The Makeup Tool(s) that Changed My Life

About a year ago, I discovered the makeup tools that definitely changed my entire life — or my makeup life. I have learnt that the right brushes make a great makeup and not necessarily the product itself. Well, of course the product is also very important but using the right brush makes a huge difference. The brushes that I discovered to be true magical workers for myself are the Real Techniques brushes. I wanted to have them for so long and I could not get them in Germany. So a friend of mine actually brought them back from the USA for me (Thank you, again).  I started out with the Core Collection and the Starter Set. The Core Collection consists out of a contour brush, a pointed foundation brush, a detailer brush, a buffing brush, and a panoramic case. And the Starter Set consists out of a deluxe crease brush, a base shadow brush, a accent brush, a fine liner brush, a brow brush, and also a panoramic case. 

In order to try out the brushes, I thought those two collections would be perfect. When I unpacked the brushes and first touched the bristles I was hooked. I have never touched any brush that was so soft as they are. I thought, if they are as good on the face, I have found the percent brush brand for me. And what can I say, they are truly amazing. Applying any kind of make up, concealer, powder, eye shadow, etc. is just amazing. They create such wonderful finish. And everything is so easy with them. I’m by no means good at doing my make up and I honestly do not wear a lot most of the times. But with those brushes, I started to be quite decent in comparison with my skills before. For example, I also was a one color eye shadow kind of girl, and now I love to do a multicolored smokey eye and it is really not that hard. Due to those brushes, I actually started to have fun doing my make up, because it finally looked decent and good. After I got the two collections, I had to get more. And I ordered them from their website (https://realtechniques.com/en/). I, now, have a pretty good collection of Real Techniques brushes and I love them all. But I do have some favorites and essentials which I believe are true miracle workers. And I will introduce them to you. I already mentioned the two collections — the Core Collection and the Starter Set. I still use those brushes most of the time. The ones from the Core Collection can be used in so many ways — from using for powder, blush, highlighter, bronzer, foundation, and concealer. For example, you are able to use the buffing brush for foundation, powder, highlighter, and bronzer. And every single time it gives you a great finish. The brushes from the Starter Set are mostly used for the eye makeup and you also can use them in different ways. I, for example, sometimes use the brow brush for a smoked liner or the deluxe crease brush for concealer. The next brush, that I absolutely love is the powder brush. It is just amazing. The 102 triangle concealer brush is the best brush to apply concealer due to it being shaped like a triangle. The setting brush is also one of my favorites, I most of the time use it with a very light powder in order to brighten up my under eyes or with a highlighter. The sculpting brush is perfect for highlighting, bronzing, and due to its shape also contouring. The last item that is very essential for me is actually not a brush but the miracle complexion sponge. This sponge is the best ever. It is just perfect for concealer and foundation. 

Overall, all of the brushes I own from Real Techniques are amazing. They literally changed my entire makeup routine and life. For me they are the best. It is so easy to apply everything with them. And what I believe is the best about them is, they are quite affordable. You can buy them over their website, I believe they ship internationally. In Germany, you are able to buy them at Douglas. And in the United States, I think pretty mich every larger drugstore like Walgreens, CVS, etc. or Target or Walmart sells them. 

At the end of this post, I have to thank Sam and Nic for inventing and selling those brushes. You two are geniuses. Thank you, thank you, thank you. They also have a youtube channel called pixiwoo. Go check that out as well, they are truly amazing!! 

I hope you enjoyed reading and I talk to you soon!! 

Gilmore Girls - A Year in the Life - Recap (NO spoilers)

I honestly don't really know where to start. 

First of all, this blog post will not be a spoiler. I will not spoiler anything for those who did not watch it yet. So you don't have to worry about that. You can keep on reading. I will only talk about my impressions of the four new movie like episodes. If that is already too much of a spoiler for you, you should definitely stop reading here and come back when you watched it. And I want to keep this recap kind of short. 

For those who read my blog and read my post about two weeks ago, in which I told you why I love this show about a fast-talking-mother-daughter-duo so much. If you not, here is the link: 

Anyway, I and many other fans have waited many years for a revival. YEARS!!! Literally years!! I never quite liked the last season — season 7 — of the Gilmore Girls. It was probably because the producers and writers changed. But season 7 is definitely my least favorite season of them all. I don't like the ending of it. It did not feel right. And apparently many people around the world felt the same way. I was very thrilled when they announced the revival, with the original producers and writers. I could not wait for the new episodes. On November 25th, 2016 it finally way time. Four brand new, 90 min  episodes of Gilmore Girls on Netflix. 

Oh, how I missed them!! I do have ever single season on DVD and watch them, a lot. But I really missed brand new episodes and brand new storylines. Within the first few moments of the first episode „Winter“ I started to tear up. It was so good to see new footage of Stars Hollow. And it definitely was good to see Lorelai and Rory again. 

Here are a few questions that you might wonder about:

Did I enjoy the new episodes? Oh yes, I did very much so. 

Do I like them? Oh yes, I do. I actually love them. 

Are they better than season 7 and more like season 1-6? They definitely are. 

Did I get answers to questions I had after season 7 ended? Yes, I did. Pretty much everything I, personally, wondered about has been answered. Besides one question. And a few minor ones. 

Am I alright with Lorelai’s love life? Yes, I am. I think she ended up with the person I always thought she should end up with. 

Am I alright with Rory’s love life? I don’t know how to answer that. 

Is Stars Hollow still the Stars Hollow we know and love? It definitely is. 

Do I miss some presence of some characters? Unfortunately, I do. Especially one character. 

