The One with the Tassel Love Giveaway!

Friday, January 24, 2014

Since all the kids are out of the house my mom has decided to dedicate her new found freedom to making tassel tissue garlands and has started listing them in her brand new etsy shop called Tassel Love

I remember she went on a tassel making craze for Allie's wedding and even came up with a verb for the process: tasseling! The interior of Allie's wedding reception was gorgeous thanks to the tassel garlands Malm made.

In addition to wedding decor, tassel garlands are perfect for holidays like Valentine's Day:

New Years:

Birthdays:

Baby showers:

And pretty much any other occasion you can think of!

Each garland is carefully strung onto natural jute twine and is approximately 8 feet long with 28 tassels. Each tassel is individually tied to the jute so they won't slip if you want a deep swoop. They're also easy to move around so you can space them closer together if you wish.

Have a certain color combination in mind? My mom will custom make a tassel garland just for you from her rainbow of colors:

But wait, there's more! To help my mom's newly launched business grow I'm hosting a giveaway - the winner will receive a darling tassel garland!

Here's how to enter the giveaway:

Just leave a comment saying what you're up to this Valentine's day!

You can increase your chances of winning by commenting for the following as well:
- Follow this blog via bloglovin'
- Follow this blog via Feedly
- Follow me via Instagram
- Follow me on Pinterest
- "Heart an item in the Tassel Love shop

- Share this giveaway with a link on your blog or in a post

Congrats to the winner - Erin Stewart! Check your email Erin :)

The One with the Audi Museum

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Ask me about paper and stickers and I can tell you pretty much anything you need to know! But ask me about cars or trains or planes and I quickly zone out...

Chris has been wanting to go to the Audi Museum in Ingolstadt for 7 months now but I've quickly brushed it aside because I thought it'd be boring. Then when we were trying to figure out something to do on Monday he suggested it again and the shelter from the bad weather finally made it seem appealing to me. Imagine my delight when not only I, but Fox, Jane, and of course, Chris, thoroughly enjoyed the experience!

Audi buildings everywhere!

We went inside and got our tickets - only 2 Euros per adult - nice!

The museum starts on the top floor with the oldest cars and you work your way down through the levels, going forward in time to newer cars. This sleek black car greeted us as we stepped off the elevator.

Chris fancied it.

Yeah I don't know the official names of any of these modes of transportation, but they were fun to look at :)

Fox was in his element! He LOVES cars! He was such a good sport to run in front of every car I told him to so I could take a photo. We found one that matched his shirt.

Reminds me of the Guggenheim in New York cuz it's a round building.

I told Fox this car looked like Mater.

So he wanted his picture with it, cutie.

Jane's shoes kept coming off so she was running around in just her socks. The museum was very lax which was so nice because it seems like a lot of places we go people "shush" us for being loud.

Fox standing by the "3" and holding up 3 fingers - cuz he's 3 years old!

This car is pretty awesome.

Rotating car elevator display - say whaaaaat!?

Engine?

Car skeleton?

I like taking pictures of Chris taking pictures!

Janey girl running around through the tiny models of Audi cars through the years.

Up close of the little models. Fox really wanted to play with them. Luckily they were stuck behind glass.

This car is my favorite!

An employee was so nice and offered to take our family picture in front of it.

We walked to a different building to go to the gift shop and saw people buying Audis.

Funnily enough, about 75% of the cars we saw in and around Ingolstadt were Audis... I wonder why?

The One with Ingolstadt, Germany

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Again, plans changed, and after we realized everything of interest is closed in Karlovy Vary on Mondays, we came up with an alternate plan: Ingolstadt! Chris has been wanting to go to the Audi museum ever since we moved here and an indoor activity sounded mighty nice to escape the cold. But then we started looking at all the things there are to see in Ingolstadt, including a walk through the city, we decided to make a day out of it. We left the house around 8:30am and got to a parking garage just before 10am. Fox is such a good brother and was holding Jane while we set the stroller up so she wouldn't get hit by a car. I think this is the first time he's hugged her of his own free will! And I caught it on camera!

