Oh, so boho.

My favorite Vintage Shops, Part II - Retrock Budapest.

A wintery hello to all of you,

I'm back with more of my beloved vintage shops. Now we are going to beautiful Hungary, Budapest. I found this amazing store when I was at Sziget Festival back in summer. Actually my lovely friend Liv (btw check her Insta out, she is awesome! click) showed me the store. It was full of amazing clothes from all over the world, jewelry in turquoise, lapis and silver. Old band shirts, dresses that lived in another era, long skirts full of flowers and hope, blouses with lovely details on them.

Yes, I fell in love with this shop. Thank god they also sell their clothes online.

You should definitely check their shop out - retrock.com

I got three amazing things, one long black shirt (I love to wear it like a kimono), a blouse which has heavenly embroidery on it and a long african dress.

Do you guys love to shop second hand? I absolutely adore it! You can find amazing pieces on a variety of shops. Retrock is really awesome, the prices are fair and they do an amazing job. Also the owners love to travel and get the clothes from so many different places. How cool is that?

I also think that everybody should remember the topics of consume and sustainability. Also don't forget that you help to support smaller companies. :) So take one shirt less from a big concern and go for vintage clothes to help our environment, support your local shop and yourself in being sustainable.

xx

Isabel

Christmas with Urban Outfitters

#uogifted

Hey guys!

Christmas is coming closer, that's why I wanted to collect some gift ideas for you. 

I definitely needed presents for my boyfriend and my best friend. Thanks to Urban Outfitters - they make it really easy to find good presents. On their website (click) they guide you to different gifts, depending on how much you want to spend.

I love wrapping gifts, it makes so much fun and calms me down. I have then time for listening to some good christmas music, like Ron Sexsmith or Sufjan Stevens. As I always have to drink warm things during winter time I made myself a huge bowl of punch made out of grape juice, cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla. It's super easy and quick to make. Decorate it with some dried oranges and your done! The oranges also look good on presents.

Gifts for your best friend:

- Nail polish. I love these fancy glitter colors by W.I.P. (similar) Best for New Year's Eve. 

- Books. I chose Girl Online by Zoe Sugg. 

Its definitely more complicated to find the right present for your boyfriend. What I got...

- Fujifilm Insta X (click)

- cozy vintage sweater (click)

- super soft scarf (similar)

 Yep, i love to eat self-made cookies during christmas time. (ok.... actually the whole year)

Spicy Chai. Also a christmas must-drink. And of course punch.

How do you guys celebrate christmas? Let me know in the comments =) 

I spend time with my whole family, which is great. We go to church, eat a lot and play games. Also I'm playing either accordion or saxophone. My grandma loves it, it makes her think of my grandpa. Christmas is a thoughtful time. I'm thankful for that. 

As it is really a cozy time I also love to dress cozy, warm but still kind of chic. Here is a look I created for christmas eve. 

Hair tie (click), Ecoté sweater (click), Dress (click), Shoes (click)

Let me know what you will give your friends & parents or siblings. Did you already start to buy presents? 

xx
Isabel 

Vintage

My favorite Vintage Shops, Part I - Vulgar Sheffield

I love to shop my clothes vintage or second hand and I think loads of you love it as well. That's why I wanted to share with you my favorite stores and online shops. First of all I'll list some facts, why I love vintage shopping so much. 

• It's a great way to save money - lots of my clothing from Zara or UO I bought via vinted.com or as it is in Germany known: kleiderkreisel
• Quality: yes it's true. The quality of vintage clothes is way better than new shirts from H&M for example
• Recycling 
• loads of vintage stores run by charity! Isn't that great? 

I think it's great to have opportunities like this. You don't consume in a bad way, you recycle and help our environment. And isn't it great to find pieces originally from the 70s or another era? 

Long story short: I discovered Asos marketplace a while ago, they have great shops. That is how I found Vulgar Sheffield (click).

They have a great offer - skirts, coats, dresses, sweaters. All from different eras - 70s, 80s, 90s. And in my opinion the prices are really fair! Don't forget that they have to put much work in their online shop. At the moment they sell around 700 pieces of clothing, every piece is unique. Isn't it also a good idea for christmas? 

I chose two dresses from their shop. The quality is amazing and the clothes are in a perfect condition. 

