What I ♡ about winter

Okay, so as the temperatures are gradually dropping, the first snow fell and the birds are moving southwards - the signs that winter has arrived are pretty much unmissable. 
So before I am heading to summery Australia on Tuesday, I just really wanted to write a post to appreciate the northern hemisphere's coldest season.

Now you must know, winter is probably one of my favourite seasons – just like spring, summer and fall are, too. 

Of course the low temperatures and the lack of sunlight can be frustrating and even depressing but if we’re all honest we just have to admit there are also countless positive things to it! 

FASHION

When the days get chilly and people are walking the streets in warm wool jumpers and big vintage coats again, that’s when, in my opinion, you really get to know a lot about people’s tastes in fashion.

Do they dress in oversized and cozy? Vintage and preppy? Minimal and edgy? Are they just dressing for the heck of it or are they trying to make a statement? What’s their message?

It’s always been interesting for me to watch people’s fashion choices and try to identify their personal style and this is something I have found you can do especially well in the colder seasons of the year. I think it is because in winter, you can’t just pick a tank top and some denim hot pants and you’re ready to go. Many of us living in colder areas of the globe are actually putting on multiple layers of fashion as the weather get’s colder and the days shorter. And, let’s be frank, if you are actually living in a colder region it is way harder to dress trendily in winter and still make sure you stay warm underneath your clothing. 

FESTIVALS

More than the actual festivals it is probably the festive atmosphere that I adore about winter. 

I love to just go for a walk in the city around Christmas time when the air is filled with the smell of mouthwatering, freshly baked christmas biscuits and delicious apple-cinnamon tea. 

I love the atmosphere being so overwhelmed with the overall joy of everyone looking forward the Christmas days. 

If you have been reading my blog for a bit longer now, you might know that I really love hectic times and, honestly, there is probably no other time around the year that will even come close to the business on the streets right before Christmas eve. The malls are stuffed with people rushing to finish their christmas shopping in time and I love nothing more than to simply be in the middle of all that and breathe in, breathe out just to feel time slow down as I am so at peace with myself and the world while all these people around me are almost in despair looking for that perfect present for their niece or wife. 

FOOD 

Of course I don’t only love the smell of those self-made christmas biscuits but also, even more than that, the taste of them! There is not really much that tastes better than tasting the oven-fresh, still hot biscuits you’ve just baked for your loved ones in the overall christmassy and festive atmosphere of winter. Besides those über-delicious christmas biscuits there are also loads and loads of special foods that people traditionally enjoy during the season of winter, such as dampfnudeln, glühwein, sweet chestnuts, bread & butter pudding,... the list is endless and those are usually foods that you will commonly find at Christmas markets, not to forget the amazing meals many families like to enjoy over the christmas days. 

EVENTS 

With this I actually mainly mean the christmas markets that you can find in bigger cities. 

Especially in Germany, these christmas markets are really something that you should visit! 

They are a fixed part of the tradition and culture and a truly amazing one not to mention! 
Of course, besides the markets, there's the advent days and the many late minutes sales in cities that make shopping, if it's for yourself or for presents, just so much more rewardable.

SNOW 

Okay so this one is rather obvious but still worth a mention!
Not only does snow look nice and set the right mood for Christmas and winter in general but it also offers a wide range of sports related activities you can do - such as skiing, snowboarding, sledding & of course the fun things like building a snow man, making snow angels & participating in fun snowball fights! 
Oh, snow.. the thing I'll definitely miss most when I'm in Australia. 

What do you love most about winter and what's winter like where you're from?

xx ♡ Micky

PS. New post up on lookbook.nu :)

Coordinate : "Do Not Pass."

Dress : Zara | Bag : Lloyd Baker London | Ballerinas : Gabor

 Here's my latest coordinate, and you guys, can't imagine how glad I am that I finally found the motivation and time to write this post. It's probably my last coordinate post before I'm heading for Australia and I can't even tell you how excited I am. I'm SOO looking forward this adventure and I think you can look forward to some nice shots of the Australian Summer that I'll hopefully get to capture, too! 

