Thank you...

Hello lovlies! It's been a while! 

I love blogging. I seriously do. And I love reading blogs. Sometimes, however, I love "real" life better. Those are the moments, when I do not write posts... 

Sometimes, I wish I had more time to get all the things done I love. But as I can't change the course of time I guess I will have to find another solution. Ultimately, my goal is to post at least once a week. and please don't give up on me...

Additionally, I will try to change the look of my blog. I'm no longer happy with my header... actually with the entire look and feel of my blog. I already have some ideas though... ;)

However, I would love to know what you like most about my blog. The recipes? the fashion? recommondations?  the random blabla? (haha, I wish) Just tell me... let me know what you would like to see on my blog! It's important for me. Thanks!

And thanks for your patience and your love!

xoxo linskaya

picture source

Summer Appetizer

It's been a while since I last favoured you with a recipe of mine.

To be honest: I didn't really cook at all in the last two months. No, making a salad doesn't count! As for baking - I was introduced to the art of making "real American chocolate chip cookies" by my uncle (or whatever you call your mother's cousin). Now I know the secret about making the perfect gooey cookies... but more of that another time.

The thing I wanted to show you today is a super simple and very delicious creation me and my friend did a few months ago: a summer appetizer!

You'll need:
some dark whole wheat bread
arugula
a plum
feta cheese
cured ham
salt and pepper
balsamic cream

How to:
Cut the bread into mouth-friendly bites and toast them until crisp. Put some arugula on each piece of bread and add a slice of the plum. Then add some cured ham and the chopped feta cheese. Season with salt and pepper and add the balsamic cream. Now serve! 

Technically, this recipe doesn't include any cooking too.... but who cares!? It's delicious! And easy! Preparation time isn't more than 5min. 
The perfect food for lazy people like me ;)

love and kisses,
linskaya

Starry Denim shorts

Many people asked me what I liked best in and about the Golden State. My answer was always the same: I liked each and every place we have been to, although they were completely different. Maybe the diversity is what fascinated me that much.

One thing I never mentioned when answering that question but that came to mind every time was the fact that the weather was perfect! Warm, sunny, summery... it couldn't have been better. And warm weather automatically includes shorts for me. 

Imagine being able to wear shorts every day - what a perfect world it would be ;) In Switzerland, you can only dream about weather conditions like that... 

I fell in love with these starry Denim shorts of Lucky Brand Jeans. Aren't they lovely?! And I wore them for the 4th of July - kind of obvious, right?!

xoxo linskaya

source via

Back from California

Oh my dear readers! I hope you had a great time while I was gone! I certrainly did :) 

I don't want to bore you with stories about my holidays... and certainly, I don't wanna show you all the 2500 pictures we took of the beautiful places we visited in California. (Minus one point on my summer check list!)

I will soon enough feed you with recipes, fashion, beauty and other pictures again... but for now this short post will have to do.

love you guys!
xo linskaya

a touch of neon

This is an automatic post! And I just wanted to make sure that you won't miss me too much *Muahaha* No, actually I always wanted to do an automatic post while I'm away.

So while you're reading this, I'm still far far away, enjoying summer (hopefully) and taking millions of pictures... and doing some shopping (obviously)! And something I've been looking for for quite a while now are accessories adding a touch of neon. Those are my current favourites!

Hope you're all fine!

love from California, linskaya




1) neon satchel bag 2) lime ballerinas *unknown 3) statement necklace 4) wrap-watch 5) color-blocking handbag 6) neon shirt *by Sincerely,Jules

An American Dream

Finally, I'm going to America! California, to be more precise. Actually, when you're reading this I will already be on my way to the airport... and I'll probably be super duper very exited :) The only other time I had been to the States was last year when we went to New York for 10  days.

Ah, I don't even know what to tell you... three weeks across the ocean and the summer heat and sun in finally waiting for me. And let's not forget all the great places I will get to see: San Francisco, Napa Valley, Yosemite National Park, Death Valley, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Highway No.1!!!

