Vanillery Garden Wins Award For Best Concept!

Exhibition time! Photo by Mr. DomDom

Amazing news! Yesterday I received my diploma of graphic design in the famous Albertina museum. It was also the opening of the exhibition that showed all the works that the students had done as their diploma work. From amazingly detailed books to iPhone apps to fonts, the variety was huge and breathtaking. (Since I worked so hard on my own thing, I never had the time to acutally look what the others did. Hilarious!) It went by so fast, it´s hard to catch up!

smirky smirk. Photo by Magdalena Mantler.

Mr. DomDom and I were in quite a hurry to get there. (darn curling iron, why must I have so much hair on my head?) I still had some small preparations to do, like putting my business cards onto my table and putting up a sample video of my online classes to get people interested. I walked through the entrance hall in such a rush that I did not even see my own family standing there, waiting for me. What a surprise!

The Gang. photo by Mr. DomDom

Every year along with the diplomas 3 students also receive an award. Either for best illustration, concept or general idea. How amazing that I should win the Best Concept Award! I am so very grateful for this. It shows me that I am on the right track with all of my plans for the future. Along with the award I was also given an iPad2! Now I can easily work on blogposts and classcontent while traveling. (How perfect for workaholics!)

Miss iPad and me.

I somehow can´t believe that it´s over. This is it, my time as a student is over. (That doesn´t mean I´ll stop learning though. I plan to take a japanese language course next!) Right now I´m over at my parents, visiting them before I throw myself into the pool of work.

My booth. Photo by Mr. DomDom

I´m very curious and eager about the next couple of weeks. I´ll start writing the content for the upcoming classes, I have big plans for the Vanillery Garden this summer (stay tuned, it will be hot!),  we plan to visit Berlin, I want to make new youtube videos. Lots of work ahead and I can´t wait to get started. I will miss the time with all my class collegues, I´m a bit afraid of the gap that is about to come and I will need to make sure that I do a bit of socializing, not JUST work.

Ain´t no place to serious for cat ears. Photo by Mr. DomDom

The support that I received during the buildup phase of the Garden was amazing and I feel very blessed to have so many wonderful and positive people in my life, who teach me that what I do really matters and makes a difference. Everyone of us makes a difference. Right here, right now.




5 things that I am grateful for today

• Fresh fruits from the garden. oh so tasty!
• Laughing my pants of during a photo session with my brother and mother. You´ll see tomorrow!
• Eating flowers that taste like sweet peas. 
• Fresh warm wind surrounding me while I walk next to the fields with golden crops. 
• Putting about 30 japanese language learning apps on my new iPad and really using them.

Many hugs and lots of love,

Weekend Candy: Post Exam DIY And Popsicle Brownies

found here.

Oh, is it weekend already? The week was over so fast, but exams are finally over! This is why Weekend Candy comes with a lot of DIY. I hope you enjoy it! I also decided that I won´t post on the mori cupcake blog anymore, since it takes too much time to write two blogs with high quality content. That doesn´t mean that mori girl time is over, but I´m taking the content and including it into the Vanillery Garden blog instead of spreading the content too thin. Sooo, enough talk, let´s start:




♥ The DIY Braided Hex Nut Bracelet from honestly…wtf is so easy to do and looks so gorgeous! I´m thinking of spraying the little elements in different colors.

♥ Thank you Martha Steward for this wonderful idea of dipping leaves into wax, so that they preserve their color.

♥ Yes, yes, yes, I´m a mac user, now gimme these cupcakes!

♥ Lori Marie does pretty little things like these birds ´n blooms.

♥ Got some nail polish with only little content left? Try water marble nails! I really want to give this a try, never seen anything like it before.

♥ Are you new to shrinking plastic? This is the next thing on my ebay list!

♥ Ooooooh, cookie pops and popsicle brownies! Buying oreos right now!

♥ And last but not least wonderful various quotations to get your spirits up for next week.




