I wanted to start (or at least try) doing monthly reading round-ups, without writing you an essay on every single book – although I sometimes would love to do exactly that – and instead will tell you briefly what the book is about and what I thought/if I’d recommend it. Sound good?
Didn’t I only just manage to demolish all remaining (slightly stale) Christmas cookies? And now I’m baking more cookies? Yes.
I need something sweet with my tea in the afternoon, so I came up with this recipe. I seem to be kind of obsessed with figs lately – … [re: my Paris x London blogpost and the slightly weird purchase I made in London/Belgravia.]
So, I wanted to bake cookies with figs and also add some nuts – I went with walnuts in the end – and created these vegan fig and walnut cookies. 🍪
We always try to escape from the war zone that is Berlin around New Year’s Eve to a country where fireworks are either not being sold, (are preferably illegal), or people have enough sense to not set their money on fire and turn their city into a rubbish dump in the process. We went to Paris this time, spent NYE there and then travelled to London. Both cities aren’t new to us. When I’m already familiar with a city, I don’t feel pressured to do the whole sightseeing marathon, and instead just wander around, spend hours in bookstores or reading in cafés, saunter, be une flaneuse. Also, after Christmas and around NYE especially, I don’t have the energy to be a hyperactive-keen-to-see-new-places kind of tourist. So, here are just a few (of my favourite or new to me) places we went to and some things I bought there. A travel scrapbook, if you will.
Long time no see. 🌝 I didn’t feel very inspired in the past few weeks and thought I’d give myself some time off blogging around Christmas and New Year and dive back in with something light and lovely in January. Like skincare. 💆🏻♀️ 🧴
We spent NYE and my birthday in Paris and London and although it wasn’t significantly colder there than in Berlin, my skin was SO DRY to a point where my face actually hurt. Maybe it was the water, the airplane aircon, or the dry air in hotels, museums, shops – I don’t know. In any case, my skin was feeling rough and these products helped me a lot. ✨
It’s going to be the first Christmas without my mum this year. I haven’t celebrated at homehome for the past two years, but my mum as well as the rest of my family have nevertheless always been a part of my Christmas. Not as much of the holiday itself, but of the feeling Christmas gives me – beginning in late November all throughout January.
I grew up with very many Christmas traditions – a lot of them I liked, some of them I didn’t or simply grew out of. Not because I grew up necessarily, but because I changed over the years – as we all do.
I’ve been writing this blogpost in my head for months and never got to a point where I felt it was ready to actually type it up. I’ve wanted it to be a “complete” guide to Berlin’s (2nd hand English) book shops, but when you’re researching something and try to compile a comprehensive list, you’ll never be able to get it done.
