Still no Spring weather around here...
...so I still wear pink to cheer myself up :)
Here I am wearing my pink blazer which I actually bought back in 2013 somewhere in a mall in Connecticut. Since, I only wore it ONCE! I have no idea why. Maybe I was afraid of the pink color, maybe I was afraid of the shape, I really dont know. But the other day I looked at it and I thought if I do not wear it now I will have to sell it - so I wore it :)
The dress is from the H&M maternity section and I bought it second hand a few months ago. I am also wearing my super comfy prego leggings and my super old and super comfy booties. Comfort is getting more and more important these days, when I choose my outfits. Now, a few weeks before delivering I really feel like an ooooold lady which needs lots and lots of comfort ;)
How do you like this look? I am curious about your opinion!
I wish you all a wonderful week and sending you much love!
Benecos natural cosmetics just launched a few new vegan products...
... and since I love benecos since I got to try them for the first time a couple of weeks ago, I am exited to present these new products to you :)
About the brand benecos:
For a long time, natural cosmetics had a colourless eco look, the product choice was limited and prices were generally high. No longer!
Because we offer you an alternative: benecos. Modern, natural
cosmetics. benecos is stylish and modern. Urban and trendy. Elegant and
fashionable.
With controlled natural cosmetics we put the shiny colours of the metropolis of this world in your make-up case!
benecos products are attractive, BDIH certified and their prices are irresistible.
You may remember the eyeshadow from my last benecos review!? Now next to the eyeshadow benecos launched a new eyebrow-designer and two new mascaras. All products are vegan and 100% organic and natural. You can check them out at http://www.benecos.eu/ where you can also find more information about the ingredients used by benecos.
Here is a quote from the website:
Everything we put on our skin is absorbed by our body. For many
substances used in conventional cosmetics, this may even be harmful to
our health. That is why we should use cosmetics in which only
ingredients are used that do not harm our body. We think this is only
possible with substances that are just like the human body: natural.
Vegetal oils and waxes – like those used in benecos products – have a
composition that is similar to skin fat and support the natural
regulation processes of the skin through different active ingredients
from within. They are harmless on the skin, contributing to the
generation of a natural protective film, biodegradable and, finally,
environmentally friendly and resource-saving.
BDIH-certified benecos products do not contain – guaranteed – any
mineral oils or derivatives / silicones / parabens / synthetic
emulsifiers or their derivatives (PEG/PEG derivatives) / synthetic
colorants or aromatic substances. These substances have no place in
natural cosmetics!
I am especially exited about the eyebrow-designer since I find it so hard to find an eyebrow-pencil with a color suiting my real eyebrow color. So up to now I just used a darker pencil and I always had to be careful not to use too much of it so that the color of my eyebrows is not getting too dark. Well now I do not have this problem any longer, since the eyebrow-designer does just have the perfect color for my light eyebrows. Love it!
I am also really happy about the vegan wonder natural mascara steel grey. I do not really like to use black mascara because its too "hard" for my skin and hair tone. Usually I use dark brown mascara and I always wanted to try a grey one. However, I could never find any one which was vegan and organic! What a lucky gal I am that I got to try the vegan wonder natural mascara steel grey.I like its color and the natural way it shapes and colores my eyelashes without making them look "painted" or simply unnatural. I have to say though that there are only 5,5ml in the mascara which I find is not that much (especially since there are 8ml or even 10ml in the other mascaras from benecos). I wonder if its more expensive to create a grey color instead of a black one or whats the reason for why it has the same price as the other mascaras, yet less content!?
About the quattro eyeshadow I already wrote something in my last review and my opinion did not change since - I still love the eyeshadow and I use it almost every day.
So here are my eyes and eyebrows, wearing the steel grey mascara, the eyeshadow and the eyebrow-designer.
How do you like this kind of natural make up? As most of you know, I do not like to wear much make up, however, I LOVE to wear a little, in a way that makes me look like I am not wearing anything. Modern but natural :)
Benecos and other organic brands are perfect for these kinds of looks and this is why I like them much more than all the other brands out there. Besides, I prefer to use vegan cosmetics and almost ALL the "big brands" out there are NOT vegan and they are all testing their products on animals. I am actually not willing to support that. This is why I am so happy and grateful that more and more companies emerge, using organic ingredients and renounce animal testing. I really want to support these kinds of brands and this is why I like to share these kinds of reviews with you! Its not because I get stuff for free that I write all these positive things about benecos but its because I really want this company, like other ones, to grow and flourish!