But back to the coordinate.. once again, this dress was a piece that I wasn't all too sure about at first but because it was fairly inexpensive I gladly decided to buy it! No regrets, no regrets AT ALL! <3 

The leather satchel by Lloyd Baker London is by far my favourite piece about this look though! It is really SO convenient and, although, it's quite small, the amount of things you can fit into it is just amazing! It also goes with most outfits actually as it's very subtle in terms of colour & design. 

Who would have thought that one could love a convenient, compact little bag like this so much?! The perfect bag for my little adventures!<3

I might actually post this on lookbook, too (although posting several looks of the same outfit is usually not my thing all), someday because I REALLY couldn't decide which of the two collage to post when I uploaded the look yesterday. I like 'em both :P 

What is your favourite bag to go on trips? 

xx ♡ Micky 

Fluctuat nec mergitur

If you're french, particularly Parisian, you might have recognized the headline of this post as it is actually the slogan of the city of Paris - translated from latin it means "Tossed but not sunk" and this motto fits surprisingly well if you are looking for something to describe the reactions of the Parisians after the terrible attacks on November 13th.

I had just settled in front of the TV for a movie after a long day out when the news hit me - the movie was actually interrupted for the breaking news at that moment and I was just sitting there staring at the screen in disbelief. I'm still absolutely devastated when thinking about what happened there but at least I now know that my friends in Paris are fine. But knowing people who have lost their sibling or their best friends to this terrible attack and not being able to think of anything to say - because if we're honest, there's probably nothing that you can say to someone who has lost a loved one that will actually make them feel better - still draws me down these days.

Now it wasn't only Paris that faced the horrors of war that day but also many other places, particularly Lebanon and Baghdad and one can now witness people all over the internet complain about how unfair it is that the media don't mention those incidents.
Of course it's unfair, but what do you think you will change about it sending a tweet out to your 200 followers of which, if you're lucky, probably 10 are actually gonna read it? Exactly.  
Of course a death is a death and the deaths in Syria are in no way any less terrible and tragic than those in Paris but unfortunately terrorist attacks are basically the norm in Syria, so it's still sad to hear about it but nowhere near as shocking as hearing about something like this now happening in Europe. I think it also made people realize how, if it can happen in Paris, it can happen where they live, too, so it came across as a bigger news story. 

Another thing that really annoyed me after those terrible attacks is that people, particularly here in Europe and America are now raging against refugees and the entire Muslim society according to their belief that - since ISIS is an organization that originated from Islam in the middle east, everybody with that religion or from that area might be a potential terrorist. Like whaaaaaaat?
That's like saying the Ku Klux Klan is an organization from the United States, therefore every citizen of the US might be a potential member of the KKK.
It's so ridiculous how some people are now using terrorism as a reason to spread Islamophobia and honestly isn't that exactly what those terrorists want? 
They want to scare us, they want to make life especially hard for those who fled from them and thanks to those people they might really feel like they're winning now. 
 
Of course there is a danger of further ISIS attacks in Europe but I guess the best way to go about this as a European citizen, is to just not show that we are afraid - we have to demonstrate that we're still living our lives like usual and that we, in no way, are going to restrict our lifestyle because of what happened or is still going to happen. 
 This might be my naivete talking but I actually still have a hope that, if we make those terrible, sick people that call themselves members of IS feel they have no power over the western world and they never will have any, they might actually one day surrender. 

That's pretty much my thoughts on the recent events and I don't think that anything else must be said to this. It's been a terrible time and the danger and the fear are probably gonna last a little longer still..
My thoughts and heart go out to all those who have especially been affected by the terror, no matter where on the globe they're at – but we can get through this and we will. 

Oh, also: I know it's a completely off topic but I just wanted to share with you that I've been featured as a top blogger on yournextshoes.com! It made me feel so flattered :'D
You can check out the post here: Meet the Top 10 Shoe Bloggers of September 2015

xx ♡ Micky