Interior love

From Munich with love

I fell in love again! No I didn’t cheat on my boyfriend. I am talking about my new love: MUNICH! Last week we moved to Munich and started a new chapter of our life: a new city, a new apartment and new jobs! 

Let’s start with our current living situation. I though job hunting is exhausting, well that was before we started looking for a flat. For the next three months we are lucky to rent a beautiful stylish apartment in the heart of Munich in Maxvorstadt (Schwabing). Unfortunately it is just a subletting and we still need to look for something permanent. 

Anyway I don’t want to focus too much on the apartment search struggle but more on the bright side of life: the very pretty interior in our home. One of my personal highlights is the metal bar cart. This eminently stylish piece is not just practical but also makes sure to get the party rolling. Give me a Gin and I am happy…zhhhhh and my boyfriend says that I am complicated.

Let’s face it: girls love details and this apartment offers not only a pretty bar wagon but also more inspirational interior pieces like a stylish Mailand chair, retro Renforcé-KissenbezügeFinley or a cool LED lightbox.

And now I wish you a good night! My bedtime reading is a farewell gift from my girls: Munich for women only. Let's see what this beautiful city has to offer. 

New York Calling

One week NYC to visit one of my besties <3

It was the best spontaneous thing I had done the last months. In the middle of the night I woke up and decided to fly to New York the next day. No sooner sad than done! Flight booked, ready to go. That’s the good thing when your bestie lives in NYC and accepts your spontaneousness. Maike and I actually met in NYC when we were Au Pairs seven years ago. It’s that kind of friendship that lasts forever. We don’t talk every day not to mention seeing each other very often, but it’s not necessary. Another friend of us Sandra, who we met in NYC too, just started her own Au Pair agency, if you are looking for an adventure of a lifetime UNITED BY CHOICE is the right contact.

Did I mention that I am in love with New York? I am! Landing at JFK feels like coming home. The city and the people are so inspiring and motivating. I am not very keen about sightseeing or long city tours but I could walk through the streets of NYC the whole day. Especially when it comes to fashion, Streetstyle in NYC is more inspiring than reading the VOGUE or scrolling through fashion blogger’s instagram feeds. Though New York is so fast-paced, there are some must-do’s and all-time favorite spots I am visiting every time.

6 NYC must-do’s

1. Partying in 1Oak
2. Boozy Weekend brunch
3. Eating a Bagel with cream cheese
4. Running the Brooklyn bridge
5. Shopping
6. A cupcake from Magnolia Bakery

5 NYC all-time favorite spots

1. The high line
2. Greenwich Village
3. The second bench along the Battery Park waterfront
4. PHD rooftop
5. MoMA

NYC See you in 10 hours!

Master of what?

University it was a pleasure

Oh right I am Master of Arts. The last three months I had a full time job „studying“. Studying theories and stuff nobody needs in real life. My part-time job was job hunting. And honestly I have learned more important things while preparing for my interviews than for my exam. But anyway there was a point after weeks of complaining when I realized I had no choice but to study and read all those old unimportant books, because I need a title, a master, right? That’s why I have enrolled in college the first place. On Monday the 24^th of October there was finally THE day, the day I have wished for so long, but it was nothing special besides I am finally MA now and my family and friends are happy and proud of me. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy that it’s over too, but now the real life starts and that’s what scares me.

A Master is a job entry? Wrong! The last months I have done an interview marathon – a go-see with successful and well-known companies. In the beginning I was happy that I get so many invitations and positive feedback on my CV and applications. But after three months getting in the 2^nd or 3^rd interview round after studying for each interview, preparing for cases that need to be done during the interview and hearing in the end: “we really liked you personally and professionally but there was a candidate with more experience…” is very disappointing. Friends and colleagues of mine do internships after they graduated, because that’s the only way you have a chance to get into the big players. The Job hunt is very stressful and can be depressing. There were minutes I nearly or let's be honest I cried because I didn’t know what I should do differently.

I can feel everyone who is in a job hunt process right now. I know how hard it is receiving refusals, especially when you put so much effort in the whole application and interview processes, but I learned so much during each interview process and gained professionally and personally, that it was never a waste of time. What I have realized today is, how important it is to believe in yourself and to be who you are. That’s how I got my job offer, they told me that “there were candidates with more experience and knowledge than you, but you convinced us personally.” I believe in destiny and that everything has to be that way. In the end I got three job offers and I was the one to choose.

APPLICATION TIPS

•       CV Design
•       Detailed and professional CV
•       A perfect Cover Letter with NO spelling errors
•       A Cover Letter that includes success statistics about your work 
•       (e.g. The CTR rate and the   conversion rate have increased 50% due to ...)
•       Portfolio with work examples

DURING THE INTERVIEW

•      Be yourself
•       Be honest and friendly but don’t simulate
•       Always answer questions with examples 
•       (e.g. I am stress resistant because…)
•       Don’t put too much make-up on, be natural
•       Choose an outfit that reflects your personality

One of my best friends @Maddyritchie present me some very wise handwritten lines that helped me through my last months:

Flashpacking Thailand

The better way to travel

19 days, 7 islands, 1 city – let the fun begin. 

When I went backpacking for the first time, my friends and family made fun of me saying “Meli do you even know what backpacking means? One pair of shoes, hostels, bunk beds etc.” Well it turned out I was the most relaxed backpacker ever – 8 kg luggage in my backpack for 2 months, almost no-make-up,  bunk beds, dorms, hammocks, bungalows with mouse, cockroaches – well spiders and iguanas were pretty normal. The fun thing it seemed I left my inner princess at home and went backpacking through Vietnam and Indonesia as a different Meli. Even one of my best friends I travelled with was surprised by my backpacking skills.

After my successful backpacking trip I knew I want to do this again. Since then I try to convince my boyfriend to travel with me that way once in his life. Although he is not the typical backpacker either I am sure he will love it. After discussing pros and cons and coming to a destination agreement, we finally booked our flight to Bangkok last months. Philippines, Cambodia or Sri Lanka made it to the top of my list but in the end we thought Thailand is a good mix and one of the easiest places for backpacking newbies. Although he was fine with the idea of travelling with a backpack we agreed not to sleep in hostels or dormitories. Honestly that’s totally fine for me. I was never amused to share a room with about 10 people – snoring, fucking and whatsoever. But I can play the cool kid who doesn’t care and he takes over the princess role.

Two years ago before the backpacking trip I lived in Shanghai for half a year and was inured about literally everything disgusting – accommodation, toilets, food, dirtiness and ill-kempt people. I think that’s why I was so relaxed. So I am actually very happy that he is the picky one and we are going to be flashpacker instead of backpacker #notsorry

Flashpacking= Whereas backpacking is traditionally associated with budget travel and destinations that are relatively cheap, flashpacking has an association of more disposable income while traveling and has been defined simply as backpacking with a bigger budget – or backpacking with style.

We fly out from Vienna via Dubai to Bangkok tonight. The only thing we booked is our first hotel in Bangkok - in the middle of Khao San Road. 

Thailand route 18 days:

Bangkok

Koh Tao

Ko Pha-Ngan

Koh Samui

Krabi

Railay Beach/Tonsai Beach

Maybe: Phi Phi Islands

Bangkok

See you in 3 weeks!