Winter in Europe Part 2

Here are a few more photos from the winter holiday.  :)

Also, thanks for your encouraging words in my previous post.  Our friends often ask us how we can survive being apart.  It's really hard. :( This week I was trying to find any possible way to maximize my frequent flyer points and be able to see my husband next month, but it looks like it might not work out.  :(   

Trying to just be thankful no matter what.  Anyways, onto the pics..

Champ Elysees was so pretty after Christmas.  The line for some of the stores was soo long though.  We wanted to stop in Louis Vuitton but didn't feel like waiting in the cold.  Btw, the picture in the bottom left is the line to.. Abercrombie & Fitch(?!)   The line was even longer than the LV line!  My friends told me that it's popular, even among young adults.  I was surprised, since I always associate the store with teenagers and high school students.

Champ Elysees

We didn't stay in Paris for long, but the food was good.  I was looking forward to eating hot crepes, both sweet and savory, off the street. :)  We didn't see the bakeries full of colorful macarons that I'm used to seeing on Pinterest and other blogs, but we had some yummy food nonetheless.

Clockwise from left: Hippopotamus Restaurant, "Floating Cloud" dessert, raw beef dish, creme brulee
I didn't try it, but there was a plate of raw ground beef that you could order.
Our friend said it was delicious, but I wasn't brave enough.

Interesting flavored Lays potato chips (we saw hamburger, bolognese and chicken soup)
and cute mugs, salt shakers, and egg holders

Berlin

 

Flowers from hubby to brighten up our hotel

My little sister got this for hubby for Christmas :)
It's a German duck, complete with lederhosen and beer.  Hubby said
he looks Bavarian

 I was surprised at how expensive certain items were.  Kitchenaid mixers were 609 Euro (~$809 USD!) UGGs were expensive too.  Although they're still popular, short UGGs were like 200 Euro (~$265) and tall UGGS were 300 Euro (~$398 USD!)  On the plus side, grocery items tend to be cheaper in Germany, as long as they're basic items (bread, milk, eggs, meat), but gourmet or international items are much more expensive.  I liked how sales tax is built into the price (hubby and sister-in-law didn't like how the prices were different than the price tag in America), but I still prefer American prices for most things.

Date night with hubby.  Since we won't be able to celebrate our first Valentine's Day as a married couple (*tear), we celebrated it a month early in Cologne.  Hubby said Valentine's Day isn't as big in Germany, but it was still a romantic time. :)

I love him <3

Cool toilet paper dispensers at the Cologne train station gift shop

LOVE the IKEA in Germany.  The food is so yummy! :)
Had lunch and coffee and goofed around in the cafe :)

Winter in Europe

As soon as I finished my semester, I flew back to Cologne to be with my husband this winter.  It was our first Christmas and New Year's as newlyweds, and we drove to Paris (~4.5 hours) after Christmas and flew to Berlin after New Year's for some short getaways.
The holidays in Europe is lovely.  My husband thinks that Christmas and New Year's are not as big a deal as in America, and that might be true, but I was gushing over the sparkling lights and decorations in downtown Cologne.  And Paris was another whole story.. so exquisite.  :)

I flew back to DC at the end of January, and once again, saying goodbye at the airport was heartbreaking.  I cried throughout the plane ride home; when I woke up from a long sleep and realized I wasn't with E, I started quietly sobbing again.  The next time we're planning to see each other is in May (~94 days from today..)  I have to say, being in a long-distance marriage is so hard.  I always feel sorry for us, that we're missing out on our first Valentine's Day, birthday, and wedding anniversary as a married couple.  We're both praying to be strong during this time, to cherish the time we have apart and to do what we can to maintain closeness and communication even while separated.

Anyways, here are some random photos from my iPhone:

Christmasmarkt near the Cologne Dom.  The lights were so lovely.
Reminded me of the movie Tangled :)

These are unedited photos straight from my iPhone.
The Eiffel Tower really is this stunning and beautiful.

