On Lights and Remotes and Otherworldly Beings

Since we took few pictures this weekend as Micha and I both got unpleasantly sick - though two separate things, oddly enough, which have us stuck at home today and somewhat weirded out by being home together on a weekday - I figured I'd skip the my-weekend-in-not-so-many-pictures post and talk about something completely random. Well, maybe not completely. Halloween will be here soon, after all...

So we have a ghost, I'm pretty much certain of that. It all started a few months ago when our TV decided to start being finicky. At first we just thought the service sucked - it kind of does - but then, one night, while we were both sprawled across the couch and the remote - or rather, all four remotes, only one of which is really needed - were hanging out merrily on the coffee table, it happened. The channel just...changed. Out of nowhere. Micha and I kind of looked at each other like, did your foot hit the remote...? Did you really want to stop watching Deadliest Catch that bad? (No idea what we were actually watching, but likely that or Ice Pilots late at night.) And then we changed it back and went on with our night.

We didn't think too much of it until it started happening at more frequent intervals. Like, about 1-2 times a week. Or multiple times within the hour. Concurrently, the hallway lights started to behave erratically as well, choosing to turn on and off on a whim, regardless of what the switch told them they should be doing.

Obviously, the only explanation here -that I immediately came up with - was a ghost. We have a ghost. It makes perfect sense - our apartment building is from the early 1900s and it's certainly seen a lot of inhabitants come and go and, very plausibly, kick the bucket during its more than a century of existence.

The funny thing is that the idea of our house ghost has now become so completely quotidian that I totally miss out on the weird looks people give me when I mention him. Can't turn the hall light on when you get up in the middle of the night? Oh, ghost...that's not very nice. Remote won't work and you're stuck watching a political talk show instead of German reruns of the The Big Bang Theory? Oh ghost, why do you have such a faux sophisticated taste in TV programs? A glass fell off the kitchen counter and broke (again)? Oh ghost, you're clumsy too!

And therein lies my probably favorite part about our friendly (at least so far) house ghost: I am no longer blamed for all broken/spilled/misplaced items in the apartment. It's the perfect scapegoat that I never really knew I needed.

(On a side note, I am now somewhat determined to start researching the history of our apartment building. On a scale of 1 - 10, how crazy do you think the German Bürgeramt workers will think I am when I call to inquire? On second thought...no, don't answer that.)

Photo by Kirill Vorontsov, pinned by Tina

October Goals

So, I have some random and *very lofty* goals that I've set for myself this October. Mostly to help me ring in the fall season, force me to celebrate the fall holidays that Germany likes to ignore, and to get some frickin' stuff done already.

Love her, pinned by Lauren

{1} Watch one horror movie a week. I know, I know, ridiculous, right? But what's Halloween without horror movies?! And since we likely won't celebrate much this year - mid-week holidays make me sad like that - I plan to celebrate in my own way all month by indulging in one of my favorite past times from our teenage days. I'm already off to a good start, too. Snakes on a Plane was on TV on Tuesday - and you bet your ass I watched that ridiculousness - and Paranormal Activity is on as we speak! Or type or whatever...

{2} Plan a Fall Day of Fun with friends. Prep a yummy pumpkin dish and probably a fun fall cocktail or two, go apple-picking or to a pumpkin fest, and just enjoy a day out in the brisk weather with some favorite people before retiring home with them for a yummy seasonal meal and silly talk. (Totally stealing Liz's idea here - thanks, Liz!)

{3} Plan Thanksgiving. I'd like to have the invitation out sooner than later (and our save-the-date even sooner - yes, our Turkey Day party does require one!) and a simple color scheme to decorate with decided on early.

{4} On a non-fall-related note, I need to start running more again - I fell into another running-sucks phase this summer that it's time to snap out of - and October is going to be the month, I can feel it. (I'm already of to a good start, so yay :)

{5} And lastly, one that requires Micha's cooperation. My big plan for our apartment beautification this month is to plain and simply agree on a damn type of coffee table that we want to have so we can finally replace the massive one that takes up our entire living room (more or less) and that we've both grown to loathe. (Any tips on getting a man to voice his opinion on coffee tables beyond "no, I don't like that" is more than welcome!)