A little bit about Ingolstadt: it's is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the River Danube, in the center of Bavaria. As of March 31st 2011 Ingolstadt had 125,407 citizens. It is part of the Munich Metropolitan Area which has a total population of more than 5 million. The Illuminati, a Bavarian secret society, was founded in Ingolstadt in the late 18th century. Ingolstadt is a setting in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, where the scientist Victor Frankenstein creates his monster. It is the site of the headquarters of the German automobile manufacturer Audi, defense aircraft manufacturer Cassidian Air Systems (formerly EADS DS), and electronic stores Media Markt and Saturn. Ingolstadt Central Station has been connected to Nuremberg by a high-speed rail link since May 2006. Covering an urban area of 51.49 square miles Ingolstadt is geographically Bavaria's fourth-largest city after Munich, Nuremberg, and Augsburg. Ingolstadt was first mentioned in a document of Charlemagne on 6 February 806 as "Ingoldes stat", the place of Ingold. Circa 1250, Ingolstadt was granted city status. Originally a fortress city, Ingolstadt is enclosed by a medieval defensive wall. The Bavarian Fortress (1537–1930) now holds the Museum of the Bavarian Army.

Our walk started at the Old Town Hall which was rebuilt in its present form of Neo-Renaissance style by Gabriel von Seidel in 1882. It now serves as the seat of the Lord Mayor.

Right next to the Old Town Hall is the New Town Hall which is very modern. Quite the stark contrast of buildings right next to each other!

We walked around the New Town Hall and found a mini replica of the city. On the way back to the car we passed this again and enjoyed pointing out things we saw.

This is the Viktualienmark. Every Wednesday and Saturday the Ingolstadt market takes place here, offering a wide range of regional produce.

We walked along the path and under the bridge to the Danube River.

Across the river we could see the impressive fortifications built by Leo von Klenze in the classical style.

We walked to the bridge.

Then we walked over the bridge. Locks, locks, everywhere!

Not the prettiest of days (think cold, rain, wind), but I sure do love how the fog photographs!

The Bavarian Police Museum. Closed on Mondays dadgum.

This is the Reduit Tilly. I've done some searches and still don't quite grasp the purpose, but here's what I found: the central building of the fortifications in the 19th Century were built on the right bank of the Danube. It served to protect the bridgehead (?). It's now an open-air theater where hundreds of teens flock to during the summer months.

Aerial(ish) view of the Reduit Tilly:

Lovely gardens outside the Reduit Tilly.

I wanted to walk inside and get more pictures but it was closed and the construction dudes photobombed my pic.

Modern Art. Chris wanted to stand in it like the Vitruvian Man, but he couldn't catch his balance! And then I framed the New Castle with the ring.

So many cool things we did see but I don't know what they are - even if there were signs they were in German. I guess this isn't the biggest of tourist town. But still wicked cool.

I spy the New Castle!

We walked back over the bridge across the Danube to the New Castle.

We let the kids run amok in the castle courtyard.

Today the castle houses the Bavarian Army Museum with a wide range of historic weapons, armory, tin soldiers, and other important exhibits of military history. Closed on Mondays.

For some reason I just really love these elaborately decorated cannons!

I love the color, all the details, and the fact that it's the head of a lion so the bomb comes out of its mouth, etc.

Front and back sides of the Baroque clock tower.

Looking up as we passed through the clock tower. Ornate!

The old moat. These things existed! Seems like they're only in fairytales :)

On the outside walls of the New Castle we entered modern civilization again and stopped to get some snacks and Fox found a dinosaur for a euro.

The Paradeplatz with a fountain statue of Ludwig the Bavarian. | The granite column of artist Rückriem.

The Carraraplatz - the square named after Ingolstadt's Italian twintown.

Look at the angels decorating this building - neat! Janey found a stick and was running through the trees with it.

The Old Castle - the former castle from the 13th century is the oldest secular building in the town and now houses the public library.

We passed a brat stand and couldn't pass up the opportunity to get some lunch!

Jane loved her schnitzel.

We walked along Ludwigstrasse. My favorite street in town because of all the colored buildings!

We found the Ickstatt House - the residential home of the professor and reformer Johann Adam Baron von Ickstatt (1702-1776). It has the tallest Baroque facade in southern Germany.

Then we walked down the street to the Cathedral to Our Dear and Beautiful Lady or Cathedral of Notre Dame. Not to be confused with the Notre Dame in Paris :)

Beautiful inside and out.

Pretty tree.

More angels decorating this building called the Tilly House where the General of the Catholic League, Count von Tilly, died from his wounds in 1632.

We passed by the Church of Maria de Victoria and desperately wanted to go in, but it's closed on Mondays wahhhh.

A pic from the internet of the innards:

Then we walked to the medieval Cross Gate - Ingolstadt's best known landmark. The name comes from the leper house with its chapel "to St. Cross" that used to be here outside the town.