Bargains

Sometimes I find things I have not really been looking for, but they call out to me, plead and I listen!
I am sure you know what I mean.
Today at on one of my rather mundane errand routes I happened to walk by a cigar store, which I usually do not frequent, but a small bundle of beautiful boxes in front stopped me in my tracks. As I learned they sell empty cigar boxes for a Dollar a piece quite regularly and I had immediately an array of uses in my head. For small things always looking for a home in my house, buttons, knick knack, pencils, bracelets...
They will need a good airing before...





So I grabbed the prettiest of them all and afterwards at my book store stop found some more bargains...



Among them a small daily planner in a beautiful turquoise cover.( How can I resist?)I am an old fashioned writer and love to write in a daily planner, despite my IPhone! I pull it out of my purse, add notes, memos, some reveries, recipes, phone numbers, book titles, add business cards, well, by the end of the year it looks fat and holds plenty of memories.
Even though I paid full price it's a bargain in a way, since I can refill it next year.(Don't I think long term ahead?) They came in more gorgeous colors...


I have read The Ya-Ya Sisterhood books and loved them. I guess this is a good read, judging by the cover text..
And Gene Wilder is one of my favorites! Read another book by him and loved it too! All from the bargain section. Don't you love this?

And look, I found this wonderful small oil painting in a tiny thrift store in Venice, among lot's of junk...paid only a couple of Euros and it was mine, framed!!!! I still cannot believe my luck!


Now it reminds us all of the most wonderful summer in Italy!



I am sure you find treasured bargains here and there! Tell me about it!


XX
Victoria


All pictures by me.

Sunny mornings - sunny days

At the window this morning.


Being housebound I enjoy the wonders of the sunny mornings, those glorious late summer days with a stillness in the air!

Little salt and pepper pigs from Berlin...

I love the dark blue sky above me as I recline on an easy-on-my-back-chair in the garden.
The children are jumping with much delight on the new trampoline, truly a live saver for my son, who misses his soccer pals and structured exercises. I am amazed how they enjoy literally hours of jumping...

Just one more day and school resumes! Hallelujah!

I have begun to edit the thousands of pictures we have taken over the last 8 weeks and there is so much, so many memories attached, so many things I want to show you still...
But, life goes on and somehow I feel we must go with it and therefore I will only show pictures which fit into the context of the coming blog posts.
While I am still under the last German design impressions I'll show you some rooms from the homes of my friends, all no decorators and true showcases of styles in Germany!

First the newly renovated house of our good friends in Munich:







And here some impressions from my wonderful girlfriend's home in Berlin, where I have enjoyed many happy times of hospitality!
She is a whirlwind of energy and joyfulness, her home a mirror image of her happy attitude to life.









Some images of my parent's lovely little nest, in which they have lived for the last twenty years! When I see their place, warm memories of my childhood years come back to me, since my parents kept many of their original pieces from the years in Dresden and brought all with them after their move to Munich! This always reminds me how wonderful continuity can be. When I visit, it is always like coming back home, even it is neither the location nor the era of my childhood...
The set up of this living/dining room has not much changed since I have been a little girl! I love this room!
The year clock, named for the fact, that it only needs winding once a year, has fascinated me since I was small. Do you love coming back (home) and finding all in it's place? Somewhere else? I feel often like that when I go back to former familiar places, where I feel a little pang, when things have much changed...I love to find what I remembered!






The embroidered linen table cloth and napkins which my sister and I gave my parent's to their beautifully celebrated 50th weddding anniversary in August!


All these places are very different and yet, they all demonstrate quite clearly a certain German way to live. Modern, bohemian, traditional. And there is so much in between!

I hope you liked this little insight into German homes.

XX
Victoria



All pictures taken by me.

Arriving home

Here we are! What an amazing, happy and successful journey it has been!
From here to places in Bavaria, Germany. Then to Italy and last but not least to Berlin...and home...

With my mom in Volkach am Main, Germany.

Coming back home has been wonderful and somewhat slow. It took me a few days to get back to my regular life, not to talk of Euros and finally coming round to unpack every last bit and to part with stuff I carried around as souvenirs, like my weekly transportation pass from Berlin (a bargain at Euro 34,00 for one adult and all children for 5 days with endless discounts for all kinds of entertainments and places of interest)

All my children and my oldest son's charming girlfriend 'wired' on the small couch in the kitchen in Berlin...I miss you darlings!