I hope you won't miss me too much ;) 

Have great three weeks!

xo linskaya




1) stars and stripes pants 2) America bikini 3) 4th of July shorts

Yes, I can(s)!

I thought I'd share a super easy DIY with you before I am off to America! And with super easy I really mean super easy... like all my DIY actually :) 

I guess that  says something about me. I don't like complicated things, that's all! 

So here is what you need: old cans (different sizes depending on your project) and the colour of your wish (I'd suggest acrylic paint). That's it! And guess what, you could even use cans that are no longer perfectly shaped... they can be dented and crushed and still make formidable pots. 

The project in the top line in the middle is my favourite... but you might have guessed that already ;)

xoxo linskaya

all sources here

Summer Shorts

The days in Zurich do not feel like summer at all! Today rain and sunshine alternatively honoured us... including temperatures from 10° to almost 20° C... that's what I call crazy. Feels like April!

But, hey, I don't have to put with these ups and downs much longer; only three more days. And then'll be gone and enjoy the summer heat again. Oh my god, you can't image how much I look forward to these vacations ;) 

So, mentally, I have to prepare for summer again. I will have to pack for summer as well... so that's why I spend hours upon hours (not quite true but it sounds nice) looking at pictures of short! Here are my favourite outfits:

1) Chic and classy: old cropped jeans with a slightly oversized white blouse and some bling-bling. and a starbucks coffee of course!

2) Sporty and practical: again old cropped jeans but with a tee (I love the star wars print!).

3) City-chic: These pink shorts with an uni tee and a colourful blazer are just perfect for a day of shopping.

4) Nightlife: you can even wear shorts to party! these chic high-waist black ones with the styled white tee, a statement necklace and blazer for the way home... a winner!

I think I need to pack at least 3 pairs of shorts to be able to combine them. 

lots of love and don't let this ugly weather get to you!

xo xo linskaya




1) cropped jeansI 2) cropped jeansII 3) bright pink 4) black high-waist

safari knives

Let's talk about knives today! 

Now that's something I have never done before... but I think it's justified. Every avid cook knows that his/her life can be much easier with the right equipment. And I definitively have the right knives.

This Safari-Set from Kuhn Rikon with three blades is just amazing. It was a present for my birthday from one of my dearest friends and I think her idea was just splendid! I use those knives every single time I have to cut some fruit, vegetables, meat... whatever. They cut through tomatoes without squashing them! I thinks that's what fascinates me most ;) apart from the great animal prints!

I never knew I could be that ravished for knives but apparently I am. So if you still lack a present for a friend who loves to cook or if you're need in of great knives yourself, those should be your choice!

hugs and xo
linskaya

Life is colourful

No, I did not forget you! No, I did not forget my blog! And no, I'm not too busy to write or have any other excuse... 

I just felt like I needed time away from my computer, time to share with the one I love, time to spend and waste with other things I love like reading my whole-heartedly loved fantasy books (yes, it's the song of ice and fire series), watching my favourite tv series (I'm totally hooked on Spartacus, Vampire Diaries, Game of Thrones and Gossip Girl), and being outside in the sun!

But now I feel like I wanna come back to you and blogging. And I'm gonna do so with some beautiful, colourful pictures and a lovely quote on how I intend to life my live in the future!

lots of lovely kisses
xoxo linskaya

Stack it!

Do you remember the times when you used to weave and tie friendship bracelets? That's a questions only girls can answer I guess. I did so many friendship bracelets, I was almost a professional. Not that I would still be as good now... No! I tried to do one lately and it didn't turn out to be something I would like to show you *hihi*

That's why I show you all these other pictures of stacked bracelets, not all of them self-made obviously. But the combination is what does the magic. 

Happy stacking!

xoxo linskaya

Lace Love

I'm in love with many things in my life... (apart from my life as a whole, my family and my boyfriend). It's really astonishing how I can fall whole-heartedly in love with "things"... sometimes twice or three times a week! Sometimes twice a day! However, I absolutely don't see that as a problem. I embrace the idea that you do things in your life either whole-heartedly or not at all. 

My falling in love with "things" is most often also the reason why I share things with you on my blog. So, there is a positive thing to it as well... 

