Let The Renovations Begin!

Maybe it has something to do with the winter time and the fact that I want to be inside…ALL.DAY.LONG. The bug to change the world has hit me…or actually maybe starting a bit smaller is key and that has led me to begin renovations on my home!

As you know I completed the guest rooms minus a few decorating items but at least those two rooms are done and the doors stay closed until people come to visit (hint, hint!) On to the bigger projects where I actually have to focus and take my time because these are the rooms that people actually see a lot more.

First up is the living room!! Pinterest inspiration struck again and I decided with this house I really need to stay in-tune with myself and my style. I am a “coastal” girl and I should just allow that to happen! Light blues, creams, and seashells galore! Gotta bring a little bit of the ocean into my mid-west life here. Thankfully, the German husband of mine is just cool with whatever I do! 🙂

So I saw this picture on Pinterest which you can find it’s original place on the House Of Turquoise Blog here. This is the idea! And although I can’t exactly do it JUST like that it was a great start for inspiration!

Previous walls in the living room were in my opinion dark blue. Nothing wrong with dark colors, it just started to depress me. There is only one large window and two smaller ones in this room. Not a whole lot of natural light pouring through so it was important to me that we lighten it up…A LOT!

I fought with the idea of paint colors and finally landed on THE color. Glass Slipper by Benjamin Moore. I spent hours searching for the right color but every one of them was either too “baby blue” or “too dark.” This color by Benjamin Moore has a hint of green in it so its not going to give you that newborn baby room look.

So all in all it took me to do the entire room in about a week! I know, that seems insane but first, I was all by my little self doing this. I had to take SO many breaks because I also have dog duty and other house duties to attend to. On top of that, I’m scared of heights so being on a ladder was just REALLY challenging for me!

End result – Exhibit A:

Harley loves his new space 🙂 He’s going to be 5 tomorrow! Everyone say Happy Birthday to this sweet, cupcake!

End Result – Exhibit B

So as you can see this simple change turned the room into something different. I actually like to sit in there all day now. No…wait, I actually don’t sit around all day. I’m off doing very productive things because that is what housewives do! 🙂

I painted the panel above the fireplace white because I’m having a hard enough time figuring out what to put there. A picture? A clock? An abstract piece of art? A canvas print? It’s not easy! But at least it doesn’t look like its a focal point anymore. So maybe whatever goes there won’t be THAT important.

Also, I painted ALL of the molding…ALL of it.  I couldn’t bare the thought of trying to scrub out all the crayon marks, old pizza, and several other questionable substances I found in my journey.  Another reason why I shouldn’t have children…my OCD does not allow for ANY messes! But doing that simple little thing made this room look like it was just built. Almost. It gave it all a bit of much needed makeover and I’m feeling complete!

Next up: DECORATING!! Will be added a bit of greenery, end tables, lamps, curtains and something for those shelves and above the mantel. Its all getting there! Slowly but surely!

Then on to: DINING ROOM/KITCHEN! Will be adding backsplash, brightening it up as well, and re-staining the cabinets! Wish me luck!

Anyone have any ideas for the space above the mantel? Would love to hear what you got!!!

Until next time, Readers!!!! xoxoxoxoxo

Things I’m Having A Hard Time Living Without

I can certainly live without things but I would prefer NOT to…and here are my reasons why. I encourage you to pay close attention, take notes, tie a ribbon around your finger to remind yourself that you all have it really good back in your own home countries. My life without the following feels incomplete BUT I do have backup, luckily which counter my complaints of course!

I’ve got exactly 30 days  as of today until I land on the mushy ground of America. Put me there RIGHT now! Now that I’m getting down to the finish line, I’m getting excited and overly worked up about the fact that the East Coast is indulging in delish Fall treats and I’m stuck in a place that doesn’t know what Starbucks Pumpkin Latte is or what a Pumpkin Pie is. HELP!