Do you like it? 

You should definitely have a look at their marketplace shop, they ship to UK, EU, Non-Eu, North America with fixed prices and also to the rest of the world. So get yourself a tea or coffee and enjoy shopping there :)

Love, 

Isabel

Music of the day: A band of a friend of mine, Yesterday Shop - Paralyzing.

The meaning of real peace.

What does peace even mean? What does it mean to you? 

I just wanted to say a few words that came into my mind. All the terrible things that are happening all over the world show me, what propaganda can do to people's minds and how much the world needs peace. 

I pray for the people in Paris, Beirut, Syria. I pray for people all over the world. Of course I ask myself 'why is this happening?'. I can't understand why some people misuse religions. But don't forget that Islam and most of Muslim people don't have anything to do with these terrorism attacks. That is why I don't understand Pegida or the AFD, a German party. They norture from hate against refugees, against muslim people. They are scared from an Islamization of Germany. They grow hate in people's minds. We are all people living on one earth.

Even though there are different religions, different looking people, we are all the same. We have one heart beating for our dreams. 

If you see the differences of every human being you should learn to respect them. But concentrate on the things we have in common. Jews, Christians, Muslims have also a lot of things in common. The 'golden rule' is in nearly every religion the same. Why don't behave like this? 

Of course religion plays a huge role in nowadays society. Jewish teachers that are scared to wear a Kipah in Hamburg, children that don't want to say that they are Christian out of fear from other's thoughts, Muslims that are treated like unknown species in some parts of Germany or even Europe. Also take a look at the situation in India. How people fight against social wrongs caused by Narendra Modi. 

Loads of you probably ask yourself : why do we need religion, if religions make this out of people? Keep in mind that it is not the religion's intention to treat humans like this. It's the people that make a religion like this.

That is why I want everybody to receive a good, neutral education. We are the ones that can change the world and make it a better place. 

Something interesting about the meaning of peace by Nietzsche.

The means to real peace. — No government nowadays admits that it maintains an army so as to satisfy occasional thirsts for conquest; the army is supposed to be for defence. That morality which sanctions self-protection is called upon to be its advocate. But that means to reserve morality to oneself and to accuse one's neighbour of immorality, since he has to be thought of as ready for aggression and conquest if our own state is obliged to take thought of means of self-defence; moreover, when our neighbour denies any thirst for aggression just as

heatedly as our state does, and protests that he too maintains an army only for reasons of legitimate self-defence, our declaration of why we require an army declares our neighbour a hypocrite and cunning criminal who would be only too happy to pounce upon a harmless and unprepared victim and subdue him without a struggle. This is how all states now confront one another: they presuppose an evil disposition in their neighbour and a benevolent disposition in themselves. This presupposition, however, is a piece of inhumanity as bad as, if not worse than, a war would be; indeed, fundamentally it already constitutes an invitation to and cause of wars, because, as aforesaid, it imputes immorality to one's neighbour and thereby seems to provoke hostility and hostile acts on his part. The doctrine of the army as a means of self-defence must be renounced just as completely as the thirst for conquest. And perhaps there will come a great day on which a nation distinguished for wars and victories and for the highest development of military discipline and thinking, and accustomed to making the heaviest sacrifices on behalf of these things, will cry of its own free will: 'we shall shatter the sword'—and demolish its entire military machine down to its last foundations. To disarm while being the best armed, out of an elevation of sensibility—that is the means to real peace, which must always rest on a disposition for peace: whereas the so-called armed peace such as now parades about in every country is a disposition to fractiousness which trusts neither itself nor its neighbour and fails to lay down its arms half out of hatred, half out of fear. Better to perish than to hate and fear, and twofold better to perish than to make oneself hated and feared—this must one day become the supreme maxim of every individual state!— As is well known, our liberal representatives of the people lack the time to reflect on the nature of man: otherwise they would know that they labour in vain when they work for a 'gradual reduction of the military burden'. On the contrary, it is only when this kind of distress is at its greatest that the only kind of god that can help here will be closest at hand. The tree of the glory of war can be destroyed only at a single stroke, by a lightning- bolt: lightning, however, as you well know, comes out of a cloud and from on high. — 

In: Nietzsche, Friedrich. Human, All Too Human: A Book For Free Spirits, Vol. II, §284. Trans. R.J. Hollingdale. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986. 


