The Life Changing Art of Tidying! By Marie Kondo

This is the very first time that I am writing about a book. I only want to make a short note of it because it gave me an interesting way to look at my clutter at home and how I can be more arranged. 

I am not a messy person as such but I would also identify myself as a "using something and not returning it to where it belongs" kind of person.

So in her successful book Marie Kondo talks about the ways that are causing cutter in somebody's home and I did find myself in several of her examples. Ooops...

I liked her idea that the large well-known storage units usually are just bought by us to keep all our clutter allowing us to hide it from our eyes. Its so true, at least for me.

She is giving advice of how to get rid of things and more importantly what to get rid of. As we all have stuff that we feel emotionally connected to her method is not about throwing everything just out but to think about what to keep and how to storage it.

Her way of looking at belongings with more respect and care really touched me and I believe there is something about it. If you care for what you own that it will last longer. She also believes that living in a tidy space where we feel at home in, gives us a different look on things and helps us to achieve in life what we really want to do.

For everybody that is interested in getting more organized this book is a very nice guide into how to start tidying up your home. 

On a side note though...I am German so I have difficulties throwing away credit card bills and bank statements so I skipped that part of her book and filed them up neatly.

Pandora Essence

I wanted to share with you my latest Pandora addition. It is an Essence bracelet which is thinner than the classic bracelet. The beads are smaller too and can not be worn with the regular Pandora bracelet.

The Essence Beads are having meanings and you can assemble your bracelet with beads that represent who you are. Of course you can also just buy the beads you like. Since each charm has a meaning it is also written on the charm.

I went for Sensitivity (gold glitter, bottom center), Love (rose colored stone, left), Intuition (gold with structure, on the left up), Health (silver at the top in the center) and Prosperty (green at the bottom right).

I chose those beads because they represent what I believe in and I am happy that they are also fitting very well together. I love to wear my Essence bracelet as it it much lighter than my full regular Pandora Bracelet.

January Recommendations

1. Tatcha Discovery Kit

2. Ankle Boots

3. Guerlain "La Petite Robe Noire"

4. Guerlain Terracotta in Blondes 02

5. Repeat Cashmere Scarf (sold out)

6. Hermès Agenda (similar)

7. Michael Kors Bangle

Accessories

Today I would like to take some time and write about accessories.

Accessories are all these little things that can highlight an outfit without much effort. In a dictionary you might find a definition similar to: “An accessory is a thing that can be added to something else in order to make it more attractive.”

Some people hate accessories and other love them and own tons of different things. It really depends who you are and what your style is.

Over time I discovered the following accessory-lovers: People that wear jewelry and watches to highlight outfits, those using scarfs as addition to their styling, the shoe lovers who own a pair of shoes for every dress and of course last but not least the bag lovers!

I realized that most people have a preference towards one or two accessory types. It is rare that a person “collects” everything. Even though it surely exists. 

I personally ware a lot of scarfs and jewelry. I do not own many interesting shoes or bags. Mine are rather functional and not the highlight of my outfit. What I like about jewelry and scarfs is that you can even wear a black shirt and jeans or a simple dress and you will still look nicely dressed without doing much. It really makes a big difference with little effort.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Hermes scarf tied with scarf ring in the middle

Overall I prefer dressing in a more neutral color and then adding a nice silk scarf in order to add some color. For me this is the easiest way to wear most of my cloths in multiple occasion without feeling repetitive.

As for jewelry I prefer delicate fine jewelry over big pieces which often times look a little too heavy on me. The Pandora bracelet is the biggest and also heaviest (literally) piece that I own. The reason I prefer fine jewelry over fashion jewelry is because it is more durable. This is very subjective as the quality of cheaper fashion jewelry can be good as well but I personally did not make good experiences with it. Too often rocks fell out or the color suddenly turned from gold to black that I try to stay away. I prefer investing in timeless pieces that fit the majority of my cloths and accessories so I have many years to enjoy them.

Favorite Bags

Bags, Bags, Bags...
I guess every women has more bags than she actually needs. I also do but I realized over the past year that even though I have quite a nice number of bags that I am mainly returning day in day out to the same ones.