1. Gossip Girls 

You all know just what I’m talking about. A night were you get all dolled up, put on the greatest pair of stilettos you own, a new dress, and the works and you meet your favorite girlfriends out for sushi dinner and gossip for ages over Martinis of every kind. The more you knock back the more stories and emotions flow. Finding out about which idiot brought their mistress to their own wedding only to divorce their wife a few months later, or the trashy girl from high school that has way too many kids with way too many different men, or maybe it’s the latest crap your ex is up to. Although none of that is important but it’s just stuff to talk about and we all can relate. We talk about our relationship problems in a “safe” area (bars are always so loud they swallow and hide your words forever) and every guy that tries to hit on us only pushes us to band together and give him a nice glass of icy glare with a splash of the cold shoulder. Why?? Because it’s god damn GIRLS NIGHT OUT, Bitches!!

           Remedy: So how to we fix this little problem? Easy…FACEBOOK. Everyone, including myself, writes all sorts of personal stuff on The Book nowadays and not only can I stalk my girlfriends (yes, I admit) I also lurk behind my laptop to see who’s having a baby, getting married, breaking up, divorcing, being annoying, biting their nails, wearing bad outfits which include visors (STOP IT!), and who is overly obsessed with their special someone (this might be me). Thank you Facebook for feeding me with the gossip I need to sustain myself until I get back to the states for a visit!  Speaking of Facebook….please go to my Blog Page and like it. And if that is too complicated, on the right hand side here there is  button to “like” it as well. THANKS! 🙂

2. Martinis

Pomegranate, Very Dirty, Chocolate, Apple, Apple Pie, Banana Split, Cosmopolitan, Flirtini, Gingerbread, Gummy Worm, Key Lime Pie, Kiwi, Hello Kitty, Melon Ball, Watermelon, and Pumpkin (DAMMIT!)

These are all things we are aware of. Those girly drinks (and some of them MAN-tini’s) that are FABU and absolutely mouth-watering. I used to partake in these tasty bits quite often back in the states…trying every one on the menu if necessary. If I asked for a Martini here….Do you know what I would get? Actual Martini & Rossi. This is like a strong wine or so I’m told. I’ve never had it because I’m boycotting. Here’s the situation, I’m DYING to make all the Martini’s I love for people here so they can see how awesome it is. They see them in the movies and Sex and the City shows…it’s just unfair. Anyway, I would LOVE to make these but there are no such things as flavored vodkas, think Three Olives Brand or other special liqueurs like the Pumpkin Spice that I need to make the Pumpkin Martini. Lord have mercy….this is going to be a long few years without those babies.

I’m positive as soon as I get back to the states I’ll be throwing those back like Homer does to his donuts or cookie monster to his cookies…or is it vegetables now?

Remedy: WodkaBull – aka Vodka RedBull…..AMEN. Of course they also have wineries up the ying AND the yang and a realllllly good bottle of wine costs about 8.00 Euro…that’s like $11 bucks and some change. Can’t beat that!

3. Care packages

My mom was always giving me stuff and sending me home with food from her fridge (leftovers are the BEST). We would go shopping together all the time and hang out, have a Panera Bread lunch date, all sorts of mommy daughter bliss. When I see my mom on Skype, it’s just not the same. I can’t hug her. I miss my best friend. End of story.

Mommy and Me

Remedy: As there is no replacement for that kind of hole in the heart, Care packages are fantastic!! Or cards. Or letters via snail mail. All of this is great. When I get the box the first thing I do is look at my mom’s handwriting…I would recognize that anywhere. Then I open the box and smell the inside. I know what you’re thinking but I’m always hoping I can smell a bit of home in there. As I look through all the things I imagine her buying them and thinking of me. It’s such a nice surprise. Each little thing, even if it’s just a sticker or a lollipop, it means the absolute WORLD to me. And….to be able to read instructions or the packaging in English is a treat too.