The thing I wanna share with you today is my love for lace. I do not own anything with laces... never have. But I would love to! A flimsy white lace skirt or dress combined with a coloured blazer, a leather jacket or an oversized tee seems like the perfect outfit for this summer. I can imagine that these lace dresses would look even prettier with a nice tan :) 

So off to the balcony to sunbathe....

xo linskaya



1) lace skirt 2) lace dress 3) lace dress

all things for summer

I can't stop telling you this, but summer is upon us. Not as regularly and hot as one would hope for the middle of May but what would the world be like if the weather were actually predictable!? Let's enjoy the hot days while they last!!!

As you all know I am a sucker for To-Do-Lists... they make me happy. And ticking off things on one of my many lists is very satisfying, it makes me feel like I really did something :)
So, obviously, I had to do a Summer-To-Do-List!
Here we go:

1. Plant some flowers. And don't forget to water them!

2. Host a backyard BBQ party and send out some crazy & cool invitations.

3. Watch a movie outside wrapped in blankets.

4. Beach. Sunbaking. Lots of Sunbaking!

5. Run through some sprinklers like we did as kids (and nope, I won't wear a white shirt)
 
6. Drink a lot of cool and summery drinks - how about cherry, peach or raspberry mojito?! 

7. Visit a pick-your-own strawberries farm. Yum!

8. Take a (more or less) spontaneaous weekend trip to Paris and visit my Grandpa.

9. Go to a drive-in movie theater, eat a burger and drink milkshakes - so looking forward to this! #PulpFiction

10. Go on a Picnic with lots of yummy food (eating them out of mason jars) and tons of cushions.

11. Lying on the grass drawing some awesome things ;)

12. Make my own "healthy" popsicles with yoghurt and fruit!

13. Take more than 1000 photos on our trip to California.

14. Do Yoga on the sunny rooftop in the middle of Zurich once a week - yeah!


I think I could add a lot more points to my list but let's try and stay realistic for a moment... summer has only so many days you can actually plan.

Do you have any crazy To-Do-Lists or summery wish-lists? I'd love to hear about your plans for this summer...

xoxo
linskaya


roadtrip picture

Breakfast Bread Boats

Ah, now where I am back and my fingers hover over the keyboard once more I thought I'd share another crazy breakfast recipe with you :) haha, gotya! I kind of start to annoy myself with this habit of bizzare breakfast recipes but sunday seem to be the only time when do not forget about taking pictures of my food...

So now to these beauties: they are so-called breakfast bread boats! And like most of my recipes this one is above all thing easy... you can use any kind of bread rolls or buns as long as you can hollow them out (ah how I loved to eat the inner parts of bread rolls as a kid!).

Fill them with an egg (or two if your bun is big enough) and all the spices of your choice.

We used paprika, scallions, salt, pepper, and chives.

If you want the yolk to stay intact just separate the egg whites and the yolks first and only season the egg whites with your spices. Fill the egg whites in your bun and top them with the yolks. Ta-da!

Now put them into your oven at 150° C for at least 20min and keep checking them from time to time. Every oven is different and you don't want your breakfast burned, right?!

 
yummy yummy!

xoxo linskaya

Colour Up!

Oh dear! I am back and I am very sorry for keeping you waiting so long for my next post... somehow time just elapsed too fast around me in the last week. But here I am again :)
 
And I am here with one of my favourite trends for this spring/summer: coloured pants! I have to admit (and yeah my blog is full of me admitting things about myself) that I did not own any coloured pants for the last 5 years. I loved running around in all kinds of colours as a kid... my mom even let me wear lime green pants with red socks, a blue shirt and a yellow sweater! I have photos to proof that! *blushing*

Something changed this year: I fell in love with colours again and decided to spice up my wardrobe with some coloured pants (mine are orange, pink and blue). And it's been liberating! Apart from allowing me to come up with so many great outfit it also feels much "fresher" to wear colours instead of the usual black, brown, white, and jeans...

