Gesegnete Weihnachten und ein glückliches neues Jahr!

i'm having a wonderfully blessed Weihnachten--complete with a pink Domo, a Henri Bendel tote, a gorgeous framed photograph of shakespeare & co [my favorite place in paris] and lots of other amazing surprises. i feel so grateful to be spending the holiday with my parents, and i know i'm lucky to have them in my life. Ich liebe meine Eltern!

kawaii/cute/süß

in the midst of finals, this is makes me smile--amigurumi bunny + bear playing guitar and singing in japanese? too adorable! now i just need to learn how to crochet amigurumi myself...



and this makes me want to visit japan 10x more. they come up with the best ideas!




happy St. Nicholas Day! I love this tradition, my family started celebrating it when we lived in Germany...the basic concept is that children leave their shoes out December 5th night, and in the morning, the shoes are filed with small presents and candy. since i still live at home my lovely parents are carrying on the tradition even though i'm almost 21. its a fun thing to look forward too, especially since its right before finals start. this year i was surprised with a super kawaii hello kitty tote filled with a sweater coat, a dress, and a q-link. what a great way to start the morning!

first final is tomorrow at 8am...wish me luck! viel Glück!

Take me out tonight / where there's music and there's people who are young and alive

the weekend prior to dead week has been just what i needed--meaning lots of shopping therapy. found the perfect long sleeved shirts from j.crew, plus a long slouchy cardigan and a checked blue scarf from abercrombie, of all places. i know that store is "the source of all evil," but honestly, they have good clothes every once in a while!
[plus new games for the wii--super mario bros and marvel ultimate alliance 2.]
speaking of abercrombie, i've been so disappointed to hear that its store Ruehl is going to be closing. I love Ruehl, with its interior like a city townhouse and lots and lots of the perfect basics--cashmere cardigans and distressed skinny jeans. i need to make the trip to the dallas galleria so i can visit Ruehl before its shut down!

changing the subject, i still cannot get enough of the smiths. i've always liked the band, especially their song "this charming man." but over the break i've listened solely to them and have felt so inspired by their lyrics--
"Keats and Yeats are on your side
While Wilde is on mine"
perfect for this nerdy english major.
the next two weeks are going to be busy busy busy with finals studying--i have two finals in german [one oral and one written], one in british literature, and one in structures of modern english. i'm so happy i'm exempt from two of my finals.
this semester has gone by in a blink and i have so much to be grateful for--i love waking up every morning with this feeling of incandescent happiness.
i'm craving ramen and green tea. with some mochi <3

"I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and new"

thanks to mass amounts of german homework and projects, i've been neglecting my little blog!

here are some of the albums i've had on repeat lately:
the smiths-"the queen is dead"
[which i just ordered on vinyl--so excited!]
the kills-"midnight boom"
bob dylan-"dylan"
wilco-"wilco (the album)"

happy thanksgiving to everyone, i love that there is a whole holiday [with no school] to eat with family and think of all of the things to be grateful for.

my black friday will be spent waking up at 5:30am to shop for nintendo wii games, lots of espresso, and then driving out to the allen outlets for glorious shopping!

Kunstmuseum Sonntag

the past two sundays have been spent in fort worth at the art museums there--the kimbell and the modern. both are beautiful and highly recommended, since they are right across the street from each other. the modern is one of my favorite places in the area since it is so structurally beautiful. the antique mall nearby is also really fun, i love hunting for treasures, plus i found a gorgeous leather suitcase from the 1940s there that my lovely parents (meine Lieblingseltern) purchased as a Christmas present for me.
i was able to take a few pictures from my art days:

outside the modern near the sculpture that you can walk inside of with my dad!


inside the sculpture...i love interactive art.


at the modern's amazing cafe...the best hummus and fries! it has a great view of the water that surrounds the museum.


the view outside the cafe.


one of my favorite sculptures, interlocking trees.


upcoming exhibit i cannot wait to see!

