Thursday Tunes

As I told you in my post about Italy I had put together a playlist for our road trip there and why not share it with you so you can either listen to it on your next roadtrip or just turn up the volume and enjoy a summer breeze.
Here it is. The Italy Roadmix:

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When in Italy...

...  you take a stroll through the fields, meet a nice Italian man in blue Jeans, white t-shirt, with dark hair and a beard. He sweeps you away and you live happily ever after planning family parties and making Olive Oil.
Ok I admit that's what would have happened in my dreams.

The actual fact was that my sweet friend Larissa and I went on a mini vacation to the beautiful east coast of Italy near Rimini. It was one of those weekends which is filled not only with resting, but with all your senses being stimulated. It was a weekend full of food and laughter and great conversations and dreaming and writing and feeling the sand and the sea.

I have to note that I am so thankful for living in the southwestern part of Germany where Italy is only a 7 hour drive away and hello you are driving through beautiful Switzerland. Any chance where I get to see the Alps is welcomed.
So yes, we drove with the perfect road mix (which I might share soon) south. As the air was getting warmer and people started speaking Italian a summer feeling immediately overcame me.

We were welcomed not only by the smell of fresh flowers and sun but also by a beautiful view over the valley to the Mediterranean. The moment I got out of the car I was already breathing easier and just settling into rest which we just sometimes really need.
The hazienda we stayed in was like a dream come true to me. For years I had been looking for places like this to go to. Places that are individual and artistic and filled with beautiful detail and love for design. I found it at last and yes I was close to tears several time.

After settling into our beautiful little apartment we set out for some exploring which led us to an ostrich and goat farm where in fact we bought fresh cherries. The cherry season hasn't quite started where I live so getting them there where they were ripe and sweet was just a treat.

As the sun set we went to the restaurant which is by the hazienda and ate the most amazing pasta. Perfectly al dente with perfect sauce. My mouth is watering just at the thought of it. The funny thing was that only a few people could speak English so they would always send the cook of the restaurant to wait our table and we had so much fun with him. He explained all the dishes for us and told us the desserts which were just amazing.

To me Italian towns always have and still are the most romantic places on earth. Something about the terracotta color, the roofs, the smells and the cobblestones. As a child on summer vacation with my family I would dream of one day strolling the romantic streets with my husband. Not much has changed. I am still in love with Italian towns and still dream of going there with my future husband. We had set out that day to just explore, just drive around wherever the road takes us and we found some really pretty places and springs, were lead by dogs and barked at by dogs.

We found the most beautiful picnic spot on a hill in the middle of nowhere. If you are asking yourself if Larissa is singing to the Sound of Music. She is not but I love how it totally looks like it. We indulged in some great food and there is nothing like Italian watermelons!
On our way back down there were more towns and ice cream and vineyards and loud music.
The rest of the day was spent by the pool reading and cooking our own dinner. Then we both spent a good amount of time writing our journals.

The next day we spent perusing the market in Rimini and exploring the city a bit. Rimini used to be the major vacation town for Germans in the 50s and to me that feeling is still there. I loved it. We spent the afternoon laying by the beach and didn't bring our digital cameras. The other pictures aren't developed yet. They might come yet.
On our last night all we wanted to do was eat amazing food and talk. And that is all we did. Over lamb and grilled veggies and chocolate cake with whipped mascapone cream we shared our dreams but also our challenges. We talked about the importance of rest and about trusting God in everything.

Our last morning was spent like all the others - with Italian breakfast - which basically meant eating cake and cookies while drinking coffee. What more would you want right? Sitting there on our last morning and realizing that our time is coming to an end (we really didn't want to go) it was also the realization that times of rest are needed to equip and prepare us for the times ahead for fulfilling our responsibilities and the calling God gave us.

