i (heart): just a normal day in advertising

last weekend, one of our art directors got married! yay! needless to say, we wanted to surprise him on his return back to the agency today (in advertising, we embrace any chance to celebrate instead of work). somebody had the idea to fill his entire office with balloons. no sooner said than done.

the crammed office, bursting with balloons. only the daylight was able to make it's way through.

naturally, said newly wed art director had to find a strategy on how to get rid of the three and a half thousand* balloons (* personally, i think someone might have extrapolated the number of actual balloons a bit. only slightly). but how?

easy, piece of cake: just throw them out of the window! ha! problem solved.

done! see? all clear. yeaaah!

uhm yeah, well... sort of.

but no worries, balloons are pretty. everyone likes balloons, right? see how they fly! whooohoo! and just see how they spread happiness into every corner! 

uhm, okay, maybe not everybody likes balloons after all... apparently, our very serious and professional neighbors, certain bankers from credit suisse, actually give a shit about balloons. whoops! 

 okay, sure, sorry guys. we're going to clean that up this very minute. see? we're already at it. no biggie!

wanna know how we did it? huh! we quickly built a task-force and got every single one of the three and a half thousand colorful balloons back in. there you go, fecking bankers! all balloons killed. happy now?

aah, to work in advertising... priceless fun. i just (heart) the everyday madness.

i like birds

i am really into birds.

wabi sabi photograph by etsy artist tricia mc kellar

here's why:

1 first of all, i just love all kinds of birds (in general) for their humming in trees and flying above in the skies. they seem so fragile, innocent and good-natured.

2 secondly, i am very fond of owls (in particular). don't ask me where it comes from or when it began. i just somehow know i am an 'owls-person' (okay, maybe i just read too many harry potter books...). but today, i even got this fancy owl scarf (see below) with an endless owl-print on it. i got it at my friend michelle's (she's a brand manager for tiger of sweden) sample sales (note: michelle is so fabulouse that i secretly hope her fabulousness rubs off on me when i'm around her. but that's an entirely different story, right? so, back to the owls). so yeah, i am really drawn to those wise, not-so-little birds. would i ever start collecting something (apart from scarves, obviously) i'd probably go for owls in all shapes and appearances. did you know that owls are not only said to be wise, but, apparently, have the gift of heightened senses? and the best is yet to come! i just found that one out on some esoteric site - hey, don't judge: people who like owls are said to have this same ability - to uncover secrets. so, if you feel uneasy around me, now we know why.

owls scarf by soaked

3 then one of my favorite songs of all times is 'i like birds' by eels. although i don't seem to get the lyrics properly, the song is dear to me. listen to it if you can, it's really cheery.

4 i've been wanting a tattoo, for, like, ever. i never got one though (i think mainly because i'm not very audacious. i am even scared to make my mind up when it comes to a new couch. let alone something eternal like a tattoo...), so i guess i probably never will. but if i would (and i don't rule it out just yet, so beware!) i might get myself a swallow. swallows are my second favorite birds. swallows tattoos are historically old sailor tattoos, representing the safe return home (since they indicate the closeness of land on the open sea). and today, swallows stand for the good things in life: since they are monogamous, they symbolize love, loyalty and trust. that's probably the reason why so many poets praise it, too.

picture via stockholmstreetstyle

picture on weheartit via tumblr

peace, love and birds.

scarlett

my weekend: italian basics, mr. e and happiness for everyone

my weekend has been fabulous. i spent all saturday in the kitchen, preparing a simple italian dinner. and afterwards we went to the eels concert in winterthur, which was grand. and today i was invited to a private tour at the museum rietberg, where they actually exhibit himalayan holy art from bhutan. it was very mystical and interesting, and made me dream about far away places and cultures.

but first to the dinnner. the salad consisted of baby spinach leaves, yellow and black sliced tomatoes, fried artichokes (hard to get in this season) and a lemon dressing.

vitello tonnato (i know it doesn't look very pretty, but vitello tonnato never really does, right? nonetheless; a lovely rustic, italian basic).

the melanzane alla pargmigiana: during my university time, this was one of my favorite meals, because it's so easy to make. and although it takes some time to prepare it, you can do it ahead before your guests arrive. plus, it's a little bit more glamorous than just lasagna (i think). sprinkle with home-made pesto and some freshly grated parmiggiano and serve.

since my guest is not a huge fan of sweet desserts, i actually wanted to serve a cheese-dessert (with some petite cheeses, that caramellized figue and the baked apricot with cookie-topping you see in the picture above). but since we couldn't possibly eat two more courses, we decided to combine the two desserts: we left the cheese away, skipped the apple pie and instead combined the fruit with a little fior di latte ice-cream. not the perfect dessert but hey, why not.

and that was the view (thanks to my friend for taking the picture).

and then the eels live (in the bloody freezing, cold, cold night)! but aah... seriously good music!

the bhutan exhibition at the rietberg museum. you probably know that picture from the museum's current campaign. well, although it was forbidden to take pictures i just couldn't resist and took some with my mobile phone to be able to share with you. these holy paintings on textiles with the minuscule details were so impressive!

and did you know the kingdom bhutan concentrates on the measure 'gross national happiness' (zu deutsch: das 'bruttoglücksprodukt')? isn't that an amazing guiding philosophy to reign a kingdom?

and then there was this buddhist monk who worked on this sand painting. can you believe it, he sat there on the floor, taking the sand with his fingers (!) and arranged it neatly to one big sand painting. and when the painting will be finished, he will destroy it immediately, in order to remind himself of the perishability of it all (the destroying act, which i find krass, is said to be the greatest pleasure of it all for the monk. poor monk...).

