Happiness Review #26 & Coffeeshares

November 17, 2018November 17, 2018 - Tobia 4 Comments

Good Morning you all,

hope your week was a wonderful one. Grab a cup of coffee (or tea) and sit down a while and let’s have a chat.

Advents Calender

My weeks been busy however I didn’t get any work done that brings money in. I guess it’s ok for now but I need to get going double next week. I had to catch up on my Christmas crafting for the advents calendar I participate in. Man some things didn’t work out quite how I wanted so I spent lots of time getting it done in time. The perfectionist in me is not hundred percent satisfied but more was just not possible. Now that I am done with this project I am thinking about participating in Julias a Secret Santa #StadtLandWichteln2018.

Advents Wreath

I have been collecting ideas for this years advents wreath. I usually make two wreath a year – one I am gifting my mother. It’s our little tradition. I get an advent calendar, she gets a wreath. Hers will be brown/golden this year with a nature base. I have that one pretty much figured out. I am not so sure about mine though. I have another interesting idea for a wreath made of recycled packaging waste however I am not sure if I will actually like it. But I still want to try out the idea. I guess I have enough fall backs if it looks ugly as hell. In case you also need inspiration I gathered a list of advent wreath inspiration of the last years.

Cleaning Extravaganza

Inspired by my previous post I had a motivational push to get the apartment deep cleaned. So I spent the entire day yesterday doing everything – hence the missed post yesterday because I just couldn’t lift a finger at midnight. Now I am having lots of aches but a wonderful shiny apartment. I even managed to clean chunks of my craft room so I could vacuum there. Rarely ever happens because it’s so packed with projects laying everywhere.

Lunch Meetings

Also I had two fun lunch meetings with sister and neighbour this week. My sister and I met at this deli close to her work. The food was really nice, the location beautiful but it was so good to catch up with her. Haven’t seen her in a while. She also told me a story about something that really shook me. Sometimes crime is closer than we think. So please take care you all. And yesterday during my Feather-Dusting- Dance I took a break to have lunch with my neighbour and her new born. It was nice catching up. Now the is staying at home for a while we see each other every other week or so to take a walk in the park or have lunch together. I guess lunch breaks could be worth.

Weekend Plans

As for the weekend ahead. I’ll be spending tonight with my sister at “Santas Workshop” to pack up gifts for “Christmas in a shoe box“. I am excited about that. I’ll share my experience with you tomorrow if you like so stop by. On another note I will probably have to write a few blog posts or at least take the pictures so I can make them happen. Because you guys it’s getting dark early and I don’t want to post without photos.

Now let me know what you have been up to. I’ll head over to Lecy, Eclectic Alli and Denise to catch up now. Maybe I see you there.

Happy weekend,

Tobia

Disclaimer: This post contains links to other Blogs. Due to current (German) law this needs to be labelled advertising. Furthermore I have linked a few of my older articles because I believe you might enjoy them.

Happiness Review & CoffeeShares

November 10, 2018November 12, 2018 - Tobia 10 Comments

Another week in the books. Can you believe how this year has flown by? I am a bit amazed, scared, dazzled and surprised. I mean I have had so many plans and now it seems like I won’t get it all done. On the other hand so much has happen in 2018 already.

Cologne & Blogst

Just last weekend was really amazing with me attending the BLOGST conference. So much energy in one room and so much motivation when coming out of it. And then it’s like a little depression when you hit your daily life and realize you need to catch your breath.
But even before I attended the conference I had a two hour window (carefully planned) to finally see the Cologne Cathedral. It was somewhat a lifelong dream and on my bucket list. I am amazed by sacred buildings and looking at the architectural structure just leaves me speechless. I managed to be there with sunset and it was just so beautiful. I can’t show you a photo with the perfect light because I just enjoyed.

Fall Foliage & Light

Speaking of light – this fall is just amazing. So many moments there is such beautiful light. It seems like the foliage is brighter and more colourful, the sunsets are more ruminant. I don’t know if this has something to do with the warmer temperatures we had in October but it sure is so beautiful. The other day I decided to skip the last 2 subway stations and walk home because it was just so gorgeous. Those are moments to cherish and I can not imagine living in a place with no seasons.