Are the new episodes give us closure? In some points they do, in others they definitely do not. 

Do I like the ending and the very hyped last four words? WHAT THE HECK WERE YOU THINKING BY ENDING THIS WITH THOSE WORDS?! I mean come on. That ending is like…  I… it… whoa… I don't even know. It ends with a BAM. There are sooooooooo many new unanswered questions now. I could write them all down but then I would definitely be spoilering. All I’m saying is, I NEED MORE!!! There has to be more new stuff planned. 

Overall, I definitely enjoyed every single second of the new episodes. They represent what we love so much about the Gilmore Girls and the entire show. But after the ending, it definitely has to continues. 

College Graduate - What to do now?

Well guys, it is official. I am a college graduate. With a Master’s degree. After six years of classes, exams, studying like a maniac, I am done with college. I am done with college. I am a college graduate. I am a college graduate with an actual diploma. I am sorry for repeating this so often, but I still kind of not believing this whole being a college graduate kind of thing. It has not settled in yet, I guess. If feels weird and anti-climactic. It has been a little over three weeks since my very, very last final exam and a few days since I picked up my diploma. For those who are wondering, yes I  had to pick up my diploma in the office at my university. Yes, this is kind of weird and feels unofficial. And yes, I am actually kind of pissed of not really having an official ceremony where I will get my diploma. Oh, I am sorry, there will be a an official something. BUT, I will have to give my diploma back before I will receive it again. Then, some important person will say three words and will hand out the diplomas again. This whole thing should take about 20 mins. Great ceremony right? I don’t think so. 

Anyway, I am a college graduate. I cannot repeat it enough. I probably have to, just to believe it. I don’t know when that will start. But I guess I have to start believing it because now the real life thing is about to get real. It already started to get real. I just avoid it getting real. But, I guess I have to start at some point. My college life is officially over since a couple of days. There is nothing left at school. And there is nothing left for me to do at school. What do people say? It is time for me to spread my wings and fly. You know, my big, major, large question here is: Fly where? 

I keep asking myself the same questions all over in head. Day in day out. Before I go to sleep. After I wake up. During the day. What to do now? What do to with my life? What to do everyday? What in the world do I want to do? 

I know very well that the next step for me is to find a job. An actual job that pays more than 450 € every month. And believe me when I say, that I cannot wait to earn more money. And I already applied for several positions in different fields. By the way, apparently very few companies do reply if they received your application. And very few companies — almost none — reply at all. I think that is very rude and unfair because we, the applicants, wait for answers on how far the whole application process is. And I have several „open“ applications — which I have sent out months ago — from which I never heard a thing. I believe the positions are already filled but it would be nice to get some kind of information, even it is a rejection. 

I already applied for different jobs. But I am not sure what I actually want. It is hard to figure that out. I did not major in business, economics, natural sciences or something with engineering, in which your paths are exactly mapped out for you. I majored in liberal arts — cultural and literary studies to be exact. And there is no map. Finding a job in this field is not that easy. First, you actually have to figure out what you want to do. There are many fields one is able to go to. Journalism, publishing, cultural things, research or one is also able to go into economic or things like that with a little extra training. But as previously mentioned, you first have to figure out what field you want to pursue a career in. And I am not quite sure what I want. I am applying for different things and I am searching for different opportunities. But in the meantime I have to figure out what I want to do. Secondly, when you finally figure out what you want to do, you actually have to find a position. And believe me, all I have been hearing, this is not easy. I am doing everything at the same time. Figuring out what I want and searching and applying for a job. And at the same time, I am also incredibly freaked out I won't figure out what I want and won't find a job and end up getting an unemployment check every month. 

As much as I don't want to admit it but I feel lost. Everyone keeps telling me that I will find something soon. A job, they mean. And I do believe them, but at the same time I don’t. Sometimes I feel incredibly sure about my future and what I want to do, and sometimes I don’t have clue. It is a freakin’ circle I can’t seem to break out of. However, I still am the optimistic person I’ve always been. I know that someday I will find my true calling and figure exactly out what I want. And at some point I will find the perfect first real job. I just have to keep applying and hoping. 

Gilmore Girls - A Series that accompanied me through Life

I am not sure if I ever mentioned it, but Gilmore Girls is my absolut favorite TV series in the entire world. I have many favorite ones and many that I watch on a weekly basis, but Gilmore Girls is on the very top of the list. The series and I have a long history together. I was 10 years old when it premiered in the US in the fall of 2000. However, it took four additional years for it to come to Germany. I was 14 years old when I discovered Gilmore Girls, when it premiered on German television. Since that day, it has been a love story. And it will never end. It is a never ending love story. 

