New years resolutions.

To be honest, I think new years resolutions are crap. If you want to change something, do it right away & don't use the new year as an excuse. Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." And I agree with him.

Break-ups and self-respect

He is gone. There is nothing you can do to change it. You have to deal with it and move on. However, it's not such an easy thing to do. There is this one episode of How I Met Your Mother where Robin Scherbatsky has the same problem. She sees her ex-boyfriend on TV, and is instantly reminded of their tough break-up. She gets drunk,  calls him and leaves a voicemail saying "I'm soo gonna kill you!" And of course she regrets it the next day, but what's done is done.  Not only did she lose her self-respect by threatening her ex, but she also showed that she was not strong enough to resist the urge of calling him. I am sure she is not the only woman in history who has acted like that. 

After a break-up, why do we lose our self-control?
We have loved and we have lost. Mostly, it doesn't even matter who has ended the relationship. It hurts and makes us wonder over and over again what went wrong. Analyzing everything we have said and done won't bring them back, though. It's okay to take some time to get over the hurt, to lock ourselves up at home, wear the same old gym pants for weeks, do not shower regularly, eat junk food, listen to corny lovesongs and just cry. Moaning is absolutely okay up to a certain point, but when your life starts going down and you cannot seem to get back to your daily routine, it is time for an INTERVENTION! Maybe we have lost someone we truly loved, but we still have our self-respect and we should not lose that either. So here are some things that should prevent you from making a fool of yourself:
- whatever you do, do NOT call him, DON'T leave any voicemails, no  matter what you have to say.
- don't show up at his apartement.
- don't send him letters, e-mails, text messages, e.g.

Just try to find your peace. I know it's hard, but always keep in mind that you will be able to look into the mirror without being ashamed of yourself.
There is this great book called It's Called a Break-Up Because It's Broken: The Smart Girl's Break-Up Buddy written by Greg Behrendt, the author of He is Just Not That into You. It is funny and helpful at the same time, giving you the kind of support you need in those tough times.
Order here.
Good luck!

giving or receiving?

People are all after presents these days. This makes me wonder what actually makes them happier, giving or receiving? I like both, although I probably prefer giving. There is no better feeling than making someone smile. :) What do you think?

Looking forward to it.

This movie deals with the issues and insecurities people have when they realize they are growing older. It happens very often, especially in some business (e.g. the model biz oder dance buisness)...

Why is it so hard letting go?

I've got an old pair of Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers. I've worn them to almost every occasion during the last years: to concerts, when I went shopping / was hanging out, to gym class, etc. Accordingly, they also look like that, namely worn out. 

And although I have about a gazillion other pairs of shoes, I can't bring myself to throw them away. Two pairs are even new Converse shoes, but still I keep the old, ragged up pair. 

     This leads me to one question: Why do we keep holding on to something that we should have let go a long time ago? It does not only happening with shoes, clothes and other material stuff; it's the same with emotions or relationships.Maybe you've had a friend for years and you shared some good times together. But as the time passes by, you take different directions, you stop seeing each other everyday, you both meet new people and eventually grow apart. And when you finally get to catch up, you find that you have nothing in common and nothing to say to each other anymore.

     Sometimes you think you are completely over a person you once loved, but still can't bring yourself to delete their number from your phone. Maybe you secretly hide a photo of them somewhere and look at it from time to time. And even when you move on, have a new life, someone new you're in love with, one day it catches up with you again. You wait in line for a coffee to go and they're playing this song, your song, the song you two used to love. It throws you off the track, and you wonder why, because you thought you had moved on. And maybe you have. But you haven't let go.

     Maybe we just need to learn to be careful, not to let people in so easily. But then again, love and friendship is all about letting your guards down. And what would life be without love? We cannot protect ourselves from getting hurt, we can just hope that the people we put our trust in will be worth the pain.

So for now, I am keeping my old Converse shoes.

I love the moon.