Should be doable, no? I'll keep you posted.

My Weekend in Pictures

The weekend was a relaxed one with not too many pictures that culminated in poor Micha getting sick (booo). Friday we hung out with Kerstin, Hendryk, and Hanna (who's  head got so much bigger! In a super adorable look-I-can-hold-my-own-head-and-glare-at-you-now kinda way :) We hadn't seen them in quite a while since our vacations overlapped, so it was nice to catch up leisurely over steaks,  homemade ice cream (my treat for Hendryk's sweet tooth), and whiskey (for the menfolk; I, of course, had to drive).

On Saturday we ran a few necessary errands - including spontaneously buying a new wireless printer at long last! - and then I embarked on another weird prettify-the-home project while Micha came to the slow realization that his sore throat wasn't going away anytime soon.

For no real good reason at all, beyond the fact that Natalie, at one point, had bought me a couple of these cute little spice jars and I immediately became completely enamored of them, I decided that we had to replace all of our unattractive, mismatching spice containers with the cute glass guys. And add chalkboard labels, but of course.

That night, despite Micha's impending cold, we headed deep into the 'burbs for our friend Ivi's 30th birthday party, which appeared to be the event of the month out there judging by the random neighborhood boys who brought chairs out into the street and just sat there, drinking beers and creepily watching us through the window. I took this as a sign that parties don't happen there terribly often and that Ivi and Jan did a pretty good job of throwing one - dj with cheesy '90s hits and laser lights included.

Sunday was for hockey, as most Sundays should be. The Stanley cup visited Berlin this weekend - since the Eisbären are partners teams with the LA Kings (they have the same owner) - as did the 6 cups that the Eisbären have won in the German league over the past 8 years. Here's hoping their streak continues this year (we have our doubts)!

My favorite moment of the day was this rainbow that made a very welcome appearance during one of the breaks. I'd like to think it foreshadowed the victory to come - which had seemed unlikely at the moment as they were losing and Hamburg was playing better - and the sheer joy we were all about to experience when the Eisbären tied up the game with 0.01 seconds left in the 3rd. Can't beat that kind of suspense! (They then won in a shoot-out.)

We ended the day and the weekend with dinner at our newest Italian food haunt (well, Micha's been going there forever, but our previous fave on Friedrichstraße closed, sniffle sniffle, so we've rediscovered this place), Il Pane e le Rose.

All in all, a lovely and productive fall weekend. And how was yours?

Random Tiny Home Improvements

I often do weird domestic things on a day off and yesterday was no different (holidays on a Wednesday are weird, by the way. You get essentially two Mondays and two Fridays to your work week when really, it'd be better to just give us the whole week off to celebrate German Reunification, am I right?). Micha was only around for half the day (poor guy had to leave for Munich to go to Oktoberfest with his company. My tiny violin is playing a wee tune for him...) so I got up to what I usually get up to when I have the place to myself: opened a bottle of wine, turned on Hulu, and starting reorganizing random things around the apartment that didn't really need it but also kind of did.

First off: new binder labels. A couple years ago, I got giddy about the fact that you could put all sorts of cool pictures on the sides of those ugly two-pronged binders that all Germans have no less than two shelves worth of - seriously, I have no idea how they have so many papers to organize into so many separate categories - and went a little bit crazy ordering said sticker labels from Amazon and applying them to all of our folders (yes, half of which are mine now and they mostly hold about three pieces of paper in each but hey, I try to blend in where I can). Fast forward a couple years and I finally realized, with some not-so-subtle commentary from Micha who, and I quote, "hated those stupid stickers," that they were starting to make our office side of the guest room look a wee bit crazypants.

It was just starting to be a lot of color and pattern for such a small space. The ugly mismatching bookshelves don't help but that's a battle for another day.

So after strongly considering using some of my chalkboard contact paper - my favorite obsession - I rationally decided that white would be a better color there and opted for some whiteboard contact paper. I do love erasable labels. Somehow the thought of putting permanents words on the sides of those ugly binders just doesn't sit well with me. Et voilà.