5 things I am grateful for today:

• being able to sleep in. I need to catch up all those hours that I´ve spent working lately.
• having new inspirations on how to improve my blog, sparks sparks sparks!
• bathing Vanilla Diamond without getting killed.
• found a wonderful dress to wear on monday, where I will receive my diploma and the exhibition will open. I´ll try to do a makeup and hair tutorial for you too!
• when I say "meow", I get three meows back. One from Norman Crystal, one from Vanilla Diamond and one from Mr. DomDom. Meow?

Love and hugs to you,

Advice Needed: Have You Ever Bought Clothes Online?

found here.

I´m done with it! No more buying clothes in local stores. After the polyester drama in the Forever21 and yesterdays 2 hour trip through 3 different H&Ms only to buy a nicely looking dress (which I didn´t find, of course), I´ve grown tired of it. No more I say! I would have needed something nice for my final diploma exams, which I passed with distinction yesterday, followed by 14 hours of beauty sleep. Now I´m ready to move on. I feel like I need to change my wardrobe, there are things that I´ve had since I was 16 (and I will be 26 this year, which does add a little retro-factor to it, but I´m not going to wait until the clothes are back in style …). I want to mix sweet elements with nice dresses (I´m not the jeans kind of girl). Something like this:

found here.

mixed with this:

found here.

or this:

found here.

I am searching for a reliable source and also information if it´s even possible for westerner´s to wear japanese fashion. Has anyone of you ever bought things online and what are your experiences with it? I would love to hear about that! Please help me! (*^___^*)


5 things I am grateful for today:

• getting a lot of sleep. A sleep-deprived  Natalie is a little monster and I´m not talking about Lady Gaga monsters.
• the freedom after all the preparations before the exam. It´s not totally over, since we are having our final exhibition on Monday and Tuesday next week in the Albertina (so if you are in Vienna, hop on by!) but I still feel relieved that I made it!
• rainy days are the best. I love fresh and cool air after hot days.
• I am grateful that my mother has taught me how to talk and perform in front of audiences, that made the oral exams a lot easier.
• planning new improvements to the blog! I feel so inspired, now that I finally have some time to do it!

Love and hugs to you,

Weekend Candy: Say GoodBye In Animal Style And Learn From 2010

found here.

Happy sunday! Next week are my final exams. Eeeek! I will finish the masterclass of Graphic Design. Over the years of learning (for school), over the time in classrooms on hard wooden chairs, over the moments where you feel that you will never overcome the part of being "the new girl". It´s time to go out and be marvelous!




♥ I had to laugh at these 39 amazing photoshop manipulations, especially at the shark right on top! Or the pointing tongue!



 ♥ Creating art through pouring color onto different surfaces. This is amazing and looks like a lot of fun!


♥ Polyvores top favorite ring collection is to die for! I want the cupcake ring. Or the mustache ring?

♥ I might fight my fear of flying after looking at these 10 amazing views from Airplanes.

 ♥ If you have 15 minutes to kill you might try one of the 5 Hot Summer Nail Tutorials For Short Nails. They are really sweet! I simply can´t have long fingernails, it feels weird to me when my nail touches something before my skin actually feels it. How about you? Long or short nails?

 ♥ I adore this Handbook For Life 2010 ! The rules are simple, yet so effective.

♥ This photo is so overwhelmingly beautiful that it actually brought tears to my eyes. I really want to be able to fly without fear and have a look at Japan. Really really really.

♥ Did you know that "see you later, alligator" is not the only way to say goodbye to animals? The Good Bye t-shirt proves it! Another time, porcupine! 


♥ Ah, so it´s called a loom braid! I always wanted to try out that fancy hairstyle that you see on the internet a lot these days. Here we go!




5 things I am grateful for today:

• waking up early and having the energy to start working right away
• eating smarties after years of abstinence and finding out that the color is made out of completely natural ingredients like lemon or hibiscus.
• having Vanille Diamond sleep and purr right behind me as I write this text.
• being able to go into a Forever21 for the first time ever and coming out with nothing because all they sell is plastic. I obviously don´t need to be that chip (cheap-hip).
• knowing that everything will be over soon. All the stress will be gone in time.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Lots of sunday-love to you!

