Free Dinner @Traube, Berlin

Yesterday, one of my good friends surprised me with a visit at work, and asked me to come and visit him at his workplace in return. Hm, what a strange request, I thought, but not to worry, I'd be there right after I'd finished my shift.

When I turned up at the Traube in the evening, I was in awe - it is a wonderfully luxurious, very chic place where you run into the rich and important ones - mostly politicians and bankers, but apparently people like Bob Geldof eat there, too. Or so I was told by the Maître. Anyways, as soon as I arrived, I was led to my table under the tree in the yard and brought a glass of lovely crémant rosé. Wow. A few minutes later, my friend came out of the kitchen - he had arranged for me to get the VIP-treatment. That included a waitress hovering in the background, waiting to refill my glass or take care of any other wish I might have. You won't believe how silly and important you feel (at the same time) when you stumble into that kind of situation unprepared, like me. I enjoyed every second of it, though :)

I especially enjoyed the dinner I was served by the Chef de Cuisine personally (!). He sat down with me (!!) and told me that he is very new to the restaurant and ever since he started to run the kitchen, he raised the standards of food and drinks steadily. I can only say that the food must have been superb even before he started, and was stunningly delicious yesterday. In fact, it was so good that I had to stop talking because I wanted to concentrate on the party in my tastebuds. That's great praise, believe me.

Now, two facts that make this great evening at the Traube worth a mention on the O.R.B.

• The prices are just as mindboggling as the cuisine, so if you're on a tight budget but don't want to miss out: Go there for lunch, the "Business Lunch" is great at only 9,90€. That's still expensive by Berlin standards, but heck, it's worth it.
• This sort of surprise is one good reason to ALWAYS look your best. I didn't expect to spend the evening with the rich and famous, but if I may say so, I was dressed impeccably anyways. A bright blue silk wrap dress and matching heels suited the occasion nicely - but I would have felt terribly out-of-place in worn-out jeans and a t-shirt. So make sure you're prepared for any surprise - by looking your best at all times.

Weekly Shoe: The Pimped-Out Pumps

I promised I'd show you my precious new pumps, and finally, here they are:




The actual shoes I bought for circa 17€ at my local Turkish market (I get a discount for being a regular customer and I don't care if that's cheap! :) ) . Then I invested in 4€ worth of sequins and a 1,50€ container of glittery little beads. They are pale pink with an incredible gold and light blue sheen, depending on the light. The octopuses were 75 c each at the local toy store, and the gold paint is still the same that I used for the brooch and the animals on the jam jars.
Now all you need is a few hours of time, thread, a needle and a thimble.

If you want to recreate a look like this, here's what you do:

• Buy pumps with open toes! Peep-toes are a LOT easier to work with! Trust me.
  
• Paint the animals in question, and let them dry. Set with a layer of clear paint.
• Put on the shoe, and try out where you want to put the octopus (or whatever else you may want to sit on your shoes), making sure they aren't uncomfy when worn. Glue in place, and take off the shoes again.
• Then secure the decoration with a matching thread.
• Start applying the sequins and beads around the center. This is the hardest part, so if you start here, you're done with it all the sooner :)
• Make small stitches, one per sequin/bead. Be careful not to tangle the thread - it's a nuisance to untie a knot inside a shoe !!!
• When finished with one length of thread, tie the knot on the outside of the shoe and hide it under the next sequin you apply. That's much easier than making a knot inside a shoe.
• First finish ONE shoe to perfection. Having a prototype that you can copy is easier than starting from scatch - you'll know what I mean by that once you're there :)
• Just for your information: I used about twice as many golden sequins as I used pink ones. Otherwise I think they might have turned out too pink. The uneven look is also created on purpose by applying a few of the sequins upside-down.
  
• Now the insides of your shoes are covered in little stitches and pieces of thread (no knots though, hopefully), you can cover them in a thin extra layer of leather or faux leather for more comfort. Ask your local shoemaker or tailor for scraps and leftovers.

Wear with pride. And don't be irritated by the jealous stares you are bound to receive ;)

I can't wait to shoot these and finally have proper pics of the whole outfit! Yay!

I am Sailing ... I am Saaaaiiiliiiing ....

