Milleneufcentquatrevingtquatre

When I first discovered this scarf company on Frances May I was all, Milleneuf-what?  I can't say that I've figure out how to say "Milleneufcentquatrevingtquatre" yet, or ever will but regardless of the tongue-twisting name I'm head over heels in love with these gorgeous printed silk scarves. These are from the spring collection but the autumn selection is just as lovely in botanical prints.  They really look like wearable pieces of art!

Triberg Wasserfalle

One of the things that we were most excited about during our stay in Germany was a trip we had planned to Triberg to see the highest waterfall in Bavaria.  The town is situated in the Black Forest and is also the home of the world's largest cuckoo clock.  Win, win right?  But on the morning of the trip, we awoke to a forecast of 90% chance of rain/snow and temperatures close to freezing.  We hadn't packed appropriately for a hike in the freezing snow so we contemplated changing our plans at the last minute.  In the end, we just layered on all the clothes we'd brought and decided to tough it out.  We're so glad we did, because it ended up being one of the highlights of our trip.

The train ride up the mountain and into the Black Forest was definitely my favorite of the trip.  We counted nineteen tunnels through the mountain before we finally reached Triberg.  The higher we got, the snowier it got and the more scenic and beautiful.  Triberg itself was most charming with typical Bavarian architecture and cuckoo clocks everywhere.  We walked up, up, up the streets until we reached the entrance to the waterfall hike.  The weather was strange the entire time; one second the clouds would part and the sun would shine then more clouds would roll in over the mountains and it would start to snow again. 

As we made our way up the trail I was amazed at how lush the forest was.  It was made even more enchanting by the thin layer of snow that was building up on the green ferns and moss.  I kept thinking to myself that it seemed like a place where Westley and Princess Buttercup would be found hiding.  The falls were impressive and had bridges that crossed back and forth for the best views possible.  Luckily the weather had scared most of the other tourists away so we had the falls all to ourselves.

We then took the trail down the side of the mountain and ended up coming out at Maria in der Tanne or "Mary in the Fir".  It's a small baroque style church whose legend dates back to 1644 when a young girl was cured of an eye disease in the water of a nearby spring.  Later, a man was cured of leprosy by washing in the same spring.  The man carved a small statue of Mary and placed it in a fir tree.  People began making pilgrimages to the site of the miracles and eventually a church was built.  The church is charming but unassuming from the outside, but the interior is as ornate and wonderfully gaudy and you could ever wish for. 

Etsy Update: Flats & Sandals

Here's a look at the second Etsy shop update of the day.  Lots of  leather flats and sandals.  There are sizes ranging from 6 to 9.5 (Eur 36 to 41).  Check out all of the shoes in the shop here! 

Etsy Update: Purses

There are several shop updates in the works today.  The first one is all about purses!  There's quite a variety here, something for everyone.  Be sure to hop over to the shop and check 'em out!

House of Maryanne

I discovered the new lookbook for House of Maryanne on Ashley's blog.  I'm working on styling a summer lookbook for SJV and was a bit stuck but these photos are giving me loads of inspiration and ideas.  

Bat for Lashes

Some years are full of great new music and some years pass by without much catching my ear.  So far this year I haven't latched onto much in the way of new albums but this Bat for Lashes song has me hopeful.  

Alsace

On day nine of our journey we were staying in Germany but headed back across the border into France for some ancestral research.  Part of Tom's family is from the Alsace region of France and we met up with a distant cousin that he'd never before seen for a tour.  The Alsace region is made up of land that borders France and Germany and has exchanged hands between the two countries four times in 75 years.  Tom's ancestors would have considered themselves German while the family that remains in the area today consider themselves French.  The history of the area makes for an odd meshing of cultures and architecture.

Looking for information about Tom's ancestors led us to many small churches and their long neglected graveyards.  We walked through tall weeds and wiped years of dirt from headstones looking for family names.  We knocked on church doors in hopes of looking though their archives but did so in vain since no one answered.

After a few stops we headed to the Monastic Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Ottmarsheim, not because there's family history there but because it is one of the oldest remaining structures in the region and is simply not to be missed.  The Abbey was built in 1030 and I had the hardest time wrapping my mind around the fact that I was standing in a building that is nearly 1000 years old.