Can I Be A Fashion Blogger Without Looking Like A Model?

found here.

So here it is. I´m officially taking fashion blogging into the boat. You know what´s funny about that? I was pretty much afraid of making this step. It´s ridiculous: I´m actually terrified. Fashion blogging sadly very often becomes this superficial thing of skinny girls showing off their wardrobe, the pieces often being just as tiny as their weight. This is not the basket that I want to be thrown into. I don´t want people to think that I have shifted into being a glamglitter size 0 fairy. Because I am not.

That´s the thing that disturbs me the most: If I want to see super-skinny mainstream models wearing the lastest "trends", I can easily pick myself up some magazine and be happy with it. I love fashion blogs like Dollface is Candysweet because the writer is different, daring and cute. Sara Mari and her blog Moments Like Diamonds prove that you don´t have to be a tiny japanese girl to pull off the gyaru style. I myself have written the mori cupcake blog about mori girl style, but I will move it to here, since I don´t have the time to post on two blogs on a regular basis. I have a thing for alternative fashion styles, but the really successful fashion blogs seem to feature the magazine style fashion along with some pretty slim writers. I mean online!!! In the land of endless possilities, readers long for diversity. Everyone is jaded by what you we on TV and in print magazines anyway. The topic was recently also brought up by famous Gala Darling here and here. I completely agree. When offered complete freedom, why not make use of it? Why go the easy way? What´s the point in yet another mainstream fashion blog?

 

found here.

Everyone is afraid of judgement. Readers can be cruel. If you read blogs that get a lot of attention, you will always find comments that say something like "Have you gained some weight?", "You look kind of chubby there." or "Geez, you need to eat more, you are too skinny." That´s probably one of the reasons why some bloggers have turned the comments off. You don´t feel like you are reading a blog about fashion, but about weight issues. Especially younger ladies and girls confuse fashion blogs with thinspiration. Fashion is about the clothes, not mainly about the people wearing it. Every blogger is a writer and brings her own flavor into the topic. Why judge this? Why so cruel? We girls need to support each other, friend not fury.

I´m a size 2 to 4, that makes me a pretty average looking girl. Average does not get a lot of attention. Either you need to be slim of chubby to be allowed to make a statement. Either perfect or rebell. I say: Let´s stop the weight fuzz! I´ve had enough of it. Fashion blogging is about inspiring people to make more out of their wardrobe, to bring on a new feeling about their body image and define what message they want to send out into this world by their style. Everything is a personal decision. Who´s judging anyway?

found here.

No, we all don´t have to be freaking models to allow ourselves to write about fashion or wear interesting clothes. We don´t have to wait til we "get there". Until our body looks the way we want to, so we can finally love it. No "if--then" conditions for yourself. We don´t like them from others, so why put them onto ourselves this way? Unconditional self-love, baby.



Now let´s go and rock.

Love to you,

Say Hello To Vanilla Diamond

Hello, I´m new! Photos by Mr. DomDom

Our little baby moved in today! Her original name is Ornella Karmin of Novy Vék but we decided to call her Vanilla Diamond so it would fit well with Norman Crystal. She is so very tiny compared to him! We figured that Norman needed a little sister. Some cat breeds are not made for human-only companionship and the Neva Masquarade definitely is part of these breeds.
They love to play and cuddle each other. Our cats are a bit more on the talkative side, since we meow a lot with them. But their voice is a soft chirp, it´s never unpleasant. They really sing.

Vanilla has huge amounts of energy, she plays until there is none of it left and literally falls asleep in seconds. One of her front paws is white, the other one is blue. Also her toes are either pink of black.

Norman Crystal was very shy when approaching her for the first time. He didn´t quite grasp what to do with her. He softly touched her with his paws, followed her around everywhere and made sure she would not touch his food. By now they keep play-fighting each other, Vanilla Diamond showing her provocative side, running away from him, then suddenly turning and attacking him. Norman Crystal was very confused how that little furball could be this bold.

