this will always and forever remind me of one of the best summers of my life. 1998. st. paul, MN. my entire family (including the five kids) went to spain for four weeks while i was in charge of the big house and … myself. that was it. of course they left money for food and essentials but hey, at 21 you have to have your priorities straight meaning party and shopping = more important than food. so @ about 35ct/package this soup was the perfect lunch, dinner – heck even breakfast. i’d sometimes throw an egg in and had some bread with it which still made it a meal under 1$ = sueet. i had such a great time that summer – and not just during the four weeks the family was gone ! and the most surprising thing about this story is that i still actually like ramen noodle soup chicken and in fact just had it for lunch ;)

happy summer you guys!

sooo, i’ve been tagged by my sweet san again and since there’s not much else to write about (and i’m really hot) it comes as a perfect opportunity to find out how many people still stop by here and actually read what (little) i write :) especially since it’s about writing. hand-writing. i have to confess, i don’t like writing much any more. i’m so used to typing and much faster at it. when i sit down once a year for my christmas cards, my hand actually hurts after a while (and i might have even printed out last year’s christmas parts – but i used a handwriting font…). but i did get a journal just a few weeks ago to start a diary again for the summer so we’ll see how that goes. the thing is also, i’m not a big fan of my own handwriting, but see for yourself… these are the rules to the “challenge”:

Write down the following, snap a picture (or scan the document), post it, and tag others.

1. Name/Blog Name
2. Right handed, left handed or both
3. Favorite letters to write
4. Least favorite letters to write
5. Write: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
6. Write in caps:
CRAB
HUMOR
KALEIDOSCOPE
PAJAMAS
GAZILLION
7. Favorite song lyrics
8. Tag 7 people
9. Any special note or drawing

and here’s mine…

now, caity, kerri, stef, nussi, ute, red and sarah – i’m looking forward to seeing your handwriting and of course everyone else’s who might wanna play :)

if you’re wondering about #9 … let me enlighten you. it’s the title of our most popular 2010 worldcup germany song. it originally started as a fun afternoon “project” of a bunch of students who went out and covered the big eurovision song contest winning song “satelite” with german lyrics rooting for germany in the worldcup. it became a huge hit after just a couple of days with hundrets of thousands of views and downloads. the holder to the rights of the original song tried to make it “go away” for a week or so before they gave in and actually asked the students to come in for a professional recording of the song.. here’s more about the (hi)story of “schland, oh schland …” :)

have a great soccer weekend everyone!!!

the sun, the warmth, flip-flops, strawberries, BBQs, looong and bright days, the smell of fresh cut grass, iced coffee, freckles, blue skies, not being cold…. but most of all the colors!

inspired by san i thought i’d share my beauty spring favorites with you as well :) you will notice quite a few german products because, well… i live in germany. i apologize if you can’t get them where you live but at the same time i would like to offer to serve as your “dealer” if there’s something you really, really want to try and send it to you. i’m sure we can work something out :)

1.) balea getönte feuchtigkeitscreme = a tinted moisturizer. my best friend uses it and i tried it when i visited her last weekend. right away i found it to be perfect for my after-winter-white-as-a-ghost face. plus, it gives a bit of coverage as well which is great since i try to not use a foundation every day any more to give my skin a break after all that bare minerals covering up for two years or so… it’s very light but i still “mix it” with a little bit of my normal moisturizer – yes, i’m that white *sigh* – and i think it looks very natural and i’m loving it.

2.) alverde products. i tried to narrow it down to a couple of my favorite products but realized i really couldn’t. i just love all of their products. it’s a german brand of natural products with mostly certified organic ingredients. right now i’m using their eye cream, powder, foundation and blush, daily moisturizer and night cream… love it all!

3.) volume & define (GER) / liquid line definer (US) eyeliner by maybelline new york – i’ve tried a lot of different eye liners over the years. never have been this happy with one before. it’s really easy to use, it’s a nice and dark black (as opposed to the grey-ish color of a lot of the other ones i’ve tried before) and it absolutely lasts all day without smudging or anything. another plus is the price and the liner lasts months (with daily use) before you have to buy a new one. i absolutely love it.

4.) stretch&define (GER) / define-a-lash (US) mascara by maybelline new york – again, have tried a lot over the years. i always use waterproof mascara because i’m wearing contact lenses and this one is easy to apply, actually parts the lashed nicely and lasts forever as well. no smudging, keeps my lashes curled up nicely and has a nice, dark black color.

5.) rival de loop (rossmann) fruchtsäure peeling / fruit acid exfoliating scrub – refines the skin very gently. i love using it a couple times a week in the evening just before going to bed. you put it on, leave it for a few minutes (and it gives you the tiniest of a tingling sensation) before gently scrubbing and taking it off again. it just feels good and like your face is really, really clean. love.

6.) essence show your feet intensive repair balm – i have dry skin. especially in the winter time from lack of air/sun for the skin and dry air from the heat. dry hands, body and feet. so i pretty much use this all year almost every day. which i think is even more important now that the flip-flops, sandals and bare-feet season is about to start (yay!). speaking of feet: i think there’s still too many people out there who are not taking good care of their feet and then “share” the disaster with everyone during the summer = fail. sorry.

now, what are your favorite beauty essentials?