... or I WAS sailing, rather.
My little trip to Bavaria was a huge success, which is partly due to my home-made jams :) It turned out that the kiwi-banana concoction and the plum chutney suited my hosts' taste very well and I was one happy hedonista! Anyone interested in the recipe for the plum chutney? I'm more than happy to give it away, but I don't want to bore my faithful readers with recipes all the time either :)

But I digress, as usual. Back to the trip, now.
Pictures say so much more than words :

The Alps looked more than stunning in the background!

That paddlesteamer was way too big (and too close to our boat) to fully fit on the picture.


Showing off my not-so-dazzling physique :)
I had to overcome an irrational fear of slimy seaweeds and big fish and actually went swimming in the lake. Once in, I didn't want to come out of the water again! In fact, it was so lovely to swim that I had to be coaxed out of the lake with the promise of coffee and apple pie with whipped cream and vanilla ice-cream :) Needless to say, I was back on the boat in no time at all...

If only I had a little more time and money at my disposal, I'd be on my way back to the Chiemsee right now! The lion and I already promised to go back soon, so I hope we make that happen!

Another Little Gift

I am very excited about the upcoming weekend, because I'll go sailing (Oooh, the poshness!) and stay at my boyfriend's parents' house right at the lake. To show them my appreciation I decided to bring a little something - and that decision of course meant that again, I had to come up with a cute, personal, useful and generally awesome gifting idea.

Here's what I made:

That's a customized jar of home-made kiwi-banana jam! Home-made jams and chutneys are always great for spontaneous gifts: Just make a few jars at a time, they stay good and edible almost forever, so you have a gift at hand when you need it - or jam for your own toast :)

This jam is a little different however. You don't have to cook it, you just stir all your ingredients together and let it sit in the fridge overnight. That makes it extra-fruity and very simple to make, but it will also go off within a week or so!

Here's the recipe, maybe you like it:

6 kiwis
2 big bananas
1 shot glass of coco liqueur
100 g of preserving sugar
1/2 orange or lime
some grated white chocolate (optional)

Cut the bananas into small pieces, and add the juice of the orange or lime. Peel the kiwis and cut them into small pieces, make sure to get rid of the stringy part in the center of the fruit. Then add the kiwis and the sugar to the bowl and stir for at least 10 minutes with the hand mixer, while slowly pouring in the liqueur. Now you should have a creamy light green jam. If it doesn't seem to thicken enough, slowly add some sugar and stir very carefully. Taste your jam to be sure that it doesn't turn out too sweet!
When done, sprinkle on some white chocolate et voilá!

This tastes incredible on pancakes, by the way, and adds a Caribbean feel to every breakfast table! Don't forget to refrigerate it :)

Now you may have noticed the little extra I added to the jar:



This is a replica of the frog I turned into a brooch. I did it the quick'n'dirty way, and you can SO tell. But sometimes, even I have other things on my mind than painting things golden :)
The little flecks that appear brown on the picture actually are gold sparkles that I added for more drama! I just ran my golden sparkly eyeliner all over it and secured it with clear spary paint.
Then I glued the frog on top of the jar (which is very obviously see-through, so if you make one of these, don't forget to paint the frog's belly! Just sayin' .) and now all I need to do is wrap a pretty bow around my little gift for the lion's parents and I'm ready to go!

Wednesday's New Feature: The Weekly Shoe!

Girls love shoes, don't they? Going shopping for them, looking at them in online-shops, wearing them of course, revamping them if necessary. I am one especially bad case of shoe-addiction, and strangely proud of it. My collection holds more than 50 pairs, and that's just the high heels.

People ask me why I would do that to myself, walking around in high heels all day at work and put on a different pair of heels that's just as skyscraping when I go out in the evening. It's pretty simple, really: High heels make your legs look longer and more slender, give you a very feminine walk and posture, make your behind look fabulous in an instant and give your body a nice little workout as you wear them. That improved look, and especially the improved posture, make you feel and look more confident. Confidence in your look, your walk and your attitude is absolutely sexy and desirable, much more than a low neckline or a short skirt.
I won't deny that you can easily over-do it, and thereby cause long-term damage to your feet. Just look at this x-ray (Picture by Helmut Newton, high-heeled boot by Karl Lagerfeld).