We hope she won´t miss her mother and sisters too much. Let´s see how the first night will be. Right now she is exploring the desk right next to me. She is very easy to entertain, her playfulness makes her even cuter. Do you have cats too? What is your experience in getting a second cat? Do your cutie pies get along well with each other?



5 things that I am grateful for today:

• My ear infection is almost gone. At least the pain has left. 
• Taking my daily planner and writing tons of to-do lists into it is like bathing in happiness to me. Bringing order into everything, dividing things up into little steps makes even the biggest tasks seem less overwhelming.
• Humorous people working at the print shop. Printers are not known to be the funniest kinds of humans to walk this planet, but I had a good laugh with these two.
• Whole grain baguettes with seeds. Nom nom. Nature nurtures. 
• The breeder not only brought us little Miss Kitty, but also homemade raspberry and elder jam!

So much love to you!
XOXO,

How To Travel While You Stay Home or How To Create Your Own World

Photo by NL-DUX

Remember when you were a child and a mere blanket could be a raft, a cloak or a magic carpet? I love the above picture so much, because it reminds me of that time when my imagination had no limits. When I made tepees in the garden and could spend all day in it, reading books, eating cherries, binding floral wreaths to put in my hair or just gazing into the clear blue sky. On rainy days I would collect blankets and make tents inside, connecting tables and chairs and laundry racks into my very own universe.

found here.

When we grow up, we learn that our little universe does not count compared to the "big mainstream universe".  We look for bigger fish to fry. The outside world doesn´t like dreamers. There´s no profit in dreamers. "Where have you been this summer?"---"At home." ---- "Ah." Silence.

How could they possibly understand that you had the best time in the jungle on your balcony, between oleanders and Virginia creeper, having  a chookeeo-shake (you are an adventure girl, you drink undiscovered shakes… like oreos-banana-coconut-ricemilk-whipcream-shakes) and hearing foreign colorful birds chirp in the near distance. It´s easier to give "at home" for an answer than "Batloola Island". That´s your neverland, you won´t let anyone in. Let them go to the Carribean. Or Croatia. Or France. You´ve already got everything you need.

found here.

This summer I have no plans. No flight booked. All I want is to sit on someone´s patio and have iced tea with friends. Swing a hammock and read a darn good book (like this free version of Peter Rabbit or other Beatrix Potter stories). I need a summer like back then when I was a child. That´s the best way to get my battery filled for what is to come. I´m not jealous of everyone who gets to go abroad. No things to pack, to plain to catch, no unnerving fellow passengers, no crying babies, no masses of tourists. Just peace. It´s Mr.DomDom, me and the water, baby. A paddleboat on the old Danube.

found here.

Just don´t forget that wherever you are: you have everything. André Heller wrote a song and the lyrics went like this:

"The true adventures are inside your head and if they are not inside your head, they are nowhere else."

You don´t need to compete. You need to be happy. This will make you content and all the envy will vanish. Challenge your creativity. Challenge your former way of imagining worlds up out of a teacup. If you can make this, you can have happiness everywhere, at any time. This is the best way of meditation.
Let´s bring this summer on!

Do you want some iced tea?


Hugs and love,

Weekend Candy: Staying In Bed, Reading About Love

found here.

Being in bed all weekend!

I have otitis and it really sucks all the energy right out of me. But still I have some yummyness going on for you:

♥ Le love offers to most sweet/sad/romantic love stories from real authors and real stories. Caution though: You´ll never be able to stop reading.


♥ Lady Gaga´s twitter stream makes her so approachable. I love it how she keeps her little monsters close to her, that´s part of the magic around her success.

Found here.

♥ Fuckyeahgirlyart is one of my favorite tumblrs ever ever.

