Happy Holidays and a happy New Year!

Happy holidays everyone! I'm almost a little late with my Christmas blessings... Well, at least in Germany there are still holidays and I can still wish Merry Christmas!

I've come to see my parents but we don't have a tree... My parents stopped buying them because they got stolen a couple times, standing outside their restaurant. A couple of times, the tree was smashed over and all the decoration was on the floor... Such a mess. Totally understand, why they don't wanna buy any Christmas trees anymore.

Anyway, I also wish you a Happy New Year! I will spent my New Year's Eve in the Dominican Republic because we've found like the perfect flight. It's exactly what I wished for this year... The right thing after graduating and before starting a job. I hope I'll be able to send a couple applications before Saturday, that's when I'll fly :) Then, I might have an answer when I'm back ^.^ *fingers crossed*

Zumba Party with live Percussion

Since apparently Zumba is the big deal around the blogger scene now, I thought, you might enjoy if I share my boyfriend's second career as a Zumba percussionist with you.

Julio has done quite a couple live Zumba Percussions throughout the year. He plays Bongos, Güira, Tamboura, and some other percussion instruments I can't name.

It has all started with the hype of Zumba parties. They're everywhere - every dance school and gym not only offers classes but also parties. Essentially, the party lasts a lot longer than a normal Zumba class, several hours in the evening with a couple more guest teachers, loud music, and depending on the location it might be dark and there are disco lights all over the place, like in a club. Just as in this place...

It's quite a clever idea. A lot of people, mostly women come to these parties. Normally, Zumba clothes can be bought directly at the party, which are quite expensive because they are always limited edition, as I've heard. Depending on the school, you can even take a shower after the party :)

Since there are so many Zumba parties, they need to find ways how to stand out. So our friend Claudia who's an aerobic and Zumba teacher came up with the idea of live percussion. I'm not sure if she was the very first person who has thought of it but she was the first around our area. She asked Julio to come and try it out. He eventually did and now he's invited to play about every month. Different schools and locations but always the same concept...

So anyway, here's a video, we've made a couple months ago.

Even though I don't really like Zumba, I like Julio's percussion and I can imagine these parties to be lots of fun, especially if you like Zumba. Since I dance a lot of hip hop, salsa and lots of other things, I don't find it challenging. It's like warmup... But anyway, I do understand the appeal - fun music, easy steps, different sets of choreographies. It's like aerobic but more interesting. That's why it's probably going to last a while in the fitness community.

Cirque du Soleil: Immortal World Tour

Julio got 2 tickets for Cirque du Soleil from his Salsa class. These people are amazingly generous... Tickets were sold around 100€. Let me start off by telling you, it was incredible. I haven't seen anything like this before. Cirque du Soleil is supposed to be like that, thus our expectations were rather high and we were not disappointed.

Here are the two of us... Matching colors red and black ^.^ for Michael Jackson... I wore an all black outfit with black Buffalo pumps, a red clutch from H&M and Mac's Russian Red lipstick. Julio wore a red scarf to a black outfit as well...

The Immortal Tour is all about Michael Jackson. And they raised the bar. I'm pretty sure, Michael would have loved what they did. Even some of his musicians went on tour as well. Unlike most Cirque du Soleil events, there was a lot more dancing than acrobatics. I'm scared as hell, whenever I see people hanging on strings under the ceiling doing their tricks... But fortunately, everything went well, no tangling nor falling...

Dancing-wise we were most impressed by the pole dancer Felix Cane. The girl was hanging on her pole, 5 meters above the floor, only supported by her ankles - no hands - doing a split at the pole and rotating around it with her upper body perpendicular to the pole. This is way to artistic to only be shown in strip clubs. Felix is a true artist, she even choreographed the latest Cirque du Soleil: Zumanity, a very sensual show. Here's a link to a YouTube video of her...

Other highlights were the b-boy Jean Sok who only had one leg, the flexible bookworm Baaska Enkhbaatar who turned the pages of an oversize book in the most unbelievable ways, the tango dancers who danced on strings up in the air, changing chairs and women within the blink of an eye, and the contemporary dancers who jumped as if they wanted to dive into the stage but used the momentum to get up from landing flat on their bellies... There were also lots of popping dancers. They were very in sync and even the main character Salah is a famous French popping dancer. He was very clean and stood out :) Also great were the break dancers and tricking people.

The stage was amazing - so huge and all the lights, the curtain, the electronics. A part of the floor could be lifted and turned into monitors, they also changed colors, when Salah stepped on them... Words could not describe how great everything fitted together. They even had indoor fireworks at the end. Very impressive!

So now to the things that weren't as great...

First, I was quite disappointed, I didn't see Les Twins. I was so looking forward to seeing them on stage and then, they quit... Their replacements weren't even half as good but anyway, they wouldn't be on top of the dance community if they could be replaced with anybody, right? Anyway, I think they are too big of a star to be dancing in Cirque du Soleil every day of the year. They have too many projects and I have wondered all along, how they could handle everything. As they seem to be all over YouTube every day...

The locking dances were weak. I can't understand how they put that on stage, if they're so perfect at every other point.

I didn't get why there were singers on stage. The main voice was Michael Jackson. Why the need for anyone else? I couldn't recognize their voices either...