If I had at all decent handwriting, these would look a lot cooler

Before and after - not perfect, but an improvement, most certainly

Next, to continue my whiteboard kick, I realized/remembered - four years after having built our kitchen from scratch - that our backsplash was actually from the office section of Ikea and in reality, should be used for whiteboard purposes. Enter my new recipe/measurement-conversion/random-greeting board:

I used to keep my cups-to-grams measurement conversion papers (a necessity when baking abroad) on two tiny little note papers hung on the oven lid/backsplash thingy with a magnet, even after an accident involving the oven steam vent somewhat mangled them. The temperature and butter conversions alone have sufficed for me for a surprisingly long time, but I'll be happy to add more soon to my new list.

The only remaining conversion units left from my sad little lists, soon to be added to.

And finally (something that involves no whiteboard markers!), two trips to Ikea and two broken frames later (that we still have yet to replace), I got one of the three new posters I ordered from fab.de framed and hung on the wall, with a bit of elbow grease and only a tiny amount of blood (of course).

Micha refers to it as our National Socialist propaganda print. Not exactly what I was going for...

Those two aren't going to stay together forever. One of the other prints fits better with my awesome These are Things LA map but hey, this was the first one I framed and if I left it laying around too long, I think we all know by now that the frame wouldn't have lasted more than a couple days before mysteriously toppling over and breaking to pieces all by itself. 

Pantone Fabulosity

Just saw these babies on sale at fab.de today - Pantone canvas prints. It took all my willpower not to buy them up in these five colors to display my unabashed love for bright colors in our living room for all to see. (Though the 465€ price tag on the big ones also helped there.)

As if my German friends don't think my obsession with color is bonkers enough at this point...

Psst! If you want some of your own, get them at Pantone Universe Art (they deliver all over Europe)!

My Weekend in Pictures

After last weekend's crazy (/awesome) Disneyland adventure, I only had one simple goal for this one: bake a pie. Yup, that simple. And really, the only reason I even wanted to do that was because Micha randomly told me on Thursday night, "I wouldn't mind if you made a pie this weekend." When you live with a boy who doesn't like sweets, you jump at any opportunity you can get to bake something new and not have to eat it alone!

First, of course, there was Friday night hockey, where the full moon totally stole the show.

And I realize that I just showed you a picture of trash cans, but on Saturday, I looked out the window and was pleasantly surprised to see that our courtyard has at long last been fully revamped! New enclosure for the trash (which equals more bike space on the side) and lots of newly planted plants and flowers. I didn't know the goofy construction guys I chat with every morning had it in them to make this little square of space so much prettier (you should have seen what a hot mess it was before). 

Since fall made its inexorable debut last week, I figured an apple pie would be the best way to ring in the new season (I used this recipe from the Kitchn). I still have a long way to go in perfecting my pie-making technique (not least of which would include getting a new, smaller glass pie tin) but despite the soggy, uncooked bottom, it was still mighty delicious (I think freshly ground cinnamon totally helped, but I really should use more next time).

Side note: when I started making this, I actually realized halfway through that I somehow had no cinnamon. I have been living without cinnamon for probably two years now and only just realized. That's weird, right? I think that's weird for a baking (especially of the Christmas cookies variety) lover, but we also have had jars of Nutella go bad on us three years in a row cuz we didn't eat it in time, so perhaps weirdness just abounds here.

I was conveniently able to bring the pie over to Micha's momma's house for the dreaded Kaffee und Kuchen hour; which sweetened the deal to the point that we weren't even dreading our most despised German tradition. Ironically enough, this was the day his momma chose to put a bowl of Hackepeter out on the table, too. Just in case.