I have an obsession with the moon. I don't know why, but I just love it. I think it's very fascinating and sometimes I just sit on my couch and look up at the night sky from my window. We should really appreciate those things more.

Here is a picture I took of the moon some weeks ago.

Getting ready for winter.

While J. is probably sunbathing and doing all kinds of stuff people do in summer the next couple of months (as it is summer in Australia), I am getting ready for winter in Germany. They say it is going to be one of the coldest winters in 100 years. I have done some shopping, so I will hopefully be prepared for that.

I bought some basic stuff, like gloves, hats, a woolen pullover/dress (in pastel pink! it's very big, so you can either wear it as pullover or a dress with a waist belt ), snoods (which I totally love this season) and padded shoes.

I especially love the shoes. They are in the style of Doc Martens and super comfy!

 

And as I currently love pastel colors, I bought some other stuff that I found pretty.

I have some nailpolish that goes with these colors (although I do not wear nailpoilish that often, as I like my nails the way they are).


I also like nailpolish in the classic red color, or grey and light red.


And I bought some magazines and books that I can read when it's cold outside. :)

Quote of the day

"You can't swing a Fendi purse without knocking over five losers. Where did all the great guys go?"
Samantha Jones

Why do men cheat?

It's official now: Actress Eva Longoria is divorcing her husband Tony Parker, the NBA star. During their three years marriage, Eva has spent most of the time working on her career, e.g. acting at our beloved show Despereate Housewives, while Tony was on the road with his NBA team. So one might assume that the couple just grew apart and that this might be the reason for their divorce. WRONG! Rumour has it that Tony Parker cheated on Eva - several times during their marriage! Many of us probably wonder, "How can someone cheat on a woman like Eva Longoria?!" Well, she wouldn't be the first beauty with an unfaithful husband...

Those times are over now: Tony Parker and Eva Longoria

 Also, Cheryl Cole filed for divorce at the beginning of this year, after football star Ashley Cole's alleged infidelity.

Their marriage lasted 4 years: Cheryl and Ashley Cole

 And certainly, we all remember when David Beckham was unfaithful to Posh.
While Victoria Beckham forgave her husband, Eva Longoria and Cheryl Cole decided to end it. Eva is even seeking spousal support, which I find very advisable after what her husband has put her through.

She forgave him: David and Posh

 Actually, I do not think that this is enough: Women who have been cheated on should get everything they demand from their husbands; that's the least the cheating bastards can do for them, even though money will never make up for all the pain these men have caused their wives.

This leads me to my main question: Why do men cheat?
Men always find excuses, most of them are totally lame. But in the cases of the mentioned women (namely Eva, Cheryl and Posh), there is no excuse. These women are all beautiful and successful. Obviously, it has nothing to do with looks or fame. If men are not happy in a relationship, why don't they just say it? If they want to have reams of meaningless sex, why do they marry or start a relationship in the first place? I guess there is no real answer to this question. Maybe they're all just dumb horndogs. I don't know. It's just sad.

Other celebrities that cheated on their wives/girlfriends:

Chloë: Wise Words No. 1

Forget Demi, take me!

Ashton Kutcher, I heart you!

Not only do you have the perfect haircut, a hot body, a beautiful face and a lovely smile. You also have that certain boyish charme that makes me all dizzy!

The only thing that kinda bugs me is your wife Demi Moore. When I see you two, I wonder WHY and HOW?!

And by the way, those outfits are wrong in so many ways...

Make-up - It's not that difficult

Often I hear friends complain about how stressed they are and that they do "not have the time to put on make-up in the morning." That is just a lame excuse. If anyone likes sleeping in the morning, it would be me. And I still find time for putting on make-up; it really doesn't take long.
Other times, I see girls walking around like they're working as a clown in a circus - that's not what make-up is for, unless you really are working as a clown.
So, that is why I have decided to make a post about a simple day make-up. It's easy and it does not take a lot of time.

