Meet The Felines.

Hallo meine Lieben,

the lovely Erin from TexErin-in-Sydneyland is hosting a fantastic link-up and this week you can Meet the Felines. So hop over, say hi and see lots of cute kitty cats. Last week I introduced my bunnies Findus and Tiffie, you can find the post here. 

Here we go:

 

Meet Lumpi & Tiger, the two cats who make my life a lot happier. They are brothers and I adopted them when they were babies and my former landlord's brother wanted to "get rid of them". Whatever that means. I don't think I want to know. We will celebrate their 8th birthday this July. Every kitty birthday is a big event and we celebrate with presents and extra treats. But I guess I am not the only one who celebrates the birthdays of their furry family members, right?

Lumpi is the black guy and Tiger the tabby cat. Their favorites pastimes include sleeping on my bed, snoring, playing with their favorite mouse toy or with random accessories  like paper balls, pens and other things that are not made for cats, eating, sleeping on my lap, entertaining the bunnies, watching the birds, sleeping on my clothes, especially when they are in the laundry basket (clean of course), sitting in the tub and drinking water out of the faucet, trying to disturb me when I read and cuddling with each other. As you can see below. 

They get along perfectly fine with their bunny brothers. As long as Tiger does not try to sleep on Tiffie's favorite chair. Then Tiffie jumps on him and scares him away. The bunnies are definitely in charge, there is no doubt. 

They are such cuddly and loving cats. When you sit down on the couch, Tiger will immediately jump on your lap and Lumpi will curl up next to you - and then you are not allowed to leave anymore. 
Tiger usually wakes me up every morning exactly ten minutes before my alarm goes off. He's the best alarm clock you can imagine, that is for sure. 
These guys bring a smile on my face every day. And I am so thankful that they are a part of my family.

And of course, here's the queen: my dad's cat Jerry who is basically my sister. She is 11,5 years old and a bit of a diva. Which means she always gets what she wants. But who can resist that pretty face?

She loves eating, sleeping, meowing and cardboard boxes. Especially cardboard boxes. Lots of cardboard boxes. Big and small. No cat beds. Just cardboard boxes. One time I got her a new cat bed as a present but she only cared for the cardboard box it got delivered in. I think she has at least 6 or 7 to choose from at any time.

So now I am curious about your feline companions. Please tell me something about them!
Have a great rest of the week! And link up with Erin, of course!

'Cause, I think I'd rather stay at home.

Hallo meine Lieben,

it's the weekend and I decided not to leave the house at all. Maybe I will make an exception for a short walk in the woods to get some fresh air. But other than that I will just stay in my cozy home and enjoy it as much as possible because sometimes that is just all I need. I already got all the groceries I need so I am prepared. And here are my ingredients for a perfect cozy stay at home weekend... At least for my perfect lazy weekend....

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Books - there are two piles of books waiting for me - a real one and an electronic one and my plan is to let those piles shrink a bit. Wish me luck. 

Animals - of course there will be a lot of cat and bunny cuddles this weekend. The cats love to cuddle up on the couch and the bunnies love to use me as a mountain and climb on my back, stomach, head, butt....

Shows and movies - I have a lot of catching up to do. I am seriously behind on every show I like to watch (Criminal Minds, Walking Dead, Chicago Fire, Bones...) and there are some "new" ones I wanted to check out for ages. Also I still have no watched The Grand Budapest Hotel but I am planning to do so at some point this weekend. It can't be so hard to watch one damn movie. 

Candles - it might sound stupid but there are some candles I bought a long time ago that I still have not lit so I guess it is time. I guess the smell of Christmas is okay all year round. 

Closed doors - no matter what happens I won't open the door and I refuse to talk to any strangers, including the mail man. 

Baking - I can relax perfectly fine while I bake. Which is why I will make some salted peanut butter chocolate cupcakes - and I am planning to eat them while watching all those shows and reading all those books. 

Tea - is there an unhealthy amount of tea you can drink? If so then that's the goal. 

All things warm and fuzzy - I will spend the whole weekend wrapped up in a blanket, wearing leggings, fuzzy socks and warm sweaters. Maybe even a scarf and a hat if I feel like it. Anything that keeps me cozy. 

Cute videos - I will watch a ridiculous amount of cute animal videos on youtube and CuteOverload. 

