny, xoxo

PS: I am using "cups" as I really like to try recipes found on the internet and most of them use "cups". For those of you who haven't tried that yet, do it, it's really simple. I tried it out a couple of times and now I have a measuring cup which holds 250ml of water. This is my "cup" for everything now. You could also get measuring cups here for example

Come on, I'll show you around

Sometimes I realize that after more than three years in Cologne there are still a lot of places that I don't know. Even if they are pretty close. So I decided to take little trips to all the pretty places here. And I'll take you with me.

Last week I went to Melatenfriedhof. It's a really big, historical cemetary within walking distance from where I live so as the weather was really lovely I took a walk there and just wandered around. It's a wonderful place, lots of trees, it's very quiet and peaceful although it's in the middle of the city. I loved it there, but let me show you:

 There are lots of older graves and they look as if they have been there forever

Others look really nice, people really invested a lot of time to make this place a nice one, not a sad one.

These ones must have been expensive, too

 Look at how great this looks in the sunshine!

I'll definately go there again, maybe in winter, I think this place looks nice when it snows, too.

What about you? Are there places in your hometown that you have never been to? How do you like old cemetaries?

Jenny, xoxo

That was... September

September was great! I've got to spend some time at home with my family and I also got to spend some time away. I didn't have to work too much and I had some time to concentrate on the stuff I really like to do. Unfortunately there were some not so nice things, too, but they are not going to spoil my positive post here...

So here's what September was like:

• I had cheese from Amsterdam

• I dyed my hair. It was supposed to be red...
  

• I got to see some people I love

•  I got to know Amsterdam. And fell in love.

• I did some shopping and enjoyed it although I usually don't like it that much

What has September been like for you?

Jenny, xoxo

My top 10

Here we go with the things I liked lately...

• Closet shopping
  I've heard about that a lot but never done it before. You just open your closet for someone else if you have too many clothes you're not wearing anyway and they can try those things on an buy some of them. I did that this week and found some really nice dresses

this one, for example

or this one ;-)

• Autumn
  I love it, just like every year and the past days were just lovely

• Boots
  Also an autum thing ;-)

• The public holiday tomorrow
  Because it means I'm going out with a couple of girlfriends tonight
• Amy Macdonald
  Currently listening to a couple of her songs and I just love them. Did I even tell you that I went to see her on stage with my Mum in August? She was gorgeous and it was such a nice concert...
• Muffins
  You know, I'd always choose cooking over baking, just because I prefer savory food to cakes and all. But I do like muffins and bisquits so I made quite a few lately. I also have some great ideas for more muffin baking which I might share with you soon
• Looking at pictures like these
• If you want to be a happier person, maybe you should stop doing some things
• I am always thinking about getting a pixie cut again.
  Who wouldn't want one when looking at those pictures?
• Did you guys know that we have a lighthouse in Cologne?
  If you don't, then you should really check it out, it's beautiful! See here and here

So, what were your favourite things lately?

Jenny, xoxo