When a t-shirt is no longer just a t-shirt.

Oh, no. There is an American Apparel outlet shop here.

This can only mean more luggage & less money. Yesterday I bought two t-shirts for $12 bucks each. For AA, that's so freaking cheap!

And these shirts are so soft, so well cut, so flattering & made in the USA (yes, that's still possible). Their tri-blend shirts get the cotton & yarn from NC. What's not to love? I have to support my home state, right?

a wee house.

Sometimes I think all we would need would be a little spot of earth and a wee little house like this one:Check more modern pre-fab creations out here.

last night in Basel.

Let me tell you: I ♥ my cousins.

Caro, Philipp, Robert & Matthias

How perfect is it when things work out at just the right moment? While staying in Basel, I finally got to meet all the Trummer cousins except one; Robert. He's been living in Nicaragua and only came to Basel the Friday before we left. We decided to all meet up the following night at Eveline's for a curry dinner and conversation.

Warning: blurry pictures to follow (most of which I take no credit for!).

Caro showing off her beloved prosecco ; )

All of us.

The boys.

Matthias and Caro in the kitchen.

Caro & Philipp

This one's so blurry but I cannot resist posting it b/c I love the body language.

Robert messing with the cactus, while Eveline & I attempt a non-horrible photo.

This is how I will always remember our time in Basel; laughing with my mother-in-law.

Philipp, Eveline & I all agreed this was the best way we could have spent the last night; not getting depressed, counting down the hours but having fun with lots of laughs, gathered around the table sharing a meal with the people we love.

oscar night/kate winslet

So while I was hurling into a paper bag, the Oscars were under way. How thrilled was I to find out this morning that one talented actress whom I always love to watch won last night?

Philipp and I are going to see The Reader tomorrow. I am so pleased its still playing here. It had yet to come to Europe before leaving. Also, I love this shot from the cover of Time. It's beautiful in a raw & unglamorous way.

yack-o-matic.

I contemplated putting this post on my other blog, but alas, this is not about me being terrible its about them.I'll give you a leftover franc I can no longer use if you can tell me which of the following was worse from my horrendous (and I do mean horrendous) flight over from Europe:

1) Having to say goodbye to someone who has become so much more than a mother-in-law to me, but a best friend.
2) Sitting on a plane that smelled like someone's ass for 11 hours.
3) Having to go to the bathroom, but not being able to.
4) Being tortured by my O.C.D tendencies when going repeatedly to said bathroom. Paper towels on every surface...no soap at one point!
5) Watching three cheesy movies on mute because we did not have any Euros/want to pay for headphones.
6) Feeling like I was going to throw up approx. 2/3 of the time.
7) Having to watch that fucking Mister Bean asshat. Who cares if its mute, I don't ever want to see his face again unless its on a spear end.
8) Philipp accidentally spilling my cup of Sprite all over the both of us. He felt so bad. I just felt miserable and bad for him.
9) Experiencing one of the most intense panic attacks of my adult life. I have luckily not suffered one of these in years, but this one was by far the worst. Heart rate jacked out the roof, sweaty palms, blazing from the inside out, mouth like a desert, out of control shaking legs, a lot of fear, extreme claustrophobia, the works. I was also trying to repress it because people were staring & I was scaring Philipp; that only makes it worse, by the way.
10) Having to call the stewardess lady twice, who was absolutely no help at all. I wanted to go to the front so I could run off immediately after landing. They would not let me because of regulations...some such AirScheisse shit. I could have been having a heart attack for all they knew. I should have thrown up on her but instead...
11) I had to actually throw up in one of those barf bags in front of your seat that I always laugh about. Yes. In front of everyone and their German mama. The reason I had to do this was because it was after we landed and we were sitting on the runway for 20 minutes waiting for a terminal to become available! The toilets are locked once you start landing and my nerves were, at this point, just completely over jacked. This was so embarrassing.