4. Streaming Music

You know those moments where you’re angry because your download is slow or for whatever reason your favorite homepage isn’t working? Yeah, that’s how I feel every day. As the majority of you are participating in the newest fads such as Spotify or the older one Pandora….I don’t have access to these. Nope. Not at all. Germany has some weird problem with streaming music and this has caused me some very serious heart palpitations! Even YouTube is complicated and most of the time as you all post the coolest new videos on Facebook I can’t watch them. “This video is not allowed in your country.”  Listen here Maestro…this isn’t my country however as an American citizen I think I should have the right to watch whatever I want whenever I want. Who do I have to bring down?

Remedy:  Stereomood. This is fantastic for me. For those of you who are new to this fad – it’s uploaded music from other users and categorized under a certain mood. So when I’m feeling like sunshine, I head on over to the sunshine channel. When I feel like punching babies in the face, I head over to child abuse channel. No that’s not a channel option but you get the idea.  It’s my savior. Although most of the time the music annoys me like mosquitos buzzing in my ear, at least it’s something. The possibility of hearing new music excites my loins.

5. Televise My Life

No really….give me a reality show.

Here we have massive amounts of channels on the TV and all sorts of shows I know back home. One problem…they are all in German. I do try to pay attention sometimes but most of the time it’s annoying and I give up. We have the British version of CNN and BBC which is great but can bore me very easily once they get on their kicks about the financial outcome of the world and all that nonsense. I couldn’t care less. I’m focused on my own financial situation…can’t possibly care about everyone else.

Remedy: There is a God and she seriously knows just how to please me. She has granted me with free streaming video of the latest shows the day after they air. Indeed, I can find this on services such as Sidereel or XBMC (Thanks Bro!). This plays a giant part in my life. I couldn’t go a day without knowing I had access to Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, and many other terrible Reality shows.

6. Vanilla Extract

For those of us that bake we know the importance of  Vanilla Extract. It’s like the piece to the puzzle that can never go missing otherwise it makes the entire puzzle look like crap. Get what I’m saying? In Germany there is no such thing. I keep trying to figure out how they make their cakes but I’m dumbfounded. When I realized there was no such thing as Vanilla here I about died. They have some sort of really oily based, almost buttery type of Vanilla flavoring in tubes but this is not the alcohol smelling Vanilla we know. It does NOT work. I was once on the verge of disaster without this stuff…and then…..

Remedy: I make everyone who comes over here (old colleagues and the like) bring Vanilla Extract with them. Our last buddy that stopped in brought me two large bottles of it (Thanks to his wife) and I’m happy as a clam. I can bake till my heart’s content without crying about it.

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxoxo

30 Day Blog Challenge – Day 11

Day 11- List all the places you’ve lived and what you think about them

Maryland, U.S.A.

This is where sugar and spice and everything nice was first cooked and then taken out of the oven. Baked to perfection from scratch. Upon arrival, I had a large family complete with brothers and sisters, little did they know I would be the favorite.

Maryland was beautiful, we lived in the country miles away from other life forms but I loved it. I’m sure if I went back now I wouldn’t love it as much only because with imagination I had turned that house into the most beautiful place in the world. Do you remember playing make believe but you believed in it so much that it felt real? 

I moved when I was 4 but I ended up going back often to visit my dad and then again for college which was a GIANT mistake. Wish I chose another place…picking an all girls school was probably the wrong direction. lol. Anywho…My brothers, Dad, and step mom still live in Maryland so I’m still able to get back to it. It’s nice there if you go to certain areas. Most of it seems to be filled with hicks and terrible terrible bars but I guess with massive amounts of alcohol it’s easy to fall in love with any old place! Baltimore is nice when you go to the inner harbor. Toblerone LOVED it there and absolutely NOTHING can compare to the crab cakes. NOTHING, do you hear me?!?!?!

New York(upstate), U.S.A. 

     So here started the longest place that I actually stayed put for. I absolutely went through that awkward ugly stage…those who remember, I know…it was bad huh? Lets just say I think I look a little better now considering what I was. Braces..bad outfits…all of it. Not sexy.

