300

Not talking about the movie people, but turns out, this is my 300th blog post!!!
Can you imagine?! Hope everyone has a good in between time. Visitors keep coming in now for New Years Eve and my friends are up to crazy ski tours and snowboarding days!
Wish I was on a holiday right now and didn't have to work, but New Year's weekend will make up for it, lots of fun stuff coming up.
Any thoughts on resolutions for 2011 yet? Lots of thoughts on my end is all I can say, it all will be revealed in due time.

LA friends

My personal treat this Christmas season: I got to hang out with one of the funnest people on the planet, my friend Monica. Years ago she married my friend Paul and they moved to her hometown, LA. Me being gone for years and years myself, always thought that they must have been back for a visit, but turns out this was their first time back in Austria in almost six years!! Not bad, right.

We took a whole day out before Christmas and just chatted the entire time. So much to catch up on and dream of our futures, planning for 2011, etc. In between we ate, shopped and strolled around Vienna. I hope everyone has friends like that! You feel full of energy when you say good bye at the end of meeting up with them!

 such a bad picture but the only one of the two of us haha

Back in May I was already bragging about Monica's jewellery line and now I finally have two pieces (Navajo Friendship bracelet and Simple Gold Nugget Necklace) to wear. 

Check out her webpage and her Etsy shop. Pretty things, fair trade and cruelty free. Couldn't recommend it highly enough.

Christmas round up

Christmas was short and sweet this year.
Nice to hang with the extended family and catch up with friends.
Found out some very exciting things. 2011 will be the year of festivities it seems :)

Best moment: when my uber-musical family asks me if I want to play a kazoo or a shaker egg!!! Although I dislike those sing a longs, it was fun and in the end I got to play the triangle woop woop!
Don't think we've ever sang that much and after lots of laughs and my brother singing a very loud solo - he did go carolling after all haha - we ended up shouting out Feliz Navidad. Typical family moment and still makes me laugh out loud just thinking about it :)

look what my friends are up to

The wonderful Brad Eastman, aka Beastman, has been nominated for an SMAC award. Please go over to www.smacawards.com and vote for him. You guys are rockstars, every vote appreciated!!!

(image via his webpage)

just because it's cute

for the most up to date Christmas story click here...

merry Christmas everyone

Have the best Christmas all you lovely people out there. 

Hope that you get to celebrate with your favourites and family around you.

Love that we take the time to celebrate our Saviour God every year! His goodness and grace. May we think of Him, while we unwrap our presents and have fun.

things to do before it's Christmas

bake cookies

a day at the zoo

Vienna houses the oldest zoo in the world, founded as a menagerie in 1752. It is part of Schoenbrunn Palace and just walking in those gardens you feel transported into another world.
What better way to spend a day than going there with a 3 year old animal fanatic and his parents. To top it all off it started snowing when we got there and did not stop until we left!

 former imperial breakfast pavillion

and after we walked across to the Christmas markets at the palace... so stunning I wanted to cry!

visitors from London

First couple of fun days of having our London family over :) so far we've built a snowman, visited Christmas markets, fed the ducks, made cookies, knitted like old nanas and talked for days!!!

and I'm off

Once again I am packing up my life and moving... this time only about 10 minutes down the road and for the first time ever I'll be living by myself! Totally unbelievable and shocking if you ask me!!

Anyway before the move I'm spending a whole week in Vienna with my family and my London family who are almost on their way down here. 

AAAAhhh can't wait to see them and most of all see what Mr Zeke looks like. 

My friend Hannah went through old pictures the other day and made me look back at them as well.

Can you imagine he was only this little when I met him??

When I saw him last he already looked like this...

Hahaha... funny boy! It is set to be one fun week with all the crazy people thrown in the mix :)

Advent

I will probably say that about any season, but isn't this now the best season!!
All the lights, the snow, the clothes you wrap up in because of the cold, mulled wine, oranges, baked apples, ... and I've had my first couple of Christmas cookies. yeeeehaaaa
There were a million people in the city today almost elbowing their way through the small streets to get to the markets and it reminded me of what we have done to this time of stillness and anticipation of the birth of our Saviour King.
What can we give back from our overflowing cup of abundance?
Maybe it is taking time out to sit with people you haven't seen in a while and listen to their story.
Maybe instead of throwing out all our money to buy people presents, who have more than enough anyway, and give it to someone or something where even $5 make a significant difference.
Maybe it's taking time for yourself and thinking about what this whole thing "God came down to meet humanities biggest need" and what it means to you personally.
I reckon God is to be found in every single aspect of it. He's not limited by anyone or what we think of Him.
Hope you have a great Sunday and a peaceful Advent.

Someone who can put this so much better into words wrote an article here :)

the markets

Last Saturday my friends Babsi and Christoph came for a walk around the city, check out the Christmas markets and a general start to this Advent season.
It was freezing cold but nevertheless we met up in the city centre (for some reason I thought it would be great to ride my bike... worst decision of the year!!!!) and joined the masses for some Christmas shopping.

this one makes me laugh :)

Lovely to have you here guys... come back soon xx

Grammy nominations are in...

...and I couldn't be more excited for the band I missed the other day hehe
They are up for three nominations including Album Of The Year. Congratulations Arcade Fire!!!
Other favourites up for a win are Mumford & Sons, Florence & The Machine, Muse, Vampire Weekend, Kings of Leon, Paramore AND Glee!!! haha love it!
The 13th of February can't get here fast enough.

snow and river

While trying to recover from a nasty cold, I developed cabin fever - couldn't even remember what outside looks like :) To change the scenery for an hour I got all bundled up and took a stroll along the river to get some fresh air.

The world looks much brighter covered in a white blanket!