CLASSY McDonald's in Paris

Montmartre

Avenue des Champs Élysées

Our apartment-style hotel in Berlin.
Small, modern, reasonably priced

Weather was gloomy, so we hit up the Berlin Aquarium

Mongolian BBQ, with all kinds of meat for grilling,
including kangaroo and shark

Christmas gift from my sister
Personalized heart mugs (notice my name is written in pink:)

Nail Care

A few weeks ago, I discovered Chloe's Nails and educated myself on some nail care tips.  I always thought I was taking care of them properly but noticed they would break or split easily before they would have a chance to grow out.  This made for some potentially sad/asymmetrical French manicures unless I got the broken tips replaced.  Later I learned some news that's apparently obvious to anyone who's done a manicure- I was filing them improperly.  Instead of filing cleanly all in one direction, I was sawing them back and forth with an emery board and weakening my nails.
Chloe's Nails also recommended using glass files, so I ordered a few on Amazon.  I bought four pretty glass files for less than $5; they're sturdy and hard to break, and all you have to do is run them under water after using them and they're good as new.  They won't file down or get dull the way emery boards do, and they seem to do a cleaner and smoother job.

 

Here are some new colors I got this month!  [Please forgive the unsightly smudges on the sides.]

Love this Tiffany blue
China Glaze | For Audrey

The perfect grey/brown
Sally Hansen | Fearless Fog

Sally Hansen | Lacey Lilac

Winter Favs

Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year!  :)   I love the sunny, cheerful weather of spring and summer, but there's something so special and cozy about this season.  I know a lot of people associate this season with stress (final exams, grading, Christmas shopping crowds, etc.), but this time of year always brings up warm and happy memories of snow days, hot chocolate and Christmas cookies, family time by the fire, and decorating the Christmas tree.  I heard Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" a few days ago on the radio and couldn't help dancing and singing in the car.  :)

The weather here is still crisp and cool and fall-like, but here are a few of my winter favs:

Winter accessories

Fuzzy Earmuffs (AE) | Burberry Wristlet (came with Burb tote) | Leather/cashmere gloves (from Korea)

Black booties from Luxury Rebel (LOVE the mauve pink soles!)
Cardigan from The Limited | Double Strand Pearls

 I know people lean towards dark nails in the winter, but it's a pastel/gray palette for me!

Ballet Slippers by Essie | Lacey Lilac by Sally Hansen
Fearless Fog by Sally Hansen | A True Romantic by Sephora OPI

Picked up these two lacy tops during the post-Thanksgiving sales.. yes, they're the same top in winter cream and gray :P

Banana Republic

Keeping the footsies warm around the house

Fuzzy bootie slippers from LOFT | Forever 21 socks (95 cents each!)

 I saw these lovely silver candle holders from Bath & Body Works during Black Friday shopping.  They were already on sale, but my cousin suggested to look up additional promo coupons on my iPhone.  I showed the cashier my iPhone and got an additional $10 off (yay), so I picked up a few candles + silver ornate candle holders, one for my apartment in Germany and one for my mother-in-law :)

Lollia hand cream | Candle from Bath and Body Works

The next week will be super busy with research papers for school, but I'll be flying to Cologne next Thursday and

f i n a l l y reunited with hubby after almost 4 months of separation.   There were moments in the semester where it was so hard that I thought I would do ANYTHING to see him. I even looked up plane tickets, crossing my fingers that there would be some fluke cheap air ticket sale but of course, couldn't find any.  :(  But twelve more days until we're together again, I can't wait! :)

It'll also be nice to celebrate Christmas in Cologne, which was #1 on CNN's list of great European Christmasmarkt cities.   I'm looking forward to trying some German Gluhwein (warm spiced mulled wine) and visiting one of the seven Christmasmarkts in the city!

Source

Source

Fall Favs

Fall is almost over, but I'm holding onto fall fashion as long as possible.  September and most of October were uncharacteristically warm (except for a fluke snowfall on Halloween), so I had to hold off on the boots, trenches and blazers until a few weeks ago.  I never envisioned myself wearing gold or animal print, but inspired by the fashion trends this season, I found some of the looks for less.  Below are some of my fall favorites.

