Despite my name being what it is (Jasmine Michele Bella, if you’re new to the class), I am way German. So German, that I’ve got an Oma and an Opa (slangy for grandmom and grandpop for you non-Krauts out there). Mother was born in Berlin and, barely one year old, moved overseas to Canada with the Os for a few years before finally settling down in Williamstown, New Jersey (in the same house the Grands live today). For my sixteenth birthday, when flights weren’t so expensive and she wasn’t yet at retired age, Oma took me on a trip to Germany. We stayed only ten days, and it was now ten years ago, so I feel like I hardly remember a thing.
I remember passing the church where Oma and Opa were married, and the hospital where mother was born, and the apartment the three lived in for that year – but I don’t remember what they look like. I remember meeting so much family and so many friends – but I don’t remember their faces. I remember going to school for a day with my cousin, Sarah, where we took math class and gym (I was hit in the face with a soccer ball and the head with a volleyball, of course, because these things happen to Liz Lemons like me) and then got to leave early because of the rising temperatures; I met her friends and we rode bikes and went to the mall and I taught them what a “cutie” meant – but I don’t remember their names or specific conversations (I did keep in penpal contact with one girl, but have since lost touch, and with my cousin, too). I’ve longed to go back since the second Oma and I tearfully boarded the plane back home (though, the tears stopped for a little while when the flight attendant surprised me with birthday cake (our flight back was on my actual sixteenth birthday)).
And then I somehow managed to find myself face to internet with Sandra Juto. Forgive me for not knowing in-depth facts of her life at the moment, as I’ve only added her to my Google Reader within the week, but the fact that I’ve decided to write about her already just proves how much I would like to know! I don’t remember how I happened upon her page, but it has been the plethora of abundance-of-good-adjectives photographs from her recent trip to Berlin with her husband, Johan (also? these two have adorable names), that has kept me in a trance. Currently, she lives in Sweden, but she and her husband were married in Berlin last year. They’ve been back from their anniversary trip to the land of their wedding for some time, but she’s been slowly posting the most incredible images of their trip.
Not only is she this mysterious-to-me (for now) lady with a seemingly rich life, but she also creates things. Her portfolio is adorable, her shop is adorable (I want a Buttcrack Character!), and her Wrist Worms are adorable. It’s almost not fair that she be so dang talented on so many levels, and also come off as a pretty sweet human being.
I can’t wait to get to know her better through her posts, and I’m on the edge of this couch in anticipation for more Berlin pictures. I said I’ve been longing to return for ten years now, and this whole situation just isn’t helping! It might be wise of me to make this dream-return a reality before I just explode.
Of course, the above photographs are © Sandra Juto, and please, please see the many, many more at her blog. It really has been an absolute treat.
[...] I’m just going to continue gushing about Berlin for a minute. I may not dress like it, but I am a fan of fashion blogs. I used to follow an [...]