**Although I must say, I was proud of keeping my humor after this. They had just made the announcement right before I threw up that U.S Agriculture forbids bringing any vegetable or meat products into the country. I looked over at Philipp (I am sure I looked hot), and said, "Do you think this classifies as a vegetable?" That was pretty funny.

After all of this, we made it across the border with no questioning or problems and no missing luggage. Those were the two silver linings.

perspective.

I like the perspective of this picture taken in the desert in '07 when Eveline and Jo came to California... Philipp taking a shot of me with the desert hills in the background.

The Plan.

Being in an international marriage, the reality is you will always be leaving one set of relatives on opposite sides of the world. I should feel incredibly fortunate that I have such a close relationship with my in-laws; that I love P's mom so much, that I have some new cousins I did not know before, that we all get along so well. But the truth is, everywhere we go I am always torn. I'm always missing family, one way or another. So while I am excited to see my family in NC, be in FL with Martin & see my sister more often, I am also sad. I'm sad because I am leaving the other half of my family here.

Sheesh. You get lucky in one way, not so lucky in another.
***
The Grand Plan at the moment is to return to Florida, where P's dad lives, get some shit jobs and work there for a few months. We'd like to pay off our car, do some dental work on us both and get completely free & ready to roam. We've been offered return jobs at this amazing little inn/hostel we worked at on the central Cali coast in '07. We love this place so much (and the central coast in general), so that's exciting.

But there are also many things I will miss about life in Europe.

When we hit the lotto millions, there will be a place built for all of us to convene & be hedonistic at.

'Til then, I love & enjoy the people I love while I have them near.

Re: Stacks/saying farewell.

Yesterday I had a few things to do in town. I listened to this song on repeat while walking around, riding on the tram across the bridge, looking at the river with all the buildings I love, saying goodbye to my husband's hometown.

gimme some more of your waves.

This is Philipp and me in a few days (ignore how that dude's trunks are all jacked up to his titties):Why? Because I just ordered this bathing suit from Target. We've been here many, many times before, I know. But come on, does it or does it not look exactly like this vintage ad? Ahem, I also got one in red too.Happy 1950's Kristin.

another yellow dress

Okay, signs are pointing. Kristin needs to buy a yellow dress.

Twig Hutchinson via The City Sage.

Dark end of the street

The husband brought home Cat Power, Dark End of the Street on vinyl tonight. Makes for a happy evening. Nice packaging, matte paper & great photo.Bonus: A version of this song I blogged about recently is on it.

peacocks

photo. La Vie.

Yes. Peacock feather hair fascinator. I'll take one. Yes, please.

oh. and swans.

Oh. And also in Bern were Philipp & Kristin, swans mating for life, cruising around in the cold water below...(Okay, ravens are cooler).

Zurich/Bern Shake-down.

So yesterday morning I was woken up early in the dark to this:Hot coffee on a platter with a giant note written on a heart surrounded by candles. He is the best. The note read: Kristin Jo + John Philipp fur immer (forever). Valentine's Day Road Trip 2009. Mit Ein Bitzeli Schnee (With a little bit of snow).

And snowy it was. I made some honey & jam toasts to go and off we went. Only, we were not so sure if we could go...it was snowing so hard and the roads were covered in slush.
***
We decided to go as far as Zurich and see how it was from there. We got to Zurich, had a coffee and a look around, although you could hardly see the lake or anything from the skies and snow.

