a recent trip to Berlin and some other stuff...

I've been so inactive these last few weeks ... hope you haven't forgotten about me.  I don't know what's the matter with me, but I am avoiding my computer like the plague.  Every time I flip it open, I rush through the necessary tasks so that I can shut it as soon as possible.  Maybe I've been spending too much time with it ... maybe my final project is consuming all my brain power so that I can't focus or take in any more info in a day... I don't know.  But c'est la vie.  I'm sure this phase will pass.  So in case you are wondering where I am, now you'll know - I'm hiding ;)

Recently, my friend from Montreal was able to stop through Berlin between work trips and asked me if I'd come meet her.  Of course, I did and it was a fabulous time.  It was very special to be in Berlin (the city I miss so much) with a very good, long time friend.  The combo was almost too much for my heart to bear.

And so, I leave you with some pictures of Berlin:

See you soon ... hopefully,

xoxo

Holly

featured in the Montreal Gazette!

Danielle Murray did a special two part interview series for the Montreal Gazette about Montrealers who move away and set up their lives elsewhere. She featured six people and I was one of them, appearing in the second part of the series. I have cut out my portion of the article and posted it here to share with you all.

This is really special for me because I was featured in my home city's biggest newspaper. Thanks again to Danielle for this super opportunity. To see the full articles click here and here.

We conducted the interview in December via email. It was actually quite an interesting experience answering all these questions in writing. I mean, I have asked myself some of these questions before and have discussed some of the issues related to moving away with my friends and family. But writing them down allowed for a clearer picture of my thoughts and feelings. There they were staring back at me - my thoughts. I learned a lot about my journey so far by participating in this exercise. In my next post, I will share the full interview with you. Not everything could be included in this article because of word limit, but still the rest of it is quite interesting for me and maybe for you.

See you later,

Holly

my guest post about color at the House of Fifty blog

Today, a blog post I wrote got published on the House of Fifty Blog! I'm so excited because I love the new House of Fifty E-zine and now with their even newer blog, we are sure to get more treats between issues.  House of Fifty is about encouraging inspired living and finding it in our everyday.  Whether your looking for inspiration about interiors, beauty, fashion, food or stories about inspiring people, you'll surely want to follow the blog and subscribe to the E-zine.  I'm certain there is so much goodness to come and I can't wait.  You understand then why I'm so proud to have had this opportunity.


The blog post I wrote for House of Fifty is titled 'Color!'.  I decided to write about color schemes for the home, inspired by summer.  I chose some of my favourite images depicting summer scenes and paired them up with images of an interior space that shared the same color scheme.  I then developed a color palette for each pair of images that would be inspiring and appropriate for use in an interior space.  Do check it out (here) and spend some time browsing the rest of the House of Fifty Blog and E-zine. You'll love them!

On that note, I would like to thank Janell Beals, founding editor of House of Fifty and also author of Isabella & Max Rooms (another great blog I urge you to visit), for giving me the opportunity to write about things I love and sharing them on her site.  It was such a great pleasure.

'till next time,

Holly

Hello from Grand Cayman

Woah.  So it's been a while since my last post.  I arrived in Grand Cayman on May 2nd and was joyfully reunited with my sister, who I haven't seen since last June.  This is my first time visiting her here since she relocated.  It's amazing.  Like a dream.  I can't believe she lives here.

My dad came to join us for a week and it was really nice to be spending time together.  I have been lounging around a lot.  Enjoying the beach, the ocean and the sun.  Yesterday I took a Caymanian bus home from shopping.  A little van that fits 8 people, stops on the side of the road, picks you up as long as you flag them down and drops you off wherever you want. There's no bus schedule but it seems they run frequently enough throughout the day.  Totally island style.

 So far, I swam with stingrays, did an island drive, of which the east end, blow holes, lover's wall, shoe tree and Cayman castle were great highlights.  We bought fresh fruit from a vendor on the side of the road and ate some coconut milk popsicles.  We've dined at some exquisite restaurants and I can't stop ordering ceviche wherever I go.  Basically, I'm loving life right now. 