Well, we also saw, it was the end of the tour because the normal dancers weren't really all that excited anymore. They danced well and in sync but not like they wanted to impress everybody. But that's maybe hard to maintain when you dance the same show every day of the year...



But in the end, it was still an amazing show. I haven't seen anything as big in my entire life! Their were a lot of highlights and those were really bright, still impressing us now.

Library App

I like to read books, even more now that I've got an iPad. But of course I would enjoy it just as much on any other tablet or ebook-reader... But I like the convenience of combining several books, papers and notebooks all in my iPad without any additional weight.

I've got a new app for borrowing German books online, called Skoobe. I think I read about it online, before I tried it out. I pay 9.99€ a month and can read as many books as I want. I can keep up to 5 books in my list which are available offline as well (offline available for 30 days). This special offer (Skoobe Premium Starter) is limited. When you get it, these special features are guaranteed for another year after they'll change their pricing model.

After some time, there won't be any 30-days offline reading for the basic offer, only 24 hours. And only three books can be borrowed at the same time. I saved 4 books right now but I only read one book at a time. For me, the feature is only useful for vacation when I have time to read and no wifi nearby.


For 14.99€, the Skoobe Plus, there will be 30-days offline reading available. And for the Skoobe Premium for 19.99€ there will be the possibility of borrowing 15 books at the same time to read offline.

It works on iPhone, iPad and Android products.

So far, I've only seen German books but maybe they'll have other languages one day. That would be awesome :-)

Since I can terminate the contract monthly, I feel it's a good offer... As long as I have time to read books, this is a great app.

PhD

Yay... It's done... I passed my exam recently. So here is my doctor's hat which my work mates made. As usual it contains parts of my work and is quite individual. It's even in my favorite color red.

The exam was quite overwhelming - 90 minutes of questions about anything in physics - from my subject to Schrödinger to Kirchhoff and Maxwell to Higgs. From medical physics to quantum physics to electrodynamics and superconducting. I'm glad it's over. It went better than expected but I had headaches for the whole night.

The past two weeks I've recovered and took some time off... It's my first Christmas without too much work, so there are no more excuses for not finding presents... ;-)

EDIT:

I forgot to tell you the story of the ladder...

I wasn't allowed to use PowerPoint, thus I presented my phd thesis on a blackboard. I was allowed to measure it beforehand and found out I was too small and needed a ladder to reach the top. This was important because I didn't want to clean the blackboard during my talk and wanted the professors to see all my results in their full beauty.

Wearing high heels almost made me fall of the ladder but thankfully, I balanced it out somehow... No bleeding for me, unlike my phd advisor. He blacked out in his bathroom a couple days before my phd defense and had some severe bruisings. You see... Physicists have a dangerous life... ;-)

Smart or beautiful?

Last weekend I read an article about plastic surgery on Zeit.de.

It was mostly negative, saying how shallow the drive for beauty is. The usual blabla about more and more surgeries and how they will once be as normal as a haircut...

What truely shocked me was the following.

Petra, a German women's magazine, asked 1000 women if they would trade 10 IQ points for instantly erasing one beauty flaw. Almost 3/4 said yes...

Really? I mean, I understand that IQ points are somehow abstract and some people might not understand their meaning. But in a broader sense, they would like to become more stupid just to be more beautiful. It's sad how little some women value intelligence.

I think, it's a lot easier to lose weight or to buy clothes and makeup to make oneself more beautiful but it's nearly impossible to change your IQ.

A little Snobby?

May I introduce to you my professor's cat: Julie. She's an old lady who likes to talk a lot ^.^ like a real person as her vet said. But she's also a bit snobby because she doesn't come out until one has a master's degree. At least that's what my professor always says ^.^ In my case it is true. I haven't seen her before my Diploma in physics. Now that I'm almost done with my phd, she comes out to chat and get strokes... Isn't she beautiful?

I normally don't like cats because they're moody, scratch for no reason, lose hair and on top I'm allergic. But Julie is perfect.

She's probably the only antiallergic cat for me - no red eyes and no sneezing around her although she loses tons of hair when I pet her. She can't pull in her claws but doesn't scratch.

Hopefully she'll still have a long life...

 

Recent Haul

Since this week was the glamour shopping week, I just couldn't resist, although I've had a ton of work to do at the university as a tutor for the freshmen weeks... I'm not too sure I've exploit the card to my total advantage because I went to lots of other stores as well but I got 5€ off at Douglas and also 5€ off at The BodyShop.

So anyhow, let's get started.

At Douglas I found these two cute little Clinique bags. I'm most interested in the eye cream. I've heard only good things about it. So we'll see how it works. At the left there's the moisture surge extended thirst relief, the moisture surge tinted moisturizer and the all about eyes cream. At the right hand side there's the great skin starts here 3 step skin care set for combination to oily skin. I'm very curious if it really is all that great. I will let you know, when I finished all the bottles.

I also went to The BodyShop to buy a Mango scrub and Mango body lotion... I love mango.

 

Here's my DM drugstore haul.