Next week, on November 25th to be more precise, there will be four new 90 min Gilmore Girls episodes on Netflix. I thought this would be a great opportunity to tell you more about it being my favorite series and the reasons for it. As previously mentioned, I started watching this wonderful series from the very beginning of its German television premier. I cannot tell you the exact TV schedule anymore, because it was a very long time ago. But what I can remember is, that I always watched it in the afternoon. The series follows a fast-talking mother-daughter duo — Lorelai and Rory Gilmore — throughout their daily lives with all its glory and struggles. Lorelai became a mother when she was 16 years old. She has always been kind of a rebel in the perfect world of her wealthy parents Richard and Emily Gilmore. She „escaped“ (Lorelai would describe it like that) this world when Rory was about a year old and moved to Stars Hollow, a town about half an hour away from her parents. She started working at the Independence Inn, which she later ran. From the very first moment, I was hooked. I mean, come on. Who does not want have Lorelai as a mom and Rory as a best friend? Okay, I want to have Lorelai as a second mom because my mom is pretty awesome. But I still want to have Rory as a best friend. Who does not want to go to Luke’s diner on a daily basis many times a day? Who does not want to have a Sookie — a very talented, crazy, and clumsy chef and Lorelai’s best friend and later business partner? And a Jackson — Sookie’s husband? And I do not even have to mentioned Rory’s boyfriends. I love the debates about who is team Dean, team Jess, or team Logan. I am still undecided between team Jess and team Logan. I mean Dean was her first boyfriend and he was alright. But he also always was kind of jealous and possessive. Jess was her second boyfriend and he was a bad boy — skipping school, lying to Luke (his uncle), being kind of an idiot. But he turnt his life around and became a very decent guy. And then there is Logan, Rory’s third boyfriend and college boyfriend. He comes from money and he likes to show it. He can be a huge idiot, but after many bumps on the road he realizes he loves Rory very much. There is also the debate concerning Lorelai’s boyfriends or fiancés. She had a few — Max Medina (engaged and he was Rory’s teacher at Chilton), Alex, or Jason. But the real debate is between Christopher —Rory’s father and later Lorelai’s husband (they also got divorced very quickly after getting married in season 7 and who is always around — or Luke — close friend and later fiancé. I personally cannot decided between those two. Emily and Richard Gilmore bring an interesting twist into the story. Lorelai and her parents do not have the best of relationships and their Friday night dinners, also with Rory, are hilarious. It is not only the characters I fell in love with, it is also the setting. This small town with its inhabitants who are more like a large family. They have all this crazy and unique festivals and carnivals. Or an easter egg hunt for the entire town. This whole town is very unique. The storylines are also never boring. There is always something going on and there is never a dull moment. Everything is always a mix between the serious and the funny. I could talk forever about this show. As of of right now, there are 7 seasons. But soon there will be four new episodes, which makes me very happy. Gilmore Girls is a show that I have been watching for over 10 years. I have watched every season multiple times and I know every single episode by heart. I went through my teenage years with it. I basically grew up watching the show. I learnt quite a few lessons from it. Here are a few: Whatever life throws at you, deal with it with dignity. Try to always find the good thing in every situation. Do not take yourself too seriously sometimes. Never give up on your dreams. You can be however you want to be, do not let anyone else tell you differently. 

Rory and Lorelai will continue to be a part of my life. I always return to my favorite fast-talking mother-daughter duo. For everyone, who loves them as much as I do, keep watching it. For everyone, who never watched a single episode, go and start now!!

For everyone, who cannot wait until next week like me? We’ve waited a long time for new episodes, we can wait one more week!! 

Life Update - The (almost) End of a Chapter

Welcome my lovely readers and bloggers and whomever is going to read this.

I’m very happy you made it, found this blog, or stumbled across it. Anyway, today I’m going to give you a little update on what is going on in my life right now. It is not a lot but it is also not not a lot, if that makes any sense. 

When you read my last blog where I told you about my very failed plan of keeping an online diary of my #USAAdventure (I’m still so incredibly sorry about this), you know that I have been back home for quite some time now. During the last year, I worked on my Master’s thesis. Most of the time, students only work on it for 6 months. But I intentionally decided that I want to work on it in a slower way. I never thought it will take me a year, but it is okay how it is and it definitely was the right decision for me to take time for this whole process. I made the mistake once of just wanting to finish an important paper and it did not work out the way I wanted it to be. So therefore, for this very important paper I decided to take my time and work on in in my own pace. 

After I returned home form the United States, I had to hand in my thesis a week later and I still had a little work to do. Not that much, but still a great amount. For the first week of my return, I only finished my thesis and handed it in. You have no idea how relieved I was when I finally handed it in. A huge amount of stress and tension fell off of my shoulders. And I also was kind of proud of myself, that I  even made it this far. However, my college life did not stop there. Additional to my written thesis, I have a final oral exam, in order to graduate with a Master’s degree. For the past 2 months, I have been searching for topics, talking to my professor about them being appropriate for the exam, running from appointment to appointment, studying at home, at the library, everywhere I had a free minute, etc. So basically, I was preparing for that final exam and I actually still am studying. I have my oral exam in a week. Still one week to go until I graduate from college. By the way this seems all so crazy to me that I will be GRADUATING college with a freakin’ Master’s degree in about a week!!! I can’t believe it. I don’t think I’m at the point of believing it yet. I will get there soon. Anyway, where was I. Ahh, yes, my oral exam. I still have tons of studying and work to do for this and it will be one more crazy week. Wish me luck. No, wish me success. 

Additionally, to all the craziness with school, I have to find a job. Yes, I will be an adult soon and adults have to have jobs to pay bills and everything. Well, I already have a part time job, earning a little bit of money — enough to pay for my life while still living at home. But it is just a student job and soon I won’t be a student anymore. Hence, I have to stop working there. Therefore, I’m already searching for a full-time job. At the moment, I’m still focusing on my exam, but I’m occasionally looking and browsing through job postings. And when there is something that would fit, I apply. After my exam, I have to start looking more intensively. But right now, I have other priorities. 

So in between studying and searching for a job, there is not much time in my day right now. And I have to start figuring out what I want to do with my life. It is an interesting, challenging, but also very exciting time. We’ll see what the future will hold. 

I hope you enjoyed reading a little bit about my life right now. Maybe some of you know exactly what I’m talking about or know what I’m going through at the moment. Others might not. Have a wonderful day. And I’ll talk to you soon!! 