Bath time - I have some Lush bubble bath bombs that are waiting for me to use them so I guess the weekend will involve some time in the tub. 

Recipes - one thing I love to do is to look through vegan cooking blogs and my cook books to get some new inspiration and recipes I want to try next. 

Chocolate - because it is always a good idea. I stocked up on vegan Vivani chocolate bars (white nougat with crisps!). 

My CD collection - I plan to listen to all the music I loved when I was a teenager (Nirvana, Tocotronic, Suede, Oasis, Blur,  and so on) because I have not done that in a while. Memories... And nobody will hear me sing - which is a good thing considering my talent. 

Being creative - I recently started drawing again. Also I surely need to work on my knitting skills (because they are non-existent). And I have to spend some time with my camera.

Food - of course, food is important. I am trying to eat as healthy as possible but there will also be some vegan gummi bears involved. And let's not forget the chocolate. 

Magazines - besides the books there are also some magazines waiting to be read. Science, craft, animals, vegan....a lot of variety.

Sleep - sleeping is important so you need to take your time for it. I am an early bird but I still want to make sure to get enough sleep - even when I read all night long. 

Books - because they are really important. 

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What are your plans for the weekend? Are they as exciting as mine or do you have some real plans? Enjoy no matter what!

A crappy family, baked goods cravings and a guitar loving cat. {Ten On Tuesday}

Hallo meine Lieben,

happy Tuesday! You can link up with my friend Alyssa here.

1. Popular Halloween costumes of the last 25 years. What is your favorite costume ever?

{Personal Creations}

2. Sometimes I get so cold in the evening that I wear two pairs of socks (one of them my over knee socks) and two warms sweaters, make a hot water bottle and have two blankets with me on the couch. I am lucky to also have cats who keep me warm. 

3. I finally downloaded Spotify (Thank you, Rika!) and I am loving it! I am listening to songs that I have not heard in years right now. 

4. This is pretty much the coolest towel ever. Tea is clearly my favorite drink in fall. And ever. Still loving the licorice and mint tea but I am also drinking Moroccan mint and chai tea on a daily basis. 

{Uncommon Goods}

5. This family sold their house for 2.000.000 dollars together with their cat for 140.000 dollars. Who does that? Very responsible pet owners. And look at their stupid smiles in the picture. Just want to punch them. 

6. This looks like a person who really loves her cat. And that cat clearly loves her. My cats would probably do the same - or run away because I cannot sing at all.

7. I need more cooking books in my life. 

8. I am craving cinnamon rolls. So much. But I am cutting out sugar right now. And anything not whole grain. But soon....soon....I will try to bake these....

{Pinterest}

9. I am also planning to make some pumpkin pie, coconut cream pie, Apfelstrudel and poppyseed buns. As you can clearly see, I like baked goods. 

10.  Random fact: My mom once met Kevin from the Backstreet Boys in front of a restaurant restroom. 

Have a fantastic week!

A spooky holiday.

Hallo meine Lieben,

hope you are enjoying your weekend! Halloween is by far my favorite holiday of the year, I love everything about it. Plus nobody kills innocent turkeys for this holiday. Which is why I decided to share some of my favorite spooky items with you. 

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Vegan Halloween candy.

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Vegan Essentials

I love the fact that there is such a wide variety of vegan products out there now. You can even get vegan Halloween candy which makes the holiday even more special. I mean, everybody loves candy. 

Count Cat-cula sweater.

ModCloth

A sweater with a black bat-cat. I don't think I need to say more. 

Bat tights.

ModCloth

I guess it is not a secret how much I love bats so these are perfect. And they keep your feet warm which is always a plus for me.

Edgar Allen Poe tote. 

ModCloth

It's always a good time to read Edgar Allen Poe but I guess Halloween is perfect. 

A bat on a branch. 

UncommonGoods

Because it's a bat and because it looks cool. Enough said. 

Gluten free and vegan mummy cookies. 

Pinterest

Because cookies that look like mummies taste even better. 

A feline dress. 

ModCloth

It is a dress and there are black cats on it (and some white ones). So I love it. 

Bat socks. 

Pinterest

I really really like bats. 

Halloween movies. 

Pinterest

Including Addams Family, Idle Hands, Halloween (duh), Ghostbusters, Gremlins, Casper, The Corpse Bride, Friday the 13th, Monster House, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Frankenweenie, ....

Costumes.

Pinterest

Dressing up is so much fun. 

