Los Angeles

i have been playing somewhat of a recluse from the blogosphere, which is a bit of a curious way to label my internet inaction, as it has all to do with living 100% in the real world and in the moment. i have been in america for almost the last two months - first road tripping up and down the california coast with nick, trekking back to the east coast to relax down south in my hometown of chantilly and introduce nick to southern hospitality (as well as the colorless suburbs, where bars are mandated to close at 2 and last call is at 1 and there is a strip mall every 15 miles) and hopping on a plane and traveling all the way north for photography work in vermont. things are coming to a close here and i will be packing my bags and heading to new jersey to visit family, returning "home" (read: parent's house) for an evening and will then be making my way through long lines of security, removing shoes and taking electronics out of my bag and placing them into opaque plastic bins before repacking everything and boarding a plane back to berlin (not without the mandatory layover).

at the moment i am not exactly sure what role blogging plays in my life anymore. i am not exactly sure if i want to continue to blog and if the answer to that question is yes, what kind of path i want it to take. in the meantime, while i internally debate my ever so pressing first-world problem, i will continue to post photos from my time here in the US, beginning with a in Los Angeles.

lg, Rae
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visual stimulation 010

just some inspiration to brighten up your tuesday!

what has been inspiring you lately?

lg, Rae
instagram: lovefromberlin
add me on facebook
follow me on bloglovin

you know what? i just love thursdays. why? might you ask. well it's because thursday is the jumpstart to my weekend, meaning i can sleep in - which is exactly what i did today. of course its not all fun and games because although two out of my five weekdays are not spent at uni, they are spent writing my papers and working. however, just the thought of not having to wake up at 7:00 puts a smile on my face come wednesday evening. oh, which brings me to the next thing i love - wednesday evenings because they are effectively my friday evenings. last night i spent my "wednesday/friday" night indulging in pizza hut and nachos at the movies. even though i am hoping to implement a healthier diet into my life, it just felt like the right thing to do. i mean everyone needs to enjoy their lives and not take them too seriously. food for me is a big part of life, so i thought why the hell not? now this way of thinking can get one into a lot of trouble, but as long as its more of a treat than a lifestyle, i really do not see the harm in things.

i met my friend called jakob around 7 at the pizza hut in potsdamer plats where we split a deep dish pizza and chicken mango salad. now the pizza hut in berlin is more of a resturaunt than a fast food place - something i wasn't aware of but was happy to discover. i would probably compare it to restaurants in the US like tgi fridays. however, the pizza tasted just as cheap and greasy as i remembered it from my high school trips to the local pizza hut with my friends after school. which is to say, it tasted AMAZING. that is the funny thing with living abroad though - you start to crave things you haven't eaten in 15 years simply because it reminds you of a piece of home. dinner was followed by the hobbit and at sony center. i had no real expectations going into the film and it took some time for me to get into the film and it being in 3D - it all struck me as a bit childish at first but its probably due to the fact that i have been watching way too much game of thrones and now feel as if nothing can compare to the rugged bad-assery that is game of thrones. that and the fact that i generally reserve 3D for cartoons. however about 20 minutes into the movie i really started to get into it and ended up really enjoying the film.

now backtracking a little bit to tuesday night in order to explain the photos above and below: i went and grabbed dinner and dessert with a friend of mine called ross. now generally i reserve wednesdays for schoolwork, work, music and/or blogging, so i felt a bit like a naughty child out past her bedtime, but ross is only here visiting for a week, so i made an exception. ross and i met over the summer while i was in the states starting my masters. he is a maga-talented speaker of over 5 languages and works for the UN translating and interpreting. we spent the evening eating korean food and gorging out on delicious food and talking about the usual: boys, work, and life.

i will be heading out in a bit for the launch party of VIEWS for fashion week, so be sure to follow the fun via my instagram: lovefromberlin <3
lg, Rae

a proper breakfast

sometimes when i have time in the morning to make breakfast it is nice to be able to do so. i am usually a skip-breakfast-and-run-out-the-door-and-grab-a-pretzel-on-the-go kind of university student, but it is really refreshing sometimes to eat a homey-style breakfast. last week on one of my non-university days i made myself a proper breakfast for a change. it was delicious. i don't think i would be able to eat like this every morning, since i usually am not the breakfast type, but it's a nice treat once in a while. oh, and i am finally on break but have come down with a really bad cold. i haven't had a sore throat like this in such a long time. serves me right i suppose, since i haven't had a terrible coat in such a long time! luckily since i am now on break i can work on getting healthy again for the next few days. today after school i just came home and slept for hours. i have been drinking lots of tea and hot lemon water and have been spending the time on the sofa watching my one of my favorite movies, Charade, with audrey hepburn. possibly thinking of running the bath and drinking another mug of hot lemon water with honey.
what are your best home remedies when sick?

lg, Rae

nachos

It's been a pretty hectic week with the university starting this week and i have had some difficulty with courses, so exude the lack of posts this week. lots to take care of still, but i did take the opportunity to relax today. slept in, had some help from my friend nick and took care of a bit of housework - installing the wall hook for my guitar and putting up a shelf - made nachos for dinner, and saw taken 2 with adelinn. last weekend adelinn, maja, anna, and i saw looper which was incredible and i am getting excited about skyfall, so it seems as though i am on a thriller/action kick at the moment. there is something so lovely about going to the movies, i just always find it to be such a treat. what have you all been watching lately?

lg, Rae

cooking 001

one of the things i remember from my typical american upbringing was taking home economics (more commonly referred to as home ec) in middle school. here, we learned how to do a bit of sewing as well as cooking and baking. at the time, most of us considered it a fun and easy A. even better, we were able to eat our assignments. over 10 years later, i have to admit my housekeeping, cooking, and baking skills have not gotten any better although i am starting to make a concerted effort to try. i am starting to think that "how to survive after college 101" should be mandatory at every university, not only including how to cook meals that actually taste good but also simple things like changing a flat tire, fixing a broken pipe, or how to fold fitted sheets. sounds silly, but too many people of my generation and those of younger generations just don't have the common sense skills of generations before us. although, it seems to me that we have youtube and a plethora of how-to videos in return. not a bad trade off, if you ask me. yesterday morning i thought i would put my baking skills to the test and turned out this apple crumble.

Apple Crumble recipe can be found HERE

lg, Rae

vergennnes laundry, VT

last week, carol and i went to vergennes laundry, a stunning little cafe in vergennes, vt to get a little work done. it was a much needed little getaway from middlebury. vergennes laundry used to be an old laundromat on mainstreet in vergennes. this modern yet rustic cafe has a beautiful clean and modern design - white walls, white ash wood tables, and grey industrial cement floors. in addition to the usual hot drinks offered at cafes, vergennes laundry had an incredible breakfast plate with yogurt, gateau au blé noir, and berries, which was as delicious as it was pretty. aesthetically perfect and delicious in every way, vergennes laundry is definitely on my list of favorite cafes. unfortunately i did not have my camera with me, but i snapped this with my iphone. if only all breakfasts were this lovely.

lg, rae

don't forget to enter my giveaway if you have not yet!

food from monday through friday of last week.

Friday 27 April 2012

Friday 27 April 2012

Thursday 26 April 2012

Wednesday 25 April 2012

Tuesday 24 2012

Tuesday 24 2012

Monday 23 2012

Monday 23 2012

hope you all enjoyed. currently confined to my flat due to a possibly broken foot in a cast :( hope all is better with you guys!

lg, Rae