1) Powder Brush - I use it four rouge, 2) Powder brush for my bronzing powder, 3) Bronzing Powder (by Maybelline), 4) Powder Roughe (by Manhattan, color: peach), 5) Foundation (Matte Mousse by Maybelline), 6) Concealer (by Essence), 7) Eyeliner (khol by ESPRIT), 8) Mascara ( XXL pro Extensions byMaybelline).

You don't necessarily need the same brands, just use the ones that you prefer and that work best for you.
So here comes a short instruction:
1. Clean your face, put on a facial creme as a basis.
2. If your skin is unclear, use a foundation (5); make sure the foundation fits to your skin tone. It's always better to use a foundation that is slightly lighter than your skin tone.
3. Draw a line with your eyeliner (7) over your upper eyelid. This is not very easy and takes some practice to get  a straight line if you're not used to doing it. If you have more time, put on some mascara (8). Otherwise, just leave it out.
4. If you want to, you can use a concealer (6)  to cover the shadows under your eyes.
5. Use your powder brush to put on some bronzing powder. Start from your cheeks and then work your way through your face. Make sure it's not too much powder on your brush, otherwise you will look like you did some experiments with self-tanning lotion.
6. Use your other powder brush to put on a little rouge. Do not exaggerate, only use it on your cheeks. Again, make sure the color fits to your skin tone; the color peach fits to many skin tones and thus usually looks natural on almost everyone.

Voilà, you're done and can start the day looking super fresh, even if you're unbelievably tired.
If you want to, you can still accent your eyes and/or your lips a bit more.

For a smokey-eye make-up, you could use a dark eye shadow (3, L'ORÉAL). If you like it simple, you can use apricot or brown eye shdows (1 Maybelline, 2 Manhattan). Or you can match your eye shadow with your clothes (e.g. 4, Maybelline).

For your lips, you can use ligloss or lipstick in colors you like, but make sure they match with the rest of the make-up (p.s. no blue eye shadow with red lipstick, that just looks horrible!).
Have fun! :)

Shopping cures depression.

Whenever I get stressed or I feel that something is becoming more demanding than I can handle, I find myself shopping like there will be no tomorrow. It helps me calm down, and I feel happy when I have shiny new things. :D

Some of my newest 'conquests' are

my new shoes

and a fabulous new bag.

The bag reminded me of Mulberry's Alexa (named after Alexa Chung), which I find très chic and always wanted (but cannot afford at the moment haha):

Can't wait for my next shopping trip! ;)

Très romantic

Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy make a fabulous couple in Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. I am not a big fan of corny love stories, and both these movies are not corny at all, although they are quite romantic. The movies deal with a lot of questions people probably often think about: Is there really someone who can make you complete? Are things coincidence or does everything happen for a reason? What would have happened, if we had made different choices in our lives?

 

I enjoyed watching Before Sunrise as well as Before Sunset and can only recommend them to everyone. :)

Besides, the soundtracks are great. One of my fav songs is Nina Simone's Just in time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhqOHFUYtzI

Now that's just sad Macaulay Culkin

Quote of the day

"The killer in me is the killer in you."
The Smashing Pumpkins

Someone had to do it

Some genius in Austrlia attached this notice to the door of a recently shut down Ed Hardy store, warning residents to take their "bedazzled" tattoo douchewear à la Jersey Shore somewhere else.

I am excited and sad at the same time, since this should have been done circa 2006. But I guess, better late than never. 

More of these please!

over my head (cable car)

And suddenly I become a part of your past
I'm becoming the part that don't last
I'm losing you and its effortless
Without a sound we lose sight of the ground

TV's enchanting heartbreakers

Gossip Girl's Chuck Bass

They are handsome, they are rich and they know how to twist every woman around their fingers: Chuck Bass (Gossip Girl), Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother) and Charlie Harper (Two and a half men). We all think, "How stupid are the women who get involved with these guys", but secretly we have to admit that we would probably be tempted as well if these guys were real. Most men probably wonder, "How do they do it? What do I have to do to be as successful with women as them?" I am afraid there is no answer to that. Chuck, Barney and Charlie have their own little tricks to get the girls.