Anything pumpkin. 

Trader Joe's

I cannot even describe how much I want to try this. I love pumpkin and pumpkin body butter sounds perfect to me. 

What do you love about Halloween? 

Party never, organic cola and my cat population friends. {Ten On Tuesday}

Hallo meine Lieben,

hope you are all doing great and enjoying your week. You can link up with my friend Alyssa here.

1. I enjoy watching the SciShow which covers topics such as "How do animals re-grow limbs (and why can't we?)?", "How do we measure the distance of stars?", "What happens after you flush?", "Inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone", "The science of chocolate" and "What we do with dead bodies". 

2. Roo'Bars taste pretty fantastic. That cola was good as well. 100% organic. Sometimes I really need my sugar.

3. Did you watch ER? If so, which ones was your favorite and least favorite character? I am totally in the mood to re-watch this show. The "problem" is that there are 15 seasons and I won't be able to watch those anytime soon.

4. Saw this on Instagram and it made me laugh. 

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5. I need to do some fall shopping. I need some new black booties, that's for sure. Also a beanie and a warm sweater would be nice. 

6. That's me. Surrounded by books. 

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7. I discovered a fantastic company called "Animal Hearted" and I feel like I need one of their shirts. You need to show your support for great companies and a great cause. 25% of the proceeds will go directly to fund a no kill animal shelter. 

Animal Hearted

(Not just the cat population...)

8. My current food addiction is anything sweet. It's pretty bad. 

9. Last week was Jerry's 11th birthday! I love her!

10. Why do cats usually like the box better than the gift that was in the box?

Have a fantastic rest of the week! Thanks for reading!

Ice cream heaven, books are better and frog noises. {Ten On Tuesday}

Hallo meine Lieben,

happy Tuesday! You can link up with Alyssa here.

1. I really need to try some of the new recipes in my cooking books. I am so tired of all the stuff I usually cook. It is time for something new. 

2. I started to watch the second season of Orange Is The New Black and I have to say that I don't don't care that much about Piper. There are so many other more interesting characters. I have only watched two episodes so far and the second one was my favorite because there was no Piper in it. 

3. I was in vegan ice cream heaven. Coconut, peanut and almond. I want more. 

4. Have you watched the The Fault In Our Stars movie? How is it? I am usually not a huge fan of movies based on books because they always destroy my vision of the characters etc. but I think I need to see this one. And yes, there are some good movies based on books. 

5. Right now, I just want to eat cherries all day long. And ice cream. 

6. One of my friends will adopt a kitten in a couple of weeks.  Unfortunately one of her cats died a couple of months ago and now she wants a new companion for her lovely black cat. Can't wait to meet the new kitten. 

7. I sometimes wonder how long I could read without taking a break. Reading rocks. 

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8. I signed up for a 30 day yoga challenge. You can read more about it on my friend Martha's blog.

9. I have a new favorite animal. The desert rain frog. I mean, look how cute a desert rain frog is. And then listen to the noises the animal makes.

Cute Overload

10. You need ca. 15000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of beef.  

Have a happy Tuesday! Thanks for reading!

Five Things. Furry art, book buddies and a Swedish crime novel.

Hallo meine Lieben,

I hope you are all doing fine. Sorry for my lack of posts at the moment but I am sure I will be back at some point soon. 

1. Famous art with the little extra feline touch. Read more about it here. 

Cute Overload

2. I recently found out that my birthday is also the International Day Of Rock. I like it. Guess there is a day for everything. 

3. I love the idea of the Book Buddies Program. Little kids practice their reading skills and get to spend some time with shelter cats. And the cats get some extra attention. So everybody is happy. 

4. I thought that Åke Edwardson would have stopped writing his Erik Winter novels but this week I discovered that there is actually a new novel. I think the last one was published in 2008. I guess you can imagine how excited I got. I am sure the bookstore people thought I was crazy. Yay for more Scandinavian crime. You can find his books here.

5. This is where I want to live. 

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Enjoy your Sunday and have a happy week!

A day in a duck's life, vegan shoe love and German movie titles. {Ten On Tuesday}

Hallo meine Lieben,

it's Tuesday again and I hope you are all doing great. You can link up with your ten random things at Alyssa's blog. 