So feel free to spread the message and have a look at benecos on the net.
Sending you all much love on this grey and rainy Sunday!
My belly is growing enormously these days...
... look at the difference from this post from three weeks ago and today! Every morning, I wake up and I feel like I grew bigger again over night :)
Well, its only some four weeks left so its okay that the baby is growing a lot, it needs to be strong when it arrives in this world, so it better gains some extra weight in these last few weeks. The closer the due date gets, the more we are getting impatient. I really want to get to know my baby, I want to see it, hear it, smell it, everything! We really can`t wait for it to arrive.
Anyway, about the outfit - we actually took these pictures in the park next to the birth clinic where we went last week to register and get to know the doctor and midwifes. The clinic is really beautiful and surrounded by a beautiful park and I am actually looking forward to give birth there.
I am wearing a Lands End
blouse and a maternity Jeans from H&M. The white tee is from
C&A. The glasses are from firmoo like all my glasses.
I wonder if I am the only one wearing Lands End clothes!? A
friend of mine keeps telling me that its an old ladies shop and
sometimes laughs at me when I order something there. But I actually
really like the awesome quality and I just bought two new Lands End tops
online (I will show them to you soon!). Did you ever buy anything from
Lands End or do you also think its an old ladies shop ;)????
I hope you are doing well and enjoying this Spring weather :)! I wish you all a wonderful rest of the week!
Today I want to share some of my favorite pregnancy body oils with you...
... I heard a lot of people say that women can be proud of stretch marks from their pregnancy and I agree that there is nothing bad about having stretch marks. Still, I preferred not to get them and I am really happy that I did not (its four weeks til my due date so I think I will not get them anymore now...)!
Here are the products I used to avoid getting stretch marks:
Weleda Pregnancy Body Oil
Dr Hauschka Blackthorn Toning Body Oil
Love me Green Relaxing Massage Oil
I began using pregnancy oils from the beginning of my pregancy. I used the oil by Weleda especially in the beginning and I switched later on to the one by Dr Hauschka. The one by Love me Green I usually took with me, when I spent a night at a friends place or when I travelled to visit my family. The one by Love me Green is easiest to carry since its in a plastic bottle which is not too big. I like all three oils a lot and I think they all helped me to keep my skin soft and smooth and to avoid stretch marks. Anyway, I like the one by Dr. Hauschka best, since I love its thick texture. Its a little expensive and I was lucky enough to get two bottles as a gift from my mother. I think I will use all my leftovers after pregnancy, since all oils are great to use for non-pregnant women too. They all contain natural ingredients only which is really important to me, as you know :)
What kind of oils did you use during pregnancy, if any? And if you have never been pregnant, do you like to use body oils in general? I love them, especially after taking a bath :)
Have a great start into the first official week of Spring!
Sending you all much love!
Its time for some more vegan recipes...
...somehow I have been lazy with posting recipes these past weeks but now I prepared a few posts with my favorite whole food, plant baesd alternatives to some of my favorite dishes. These include bolognese, carbonara, and lasagna. I will start with my favorite vegan bolognese sauce. There are soooo many recipes out there for vegan bolognese and I tried many of them. This one became my favorite.
You will need:
Around 800 gr diced canned tomatoes or tomatoe puree
Around 200 gr tofu
1 eggplant
Two carrots
As much celeriac as carrots
1-2 onions
Fresh garlic
Some red wine OR red wine vinegar
1 bay leaf
Oregano
Italian herbs to your taste
Pepper
Salt
Sugar
Optional: Olives, fresh rosmary, fresh basil, some fresh tomatoes...
You can of course vary this recipe to your taste. Sometimes I leave out the tofu, sometimes I add some zuccini or savoy cabbage - it always depends on what you have in your fridge and what you like :)
I just think the celeriac is important for the taste, and so are onion, carrot and garlic. Besides, add ALL the veggies you like :)
To begin, chop everything into small dices and crumble the tofu.
Then fry the egg plant and the tofu in a pan together with a bay leaf. Fry until the tofu is getting golden/brown and the eggplant is getting soft.
Then add the other veggies - carrots, celeriac, onion and garlic and fry them with the tofu and the eggplant.
Next, add some red wine or red wine vinegar and allow the tofu to absorb the liquid. Then add the diced tomatoes or tomatoe puree. Finally, add all the herbs and the sugar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Take out the bay leaf in the end.