• I liked the Florena mattifying day and night face cream. Since it worked so well, I also bought the toner as well.
• Gloves for washing dishes
• Persil laundry tabs - I haven't used them but I'm curious if they are better than the usual powder.
• Contact lenses and solution
• Balea professional volumizing shampoo and conditioner - I use the one for shiny hair right now but it seems to be a little too heavy after they changed the formula. So I want to give this a try. Balea professional has really great shampoo, I think. Without silicon... Better than many expensive shampoos. I started using them, when Jettie from Give the bitch her chocolate blogged about it and I can only agree.
• Ebelin professional nail polish remover. I haven't tried it yet but I read good things about it. I normally use the green bottle and it's not bad either.
• Balea shaving gel... I switch up the scents like all the time. It works but isn't anything too special.
• Catrice Cucuba Limited Edition - loose eye shadow C04 Havana Drum
• P2 transparent lip liner
• Wick cough drops with lemon taste - my favorite cough drops. I still can't get rid of my cold...
• DM bag - you can give it back to the store and exchange it for another one or return it - like those returnable bottles to help saving the environment.

 

So an extended view on all the makeup items from several stores.

I ordered Sigma brushes from amazon.de recently. For almost 10€ for each brush, it was rather expensive but I love those four brushes. I just couldn't find any tapered blending brushes in normal stores and I wasn't willing to pay for Mac brushes... Now that I even got two (E35 and E40), I can't imagine my makeup life without it. E35 is slightly smaller than E40. I also got an eyeliner brush E05 and a tightline liner E16. They're great!

I've got several colored lip liners but this one from P2 is transparent. Actually quite genius. We only need one for all lipsticks...

I adore this Catrice loose eye shadow. It's from the cucuba limited edition - C04 Havana Drum. Beautiful color! Here's a swatch next to the Essence Nateventurista Limited Edition - 02 Mother earth is watching you, which I don't use as an eyeliner as it is supposed to be but as a creamy eye shadow.

Finally, I've bought my very first Mac blush - Love Joy. Isn't it adorable... Such a pretty fall color. It's shimmery, coppery and simply beautiful. Soo pigmented as well. I'm so sick of all the cheap plastic that breaks... I hope this will last for a long time... And it's probably just the start. I feel like I need more...

 

Of course, I've got some swatches as well.

Here it is next to Rimmel Coral which was soo hard to swatch because it didn't wanna give up any color to my wrist... As you can see, Mac's Love Joy is much more pigmented... ELF's Berry Merry is rather pinkish, plum-colored than the Mac blush.

Since my new Mac blush looked so brownish, I swatched it next to my other bronzers from Essence (02 Love to be Matt) and P2 (030 Bali Heat). Next to these more yellow-undertoned bronzers it shows off its reddish undertone. It lasted more than 12 hours... I'm impressed by so much quality...

And I haven't shown you how the OPI - Makes men blush looks like on my nails. Perfect pink for French nails... I made those last Saturday and now it's Friday and it just chipped. The lady at the counter told me to buy the top coat from OPI so that it'll last two weeks... Who the hell wants to have the same nail polish for two weeks?! I'm fine with these 6 days and now I'm glad I can paint another color on my nails...

Unfortunately, I can't capture the holo effect of the polish... It's too bad because it's so pretty!!!

 

So anyway, how do you like my haul?

[Tagged] More Things about Me

Miss W. created this additional lovely tag to the former Things About Me tag. So here we go...

What do you like to eat for breakfast?
I usually eat yoghurt with oatmeal and jam.
My favorite breakfast would be fresh croissants, waffles and fresh delicious fruits.

Which nail polish do you wear right now?
OPI - Makes Men Blush. I bought it at Galeria Kaufhof recently. Did you know that they sell OPI nail polishes there? I was totally taken by surprise and I couldn't resist to buy my very first OPI. Since I had a coupon, I only payed 14.40€. Still my most expensive nail polish in my collection... But what can I say. It's still the most beautiful light pink with slightly holographic shimmer. I'll make another post to show you. I haven't had luck with the lighting yet. None of my pictures look like reality.

What do you order in a bar?
Some kind of fruity cocktail probably a milk shake. I don't really like the taste of alcohol so I prefer drinks without it or those that don't taste too alcoholic… baileys is ok, too. Or new wine... Soo so good for this fall season.

Which are your favorite shoes?
My nude peep toes and my leo peep toes.

How do you like to eat your spaghetti?
Spicy Gambas al Aioli or Mussels in White Wine Sauce

What's your favorite color?
Red. Something like Mac's Russian Red as Lipstick.

Which non-human ability would you like to have?
Teleporting. That would be so cool… unfortunately it's only possible for really small objects :( Ever heard of quantum teleportation? It also works for photons, electrons, and single atoms.

What's your signature dish?
I really don't know. I don't like to eat the same thing over and over again, so I always switch my dishes…

My recent dish was this sparerib which I've marinated and baked in my oven. My boyfriend loved it. It's just so rare that I find spareribs in the supermarket...

What annoys you the most?
Hypocrisy

What would you like to experience once more?
I don't think I would want to because it wouldn't be the same anymore.

Which bonus cards do you have in your purse?
Payback, Tchibo, Görtz…

Which object have you repaired recently?
My bike… but it has got a puncture again... I can't believe how much bad luck I've had with this freaking bike this year.

 

Update

Thank you for your comments on my last post! I really appreciate your sympathy!

