IT'S PINK - I WANT IT!

Didn't this bookcover just get you within a second? Ohhh how I love my BUST DIY Guide to Life! And because today was such a rainy, gray day (rhyming like no other...) and all I wanted to do was to cuddle up under a blanket, I grabbed this precious little thing to brighten up my afternoon a bit.

I bought the BUST Guide last January as a late Christmas gift to myself after having hovered over it literally every time I'd walk into Barnes & Nobles for weeks. I fell for the book the day I discovered the craft section at the store (reminder: I was there as an exchange student so I didn't know there was such a section at the store). I discovered there was a magazine to this book and so I bought my first BUST issue. It didn't take a day for me get through it and start longing for the book real badly...

BUST is sort of a feminist magazine but not quite so 'Hear me roar, I'm a feminist!' (nothing against that type of (maga)zine). I guess I would describe BUST as an indie magazine for creative girls - and man I've been looking for that for ages! So in the book the BUST team has collected all kinds of DIYs, recipes, tipps on style, sewing and life from former magazines issues.

Okay enough chatting, here's a peek inside!

This' the season to be sewing lalala-la-laaa! Haha, there's some great advise for sewing beginners like me in there. First they explain how a sewing mashine works, simple stitches and stuff. Later on one learns how to reshape sweaters, hem and sew skirts and pants and also how to make fascinators and jewelry! Homemade fashion here we come!

There's a hair and beauty section and I'm especially a fan of these curls, how darling are they? I'm debating on cuting my hair .. mmmh.

In this section you'll also find some snazzy tutorials on how to create the Amy Winehouse Beehive and the Twiggy eye make-up. But since beauty isn't all about hair and make-up you can find tipps on how treat scratches, insect bites and PMS etc. I find that very helpful and it also promotes the whole 'beauty comes from the inside'-thing. Like that!

Talking about the inside ... It's called a Guide to life - so there has to be food! Gooood food! As you can see the recipes look flipping delicious, but you know what? There's even a tutorial on how to make a pinata! Ahu! We love pinatas!

The lower picture is from my favorite part of the book. When I first read it, I just felt so encouraged. Finally there was someone out who'd talk excatly about the things I think about future-wise. Travelling alone and articles related to independent businesses and part-time working ... I was in wonderland!  The chapter is called 'Moving & shaking' and it'll give you all the tools you need to move&shake it as an independent lady! Makes me excited to move out and pursue my goals and dreams!

Lastly - tell me how cute is this? There are lots of cute little doodles all over the book which along with the other photos make it really fun and visual.

Hope I could infect you a bit with the BUST bug - 'cause being a BUST-girl is cooool!

Lots of Love, Tabea

LAKE SUMMERS

Did you ever love anything so much you could just run in circles and scream out of happiness? I hope so for you! Right now I could be doing the 'hands over my head' and yelling 'I LOVE THIS' all the time! Summer is so great! Today I had the chance to hang out at a lake / canyon close by with some pretty sweet people. Isn't this what we're waiting for since like january? 

Lying on my back with the sun on my belly I thought about summers that have been gone by over the years. My favorite summer memories were all made around lakes. Last year I spent this amazing day down in Canal Park, Duluth MN with one of my friends. We had Caribou's Coffee, walked along the beach and sat on rocks for hours to talk. Go visit if you ever get the chance - and I'm not just saying this 'cause Duluth is my second home, it's just so fun there!

Also I remember the many days I spent paddling around the water close to the beaches of different lakes around my region - I couldn't swim until  I was about eight, so ya.. I was easy to watch as a kid I guess. Always tried to stay out of trouble and life threatening situations hehe! Living on the edge was never my thing .. except living on the edge of the water. Ha. Ha. Sorry...

Oh and one of my very, very favorite memories from about three years ago (say whaaat?!): My parents and I spent a week in southern France at a lake called 'St. de la Croix' I think. Sooo Saint of the cross? Mhhh.. anyway it was pure magic down there. I have never seen water so turqouise! Beau-ti-ful! Take a trip to France at least once in your life - it's truly a blessed spot of land.

Well this was my post for today. I'm sorry but the thouht of eating watermelon and getting tan while reading a good book out in the sun is just really promising right now. Just to keep you updated, I have been crafting over the last days so there are more fun posts coming your way! Stay tuned friends!

Does anyone else have favorite summer or lake memories? I'd love to hear!

Lots of Love, Tabea ♥

SHOUT OUT FOR RANDOM PHOTOS!

Blogger are  overall pretty amazing at sharing about their life through photos - some even take better daily life photos than blog-post photos. I don't know what it is, maybe the age old curiosity thing, that makes people wanna have insight into other's lifes. I'm not sharing too much personal stuff here, probably because I'm scared of stalkers. Haha, no, but sometimes I wonder whether certain bloggers actually have stalkers ... They have fangirls for sure ... so who knows?

Well I don't want to talk about fans, stalkers or creepiness (no offend to anyone - I consider myself a bit of a fangirl, too, sometimes). I'm just fascinated by how bloggers document their daily routine. I take pictures for this blog regularly. But the other day I wanted to put up some more personal photos up on my wall and naah. I didn't have any recent ones that I really connected with at first. So today I wanna give a shout-out for random photos! They are personal, lovely and great memories. 

I took this picture during my biology class. It just captures the moment so perfectly. We use a lot pencils in that class to draw things and well ... sometimes I like to put my head on the table. Just for a minute. Haha! Moments like oftentime get lost in the daily hassle. Also I could take a picture excatly like this one any time during my school week - there wouldn't be much of a difference. 

