13Jan 2019

All About Snow Days & Keeping Your Puppy Warm

13 Jan 2019 0 General Permalink

All is white, all is bright – it finally snowed in Zurich this week! And not just a little, no – I mean a lot of fluffy powder snow everywhere. I love it and am crossing my fingers that it’ll stay a while!

My friends child stayed home for a few days and some schools in South Germany are even closed due to snow chaos I heard. Sadly, we “adults” don’t get free snow days anymore. Though let’s be honest – most of us would not be rolling around in the snow the full day (at least I wouldn’t). Unless, of course, one can go up the mountain for snow activities.

Zaphira prefers snow much more than rain. Understandably so, I think. And because our almost everyday lunch activity is to play fetch & catch the ball, this was not different with all the snow. I took Zaphira to a small park area nearby where she run around freely. One thing I didn’t think: the snow was actually so high already we several times almost lost the ball in the snow. Of course that is one thing Zaphira does not accept. Thus, she runs around like a maniac trying to find the ball in the snow not caring whether her jumper gets soaked or not. Surely, it did.

Now, for anyone that also has an Italian Greyhound, knows the breed, has a dog of its own with less fur or one that is not used to the cold temperatures – note that even dogs can catch the flu if we (the humans) aren’t watching out for them. Zaphira for example barely has fur and is surely not made for the winter – I don’t think she would survive one winter by herself. So of course she has a little closet (joke) of her own and thus a few outfits to choose from (well, four jumpers/jackets so to speak).

After being all soaked by the snow, however, her shivering could no longer be ignored. This is when I say: be careful. No one, not even a puppy, should be shivering due to the cold. So I took off her jumper immediately, wrapped her up in my jacket – took some amazing cute little selfies (see the photos) – and carried her back to the office so she would be warm. At the office I made her a hot water bottle (yes, she has her own one there). Because she was shaking and shivering a little more than usual, I also cooked up a chicken bouillon (add A LOT of water) and served it to her slightly warm. Trust me: your dog will love you after this – and it has the great benefit of you not having to worry that your pup isn’t drinking enough!

Do you have any other tips or trick of keeping your pup (those that freeze easily) warm after a day out in the snow?

06Jan 2019

Winter Wonderland – Over the Flüela Pass

06 Jan 2019 0 Travel Permalink

White and pure. I could walk around anywhere and I would find the beauty in nature. Yet, there is something very special about the mountains in winter I find. Everywhere you look it seems to be white. It always looks so peaceful, so quiet, so pure. It is something I could stare at for hours and most likely explains my love for the mountains and why I wouldn’t mind having my own little chalet up in the mountains one day!

I have always had this little Christmas dream: that one day, my whole family (future family included) will rent out or own a little chalet in the mountains that we can stay in over the Christmas holidays. That when you open the door all you can see is white. The children can run around in the snow, the dogs (never forget the dogs!) lying in front of the fire place and I’ll be sitting on the couch drinking a glass of wine. Isn’t that an amazing dream?!

To give a little background to these photos that I wanted to share with you: The story is quite amusing. As I told you in my last post, my girls and I went to South Tyrol for a SPA weekend. On our way there, my navigation system took us to the car transporting train that goes through the mountain (very time efficient!). On our way back, however, it decided that it would be a great idea to drive over the Flüela Pass! We only really noticed once we were more or less up the mountain already and the snow fully covered the roads. Although I didn’t mind this way as I had the chance to stop once in a while and enjoy the beautiful view of the mountains (we must say it was amazing weather thankfully!), my girls were not all so convinced. One of my besties was writing with a couple of her friends and we were then told that it is not normal to drive over the Flüela Pass (or any mountain passes) in winter – especially not without snow chains for the wheels. Whoops.

Nevertheless, I would totally do it all over again and was and still am super happy with the impressions I got from the beautiful views. Oh, and my friends now fully trust me with driving! ;-)

31Dec 2018

Weekend-Getaway at Quellenhof Luxury Resort

31 Dec 2018 0 Travel Permalink

It was the perfect end to the year: a weekend-getaway in December with my girls at the luxury Quellenhof hotel in South Tyrol (Italy). For those that know me, know that I am a sucker for weekend retreats. Although I don’t get the chance all too often, I love doing absolutely nothing. This weekend was exactly that. We went 3-4x a day to the sauna, then to the hot steam baths, enjoyed the inside and outside whirlpool, drank hot teas and closed our eyes in the relaxation area.

One thing I very much appreciated, is that most areas were adults-only. Although the resort offered many activities for children, has a water-park and even the restaurant has great offers for children, the “children-area” was always separated slightly from the rest of the resort or the adults-only-restaurant. This way families with their children did not have to worry that couples or hotel guests would get annoyed with their little ones and vice-versa.

I left my dog home with my family for that time and did not take her with me. Yet, on the last day before driving back my girls and I noticed that quite a few dog-walking paths were leading directly from the resort into the woods. We then also saw a few dogs and my guess is that one of the other hotels of the same resort allows for dogs. My mission for the next year is thus clear: Visit more hotels, more down-time, more me time – but trying to take my dog everywhere. It seems there are a few hotels that offer dog services, dog-walkers for when I would go to the SPA areas and even state that dogs are very welcome to their resorts!

and before I forget: I wish you all a great last day this year and a wonderful start into 2019!

07Dec 2018

Last Minute Gifts for Him

07 Dec 2018 0 General Permalink

Surely cannot post about last minute gifts for her (see last post), without giving some ideas for him, right?

Well, without any further due, here is a list of ideas what you can gift to your significant other, father, brother, best friend, uncle, etc.
My two absolute favorites are most likely the whiskey glas set and the espresso glas cups – a cute present and something stylish for the home. And who doesn’t love a sneaker cleaning kit?

water bottle, keeping your drinks cold for up to 24h, warm for up to 12h; find it here
Coffee machine from Nespresso; find it here
Kiehl’s Man Facial Fuel; find it here
Sneaker cleaning kit; find it here
Cigar cutter & ashtray; find it here
stylish espresso cups; find them here
headphones, such as these BEATS Studio 3 Wireless ones; find them here
leather bracelet; find it here
Happy Socks gift box (with many options); find them here
whiskey glass set; find it here

06Dec 2018

Last Minute Gift Ideas for Her

06 Dec 2018 0 General Permalink

The gifting season is just around the corner and once again I receive all so many questions. Most of them sounding somewhat like “What do you want for Christmas?” or “Any idea what I can gift my mom/sister/best friend for Christmas?” It’s definitely not easy – especially when you wan to gift a little something, say thank you and come to the party with more than just a smile. Yet, that is exactly what most people want: people being happy, thankful, and most all – healthy. Remember that gifts do not need to cost anything, can be made yourself (there are some great DIY ideas out there) and some people really don’t expect anything.

If you still feel that you want to gift a little something, however, I have made a small list below ranging from low budget prices to higher pricing – and I can guarantee you will surely find one idea that everyone might like!