Christmas Crafting

On another note I relized this week that I am running late with my DIY advent calendar. As in the past years I am participating with 23 fellow crafters in an DIY calendar. We are all making one item 24x and then swipe-swaping around so that in the end everyone receives a full set of a calendar. I have to turn in my packages with #14 by November 16th so I really needed to speed things up a bit. It is a lot of work however it is an even bigger treat when I can open a package everyday in December. So much love and creativity went into it. Have you ever participated in something like that?

NaBloPoMo

I’ve been busing writing blog posts every minute of the day. I like a challenge and here I am doing the daily writing again. I haven’t much pre-planned so I have to come up with something on a daily basis. Also November seems to be a website-kinda month for me. I usually tinker on my blog a bit. Try some new things, try to update stuff, lean some new tech things. It’s always good, but I am soooo slow in all this. I get easily annoyed because I just don’t get it and then I get tired and almost fall asleep at the screen. Anyone else suffering from exhaustion by boredom? However this is probably what my weekend is going to look like. Spending a bit more time writing, reading, tinkering.

While I finish sipping my coffee I will read the #WeekendCoffeeShares and then hop over to Denise.

Happy weekend,

Tobia

Alphabet of Happiness

March 20, 2018June 27, 2018 - Tobia Leave a comment

[Advertising • unpaid mentioning of stuff]

Hello again,

I started out writing my journal ~~every day~~ almost daily since 2016. It was all to keep track of the small little things of happiness happening left and right while hassling through life and being a responsible bill paying adult.

So for #internationaldaofhappiness I figured why not combine some of those things and do a post and get all the happiness out of me. Making a list and what better way to make a list than do it in order. So here is my alphabet of happiness.

A … ASPARAGUS season because it is one of the few things you can not get year round and I always look forward to it. Same with strawberries!

B…BERLIN. When I see the tv tower my heart skips a bit. It’s where I belong.

C…COUCH DAYS. Because you can’t run around all the time.

D… DRAWING because if I’m lucky I slip in a mind of total concentration and forget time and space. Also happens with some other crafting.

E…E♥︎♥︎♥︎ aka Mr. ♥︎ somehow he manages to make me laugh even when I’m in a really crappy mood.

F… FRESH AIR to breath.

G…GRAVEYARDS hardly any other place were you can feel so much love and appreciation in the world, were I get grounded and get a feel for the important things in life. It is so peaceful and quiet.

H…HUGGS. Because it’s just nice.

I…IDAHO I fell in love with the landscape at first glance, some of the people as weird as they may be and I made some of the best memories there. Coming back now feels a bit like coming home.

J… JEWELRY mainly my handmade things. It always makes me feel complete wearing earrings.

K… KEKSE & KUCHEN ok I have to cheat and put some German in here but cookies & cake can’t be missed. It’s my go to when being sad (I know bad habit but still better than smoking or drinking), baking is fun and I love to try new recipe and combine different ones. So yes, happy!

L… LOVE I mean who doesn’t like to be loved and appreciated.

M… MARATHON of binge watching a new series.

N… NO MIGRAINE need I say more?!

O… OUTDOOR activities. Unfortunately I do them not nearly often enough. But the fresh air when taking a walk, the wind in my hair when riding the bike, the smells…

P…PEANUTBUTTER and that is a huge surprise. Because before 1999 I didn’t even know that existed. That is when I first set foot to the USA. I despised it my entire stay there. Only when I got homesick I bought myself a jar and was hooked. Crazy how that goes.

Q…QUIETNESS.

R…READING. New found old hobby. Lets be friends on Goodreads.

S…SNOW Fluffy, white and beautiful. What is not to love about it. And yes I believe I can smell snow just like Lorelei Gilmore. And I do get out when it happens, At four in the morning if need be.

T…TRAVEL. Because it is always nice to discover new things and explore. Makes you so much more tolerable.

U… UN-INTERUPTED sleep. Not waking up every time there is some sound outside – magic! Sleeping past 7am even better!

V… VALET. Usually I use the public transport or my bike to get places. But ever since last year when I started working in Düsseldorf part time Mr. 🖤 is always picking me up at the train when I arrive close to midnight. Makes my heart jump.

W… WATER. I realized in the last couple years that water makes me happy. So I would love living at the water front. A lake or a river or a bay or whatever tiny bit of water. It just has immediate calming effect. My plan: win the lottery. Move to a waterfront home. Totally manageable.

