If you’d have told me I would become friends with all of these people, I never would have believed you:

I never would have guessed that these girls would be my absolute closest friends in Germany:

And I probably would have laughed at the suggestion for one simple reason:  none of these people speak English.

We all struggle to create coherent sentences in German, and every week we get so much better.  Yes, every day we learn German together at school.

I never realize how much better we can speak until I’m in a repeat situation (like when I’m at the post office buying stamps or in a touristy area giving directions in German).  And slowly, our conversations grow and grow, too.

Moving to Germany has been one of the greatest experiences of my life.  Do you have something that you’ve always been interested in doing but you’re just SO VERY SCARED?

Try it!  Or take a step toward trying it.  When you begin moving in that direction, it’s amazing how much easier it gets to work toward that experience or change. My classmates and I are, in many ways, starting from the ground up.  But if we didn’t begin at the bottom, where would we be now?

You can’t change your life in a snap, though you can imagine where you want to be.  Then you start from there and just keep going.  Like with German – you start learning to count to ten and how to introduce yourself.

You can’t declutter your home or be an instant blogging success.  You can, however, get rid of one thing or write something from your heart.  Maybe you’ll get rid of all that clutter in life eventually.  Maybe your blog will become a big hit.  Or you might just learn along the journey that clutter can be okay sometimes.  Maybe you don’t want an enormously successful blog.  Or at least that’s what I’m discovering in this journey.  I’m loving so many other things so much more.

When I began German class again in November, I told Martin, “I’m going to do this.  I’m going to get to the German integration exam in April.  I am!”  Now April is half over.  I’m almost there.  645 hours of class with piles of homework and mountains of new vocabulary and exams later.  I’M ALMOST THERE.

I’ll gladly cheer for you on your journey, and I hope you can cheer cheer cheer for you, too.  It all begins with wanting to take a step.  And then the next step.  There’s no greater joy than reaching your destination and thinking about where it can take you next.

What types of risks and challenges have you undertaken?  Or any that you dream of? Perhaps you’ve always wanted to come visit me in Berlin… hehe (Let me know if you’re in town!)  Have you learned something about reaching goals that you could share?  What is it that makes you feel alive in this journey?

If you’d like to catch more of my experiences in working toward my goal of speaking German (right down to being called “Kevin” for weeks and weeks), you’ll want to check out these stories: I Forget English, Getting a German Visa, Learning to Speak a Foreign Language, Culture, Class, & Getting Called Kevin, and to wrap it up – Finding Joy.

We have a fabulous guest who’s back to share some more glimpses into her home with all of us.  You remember Janna, don’t you?  Back in February, she shared some favorite corners of her Portland, Oregon house along with some fabulous tips on living a simpler life without excess stuff.  (Go check out her first guest feature right here if you haven’t seen!)

Today Janna is back (wild cheers!), and I’ve asked her to share a few tips on how we can create beauty in our homes without buying more stuff.  I love what she has to say and show us, and I think you will, too.

Everyone ready?  Take it away, Janna:

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Thank you for featuring my home!

We try to get most of our furniture and home decor from second hand stores and garage sales or as hand-me-downs. We do this for three reasons:

1. to save money
2. to avoid buying new while old stuff goes into a landfill
3. because we like the look of vintage things

Our dining room table was a hand-me-down from my sister and her husband. We just painted the table and chairs black to match our stuff. The hutch is full of pitchers and mason jars that we found at thrift stores and used at our wedding. We also bring them out as glasses and vases when we entertain.

Our centerpiece is a mustard yellow pitcher filled with flowers I just cut off our lilac bush in the front yard.

I was going to buy tulips from the store this weekend, but put them back when I realized that I have these beautiful lilacs for free in the front yard! (The babies are in the first shot, because this was the only way to contain them while I took pictures :)

The next photo is our “plant loft”.

We wanted a lot of plants in our house but we also wanted to keep them away from babies’ hands and mouths, so during the basement / staircase remodel, my husband built this loft that we use as a greenhouse of sorts. It is the perfect place for plants. I just water them through the bathroom window (upper right).

The last two pictures are our guest room.

The nightstand and black chair-being-used-as-a-nightstand, the white lamp, silver cooler, white shelf, old books and candle holder all came from thrift stores and garage sales.  The white quilt was a hand-me-down that my husband laundered tirelessly to remove age stains so we could use it. And the beautiful black and white pictures on the wall were taken by my father-in-law.