My dad is feeling better now. We just can't grasp why nothing has happened so far... The family next door is still there. No punishment, no penalty, but new questions. My dad told me, the neighbors' asylum was denied (years ago) but they are still in Germany. I don't believe it's due to the children because I remember a boy from my elementary school who had to go back to Kenia after his family's asylum was denied or maybe the reason vanished - I really don't quite recall that fact but he was only eleven and he was really a nice guy without any trouble. Has politics changed that much since then? Anyway, something's odd about that family.

Painful

Not physically painful for me but it has been for my dad. I still can't grasp the whole story...

I called my parents last weekend because I was finally able to hand in my dissertation and cleared my head. After a little chitchat with both, my mom suddenly asked me, if my dad has already told me? I thought it was about the house but no... My dad was beaten up by his neighbors, by the father, mother and oldest son of a family of 11 children, because he complained about their noise. These neighbors are asylum seekers from Libya. Three against one. And my dad is not like all the old Chinese guys in TV who all know martial arts and are able to fight against a whole army of people. He's small, old, and not the fittest. His nose is broken, he's got several bruises and contusions. They pushed him to the ground, there was blood everywhere and even the mother hit him with her slipper... It's like a scene from a movie...

I can't even describe how angry and upset I am right now...

My dad isn't even the first victim. Last year (I think it was last year) two of the boys (under aged twins) beat up a younger boy on a playground or parking lot. It was in the news as well. But nothing happened because they were minors.

I hope this time, it's different. My dad pressed charges against them. This time, they are all adults and can be hold fully responsible. I hope they will be sent back to where they come from because they don't fit into our society. Where they used to live, this might be normal behavior to solve their conflicts but it certainly isn't in Germany. And I highly doubt, beating up an old man with three people is considered okay in any freaking country... We don't even wanna know what those other countries would do to them... Seriously.

Now see, my parents own a hotel and restaurant in a small town here in Germany. Therefore, it is extremely important that it's quiet for the guests who are mostly old. My dad has complained like a million times in the past 10 years or so. The atmosphere is tense... Somehow the neighbors got so much money for their children that it was possible to buy a house right next to my parents. Of course they got it cheaper because of the amount of children and because they are poor. Only I didn't even know asylum seekers were allowed to OWN a freaking house in Germany. The children are highly uneducated. I've heard from my firmer teachers that they don't listen to female teachers because they are women... You know that kind of people... The parents' view of education is some beating at times and leaving the kids by themselves on the other days. As soon as they leave school, they get married and get more babies. I don't even know if the oldest girl finished high school. None of them is allowed to work because they are asylum seekers and as if they could find any work, as uneducated as they are.

Under the law, my dad is German and even if he wasn't, how would it be possible for asylum seekers to stay after such violent behavior about nothing...

I wonder if they will be sent back because otherwise my belief in the German constitutional state would certainly be shattered. Germans are terribly careful when it comes to demanding foreigners to leave Germany because they don't want to be mistaken for racists. This is not racism. This is what Germany is supposed to do with people who do not want to adapt, who violate the law. Send them away... They do nothing for this country. No working, no tax. Not even being part of the society.

[Tagged] Things about me

I've seen this tag at Miss W.'s  << click >> and Alice' << click >> blogs.

1. Describe yourself in 3 words.

• I am a physicist, dancer and an epicure.

2. How do you feel, when talking to the camera?

• I don't talk, I only dance in front of the camera… That works pretty well. I'm more focussed on camera. 

3. What don't you like on your own looks?

• My jaw is not in the middle because one of the muscles is longer than the other, making my face look slightly asymmetric. Not that many would notice since it's only visible in frontal pictures.
• Since I'm writing on my dissertation the whole day, I don't move enough, while I'm always kind of hungry... It's the nerves, I guess... Anyhow, I would love to lose some weight.

4. Without which product wouldn't you go out?

• Hand cream. I currently use Balea's Mango hand cream. It smells soo good :)

5. Do you do anything even though you can't? If so, what is it?

• Oral examinations - I'm so bad but I still have to do them… Thank god, there's only one left. The weird thing though is that I actually really like presentations - I just can't handle the pressure of the oral examination because it's mostly about things that I haven't learnt and I'm not good at showing off knowledge that I haven't acquired. You know, in physics, professors like to tease you to the point of non-knowledge so they can see how you handle the situation and start thinking physically in front of them. They've got my full admiration…

6. What would you like to change on yourself but you never do?

• I'd like to get eye surgery but I don't dare. My lecture in medical physics just scared the hell out of me. It's not about the pain but more about the risks... I might however do it anyway one day.

7. What don't you like on other people?

• Hypocrisy, mendacity, ignorance, stupidity paired with arrogance, racism, and lack of hygiene.

8. Name 4 things that you like to do.

• Dancing, traveling, eating a nice meal, and of course being with my boyfriend

9. Is there a garment that you don't like but you wear it anyway?

• Tights... I don't really like them but when it's cold, it's keeping me warm so of course I do wear them despite their discomfort.

10. How important are your looks to you?

• Important. I don't have to dress up and put on makeup every day but I like it a lot. I enjoy taking my time with it.

11. Is there anything you collect?

• Pictures and videos :)

12. What do you do when nobodys watching?

• I like to sit with my legs up on the chair...

13. What colors do your like to wear on your nails?

• Essie's Marshmallow and Catrice' #30 Meet Me On Coral Island.