But 'not much of a diffrence' is still a difference.Just a few weeks ago the seniors at my school graduated. That made me realize how precious our school time is and within less than a year I won't be going to school anymore. So by taking picture more frequently I can hold on to those moments for a bit longer. 

Also, our days might often seems quite similar to each other, people aren't. And neither are cats. So I'm a big fan of 'living-things'-photography. I don't do it often enough though. Taking selfies in front of my mirror is one thing, but with other people I just find it uncomfortable sometimes to take photos. It's not a common request around here to take a photo that is not all smiles or even take random photos in general. I often hear things like:' What are doing? Are you taking a picture now?'... Makes me feel a bit awkward. 

On the same page I think it's so important to find new angles for photos. It takes a lot of practise to realize quickly, oh this is a picture-moment and immediately find a cool angle to snap a great shot. That's why I love the pciture of my cat above. It's sorta unexpected.

These last two photos kinda show the difference between 'real life' and 'real nice set-up' pretty well, I think. The first one was taken while walking up the stairs from a subway station in Berlin, the second one is once again my night-stand. I happened to have all these notebooks flying around and I thought: 'Well this is cool, let's take a picture'. So I actually arranged them to look like this - tried to make it look like a coincidence though, such a ganster! 

As a photographer of any kind, I think it takes a lot of courage to do what you like. Simply because others aren't used to cameras being around them for no appearend reason. So let's pull ot the iPhones and DSLRs and what-nots and make people feel comfortable, so we can feel comfortable snapping away every moment of our life! And soon I hope to have more meaninful photos to frame and decorate my room with!

Hope to encourage!

Lots of Love, Tabea ♥

DAYDREAMING & THE TRAVEL BUG

What a weekend you guys! Eastern Germany is fighting this huge flood, folks are out to help everywhere and what do I do? I'm staying at home sick to my stomach, stuffed nose and throat. Brilliant! My area isn't affected very much but I feel with those people living in the badly damaged areas close by. Kinda crazy to think that yesterday my family and I were sitting outside idly eating dinner, whilst only 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) from here people are fighting for their houses and lifes! I'd love to help, but right now it's just not possible for me. Also it's getting more and more and dangerous so people are leaving and the military is taking over now. Prayers for the people are greatly appreciated! 

Because I couldn't just sit around all day, pittying myself for not being fit and ready to help, I tried to find something to keep me busy. Whenever I need distration I like to daydream ... mainly about the future. That Is why I pulled out My cool Campervan. It's my rainy-days joker! 

Going on a trip through all of Europe with a campervan or caravan is defintily on my life-long bucket list. Or maybe drive down the Westcoast from Seatlle all the to San Diego. Oh the travel bug ... 

Since I love this book so much I wanted to share some of my favorite pages with you. Jane Field-Lewis and Chris Haddan write great books and leave alone the photos are an inspiration for everyone who likes colors and crafting.

Aren't these campervans just the most darling thing you've ever seen? They are so retro - You could jump in and travel back in time to see Woodstock with these! I've always had a weakness for cute looking cars but I'm seriously over the moon for these. 

After I graduate from High School I'm planning on taking a year off... It's completely crazy but I love the idea of doing my europe trip before I get too old for it. I think once you've gotten used the comforts of an apartment and having a steady income it's hard to let go and just take off. Obviously this is pure daydreaming ... but who knows what will come?

This is my very favorite photos from the book. VW busses aren't just cars - they're a lifestyle! What would I give for a beauty like this one? 

Dreaming about a life on the road gets me excited! I have no idea whether I'm made for it or not but it feels so good to look forward to a future with this as a possibility. The world is ours kids! Let's conquer it!

Lots of Love, Tabea ♥ 

SNEAK PEEKS! GET INSPIRED

Hello Sweetie-Pies! Today I thought I'd share some fun sneak peaks around my room. Sometimes it's the best to just fill yourself with some inspiration. I felt like that a lot recently. Nah, let's not even talk about my amount of Pinterest-use over the last few days.. So anyway, I hope I can inspire you a bit, too!

My latest project! Messing around with paint, late at night - Good times! Whenever I feel down, this is like therapy. Not quite artsy, but so fun! I think every so often we should paint in school. It gets a creative vibe going, it's incredicle. Once I start painting I always feel like new ideas are coming to mind my so naturally. 

Lace, lace, lace. If I could I'd probably cover my entire room in lace. I found this darling at the craft store the other day and man it's so cool! It looks like lace - but it's actually a place mat, like some sort of plastic with lace printed on it. I find this thing so cool - I don't even wanna use it for crafting anymore! Well, not yet at least. This could be used for so many projects. I need time to evaluate which one will reach up to the coolness of this thing. 

Have I mentioned that I enjoy making journals? No comment on this one. 

Okay here's the comment anyway: I fell hard for the simple heart pattern. I'm a sucker for hearts! ♥ Hehe

This one doesn't need a caption, does it? I made this card(?) quite some time ago. The scraps I used were all from a 'seventeen-magazine'. I don't give much for the content of teen magazines anymore, but their colorful photos are great to cut out and use! I might show you how I made the cute little book in the left, I used it to write down my dreams - or at least what I could remember of them. The candle on the right - heaven! I burned it everyday around christmas time.

And a last shout-out for: Colors and stationary! Where would all those journal-addicted-people be without their markers, fineliners and what not. I use these on a daily basis for my diary. I don't know, but seeing this splash of color on my nightstand just makes me happy! 

Hope to inspire with this! Now get out color, get out material and let's gooo!

Lots of Love, Tabea ♥