grungedandy’s Neighborhood

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31st Week

Jenni
3 hours ago
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After this pregnancy, I'm going to be a professional MMA-fighter. Mini has turned head down, and is kicking me in the ribs on a daily basis. I think I can take a punch after a few months of a baby using my ribs as a xylophone. Plus, my darling husband once suggested it to me because he thinks I have the perfect personality for ultimate fighting. Which is a really nice way of saying "I love you, but you're crazy".

I find myself holding my hands at the bottom of my stomach more and more often, and that is partially because it weighs so much that I'm convinced it will fall of of me and create a hole in the ground if I don't hold on to it for dear life. Other than that, I'm completely normal.

Still having contractions, and they seem to piss the kid off big time. A lot of the painless ones come during the night, and I don't necessarily wake up in them at all, but when a contraction stops, the smallest member of our family needs to make it known that Living Space has been violated! Hellooo, I'm offended over here and your stupid uterus is squeezing me! Kick, punch, nudge...

Such a little sweetheart.

But I have to admit, with all the personality displays so far, I think I'd be a bit disappointed if Mini came out and turned out to be the easiest baby ever made. Although I don't think that's a realistic scenario considering the mix of genes the kid is made of.

vintage black and white photos

cat
5 hours ago
1 comment

Some of Papa's photos mum found in an old album.

Diggers Ball, rural NSW - 1952.

Diggers-ball1952

Diggers-ball-1952

Diggers-ball-1952-the-comperes

Old-nick

It Goes....

LBeeeze
9 hours ago
8 comments

It goes without saying....

Definite

I definitely disapprove....

DZg - HEAVEN

HEAVEN

DZgunrock

Soup-spiration

nexixen
Yesterday

After a very nice thai dinner, i'm inspired to do my own tom yam soup for brunch. :) Let's cook.

P141109_11.20.JPG

DZg - Vera Lynn

Vera Lynn

DZgunrock

Reset....

LBeeeze
2 days ago
12 comments

I keep resetting the white balance.....

White ??

But everything's still white....

An afternoon at the museum

I like the new building of Cologne's Wallraf-Richartz-Museum very much.
Well, it's relatively "new". Until 2001, the Wallraf-Richartz was in the same building as Museum Ludwig, the latter housing 20th century's and contemporary art.

I tend to find modern architecture aloof and not very inviting, but the building's vast space and bold color choices for the exhibition rooms with paintings of the old masters are very appealing.

One of the two current special exhibitions shows just one painting.
Van Gogh's "Shoes".
You can read a little about the backround of the exhibition here.
I have to admit, I was too lazy to follow through all the art theory and philosophical theses circling around this picture.

After taking three photos an attendant told me, photographing was allowed only for the permanent exhibition. As she didn't ask me to delete the photos I had already taken, I may as well share them with you.

Some 15th century flat screens:

They say, wherever in Cologne you scratch off 10cm of surface, you'll find an ancient site.
Out of Museum Wallraf-Richartz you have a wonderful view onto the excavation of the ancient synagogue.

On this very site there had been standing four synagogues over the centuries. The first documentation of Jewish life in Cologne dates back to 321 (I didn't forget a "1" at the beginning of this date - it's a long time ago).

I suppose, what you are seeing in this photo are parts of the upper and "youngest" synagogue, built in the 14th century. They still have a long way to carefully dig down to the most ancient parts.

The museum shop is also worth visiting, as well as the reading room.

Pop art Christmas decoration

reading room

Thinking about it, I'm really fortunate having access to such cultural treasures. I'm not speaking about the Christmas decoration, here. I can find all of this a five minute walk away from my job.

Of course, I also had to stop by at the botanic garden, as we were having sunshine for the first time in quite a while.

Japanese cornel

2 comments

November Rose

The Perfect LBD

Jenni
2 days ago
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Hennes & Mauritz makes these collaborations with designers every now and then. They've had collections done by Viktor & Rolf, Karl Lagerfeld and Stella McCartney among others. The collections are always completely sold out within minutes of the stores opening. I've only managed to buy a dress from the Cavalli collection by accident when I wandered in about an hour after the launch and the last girl standing came out from the fitting room with said dress in hand declaring it was the wrong size for her. I asked her if I could have it and I could. And I'm woman enough to admit that yes, I am still in love with something as silly as a Roberto Cavalli for H&M panther dress. And that's as much of the designer collections I've ever seen "live".

Meow

Until today.