Be bold, ladies!

xoxo linskaya

1) yellow dotted pants 2) pink pants 3) mint pants 4) green pants

bathing suits

Ah, summer is almost here... I can almost taste it, it's definitively something in the air. Or it at least was last Friday and Saturday. However, summer usually means time for swimming in the river or lake (yap, sadly there is no sea around in Switzerland). And that obviously means that one needs a new bathing suit: a sexy summery bathing suit!

I have to admit that I used to be a bikini-person. Maybe I am still.... But somehow I fell in love with so many bathing suits this year that I really consider to buy one. In my little collection here, you can find the ones that caught my eye and heart lately. I just need one of these and then: oh hello, summer!

summery kisses

*xoxo* linskaya

1) Black Fifties Bathing Suit 2) Grey and White Bathing Suit 3) Striped Bathing Suit 4) Ruffled Bathing Suit 5) Gold Choker Bikini 6) Black Lace Bathing Suit 7) Marine Bathing Suit

pieces of wood (or inspiration part V)

There are no upcoming holidays at the moment... that's why I don't how to decorate our home. There is just no"theme" around! But then I thought that you can never go wrong with pieces of wood. It's just timeless and classy :) And there are some great ideas around as how to decorate your home with wood... here just a few of them!

I absolutely love the vase in the middle at the top... just gorgeous!!! 

xoxo linskaya

cheer up!

The weather hasn't exactly been great these last few days... but that's about to change and I am really looking forward to these hot pre-summer days. And I am looking forward to some more cherry blossoms and magnolia blossoms. 
  
So here a few pictures to cheer you up and prepare you for the days to come. More from me later this week when I have more time. 

"springy" xoxo

linskaya

Be Classy

Just a though of the day... and a resolution: be classy! no explanation needed! 'nuff said!

xoxo linskaya

I love [Babu's Bakery & Coffeehouse]

This is going to be a post unlike the ones I've done before. I am going to recommend you a super cute coffeehouse in the very heart of Zurich. As I fell for this place when I first went there and still am absolutely in love with, I thought I have to share it with you. Should you ever be in Zurich (if you're one of my readers that do not live here), you need to visit Babu's Bakery and Coffeehouse.

Everything about this coffeehouse is adorable: the mix and match furniture, the beautiful gold-rimmed and polka-dotted tableware, the yummy breakfast assortment (waffles, pancakes, yoghurt with berries, muffins, bagels, eggs...) and the super tasty coffee variations. I simply love to go there for an ample brunch or a coffee and cake in the afternoon. 

Having started today with the aforementioned ample brunch I feel like nothing can cloud my day. And even if the sun isn't shining: I'm in a state of bliss!

xoxo linskaya

Coat it!

Hello and welcome back everyone! I hope you all had a great Easter weekend!? I certainly did! It was - undeniably - pretty stressful and packed with action and family but it was nevertheless great.

I spent almost a week in Germany to attend a wedding on wednesday before Easter and have some time with my boyfriend in his "old home". I really enjoyed our mini-holiday even if I almost froze to death and ate too much. The best things about this little trip were: attending the wedding of my boyfriend's best friend and getting super cute wedding favors, going to the cinema to watch the Hunger Games for a second time, attaching an engraved lock to the lovebridge in Bamberg and buying a super cute dress and 2 pairs of shoes...

But - as I mentioned before - it was cold! Really cold! Nothing you'd enjoy after a week of almost constant 20° C degrees... so you really needed a nice warm jacket or coat! That's why I thought I'd share with you 4 of the most amazing (and crazy) coats I've seen lately. I especially love the beige coat with the studded sleeves. Ah, I think I fell in love *sigh*

lots of kisses
linskaya

Deer DIY

This weekend has been super duper stressful... there were tons of things I had to do and just too little time. 

The annual tax declaration was waiting for me, I had to write a 1000-word paper for one of my courses at the university and study for the midterm exam of another one. Additionally, I finally took the brown belt karate exam which meant almost 3 hours of hard core sweating and fighting - but it was definitively worth it. And packing for my one week trip to Germany was also part of the deal. 