Only down side is that I've had to visit the dentist.  I got a sudden tooth ache.  Turns out some of my recent fillings I got done are too close to the nerves and are causing me pain.  So I had to get a procedure done on one of the teeth.  Now I'm on antibiotics and painkillers for the rest of my trip.  Pretty crappy, but it could be worse I guess.  So lets not dwell on that.  Despite the pain, this is how I'm feeling right now:

I will try to post some more, but I am quite enjoying my lazy days, so it's quite possible I'll only be back here once I return home on the 24th.

If I don't see you till then, I wish you all happy days filled with love.

xoxo
Holly

this tree... something truly majestic

I was in Bad Homburg for Easter at a lovely brunch hosted by my friend C.  After our feast we took a walk in the Schloss Park.  When I encountered this tree, it simply took my breath away.  Click.  One shot.  No editing.  Here it is.

What I saw, is exactly captured in this picture.  Exactly.  The sun was shining through it in a perfect way, giving birth to all these intense, energizing yet zen-like green shades.  True, majestic beauty in my eyes, that I want to share with you. 

Happy Sunday.

xoxo

Holly

today's packing challenge

I get a bit stressed before a long trip.  Especially about the packing part.  With this trip in particular, it will be crucial to carry everything on because I have three transfers to make.  I want to avoid missing flights due to luggage re-check and I don't want to wait for my luggage upon arrival because all I'll want to do is run out to see my sister.  The catch is that I am packing for a three week vacation.  Idecided to do a packing trial run today.  So here was my challenge:

What you see there does not include my computer, cameras, associated wires and jewelry. 

The result:

...and yes, I can easily close the suitcase without busting any zippers.

I think the only reason this was possible is because I'll be staying with my sister so I didn't have to bring any excessive toiletries, like hair products, curling iron, shower gel, etc.  Otherwise, one tub of moisturizer and I would have had to check my luggage (no big liquids allowed).  Also, my mom is an expert packer so I learned a few tricks from her.  The most important being rolling clothing istead of folding.

So there you have it.  I'm leaving Monday, my packing trial was a success and now I can rest a bit easier.

Any packing tips you'd like to share?


xoxo
Holly

Vero Beach, Florida

I thought I would feel comfortable in the US.  It is after all America, a culture I am familiar with.  But how I felt when I got there was much different than I expected.  I don't know how to explain it other than I felt uncomfortable and out of place.  I was shocked by the huge stores, the amount of space and how vast everything felt; the oversized roads, the oversized cars with oversized people driving them.  Even the English sounded unfamiliar.  For the first two days I even kept reading all the English signs in German and of course they make no sense that way.  It's surprising how quickly I got used to living in a country with a different language, even one that is not my own and that I'm not even that good at yet.

I guess I expected it to be more familiar.  It probably didn't help that we weren't exactly  in a big dense city.  After all that is what I am used to - whether in Canada or Europe, and big cities have a different feel.  There are people all about and a sense that you belong to something (although some people have said that big cities have just the opposite effect on them).  One night driving, I asked Pauli why they would put a restaurant here in the middle of nowhere.  He replied that this was not nowhere, it was downtown Vero Beach.  We laughed. It felt so empty.

But the weather was great and beach time was amazing!  The ocean is such a wonderful place to be.  Sitting there, listening to the crashing waves, watching birds soaring overhead and some pelicans hunting for their lunch, I thought - gosh, I never want to leave.  Plus having Pauli by my side was the cherry on top of this whole trip.  I missed him so much.  I was just so happy to be with him.  He really has become an extension of me.  I felt somehow complete with him there.  I guess he really is my partner in life.  It felt really good to feel that.