Tips for buying from thrift stores and garage sales:

Don’t expect to find something every time. It’s not like going to a box store. They aren’t necessarily going to have what you need, but keep trying, because eventually you will find something. And buying one thing used is better than nothing. I go to a few different thrift stores, instead of just the one closest to my house so there is a better selection.

Also, when I have items to give away, I take them to a specific thrift store in town that gives me a 30% off coupon for every bag of stuff I donate.

Don’t buy something just because it’s a good deal. If you don’t have any use or room for it, it’s just not worth buying, even if it is used. But don’t disregard buying it if it’s not exactly what you want. Some things can be painted or modified slightly to fit your home.

Basically the best tip for shopping at thrift stores and garage sales is just to get out there and do it. You can’t buy used, if you never go to a second hand store or garage sale (or resale website).

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Are there any other dropped jaws out there besides my own?  I am beyond impressed with what Janna and her family have done with their 1,200 square foot (110 square meter) home.  Yes – it’s only 1,200 feet!  I love hearing the wisdom of others who strive to live with a little less.  So thank you, thank you, Janna!

Now’s the part where we can all chip in.  Any thoughts on Janna’s awesome home or her philosophy?  Are you a thrift store shopper yourself?  I still can’t get over how her husband managed to salvage that quilt.  It’s stunning!

And don’t forget – we’re always on the lookout for a peek inside of readers’ homes like all of these.  So if you’ve got a favorite corner or a philosophy on simplicity, I’d love love love to share it.  It can really help to see people around the world striving for a little less, don’t you think?  (So here’s the part where you sent me a note…)

Over the last month, I’ve been learning how to cook for one.  Martin’s been away for a lot of work projects, which is not normal at all.  In fact, it’s a little weird to think:

Ahhh!  I’m in Europe all alone right now.

So remember my plan to clean out our freezer?  It’s slow going.  But use of our American telephone line?  My mom says I’m like that old Chatty Kathy doll, which was like The Must Have Toy of her generation.  It seems I have an awful lot to say.

Though right before Martin took off for his first trip, I stood next to him printing.  Then I was cutting and crafting at the kitchen counter.  Finally I handed him this 24 page minibook:

It’s a love letter.  (This is page 1.)  The left pages tell a story of love – expressing thanks for who he is, what he’s working so hard to do, and what he’s helped me become.

Then the right side is for specifics that come to mind with each prompt.

There wasn’t time for me to fill in the right side before he had to catch the subway, so I handed him the book like it is above.  He sat down and read each page carefully.

And you know what happened?  He had misty eyes.  German guys like him never ever get misty eyed.  It felt amazing to see the emotion that my love letter had created in my guy.  I hadn’t even shared the specifics yet, though he hugged me with a tighter, warmer hug than I can ever recall.

His response has had me thinking.

The responses I’ve been getting from several people using journals from my shop has had me thinking.  That’s why I’m so excited to announce:  Love Letters are the newest addition at Gadanke, my online shop!  They’re made with 100% recycled German paper and Italian patterned paper.

They feel so perfect for a lover.  A child.  A hero.  For Mom (okay – now I’m getting teary thinking about writing one of these to my mom back in the United States).

Who will you write to?

My mom hangs a spreadsheet on her bulletin board with all of the important addresses and telephone numbers she and my dad need on a regular basis.  Her list is really handy for everyone.  You just have to call and ask for the updated list, and poof.  She’ll have it in your mailbox.  The idea is brilliant, clean, and simple.

Well at least the version that I get is clean.  My mom’s list is constantly being edited.  Telephone numbers get updated.  Addresses change.

You want to know who’s contact info never ever changes, though?  It’s me!

Martin and I have had the exact same telephone number since the day we got married.  (And my mom doesn’t even fill in our mailing address since it changed so frequently – like 2 different states & 2 different countries kind of changes in 2009 alone.)

We use VoIP – Voice Over Internet Protocol – for telephone.  Basically, our telephone connection is over the internet instead of your standard telephone jack.  We have to have high speed internet for it to work.  (Here’s a brief article describing VoIP.)

I have this guy to thank for giving me a constant American telephone number:

He configures our telephone/internet setup every time we move.

Then I test it.  And test it.

Right now we have a German telephone number and an American telephone number.  They both go through the same telephone.  (The US one costs far, far less.)  All we have to do is glance at the caller ID to know:

Answer the phone with a chirpy American, “Hello!”