14. Name 3 things that you like on the other sex.

• Confidence, intelligence, and humor.

15. What can't you get on with?

• Goes along with #7 - what I don't like on other people.

16. Which famous person do you admire?

• Feynman although he didn't have a good opinion about women in general -- I just blame it on the time.
  

17. What's your biggest fear?

• Losing someone I love and care about.

18. What does happiness mean for you?

• A day off to go to the beach and enjoy myself the whole day with a good book.

19. What have you planned in a long time but haven't done yet?

• Graduating… haha :D

20. Name something odd about yourself.

• If I don't like somebody, that person immediately becomes ugly in my eyes and I see more and more annoying flaws... 
• I think life is too short to waste it on people who don't deserve it. 

My first Appearance in Alexa Eden's Welcome to Insanity

I'm very excited to show you my very first appearance as a dancer in the debut single of Alexa Eden: Welcome to Insanity!!!

I'm the one in green...

Hope you like it as well! Because I'm really relieved it turned out so well. All the hard work payed off. We spent a couple days making and rehearsing the choreography, and then several nights shooting the video, driving to different places and repeating the dance over and over again... It really was hard work. But in the end, it was worth the sore muscles, sleepless nights and exhaustion.

"Surfing" at IKEA

My boyfriend had a good time going to IKEA with me...

 

Posted with Blogsy

Great surprise this morning

A huge surprise waited for me this morning at 7 am. The postman somehow ended up playing hide and seek because he went to all the other floors except mine. In the end, he gave up and ringed my bell to tell me to get it myself... He was obviously upset and I didn't tell him that he could see from the arrangement of name tags and bells on which floor the people live.maybe next time.

My sweet friend M. sent me this as graduation gifts from Japan. Thank you so so much, my love.

Very cute lavender slippers and greentea cookies from Mochez (<< click >>). I love everything made of greentea... It's so delicious and I tell myself it's healthier than usual sweets. Japanese always put so much thoughts and work into everything. You have to love them ^.^

I will wear the slippers whenever I travel. The most amazing thing is that they fit perfectly.how do you know my size? Simply wonderful.

 

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(Wedding) Party Decoration

As I've mentioned before, I've bought 12 LED lights that can be used for balloons. In this case, I bought some more red heart-shaped balloons (15 pieces) and decorated my friend's wedding eve with them. The kids loved it and took several of them home... I'm not sure, if I would use red balloons again because I think white balloons will transmit the light better and thus there's a nicer effect but anyway, it was cute and my friend liked it. So mission accomplished...

If you're interested, here's the link to eBay: << click >>. I paid 5$ for 12 LED lights including shipping.

Please keep in mind that it's sent from China. Since German customs are pickier than other countries, it takes longer to get here than to others - maybe about one month. My lights took longer than the actual PayPal complaining time of 45 days so that I even got my money back... I think it was because customs in my city moved to a different office and thus it took even longer than usually.

My balloons are from a store called McPaper, they cost about 2,50€.

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Good Luck by Ladybug

When I came home from my friend's wedding, this is what I found... Isn't it cute? A ladybug hugging my vase.

I take it as a good sign for my new home ^.^ Anyway, I feel much better now...

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Outfit #18 - Maid of Honor again

I've said that many times already, right? It's the year of the weddings. My friend married in a castle in my parents' city. It was a nice day, not too warm, almost a little chilly but well, it was fine. The sun was out as well. My friend looked gorgeous. Unfortunately, I can't show you the bride because she wouldn't appreciate it at all... She wore a short white wedding gown with a bell-shaped lower part. The hair was done by a hair dresser and the makeup by Douglas.

All I can show you is my outfit. I wore the Max Mara dress from the Metzingen outlet haul << click >>, Buffalo pumps. My clutch was from Bijoux Brigitte, a present from a friend. The bracelets are from H&M, the necklace from a Chinese perl factory in Beijing and the earrings are made of Larimar from the Dominican Republic.

I made a simple French braid staring from my left temple down to the right ear, then twisting everything to a little bun and fixing everything with hairspray and bobby pins.

Here's also my makeup. Since I've stayed in the same color family through all weddings, it's almost the same makeup as in Switzerland.

Here are my products:

1. Maybelline Matti-Teint foundation in Natural Beige
2. Maybelline Coverstick #24 green corrects redness
3. Maybelline pure.cover mineral concealer #01 nude beige
4. Astor Anti Shine Mattitude #005 powder
5. Essence Ballerina Backstage LE - Eye Soufflé #01 dance the swan lake - as a base all over the lid and under the brow bow.
6. Maybelline Color Tattoo #40 Permanent Taupe (#35 Tough as Taupe in the US) in the outer corner of the eyes to deepen the area.
7. Maybelline Color Tattos #20 Turqoise Forever (#40 Tenacious Teal in the US) on the whole lid, as well as an eyeliner on the lower lash line, also on the lower water line.
8. P2 eye dream #030 (Morning Blues) to set the Turqoise eye liner and blend the eye shadow.
9. Catrice gel eyeliner #020 (It's Mambo Nr.2) in dark brown as an eyeliner on my upper lash line.
10. Rival de Loop eye brow pencil in dark brown.
11. P2 Sunshine Powder #030 Bali Heat as a bronzer.
12. ELF Blush #90421 Berry Merry
13. Maybelline Colorsensational Lipstick #235 Warm Me Up
14. Maybelline False Lash Effect Volume Express - black waterproof

EDIT: I almost forgot my beloved new mascara, the Maybelline False Lash Effect Volume Express in black waterproof . The head is very flexible and its brush looks like eye lashes but it works wonders! 

