freitag favorites + summer sun

After what has seemed like weeks of rainy cold days, we finally have had a week filled with glorious sun. (Before that, the brightest sights around town were the new flags along Rennweg in the city, captured on a dreary day last week.)

Summer is finally coming and I hope that a little less work and a little more fun will come along too. I am just happy to have had a Friday where I made it home from work before 5pm and we had easy leftovers available for dinner so Martin and I could relax, catch up with good friends via phone, and enjoy some good tennis as we head into the weekend.

This weekend I have no plans except to get out in the sun on some runs and dig into the pile of books that just arrived from my parents, preferably from a lounge chair on our patio. In the meantime, I caught on Google Reader (sadly in its last days) and here are my recent faves.

• women of style // I love Ferragamo’s new L’Icona ad campaign featuring 21 stylish women and their favorite Ferragamo flats.
• healthy snacks // I am always on the lookout for snacks that are good to eat after the gym or during my later evenings in German class and these homemade fruit and nut bars could be tasty.
• modern stained glass // I’m a big fan of modern stained glass and I’m sad we only just missed this new installation at Westminster Abbey.
• underwater // It has been years since I’ve snorkeled, but I’ve always loved it and still have such great memories of snorkeling in the British Virgin Islands. (When can we take that vacation again?) Reading about these great diving locations around the Mediterranean really makes me want to learn to dive, or at least go snorkeling, again.
• diy lighting // I really, really want to make either this or this brass chandelier for our dining room. Now, if I could only get the parts here (and for Euro voltage) and a Sunday project day with my dad.

I hope you all have some summer sun in your forecasts too!