We drove back the way we came and pulled off at a castle to see if we could check it out for the day instead. It was closed for the winter. We took this as a sign to go on ahead anyways because we did not want to just go home after waking up so early.
We made it to Bern! The weather was better. Still cold and winter-y, but not as covered in snow as Zurich & Basel.We had lunch at a pizzeria in town. My diamond sparkled. He took a picture of it. I did not follow through with my vow to put on make-up. I got as far as bringing the cosmetic bag and that was it. Oh well.We had a good laugh at the name of those bread sticks.A Bern teddy bear.We walked across the central bridge. Their bridges are so much higher than the ones in Basel...vertigo maximo!
The skyline was gorgeous with the light dusting of snow.Maybe you Swiss aren't so neutral after all? The 'child eater' sculpture on one of the many incredible fountains.Make a heart or I'll never bear your children!The sun peaked through a little as we walked along the water front.Where the 'failure to meddle in others people's business' magic is made...the Swiss house of parliament.A constipated founding father?
I ♥ him.
***
In short, it was a great day. This morning we woke up to sunshine & blue skies...of course. But we made the most of our bad weather and spent the day well & in love. I will miss so much about Switzerland, it truly is an enchanting place full of beautiful things.

V Day was wonderful.

Our day was great yesterday. I'll post pictures soon. Right now I just want an excuse to post this retro pin-up ; )

Be Mine, Valentine.

Image from Bread & Honey

Tomorrow the Mister and I are off to drive around as much of Switzerland as we possibly can in one day. That's a good way to spend Valentine's Day, right? I'm more into salty than sweet these days, so no exquisite choccies for me. And I could not find a single thing for him that was cool, so we are gift-free this year. I did make a little something, but that generally goes without saying when a holiday's involved...

We're taking the camera and I am vowing to put on make-up early tomorrow morning so I look lovely in the Euro snapshots.

I've always loved Valentine's Day, even when most of mine were spent alone. There are plenty of people around you to love, even if it's not a sweetheart.

Enjoy the day with someone--even if that someone is a favorite record.

PS. If I were not on a chocolate detox at the moment, how lovely is the packaging from Beschle Chocolatier in town?

Songs: Ohia

If you're hunting for some sexy Valentine's Day tunes (somehow that sounds really cheesy and not sexy at all), look no further than the album, "The Lioness" from Songs:Ohia. I've loved this album for quite a long time and have recently begun playing it again. I love the imagery his words capture. The album unfolds like seduction. His voice lulls you into a place of desire. Some may say into the desire for sleep, but I digress. From the title track:

It is for me the eventual truth
Of that look of the lioness to her man across the Nile
It is that look of the lioness to her man across the Nile
Wanna feel my heart break if it must break in your jaws
Want you to lick my blood off your paws
You can't get here fast enough
I will swim to you
Whether you save you me
Whether you savage me
Want my last look to be the moon in your eyes
Want my heart to break if it must break in your jaws
Want you to lick my blood off your paws

the good list

1. Looking through our Pacific Ocean pictures.
2. Sunshine finally coming out through the clouds today.
3. Feeling optimistic about the future.
4. Reading in bed with him.
5. Looking forward to a couple of road trips; around Switzerland this weekend, to the Keys in a few weeks, up to my parents' place in NC after that.
6. Not needing anything for Valentine's Day.
7. Just wanting to spend it with him.
8. Leaving with less stuff than what we came with.
9. Not having to fly alone.
10. Feeling healthy & fit.
11. Getting to say {most} of our goodbyes all at one time on Sunday.
12. Seeing my sister soon--being less than 30 minutes away for a few months.
13. Springtime waiting in the wings; fresh veggies galore.

springtime table

This table set-up makes me want to eat brunch outside barefoot in a cotton summer dress while the sun warms my feet. Whimsy!

marigold dress

Maybe I am going nuts and should retreat immediately back to my all-time favorite & beloved black, but I love this dress from J.Crew:I loved this look from an older Academy Awards too, so its not really a surprise, I guess:
And the dress is on sale for so cheap at the moment. Would this color even suit a gal with dark hair, ivory skin & blue eyes? I have no idea!

gimme some more {of your candy hearts}

Some time in February '07, California.

I seem to have vastly underestimated how much I enjoy browsing the aisles and aisles of Valentine's Day crap at Target (V.D.C.A.T.). I usually don't bring any of it home with me, but V.D.C.A.T. brings back the fondest memories of childhood (never mind there was no Target in the rural town I grew up in--it's highly unlikely I'd be hitting up a Rite Aid for my Valentine's Day Crap needs if there's a bull's eye alternative).