We finished off the night with martinis and gin-tonics at home while watching a ridiculous Dan Akroyd/Chevy Chase movie from the '90s (ever heard of Nothing But Trouble? It's completely insane. Words wouldn't do it justice. And also features a very young and adorable Demi Moore.). We had planned to go to a movie (either this one or this one), but couldn't make up our minds and then our new 1.75 liter of Bombay Sapphire (from the New Hampshire liquor store) was calling our names and well, so it goes. (Kai's remark on the outcome of our evening when we told him: "well that sounds good, too. But if you're still spending your Saturdays alone with your bottles of gin in 10 years, I may start to worry." :)

On Sunday, we headed back to the O2 World (this time, sadly, for a loss) with a planned stop at Ikea ahead of time (to return the two frames I bought and then managed to break less than a week later - I don't really expect a refund, but what the heck am I supposed to do with them at home?). I say planned because it was planned by me, which means it of course didn't pan out. I may have mixed up the weekends in which Ikea was open on Sunday. Oopsie poodles! (Like anyone's surprised.) But getting out of the house earlier had the advantage of getting us into the sunshine before the game, so you can't complain about that.

And just as suddenly, it's Monday again... But at least we've got Wednesday off this week for German Reunification Day - wahoo! - so really, it's kind of almost like Thursday today... right?

And how was your weekend?

Travel Thursdays: Boston Sister Meetup {Part 1}

We did have other folks with us on this trip - quite a lot of fun friends, actually - but I planned our 3.5 days in Boston on this past little vacation we took completely around getting to hang out with Natalie and her dude in our beloved college town.

It started off with a home-brought snack in the Paris airport (least favorite airport in the world, but nothing some Bockwurst, stuffed olives, and a can of Heineken can't solve!)...

That's Alyssa massive present of chocolate hanging out with us on the left!

...followed by the most empty flight I have ever been on, I kid you not. Best. Thing. Ever.

Man, am I a prepared flyer with my way-too-tightened seatbelt, or what?

I'd only ever once before gotten an entire row to myself on a flight (back when I flew from Italy, where I had studied abroad, back to New York for two days, then home to LA for two more days before jetting off to New Zealand for two weeks to visit Nat - yes, it was as insane as it sounds. But I miraculously got my own row on the flight from LA to my stopover in Australia and it could not have been better timing or more glorious.) and have dreamed of reliving that ever since. So you can imagine my joy when we realized that on this flight, each person in our section had a good 3-4 empty rows to choose from. (No joke!) An added bonus came when the adorable French flight attendant (we flew Air France) giddily told us, "I don't know why it's so empty but it's wonderful! Enjoy it! I'll break out the champagne as soon as we're in the air!" And he did. Hats off to you, Air France man.

When we arrived in Boston at long last, Alyssa and Erik graciously picked us up from the airport after already having picked up our friend Sara, whom they'd never even met, from the airport two hours before us; that's how awesome they are. And even more to their credit: they let the three of us house crash that night and then put up with six (questionably sane) house guests the next night when Natalie, F, and then later that night, Liz, all joined us for some Beantown shenanigans.

We spent our Friday sister day showing our troop of Europeans - my two Germans and her Italian :) - the swankier side of Boston, starting downtown at Faneuil Hall and following the Freedom Trail backwards towards Boston Common and up through the ever lovely Beacon Hill (which Sara was completely smitten with).

Nat had the brillant idea to stop for drinkies in the Liberty Hotel, a stunning luxury hotel converted from an old prison.

Sadly, we were an hour too early for the bar, but least we got to admire the stunning design of the place.

After stocking up with supplies at the grocery store - and giving Sara her first American giant-ass supermarket experience - we headed back to Alyssa's and Erik's for a mini Scotland reunion with Mike and Deanna, where we ladies caught up on gossip...

(Sorry for that first one, Nat, but the second one's pretty unattractive of me, so at least we're even!)

...while the menfolk barbecued in the backyard...

...and then managed to burn everything as they concentrated more on the copious amounts of beer each of them brought than the food.

The Germany-Italy love pose

And that with a professional chef in the midsts! But hey, we still wolfed down the blackened asparagus and well-done/crispy marinated steaks, so we must have had enough spritzes in us, too, by the end.

The next day we, tragically, had to leave Alyssa and Erik's since they were heading to a wedding for the weekend. And as much as we didn't want to go - and could have spent a lot more time with those two! - at least we were headed next to the most adorable B&B in existence...

More to come!