Here is what I did and the flowers that I used... After scrubbing the surface and interior of the balcony "walls", I potted all of my flowers. Because the railing for the flower boxes is metal and rounded at the corner, you cannot put flower boxes that wrap around (sadly), so I had to buy 3 flower boxes facing the street and gray pots for the rest. I wanted zinc but I had a hard time finding zinc planters that drain and I really needed planters that drain. The cool thing about the flower boxes that I found is that they have water meters in them so you can always check to see if your plants and flowers are well hydrated (or not).

After potting everything with flower soil, I cleaned up the big mess of dirt that was everywhere (and on me!) and then washed the balcony surface again. Later, I added the plastic bright pink and white rug that I bought a few months ago at a shop in Hannover called Kiwi.

I then tipped an IKEA wooden basket upside down to act as a small corner plant stand, and potted geraniums in a terra-cotta pot and placed those in the corner of the balcony on top of the wooden basket. I tipped a zinc bucket upside down to make another plant stand, and topped that with a planter I had (that I nearly threw out) and in it, I planted Schneeflocke - or Schleifenblume. In English, this white flowering plant is known as Iberis or Candytuft. Germans use this as a digestive tonic but it has also been known to be quite medical in other ways - used in large doses in the past to treat gout and rheumatism! You can also get a little "high" from it, and it can give you diarrhea. So it may not be something you'd want around if you have a cat that likes to chew on plants and flowers!

I then cleaned the bench very well and placed that back on the rug, topping it with 3 seat cushions from Strauss Innovation that I picked up last week (and really loved) because they remind me of Indian block prints. Really pretty and comfortable to sit on. I also added a candle in a pretty white metal candle holder for the evenings when I want something pretty to glow outside while I'm sitting there but I'm thinking it will mostly be used as decoration more than actual "use".

 The flowers that you see around the railing are mixed - geraniums, schöterich with it's pretty yellow flowers (known in English as Wallflower or Erysimum and is native to this part of the Europe and also Asia), teppichglockenblume (Serbian bellflower, trailing bellflower which is native to the Dinaric Alps in former Yugoslavia) and the schleifenblume (Iberis/Candytuft).

I also bought 3 lavender plants and put them in a 4th window box (not photographed) that I'll put on my bench since I'm not always sitting outside and the spot is perfect for lavender - plus I'm hoping to attract a few honeybees! :) I'm so happy I straightened up my little balcony. It's nice out there now and makes me smile when I look outside (versus before, it made me feel a bit gloomy!).

Have a nice weekend and a beautiful mother's day to all of the lovely mamas reading this blog. :)

xo, Holly

 (photos: holly becker)

Hello little haus maus ladies! How are you today? I am doing great! I have loot to share... Ok so I took this random drive out to the countryside and ended up in a garden shop (naturally) and wow, I hit the props jackpot and it was totally unexpected. I'm currently sourcing for props for book #3, which we begin shooting soon in Hannover, so I was thrilled to stumble upon things that I had on my list to buy. I particularly love the glass hanging birds for for only €2,99 each and the super nice cloches made in Spain with recycled glass. Aren't they gorgeous? They are thick too, not the typical cloches that are thin and flimsy. When the book comes out next Spring, you'll have to remember this post and then flip through the book to see where and how these lovely things were used...

Snapshots of my loot:


 (images: holly becker)

Progress baby, progress! OK so I took 24 geraniums and repotted them all until I can buy flowerboxes for my balcony - I DO NOT LIKE the way it looks now, all of these crazy plastic pots, but my flowers needed to be potted quickly because they were fading fast so I placed them where they can get sun and be happy until their new condos arrive. So for now this is what the balcony looks like.

I'm thinking to buy a juicer. My friends, Julie and Leslie, have only been telling me to get one for 3 years and finally I'm listening because I want to try some ideas that I have for juice making. Until I find the right one, I'm either chopping things up tiny size and throwing them into my blender, which is working fine but time consuming, or I'm cheating and using organic juices from the store pre-made. I'd love to chop less and throw things in a bit more whole - like a celery stalk, a whole carrot, etc. so having a kick butt juicer is my ultimate goal but for now, I'm doing what I can to incorporate more vitamins into my diet so I'm working with what I have. This is a yummy veggie/fruit juice I made today and as a power girl bonus, I threw in some vanilla-flavored protein powder so I can bounce around the city today feeling great as I go out on the prowl for my new balcony flower boxes.


This juice requires NO chopping or cutting. I just used organic pure juices with zero ingredients other than fruits and veggies. It's a very easy way to whip up a yummy vitamin-packed lunch without chopping fruits and veggies for an hour and hey, it may not be as perfect as using whole veggies and fruits BUT it's still great for you so who really cares. You do what you can and use what you have!

Fill 3/4 of a normal drinking glass with equal parts of these three juices:
* Beet Juice (bio brand from Rewe)
* Carrot Juice (bio brand from Rewe)
* Triple Purple Smoothie by True Fruits (a mix of: bombeere, heidelbeere, johannisbeere, himbeere, orange, banane und apfel)

If you like you can add:
* Fresh lemon squeezed in - about 1 tablespoon
* Vanilla protein powder (2 tablespoons) - you can get it anywhere, I use gluten-free, sugar-free.

And blend, baby, blend! That's it!