♥ If you like the decora movement from Japan and all it´s little delicious cookie pieces, you will love Dolce Deco. Yes, it´s japanese, but good old google translator will help you out. Otherwise just click onto Yukari´s Blog and scroll down to the pictures go get an idea of what she is doing. I´ve been working with polymer clay for quite a while and I will get back to it as soon as I´m back on a regular time schedule.

♥ Check out yooouuutuuube!!! Grab a link of a music video (because it works best there), insert it an watch what it does.

♥ Learn to make these gorgeous Pom Pom Vines here!


I hope you had a wonderful weekend so far! Please follow me on twitter and get in contact, I will surely twitter you back!


5 things that I am thankful for today:

• I have two ears that work. One might be a little bit damaged, but imagining that I coudl not hear anything makes me appreciate my body so much more.
• Searching for a name for Norman Crystal´s sister (she´s coming to us on friday). Vanilla seems pretty nice, right? Vanilla Diamond? Meh. Vanilla Cupcake? Hm. Vanilla Rainbow? 
• I managed to keep my back straight and walk upright for the last two weeks and now it has become automatic muscle memory. 
• Mr. DomDom did all the food shopping and brought home two different kinds of soup and vegetables. Since I can´t chew right now (it hurts!) it feels like private room service.
• Caring people who make my life better with their kind words. So much love!

Lots of hugs, 

Radio Show And Influences

Foto by Euge de la Peña

Happy Wednesday!

Did you miss the radio show? Here is your chance to listen to it now!

Listen to internet radio with jared knight on Blog Talk Radio

I was also talking about influences, where I named Björk and Miyazaki Aoi. Let me show you an example to both of these wonderful women.


Björk has the most amazing voice, it seems like the fairies have given her all the strenght to put herself out into this world the way she does. I hope to look as juvenile as her when I turn 50. :)


Miyazaki is so very amazing, she is beautiful without wearing tons of makeup and she became successful just by being herself. You just have to love her, she´s that cute!


You probably know Maria Aragon and her Lady Gaga cover. How amazing that she would invite the girl to perform with her on stage. I almost cried, so much wonderful energy that they give to us! ♥


Things I am thankful for today:

• I enjoy drinking water more than anything else. Water is the juice of my life. 
• Rain in Vienna, ah, just wonderful! I love bad weather!!! (I wear the sun in my heart!)
• We managed to get home right before it came down pouring from above. Scooters are a good thing! (powered by our feet, not electrical. Move!)
• The response to the radioshow has been so very positive, I am grateful for the work that Jared and Tamara put into it. Thanks a lot!
• I have experienced it over and over: the law of attraction works. 100%. So many awesome people have come into my life.

 Hugs and love to you all,

I´m On The Radio!

These are the cat ears I ordered! They are so comfortable. =^._.^=

What an honor!
I feel superhappy about being the first guest of Art Talk with Jared Knight and Tamara Lynn. The show starts tomorrow 6:30pm EST. You can either call in or join us in the chatroom! In order to listen to the show, please click here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jaredknight/2011/06/07/natalie-neumann-of-the-vanillerygardencom I think it will also be possible to download the show later on, in case you should miss it.




＼(＾▽＾*) Hope to see you there!!! (*＾▽＾)／

Things I am thankful for today:

• Right as I am typing these letters here, Mr. DomDom sits next to me and makes some sweet DnB music. Homemade music is sexy!

• You know the best time of the year has arrived when strawberries are red and sweet. NomNom!

• Discovering BB cream foundations. I´ll tell you more about them soon!

• Cleaning my apartment thoroughly is like cleaning my soul. I feel so much better now.

• Being absolutely sure that this summer everything will turn big!

Many hugs to you,

Weekend Candy: Left Handed Artists And Hooping

Welcome to June! How come we are already halfway through the year? On the 22nd this month I´ll have my graduation exam for the masterclass of graphic design and I start to feel a little nervous about it. But nervousness should not keep up us from enjoying life. So here we are with this week´s candy:

made by tokyo4dinner

♥ Deviantart has a group for Left-Handed Artists where every week a different artist is featured on their blog. The newest feature for dreamy Miss tokyo4dinner was written by a friend of mine Arahiriel. Both very amazing artists.

by Women Of The Hour

♥ Flickr has an amazing group called You As Frida Kahlo. Maybe I should get myself a wig and submit something? ^___^

♥ Beauty In Everything is my new photo inspiration platform.