You can also add olives, or fresh basil or rosemary if you like. And you can sprinkle yeast flakes on top of everything if you like. I usually sprinkle some yeast flakes over my bolognese in the end, since I like this parmesan-like taste :)
Add the sauce to the pasta of your choice and ENJOY as much as you like - this recipe is without added fats, vegan and healthy. You will get lots of energy from it and it really tastes so so good!
If you want to make it even more healthy, eat the sauce with whole grain pasta of your choice (wheat or spelt or what you like...) since they have much more nutrients than white pastas do.
Let me know how you liked this bolognese after trying! Or maybe you have already found YOUR favorite vegan bolognese? I would love to read your favorite recipe!
Some dots for the new week :)
We took these pictures on our way to IKEA the other day, where we got some last things to get the flat ready for the baby. Maybe I will make a "getting your home ready for the baby" post sometime soon :)
There are still lots of things left which we have to buy, build or organize but slowly I feel like we are getting ready.
Now, how do you like this pregnant look? The cardigan is one of my favorites for Fall and Winter and I am sure you already saw it on some of my outfits, like here or here.
I got this blouse/dress in 2013 from Old Navy, when I lived in Ohio. I like it a lot and every time I wear I think that I need more of these kind of dresses!
I actually posted an outfit post with this dotted dress back in April 2013 when I just got it. You can find it here. Its so weird that its already two years since I spent my semester in Ohio! Time flies for sure! When I just looked back on the post from 2013, I felt like I look so much older today. Do I? Its somehow awesome to have a blog and be able to look back at what I wore and how I looked like two years ago but then I also ask myself where time went. You know this feeling?
Now, happy Monday to all of you! I hope your week is starting as sunny as it does over here! I had a wonderful yoga class this morning and I will now go out to enjoy the sun a little.
Have a most wonderful week everyone and thank you for your sweet words on my last post! You are awesome! Yes you are :)!
I was looking for a new pair of glasses for the new season...
... and I found these ones here. How do you like them? I was looking for something brighter again (since the ones I am usually wearing are dark brown) so I chose these light brown ones. I am not sure if maybe they are too wide. What do you think?
Like all my glasses the new ones are from firmoo.com. I get my glasses (and sunglasses) from firmoo since a few years now already and I am always really really happy with them.The price is really good, the quality is really good (like I said I buy my glasses there since a few years and my first pair is still perfect!) and I like the different styles they offer. You can find something for every taste and for any occasion on their website. Plus, the shipping is pretty fast! Like, I ordered these ones last week and they arrived some four days later! Of course they are customized to my eyes - you can say exactly what you need and what you want.
In case you need a new pair of glasses, please note that you can get 50% off your first order just by clicking on this link: http://www.firmoo.com/z/new-50-off.html
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Another post for the About Life column...
Here comes another topic I have been thinking about a lot in the past year or so. Most of you are in my age and most of you graduated one day, standing there with the diploma in your hand and asking yourself: what shall I do now? I have been there and it was difficult for me!
When I got my MA degree in 2013 I felt pretty lost afterwards. It was the first time since the first year of school that there was no clear path in front of me. When I finished school I knew I was going to university, when I finished my undergrad studies, I knew I was going to grad school ... but then? There were suddenly so many options and it seemed to be so important to take the right decison - the decision about what I really wanted to do with my life, what lifestyle I wanted to live, which ideologies I could live and if I wanted to make money or not.
I always thought that there is this one thing I have to find, this one thing I love which I will pursue to have a happy life. I thought I had to look for the one perfect job to be a happy person. And I became pretty depressed. Why? Because I could not find this one thing I wanted to do, this one job I wanted to have. As much as I thought of it, I just could not come up with it. I tried so many things, I began to work on a dissertation, I worked in two jobs at the same time, I started a voluntary project and went to lots of seminars on how to manage your own projects for a good cause, I took different classes on different topics, I worked voluntary with refugees and gave language classes to people who just arrived in Germany and who were in need of help etc. etc. etc. and I was tired! Believe me, I was so tired because I was looking all the time for the right thing! Whatever I did I asked myself: is this it? Is this what I want to do for the rest of my life? And I could not enjoy what I did because I always thought I have to find this ONE THING.
I did not feel good for around a year. I felt depressed because I was telling myself that I have to find this one thing, this one job. I felt depressed because Ive been accusing myself for not being able to take a decision. I felt depressed because I thought I am not able to plan my life the way I am supposed to. I thought I am wasting my time doing all kind of things instead of investing in what I REALLY wanted to do (whatever that was...)