There are two types of women. One group that uses a bag as a key piece of their outfit often in accent colors and with interesting shapes making the bag an eye-catcher. The other type of women has a bag fitting the outfit but is not the main statement piece. Mainly those bags are black, brown or in other neutrals ready to be worn with almost anything.
I am the second type of person. I love bags that can go with anything! I personally find it pity having a lovely bag which fits only with one specific dress. Bags tend to be expensive if you purchase in the higher quality level. So I try to get the most wear out of my bag. Yes, I have to say that - I really hate cheap bags which break after one or two weeks! I think it is such a waste! In my opinion it makes more sense to pay a bit more (if that is possible) and to get a reasonable quality. Anyway, I do not want to discuss here what is right and wrong but rather show you my two favorite bags.

I am all in love with the Longchamp Pilage. The Longchamp Pilage is a very light bag with almost no weight. The straps are made from leather and the bag itself is made from nylon (Note: Easy to clean). I like that it has almost no weight of its own because I have bags which are very heavy thanks to the leather they are made of and when I put my stuff inside they are just unbearably heavy.
Another advantage of the Pilage is that you can fold it easily and put it away when not needed. This is especially handy on a trip if you need a big and a small bag. One of them can be folded up without being damaged.

The Pilage exists in almost all thinkable colors including neutrals and bright colors. The same goes for sizes. Many different sizes are available as well as different strap lengths. There is something for everybody.

I own the shopper version (33x32x19 in cm) with the long straps. I like long straps to carry my bag over my shoulder. The color is of a greyish blue which does not exist any longer.
The smaller Pilage (25x25x14 in cm) is a personalized version (yes, you can also personalize a bag!) with my initials in black and brown. The straps are long here as well.

Both bags are my work horses. If I have only a few things to carry around as wallet, keys, phone, cardigan and book or iPad the small bag is enough (there is even some room left). On days that I carry around a laptop (15inch) with charger plus all the above the larger bag is the one I am going with.
In therms of room the Pilage is wonderful, I always manage to get in everything that I need.

As I mentioned earlier I am using those two bags in alternations almost on a daily basis and they are still in great shape. The quality is really good (Note: I am not the gentlest person with my bags).

Do you have a favorite bag?
Happy Weekend!!

Pandora Love

I would like to write about Pandora. Over the last years the danish brand seems to have gotten everywhere. All around the globe you find the Pandora stores. There are those who love Pandora because of the lovely designs and the ability to be able the create unique jewelry. And the others who will claim that it is all mass production and the buyer just thinks to have bought something unique.

I personally like Pandora very much for the large selection and beautiful designs. Thus I take into account that the jewelry is accessible to anybody due to the waste worldwide supply.

Anyway, this is not what I initially wanted to write about. 

I wanted to show you my little Pandora collection which I made over the last years. As you see in the picture above my full Pandora bracelet is all my pride. It took me literally years to complete. Since I hardly buy jewelry for myself most of the charms were birthday or Christmas gifts. I am happy my bracelet is full because it looks best like that and also the charms can not move around. 

This is how it looks when its around my wrist. (I apologize in advance that I am not good in photographing myself.)

While being happy that the Pandora bracelet is completed I am still not wearing it very often. Yes, I know it is quite sad. As I am working all day in an office with a computer the bracelet is unfortunately not very convenient. The bracelet is pretty big and also heavy. This makes typing on a keyboard or using a mouse uncomfortable. When I first started collecting the charms for the bracelet I thought that I will be wearing the bracelet daily when completed but as it turns out this does not really work for me.

So mainly I wear the bracelet when going out for a nice occasion. 

During the last year I made another discovery while I was in the Pandora store. The ring collection! I must say I love rings and I am almost always wearing any kind of ring. This is how it came that I started "collecting" rings.

Below I took a few snapshots for you to share how lovely the rings are and how nicely they can be combined. They are also far more comfortable for me and I can wear them everyday as they also do not bother me working!

What you can not see so well in the pictures is that one of the rings with the solitaire heart is having a very light lilac rock. Also the thin ring with the little rocks is actually made from light lilac rocks. It is very difficult to capture due to the lightness of the color.

Now you had a little glimpse into my beloved accessories. Similar posts will follow showing you other accessories I own and love.