Ach, I am still returning there in my mind. At home I have been showered with all my mail, catalogs, magazines and my emails, which I somewhat neglected over the last weeks. But we also have been awaited longingly by husband/papa too, which was lovely, returning to flowers and the knowledge to have been missed!

I am so curious to return to you all and see, what you all are up to at the beginning of September!
September 1st! I love September, it's the month of new beginnings, school, traditionally studies, a refreshing feeling of shortening days, apple picking and cooler nights. It helps that is also the month of the VIP birthdays in our family...
Beginning today, when I remember my grandma, she would have been today 109 years old. I still miss her. She died 2001, she was my soul mate and I recall endless memories.

I am back to gardening, small renovations in the house, some new clients and readying the children for school.

Southampton beach yesterday!

Yet we still enjoy those great summer days, last pool hours, yesterday a short visit to the Hampton's... The ocean was wild, but not cold and I love the comforts of soul calming whenever I am at one of the beaches of the Atlantic! I love that feeling of something so much larger then me, it puts easily all into a different prospective!

Are you all good? And thank you all for travelling with me and being patient!
I am working on sorting my pictures and there will be some I'll show you in the coming days!


XX
Victoria


Pictures by V.Zlotkowski

Berlin

Last week we arrived in Berlin and is has been a whirlwind of activities since. Berlin shows herself from her most sunny side, summery, warm and incredibly entertaining. When I came last it had been winter and I longed to explore this great city during a warmer time. Now we could.
Walking tours have been on our daily schedule and we found many delightful corners.
Berlin is a relaxed city.


Cafes, markets, playgrounds, water and parks make it so much fun, the infrastructure is perfect and getting around easy.


The Elephant Gate at the zoo near Kurfuerstendamm.
We visited one of two zoos, toured the beautiful Havel around Berlin and Potsdam,



watched the circus artists perform on Alexanderplatz and marveled at German ingeneering while visiting the new SONY center and Legoland at Potsdamer Platz.
Again I discovered local fashion and it astounds me how much creativity can be found walking alone through Berlin - Mitte.
We will finally return home on Friday, filled with grateful feelings for a wonderful summer together with our families and with many new impessions.
As for design ideas: I love the light, white, modern rooms I have seen again, the use of classic and antique furniture in modern settings, strategic colors and no fear of being different.
By now I can't wait to return home and to sort out all my impressions and show you some new ideas and more pictures.


XX
Victoria



All pictures by V.Zlotkowski

Leaving Tuscany

We all are leaving this wonderful house on the hill - Sansepolcro - Tuscany with a heavy heart and to tear us away from so much loveliness is not easy...And yet, we have received so many wonderful gifts: being together as a family, spending time with my parents and siblings, my adorable in - laws, my older children and the rest of us! We have lived together, talked and cooked and walked together, we laughed and cried (sometimes) and we are all so immensly grateful for the time we've had.


Eastern Tuscany is so beautiful and unlike the area around Florence, Sienna and Pisa somewhat off the beaten path. Of course we encountered travellers like us, but we felt mostly being among Italians. Strolling through many small towns filled with the treasures of Piero della Francesco and Andrea della Robbia has been an incredible discovery, climbing the mountains around us a true adventure.


We will bring the scents with us of lavender and rosemary, olive oil and cheese... and our minds are filled with the images of Tuscany and the memories of all the lovely people we encountered, new friends we have met and the relaxation we feel now!


Thank you Lizzie for opening your wonderful house to us, truly Tuscan and incredibly comfortable, we have felt home here from the moment we stepped over the threshold.
We will never forget the views which greeted us upon arrival, the valley below and the beauty around us!


We have already made plans to come back! That way it is much easier to leave...

A long drive awaits us tomorrow, all the way to Munich and then later after one more night on to Frankfurt, where we board our respective airplains home (my husband) and Berlin.

I will post a little once I'm in Berlin; as many of you know I love the city and I am now looking forward to seeing my friends and family there again.



Ciao!
Victoria