#USAadventure Part 4: My very-much-failed Original Plan and THE END

Alright people, my original plan of blogging about my wonderful and incredible #USAadventure this summer completely failed. Nothing, literally nothing, worked out the way I planned it. And I am very sorry about this. I try to think about an apology, but the best thing I am able to come up with is: life got it the way. Anyway, I really want to tell you about the rest of my trip, so be prepared for a long post. And by long, I mean endless.

I think I left you off with my rant about how stressful the program was which I was attending during the summer. When I posted my last post, I still had one more week to go in Santa Fe, NM. I had to hand in all of my papers that week (actually that Tuesday) and I finally got my life back. Well, kind of. During the program I took two classes. One of them was a poetry class, which consisted out of reading poetry, learning more about poetry, and writing poetry. Yes, I was that crazy by taking a poetry class which consist of also writing poetry myself. During the first session, I literally thought: “What the heck did I get myself into?” But it turned out to be one of the best classes I ever took. I learnt a new skill, something I never thought I would be capable of. And we were an incredible group of people. The classroom was a safe place – a place where there was no judgement, a place where you were able to really open up without being afraid of people talking behind your back, and a place where nothing left the classroom. It was pretty special. At the end of the last week, our class had a reading. And trust me, I was freaked out because of that. I hate speaking in front of people, let alone reading and performing poems I wrote. I mean, I just started writing poetry six weeks prior to this reading. But the reading was more than successful. I absolutely enjoyed it. Not my performance, but everybody else’s. Even the reading, which was public by the way, had the feeling of being exactly the same safe place like our classroom. Just amazing. After it, a bunch of us got together and celebrated the end of studying. It was kind of bittersweet. On the one side, we were finally done with this crazy schedule and all the studying. But on the other side, it meant that summer was almost over and we had to leave in a couple of days. It was a happy and sad get together. The next couple of days were filled with packing, saying goodbyes, soaking in the summer, and trying to squeeze in as much time as possible with the wonderful people I met there. Those six weeks were very stressful, exhausting, and challenging. But at the same they were wonderful, fun, and exciting. I met some great people there and we had a blast. Without them, it would not have been as great as it was. It was an amazing time, a memory I will cherish forever, and a time I would not trade for the world. But my adventure did not stop there. My next destination was Oklahoma City.

Some of you probably wonder, why I would go to Oklahoma. Let me tell you something. It is a wonderful state, with lots to see and to do!! It is a great place on earth and another one of my favorite places. Anyway, I went there to see extended family. I know, more extended family in the US. The two and a half weeks I got to spent with them were absolutely wonderful. We spent our time shopping (lots of it and my credit card still hates me), laying by the pool, little bit of road-tripping around a national wildlife part and to a lake, playing knock-out (the German game “Mensch ärgere dich nicht”), eating cheesecake, talking, laughing, and just having a great time. On one of my days there, I got to spent it in one of my favorite museums on this planet – the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. Next to the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, FL this is my favorite one. This time and for the first time ever, I went there completely by myself. I only got dropped off there and picked up later (thank you very much by the way). I was able to go through the museum and look at everything in my own pace. I absolutely enjoyed it. The weather in Oklahoma was so hot. I never experienced such hot temperatures and those for weeks. God, it was hot. Therefore, I really enjoyed just laying by the pool and having nice relaxed days with wonderful people. Oklahoma was my final destination. And the perfect end for my almost three-month adventure. I will cherish this trip, the time I got the spent with my American family, the people I met and who became friends, and the things I learnt about myself forever.

As amazing this trip has been, my journey back home was horrible. It is a very long story, but I will shorten it. It started with my first flight to Dallas Fort Worth being delayed for five hours. We boarded the plane normally and we even were on the runway, when the pilot told us that we cannot take off. We had to stay on the plane for the next hour before they rolled us back to the gate and we got off the plane. For more than three hours they told us we are going to re-board in a couple of minutes. Due to the delay, I missed my connecting flight back to Germany. I asked the airline person (I am not going to name any airlines, because I do not want to get in trouble for this) what they will do now. They told me that they rebooked me onto a different flight over London, England to Germany and that I would get any further information in Dallas, because I would be changing airlines. I thought to myself that is alright. I still have enough time in Dallas to get all the information I need. Well, I could not have been more wrong about that. After we finally arrived in Dallas, I had exactly 10 mins to find a person who could tell me on which flight I was booked onto, when the flight departs and where, to get boarding passes, AND to get to the gate. I still do not know HOW I was able to make the flight to London. I yelled at the person on the gate that I think I should be on that flight. I literally was the last person boarding that flight. They closed the door behind me and I had not found my seat yet when the plane started moving. After finding my seat, I even asked the stewardess where we were going and how long it will take to get there. Yes, that was how much time I had before to get all the information. My nightmare continued by me sitting in the middle of a French group of people who had the goal of drinking the entire alcohol on the plane. After two hours, I asked a stewardess if she may has another seat available. Luckily for me, she had. When we arrived in London (btw, London Heathrow is the worst airport I have ever been to), I asked an airline employee if my baggage made it onto this flight. The nice lady told me: “It was not on the flight and I cannot even locate it” (She said that with a very British accent). I should take care of this at my final destination. At this point, I was already travelling for the past 20 hours and I was dead on my feet. And I lost it. Envision me standing at the London Heathrow airport crying and yelling into my phone (I called my mum). Basically, I was throwing a tantrum like a 5 year old.  When I arrived at my final destination, I did the whole lost baggage thing and when I walked out of the baggage claim area and saw my parents and my brother I lost it completely and cried like a five-year-old. I was dead on my feet, exhausted, glad I even made it home, and so incredibly angry. When I got home, after a 24-hour journey instead of 14 hours, I called the other airline (which I originally booked) and explained everything to them. At least, they were able to tell me that my baggage was still in Dallas. Long story short, it made it back home the next day and I got it delivered. My baggage made it home two days after myself. But let me tell you, it was horrible not knowing where my things are. You might think, I should not exaggerate and be over sensitive here. I have to explain something for you to understand me better. I am a very organized person and I always control twice that I have everything, that I do not lose something, or forget something. Therefore, not having my suitcase, not knowing where it was, and having to leave the airport without my things was the worst for me. I hated it. When my suitcase arrived back home, I had the feeling that now I am finally back home.

