My name is Kathi, I have an unhealthy but wonderful obsession with the tiny country of Estonia, but currently live in my hometown Vienna, because, let’s face it, the weather in Estonia is pleasant for about 2 days a year before it goes back to freezing. I definitely own more plants than an average twenty-something gal – especially self-grown ones on my balcony -, have just recently quit my job to breathe a little and most importantly: I am in love with words.

It’s a love I developed ten years ago as an au pair in the States, when I started my first blog – as every self-respecting au pair did back then. It mostly existed to keep my people at home updated and to keep track of some seriously weird but hilarious things my host kids did or said. And some of the weird and hilarious things I did – like date my host parents’ kitchen contractor and then literally leave the house running because it was too intense for me to be alone in a room with him and because I generally didn’t deal well with feelings. Spoiler alert: I still don’t. But I am working on it. #progress (Here’s another thing I need to work on: not getting side tracked.)

Anyways, what started like a simple way of keeping family and friends updated turned into something else. Because people liked reading my stories – and because I loved the process of sitting down at a coffee shop and finding the best words and phrases to bring the story across in a way that felt completely true to myself. And most importantly, writing helped me reflect and understand and work through things. An epic love story was born.

As every good love story, though, this one had its ups and downs as well. There were times over the last ten years when I didn’t write a word for months, even years. And there were times were I couldn’t stop. But we were lucky, writing and me, because we always found our way back together, somehow. This is where my incredible friends come in. It was 2019 and I hadn’t been writing in a long time, but kept talking about how much I missed it. So they decided enough is enough. And gave me the best and most creative birthday present I have ever received: the URL to stories from the balcony. Back then I didn’t even own a balcony. What I did have, though, was an unhealthy obsession with plants and a windowsill that I called my balcony. This URL was what made me start writing on and off again. On when I was on vacation or deeply inspired and off for the rest of the year.

But last year, two big things happened for me. I moved, which made me the proud owner of a small balcony that I immediately filled with as many plants as humanly possible. And I finally decided to quit my job of 5 years, at a company that I deeply loved and cared about. But it was time. Time to make space for new impressions and places, for making myself a priority, for writing and all the things that get me out of bed in the morning.

So here I am, right in the middle of my career break. Trying to figure things out. Trying to trust the process of life. To travel and meet people and pay attention and to write it all down. To learn to hold space for myself – and maybe even date a little more, because yes, small-talk is annoying but somewhere between the small talk, there might even be a magic moment or two. At least that’s what I’ve been told.

Anyways, this blog is the space for all of that. And I’m glad you are here for it. Let’s celebrate life together. Let’s talk about the ups and the downs, about the parts of ourselves we think nobody wants to see. Let’s be vulnerable and feel all the feelings, because this is what life is all about.

I’m ready for the ride. Are you?

xx Kathi