Cross Body Bag - Mini M.A.C. by Rebecca Minkoff

Dear Lovelies,

I remember these years when a woman's bag couldn't be large enough - the bigger the better. Big bags are still around and one of my favourite bags is quite a large one too. However, I feel like there's definitely another trend in the making. Women simply don't feel like carrying an XL bag with them whenever they go shoping, or go on a city trip with their loved one (the larger the bag, the more stuff will inevitably end up in there!)
And going out to a club? You wouldn't even consider an XL bag.
Convenient but elegant is the new requirement. The new generation of Cross Body Bags has it all.
I personally like the small ones with a fragile chain instead of a leather strap and with delicate silver or gold hardware. There's so many beautiful cross body bags out there,  but I lost my heart to the Rebecca Minkoff Mini M.A.C. (Morning After Clutch)

(www.tumblr.com | What Anni Wears )

These Mini M.A.C.s are full leather bags which come in so many different colours which makes it extremely hard to decide which one to buy. I've narrowed it down to the ones with a heart on top but would be happy about any comments from you guys.

 With love, 


 Coffeebeanlilly

Outfit Of The Day - Leather Skirt

Dear Lovelies,

Today's outfit inspiration: a pleated leather skirt (Jay Jays) dressed down by a navy stripes pullover (Dotti), tights and black ankle boots (Zara).

Sunglasses: Dolce&Gabbana | Purse: Ted Baker

With Love,

Coffeebeanlilly

Beauty Basics

Dear Lovelies,

Today I'd like to show you my favourite beauty products. It's of course not a complete listing of all products I use but a small collection of products I can't live without.

Most of them I've used for years and never ever want to use anything else and even the ones which are quite new to my daily routine truly deserve being mentioned as they are brilliant products.

L'Oreal-Bronzing Powder | Maybeline-Mascara | Artdeco-Eyeshadow | Nature's Own-Paw Paw Lipbalm | Bebe-Cream

Artdeco Eyeshadow:
These brilliant eyeshadows all come seperately for putting into a magnetic box. I am totally convinced about their quality, have used them for 15 years now (jeez that sounds like I'm old, but I just started quiet young with using beauty products I guess) and love the brilliance of their colours.
You can get an overview of their products *here*
Have I mentioned that their magnetic boxes come in different and always changing designs and limited editions?

Bebe Cream:
I have used this cream now for ... as long as I can remember! It's the same great formula still and the only cream I can put on my picky skin without causing rashes and pimples. I liberally apply it every evening before I go to bed (when no one cares if you are shiny) and just enjoy the relaxed and smooth feeling of my skin in the morning.

Clinique-Almost Powder MakeUp

Clinique Powder:
Technically it is Make Up. What I love is the texture and that it lasts so long without having to apply it again every two hours. It is super smooth and doesn't make your face look cakey when you apply it with a brush as a Powder. When you use a moist sponge it is a Make Up with the same smooth texture but greater coverage.

Mac-Mineralize Concealer

Mac Concealer:
I prefer liquid concealers over the paste ones just for the sake of the very sensitive area around my eyes and the liquid ones are easier to blend for me. This Mac concealer offers medium coverage for blemishes and circles under the eyes without looking cakey or creasing under the eye.

Maybelline Foundation:
This product is very new in my Beauty Collection, but so far I like it. Maybelline is a good budget option for those who don't want to or can't afford to buy the expensive foundations. I'm totally new to the whole foundation thing as I've always thought I don't really need it. But it just makes your skin look so much more even! This Nude Foam is air infused and has a very light texture. It most certainly doesn't offer massive coverage but for those like me who just want a smoother finish it is perfect as you won't feel like you're wearing it.
P.S.: Budget or expensive product: make sure it always offers SPF!

YSL Lipstick:
Yes I do believe that when you buy a brand you probably pay a large amount just for the name. But even though you may not notice the difference between a luxury and budget product in certain cases I absolutely see why you pay AUD 55 for this Yves Saint Laurent 'Rouge Volupte' lipstick! The application is very smooth and the texture feels a little like lip butter. Even after wearing it for a while it keeps your lips moist and nourished which in combination with the texture gives your lips a comfortable feeling. The lipstick is so highly pigmented that the colour won't wear off too quickly and the great smell and packaging is a bonus.


With Love,

Coffeebeanlilly

My Week In Pictures

Hello Lovelies,

This post is the first one of its kind, I just thought it might be interesting for you to see more pictures and read less text.Enjoy.