Or say with a charming German flair, “Hallo.”

I prefer the “Hello” type of calls most of the time.  You can speak English faster than the wind in a tornado, and I will understand.  And answer!

But the “Hallo” calls usually involve me asking the person to speak slower, flagging down Martin, asking the person to speaker slower yet, and really just hoping for the best.

Well I usually like American telephone calls better.  Except when the caller forgets we’re currently in Germany with a major time change.  Calls at 2:00 a.m. are not so fun.  Neither are the 4:00 a.m. ones.

Anyone else out there using VoIP for telephone?  Or making calls overseas?  What’s your secret for long distance calls and organizing all of your contacts?  I’ll bet you have an on-call person with the latest addresses and contact info too, right?  What a blessing they are!

Now if you’ll excuse me, the phone just started ringing.  And it’s way, way too early for it to be a call from the US.  (big gulp of air… time to practice German… Martin?  You there?)

(Image taken at the Reichstag – the German Parliament building, which has a little cafe on top)

No one likes soggy lettuce, and you certainly can’t skip washing your lettuce.  Some people solve this problem with a salad spinner.  I have to admit pumping a little handle up and down can be rather fun.  We just don’t have room for a salad spinner in our kitchen no matter how often we like a little lettuce with our lunch.

Luckily I was helping a German friend in her small kitchen a couple of years ago, and she was making salad.  She pulled out a fresh dish towel and laid her freshly washed lettuce right on top.  She brought the corners into her hand like a hobo sack.

Then she just started swinging the bundled towel in a giant circle like a circus man tossing a ball of fire.  Twenty seconds later, she laid the towel on the counter and opened it.  The lettuce was a perfect combination of dry yet still slightly moist – just as if she used a salad spinner.

I’ve been spinning my salad this way every since.  Oh – you may need to double your dishtowel to keep water from flying through the fabric as you spin.

I probably don’t spin my salad in the air with quite the enormous circles that she had.  Of course, I also wonder if she really had made these wildly large arm motions like I seem to remember in my mind.  After all, I was jet lagged and new to Europe.  You know how crazy people get in foreign countries.

Have you picked up any tricks in the kitchen that work like a charm without having the designated gadget?  Or anyone out there have another trick for the perfect lettuce?  Whatever it is that makes your kitchen time (or your vegetables!) fly by, do share!

Wanna check out a few more gadget-less tricks we’ve picked up?  Here ya go: chemical-free dusting, a recycled glass vase, and hassle-free salt storage.

The snow decided to stick around Berlin at Christmas time.  So I hung up my bike and began walking across the icy path to school and back every day.  Do you ever walk on a regular basis to the places that you go?

My path used to look like this:

Now spring is finally creeping in.

It’s true that walking takes longer than any other form of transportation.  But as the icy snow disappeared and the weather started to get warmer, my classmates in German class kept asking me, “Did you ride your bike today?”  ”How about today?  Ride your bike today?”

“No,” I kept telling them.

They could not understand why I would possibly choose to walk 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) to school every single day.  They all drove if they had cars or took the subway system.  And *I* was the American?!

(Note: confuse people around the world by being a vegetarian who prefers to bike and walk over riding a moving vehicles.  Then say, “I’m an American.”)

Anyway, there are a couple reasons I keep putting off the switch from walking to biking.  And if  you’re not much for walking, spring is the perfect time to start strolling a little more than usual.  It’s amazing how alive a walk can make you feel. Here’s how:

1.  Flowers are blooming.  Plants are growing.  Some come from designated garden beds.  Not always.  Not these:

They’re just growing all along the sidewalk and under patches of trees shown above in snow.

2.  You walk, watch, and hear.  I always arrive to class smiling because of the people I see.  I hear little kids and learn German words like “to lick” (a dog licking a boy’s hand) and “to land” (a bird landing on the sidewalk).

3.  You sleep better at night when your body has moved during the day.

4.  You have time to think and reflect.

5.  You stop stressing about time and worrying; you start relaxing.

6.  You consume no limited resources and emit nothing.

7.  You get fresh air.  It wakes you up.  It alerts your senses.  The breeze blows in your face.

8.  You smell more.  Spring has so many lovely smells.  One that I discovered happens to be our now-favorite bakery for fresh bread.

9.  You burn calories.

10.  You stop carrying extra baggage and clutter everywhere you go.  You realize what’s really important in your pockets, purse, or backpack.