This was definitively not a weekend that allowed me to spend my time creatively for a little diy project. But I am really looking forward to the week after Easter... the Easter holiday week. As soon as I will have some hours of free time, I will do this deer silhouette canvas. 

What I love about this project? you need almost nothing to do it: a canvas, one colour of your choice, and a picture of a deer which you have to transfer to the canvas. Super easy, right?! 

I wish everyone a great start into the next week!

xoxo linskaya


1) deer silhouette nr1 2) deer silhouette nr2

arm charm

Ah, I need to stock up on jewellery... no, actually, that's a lie. I don't need to. I own plenty of beautiful pieces! It's just that I am kind of an addict. 

An addict of jewellery. 

An addict of shiny stuff. 

An addict of accessories... of bags, shoes, dresses, and t-shirts.

But also an addict of chai tea, cappuccino, straciatella yoghurt, grapes, nail polish and freshly baked bread.

Better stop now! 

Enjoy the sunny springtime weather (I need to get started on my tan) :)

xoxo linskaya

1) stacked bracelets 2) cross cuffs 3) golden skull bracelet 

salad, oh salad!

Ah, it's spring again... and spring always means that I love to have salad again. In the bleak and cold winter months I am not much of a salad eater. And to be honest - who is?! If you tell me that on a freezing cold, dark, desolate and dreary winter day the only thing you crave is a healthy little salad I won't believe you. I simply won't! And I might call you names behind your back... who knows?! ;)

The only thing normal people (and yeah I am defining normal based on me which might be rather risky but I'll do it anyway) crave on dark winter evenings are things like hot chocolate, savoury pies, stew, delicious heavy soups etc. Warm things... I'm sure you get it...

But now it's spring again and before I get carried away by talking about savoury food, annoying people and cold winter days I will simply show you the salads that make me so happy lately. One of them is a simple caprese salad with basil (I love how my mom calls it "TomMoz" for tomato and mozzarella) in a not so simple way and the other one is my favourite mixed salad with corn, cucumber, tomato, avocado, shrimp, sesame and balsamico cream. 

I really love to eat salad again. I even might try one or two recipes for salads with berries, melon and other sweet fruit in them soon. *excited*

xoxo linskaya 

Black'n'Gold

Ah, I know I have annoyed you time after time lately with my freakish love for gold... and especially the combination black and gold. But I thought you might survive another post - and I hope you do, because I certainly don't wanna be responsible for your deaths ;) 

So here they come, my latest black'n'gold favourites... just for your inspiration!

By the way, my absolute favourite is the little golden skull bracelet... wish I knew where it is from. (Feel free to enlighten me if you know). 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

love & xo

linskaya

Lucious Lips

There is always one part of your body that you really like... a part that makes you feel proud... right? Maybe you can't think about that body part right away but after a few moments I'm sure everybody can come up with it.

For me that very special part of my body are my lips... lovely lips... lucious lips... 

My lips; for me they are the pure embodiment of sensuality. I need them to laugh, to kiss, to talk, to eat... everything that is important! That's why I decided to put more emphasize on my lips. 

Dark red, light red, blood red, orange, tangerine, coral, pink, berry... great colours for great lips!

*kiss kiss* xoxo
linskaya


all sources: here

Sequin Skirts

 
Just to stay with the topic of skirts: if there aren't any skirts around with bold colours and patterns, I'd definitively go for sequin. How I love that material! Many people think that a sequin skirt can only be worn at night... because of the glitter and everything. Hell no! Be courageous, ladies, and wear your sequin skirts/dresses at day too. The boys will thank you ;)

When I was wandering through the stores last week, I also happened to come across this super cute sequin skirt from Zara. You can also find a few cool and bolder ones here. 

xoxo linskaya

Rock it!

My mom is a lovely person - I love her a lot! But she can be cruelly honest at times. Only last summer she told me throw away a pair of jeans that made me look like I had gained 10 kilos (according to her and which I didn't by the way!). And way before that, she gave one of my pullovers (a white one with golden hearts on it) such a critical look that I never dared to wear it again. But she can be very helpful and positive too. 

