Monthly Archives: August 2011

20SB Blog Swap #9: Summer

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TwentyTwenty

Hello everyone! I’m Dani and you can usually find me blogging at Daniela Yvonne. Karen and I were matched up in the 20 Something Bloggers’ 9th Blog Swap so you can find her posting on my blog today. Make sure to head over to check out Karen’s post. The topic for this blog swap is:

As summer nears its end and it’s back to school time for many, we think it would be fun to reflect on SUMMER. Did you take any great vacations? Did you melt in the heat? Do you have a favorite summer memory from your childhood? Share anything summer-related with us!

Growing up, summers back home in south Texas meant dry heat, raspas (also known as snow cones), family BBQs, running through sprinklers and adventures with my childhood friends and neighbors. Oh, and my birthday of course. Some of my best childhood memories come from those sweaty days, but it’s been my summers here in Chicago that I think I’ve loved the most so far.

The summer of 2007 was my first one in the city. I lived in an apartment with 4 of my college friends that had zero air-conditioning and had 3 different jobs (an internship, a part-time job at a cafe and an editor position at the summer edition of our college newspaper). We had to battle a few bugs and a bat invasion (and ok, by invasion I mean one lonely bat who was more terrified of us than we were of him). I was constantly running around, taking the train everywhere and working hard. I bought my Macbook as my 21st birthday present to myself. I went to festivals and markets and drank with all my friends. It was fun and hectic and I wouldn’t change a single thing about those 3 months.

Last summer, I moved back to Chicago with two suitcases, whatever money I had in my pocket and no jobs. I freelanced, I traveled and I made the most of my situation. I fell in love with this city and my neighborhood all over again. I enjoyed the time I had off to renew friendships and make new ones. I was fortunate enough to find my full-time job in early September, thus being able to enjoy that first summer back to the fullest. And then there’s this summer. It has served as the mark of my one year anniversary back in my favorite city. One year older, one year wiser, space of time filled with just as many laughs and adventures as the last one. Except this summer was also filled with love, as I met my wonderful boyfriend Alex back in May.

As a summer baby, the hottest time of the year is easily my favorite. The last few have shown me that each one can be even better than the next, as long as you remember to make the most of it. I can’t wait to see what next summer will bring.

Review: Whooga Ugg Boots

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A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a representative of Whooga Ugg Boots about reviewing their boots on my blog. I picked a pair of their Classic Short in chocolate and received them within a day of being shipped from the UK. I love that their prices include customs and taxes – something that always makes me hesitant about ordering from abroad.

But anyway, let’s talk about the boots. They come wrapped in a beautiful box (great for gift-giving!). The order confirmation e-mail includes a welcome kit, including instructions on how to care for your ugg boots. I thought that was super-helpful because if I am going to buy a pair of ugg boots, I want to make sure they last.

They are really well-made, though the color is a little lighter than I had expected (though not in a bad way). But they are also not as light as they appear in the picture above – I used the flash for taking the pictures.

As recommended on their website, I wear the boots without socks. And? They really are amazingly comfortable. And I really do forget that I’m not wearing socks. The boots’ inner and outer lining are all natural materials (sheepskin and merino fleece), and thanks to the thermofleece lining, the boots are soft and warm but they do not make my feet sweat (or smell).

Now I am all about sandals and flip flops in the summer (and ballerina flats on less sunny days), so you are not likely to find me wearing boots regardless of how comfy they are, but I did wear these outside for a couple of days just to see how they would feel and they were great. My feet didn’t get hot or sweaty.

Being that I have quite big calves and usually have trouble finding boots that fit me, I decided to get the Classic Short boots and I was glad I did. They fit but they are snug so I think the only kind of jeans I could wear inside them are skinny jeans. The Classic Tall almost certainly wouldn’t have fit me. I am just saying this in case anyone else is reading this who has trouble finding boots that fit them, you would probably want to get the Classic Short or Mini. Most women are probably not going to have this problem, though (and how I envy you!).

And now, just some words of advice: These boots are not to be worn in the rain as they are not waterproof. Also, if you live in a climate that gets snow and ice in the winter, you probably want to leave them at home on those days too. The sole does not look like it would provide enough traction. Obviously I haven’t tried wearing the Whooga boots outdoors during winter (nor do I plan to) but did manage to get a nasty bruise on my knee when I slipped on ice wearing some cheap uggs I got a few years ago. I don’t think the Whooga ugg boots would fare much better but to me that is not a downside as they were not made for being worn out in snow and ice.

