Homemade jam

Welcoming the joyful season of the year is all about making homemade jam. The sweetness the nature has to offer can only be emphasized by the added sugar. Best served as a sweet treat in the morning with some sunbeams shining through the window to welcome a new day.

about making coffee

Making coffee in a chemex gives one the chance to slowly start into the day. To boil the water, take a filter and carefully pull in the coffee, take a smell out of the box before putting it back onto the shelf, then pour over the hot water sip by sip and watch the coffee dribble into the can. Drop by drop, the smell of coffee welcomes you into a new day.

How to make coffee with a chemex.

Oh, what an inspiring morning read!

But first, coffee... 

The creativity of coffee.

A cup of jo.

about sharing some news in the 'About' section

www.bestwishesfromberlin.com

to listen to good music 05/13

Here's to 05/13!

about planting your own little garden

Living in a big city like Berlin, I try to surround myself with nature as often as I can. Although the traffic and the streetlights make the city feel lively, what could be more 'alive' than an own little garden on the balcony? With cars and busses driving by, I plant different herbs like arugula or parsley, accompanied by some colourful flowers. Add some vegetables and you almost can harvest food from your own garden - like this very first radish we raised by only taking a little time each day to take care of it. Here's to many more self-grown ingredients for our kitchen!

This would spice up every kitchen wall. (free printables!)

Oh, going for a walk at this place must be magical...

And I'm already more than excited for this cookbook!

Need some flower recipes?

And last but not least: one of my favorite photo series combining flowers with ice cream.

Pfeiffer Beach, California

There is a hidden place in California where no sign is guiding the way. Where it is so empty that one greets each other when walking by. Where all you can feel on your face is the wind blowing. Where all you can see is the waves washing up the big rock. Where all you want to do is to seize the day.

about learning something new

Making macarons. With this goal in mind, I looked for a recipe, wrote down the ingredients, went twice to the supermarket because I forgot something and then started to make something on my own. Sieving the almonds, weighing the egg yolks and then baking everything together at the right temperature were all little steps that led to the learning result: one, even two baking sheets full of macarons au chocolat. From this day on, I know that I can achieve something by only taking the first step to just do it.

Homemade Bread

Is there anything better than freshly baked bread right out of the oven with just some butter on it? Baking bread, other than cake, is much more: a dedication towards basic ingredients. A creation out of the purpose to share. With my hands covered in dough, I think of all the gatherings which are still to come.

about enjoying everyday

'What would you do with an extra day?' This question leads to a lot of aspiring answers: to see the people more often you love the most, to drink a glass of wine every once in a while, to fulfil a childhood dream. And what is it about the weekend? A beautiful breakfast table, the sun shining through the window, the lunch break with friends, the good book read in bed - here's to celebrate everyday! 

Celebrating everyday life. (one of the most beautiful things I have seen in a while)

It is all about the little things, isn't it?

There is always a grain of truth in everything.

Oh, mornings...
 
What would everyday life be without sweets?

(Photo shot last year on film)

Brownies

By baking brownies on a weekday, the time stops for a little while. When mixing the ingredients and melting the chocolate, to take time for yourself and focus on something different, instead of a waste of time is much more: it is about to create something and enjoy the outcome of it. And sometimes, all you need is a freshly baked bunch of brownies.

to listen to good music 04/13

Here's to 04/13!

about having a picnic

It is time. To enjoy the warm weather, to meet with friends in the park, to walk barefoot, to listen to guitar music, to eat too much food, to drink too many glasses of wine, to celebrate the moment. It is time for a picnic outside. 

This makes a picnic even more cozy. 

A song like a bouquet of fresh spring flowers.
 
Signs for spring in Berlin.
 
Inspiring like spring itself. 
 
Photo above taken here last summer.

about being inspired by instagram

Captures of coffee breaks, tulips on the table or magazines as a morning read:

www.instagram.com/bonandjour

Rue Mouffetard, Paris

Strolling down the oldest market street, la Rue Mouffetard, combines the two ingredients that make a spring day in Paris: food and love. Spending the day outside, stopping here and there for something to eat and share all the smells and sounds in the streets with the one you love is what makes Paris 'la plus belle ville du monde'.

 

Rue Mouffetard
75005 Paris 

Continue for the recipe:

reading a poem // Hermann Hesse

Homemade Gnocchi

A few weeks ago, the craving for something good yet healthy and fresh marked the beginning of spring. On one of those far too less sunny days, I made homemade Gnocchi for the first time. The hours of kneading the dough were divided between meditation and desperation. In the end, when the fresh Gnocchi were served with dried tomatoes, crumbled cheese and basil, everything was good.

about being surrounded by beautiful things

We surround ourselves with beautiful things like we do with beloved memories. Whenever I feel the urge to sit down and rest for a while, the mug on the kitchen table is more than a birthday gift - sip by sip I remember the face my sister made when she gave it to me. And when I walk over the rug, woven in black and white, I can still see friends holding carefully their glasses of red wine while sitting and laughing on the floor late at night.

Here's to embrace the the beautiful things in daily life - and to many more memories.

Objects of use 

Bodie and fou 

Line + Liv

selekkt

ting

(Some of them only ship within Europe or to Germany, but it's all about the inspiration)

Tank Hill, San Francisco

Whenever there is snow outside these days, I dream about walking around the hills of San Francisco. Last summer, we found this precious little place because we were too tired to walk all the way up to Twin Peaks. And we didn't regret it: to have the sunshine, the wind and the foggy view all for yourself is what makes the sights of San Francisco.

A question: can you find the Golden Gate Bridge in these photos?

Tank Hill Park
2 Belgrave Ave / Bigler Ave
San Francisco, CA 94117

to listen to good music 03/13

Here's to 03/13!

about reading your favorite magazines

Reading one of your favorite magazines is like coming at home. Sometimes, you just want to close the door and leave the world outside - then there it is, filled with words so warm like a hug. On other days, somebody you love had already cooked dinner for you as a surprise - and this is when stories from other people inspire you like you never knew they would.

For me, being a freelance writer besides my studies in Literature, I like to be surrounded by beautifully written words all the time. At the opposite side of my bookshelf is this collection of magazines - always ready to sit down and flip through.