I mentioned the weather was great.  Unfortunately not great for flying though, pretty windy and low clouds.  Pauli only flew once while I was there (sad for him, but good for me since I had him practically all to myself) and luckily I got to go along for that flight.  It was a fantastic flight.  We flew past sunset so I got to witness day and night flying, I saw some lighting in a cloud not so far away and Pauli got a complement on his "nice steady approach" from a fellow pilot who was flying next to us.  I was so proud and grinning ear to ear the whole time.  Pauli practiced some engine stalls and steep turns, landings and takeoffs from neighbouring airports.  It was really the highlight of my trip.  Here are a few pictures:

The first stripe.

I see a big claw ... you?

I'm certain I heard angels sing...

I'm always looking for hearts...

That shadow is us!

so HOT

That stuff coming out of that cloud is rain. Pretty cool.

The sky is a wonderful place.

Proud pilot's wife.

Into the night.

Well.  That was fun.  Now I'm back and I have to really apply myself to finish those assignments.


See you later,
Holly

Ruedesheim

Ruedesheim is a town right on the Rhein river, famous for its abundant wine making. I went there with my mom and Pauli's mom for a little exploration and wine drinking.  It's really a beautiful place. I can see why tourists like it so much. Lots of hotels, shops, restaurants and vineyards galore! The weather was great. We were there during the Tages des Federweissen festival. Federweisser, or Musto as we Italians know it, is basically slightly alcoholic grape juice, you know - just before it turns into wine. It's super sweet and super delicious and is only around at that time of the year.  We also took the gondola up over the vineyards.  It was really splendid.

Christmas Markets are on!

I don't know if we have an equivalent in Montreal. But Germany has some amazing Christmas markets and they have begun this week! Last year we went to the ones in Berlin, Bremen and Hanover. I was amazed. I've never seen anything like it.

Usually held in a Platz and some pedestrian areas leading up to it, these markets are glorious and make you feel like a kid again and that Christmas time is truly here. Vendors set up festive and joyfully lit booths selling their handmade crafts, and you can eat and drink yourself silly. Gluehwein, Feuerzangenbowle, candied fruits, cotton candy, pretzels, bratwurst, cheese fondue, Nutella crepes, freshly roasted chestnuts ... all while enjoying the scene ... people meeting up, laughing, eating, drinking, buying all sorts of treats they will probably be giving as presents this year, click, click, click of photos being snapped, Christmas carols in the distance, children shrieking with enjoyment from the carousel, the Ferris wheel, the train ride. It's so much fun to be there. Pauli and I were at the one in Frankfurt today. It was the opening day.

Christmas is fast approaching and for some reason I'm excited, even though I will be far from my family and friends once again this year. Thank goodness for those Christmas markets then.

xoxo
Holly

Wiesbaden

In late October my mom and I visited Wiesbaden, which along with Frankfurt am Main and Mainz, make up the Frankfurt Rhein/Main region.  Wiesbaden literally means "meadow baths" and is historically known as one of the oldest spa towns in Europe.  Use of the thermal springs found in Wiesbaden was first documented by the Romans.  Wiesbaden is now also the capital of the federal state of Hesse, which is where I live.  My mom and I mainly walked about the Alt Stadt (old city).  We shopped (so many cute boutiques), we had coffee and dessert. We also got the best Tai massage ever!

Here are some shots from our day:

A Very Special Day

On November 1st, Pauli and I got married.

It was a perfect day.  We wore jeans and nice, black blazers.  We carried each others' rings in our pockets until the moment came to exchange them. The very gentle and soft spoken, Frau Franz performed the ceremony.  Good, jolly Ralf was the translator.  Only our mothers attended and also served as our witnesses.  It was all smiles during this 20 minute ceremony, maybe some moist eyes but no tears were shed. 

For us, being married means we have chosen to become a family.  We wish to continue with all our plans and dreams as an official team; husband & wife.  Nothing changes, we should continue treating each other as we have been, because so far ... it's working.  Really, I've felt married to Pauli for a long time, but now November 1st became the day of our official union. 

xoxo
Holly

Woohoo!

I'm getting married today!!  Yay!!