Thank you Larissa for this tremendous time, for resting together and allowing God to do his work.

xoxo

Ramona

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Be yourself

I cannot even tell you how often I tell myself or others or this blog to just be yourself. But you know sometimes I need a little extra reminder.
When it comes to unknown places and faces I tend to get intimidated by a crowd of people and the conversations and start freaking out about what to say or do (unimaginable I know - but it's the truth).
And then afterwards I think about all the things I could've said or I am disappointed in myself for not being completely myself.
Last week I took my own advice and decided that the next chance I get I will let go of everything that is holding me back and be me, funny wild and slightly over sharing at times.
Well I didn't have to wait for too long and a work event came up - the most dreaded place to practice what I preach as it tends to be my place of insecurity. But with a little push here and there I got up and walked up to people, had tons of fun, laughed, shared, connected and left when I knew everything was said. At the end of the day I was so happy and went to bed "proud" of myself. I thought about it a lot then and you know God can use you best when you are being you at your best. And believe me I don't want to miss out on any chance where God could use me just because of insecurities or fear.

xoxo

Ramona

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Thursday Tunes

I love this weather right now and the coming of summer and all it holds. To me whenever summer is around everything kind of becomes quiet. I love summernights and sitting outside listening to the crickets and watching the stars rise.
Today I want to share a song with you which embodies all of this for me. The video is a bit on the cheesy side, but the song is amazing plus you get the lyrics with it.

xoxo

Ramona

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Movie Monday

Happy Monday everyone. I did not plan on doing a Movie Monday but I have to mostly because I want to share some quotes with you.
On Saturday I watched The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Although I have to say that technically it is not my favorite movie I still think it is absolutely worth watching but more than that I think everybody should pick up the Narnia books again and read them because they are awesome.
I don't know exactly what it was on Saturday but some of the movie just got me in such a deep way I couldn't stop crying.
So I thought I'd share some of the quotes from the movie. They go without saying:

"Lucy Pevensie: Will you come and visit us in our world?
Aslan: I shall be watching you always.
Lucy Pevensie: How?
Aslan: In your world, I have another name. You must learn to know me by it. That was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there."

Coriakin: "To defeat the darkness out there, you must defeat the darkness inside yourself. "

Edmund Pevensie: So, what was it like... when Aslan changed you back?
Eustace Clarence Scrubb: No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't do it myself. Then he came towards me. It sort of hurt, but... it was a good pain. You know, like when you pull a thorn from your foot.

Reepicheep: You know, extraordinary things happen to extraordinary people.

So good right? I could go on and elaborate but I don't because I think these quotes do speak to us in a very personal and very individual way.

xoxo

Ramona

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Hide and Seek

I wonder if we are playing  hide and seek and I wonder who is hiding and who is seeking and when we are going to win this game.

xoxo

Ramona

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To build a home

I have been thinking a lot about "home" lately and how to build a home where people feel welcomed, loved and well taken care of. I am single living with one of my best friends and I know this is both our hearts.
In the past 3 years most of my friends got married (yay!) and are building their own homes where they entertain guests. I love to watch that, love how the different couple personalities come out. I was just wondering about how I can build such a home if it is even possible or how to do it. Most of you know I love to entertain people, love having guests around a table.

I guess one of the key things is to not see it out of a being single perspective but out of a home perspective. I believe Melina and I have done a pretty good job in not treating our home as a communal living space but as a home where we both dwell, where we recreate, where we rest and where we host people. I love that our home is always open for guests may they just stay for dinner or for a week. At the same time I love that we found a way of also just closing our doors and spending what we call "family time" together. In that moment all that counts is the friendship between us in a place we call home. We have popcorn and apples, cheese and bread and tea and usually we just watch a movie or an episode of Nashville but in those moments I feel home.

As with everything in life there needs to be a balance between having a home where people are always welcomed and where you entertain and finding that nick of time where it's just you and your home and the rest that comes with just being.

xoxo

Ramona

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Movie Monday

I finally watched The Thin Red Line. It had been on my list for a long time but you sometimes have to be in the right mood for a movie. This one in particular. It is a Terrence Malick movie so my expectations where high especially with being a little disappointed with To the Wonder.