Besides my horrible journey back, I had the best time!! Thank you to everyone who made this adventure unforgettable! I love you all!! And miss you!! And thank you, USA, for having me, tolerating me, and providing me with memories I will cherish forever. Until next time!!

Anyway, all of this was four weeks ago. I know, it took me a long time to tell you and to write this. I had to readjust and I had to organize so many things. I will not get into any detail here. I will tell you more about everything that happened since in another post. This one is already long enough, if you even made it to this point. I hope you enjoyed reading.

#USAadventure Part 3: Freetime? Not existing

You are probably wondering where the heck I have been over the past couple of weeks when I so loudly announced I would write some kind of online diary about my experiences in the USA. Well, my main experience so far is that I do not have time for anything else but studying and working on my Mount Everest full of work. And I am even writing this while sitting in class. That is how much time I have for anything else. However, I want to still tell you more about the last six weeks (yes, six weeks already and I do not have time for anything) in the United States of America.

I started my #USAadventure in Tampa, Florida. I probably never mentioned it, but I have extended family there. Therefore, I visited them. I stayed with different family members for a week. Tampa is one of my favorite places on this earth. I love the city and the area, but I do not like the humidity. It is always so hot. But I do not travel to Tampa for the weather, although, it also can be very nice. I go there to visit family. During my time, we spent a lot of time together talking, laughing, eating, a little sightseeing, and also a little (okay, a lot) of shopping. I already have seen pretty much everything there. However and besides seeing my family, there is one place I always love to go. It is the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg. I just love his art. It is disturbing at some point, but it also has so many facets. We also went to the Tampa Historical Center (I believe that is what it is called, correct me if I’m wrong). I learnt a lot about the history of Tampa, which was so incredibly interesting. If you are ever in the city, you have to go to the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City or the Columbia Café, which is right in the same building as the Tampa Historical Center. The food there is just amazing. So good. I cannot even tell you what to try because everything I had so far was incredible. One of my favorite days in Tampa was when we had a barbeque with (almost) the entire family there. I loved to see all of them and spending time with them. The theme for my visit was kind of car rides in the rain. Tampa went through an unusual time of storms around noon and the afternoon during that time of the year. As previously mentioned, I did not came for the weather (although, a little beach weather would have been nice).

After a week with wonderful people and doing a lot of fun things, I went to the place where the main focus for my entire adventure is – Santa Fe, New Mexico. For the past five weeks (one more week to go, then I have my life back) I have been attending a summer study program here. What can I tell you about this program and the time I have spent here so far? Well, the people I have met are all very nice and we have been having a wonderful time (when we do actually have a little bit of time, no we just make time, to hang out a little). Besides having classes and studying 24/7, we went on different hikes. There are hikes every morning, but I am so not a morning person and I am not insane to go on a hike at 6 in the morning. Although, I have to say I went on one hike this early. No wait, it was even earlier. We left at 5:30 in the morning. Yes, I only was that crazy one time. And trust me, when I got up at 5 (!!!) I thought I already completely lost my mind and that was at the very beginning of the program when classes have not even started yet. Anyway, getting up this early and hiking up a freakin’ mountain was totally worth it, because we got to experience a beautiful sunrise and an amazing view over the whole city of Santa Fe and even further. As amazing as it was, I never did it again. We also went to the National Monument of Bandelier and hiked there. I also loved this hike. It was in the morning as well, but not as early. We had to drive there first and started our hike around 9ish. I thought it was incredible. I cannot even put it into words. So I will show you a few pictures here:

 
The third hike I did was by far my favorite one, although it was definitely without a doubt the hardest one. On a Friday, we went to the Tent Rocks. We also went there in the morning and had to drive there first. It was just amazing, incredible, beautiful. For the first 1 ½ hours, we hiked up a mountain and through rock walls. That was amazing. It was incredibly hard and exhausting, because it was so hot and the sun was burning down, the view on top was breathtaking. Again, I cannot put all of this into words, so here are some pictures:

 

We also went into town a few times. Santa Fe is beautiful, although the whole architecture is kind of the same all the time. The houses and buildings all look similar. But still it has so much charm. Here are some pictures:

 

And here is the explanation and reason for me not being able to go through with my so wonderful thought of plan of writing an online diary. This program is a six week intensive study program. I have two classes which are on Tuesdays/Thursday for 3 hours each. On those days I am pretty much wiped out after 6 hours of class. But I still have to study and write papers. On the other days during the week, I have to study and write papers. Therefore, all I do here is study and write papers. And I have to do this, because I have a ton to hand in and read. Freetime is not existing. My life is put on hold for the past 5 weeks and I have still several days to go. My daily life looks like this: wake up, eat, study, eat, study, eat, study, sleep. On days I have classes it looks like this: wake up, eat, go to class, eat, go to class, study, eat, study, sleep. Fun, huh? And I am not exaggerating. I wish I was but I am not. Don’t get me wrong, this program has been a wonderful experience so far. I have met wonderful people and I was able to take two classes with amazing teachers. But it is very challenging, on an intellectual level and on a physical level. You are constantly under stress and do not have time to relax just a little bit, only when you are sleeping. And I do not sleep very well here. Therefore, I am literally tired all the time. I’m going to stop complaining here.