Take Chuck Bass, for example. It is obvious that he has intimacy issues, he himself even confesses that "Chuck Bass doesn't do girlfriends." But the girls fall for him anyway. What's his secret of success? Is it his deep, sexy voice? Is it his money? Is it his confidence? We don't know; but we know for sure that it works and keeps us staring at our telescreens every week, wishing Chuck Bass would just climb right out the TV and take us on a ride in his shiny, black limo (Blair Waldorf is a lucky girl!).

Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother)

It is different with Barney Stinson: Women don't fall for him immediately, it takes a little work to convince them. But Barney spares no efforts to get the girls. Every week we watch him doing "the possimble" (as he calls things that are impossible, but possible at the same time), getting every woman he has his eye on. He even creates fake identities, like in the episode with the  Lorenzo van Matterhorn technique. In this episode, he walkes over to a random girl in a bar, and tells her that it is really him, Lorenzo van Matterhorn. He gives her his number and leaves. After he leaves, the girl googles his fake name and explores several websites about Lorenzo van Matterhorn, each and every one of them telling how AWESOME Lorenzo is, listing all the good things he has already done to save the world. I think we all know what the girl does after that (she calls him, naturally). This technique requires a lot of work though, as Barney had to create all these websites in advance to make it look real. But hey, it worked. 

Charlie Harper (Two and a half men)

Charlie Harper's success is the biggest mystery of all. It's like, no matter what he says, women are fascinated. Some women are easy to convince and follow him home when he mentions his big Malibu beach house. Sometimes Charlie appeals to the women's maternal instincts, telling them how good he is with kids, as he is living with his brother Allan and Allan's son Jake. In other episodes, Charlie just tells the girls what they want to hear and they believe him, of course. It always works. 

What do we learn from this? 

1. Men are dogs, they do and say whatever it takes to win over women.

2. There are a hell of a lot dumb women out there.

Although it is very entertaining to watch Chuck, Barney and Charlie 'doing their thing,' you have to keep one thing in mind: It's only a television show, so stop dreaming of meeting someone like Chuck, Barney or Charlie (although I am sure there are some guys out there who could remind us of them). Besides, women are not as easy as they are represented in these shows (well, some probably are, but most of us actually do have a brain, you know).

I totally agree.

Edward's Eyes

I know what you think now: this is going to be about the eyes of a very gorgeous vampire, Edward Cullen (played by hottie Robert Pattinson). And even though I have to admit that his changing eye colors are very fascinating and mysterious at the same time, I am not referring to his eyes in this post.
Edward's eyes is a novel written by Patricia MacLachlan, a children's book author. Why I am reading kids' books? Good question; does there have to be a reason? However, there is a story about how I came across that book: I used to be obsessed with Milo Venitmiglia, another Hollywood hottie. A friend of mine found out that the audio book of  Edward's eyes was read by Milo, and so she gave it to me as a present (thanks for that, sweety!). I didn't know anything about the book itself except for the title. The most important thing for me was that it was Milo's voice that I would be listening to.

After having listened to Edward's eyes, I must admit: I have underestimated this book. Never would I have expected it to be so touching and affective as it was. It made me cry a few times, which is not a bad thing. Being able to appeal to people's feelings is an admirable ability, and not every author manages to do that. 

Quote of the day

"Men I may not know - but shoes....SHOES I KNOW!"
Carrie Bradshaw

Alison Mosshart

What's not to like about her style? Not only is she très fashionable, but also a very talented singer, member of the famous bands The Kills and The Dead Weather. 

I love her unconventional way of dressing; very neo-grunge (grunge, but still contains feminine elements).

And she's friends with the fabulous Kate Moss. :)

S.