X… XMAS what else. Everyone reading along longer than one post probably knows it is my favorite time of year. If you happen to be new here. Stay and enjoy. And if you need to get into the mood go check out my advent & christmas collection.

Y…YOGA. If I ever get around to do it I feel good afterwards.

Z…ZEN TEA. I just discovered this new tea and it is to die for. Seriously.

Now who thought that wasn’t fun. Feel free to join in the in and share your list. Link back so I can read along.

Happy day to you,

Tobia

WOCHEN(GLÜCK)-RÜCKBLICK :: MY HAPPINESS REVIEW #25

November 18, 2017 - Tobia 4 Comments

It is time for a new happiness review. I just saw the last one is from January. Not that there hasn’t been any happiness here it just didn’t find its way on the blog.

The last week was really stressful for me and still there were happy moments.

It all started with coming home Sunday night after a weekend at Blogst. I have already wrote about it last Sunday and shared my DIY here. So I won’t go into detail. But it did make me happy. I saw some people from last year and some really good conversations. I also remember one where I actually talked about my day job and while doing so realized how much passion was involved. Hadn’t had that in a long time. Feels good.

Most of the week I was really busy with work but I was happy being able to work from home this week and not be in Dusseldorf. It is just different when sleeping in your own bed and drinking your own coffee. Not to mention that Mr. ❤︎ is coming home at night. And right here was another happy moment: laughing and joking around. Makes my heart skip.

On Wednesday I met my old boss for lunch. It was nice to catch up and talk and enjoy some healthy food.

I had to “force” myself to get up from the desk and go outside for a bit. So I took a quick walk over the cemetery. I was there when twilight creeped in and it was mystical. You could see the grave candles flicker, wind whispering in the trees and I felt the love from all the graves ready for “Totensonntag”. And then a fox crossed my way. I think I need to go back.

I also participated in an DIY advent calendar again this year and I was really busing getting everything assembled and out the door by yesterday. But while it was a bit stressful in the end it still made me realize how close the Holiday Season is and this is – as you well know – my favorite time of year. Here is a secret: Tomorrow I share my annual advent wreath tutorial! And if you like check out all the previous wreath ideas and more.

Now I am looking forward spending some relax time on the couch and sleep and hang with Mr. ❤︎ and doing bit of blog work and reading some blogs along the way.

What are your plans?

Happy Saturday,

Tobia

MerkenMerken

Let’s celebrate: International Day of Happiness

March 20, 2017March 19, 2017 - Tobia 2 Comments

I recently learned that March 20th marks the International Day of Happiness. It was initiated by the United Nations recognizing happiness as one of humans life goals and was first celebrated in 2013.

While I appreciate that happiness is taking a front seat in global politics I am a bit baffled that it has only been acknowledged four years ago.

However there is a whole movement behind it and you can sign up here for a free happiness guide, a kids pack and a study on world happiness. And there are ten posters to print out.

In the end of 2015 I realized that the happy moments in my life are there but I do tend to ignore or forget them. So since January 2016 I write a daily happiness journal. It made me realize that there are much more happy moments, that they are usually small, that I am still not mindful enough to catch them all…

Today I want to share some of those moments with you:

Early morning sunshine in my living room
The smell of fresh coffee
The smell of fresh air
The smell of snowflakes in crisp winter air
Dancing snowflakes
The sound of leaves in the wind
A day without migraines
A cup of my favorite blend of tea
The joy of reading a book
Being in the flow while doing something e.g. those easter eggs or taking photographs
Absolut quietness
A good nights sleep
No back pain
A call from the godchild
A fun letter in the mail
The joy of like minded people (is anyone going to a blogging event? I am thinking about The Hive in May?!)
A yummy piece of cake
Beautiful flowers
Something I made
Laughter
Goofing around with Mr. ♥
Summer BBQ with friends
Learning something new in a class/workshop
The joy of traveling
Sitting by the water

If you start thinking about those little things you can go on and on and on. Fun thing is that after I wrote my list I check out the mentioned research and I listed quite a few things that the study defined in finding happiness.

But now I am interested: what would you would put in the list? Let me know in the comments.

Happy International Day of Happiness,