One of the big advantages of living right smack in Manhattan, the way we do, is that it’s really easy for us to find people who want to trade places with us for a few weeks. Last year we spent time in Iceland when we traded homes with friends of a friend. This year we’ve traded with a dear friend and former colleague who lives in Berlin. I love exploring a city this way; we really get to experience a neighborhood and can take our time getting to know an area. And since we can run our business from pretty much anywhere, we call these trips working vacations; many days we’ll work in the morning and then spend the afternoon out exploring. This is great for S, too, since she’s perfectly happy hanging out “at home,” emailing her grandparents and doing a little painting or reading before we go looking for a new playground or visiting a museum.
We’re really enjoying our experiences in Berlin. And I’m finding plenty of inspiration here. I love to watch how people dress, and it’s not always about the clothes themselves; I’m as interested in how people assemble their clothing, or how they style themselves, as in the clothing itself. Berliners seem to have very individual style; there isn’t a single universal look here like there sometime seems to be within a region of a country, and I really like that about it. And within the architecture of the city itself I love to see the colors and textures and patterns. These are some of the photos I’ve been sharing on Instagram and shooting during our time here.
Sadly, our stay is already half over! Tomorrow we’re headed to Prague for a few days, and then we’ll have one more week in Berlin before we head home again. Once we’re back, the fall patterns will be nearly ready! I’m eager to introduce you. Are you ready for them?