(from left to right)

What I ate: Fruit salad! Other things too, but I just LOVE all different types of fruit at the moment.
What I enjoyed: Time with my hubby in the Art Gallery of NSW.
What I listened to: Insatiable, aren't I? Two Cds have made it into my collection (YES, I still buy the actual Cd if I think it's worth it): Justin Timberlake - "20/20 Experience" & Pete Murray - "Blue Sky Blue"
Where I danced: Sienna on 252 George Street - so many great and old RnB songs!
What I bought: Far too many things again, but these beautiful booties need to be mentioned! ♥ Ankleboots
What I discovered: Pink is the new Red!


With Love,

Coffeebeanlilly

2013

Hello Lovelies,

Although this post might sound very materialistic I thought I should put my "most wanted" things for 2013 on paper to have goals to work towards to.
And also to see these "achievements" by the end of 2013.

Of course not everything is listed, I left out all the everyday little wishes (time with my husband), the big and obvious ones (buying an appartment) and the very secretive ones.

- Michael Kors Hamilton bag black with golden hardware (2) which you can find *here*
- book Fidji or Bali for my Partner Visa (6)
- do a Sailing Course and be able to sail a yacht by the end of 2013 (1)
- buy a car, so I don't longer have to catch the bus to work (I really wouldn't complain if it   wouldn't
  take me an 1,5 hours one way each day), preferably a kind of environmentally friendly one such as a
  Toyota with a hybrid engine
- participate in at least one Charity Run (5) As I'm not going to be able to see my mum on Mother's Day I'm
  planning on participating in the *Mother's Day Classic*
- adopt a little French Bulldog (3)

Not neccessarily in this order.

With Love,

Coffeebeanlilly

Taste of Autumn in Sydney

Dear Lovelies,

While Spring is knocking on the door in the northern hemisphere, here on the southern part of the globe Autumn is slowly but surely taking over.
Since the temperature has dropped to 25 degrees and I have my first little 'bug' that makes my throat feel like a cheese grater, I decided to wear a hat and a scarf today. Nice and toasty, just how I like it. I'm going to snuggle up on the couch now with a cup of lemon tea and let you enjoy the following pictures.
 

Under The Bridge

Paperbag Shorts - H&M

With Love,


Coffeebeanlilly

Casual Sydney - Or: wear it while you still can!

Dear Lovelies,

Even after my first three months in my new home I still consider myself as being a tourist. And what do tourists do? That's right, they walk a lot.
Considering it is still summer in Sydney I'm not going to show you anything too fancy, just two casual outfits, which I probably wouldn't have worn in Germany (don't ask me why). Especially with temperatures always ranging around the 30 degree mark, the last thing that you as a tourist wanna do is carry any unneccessary weight - and yes that includes clothes as well.

First outfit combines three trends at once:
1.) Jeans Jacket
2.) Maxi Dress
3.) Stripes


Casual, Laid Back, Relaxed, Beachey, Sydney

You've got to love Jeans Jackets!	Statement Necklace

French Manicure	Steve Madden Sandals

If you don't want to look too much like a sailor, avoid combining your stripey maxi dress with typical sailor colours such as red and blue (yes I know my bag is blue).

The second outfit is even more casual, like a 'Saturday 8am markets' outfit. It was about time for me to reflect the beachy and laid back lifestyle here, so I bought my very first pair of high waisted shorts. And that brings us to my point: Wear it while you still can! All the years I always thought 'I'm too old for that, I shouldn't wear that' and I seriously thought that from 20 onwards! Do you know that feeling when you think like something is not appropriate for your age but like a year later you look back and think you should've worn it because now it's too late and you're not getting younger?
In my particular case I'll have deep vein thrombosis keeping me from wearing anything shorter than knee length in a few years. So I decided for myself to wear the 'really short stuff' as long as I still can and as long as I'm not offending people with the ugly looking veins on my legs.

Sydney CBD

   High Waisted Shorts                                                   Surfboard Park

Sydney from a ferry	Mini grapes & white cherries

With Love,


Coffeebeanlilly


 

NYE 2012 Preparations and Recipes

Dear Lovelies,

I'm currently preparing 'Yum Yum Salad' and would like to share the recipe.