So since my mom told me lately that I look best in anything that ends above the knees, I decided to wear more skirts. And as it is finally getting warmer again (hello, spring, would you please stay this time?!), I will be able to put my resolution to action... 

I already scanned the shops for some cool skirts and found some pretty cool ones in Zara. Seems like the stranger the better! If you're looking for the sources of the skirts I put on here, you can do so by visiting my Pinterest account.

Enjoy the sun and the warm weather!

xoxo your linskaya

I will never be too old for Disney

One thing is for sure: I will never - ever ever ever - be too old for Disney! There simply is no such thing as being too old for Disney... Hope you get that? ;) 

If anyone walks up to me and tells me that he/she thinks Disney movies are silly, I feel personally offended... and the only thought soothing me is the fact that these people simply are too stupid for Disney! *ha - got ya*


Any I will never be too old for colourful clothes either... what a shame if we would all dress in grey, black and white. A little splash of colour here and there and I'm the happiest person in the world... or so!

xoxo Linskaya

1) LaMer Collection Watch in Neon 2) Superman Shirt 3) Tassel Bracelets from Etsy 4) Nastygal Colorblock Dress 5) TOMS Ballet Flats 6) Nastygal Neon Scuba Dress 

what moves me (february)

 

Aaahh, February is already over... and so is my birthday. I had a great BBQ-Party with my friends yesterday and loved it - I was never able to celebrate my birthday with a BBQ, so it was all the more special. 

I just wanted to share with you some of the things that moved me in February:

1) experimental nail art... It looked good for more than a week. OPI really is the best nail polish I know! 
2) pure organic coco juice - I have seen that drink so often in New York that I thought I have to try it. Well, it looks much better than it actually tastes!
3) my new leather jacket from Tommy Hilfiger - this was the best birthday present ever! my boyfriend, mom and dad made super duper happy with this!

4) poppyseed marzipan yoghurt - I so loved this!!!
5) cute snowdrops I discovered last week. ah, spring time is finally coming.
6) super huge gold/chinese piggy bank - what a cool birthday present form my work colleagues... still have to find the perfect place for it though.

7) sun salutation yoga sigg bottle - #1 birthday present from my brother
8) colour-changing tulips from my boyfriend
9) two sal y limon bracelets - #2 birthday present from my brother

lots of love!
xoxo linskaya

Happy Birthday to Me!

It's my birthday and I cry if I want to!...

Well, I'm certainly not gonna cry :) I'm gonna enjoy my day (although I'm at work) and be happy!

love you all!!!

xoxo linskaya

hot quinoa breakfast

It's been quite a while since I last shared a recipe with you, so I thought it's high time I did!

I used to be a breakfast-hater... a breakfast-skipper indeed. Most studies say that it's unhealthy to skip breakfast and that you are likely to gain weight if you do. I'm still not convinced that this is true but anyway... I do think it's unhealthy to eat breakfast if it makes you feel you have to throw up. My stomach just wasn't ready to eat anything so early in the morning...

But that changed: with my routine of eating breakfast during the holidays (as I told you here), I started to like breakfast. And my stomach started to like it too. So now I usually do eat breakfast... although I'm still not a cereal or hot cereal kind of person.

Last week, however, our fridge was completely empty... apart from a tiny bit of milk and some blueberries that had to be eaten. So what did I do? Yeah, I decided to try this hot quinoa recipe. I wanted to try quinoa anyway and as it is said to be a high protein seed, I think it's pretty healthy too.

It's pretty easy to prepare... and won't take more than 20minutes. Just follow the instructions on your quinoa package (if there's one) and use milk instead of water. Add as much brown sugar and cinnamon as you like and sprinkle with blueberries for serving.

Quinoa doesn't have much of a flavour of its own... so it's hard to say what it tasted like (apart from sugar, cinnamon and blueberries). It's rather mushy and you'll feel full faster than you think...

To be honest, it's not my favourite kind of breakfast (never will be), but it was good nonetheless. Next time, I'd probabely try it with apple instead of blueberries... or without cinnamon and with rasperries.

xoxo linskaya