All the cartoon valentine card sets! The suckers with messages on them! Those lame little Lifesaver packets that are supposed to look like a book but don't! All the chintzy little stuffed animals! The kitsch factor goes out the roof and I can't get enough of it. Sigh. What more could a twenty five year old need?

Inner doubting self: A life?
Me: Shut up.

The cool thing is, although I cannot be transported there tomorrow morning while Philipp is {ahem, cough} at work, it will all be marked down and smiling at me by the time we're in the U.S.

You know what this means: Candy conversation hearts. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner.

Also, never fear. Easter will be rolling back the aisles in a few weeks. And SweeTart ducks & bunnies are all friends of mine.

not so vintage dress

This is not a vintage dress, but made to look like it & I want it. I would wear the hell out of this. Also this girl has a rockin' figure. I love womanly curves & am so sick of seeing pencil-thin being the only frame marketed as chic. The mind warp this causes in young women (myself not removed) is better left to another post, though.

cloche hat

Okay. You can buy me this $160.00 handmade felt cloche hat from etsy. I won't object.

killer dress

Never mind that I'm looking at tattooed pin-ups (you can blame my cousin Matthias), this chick's dress is killer. I want it. I need it. I'll take the gas mask too. Why not?

looooovely dress

photo by. j.lund

It appears the lovely Marissa Nadler has an equally lovely dress that I'd love to steal. I love black. I love dresses. I love black dresses.

a hat.

No, this is not an Angelina Jolie post (I'm not a fan). Its just that the husband & I went to see Changeling last night and I fell in love with this hat. You know you're loved/known when he already knew I would mention it after the movie finished. He thinks I would look smashing in it too, by the way! We enjoyed the film, although its not for the faint of heart, to say the very least.

the zep four

How fantastic are these four albums?

(Philipp actually just told me the last one is called IV--I just always called it, "Daddy, that one with the Stairway to Heaven on it?")

Very. Major blues influence, killer guitar riffs, static vocals & just drips sex. Love 'em. I was majorly into them (especially numero tres) around Springtime 2005, right before taking my first cross-country road trip with Jessica and meeting Philipp for the first time.

Two from the times:
At some pizza bar in Kyiv. Tanked on Slavutich beer, wearing a myriad of clothing I'd scavenged at the crap store in Shelby, NC.

candy buttons

I want to make these and give them out to everyone I know. How flippin' awesome are these vintage candy buttons? Seriously. Tutorial here.

Originally spotted in this post from Creature Comforts.

stocki replay

Aww. This girl's apartment kitchen reminds me of a really clean & much better looking version of the first place we lived in together in Reinach. I had some rockin' window boxes full of herbs there in the summer. Here is Philipp in it, looking somber with his favorite vegetable. He is probably sad because we had not yet met, thus there were no fresh herbs for him ; ) I just discovered this photo again after some time, I don't know why but I like it so. He even had long, long hair there.

re-creating (hopefully) the magic

So we leave in less than three weeks and I am determined to find one staple recipe for creating European style bread once back in the U.S. I have made lots of bread there before, but none as good as what's found here.

Words cannot express how devoted I am to my beloved bread from Sutter Begg (above)...sigh. Its all real tragic.

But here is the white flour cousin to the whole grain baguette recipe I'm working on today. There are pictures with step-by-step instructions. The whole grain version is available in this extensive (read: ginormous) book:

another from the vault

Waking up this morning to Bonnie Prince Billy and looking through our first road trip pics. This one's from the road to Florida in 2006. He was right about those glasses. I looked like a giant horsefly.

sick boy

Today I'm home playing nurse for a sickly husband : (
But he's gotten longer hair recently and at least he's cute while lounging around reading Star Wars comics, drinking hot tea and playing online poker (notice the lower lip all stuck out because he is so pitiful).