I had the best friend who was the most gorgeous girl in school and all the older guys loved her. I was happy being the best friend that just got to hang out with all of them. Ha – eww..I was such a nerd. I figured my time would come when I could dip into the ocean and catch me some fish.  I was there in upstate, in the middle of farm land from 3rd grade until the middle of my junior year…and then….my step dad got a new job that would transfer us to Maine. Really? Maine???

I literally had to get a map and look to see where that was. I fought and fought this and tried to come up with plans to escape..I was 16 after all! Couldn’t believe I wasn’t allowed to graduate in the school I had spent most of my life…with the friends I had. Looking back now though, I’m glad we moved…I met some REALLY amazing people and that would have never happened if I hadn’t left. NY is where I was when I met Toblerone later in life, so I ended up going back but things changed. People changed. 

Maine, U.S.A.

  We arrived in Maine during what would have been my Christmas vacation for the middle of my junior year in high school. We spent Christmas in a hotel and I was super depressed. I was uprooted and felt out of place. I was in a haze for the next year and a half finishing school and then as I went off to college (in Maryland) I was totally confused. Depression knocked me down and after the first semester of college I had to go back to Maine. So I did…trying to pick myself up again. I think had we not moved I would have been able to pick a better college and felt more comfortable in my own shoes. Too much changed in that small amount of time that I wasn’t able to get a hold of it anymore.

Then it all started to make sense to me. As I grew older and figured myself out started working full time and setting up a 401k, making amazing friends Maine didn’t turn out to be so bad. It was here that I would turn 21 in 2005 (you do the math!) complete with a Hummer limo and I really fell in love with the ocean.

It was in my backyard every day! Now I miss this place probably more than any of the others. More so, I miss the people (Wife, Dbay, Barbie, Banana T’s, Ashmatash, JessJess, Moni….) They know who they are. I had the most amazing memories there…and being in my early 20’s…who wouldn’t?! It certainly is vacationland and I miss it every day. 

Florida, U.S.A.  

Oh Florida, what a strange mistake that was. No I can’t say mistake…it just was an experience. I went with my bestest wife in the world from Maine down to South Beach, Miami and whoa. That place was filled with rich Europeans and lots of drugs. We partied at mansions or clubs. It never really mattered. It was the closest experience we had to being celebrities.

We hung out with millionaires and I’m sure were surrounded by famous people but you can’t tell…everyone blends in. We rarely walked out of our house without being absolutely perfect after all there is some reputation to uphold!! This place was swarming with the most beautiful people I had ever seen in my life. Incredible.

The clubs were something I could have never of dreamed of being in but there we were. In the thick of it. We had friends that would get us into any club we wanted without a wait. You had two options…either have a ton of money or know people. That was the only way. Plus, the more girls on a guys arm, the better. This was a completely different kind of ocean from Maine. People were topless!

And the water was very salty and like bath water – almost too warm.  Also the place I discovered Nuvo – pink vodka drink that I can’t live without! I wouldn’t exchange this experience for a million dollars….or would I? I’m thinking a bachelorette party needs to happen here. Who’s with me ladies??

England

My dearest England! How I love thee!!! I started traveling here when my dad was living near London. I think I was 10 years old or so. What an incredible place to be. I would stay for weeks at a time and really enjoyed it. I would walk down to the corner store and the little Indian dude behind the counter would great me hello and know exactly what I came for – Mars Bars and other lovely things (can’t remember the name as they are now discontinued!) The charm is what got to me. It was perfect in it’s cookie cutter way and the castles…- O. M. G., people…put me in one right now! I would still love to live in England but maybe more so Ireland. Anywhere that I can speak English of course!!

Germany

And here we are. I won’t get into it but Germany is the sweat, blood, and tears capital of the world. These people work their tails off and then in turn seriously know how to relax and have a good time. It’s a fairytale land and I’m so glad I get to be surrounded by mountains so high and wild flowers that are too beautiful you don’t want to cut down. And now, since I’ve probably bored you to pieces with my nonsense about all these different places in my life….I’ll sign off. To learn more about my life in Germany just read my earlier posts! 🙂 

Until next time, readers!! xoxoxoxoxox