Recipe: Tamago Sushi

I love sushi. Every time I order sushi, I will get Tamago sushi in whatever form as nigiri or regular sushi. It is sweet egg with rice and some dried pork that looks like cotton - it is called rousong 肉鬆 << click >>. When I was little, I used to love to eat it with plain rice. It's mostly eaten with rice soup during breakfast but they're also part of other meals, not only breakfast. Chinese don't have "normal" breakfast. We eat rice all the time and it's always warm... Anyway, back to Japanese sushi... I like to make sushi, when I'm invited. I especially like Tamago sushi because it doesn't contain fresh fish so it's not dangerous if you let it sit for a couple hours.

Besides, Tamago sushi is very easy to prepare at home. You will only need the following ingredients:

• 1 cup of sushi rice
  • Water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 cup Japanese vinegar (mild)
• Bamboo mat
• 5 Nori
• Rousong from the Asia store
• 5 yolk, but I actually use 3 eggs, not only the yolk.
  • 2 tbsp sugar

Then you follow these instructions:

• Prepare the sushi rice with the ingredients above. Cook the rice with water and a hint of salt. When it's done, add the vinegar and sugar. Wait until it's cooled down.
• Now make 5 sweet omelettes with either the yolk or whole eggs.
• Lay a nori on the bamboo mat, put rice all over the nori. Then, add an omelette and a little rousong. Roll everything to a nice tight sushi roll.
• Repeat 4 times.

My other favorite sushi contains eel but it's not as easy to prepare, they have a lot of bones and I don't know how to make them. They're also very oily but they are soooo tasty ^.^

Making sushi rolls is not that easy either. You need a little bit of practice until the rolls are tight and small enough. I tend to overload them but it's important to keep the amount of filling as little as possible.

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Long time no see...

I moved to my new apartment and everything went well. I only had two shocking moments...

For half an hour I thought I lost my iPad and I almost panicked because nothing was organized and I didn't know where to start looking but then it turned out to lay peacefully on my ledge. And then, after everything was clean and in place, I started writing on my dissertation again... Oh my... My professor's notes on the last version were nowhere to be found. I looked everywhere, even at my boyfriend's home... Then yesterday, we had a meet-up and I had to confess that I lost them... Turned out, HE got them. Haha... So nothing's lost during this move.

Right now I'm on my way to the next wedding as maid of honor. It's my last distraction before the due date next month... I keep saying it's 9/11 but it's 9/10... But anyway I have to be done the week before because I have to print and bind several versions. I think I'm quite on track though... I've got 124 pages right now. Most chapters are written, only my discussion and conclusion are missing but it's makable.

Since the wedding is only civil and there's only the wedding-eve party after that, I didn't prepare too much. I'm not too sure how these wedding-eves work because it's my very first one. The bride wasn't very informative and didn't need any help whatsoever... So, I only got the task to make a cake for the party. I also bought some LEDs for balloons that will illuminate them for several hours. I guess that'll look nice. I'll show you some pics, when they're hanging.

 

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[Tagged] You smell gorgeous!

from Miss W.

1. Your favorite scent?

Zen, Shiseido (see my recent blogpost << click >>).

2. What kind of scent do you like best?

Fresh, fruity but not too much like citrus. Not too sweet. A little spicy but not too much...

3. Your first perfume?

Chanel Allure - I got it from my Mom because she got it as a present and didn't use it.

4. Do you use matching bodylotion and showergel?

I did... Dove Go Fresh - Fresh Touch (<< click >>) but it's empty and I can't find all the products in Germany and I read that even the deodorant won't be continued. I still have a back-up but still... So sad...

5. Which scents do you own?

• Body mists:
1. Adidas - Free Emotion*
   (it smells like summer - so fresh and fruity)
2. Bath&Body Works - Exotic Coconut
   (a bit too strong but great coconut smell for the hair)
3. Calgon - Tropical Dream
   (very floral, it's a present which I don't wear very often but I used to like it a lot)

• Perfumes and Eaus de Toilette
1. Zen, Shiseido
   (Christmas present 2011 from my boyfriend, love it very much)
2. Bombshell, Victoria's Secret*
   (bought it in Chicago and LOVE it, it's the best scent from VS because it's not as heavy and sweet as their other lines)
3. Diamonds, Armani
   (my first Christmas present from my boyfriend... same name as my dance group)
4. A scent by Issey Miyaki*
   (absolutely love this... a little bit like green tea, not too strong)
5. Sentiment, Escada
   (A present, I used to like very much but now I think it's too sweet but it's good for winter)
6. Cat Deluxe, Naomi Campbell
   (I don't like it, it's too sweet but I got it as a present)

* bought by myself

6. Which perfume is on your must-have list?

Armani Code, Georgio Armani.

7. What else do you like to smell (apart from your favorite perfume)?

• My boyfriend
• Freshly cooked meals
• Fruits when they are ripe, especially mango
• Fresh coffee

Cute Coin Purses (from Ebay)

Another Ebay haul from me again :) I love these small purses where you can put your coins, hair clips and bobby pins... They might be a bit corny or even tacky for some of you but I'm still a little girl inside and I love these.