Sorry I haven't kept my promise about my insp-i-loved weekly, but this week turned out to be busier than I planned.  Our moms are here and we've visited a number of small cities in the Rhein-Main area.  Pretty cool.  Will make for some good blog posts, I think.  So anyways, I'll try for next week.


But right now ... I'm off to say "I Do!"  (actually, "Ich will", in German!)  update: turns out all I had to say was "Ja".  lol.!

Woohoo!





xoxo
Holly

Wondering if I can walk tomorrow ... ?

I started my day off with my usual Sunday morning yoga class. The teacher's goal today was to do everything slowly. Good, nice and slow on Sunday. Yeah right! Doing yoga in slow motion is harder than you think it would be! I was sweating my a#* off! Plus, we also worked on perfecting our "warrior" poses. For those of you who know a little yoga, you will know that these poses are killer for your legs. Anyways - I survived and felt really good about it.

When I got home, I suggested to Pauli that we check out Tegeler See since it was turning out to be a really nice sunny day. It's a big lake in a forest by the airport and it's supposed to have a nice big sandy beach. We checked how we could get there by bike. Google Maps told us that it would be a 15km ride there. Not so bad. So we go. On pretty much empty stomachs ... but surely there's a snack stand at the beach so no need to worry ... Well! Of course we got lost. We stopped to check my iPhone like a million times and we couldn't find this friggin' lake. It's a huge lake! What's up with that. Are we stupid or what?! We keep biking, back and forth sometimes, I almost crashed or fell off my bike like three times and got a nice blood blister on my thigh from pinching my skin in my bike. Don't ask. And for some reason my finger was bleeding. Disaster! Finally we come across a small beach on the lake. We decide to stop and take a rest. So we are sitting there thinking, "This can't be it!" I mean, it was nice and all but it was not what had been described to us. So we resort back to the iPhone and finally think we found the way. Tired, hungry, and with major tension in the air, we get back on our bikes. We get to the beach! Yes! Nice beach and not so many people. Perfect. We lock up our bikes and walk over to the snack stand. I ask if they have anything to eat. The guy tells me that they don't have anything and continues on a fast rant in German that I just don't understand. I call Pauli over. Turns out, the beach is actually closed (well not the actual beach but all the facilities on it) for an undetermined amount of time and he is not allowed to sell anything to eat! Some political thing... That explains the quiet beach on a sunny Sunday afternoon. We wanted to stay at the beach but we were so dizzy and cranky from low blood sugar and frustration from being lost and me almost dying that we decided to just go back towards home and stop somewhere on the way for a snack.

We finally got home and showered after a nice 40km (at least) bike ride! We plopped down on the bed and laughed like idiots about what a crap day that was! I'm not sure I'll be able to walk tomorrow.

On a nice note, here is a little video of the baby duck I saw at the small lake.




xoxo

Germany celebrates the fall of the Berlin Wall

"More than 100,000 people celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on Monday evening, as world leaders gathered in the German capital for emotional commemorations marking the spread of freedom across Europe. Chancellor Angela Merkel joined luminaries past and present to remember when communist East German finally opened the despised concrete barrier on November 9, 1989."

After I finished work on Monday night, I came home to eat and change. The tv was on and we could see live reports of the events at the Brandenburg Gate. There were speeches being given by politicians, concerts by various artists and even local people recounting their stories about their memories of that day. 1000 giant hand painted dominoes had been arranged along a 1.5km stretch of where the wall used to be. They were going to be toppled over during this ceremony and were meant to symbolize the fall of the wall and how Europe's communist regimes toppled one after another. Pauli and I made our way over there shortly after the first domino was pushed over.

The atmoshere when we got to Potsdamer Platz and walked over to the Brandenburg Gate was very festive and happy. People everywhere celebrating freedom. It was great. We drank Gluewine and enjoyed the scenery and celebrations. I ran into my friend Kristin (in the same surprising fashion that we met in Munich!!) and went out for some drinks with her and her friends at the Hackescher Markt.

It was a great night to be in Berlin. I'm so happy I got to experience it!