national happiness for all, and a great week!
love, scarlett

(simple) apple pie

friday nights spent in the kitchen are never wasted, in my opinion. for me cooking or baking while everyone else prepares for a night out is the most comforting activity. i find it strangely soothing and relaxing after a busy work week. so, it sort of became my friday night ritual. straight after work i would go and buy all the lovely ingredients. and then i would spend the night talking to my friends (the ingredients), listening to music and twirling about the kitchen (my neighbors must think i'm a crazy person).

so this friday night was apple pie time. i picked i never made before. the recipe says 'simple' apple pie note: the term 'simple', though, appears to be referring to the taste rather than the process of baking it... but not at all in a bad way! since i discovered lately that my pants were just a tiny bit tighter than i remembered, i decided my roomie would have to taste the apple pie instead of me. and he said it was really nice, not too sweet, subtle and - surprise! - somehow had a 'simple', old-fashioned taste to it. i was happy with it. 

first peel the apples, then cut them in halves, remove the core and slice thinly. what i find very sweet and, well, a good thing in times of 'sustainable' thinking, is that the peel and the core are being reused. the leftovers are cooked to a sirup, that afterwards is sprinkled over the still hot cake.

place the apples from center to rim, brush with melted butter and sprinkle some sugar on top of it. bake.

sprinkle with the glaze. slice, carefully shift it to a plate and serve with double crème or vanilla ice cream. bon apetit!

my week in objects: black and white

ah... what a week. not one minute's rest. always on the run. although i actually wanted to slow down! arrgh... will have to postpone that. but: it sure was a great week. now that's what i saw this week:

1 this blurry perspective of the badi enge pool

ah... because it might have been one of the last days by the lake.


2 this mc drive sign

because it's the view from our balcony and i wanted to take that picture for, like, ever! and finally the light was perfect.


3 these brogues!

cuteness!


4 this moonlight

because isn't it pretty.


5 this new la mer watch

because ugh! i love, love, love it. and so many friends told me they ordered one, too, after they saw my post (here). but oh... the ticking is wayyy to loud. and will i ever get used to it? stay tuned, friends!

preppy brogues! a girl's right to men's shoes

now that i suddenly have to think about the most complex of topics - 'good shoes' (you know, shoes that are non-slippery and prevent your feet from getting wet and cold, aka no-ballerinas) - i feel like you deserve to be let in on my latest fashion addiction.

i am really quite into manly shoes this autumn. and much to my surprise, i am finally wearing shoes that remind me of my dad (not normally my role model when it comes to shoes...). however, my dad is a big fan of 'good shoes'. means: he'd rather have just one pair of 'really good shoes' than several 'not so good ones' (i could possibly buy a dozen shoes at the cost of one of his 'good shoes'). and he mostly wears, well: brogues. really classy, laced up brogues in various shades.

now guess what, girls: this season there is just no getting around manly, classy, preppy brogues! so here are my favorite preppy brogues, in silver (kreisch). they're by yohji yamamoto, as seen on seaofshoes a while ago (i couldn't forget them).

picture by jane of seaofshoes.com

and here my collection of other favorites (note: i secretly think that it's a girl's right to own all of them - sighs dramatically...):

1 all saints frankie flat brogues (again all saints, i know)
2 n.d.c. mara softly distressed leather brogues
3 church's classy borwood glossy brogues (i think my dad's got exactly the same)
4 kamille soft brogues
5 steve madden bi-color brogues
6 miu miu patent leather brogues
7 sam edelman black kat sequinned slim brogues
8 christian louboutin stud brogues
9 olivia morris brogues with satin and velvet lace (nie idea!)
10 marc by marc jacobs patent leather brogues

thought of the day on slowing down

ihr kennt sicher auch alle franky slow down? ich bin ein grosser fan von diesem rockstar-attitude engel. heute abend haben wir von der account planning group uns bei rod communication getroffen. sie haben uns einen case vorgestellt von ihrer letzten supererfolgreichen kampagne 'slow down - take it easy', mit franky slow down. keine klassische anti-raser kampagne! nein, sondern eine kampagne für 'angepasstes fahren'.

jedenfalls gefällt mir die botschaft sehr: das leben entschleunigen, einfach mal wieder einen gang zurück schalten, sich nicht aufregen über dinge, die man nicht ändern kann. es ruhig, cool und locker angehen. slowing down a notch.

franky slow down via 20min

und auf dem heimweg höre ich noch saybia's 'the haunted house on the hill' (einer meiner lieblingssongs und rein zufällig auf meiner playlist gelandet heute). da heisst es:

so it's time to let it go
choose a path and take it slow
we were lovers led astray
let's try and find a way
back to where we all hope to be
tell me if you disagree?

der meinung bin ich auch: slowing down hat es in sich. ich werde das mal intensiv versuchen die woche. und euch dann wieder berichten von meinen erfolgen (oder misserfolgen). in dem sinne: a slow week and lots of love! and let's try and find a way back to where we all hope to be.

picture via we heart it

inside: my aunt's home

it is such an honor and pleasure to introduce you to my aunt and uncle's home. they both love africa a lot, so their home is african lodge inspired. it was not easy to take pictures, because there are so many pretty details all around. i hope you get an idea of how beautiful and perfectly styled and nonetheless very cosy and comfortable their home is.

the master bedroom with a tromp l'oeil. they got really nice stuccos and seccos at the walls, too. all the floor and wall designs are made by my uncle (or rather: his business). 

the neat living room with dark wooden floor and fire place.

the 'dark room'... chuckle.

the outdoor lounge. 

that lamp is entirely made of coconut shells. cool, huh?

thanks for the lovely night und the yummy 'tartarenhut' for dinner. always fun with you!