♥ Hoop City is the place to be for hoopers. I want to start hooping again, since it is female, the nicest awy to work out to good music and relax, but I have no idea which hoop to buy. Hoopnotica offers a travel hoop. Do you have any experiences on this topic? I would love to hear your suggestions and experiences!

found here.

♥ I love blogs about good food that offer good photos. I am a visual girl, I can´t help but fall in love with yummy pictures. Canelle Et Vanille and They Draw And Cook will make you hungry for good stuff!



♥ A little tune for relaxing in the bathtub. (If only I had one!) Lost in Translation is one of my favorite movies, Air one of my favorite bands and the piano version of this song simply to die for.


Have a wonderful weekend!
Many hugs to you,

Solo Trip Or Group Travels: How Future Classes Are Set Up

Found here.

New times have arrived!
The Vanillery Garden will move into a new direction. Away from "art only" into self-love and self-acceptance. Let amour propre be your guide to figure out what you really want and expect out of life. It will be a revolutionary way to learn how to love yourself.

Love yourself. Love yourself. Love yourself.
Does this make you feel slightly uncomfortable? Does your stomach twist somehow? Like something that does not apply to you? Or like it´s something that you know to be true, but can´t quite grasp it. Do you think it is cheesy, arrogant or boastful? Too good to be true? Something that all those gurus preach all the time, but nothing for "real life" people like you? Or is the message so simple and therefore insignificant to be on the main agenda of every single day?

Either way: if you aren´t loving yourself the best way possible, you are missing out a lot. This is quite easily explained, as we can only view the world through our own eyes. Nobody has the same experiences, insights and ideas as you have.  

Your self-image is in direct proportion to the amount of love that you are able to give and let in.

The system that I will introduce to you is unlike everything you have seen before. It offers something for everyone who is interested in living their own dream. You will learn to inspire yourself to a better life. To me this includes every aspect of life: food, clothes, gardening, art, sports, beauty, work and many more. Everything, every single step that we take, every meal that we cook, every piece of art that we create is influenced by the way we think about ourselves and the world. Sadly exactly this circumstance keeps us in our own cages. We limit ourselves constantly by the way we think. We need to break free.

Found here.

The new system:

This summer I will work on a new way of providing content. It is upon you to decide which way you want to choose. Do you want to work alone or go the way of transformation together in a group with friends that you will find along the way?

Found here.

• Single travelers will find an ebook to download along with a podcast to listen to while you are on your way through this big world. It will contain all the information that you need to work through the progress alone. As I am a graphic designer, you will find it nicely edited with lots of pictures and illustrations to get you into the mood or explain things more detailed. There will be teasers to give you a sneak preview so you´ll know what to expect. Also since you are going the way alone it will be on the less pricey side and quite affordable.

• Group travelers will receive the ebook, the podcast and personal guidance along the journey in the Vanillery Garden. We will dig into the topic much more intensely. The room set up there is private and full of videos, audio material, additional content and exercises that we will do together. The class always offers a lot of artistic and creative background, a lot of DIY and working on including it into your daily life. I will take care of you personally, give a lot of input and help you to grow into a fountain of love. (*^__^*) You will also get to meet guest teachers who will share their knowledge and experiences with you, so you will get manifold ways of information. You will also have the possibility to make new friends and connect with women who are like-minded. The world needs you to be the happiest version of yourself.

So you see, you are completely free to choose whatever way is best for you. It will take some time until I have prepared everything for you, but you will surely like it. Right now I focus on finishing the masterclass and my diploma thesis, but the future is bright and shiny. The list of upcoming and planned class topics will be here soon, so make sure you check back and don´t miss anything. :)

Much much love to you and happy weekend!