I deeply apologize for not being able to take you on a daily journey with me, but I hope I was able to make it up a little with this block post.

See you guys soon J

#USAadventure 2: Packing and my Carry-on

I hate packing. I hate everything about it. I love the excitement and the happiness which come along with a trip but I really and strongly dislike packing. And on top of it, I am the worst packer on the entire planet. No, probably the whole universe.

Anyway, I started the whole packing process with a pre-list of all the things I needed to pack. I just wrote down everything. Then I made my actual packing list which I divided into different sections – clothes, toiletries and cosmetics, shoes, things I need for college, medicine, and other things. If you have not thought it before, you probably will now think that I am a bit crazy. But I just like to be organized. Anyway, at this point I realized that I am going to need soooooo many things. The next step for me was to buy all the things I did not have at home or of which I needed to get new ones. I mostly needed to buy all the toiletry things such as shampoo, conditioner, bodylotion, bodywash, facewash, facecream, q-tips, etc. When I bought all those things, I realized for the first time that I actually need so many products just to clean myself with the basics and take care of skin and the rest of my body. Additionally, they take so much weight away of the 23 kg my suitcase is allowed to weight. I never realized this. Evertime I have travelled before, I always bought the travelsize packages but never the normal ones. The weekend before I left, I started packing. The reason why I hate packing so much is probably because I never know what to pack, especially clothes. I always tend to pack way too much and stuff that I do not need. However, for this trip, I had to be smarter on what to actually take with me and what to leave at home. So a packing crisis already approched me the week before I actually started packing and it only got worse. I even called some friends for advice which clothes I should pack. I even aks my mum for help. I bet you see why I hate it so much and why I am very bad at it. Well, it was a long process but when I finally finshed I was a very happy girl.

Packing my carry-on was as difficult as packing my suitcase. Due to me attending a summer program in the states, I had to take so many others things with me than I usually do. I will tell you more about all the additional things later after I finished with the items I have always in my carry-on. First, my carry-on back is my backpack. It is the most comfortable thing for me to carry around in an airport. The most usual things I always bring with me on the plane is my phone (+ charger), camera (+charger), Ipod (+ charger) (yes, I am that old-school, but I love my Ipod nano), wallet, a book, a blanket, warm socks (I always get so cold on planes), santizier, disinfection wipes (to disinfect my hands, the seat, and the table), a hairbrush, handlotion, make-up remover tissues (I like to take the little bit of make-up I am wearing off during a flight), face cream ( my skin tends to get really try and kind of grey looking during a flight, so I try to keep it moisturized), gum, lip balm, a toothbrush (the flight could be delayed and I have to stay somewhere, so I always have to toothbrush with me in order to at least brush my teeth) a clean pair of underpants (same reason as the toothbrush, at least I am able to change that), and empty water bottle (in order to refill it at drinking fountains after the security check in), something to write in, and a pen. I know, it is a lot but I need all of those things. I really do. The additional things I had to take with me this time were my tablet with its keybord, some of my school things (I was afraid that my suitcase will get lost and I am without those things), all of the neccesarry papers form y visa, my Amazon Kindle, and not only a pen but a whole pencil case. This time my backpack was very heavy :D

As it got visible, I really am the worst (but slightly organized) packer and I hope you understand why I hate it so much. For this trip it was especially hard because I had to take all the school supplies with me which took away more of the allowed free-weight than I thought.

I hope you enjoyed reading. See you later J

#USAadventure 1: The Preparations

When you read my previous blog post you already know what this is all about. For those who are new to the party, I am going to attend a summer program at an American university this summer. And I am very excited. Without further ado, I am going right into the theme of this post – the preparations. 

It all started when I got accepted into the summer school in mid-February. I had to plan my whole trip. I had not only to plan the summer school itself, but also if I want to go somewhere else. But first I had to wait until I got the official letter of acceptance and the exact dates of the summer school. I received all of this by the beginning of March. I am going as an exchange student from my German university. Therefore, I also got a scholarship for it. This made me very happy because it is a lot of money. The scholarship pays for room and board and the tuition. I have to pay for the flights, the insurances, the school supplies and the student visa myself. I started with writing my relatives in the USA if and when I can maybe visit them. After determine that schedule I booked my international flights at the end of March. Simultaneously, I had to coordinate everything with the advisors of the summer school. I had to accept the spot, pick out classes, and organize everything I needed for my visa. Around mid-April I finally was able to book my domestic flights. Hence, by mid-April at least all my flights were booked. This was a huge step. Now, I had to get everything in order for the visa. I had to fill out a couple of forms and sent them to the advisors. It took them a while to get the papers back to me. When I received them I finally was able to apply for the J1-Visa. Guys, let me tell you something, the United States of America make it really complicated to apply for a visa. There are no clear instructions where you have to do what. Fortunately for me, I have some friends (thank you again for all the help and not being annoyed of my 10000000 questions) who let me into a direction and I knew kind of what I need to do and where. I had to fill out a huge questionnaire with millions of question about myself, my parents, my school, and many more. The United States knows everything about me now. Then I had to a fee just to prove that I am a student. Yes, you read right. I had to pay a fee to prove I am a student. And it was not a small amount. Then I had to pay the actual visa fee, which was also not a small amount. It took me a whole day to figure that all out -.- 2 days later I got the acceptance to schedule an appointment at an American Consulate. My younger brother had to go with me, because I was not allowed to take anything with me inside the consulate besides all the necessary forms and my passport. The appointment was the easy part of this whole visa journey. It only took 15 min. Two days later, I received my passport with a huge visa sticker inside of it. The next steps are now packing and getting all of my school supplies ready. But I will tell you more about that in a new post.