Do you agree with Nietzsche's way to define the role of peace? 

Keep your head up, we are stronger than terrorism. The world needs every single one of us. We need peace more than anything else.

xx

Into the Wild.

A lovely hello from Africa to all of you! 

As some of you may know, I traveled to Kenya for some days. Mainly for working but I also have a few days off. That's why I decided to do a Safari Tour to Lake Nakuru National Park.

My trip started early in the morning, while sun was rising. I had a lovely vegan breakfast at the hotel, a few cups of black coffee and the best orange juice ever!

The driver, named John picked me up from the hotel. A lovely old man, covered in his beautiful skin that Africa's sun gave him as a present. 

"Are you excited, huh?" I nodded. After we left Nairobi, I saw the beautiful landscape of Kenya, the beautiful vegetation and suddenly something came into my mind: I forgot my camera! 

Yep, that was brilliant as always - how could you forget your camera on a safari? I was really angry about myself, I'm sorry that the quality is not that good - it was just taken with my iPhone. 

John recognized my sadness and told me something really funny, after a few seconds I forgot my unhappiness, even though it is definitely not the most important thing in life. The conversations I had with John were more important for example!

He gave me loads of useful information about history, we talked about politics, religion and peace. About the fears he has, about Al-Shaabab. We talked the whole trip, he showed me the amazing Rift Valley. I had the feeling to see whole Africa, while standing on top. Completely overwhelmed by nature, I was even more overwhelmed by the kindness of the people. Everybody looked at me with a smile. Not a superficial one, it were smiles from people with scars. Scars caused by poverty, hard work. But it was a deep smile, from people who knew what life means, how precious it is. 

After leaving civilization, we were completely alone, in the middle of a National Park, surrounded by animals I only knew from the zoo. John gave me a cup of hot Kenyan tea. "It's good for your health and your soul. You know what, I see many people. Rich people, poor people, bad and good ones. Sometimes the diversity of human beings confuses me and everything gets a bit too much. Than I come here, to see the nature and the animals makes me happy." 

And he was definitely true. To see something different, to have the chance to travel, to educate yourself is just an amazing thing! I love to get to know loads of things from different cultures. 

Lake Nakuru was so beautiful. There are rhinos, lions, zebras, giraffes and loads of other beautiful animals mother nature gave to us. The lake is mainly known for its flamingoes, they cover the deep blue water in a pink sheet.

That was also my inspiration for picking my outfits. The beautiful dress reminded me of Africa. 

Hat - Urban Outfitters, Dress - Urban Outfitters, Shorts (similar) - Urban Outfitters, Sunglasses - Urban Outfitters, Blanket - Urban Outfitters

Bohemian Autumn

A lovely autumnal hello to everyone, 

it's been a while since my last blog post. University did start, I had to work, took photos, you know how everything works. And as I am now in my final year at Uni, there are a lot of things to do. I go nearly every day to the library and read a lot. That makes me tired, but when I find time I love to go out with friends, taking some pictures, chatting and enjoying live. Isn't autumn beautiful? It is so good to see how nature changes. And thank god, the last days were always sunny. 
As I am traveling soon to Kenya I had to prepare some things. Apply for visa (till now I don't have it, I'm going crazy!), choosing clothes I will take with me - there were some really interesting things happening recently. I am so excited! In some days I can hopefully tell you what is going on right now. 
Yes, Kenya. Has anyone of you already been there? I've never been to Africa (okay, I don't count North Africa, because it is to me more Arabian, which is of course also great!) But I didn't see flamingos in Egypt, I didn't do any Safari there. So this is what I'm excited for! Although I don't stay for so long there (Uni...) it is a chance to escape cold Germany. 
Most of the time I will stay in Nairobi - if you have any suggestions for museums, places to be, restaurants or shopping areas, let me know.
But now to my outfit post. I am so in love with this Zara jacket, it is handmade (wow!) and simply amazing. To dress it a little down and make it more casual I combined it with my Urban Outfitters Mom Jeans, a grey sweatshirt and my Dr. Martens. What do you think? 

xx

Boho Jacket - Zara, Jeans - Urban Outfitters (similar), Shoes - Dr. Martens, Jewelry - Kurafuchi