As I mentioned, I got them on Ebay (<< click >>) for only 1.37€ (1.68$) each. So far, I ordered #4 (strawberry), #8 (Hello Kitty) and #33 (water melon). They have a diameter of about 10 cm (about 4 inch). I think the quality is actually quite good. Not as cheap as I expected. There's no glue but real stitches. The material is soft, a little like teddybears, except the watermelon's red part which is made of felt. The inside is made of plastic but I think that's great because you can clean it easily.

The strawberry carries all my technical stuff - another battery for my camera, some SD cards, my iPad camera connection kit and USB sticks.
Hello Kitty contains all my bobby pins and smaller hair clips - it's very convenient. I just put it in my purse and since Hello Kitty has that little bow, it's very easy to find and as I think, it matches its purpose pretty great.
The watermelon carries some of my earrings when I travel... Maybe I switch it up with the strawberry eventually. I don't like the water melon as much as the other two coin bags... but anyway, I think I'll order some more as presents for my friends (or their children ˆ.ˆ).

Since this offer is from China, it takes time to get here (1 month approximately). I had to go to customs recently because they didn't put the invoice on the outside of the package and I had to prove how much I payed (print out from paypal) but I could take it home right away without having to pay for customs.

Outfit #17 - Official Event at the University

Today we had an official event for various companies that came to the university. Not necessarily a job fair, it was supposed to stimulate mutual understanding and promote collaborations between the university and external companies. It's twice a year.

Therefore, I decided to go with this black blouse dress from Esprit which I haven't worn forever. I got that in highschool which is like TEN years ago. Oh god, I'm getting old... but it's still cute :)

Anyway, I decided to pair it with my nude peeptoes from Payless (see my Chicago haul << click >>), H&M bracelets and matching handbag from H&M as well. My makeup is very simple - just brown tones, bronzer, blush and lipstick.

The nailpolish is from Petites by Scherer #113 Island Smoothie. I think I got it in New York a couple years ago when I forgot to bring nailpolish... Today, I wore it on my finger and toe nails but I think I like it better on my feet because the result is a bit streaky on my hands. It has this metallic light pinkish finish which is so cute... Have you seen Essie's new metallic line? A little like that but Essie has better quality.

Do you know where I can get those nailpolish racks that all the youtube gurus have? I really want one for my new appartment.

iPad Pens

My favorite item of this year is my gorgeous little iPad (3). I take it everywhere...

The calendar is so much bigger than on my cell phone. It can grasp so much more information. I can read ebooks and papers for my classes, make notes in my pdfs either by typing or handwriting. I do my photo editing on it, as you might have seen :) When I first heard about tablet PCs, I thought I would never need them... but now I can hardly imagine my life without one. I even take notes for my classes or meetings with my advisors. For that handwriting part I bought 10 pens from China. They can be used for capacitive screens. Since resistive screens are operated by pressure, they don't really need pens, anything pointy will do.

Anyway... I bought 10 pens because they were so cheap on ebay (<< click >>), only 2.80 € (3.45$), especially compared to the ridiculous price of 40€ which I found via a short google search. I think that was for the original Stylus Pens but it's not that expensive anymore - I even saw some on Tchibo recently (<< click >>) but still 12.95 € for only one pen... I gave three pens to my friends (2 gold and one blue pen). The rest is somewhere in my purses and on my desk. Since I ordered these pens from Hong Kong, it takes about a month until they got here. German customs are very strict but for such low price items, you don't have to worry about paying for customs.

I think, they are really great. They allow me to have more control over my writing compared to just using my finger. I even sign pdfs with them :) it's so convenient and sooo so much better than printing.

Body Care Products: Dove Go Fresh (Fresh touch)

I ♥♥♥ Dove Go Fresh (Fresh touch) with cucumber and grean tea - the green edition. I got it as a deodorant, shower gel and body lotion. Unfortunately, I don't know where to get the shower gel and body lotion in Germany because I bought them in Switzerland and they are almost empty...

Have you seen them in drugstores? Could you tell me where? 

Maybe I just have bad luck but I never see them in my DM drugstore. Anyway, I love these products for the summer because it's refreshing and cools down my skin longer than any other products. As all dove products, they are also very gentle to my skin but I don't have big issues with my skin anyway.

There's also a soap bar and some liquid hand wash in that line which I will buy, as soon as I move out! ˆ.ˆ I love matching products because I don't have to worry about non-matching scents...

Nail Design: Flowers

This is one of the very few nail design that I can actually do... ˆ.ˆ It is very easy and I love how it accentuates the nails in a cute but nonetheless very femine way. Just find some nice matching colors and start practicing. I learnt this from my Japanese friend whom I met in the US - she's so cute, she's done the nails for a couple girls back then... Nail art in Japan is huge! You can buy sooo many things over there...

Anyway...  You can take any colors you like. I just happen to take the following nail polishes for this nail design:

1. Manhattan Crazy Colours LE #1304
2. Essence Nail Art #05 purple magic
3. Essence Colour&Go #02 White Secret (but with the cleaned brush of purple magic)

Then you can follow these instructions:

1. Start with the base color. 
2. After it's dry, paint the blossoms with a very thin brush - basically they are made of 6 slightly curved lines, starting at the middle of one side of the nail and spreading out to the other side.
3. Fill in those blossoms with another nailpolish, after they are dry.

