Dreaming of Berlin

Happy Friday everyone, it feels like I have done a full week at work when in fact I have only been back two days and haven't actually taught a lesson yet... still after all the rest I had over summer I guess i'm bound to feel tired!

My last few days have mostly consisted of research for our trip to Berlin. I am still unbelievably excited and now wishing the time away until December! I have started researching places to visit and things to do, logging the details in a folder on my desktop created especially for the trip. I know I definitely want to go to the Reichstag buildings, the Berlin wall, the Bundestag, Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburger Tor and the Schloss Charlottenburg. Naturally I will spend a good portion of time on The Kurfürstendamm, one of the main shopping streets in Berlin which, luckily is only 400m from our hotel (wonder how that happened...!)

I took on the job of researching hotels, mainly because I enjoying researching and weighing up all the options before booking. Hubby was happy to take on this job as it is my birthday present after all, however, I have a certain 'vision' of the type of hotel I like to stay in, long gone are the days when we were students and had to find the cheapest 3 star accommodation around! So I volunteered, knowing I could devote more time and energy to the task, and, get us as near the Kurfürstendamm as possible!

Cool Bedroom at Hotel Sir F.K. Savigny Berlin

The hotel I chose is called the Hotel Sir F.K Savigny in the Charlottenburg district (another fact that made me very happy!) The hotel is 4 star and is billed as a cool, boutique style hotel with Nespresso machines in every room, iPod docks and free soft drinks in the mini-bar. According to Trip-advisor, the hotel is ranked number 37 out of 655 in Berlin so should be pretty good! : )

I am really enjoying researching and planning, being organised makes me happy (my OCD ways are a constant source of happiness to me, although perhaps not others around me!) I love the fact we are going just before Christmas too, the Christmas markets should be really good, and it will be a great way to get into  the Christmas spirit!

Swarovski Christmas Tree Berlin 2006

So I am officially in Christmas countdown mode! Which is cool, as my older students always insist on doing a Christmas countdown each week from the first week back in September anyway! Hope you are all excited for the weekend, I am, no 6.30 rise tomorrow! 

: ) xoxo

Today's inspirations

Hello dolls, hope you are all having a lovely weekend! I have had an amazingly productive day which makes me a very happy girl! To start off, I went into town and had a little wander while hubby was at hockey training. I bought a couple of little bits and bobs which is always nice on a Saturday! When hubby arrived home, I immediately put him to work (lol jokes, I let him have a cup of tea first!! ) and we set to work clearing our spare room.

Now when I say this room was a mess I am not exaggerating... this room has become my 'Monica' room (remember the episode of Friends where Monica will not let Chandler in her secret cupboard, and when he gets it open he sees it is a place where uber-tiday Monica has been storing all her junk??!). This room has become my shameful secret, swiftly opened in the morning for me to visit my wardrobe, and closed just as abruptly with a shudder. The room has become a dumping ground for hubby's tools, paints and equipment left over from decorating, old clothes intended for the charity shop, my ever-growing ironing pile and all of the wedding stuff (vintage cups and saucers, plates and cake stands, bunting, sweetie jars and photo frames). I realised a few days ago that we have lived in our lovely new house for appromixately 1 year and 8 months and therefore enough is enough! We have 3 bedrooms, ours, hubbys study and the junk room. The junk room was always intended as a spare room for guests (and one day a baby's nursery) so it was time to clear out!

Ta-da! Ok so it is pretty bare but you have no idea how much that pleases me! Its a pretty big room and now I can walk about! The floor is clear! The possibilities are endless! Hubby put some pictures on the wall for me, and I am planning on keeping the airer in there for the time being, but the room is now sorted, I am filled with calm when I walk in, and I no longer feel the need to escape! Happy : )

Other news from today: I bought this dress this morning from Topshop for a very reasonable £29. (Am now praying the weather holds out so I have a chance to wear it!) I really like the print, and the buttons down the front. The crotchet detail in the middle reminds me of the Topshop dress worn by Alexa Chung to Glastonbury that I blogged about here

My new MAC lipstick in Politely Pink. I am mostly flitting between coral and stronger pink shades this summer but I couldn't resist this shimmery pink tone - will be perfect for played down lips with heavy eye make up.

I bought some fun cards from New Look today for my card drawer (my manic organisation extends to a card drawer oh yeah!)

Awww I found our kitsch cake topper when I was sorting through the wedding stuff in the spare room. This little item brought back so many happy memories and I immediately had to sit down with a cup of tea and our wedding album to relive some more : ) This beauty is going to sit on my living room shelf I have decided as a nice little reminder whenever I fetch a book.

Hope your weekends have got off to a good start and the weather is being kind to you. I am not sure what tomorrow will bring but at the very least, I will be able to visit my wardrobe at a lesiurely pace tomorrow morning!! xoxo