oh weekend

i so, so need this weekend. and the sun is out, spot-lighting some of the very few leaves still left on the tree outside my window, what a good morning. last weekend i had visitors: my sister and her family were here. my nieces loved looking out the window too, as you can see. if that's no proof we're related, i don't know... we also went for a ferry trip to kladow and a walk at the wannsee, which is where we saw those lovely autumn leaves.

apart from all this, i really enjoyed my photo classes last week. already learned a lot. we have a very open theme which should be guiding us when taking photos for the course these next few weeks. 'me, my friends, my flat, my neighbourhood' we can pick one aspect and interpret it or do a combination. haven't decided yet which angle to take. maybe i could do a portrait series (portraits scare me, so that would be a bit of a challenge) or a series about my flat (that would be staying in my comfort zone i guess). hm. we're going to work with black and white film. honestly, i have no idea how it will turn out.

and finally: today might be the day i buy a DSLR. after long to-ing and fro-ing it looks as if i'm going for the nikon D3000. a D90 is simply without my reach at the moment. it's a first step.

and no - of course i won't stop using my analog cameras, i love them far to much!

have a wonderful weekend.

oh, look

these past few weeks i have been showered with gifts - i'm feeling a bit like a child, stunned by that curious birthday-and-christmas-feeling rolled into one.

two of those gifts came from sweden.

my blogging friend kristina sent me this wonderful vintage book on portrait photography called 'the story of a face' by hillary g. bailey, published 1938 in san francisco. glamourama. a treasure trove of information on lighting, perspective, frame, pose and much more. i particulaly like the fabulous photos overlaid with diagrams, illustrating graceful poses. and also those images showing how easily a static pose can be turned into a dynamic one, just by moving a shoulder, by the turn of your head. i keep thinking who of my friends i will declare my next model to try out the graceful poses. watch out... - thank you so much, kristina, for this lovely gift! as if that wasn't enough, kristina also included some postcards made from her very own photographs, which are so lovely. i'm particularly in love with the orange that looks just like a detail from a flemish still-life. beautiful.

another parcel from sweden reached me a little while ago, this time from gothenburg. cecilia of vejacecilia had one of her amazing illustrations to give away and i was so very lucky to win! i was so excited when that cardboard tube with lovely swedish stamps was sitting on my table, waiting to be unpacked. and what a truly fabulous illustration i found inside, plus a moo mini card and some moo stickers. i'm still looking for a matching frame to put the print up on my wall. those green und purple colours make me really happy and i can simply get lost in those meandering lines, all drawn by hand. thank you again cecilia!

there are many other friends who spoilt me recently, too many, in fact, to name them all. let's just say i'm so grateful to be blessed with these special people who keep thinking of me and never cease to surprise and amaze me. you rock!

oh everyday

i love the everyday - even more so when i'm rushing around, am snowed under with work and don't quite know how to get things done. somehow i wouldn't want every day to be exceptional. i find it comforting to make more or less the same breakfast every morning, and to take a bit of time for myself on the sofa, thinking, jotting down some notes, before the day finally starts. i love shopping for banal things - bin liners, milk, shampoo. i love meeting for dinner with friends each and every tuesday. i love putting fresh flowers in a vase, making a quick call to catch up with a friend, sitting at my desk and getting lost in some new text that's waiting to be translated. and although i may not miss the everyday routine while on holiday, i will certainly be very happy to get back to it.

this week's been flying by and i haven't managed to do all i wanted to. fast running out of time, because on wednesday, i'll be on the plane to venice! still, i've made progress with my projects, browsed through some travel guides, bought a bikini, a skirt and a light summer dress. a good week.

off now to pick up my pain au lait at sgaminegg, perhaps some fresh strawberries and then back to my desk. 

p.s.: discovered sgaminegg thanks to berlin reified, a fabulous blog about food, design and life in berlin. go and take a look!

p.p.s.: i just love this blog, in particular this post about riding your bike with a skirt...

oh quotes

feeling kind of funny. seems like autumn's back, maybe someone should tell him he's a tad early. and i have a bit of a headache, but not badly. so i was thinking. maybe i should post some quotes every now and again. random quotes i happen to like. on the off-chance you do, too. and if not, what harm does it do? so here goes:

we arrived here safely, and, except for the ham sandwiches, we were satisfied with the journey.

julian barnes' parents on a postcard

i think it's re-assuring to know that sometimes the success of a journey is not jeopardised by poor-quality ham sandwiches. on that note.

oh, also just read this blog post by author and illustrator maira kalman. inspiring, go and read!

(i gave this little chinese lion to a friend and had to take his picture after he had settled in.)

oh pretty

i really like this pair of earrings by friedasophie jewlery design (as seen on frolic) - so pretty! also like their necklaces. a little unusual and really rather wonderful. some of the designs look like fragile little twigs, corals or algae. check out friedasophie's etsy shop and tell me what you think!

oh architecture

there are so many beautiful buildings to be admired. often i look at them and am really grateful for those architects who thought them up and the many people who helped realising their plans. one of my favourite buildings in berlin is haus der kulturen der welt (house of world cultures), a real midcentury-modern gem. there's a post about it over on my other blog, mostly berlin.

today was very sunny and i started my day with some coffee and raisin toast for breakfast, then cycled over to the museum, where i was helping out in the book shop this weekend. loved it. but ouch, my feet are hurting.

the pictures were taken some time ago at the house of world cultures. sadly, one of the hinges of those much-loved vintage sunglasses has since broken and i'll have to find out if it can be fixed.

anyway, time to snuggle up on the sofa with a blanket now. have a good start to your week! 

oh rhubarb

i love this time of spring, when the farmers markets seem to burst with freshness and all these colours are coming back. how i missed them! and there's rhubarb. i like its old-fashionedness, the prettyness of it, the acidity to be matched by plenty of sugar. and it somehow reminds me of my childhood. perhaps because my mum used to make rhubarb compote when we were small, or because we build dams with stones and the big leaves of wild rhubarb on our family holidays until the water in our proudly produced basin was so high it went over the rim of our wellies.

then a couple of days ago i discovered a post over at april's for a rhubarb cake. it came with a lovely photo and with such a nice story that i had to try it. and yesterday i did - it was delicious. thank you april! if you want to try it, take a look. if you can't make sense of it (the recipe is in german) but would like to give it a try, get in touch, i'm sure either of us could supply you with a translation!

(i've taken this photo last year in france, i could go on about that market...)

p.s.: when i made that cake i wondered if i had made a mistake following the instructions - it seemed as if there was more rhubarb than batter in the cake pan. it was fine though, so don't worry if the same happens to you, it's alright :)