I’ve been living in Germany now for three months, so I’m finally starting to miss a few things from my homeland. Not nearly as much as I had expected though as Europe is packed with so many beautiful, interesting things to take in. But still, I was told that expats begin to miss certain things after about three months so I guess that the timing is about right. So far, I miss only a handful of things like cupcakes (which I guess is better for my diet!), American wedding cakes (I love buying one each year on my anniversary with the decadent roses – so kitschy but I love the super sweet buttercream frosting), Barnes & Noble, Target (mostly for Method cleaning supplies), certain boutiques I loved back home and some of the home products at West Elm.
Of course, we have myriads of other things here that Americans would love to have access to, so I can’t complain. But if I am allowed one complaint I will voice it here — I miss American lamps! The light on/off switches are mostly located directly beneath the bulb or on the stand in the states. Here, they are located about halfway down the cord and this drives me slightly crazy because I like to keep the cord hidden behind the furniture. When I need to turn off my lights, I have to find the cord, pull it up and then locate the switch to power it off. Same goes when putting it on. Oh it’s always the littlest things we never considered that we end up missing the most!
In this post, I’ve included some things from West Elm that I’m currently loving — including some beautiful lamps — And since most of you live in the states and CAN order from them (he he), then go ahead and make jealous, okay? And go ahead, buy your lamps with the switch in the convenient location… he he.
And if you know, can someone please tell me why light switches are always on the cord over here because I need, errr, enlightening…
(images: west elm)
Hello there
I am from Britain though I now live in the US. I love Method cleaning products too. If you ever go over to Britain you should go to Tesco – a supermarket. The big ones carry Method products, or at least they did recently.
As for the lamps, I have no idea. Possibly a safety issue so you don’t risk touching a hot lightbulb?
Ah, the life of an expat. My advice is to bring your lamps from home. Bed, Bath and Beyond makes a great box of three lamps (one floor and two table) that travels very well. You don’t need to rewire, just use a local lightbulb and get a travel adapter got the plug. Most people think they need to rewire, but I have lived in 7 different countries with various different lamps and they all work using local blubs (even Europe going back to the US – unless it is a bayonnet blub (I think these are only in the UK). Good luck in Germany and enjoy all the great Christmas markets.
As for the cupcakes. I also bring a couple boxes back in the luggage with icing! There are allowed in all countries because they are not fresh.
We have a light in our bedroom that has a switch that isn’t easy to reach so we’ve put it on a timer. It actually works out quite well, it’s the lamp on my husband’s side of the bed and he usually falls asleep while reading before shutting of the light, this way it turns itself off and we don’t have to worry about finding the switch.
I believe you can rewire the lamps to make the switch closer to the lamp base. Tho I am not sure how difficult that is, or if it is a task that can even be accomplished on store bought lamps these days. GOOD LUCK, and have a blast in Germany. Do they still give you one cube of ice in your sodas?