For-the-time-being-unnamed Weekly Feature

Blog status: Ella is feeling inspired

I’d like to start a weekly feature on my blog, but I’m at a bit of a loss as to what to call it. The premise of this feature will be inspiration but “Inspirational Wednesdays” just doesn’t have the effect I’m looking for.

One thing that most people don’t know about me is that I love inspirational quotes and sayings. So much so that I have an entire notebook filled with everything from song lyrics to famous quotes to biblical scriptures. I hear something I find inspiring and, presuming I can remember it, I write it down somewhere. Over the years this book has become a sort of safety blanket for me because all I have to do is flip through the pages and without fail I end up feeling different. In a perfect world the quotes would be organized by category or at least chronologically, but nope. In fact I actually started it by writing quotes down on the back pages of a notebook I used to use for school.

About 20 minutes ago I was busy working on a project here at work, when my iPod chose to play one of the most inspirational songs I know. This song is also the only music video I have downloaded onto my iPod, which I promptly also had to watch. This is where the idea for this post popped into my head.

Everyone, go Google the official music video for Nickelback’s “If Everyone Cared” .. I promise you, you will be inspired! If it catches me at the right moment, I’ve even been known to have tears in my eyes by the end.

Every week I’m going to post an inspirational quote to share with all of you. There may be a story or explanation behind it, or there may not be.

I leave you all with the first inspirational quote:

“If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we’d see the day when nobody died”

- Nickelback, “If Everyone Cared”

When you look around my place..

Blog Status: Ella is feeling a little...worried

I've seen features like this on other blogs, and it's something I always do for myself anyway, so I figured I would post it for the world.

Wow that was cryptic wasn't it? I'll back-track a little. My mom has guests over that arrived on wednesday. So tuesday night I was cleaning my room to prepare for company. Whenver there are guests around, I clean my room and always think "okay so if someone who doesn't know me where to see my room, what would they know about me" Maybe that's very wierd - but I've always done it. If I had my own place, I would probably do the same thing - but to the max.

So I've decided to give you all a peak into what my domain is really like.

When you look around my place..

..you see someone who loves her friends insanely, there are picture frames e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e

..you see someone who is very proud of her German heritage, with Germany signs and a beany baby sitting on a shelf (not to mention the German Soccer jersey I just bought for the World Cup that has yet to be put away)

..you see someone who likes fashion, make-up and all things girlie due to the stack of Marie Claire and Glamour magazines she has beside her bed

..you see someone who has way too much stuff because there's stuff everywhere

..you see someone who loves Paris and all things French

..you see someone who once had a severe obesssion with Tigger from Winnie the Pooh

..you see someone who has a closet over-stuffed with clothes - too many clothes

..you see someone who likes nice candles, especially lavender and clean cotton scents


What does your place say about you?

Favorite Fridays - Movie Soundtrack!

Blog Status: Ella is itching for it to be 2:30 so she can begin her weekend

Hello everyone! Happy Friday to all of you.

Jen over at A girl in Pearls & A boy with Toys has a wonderful weekly feature called Favorite Fridays. I'm new to Jen's blog, but my bestest has been following her for a while, and each week the Favorite Fridays post catches my eye.

It's actually very coincidental, but when I saw this week's topic, I was actually listening to a song off of my favorite movie soundtrack at the same time - it's like it was meant to be!

It may sound cheesy, but my favorite movie soundtrack hands down is The Lion King.

It actually isn't my favorite Disney movie (The Little mermaid takes that one) but I've always loved the songs. I still to this day think "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is one of the best love songs of all time. "Circle of Life" always fills me with a feeling of power and inspiration and c'mon, no one can forget "Hakuna Matata"!

Have a great weekend everyone! I'll be playing catch-up on the World Cup, my laundry, my girlfriends and squeezing in a movie date

Office Dress Codes – The Legging “Issue”

Now that the weather is getting warmer and summer is around the corner, my lovely HR department has sent out a general memo about “Summer Office Attire”. I realize that there are numerous levels of business dress-styles, everything from “Formal Business” to “Casual”. My particular workplace abides by “Business Casual/Casual”.

Most of the people around here (execs included) seem to lean more toward “casual” as the typical outfit seems to be Jeans, running shoes and a polo shirt/T-shirt/Hoodie. Yes hoodie. Imagine meeting the Disney or Paramount Reps in running shoes and a hoodie – not my cup of tea, but luckily I don’t actually work with any important people.

Anyway, I consider myself to be fairly well dressed. Even when I do succumb to the Jeans-Runners-Hoodie uniform (which is quite often in the winter) I make sure I look nice and well put-together. I enjoy dressing up occasionally, but also want to be comfortable.

This coincides with the new “Summer Office Attire” memo. According to the policy, skirts and dresses must be no shorter than an inch and a half above the knee.

Alright fine.

My issue is this:

I’m between 5’10 and 5’11. The same skirt would be a lot longer on someone who is say 5’5 or 5’6, so it is virtually impossible for me to find dresses and skirts that are the right length without actually being floor length. I’m not going to argue with HR about this technicality (even though I think it’s perfectly valid) because I believe I might have found a solution. Leggings. I figure with leggings I can wear shorter dresses in the summer and top them off with Capri-length leggings.

The sweater-dress I have on today is definitely nowhere near an inch and a half above my knees, it sits probably about 5 inches north of my knees. I figured this was acceptable because I’m wearing dark stretchy leggings that are actually slightly looser than some jeans I’ve worn in the past. I walked into the office this morning and my boss gave me a slightly disapproving once-over, but didn’t say anything. This has lead to paranoia on my part.

I practically live in dresses and skirts throughout the summer months, and the thought of having to resort to jeans or capris all summer long is depressing.

Do leggings count as pants? Or as panty-hose? What are your workplaces like? What do you think? Can I get away with a shorter dress and leggings?

World Cup Fever

Blog Status: Ella is once again lacking productivity at work and is thinking about Germany

I heard on the radio this morning that the World Cup is exactly 9 days away from today – and I can’t tell you how much that excites me. I’m really not a team sports kind of girl – I danced all my life, but I’ve never been very good at much else. Moreover, I have little patience for religiously following team sports of any kind, but World Cup Soccer I love.

Growing up in Germany, soccer was a big part of my life. All the boys in my class played soccer both at recess and after school in leagues. Us girls used to go to the soccer field after school and watch the boys play. Soccer was also a HUGE deal in 1990 when (west)Germany won the cup. I might have been in Kindergarten at the time, but even I remember the celebrations. There is something very powerful about an entire nation cheering for a team and celebrating the subsequent win.

World Cup Fever returned to Germany once again in full swing in 2006 because Germany was the host country. I was lucky enough to be in Germany during the World Cup that year, and it was amazing. For those few weeks everyone bonded together. It didn’t matter what race or religion you were, everyone sat glued to the television supporting their team. It was also an added bonus that Germany made it all the way to 3rd place that year, only to lose out to France and then Italy.

I have high hopes for my team this year, and I’m really hoping they can follow through accordingly

Who are you cheering for in the World Cup?