But this is a beautiful and captivating movie which will touch you and it is Terrence Malick at his best.
The movie is an adaptation of the autobiography by James Jones showing the conflict of the Guadacanal during WW II.
I personally like war movies (this sounds so wrong). What I mean is movies which portrait the war, not glorify it, but are real and critical about it.
The Thin Red Line was exactly that. An insight into the time, the people, the camaraderie, the pain, the struggle, the fear, the heroism, the regret, the aftermath, the captivity and the numbness. And it wouldn't be a Terrence Malick movie if it didn't have the following elements: beautiful lighting, narrative by the main characters, nature as an important element, a philosophical nature to it.
I wasn't sure how these things would work in a movie about war, how he would portrait it but oh how well he did.
And let's just talk for a second about the amazing cast  of actors! Jim Caviezel really brings it to life though as the main character and hero of the movie. The kindness of his eyes and the soft sound of his voice (no wonder he played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ!) make you believe and still see the good in people.

"We were a family. How'd it break up and come apart, so that now we're turned against each other? Each standing in the other's light. How'd we lose that good that was given us? Let it slip away. Scattered it, careless. What's keepin' us from reaching out, touching the glory?" - Pvt. Witt

xoxo

Ramona

Nights on the Veranda

One day you and I will sit on our veranda as the summer sun is setting. We will dream of the future and behold this very moment. When it's dark we'll watch the moon rise and listen to the crickets. It will be those moments which seem endless and unforgettable and imprint eternal pictures in our hearts.

xoxo

Ramona

The Big Leap

If you have read my blog for a while you will have seen how some themes keep coming up because those are the things that I often think or pray about or it is things I need to grow in and make decisions. One of those things is letting go and just leaping off the cliff into the unknown - taking a risk. I wrote about this here, here and here.
Today I saw a video which expresses all of the above and more. It is amazing, beautiful and yes totally feeds my romantic heart.

I am glad that over the years I have risked things in all sorts of areas in my life. I am glad I jumped into the unknown. There were times where I hit rock bottom but always have I grown from it and learned.

What are you risking right now?

xoxo

Ramona

Beauty

Recently there has been a lot of video sharing on facebook with titles like "See how this daddy changed his daughter's life forever", "Model shooting for a day and what photoshop does and how they didn't like it". Of course we all remember this very impacting and beautiful video by dove. It is so interesting how especially we women seem to struggle with image of beauty so much how we always want to be stunning and beautiful but we always complain about the areas we think are not pretty. Talk with a woman for some time and you'll find out. But oh how she lightens up when you tell her she is beautiful.
I was lucky to grow up in a family who would always tell my sister and me that we were beautiful and captivating and worthy. We both learned that beauty is not mere outward appearance but something that comes from the inside - your personality, your character.
I don't know if you have ever experienced this moment when you thought a person was really beautiful and then you get to know them and somehow the beauty fades because of the way the person is  (bad attitude, unkind, full of trouble and greed e.g.) and the beauty was only appearance. Or when you meet somebody and at first look they don't strike you as remarkably beautiful (in the "common sense" of beauty) but with every conversation and moment you get to know this person they grow to become more and more beautiful?
I know I have experienced both it always being proof for me that true beauty really does come from the inside. I also believe that there is beauty in everyone. We just have to look for it, allow it come out.
About two weeks ago I saw some pictures of myself from the Winter Days and started the whole thought train on what I didn't like in the picture, that I look too big, not pretty enough etc. when all of a sudden I paused for a moment and remembered how I had felt that day and that indeed I had felt beautiful that day. In that very instant I turned my head from the picture and walked away in my thoughts not allowing the "I'm not good enough" to take hold of me.

So I really want to encourage us all and especially the women out there to stop thinking about all the things that are wrong and start thinking about all the things which are right. You are beautiful beyond measure, you are wanted and worthy, lovely, enough, you have what it takes.

xoxo

Ramona