Pinks and golds

Coach Madison Sabrina | Rose gold case from Köln | Michael Kors Runway Watch
F21 and H&M accessories | Coach wallet

Leopard scarf | Gunmetal flats

Love these nail colors, bought for 2€ each in a Köln drugstore :) (Rossmann)

Boots are a must for the unpredictable weather here

Hunter | Fossil

Underwater Hotels

I saw some photos of these underwater hotels and resorts, and I couldn't believe my eyes.  The photographs look amazing.   Can you imagine dining or sleeping in the ocean, watching fish and huge manta rays swimming by?

From Poseidon Undersea Resorts

Underwater Bedroom in the Maldives

I think this would be breathtaking and maybe a little scary too!  I would probably worry that the glass would crack or a shark would ram against the thick glass and we would cave in.  Unfortunately, I don't think I'll find out for myself anytime soon.  Reservations for Poseidon Undersea Resort range from $15,000 per person (or $30,000 per couple a week).  Oh well, I can still appreciate the amazing concept.  :)

Lessons

I can't believe it's already been six months.  Marriage has been an incredible time, more than I could have ever imagined. :) 
We received a lot of marital advice from various people before marriage, but most of it seemed really abstract and theoretical during our engagement period.   "Don't have too many/too high/any expectations!"  "Remember, the only person you can change is yourself!"  "Marriage is work!"
Since we're still newlywed novices, we haven't yet gone through some of the experiences that other married couples have told us about. 

But after marriage and living together, you do learn a thing or two about yourself and each other. Below are some of the simple lessons I've learned.  Sorry if they might sound cliche and stereotypical, but in our experience, these are some of the words that have rang true for us.
What would you add to the list?

1)  Men are fairly simple and easy to please.  Women are not.
2)  Open and honest communication is important... but timing, tone, and choice of words are important too.
3)  It's true what my pastor's wife said shortly before our wedding.. "Men never remember.. women never forget."
4)  A home-cooked meal goes a long way (see #1)  I really think food is the universal male love language.  It's so funny the positive impact that good food has for the hubby.
5)  Romance goes way beyond chocolate, gifts, and flowers.  It's sweet to notice and appreciate the little, unconventional, romantic things you do for each other.




6) You're not always going to be the rational, calm, level-headed person you want to be.  Factor in stress, sleep deprivation, or PMS (female or male PMS, yes I do kinda think it exists), and you've got one moody spouse.  In those cases, the voice of reason is still there (including that archive of all that grand marriage advice you accumulated), but you just don't care. What I love about my hubby is that he has a gift for encouraging me and calming me down, even when I know I'm being completely irrational.  At that moment, he doesn't try to prove himself right, isn't dismissive of my feelings, and doesn't lecture me with logical counterarguments.  Instead, he listens, tries to understand, and does his best to comfort me.  His loving and patient response sometimes catches me off-guard, because I'm expecting him to treat me the way I deserve.. but I hope I can treat him and others with this kind of grace.
7) Living together also allows you to learn from each other's strengths.  I've learned from E's patience, loyalty to his friends, respect towards his parents, and generally accepting nature towards all kinds of people.
8) Genuine words of encouragement can really lift up your loved one's spirits.. and negative words can have the exact opposite effect.
9) Give each other the benefit of the doubt...
10) ..But don't dwell when things don't go exactly the way you want or expect.
11) Praying together and for each other is so important.
12) Thankfulness is one essential part of being happy.  Thankfulness to God, appreciation of each other, and a sense of gratitude for the people around you who have supported both you and your spouse.

Our case is unusual because we're doing the long-distance, international marriage.  A few people have asked us how we're able to survive, being newlyweds.  It is really hard.  :(  There were times where I thought, I would do anything to find a flight to Germany right now.  Maybe one day I'll write a post on our experience in a long-distance marriage.  For now, all I can say is that I just want to be thankful.

Married life is sweet. <3
(and thank God for skype).

Happy anniversary love~