I talked with a lot of people in this period and I read a lot of articles and a few books on the topic. It took a really long time until I realized the one most important thing that made me feel good again: There is no catch-all-answer! There is no ONE THING! There is no NEED to take this ONE DECISION!
And why do I think so? Because our interests are changing during a lifetime, this is just what its like. Today I have different interests than I had three years ago and three years from now, I will have different intersts again. And you know what? Thats great! And there is no reason to feel guilty because of that. Imagine how boring life would be if you would actually do the same thing, 5 days a week, 8 hours a day for 40 years! No way this works for me! It took me long time though to realize this!
This does of course not mean that it cannot work for other people! I am talking about me in this post and I know there are many out there, feeling the same way. I change my interests and since I accepted this fact, I feel so much better! I started an online course in nutrition studies because nutrition is what fascinates me right now. Maybe I am never going to work with nutrition but thats fine because right now, it makes me happy and it makes me feel good. I studied international business communication and maybe I am never going to work in this field because maybe it will not interest me lateron and thats okay. I studied African Studies and maybe I am never going to work in this field either. Maybe I will start breeding guinea pigs next year- who knows?
Since I realized that my interests change and that this is okay, I am really happy with my life! Like really happy! I just accepted myself the way I am and this feels really good. And, as a sidenote, it turned out that I was always able to make money with what was most important to me at the given moment.
Since I freed myself from believing that I have to do something that is linked to my studies and that I have to find this one job that is made for me, I feel like I got so much energy for the things I am passionate about right now. I got much more into blogging (can you tell ;)?) and into nutrition (which I love even more!) and I finally allow myself to really enjoy this without restricting myself from it.
Guys, I dont know if this post makes sense or if you are able to understand my thoughts but I hope you get the idea :D
What I want to say is - do not force yourself to chase this ONE DREAM if there is NO one dream. Do what you are interested in right now without questioning what you did before and what you are going to do afterwards. Free yourself and do what makes you happy!
And as I wrote earlier - this is for the people who are like me and who are interested in so many things. Those people out there who have ONE dream, go ahead and pursue it if this is what makes you happy! We are all different and we are all perfect the way we are. Just be sure to do what makes you happy right now and do not restrict yourself in your creativity, your ideas and your emotions! Dont stay in a job because you think you have to, just because you studied the given topic, dont force yourself to do something you liked three years from now but no longer! Do you agree? Or how do you feel about this?
Enjoy and love life dear readers and followers and life will love you back - I promise :)
Its been so long since I posted two outfit posts successively...
... so its time to do this now :)
You may have seen my embedded skirt in my January-and-February-purchases post!? I got it on sale from H&M in early February. The cardigan is an old one which I am wearing quite often and the scarf you all know very well, since its my favorite scarf at the moment and I wear it in like every second of my posts :)
As you can see, the skirt is not a maternity skirt but I still felt like wearing it. Its quite comfortable to wear strechty things underneath the belly and since the skirt has a wide waistband its actually really comfortable. Now, about if it looks good to wear a skirt underneath the belly, thats up to you to say! :)
What do you think?
Are you happy that its Friday? For me there is no big difference now, between week day and weekend, sincec I am on maternity leave anyway :D
But today is a special day anyway, since its my husbands birthday. He never likes to make a big deal out of it so we are not going to celebrate too much. Still, its a special day and its his last birthday as a not-yet-dad! Its so weird to think about all the things that happen for a last time as a not-yet-mommy and a not-yet-dad, like the last birthday, the last christmas, the last day of work etc.
Anyway, enjoy your weekend beautiful people! Make the best out of it :)!
Sending you all much love!
Happy Wednesday!
And happy bump ;)
I hope you enjoy this outfit with my new poncho from Sheinside and you can find it here. I paired it with my dark red woolen dress from Hess Natur and my scarf from Maas. I am pretty in love with this poncho and I wore it almost every day last week - when the weather was better. This week its all snowy again and there is no way I can go out with a poncho only :(
Spring, when do you plan to arrive for real? We are all longing for you!
I hope you had a great start into the new week!? Its actually my first week on maternity leave and I LOVE it! I had a busy time recently so I am just so happy now not to work anymore and to be able to concentrate on my belly and myself. I want to be on maternity leave forever ;)
How is your week going so far? I hope you are able to relax a little too!?
Sending you all much love!