Annika received an avec-invitation to the Jimmy Choo for H&M VIP Launch Party. She called me of all people and asked me if I'd like to join her. I was all Santa? Is that you? when she asked me, and since then I have been waiting for the launch like it would be the second coming of lord our savior.

So, today we arrived at 7ish for the party, and there was a huge effing line in front of the store. We thought we could wave our chances of actually buying anything goodbye, but how awesome wouldn't it be to actually see the whole collection? And a day in advance at that, since it's officially launched tomorrow at 10, and it will be sold out at 10:03.

So we get in, and omg lol it's all here! And yeah, this is the sort of thing that gets my rocks off, I couldn't believe it. They didn't start selling anything to the party people until 45 minutes after opening when everyone was safely inside and had gotten a gander at the stuff. I was happy like a bunny in the spring just getting to look at the collection, but here they were telling me I still had a shot at actually buying something from it. Still, I decided that being one of 2 pregnant chicks in the whole store, I wouldn't sweat it. No use fighting with this tummy.

Imagine my surprise when they told the party goers they could start shopping, and I somehow found myself with not one, but both of the dresses I had my eyes on. In my size!

Or, my pre-pregnancy size, but you get the picture.

I used Annika as my live-sized Barbie since we have the same dress size, she is just a bit taller. The leather over-the-shoulder LBD looked amazing on her, and the long dress with the cut sleeves looked even better. It never bothered me one bit that I'm 7,5 months huge and the dresses are anything but a size 7,5 months huge. I plan to get myself back into shape when the kiddo is out. If Heidi Klum can do it (4 times) then so can I.

Being designer, even for H&M, they were pretty expensive, so I called my fashion support for an opinion on which one to take. I told my support about the leather LBD that was just purrrrfect, and the long dress that had a cleavage deeper than the Bermuda Triangle and how every girl needs an LBD but the other one is also really perfect in every way but still there will be cocktail-parties but then again there will also be evening gown-parties and I don't know but this one is and that one is...

Until my support team lost his shit and told me WOMAN! I like you in leather and I love you with a cleavage, take them both! Take both of the goddamn dresses, I need to get back to my project team.

Sami is getting scary good at this husband-wife-communication stuff. And I promised him he would never ever have to buy me a christmas present ever again. And yes, I would gladly let him tape that statement. Yes, in 3 different languages. Sure, I'll even sing it and here you have it in writing on the internet.

So I left there with the perfect LBD, and the just as perfect evening gown. And a frickin' goodie bag! I've never gotten a goodie bag before! Guess what was in it?

A Jimmy Choo for H&M bracelet! In leather! With studs!

So thanks to Annika (and Sami), I went in one night from never seeing more than one dress from all the designers for H&M collections, to seeing a whole one, owning 2 things that I really, really wanted, plus getting extra stuff for free! A day before everyone else, even. If that isn't the most awesome thing ever then I don't know what is.

And now I need to go hug the dresses I will not be able to fit myself in for the next 6 months. Because I am that kind of a person.

Where will you be in 2012?

nexixen
2 days ago

Just watched the movie, "2012"...

(Whoever did the score was good, reading these sites while keeping this site ard gives somewhat of a "goosebump-y" experience...)

Without much spoilers, I will say it is one of the better movies of the year, and that this sense of inevitability just creeps on you...like that Indian scientist and his family... and how unfair the world is as usual...

I might want to try to develop a more humane side, and be more spiritual... though knowing myself, this will last just for this couple of days...

In all honesty, I did not really remember seeing this prophecy abt 2012 when I was researching / reading some years back. There seems to be so many sites, heralding this end of the year (sounds just like the arrival of Y2K then... and I cld still remember then it was really to either mope around with the doom sayer or to just go out and celebrate)...

These sites seems interesting enough... there's even one purportedly selling survivor kits!

Where then, would we be, and what might be we doing come 2012?

Frankly, it all depends on whether this comes true or not. If it is just yet another "end of the world" theory as we have heard, then it is just crap and life goes on. Boo hoo hoo. But if it is really "THE END" or "AEN" here, then too bad... there is no running away from the end of the world anyway anyhow. And yes, a capitalist society and world at large, it will really be $$ that the rich can pool together to get away from it, try as they might, in the whole new world, assuming the planet survives generally. Most times, these people will be the very ones we rant to heavens about... so then, living on with them when everyone ard me is gone, is a true nightmare indeed.

If "THE END" comes then, like I discussed with Boofy, it will be to tuck in ourselves, take some med and drugs to induce a nice painless eternal sleep with each other's company till end of time, literally... =)

Well, shan't be too negative at the moment. I shall go zzz!