However, as it got visible it takes a lot of work and time to prepare for this huge adventure. Beside all of these preparations, I also had to continue working part-time and writing my Master’s thesis full-time. I also had to start prepare for classes for the summer school. All of this was tons of work and it still is. But I have a strong feeling that all will be worth it at the end.

I hope you enjoyed reading and I will see you later. Have a wonderful day J

Holly goes out into the World

When you follow me on Twitter (@HollysLifetime) you probably read some tweets which were kind of a countdown for a new adventure of mine. In a couple of days I am leaving for the USA to attend a summer program at an American University. Some of you probably will not call this an adventure, but for me it is one. For the first time, I am travelling completely on my own which is new for me. Of course, I have been traveling without my parents. I am an adult. But I have never travelled this far on my own – alone. I always travelled with friends. Additionally, I have never attended anything where I do not know anyone this far away from home. As you can see, this is new to me. I am a little bit nervous about all of it. But it is a good nervous. I am more excited. I am excited about who I am going to meet, how classes will be, how the campus will look like, how the dorms will be, and so many more things. Let’s see how it is going to be.

I decided that I want to share my experience with all of you on my blog. I want to write some kind of an online diary, but I am not sure yet on the posting schedule – if I post one shorter entry every day or a larger one every other day. I think I want to depend it on what is going on and what I will experience. If I spent a day with only studying, I probably will not post that day. It will be quite boring. But overall, I want to share my experiences with you. I will also share my preparations for the whole journey. The first blog post will be about all the preparations I had to deal with over the past couple of months, which were also the reasons why I have not been posting as much as I wanted too. Okay, fine. I literally have not been posting at all. But all those time-consuming preparations did not leave much time for anything else. So, unfortunately I had to prioritize. And as much as I love blogging, I had more important things I had to care of which are important for my academic career and my future work career. I apologize for not posting. And I hope you will forgive me. 

I will talk to you later in my first blog post about my USA adventure. See you soon J

Kate Voegele and Tyler Hilton in Concert

Last night was finally the night of the Kate Voegele and Tyler Hilton concert in Frankfurt, Germany. I have been waiting for this for a long time. However, I believe I have to start the story at a different point.

Kate Voegele and Tyler Hilton are probably well-known for portraying Mia Catalano and Chris Keller on the beloved TV Show One Tree Hill. Nevertheless, both are very talented musicians. And I knew their music long before I discovered OTH. I think I first stumbled across a song by Tyler Hilton, although I cannot remember which one it was. Separately, I also stumbled across a song by Kate Voegele. And I got hooked on both of their music. By the way, I also started to watch One Tree Hill and never stopped. It is a great show and it is still one of my favorites, but this is a different story. Anyway, last October I found out that Kate Voegele and Tyler Hilton will come on tour to Germany in December 2015. For a very long time I have been listening to their music. They belong to my favorite artists of all time. Therefore, I was very excited and immediately bought tickets with a friend of mine. Unfortunately, the concert was cancelled due to whatever reasons and rescheduled to May 14^th, 2016. So I had to wait five additional months.

On Saturday, May 14^th it finally was time for the concert. During the week, the friend I originally planned on going with told me that she unfortunately had to work on Saturday. I think she was more crushed than I was. Instead I went with my little brother (thank you very much for going with me). It took place in a not so big venue and we had a wonderful place near the stage but with a lot of room around us. I absolutely loved that. I do not particularly like big crowds, so this was perfect for me. There was still a lot of room, although the concert was sold out. What can I say about the actual concert? Amazing, incredible, awesome, great, authentic, fantastic, and many more adjectives I cannot remember right now. 

Both of them played guitar and they had another guy, Alex, play the piano. Hence, it was acoustic. I loved that because it made the whole concert so much more authentic. Kate and Tyler both sounded amazing. And I actually think they were live better than on the record. They played all my favorite songs, actually I like all of their songs. Additionally, they played almost all of them together, no matter if it was a song from Kate or Tyler. So this was a whole new experience. It made me wish they would record it like that. During the songs they interacted with the audience. The evening was filled with so many unforgettable moments. There were actually two moments which I want to tell you more about. If I would tell you about all the great moments, I could write a whole book and who wants to read that. Anyway, the first very funny moment I want to tell you about happened when they explained that they were part of One Tree Hill. Kate said that they were basketball champions (referring to the Tree Hill Ravens winning the basketball championship in season 4) while singing songs along the way. Tyler said that they shot people (probably referring to the school shooting in season 4 and the whole rescuing Nathan form his kidnappers in season 9). And he joked that no one has to actually see it. Kate mentioned that this is a perfect summary and that is probably what it said on the DVD boxes. Tyler then said: “Kate and Tyler saved the day. Every episode.” The whole audience was laughing so hard. So funny. 

The second moment is actually a chain of moments that continued throughout the night. Kate mentioned that her voice started to hurt and that she sounds a little husky and raucous. One of them then said that she sounds like Sophia Bush (she played Brooke Davis on OTH and is currently portraying Detective Erin Lindsay on Chicago PD). They also mentioned Clothes over Bros (the clothing label Brooke Davis created in OTH) in that context, but I cannot exactly remember how. I decided to tweet about it and then this happened:

Both Sophia Bush and Kate Voegele reacted to my tweet and also mentioned it. That kind of put the cherry on top of the whole night.

