British Chic

when we first saw this photo on pinterest, my boyfriend and i fell in love with the idea of having a striped wallpaper in our hallway. tomorrow our laura ashley wallpaper will finally be hung. even though the color of the stripes isn't identical with the color of the wallpaper on the inspirational picture we are more than excited to see the final result. we want the whole apartment to look exceptional. especially i will not be satisfied with everything that's average. in my opinion, the hallway is as important as any other room. the hallway is the first thing visitors will see and it will therefore leave a strong impression.

laura ashley wallpaper. although it doesn't look like expected (we ordered the wallpaper online) i love the look and feel of it. the wallpaper features pearlescent inks which make it more than unusual.

a gold zara home vase. there's nothing better than fresh flowers in a beautiful vase.

 an ikea shoe cabinet. i've already put together half of the pieces today.

black photo frames from ikea. i cannot wait to put b/w holiday pictures in these frames...

 a scent surround diffuser by jo malone. on of my all-time favorite scents: english pear and freesia. fresh and a little flowery.

Back to School

even though i have no courses left to attend there's still this wonderful master thesis to write. i keep pushing it aside but i don't even know why. it would make me feel so much better to hand these pages in already. maybe a new laptop and some jazz music would do the trick. or maybe i just need to sit in our new apartment to finally start writing. let's not get ahead of ourselves. apartment first. master thesis second.

neoprene laptop case by marc by marc jacobs. a stylish laptop needs a stylish laptop case.

jazz café cd from zara home. jazz music is so soothing...

notepad from muji. i'll have to write down everything that pops into my mind.

sterling silver pen by tiffany & co. it's kind of oldschool to use a pen and a piece of paper for notes but i'm a visual person and it helps me to stay focused.

macbook air by apple. what can i say? windows, go to hell! haha.

Quanto costa?

'how much is it?' or 'quanto costa?', this is probably the most important sentence in a shopping metropolis like milan. last year when i went to the states i knew exactly what i wanted to buy and where i would find it. therefore, i've decided to do a little research for milan beforehand. i've selected 10 shops that my sister and i need to visit the next days.

1. brandy melville. thank you sophie for telling me about this brand! i love the style of the clothes.

2. & other stories. a h&m affiliated company with a lot of edgy clothing. probably the shop i'm looking forward to most.

3. sephora. my favorite cosmetics store.

4. kenzo. ever seen the nice new era x kenzo baseball caps? i want to try one! so much better than ordering stuff like this online...

5. ladurée. a parisian macaroon store. however, why wait for our next paris trip when i can get these sweets in milan too?

6. marc by marc jacobs. marc, you are my hero!

7. zara home. zara home offers the nicest accessories for your bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen. you can also order everything online but it's always great to see the things in real life first.

8. oysho. i want a bathrobe! as the weather went from summer to winter in a day.

9. abercrombie & fitch. i didn't buy anything from a&f in nyc but i might find something from abercrombie in milan.

10. muji. awesome japanese items for decoration.

happy shopping everyone!

[From: me] [To: me]

a girl needs to do what a girl needs to do! you want flowers for your birthday? buy them! you want to drink champagne on your special day? then who is keeping you from getting a bottle for yourself? when i went to new york last year i wanted to have a piece of jewelry from tiffany & co. so i went there and bought a bracelet instead of waiting for someone to get it for me. that's why i chose six presents for my twenty-sixth birthday that i would get for myself (if i had all that money... haha).

1. a classic louis vuitton bracelet. i've been thinking about this bracelet for some time... it's so simple, yet so sophisticated.

2. daniel wellington watch with an interchangable leather band. oh... i remember this black fossil watch my ex-boyfriend once gave me as a present. the daniel wellington watches are so different from my old fossil watch. they are more feminine and less rock'n'roll. in my opinion a watch needs to reflect your personality and my personality sure has changed a lot compared to 2008.

3. an elegant baseball cap by j. crew. ever since seeing chiara from the blonde salad with baseball caps, i've been drawn to these accessories again.

4. a white ipad mini. not necessary? maybe. but so convenient for online newspaper articles and instagram picture feeds, for ebooks and general internet surfing.

5. shiseido zen eau de parfum. 'everything zen, everything zen? i don't think so.' because i need a new perfume soon. thank god my babe showed me this eau de parfum two years ago. now i'm finally ready to buy and wear it.

6. a bottle of moët & chandon impérial champagne. what can i say about present no. six? keep calm and drink champagne!

Kitchen Planner

have you ever had to plan a kitchen? if not: consider yourself lucky! deciding on kitchen cabinets, countertops, the size of fridge, dishwasher and co. is one of the hardest things i have done so far. what i also realized today: the kitchen is the most expensive room in the house. i paid 150 euros for dishes today at ikea. and you know that the swedish kitchenware can be considered cheap. there are still so many other things to buy... pots and pans, knives and cooking spoons. i have selected 5 kitchen accessories that i desperately want in our kitchen.

1. a kenwood blender. a few months ago i discovered the greatness of homemade smoothies. this type of blender has a 750 watt engine and can even crush ice.

2. herb garden set by auerhahn. these are the most elegant and classic herb pots i have seen so far. and a definite plus: glassfibre wicks supply the plants with water. no green thumb required!

3. a trendy nordlux kitchen lamp.

4. grüne erde spoons made of olive wood. they are perfect for organic cooking. use wood instead of plastic in the kitchen, my advice.

5. glass storage jars. i bought mine at ikea today.

Seven Christmas Presents

i really, really tried finding a stupid master thesis topic yesterday but failed miserably. then i thought: why not do something i like? yesterday was the first advent sunday and even though i'm not in a christmas mood yet (omg!) i like thinking about presents. i would love to have those things for me but i'm also a very giving person which means that i already have some ideas what to get for my loved ones. of course, i wouldn't post that here. haha.

1. cos merino kimono. as i'm always freezing in the morning when i get out of bed it would be nice to have a dressing gown someday. it doesn't have to be this particular one although i have to admit that i'm obsessed with wool right now. a few weeks ago my little sister got me a cos lamb wool scarf and i've been wearing it non-stop ever since.

2. new one rosé gold-plated stainless steel necklace. i already own enough delicate necklaces...

3. louis vuitton calendar. i've wanted this calendar for 3 years now and this time i'll finally buy it. it's completely overpriced, i'm aware of that but all the other calendars i've looked at just don't measure up to this lv version. besides, i'll probably use the calendar for the rest of my life anyway.

4. yoga kula lessons. in august i tried yoga for the first time and i enjoyed it from head to toe, especially in this yoga studio in the 1st district of vienna. however, taking yoga classes is very expensive. 

5. sabrina dehoff mountain high bracelet. i found the brand some days ago on another blog (can't remember which one, though. shame on me!) and i love jewellery with a creative twist.

6. canon 650d. i need a real camera!

7. naked basics from urban decay. looking at it right now makes me realize that this one doesn't come with a brush. oh no! i guess i prefer the naked2 eye shadow palette even though it has been on the market for months.

seems like the 'christkind' has to win the lottery this year.

xoxo, s