That's it. And bonus points if you can relax by a window sipping with a pretty black and white polka-dot straw and a nice magazine by your side. Those little extras make a liquid lunch feel extra emotionally satisfying.

Have a nice day!

(photo: holly becker for haus maus)

Eating healthy is important. I've recently changed my lifestyle completely and it's amazing how you feel  brand new in such a short period of time and how your outlook changes when you skip the comfort food and go for the FUEL foods instead.


I've been loading up on raw foods, mostly organic, and traded in soy and regular milk for almond milk. This is the first time I've approached food for health reasons and not for my looks. I'm not thinking about dieting or weight or anything that makes me feel like I've finished before I start. I'm ONLY focusing on HEALTH - feeling amazing and just glowing even more than I do now from my career - I want to glow from food and nutrition.


Do you want to GLOW with me? Good. I will keep writing encouraging and health-related posts on haus maus along with the usual stuff so we can all GLOW together. :)

xo
Holly 

I'm so glad I made time to go out to the Hannoversche Pflanzentage! It was in our city park, Hannover Stadtpark (Stadt means City), and was unbelievably beautiful. I took loads of photos with my Canon but a few with Instagram which you can see below. The weather has been absolute perfection - finally NO jackets and sandals - Yay!


After browsing over 85 booths (!) filled with everything from exotic plants to live fish and water plants, to bonsai and many gorgeous varieties of protea... my husband and I walked through the Zoo district, and then had a late organic lunch at Zuruck Zum Gluck and finally, walked through the forest and came home. We only live 1.6km from the Stadtpark, so we just walked and it was wonderful to be out and active. The best part is, we walked 7.5km total so we got loads of great exercise. Love that.

I'm happy that in the past two days, I walked 13.5km - that's 8.38 miles. I'm really proud of myself, I felt like I barely moved between January - this weekend - it's been so cold and terrible - so I'm ready for a really active summer and autumn. BRING IT.

Hope you are having a wonderful Sunday! And by the way... the photo of the tile was taken from a shop window, I leaned against the glass - I LOVE old German tile and hope to have my entry tiled like this someday. Also, see that house? That is my dream house. I dream of buying it. It is currently loved and lived in by a big family who seems to be staying for awhile but I tell ya, the second a FOR SALE sign pops up I'm going to do whatever it takes to buy it. Unless I find another dream house by then. We'll see - I want to buy a home here so bad but it's been hard finding what we both love IN Hannover - we don't want to live outside of the city - and we're hoping to either live in List or Zoo. Fingers and toes crossed for this dream to come true. I want an old house I can fix up and bring my Holly style to with a small backyard for a veggie/herb garden, English-style flower garden and a patio for eating outside and a little shed for gardening... We'll see! :) I have to keep working hard to afford my dream, but let's see if I can make it.

(photos: holly becker)

The weather has been beautiful so today I took a 6km walk and then went to the grocery store because I was so hungry after being active for so long... So I bought lots of heathy foods, came home, put on cozy clothes and made a big organic shrimp salad.




It was simple - just mixed greens, organic shrimp, olive oil, sea salt, ground black pepper, fresh lemon and a big glass of sparkling water. Some fresh local strawberries became my dessert and now I'm ready to go back outside and enjoy the night air... I'm so happy summer is here. Meal prep is so much easier with loads of fresh produce everywhere and with gorgeous sunny days, you WANT to eat like a rock star, you WANT to feel great.

What did you do today?

(images: holly becker)

Many of my Haus Maus readers ask me where I shop and if I would consider posting more frequently about places to shop online in Germany (or outside of Germany with shipping here that is reasonable), so I'm going to give it a try. I was posting lots of shops but then I flaked out on you (sorry) so I'll do my best to be Holly Helpful once again.


See these cute things? They are from a shop I think you'll like called the Dot Com Gift Shop. It's in England but they ship to Germany for only £4,95 which I think is a very fair price. I haven't ordered from them yet but they have lots of cute stuff so check them out. A few of my favorites are shown above and here are the links to everything you see:


Where do you shop for cute home stuff and clothes online? I'd love to know your resources too, so please share!

xo,
Holly

I know, not pretty, but that's wintertime balconies for ya. I'll show you what I end up doing to it in a few days so stay tuned because if you have a tiny balcony you may be inspired by what I'm able to do with my mini space.

Are you sprucing up a balcony or outdoor space at the moment? Tell me your plans for it... 

 (images: holly becker)

I am so honored and happy to see this video that the Confiture de Vivre food blogger, Sandy, made reviewing my book, Holly Beckers Wunderbare Wohnideen, which is the #1 interiors book right now in Germany which is a massive honor for me - I feel really shy about it in fact because I didn't expect this. I've been feeling really emotional lately because the support system I've had in Germany has been such an encouragement to me.

It's the cutest video ever! I'm so honored and flattered and happy, happy, HAPPY to see this. Thank you very  much Sandy, it's such a great review - love it!




If you don't know who Sandy is yet, she is a German blogger who is obsessed with French life and culture and has lots of great food posts on her blog. She's doing some great work here in Germany and is so bubbly and sweet, you can't help but love her and her charming personality. Definitely check out her blog, Confiture de Vivre, for more inspiration from lovely Sandy! xo

Thank you Sandy!!!!