Overall, the concert was more than I had expected. It was absolutely amazing and totally worth the wait. The next time they play a concert near me, I will definitely go there. I hope you liked my post and my recap. If you have never heard of Kate Voegele and Tyler Hilton before, google them now. You will not be sorry. 
Thank you for an amazing concert, Kate Voegele and Tyler Hilton. 

(I would love to share some cellphone videos with you but somehow they will not upload... I will post this post anyways and try to figure out to post the videos later. If anyone knows why they are not uploading, tell me please!!)  

When cutting your hair gives you a whole new attidude

For many years now I have had the same hair cut. Okay, almost the same. I only let the hairdresser cut off a tiny little bit in order for my hair to stay healthy or I had a few layers. But basically, my length stayed the same. I added a little bit of color in form of blond highlights once in a while and that was it.

A couple of weeks ago, I started to get really annoyed with my hair. It did not look good, no matter what I did. It looked dry and frizzy. It did not stay like I wanted it to be. It was so annoyed with it. It was the time when I decided to only wear it in a ponytail or a bun. About two weeks ago, I thought that I need a change. I tend to have those moments when I want to just cut it off immediately. Then run to the hairdresser and do it. And then regret it when I leave the beauty salon. From past experiences, I should not do that. Those impulsive decisions caused many tears. But this time, my wanting-shorter-hair feeling stayed. I have been looking around for the perfect style for me. And I found it. Last Tuesday I went to my hairdresser, who I trust completely. BTW, I do not trust just anyone with my hair. It is kind of sacred. Anyway, I went to her and I told her to cut it off. She asked me many times if I am sure about this, we cannot just clue them back on later. And I told her yes, we do it. 45 min minutes later, she cut off about 15 cm. Now, my hair is about shoulder-length with a few layers. I am still growing out my last blond highlights which now look like a wanted balayage. I am super happy with my decision and it was totally worth it.

People always say, that women get a new hairdo when a major change happened before – like a breakup or a job change or something like that. I am not sure if that applies to me. I am at the end of my studies and there will be a few major decisions I have to make. But I did this haircut to feel more comfortable in my skin again. I consider my hair my best feature. It is what I love most about my physical appearance. And lately I did not love it at all. I felt so uncomfortable in my own skin. But now, after I cut it. I feel so much better again. You can say that I feel like myself again. My attitude changed from being grumpy and unhappy with myself to loving my appearance again.

Sometimes a simple thing like a haircut helps to make you feel better. But always think about it for a while before you do a major change. J

March Favorites

I have not been posting in a while. And I sincerely apologize for that. My life is crazy right now. I had so much to take care off at school concerning my master thesis. It was a constant struggle the past several weeks. 

Anyway, I am back with my March favorites. I know, I know, it’s not the end of March yet, but I decided to talk about them earlier this month. Let’s get into this post.

The first item I want to tell you about and that I have been loving for a while now and what I will continue to love is, surprise, surprise, a beauty product. It is the NYX Contour Palette. It has four colors for highlighting and four for bronzing. All of them are very pigmented. I mostly use the first color from the left of the brighter one for highlighting. It is very bright and shimmery which gives your skin a healthy glow. I use it on the top of my cheekbones, on my forehead right above my nose in a triangle shape, and on the bridge of the nose. If I am not in the mood for a shimmery color, is use the one next to it. It is still bright but without any shimmer particles. The other colors are also amazing, but I do not use them that often. For bronzing, I tend to use the third one from left. It has a grey undertone which fits my skin perfectly. Or I sometimes use the second one from the left. The fourth one is way too dark for me and I have not tried the first one yet. I mostly only apply bronzer, in order to define my cheekbones. Sometimes I also use it on the edges on my forehead, but I do not do that too often. I have been searching for a contouring palette for a while before I bought this one. I love that I have that many great shades to choose from. The price of the palette is 19,95 €. It is not that cheap but not too expensive either. It is definitely worth the price.

The next two items are also beauty products, which I absolutely and completely fell in love with. I saw a girl at YouTube use them and talk about them and I had to buy them, too. I am talking about the Long Lasting Eye Pencils from Kiko. I bought them in the color 21 Passion Fruit and 36 Golden Mauve. They are so amazing and incredible. I have never had a better eye shadow. It is so pigmented. The colors are beautiful. And it really stays on a long time. It does not smudge or anything. It stays right where it should be. You even have to finish one eye at the time when you apply it, because it dries really fast. One costs 6,90 €. So they are not too expensive. But worth every cent. And I have to get more colors. 

 21 Passion Fruit

 36 Golden Mauve

The last item I rediscovered is actually a book. It is called “The Choice” written by Nicolas Sparks. When I found out, that there will be a movie about the book, I decided that I had to read it again before watching the movie. This novel was actually the first Nicolas Sparks novel I ever bought and it was the start of my addiction of his novels. I love every single one of them. Anyway, the novel is about two persons, Travis and Gabby, who become neighbors. After Travis, who is a veterinarian, helps Gabby’s dog after she gives birth, they start a friendship at first. Gabby still has a boyfriend, while Travis is single. They have a lot of fun together and they fall deeply in love with each other. They have to face many challenges and some are more difficult than others. But there is one very difficult decision Travis has to make…. Get it, read it, love it. It is so beautiful and a story about true love, faith, and that you just have to believe sometimes.

I hope, you had fun reading. And I will talk to you soon.