Another actor-birthday-post - Happy Birthday Vanessa Redgrave!

Today is the birthday of my absolutely favorite actress; Vanessa Redgrave!

Since I watched the first movie with her - Mrs Dalloway - two years ago I have seen many more and enjoyed all of them cause her acting makes them special. I just want to mention The Shellseeker, The Gathering storm, Letters to Juliet, or Anonymus. I'm so glad there are still so many of her movies I haven't seen! I also saw her on stage once, last November in Driving Miss Daisy.

My wish for her is a simple - and parhaps also a selfish - one; I hope that she'll have many, many more years to follow and many many more rolls to play! Happy birthday Vanessa Redgrave!

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Before and after

I had sooooo many body lotions and shower gels flying arround in my bathroom and was buying new products all the time. In Novemer I decided to reduce the amonth of products by at least ten before buying new ones. During the last ten weeks I used up some small shower gels (I counted all of them as one), three normal sized shower gels, one peeling, one peeling shower gel, one oilbath, one bath essence, one body butter and a shaving cream that was half full for months. So this makes ten products and so I went to Body Shop last week to buy new ones. Well, there are still some things to use up, for example I do not need three body lotions at one time, but I just removed two of them and will finish one first.

My bathing tube before....
23 products but three shampoos not in the picture....

...and now
six products

plus two

A book a week - week 4

Book facts

An Education
Lynn Barber

183 pages

Rating: 4/5

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This weeks book is kind of an old friend as I was reading it for the second time. Last summer I had to keep my busy during a sleepless night and so I decided to read some of Lynn Barbers interviews. I read one with Vanessa Redgrave two years ago and really enjoyed it so I thought there might be some more good ones. But then I came across an article called "My harsh lesson in love and life" and when I started reading, noticed that it is the story of "An Education", a movie my best friend and me almost watched in the cinema - don't ask my why we
didn't.... The next day I went into a bookshop and bought the book.

It tells not only the story of her relationship with a conman when she was still at school but is a proper autobiography. I could "listen" to her for pages and pages how she tells about her life. It is a life far from being normal and boring as she had worked for various newspapers including "Penthouse", wrote a sex-manual, a book about natural history books in Victorian times, was married to a man who was, in contrast to her, able to cook and met a lot interessting people.

A book a week - Week 3

Book facts

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt (Die Frauen von Savannah)

Beth Hoffman

350 pages

Rating: 5/5

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My this-weeks-book is devinitively one deserving five points.It leaves you happy and with a lovely feeling of comfort. I read it within three days, during which my nose was almost glued to the book in every free minute. I laughted and cried and was sad when I reached the last page, but also somehow happy. The book in one word: Heartwarming!

After the death of her mother, CeeCee moves to Savannah to live with her grand-aunt Tootie. Though they haven't met since CeeCee was a small child, Tootie welcomes the her into her live and gives her a home. Because of her mothers illness, CeeCee never had friends and was often mocked, but now she learns that people like her. During the summer she meets various characters, almost only women. There is Orella, Tooties black housekeeper, who becomes CeeCees first friend. Neigbour Miz Goldpepper who talks about karma and the Dalai Lama but catapults snails to her neigbours garden. Tooties friends who save old houses from beeing demolished. Tooties sister who haves a picnic on a parking site with her best friend every Friday. And then there is an old friend, CeeCees former neigbour, who comes to spend a holiday with them. 

When summer comes to an end and the school is due to start, CeeCee had not only found friends but also learned a lesson about live, friendship and strenght.

A book a week - Week 2

Book facts

Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets

J.K.Rowling

250 pages

Rating: 4/5

 

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What is there to tell about a Harry Potter book? Nothing really as you may all know it.

But there is a story behind my copy of the book. I was in the UK for a fortnight in 2009 and eventually had a small crisis during my second week. So all I wanted was chuddeling up in my hotel bed with a good book. It was already late, most bookshops where closed but I found an open one at Kings Cross Station (great place to buy a HP, don't you agree?) I put it into a paper bag with other shopping and went out into the rain again. When I wanted to start reading in the tube my book was gone... The bag was broken and I just lost the book! So the next day I went to a bookshop in Oxford to buy a new copy and made sure not to lose it.

Holiday plans

crowds

wide streets

museums and shopping

restaurants and bars

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wide fields

small paths

sheeps and trees

pubs and picnics

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Therse are the holiday plans my best friend and me have for this year! New York in May and some hiking in Scottland or England in autumn. Soooooo excited!

A book a week - Week 1

Book facts

The uncommon reader

Alan Bennett

121 pages

Rating: 4/5

 

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One of my plans for 2012 - nooo, I don't have resolutions! - is reading more. A book a week is the goal though I'm sure that it is not going to work as a lot of my books take more than a week to read.

Last week I started "Winter solstice" by Rosamunde Pilcher but when I found out that it is not fitting into my bag I turned to "Homecoming" by Cathy Kelly without coming far... Yesterday I noticed that I haven't read a book in the first week of the year and rushed to my bookshelfe in order to change this fact. There it was.... Red, tiny and almost shy. Alan Bennetts "The uncommon reader" I tried to read it various times over the past three years, the last time giving up on round page 90.... But now I read it... Within a bit more than two hours from the first to the last page. And I like it! Alan Bennett paints a wonderful picture of queen Elizabeth II and a special one as well.

The story is told quickly. The queen comes across a travelling library, borrows a book and finds out that reading is great. Going back to the library the next week she gets another book and also decides to make Norman, a kitchen help to her reading secretary. Her family and first and foremost her secretary, Sir Kevin dissaproove her new hobby and once, one of her books is even removed as a possible bomb. But the queen continues to read, one book after the other and finds out how to read and wave at the crouds the same time. And when she is in the middle of reading, she turns to writing.

The book is written in a very amusing way and in a clear language that makes it an ideal read for a Sunday afternoon bathing tube session - noooo, I wasn't in the tube for 2 hours but went there after I've read the first half of the book on the sofa.

Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows

Yesterday was the first cinema evening this year for my best friend and me. Before we had dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant and it was good fun to watch people and gossip. Yes, we're a big gossipy...! Best thing was.... We talked about what we're going to eat and I said that I'll have Spaghetti Carbonara. My best friend first said that she'll take the same but than changed her mind to Tortellini. When the waiter came and I ordered she said: "For me the same." "But you said that you'd like some Tortellini." "Ups, yes! Well then, the same starter but the Tortellinis for me!" We had a good laugh!

Well, and then it was time for Sherlock Holmes. A truly great movie though it took me some time to realize who was fighting against who because of what....But after I got that I just enjoyed all the great fights and Holmes disguises. Yes, he can sit on a chair and nobody sees him....

The story is told quite quickly. Sherlock Holmes believe that his archnemesis Professor Moriarty is responsible for various bomb explosions and might be trying to get France and Germany into a war. Together with Dr Watson Holmes and gypsy Simza Holmes sets out to prevent Moriarty from performing his plan. It all ends with a showdown at the Reichenbach-falls in Switzerland.

A truely great movie to start into a new year of great movies!

Happy New Year!

Back from the snow and only back home for three hours, until I went to my parents place to celebrate Silvester. We had a fondue and then my sister, her boyfriend and me played a new card game all evening. Eventually we even found out what we had to do.... At midnight we had Bailyes instead of champagne and watched the fireworks outside. That's it. Just a nice evening with family.

And now it is time to wish you a happy new year 2012! May many of your wishes - all would be boring! - become true!

Is there a better way to wish a happy new year than with an ABBA-song?