1. If you need your daily dose of cuteness you can watch a video of a day in a duck's life on Cute Overload. 

2. I might want to have these vegan Toms for summer. I like Toms' One for One model. For every pair of shoes they sell, they donate a pair to a child. I would say that's a good reason to buy a new pair of shoes. 

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3. I will never understand why "Bent it like Beckham" is called "Kick it like Beckham" in Germany. 

4. If you can knit and want to do something good for birds, you should check this out. 

5. Not only takes this place at an Irish farm which makes the whole video a must watch, but you can also see a cat mommy who adopts baby ducklings and raises them together with her 3 kittens. You can find this here.

6. This morning I woke up and Lumpi's face was maybe 2cm away from my face. He must have fallen asleep on me during the night and I did not even realize it. I have to say it is definitely nice to wake up and the first thing you see is your cat's sleepy face. 

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7. So true.

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8. I signed up for another course on FutureLearn. Really love that site. 

9. I am so glad they renewed Criminal Minds but they cancelled Family Tree. What is wrong with these TV people? Don't they know anything? How dare they? I am mad. 

10. I am glad Mother's Day is over for this year.

Have a fantastic week! Thanks for reading!

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Five Things. A bookshelf dress, shame on the princes and a grumpy owl.

Hallo meine Lieben,

happy Friday! Hope you are all having a fantastic time! Please check out my friend Celeste's Five Things too. 

1. This dress.

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A book shelf dress? How fantastic is that. As a book worm I had to fell in love with it. It is the Jeremy Scott Bookshelf dress, a Danish designer. 

2. This video.

You can find more information here. Prince William, David Beckham and Yao Ming made a video to protect the last Rhinos on earth. I wish more famous people would raise some awareness. 
BUT: What I don't understand is that Prince William speaks out against rhino hunting but goes on a hunting trip to Spain with his brother Harry where they kill several animals including a water buffalo and wild boars. Shame on you, guys. Where is the logic? And the compassion? You can find more information here (also a picture of Prince Harry with a dead animal). Things like that just make me incredibly sad. 

3. A grumpy owl.

Cute Overload

I am sure this little fellow could be Grumpy Cats best friend. If Grumpy Cat wants to have any friends. No matter what, I am in love because owls rule. 

4. Meet Ella.

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I guess you already know that I am a huge fan of The Sidekick Series, a documentary featuring adopted pets and their humans. In the latest episode you can meet Ella and Stephen and honestly, this video made me cry. It is so fantastic to see wonderful people like Stephen and a sick but happy cat like Ella. Don't miss this. 

5. This lip balm.

Molly Rose

A vegan Pickles & Ice Cream lip balm! This sounds too cool to be true. Totally my kind of thing. I would love to try this so badly! It is from a company called Molly Rose Lip Balms. I love to discover companies like that. Everything is handcrafted, organic and vegan. Perfect. You can check it out here.

Have a fantastic weekend!


PS: Yesterday was International Love Your Pet Day...but I would say that every day should be International Love Your Pet Day. For my pets it is....

Ten On Tuesday. A German Christmas, grumpy leggings and gift wrapping skills.

Hallo meine Lieben,

happy Holidays! You can link up with Alyssa here.

1. I know not all of you celebrate Christmas but I do hope that you are all having a wonderful time! I am so happy that I can spend the holidays with David and I hope that all your dreams will come true. 

2. We will have Raclette for Christmas Eve dinner because it is delicious and it is the easiest meal to make when you have three people who eat completely different things. For dessert there will be vegan Apfelstrudel with vanilla ice. 

3. I am sure it is weird for David to get his presents on the 24th and not on the 25th. But that is how it works in Germany. 

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4. I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends. In the blogging world and in real life! I love you guys! Thanks for being so fantastic. 

5. Grumpy Cat does not approve of Christmas. 

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6.  I need those by the way. I guess it is too late to get them from the Christkind.

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7. I hope you can understand that I won't have much time for blogging as long as David is here. We want to visit some places and meet with friends and family so I won't blog or comment as usual. But I haven't forgotten about you and I will catch up later. I also prepared my Random Thursday post so there is at least a bit to read from me.

8. I finally watched "Love Actually" on Sunday. It is my "every Christmas must-watch movie". 

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9. I am not a very talented gift wrapper. At least not when the gift has an unusual shape. Books are fine. 

10. Books always make fantastic Christmas presents.

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Happy holidays and thanks for a fantastic year of blogging! You all mean a lot to me!