Speaking of – My Whooga boots? So much better than those cheap Ugg boots (bought at a local store for about €20). I have never worn ugg boots by Ugg Australia so I cannot comment on how they compare but I have no complaints at all about Whooga boots so I personally wouldn’t know how to justify spending nearly twice as much on Ugg Australia boots.

I am not sure if I will be wearing these outside much, but I will definitely be making good use of them indoors. In fact, they almost make me look forward to fall & winter. Hello warm and toasty feet! If I had to use one word to describe these boots, it would be comfy – wait, make that supercomfy. And that is a pretty important thing for boots to be.

If you’d like to order your own Whooga boots after reading my review, you can do so at the Whooga website (they are currently doing a sale!) & feel free to use the following gift card code to get a discount: 2CW809911.

Disclaimer: I received the product(s) mentioned above free of charge by the company or PR representative in order to conduct an honest review.  I was not compensated in any other way for this post.  The thoughts, experiences, and opinions included are entirely my own and may differ from that of others.  I am not liable for any issues you may incur from use of said product(s). If you have any questions or if you represent a company that would like me to review your product, you can contact me here or leave a comment.

My cozy home

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A little over a month ago, when I was home in Munich for my birthday, I went to IKEA and bought some new furniture for my apartment. I had gotten all the basics when I first moved here, but there are still improvements to be done here and there, such as the lack of couch table in my living room or the lack of pictures on the wall in my bedroom.

My parents finally got around to dropping off my furniture at my apartment this past weekend (as I don’t have a car), and I spent most of Sunday afternoon and Monday evening assembling it. Until now, I had thought I wasn’t any good at assembling furniture but it actually went pretty well. So let me show you around to see the changes I made to my apartment.

I finally bought two DVD shelves to put all of my DVDs in. As it turns out, I have space for about one more DVD before I need a third shelf. I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to place the shelf to the left of the wooden beam but luckily it worked out perfectly. Before, I had some DVDs in my TV shelf and the rest of them in a cardboard box so this is a huge improvement.

I got a new Expedit 2×2 shelf, which is half the size of the one I have in my office. As you may have noticed, even though my living room did not look like it was missing any furniture, I had no storage space whatsoever there. I was not sure where I would put it but the space right by the window works perfectly. Seriously, almost like it was custom-made to fit into that precise corner of my living room. I have not decided yet what to fill it with, but I am so excited about finally having storage space in the living room. I am using one of the pitchers I bought at the flea market in June as a bookend for my cookbooks, and the other as decoration on top of the shelf.

I had not planned on getting this dresser and originally wanted to put the Expedit shelf in this corner, but it was 50% off during IKEA’s midsummer sales, and I simply fell in love with the design so I had to get it. I think it looks super cute in my living room. On display on top of the dresser are another pitcher and the wooden tray and coasters set that I also got at the flea market that weekend.

As I had no more space for the chair in my living room, I moved it into my office. I was also considering putting it into my bedroom, but didn’t have the space there. I put it right next to my book shelves thinking that it’d look so inviting to just grab a book and sit down for some reading. I also got the little side table for the little couch (which converts into a mattress) for guests to use as a bedside table. You can see the vase I got at the flea market here. I am planning on buying some plastic flowers to put into that vase.

I just made some small changes in the bedroom. I got a new chair for my dressing table as the back of the plastic one I was using broke. A while ago, (unrelatedly) I also decluttered my dressing table and moved a lot of beauty products I don’t use regularly to my closet. It makes such a big difference and the table looks so much neater. I also got a new trash can which is actually the same one I had before, except it’s white, which I thought would be a little less obtrusive than the previous one which was red. I also got a new bedside table, which is actually the same one I had before except it’s not pink! Tiny improvements, mostly in color, but so worth it!

I loved my living room before I had the new furniture but I really love it now. It’s super cozy and definitely my favorite room in this apartment. I still need a couch table but it’s hard to find one that I really like (and can afford). But other than that, I am happy with the living room the way it is.

Now I have a question for you guys: I am not at all a fan of having power cords all over but there are some corners where the cables just keep adding up (notably one of the corners in my living room and under my bedside table). How do you handle this? Any secrets you’d like to share as to how to hide cables from view in your apartment?