Of course, you can always add a top coat but I'm just not as patient to wait for another coat to dry. Also, your nail polish with the design on top has to be absolutely dry, otherwise there will be streaks and then you might have wasted your time doing this nail art and have to start all over again... 

Outfit #16 - Salsa

Here's another Salsa outfit. It's great for hot summers without being too revealing. The hot pants are from Orsay. They were on sale last year and I've got them also in white, olive and black (5€ each). The top is from New Yorker. I like how simple it looks from the front - just like a regular tee - and it got all the details in the back.

It's also a great outfit to wear Mac's Russian Red (THE most perfect matte red lipstick on this planet) with simple eye make-up. Sorry, all my pics from my makeup were blurry :(

Btw, I've got new dancing shoes for Salsa and latin social dances - Masha BR21S from the brand Capezio. My boyfriend said it's a great brand for dancing shoes. Since he's a dance teacher, I fully trusted him with that... Otherwise I would have bought Diamant shoes which is also a famous brand for dancing shoes.

Capezio - Masha BR21S in champagne

I bought them on Kleiderkreisel << click >> which is a German website to sell and buy clothes / shoes / accessories / cosmetics. It was my first time buying something but the transaction went well. The girl who sold them to me bought them in size 5.5 US which is supposed to be EUR 35.5 but they were too big for her. I've got a US 6-6.5 (37 EUR size) and they fit perfectly. I got them for 45 € instead of the normal 70 €. For me, it was a great deal. They are comfortable and I've already danced a couple rounds Salsa this week-end...

Alaska Coalfish on Rocket Salad

I have been loving rocket salad recently. With its slightly nutty taste, it's perfect to be served with parmesan shavings and crema di balsamico. After experimenting a little, I found nectarines, tomatos and Alaska coalfish  to be perfect for this summer salad. The sweetness of the nectarines and the crema di balsamico works against the slight bitterness of the rocket salad. You can probably substitute the nectarines with any other fruit but I find it perfect the way it is...

vegeterian

Use the following ingredients for each person, if it is meant to be a main dish:

• 100g rocket salad
• 3 Cherry tomatoes
• 2 nectarines
• fresh parmesan shavings
• crema di balsamico
• salt and pepper to your own liking
• Optional: breaded Alaska coalfish

with Alaska coalfish on top

Trash TV to its fullest

I probably shouldn't even write this post because talking about this new show on TV will give it more attention but it's not like I've got a ton of readers so whatever... I feel like ranting about it!


First, to clear things up: Neither do I own a TV nor do I plan on watching the show. But ever since I've read about this new show on Sat1 ("Auf Brautschau im Ausland" - "Looking for a wife abroad"), I can't hold it anymore... This show is supposed to be for entertainment - a little like "The Bachelor" but with ugly, fat sociopaths, at whom no normal woman with any dignity would even consider to glance. These guys are searching for a woman in a third world country - preferably young and beautiful. How sick is that to watch s.ex t.ourism on TV for entertainment in the evening? I don't think German television has ever been that low... I'm grossed out! Children will even be able to watch that... it's like saying, it's okay to buy your future wife online in a catalogue. WTF! 


I detest people who think they can buy other people - no matter if it's a man or woman. I've met a few of those couples in my life and every f**cking time I get angrier and angrier. Some of them might be nice to their spouses but others behave like they own freaking s.laves... Others get cheated on - and that's when I laugh... It's their own freaking fault...

I am so grateful for being born in a rich country where I will never ever have to marry a man because of money! In my opinion, that's p.rostitution. No matter if it's a poor person from a third world country or a normal person marrying a millionaire - if they get married because of money, it's all the same...

And at last... I'm not sure, if you follow me at that point - but I will tell you a little story because this whole television show reminded me of it... When I was younger, I think there weren't as many Asians in Germany, I was walking downtown, browsing through some stores, when an old guy in his sixties suddenly started to talk to me. He had a beer belly and that certain look in his face, when I get immediately offended... He asked me for the way to some place but obviously thought I came out of a catalogue and was surprised, I spoke German at all and so well also. When he told me he was following me the whole street, I ran away in horror, hiding behind the security of another store and waited until he was gone... CREEPY STALKER... I felt so offended and harrassed just because he talked to me. It's such a long time ago but I still remember like it was yesterday... 

Shiseido Zen

I got the parfume from my boyfriend. It was my Christmas gift ^.^ It's too bad, you can't smell it over the internet but it is amazing! I still need to do the parfume tag from Miss W... But this is my favorite scent!

Here's what they say on their homepage:

A breath of floral freshness layered with amber and wood, conveying sweetness and femininity in a new, modern language. (shiseido.com)

I don't quite agree because I don't smell any flowers... It is very Japanese, I think. It is clear, fresh and reminds me of green tea...

I read that the golden square shape was inspired by Japanese golden room for tea ceremony. That fits quite well to my impression of the scent.

It doesn't last on my skin as long as I hope it would but if I spray it on my hair, it's great because it lasts a whole day... This parfume is not too strong so that it is great for day and night without giving anyone any headache.