Three years.

Three years ago today, we had a little winter wedding in snowy, very cold Vienna. It is snowy and very cold today as well, so I´ll look at the pictures again and remember the great time we had. 

PS: The one big regret I have about this wedding? We didn´t hire a professional photographer (because the budget was tight). What was I thinking? I like this picture though.

Instalife.

Hi! I am still here. It´s just that so far, 2013 and I, we have a complicated relationship. I´ve been quite sick - turns out, there is an explanation for my never ending stomach problems after all, and it isn´t quite pretty. On top of that, I am so sick of winter, or specifically, of this winter which is just nothing but cold and wet and grey. Someone recently said on the radio that so far in 2013, there has been a total amount of 7 minutes of sun in our region, which maybe explains my grumpiness. 

So! I´ve been trying up to rest and cuddle up in front of our wood stove, and if I feel well enough, slap some paint on things. Like, on the only "new" door downstairs (which opens to a little powder room). It´s now green (pictured on the bottom right). The color is called "Lichen" (by F&B) and I think it´s pretty awful. Must repaint soon. Oh well. 

Also, do you see a glimpse of what will become our kitchen island? Yay! The first coat of, you guessed it, Down Pipe, is on and it´s already looking mighty fine if you ask me. The kitchen´s been delivered for quite some time now, but between my sickness and a busy husband, we did not manage to do very much with it. Anyway, our old kitchen just sold on Ebay, so there better be some progress soon! 

Happy weekend!

A new kitchen.

We ordered a new kitchen yesterday! To say I am thrilled would be a massive understatement. I hated our current kitchen right away - I remember the real estate agent saying what a nice kitchen it was and thinking that it would be the first thing I´d be ripping out. Well turns out, it took us 1.5 years of planning and saving our pennies. But now it´s finally happening!

Above is a rendering of what it will look like. Or well, of what we ordered. We bought the cheapest cabinets on offer at Ikea and I plan to transform them with a little DIY magic (spoiler alert: it involves paint). This is the look I am going for:

 

I want something traditional and simple for our old farmhouse. I´m not even sure if I find the kitchen island too modern, but it makes sense considering the weird layout of the kitchen and this way, we´ll have garden views and more light while we cook. Ooh, I am excited! Much more to come over the next weeks and months!

(Pictures: 1, 2 and 3)

12 from 2012.

2012 was a pretty good year - a wonderful year even, if you consider private life only. Job-wise though, I had the most difficult year of my entire career so far, and my one and only resolution for 2013 is to fix this mess.

I make a photo book each year and it is a wonderful way to look back and preserve the memories. I can´t really show you the photo book but I picked my favorite pictures from each month and linked to the respective blog post. I hope you enjoy!

In January, I had just painted all the doors upstairs a wonderful blue and started a collection of old oil paintings (I still looove this one by the way).

In Februray, we sanded the old wood floors downstairs and I fell in love with my living room again.

In March, I painted the kitchen floor a soft grey.

In April, we started to make progress in the walled garden.

In May, we enjoyed a holiday at home.

In June, we added Lutz and Emma to our family. (Aww, they were so little!)

In July, we threw a summer party for our neighbours.

In August, I finally shared our finished deck with you.

In September, we enjoyed the last bits of summer.

In October, I did a little walled garden recap. (Gosh, I can´t wait for spring!)

November was a difficult, foggy month.

And December was all about christmas.

Great expectations.

When we bought our house, one of the things I could picture most vividly is how we would celebrate Christmas here. Which is weird, because I´m not really a Christmas gal. But the thing about a big old house in the country, with enough space for visiting family members, a huge christmas tree and fancy dinners... it just screams Christmas, right?

All of this to say, we had a really nice one. My brother got lost on the way from the airport, we totally burned the poor innocent goose, and after 5 days I was more than ready to get my life back, but other than that: Lovely. I´m hoping for snow next year, and the funds to buy a piano - because you see, my Christmas fantasies also include singing carols around the piano. And then it will be perfect. Or maybe not, and that´s ok too.

So. I´m ready for a new year. Bring it on!