So sentimental! Not sentimental no!

i have a long blog post to write, but a paper on Shakespeare's sonnets and a literary criticism final paper are currently taking up the majority of my time, so that will have to wait a few more days. lots of fun weekend plans in the works though, so i'm very excited about that! this week, though anything but ordinary, has been just what i needed. its amazing how coincidences that we usually don't think much about can result in something wonderful.
and phoenix, one of my favorite bands, just came out with a remix collection on itunes. go download it! especially the "fences" remix by 25 hours a day.

picture from:

incandescently happy

with the exception of early morning saturday shopping [that resulted in completely finishing my christmas shopping, finding a few madewell shirts, new sunglasses and bracelets from F21, and a much needed pair of black steve madden boots!] i studied, cleaned, and finished up knitting projects this weekend. i love weekends [ich liebe wochenende] that are productive, i always feel so much better afterwards!
here's the soundtrack i made to listen to while i was working:
"Satellite Heart"--Anya Marina
"You and I"--Wilco
"Some are Lakes"--Land of Talk
"IRM"--Charlotte Gainsbourg
"Black Hole"--She & Him
"Song for You"--Alexi Murdoch
"A Lack of Color"--Death Cab for Cutie
i've also been reading lots of craft and fashion blogs--i'm so inspired and have a long list of projects to try once i have a little more free time!
today two of my classes were cancelled [including my 8am one that i was supposed to have a midterm in today!] now i'm just writing a paper until i have work.

christmas wish:

Ich möchte einen Hundlein! Ich möchte den Hund "henry" heissen.

i would love love love to have this little pug and name him henry. i think pugs are just adorable...mine would be so spoiled though!

i am going to attempt to blog in german and english, just for practice.

:]

IRM

if you go to charlottegainsbourg.com, you can download her new single "IRM."

Charlotte Gainsbourg is a favorite of mine, her album 5:55 was brilliant and she was amazing in "the Science of Sleep."

i also love the new vans saddle shoes i saw in the october issue of nylon magazine--but i can't seem to find them anywhere!

apartment wishlist

the only real reason i want to move into my own apartment is so i'll have more room for lots and lots of books.

well, that, and so i have a legitimate excuse to purchase these pieces from anthropolgie:

they're lovely, and i think the bed is magical.

and if you close the door / the night could last forever

i've been slacking on blogging. being an english major is consuming my life, but i wouldn't have it any other way.

here's an october playlist [i like making a different playlist for every month so i can track my musical taste...i'm a nerd that way]:

dance anthem of the 80s--Regina Spektor

wake up--the Arcade Fire

long division--Death Cab for Cutie

lust for life--Girls

1901--Phoenix

ces bottes sont faites pour marcher--Eileen

you got yr. cherry bomb--Spoon

black balloon--the Kills

after hours--Rilo Kiley

i want to paint with watercolors and eat cupcakes, since because of the flood watch it looks like i'm stuck at home.

rainy day redecorating

i just had to share these pictures that i took of my room--the past few stormy days sparked the creative juices and i felt a need to rearrange my space and make a new inspiration board (on the left of the inspiration board are a few of the necklaces i've made! my mom and i have been making jewelry every night--so much fun. i love taking apart old gold chain necklaces and mixing them together...it reminds me of the pieces in anthropologie.)

i wanted to especially focus on covering my walls with things that inspire me and what i love--Paris, pop art, and souvenirs from my travels are definitely important to me. I love the clouds above my bed as well--i've had them since i was a baby, when my mom painted them for me.

(i love the little buddha that is holding a cell phone and an espresso!)

these are some of my favorite books on paris, fashion, and japanese art. i use the fauchon box to hold cards and little notes.

book recommendation-bento box

go read this book! its perfect for anyone who loves japanese food. seriously, i can't put it down.

Linda Furiya is an amazing writer and she includes recipes in this food memoir--i'm going to try to make the onigiri today.

since its so rainy i don't really feel like going out and doing anything. yesterday, i made nutella pancakes and then ventured out in the storm for much needed shoe shopping and sushi. there's a flood watch at the moment so nothing sounds better to me than cooking and reading. with some studying for my british literature exam thats on tuesday.

birds and stars

Despite being a college student with very little free time on my hands, I've decided to blog about all the little things in my life that bring me happiness and inspiration. This is my way to share the music, art, fashion, literature, and food that bring a smile to my face.

"I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance."

-e.e. cummings