It takes approximately 15 minutes. For 6 people you need:

♥ 1 large chinese cabbage
♥ 3 packages of Instant Noodles Chicken Flavour
♥ 3 spring onions
♥ 80 g sunflower seeds
♥ 4 table spoons vinegar (White Wine Vinegar)
♥ 80 ml canola oil
♥ 1 table spoon salt
♥ 1 table spoon pepper
♥ 3 table spoons sugar


Ingredients for Yum Yum Salad

Let's start:
♥ Cut the cabbage in half and both halfs into fine strips, put into salad bowl
♥ roughly crush up the instant noodles and add to the cabbage
♥ chop up the spring onions
♥ pour sugar, salt, pepper, vinegar, oil and the chicken flavour sachets into a cup and stir properly
♥ roast sunflower seeds in frying pan without oil
♥ put everything together, stir and enjoy this crunchy and fresh summer salad!

ATTENTION: Don't prepare the salad the night before unless you like your noodles soggy instead of crunchy.

A meal wouldn't be perfect though without a good drink! My favourite for this years NYE is Chambord:

Beautiful Chambord bottle

♥ Chambord is crafted from the world’s finest raspberries and blackberries, Madagascar vanilla, Moroccan citrus peel, honey and cognac to create a delicious all-natural Black Raspberry liqueur.



left:
Chambord + Soda
♥ 30 ml Chambord
♥ 2 Lime Wedges
♥ Soda on top

right:
Chambord + Sparkling Wine
♥ 10 ml Chambord
♥ Champagne on top

(Source and more recipes on their facebook page ChambordAustralia)

AND: Cooking and enjoying a good drink is only half the fun without good music! So my playlist today includes:

♥ Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child
♥ Bruno Mars - Locked Out Of Heaven
♥ Calvin Harris - Feel So Close
♥ Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait
♥ will.i.am feat. Britney Spears - Scream & Shout
♥ Calvin Harris - Sweet Nothing
♥ Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble
♥ David Guetta - She Wolf

Happy New Year!

With Love,


Coffeebeanlilly



 

My first month in Sydney

Hello Lovelies,

It's been exactly four weeks now that I left my little comfort zone - my old home - and sailed off to new shores. My new home is Sydney and I'd like to share a few things from the very start here in Australia.
My husband and I were extremely lucky to have good friends here, so we were allowed to stay with them from the day we landed. As much as I enjoyed the company, as an adult couple we were hoping to find our own little place as soon as possible.
Everyone told us it would be quite difficult to get approved for the desired appartment considering at this point both of us were unemployed.
Believe it or not, I think the apartment we looked at (it was the third one - third time lucky) is made for us, so it happened that we got approved for this place on our 12th day in Sydney! I still cannot grasp this beautiful view and I wish I could take photos with my eyes!


Day 16 - Moving in/Cleaning the apartment

top left: can't get enough of sunsets | bottom right: our new friends

While we ate on a cardboard box and slept on a matress, I was in the hot phase of getting a job. Having sent a good dozen of applications out I was hoping to find something as soon as possible (once again ASAP, my gosh patience is a virtue).
I had to remember my tattoo (which you can see *here*) everytime I picked up the phone to call a company to make sure they remember me. But I was lucky once more, on day 13 I had my first interview and on day 16 I had a Letter of Offer in my mail and now I'm proud to be able to say I work in the marketing department for a well known Australian company.


left: my new favourite coffee cup | right: first day at work

As if racing through all these obstacles wasn't enough, I must have done something right because the person in the sky decided I deserved more. My mother-in-law gave us plane tickets to the beautiful Sunshine Coast for Christmas. One week after my first week in my new position I thoroughly enjoyed myself in Queensland, visiting places I've been before (Maroochydore), doing things for the first time (fishing!) and all the things in between. Seeing my sister-in-law and her adorable children was also a highlight.


Fishing in Maroochydore

After Christmas we mainly put all our energy towards household shopping as we have to build our life from scratch. Tomorrow - day 31 in Sydney - we will finally have a table and chairs.


My favourite Australian flowers: top left: Hibiscus | bottom left and right: Frangipani

What I learnt so far:

1.: Never, really NEVER, leave the house without sunscreen!
2.: A little bit of COURAGE is all it takes to be greatly rewarded!


With Love,


Coffeebeanlilly


 

Infinite Courage

Dear Lovelies,

Courage has many definitions. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, courage is: The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear or vicissitudes with self possession, confidence and resolution; bravery.

Apart from the definition, everyone has their own conception of courage, which also varies due to different situations in life.

For me personally, courage is probably the most important virtue as ones thoughts and actions hinge on the connection between courage and other virtues such as kindness, prudence, fortitude and so on. Very often in life situations occur which require courage. No matter whether it is just a phone call that has been put off, or a life changing decission.

In terms of bravery, satisfaction, or success a little bit of courage is sometimes all it takes.



Infinity Tattoo - Courage

With Love,

Coffeebeanlilly