So please, boys and girls, wear heels, but not ALL the time. Make a point of stretching your calves often, to prevent your sinews from shortening - wearing flipflops has the same effect, by the way.

Apart from the health concerns, I have to say a few words about my style concerns...
First and foremost, there is no shame in practicing to walk in new shoes at home. Everybody does it, or at least should! You may want to practice the actual walking as well as a more or less elegant standing position. Don't feel silly about that - just imagine you're at a party and somebody snaps a picture. How do you want to look on that picture? That's a good pose right there :)

Second, don't bang your heels on the ground like a jungle drum. Of course you can't avoid the clicking noise that heels make, and sometime they just ARE loud. Try to keep the noise as moderate as possible though. Just take smaller steps et voilá :) If that doesn't do the trick, practice on a wooden floor - if you don't want to leave heel marks in the wood, you have to walk carefully! It may also help to shift your weight a little more to the ball of the foot.

This is just the beginning of my new feature, The Weekly Shoe!
Every week, I will post a shoe-related artice right here, showing off my revamped pumps, exploring the workplace of an old-fashioned shoemaker, going style-hunting with my cam for outstanding footwear and anything else that I may come up with! I'm open to suggestions, as always.

A Truly Manly Birthday Gift

I wish I could claim the credit for this, but I can't. This was originally my lion's idea, and I'm just stealing it :)

About a week ago, I found myself absolutely surprised by the fact that, yes, another year has passed and it's my brother's birthday again. Oh darn. Birthdays tend to surprise me anyways, especially my own ones - just when I've settled in at one age, say 22, and I've grown comfortable with it, all of a frickin sudden, another year has passed and I have to deal with growing older yet again!
The stressful thing about other peoples' birthdays is the pressure of finding the perfect gift. Of course you want to get the birthday child something special and personal, at the same time it should be useful and look cool. I find that nearly impossible, but I try my best. Those gifts usually take some time for thought and getting it, or making it.
So with my brother's birthday only one day away, that wasn't going to happen. Instead I decided to heed the lion's advice (which I don't often do) and made him a voucher for A BEER-BREWING COURSE!


Now, that's a pretty damn cool gift, if you ask me: He and one of his buddys (or I!) get to make their own beer, drink beer as they make it ;) and after four weeks, they can try the beer they made!

In order to arrange for one course like that, you can turn to agencies, like MyDays or Jochen Schweizer but keep in mind, they take a commission, that you can save easily. Just call the brewery! I turned to the amazing Brewbaker, a cozy little pub where they still make their own beer! And, without any bargaining, they named a price ten bucks below the one that the agencies wanted. I don't care if that sounds cheap, but that easily translates to a day's worth of food for myself, and I'd rather save it if it's that easy ;)


But the next birthday in my family is looming already, and I need another thoughtful, cool and fun gift. I find it very hard to get presents for men, and I know I'm not alone with that problem. So I would really appreciate if you guys would share your best ideas for proper boys' gifts!

Fleamarket Treasures

Yesterday I went to the fleamaket in Mauerpark to reserve a stand. I have a whole closet full of stuff I don't need and don't want- books, clothes, interior decorations, fabrics and so many things I already forgot about! So it won't hurt too much to sell all those random items :) I'm looking forward to it, not because I might make a little money, but because the chilled-out atmosphere in the park and on the market is just amazing. It feels like something between a playground for grown-ups and a beach party. I realize that's pretty much the same, but you get the idea!

But, being the spontaneous shopper I am, I couldn't resist to sneak a peek at the other stands ... and ended up spending a little more money than i'd planned. BUT I'm also proud owner of two new tops, a tacky gold purse, a little surprise for the lion and a few bits and pieces, like rhinestones, homemade liquorice, you name it.


You can't really tell on the pictures, but these fleamarket finds are seriously rad! And they match my secret project, my pimped-out pumps, that I want to wear next week-end. I will travel down to Bavaria, and go sailing with my boyfriend - of course I want an outfit that matches the occasion. So the dress has handy pockets and little ships printed all over it, for example :) You can see them a little better in this picture here:


I'll probably show off my outfits here when I'm back, so stay tuned! Especially for those shoes, I promise you'd hate to miss them ;)

Have a great week, everybody!