Who does not remember the World Trade Center attack on 9/11 in 2021?

I still remember what I have been doing that day, that minute, when it happened #wewillneverforget 🇺🇸 

A beautiful memory of the years before: 

The restaurant „Windows on the World“ was located on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center North Tower.

It was considered one of the best restaurants in New York City and in its final year of operation, was the highest grossing fine dining establishment in the United States. The staff was known for speaking more than 60 different languages and referred to themselves as the U.N. of restaurants.

In 1976, New York magazine ran a cover story called, “The Most Spectacular Restaurant in the World,” in which restaurant critic Gael Greene wrote the following:

“Every view is brand-new? a miracle. In the Statue of Liberty Lounge, the harbor’s heroic blue sweep makes you feel like the ruler of some extraordinary universe. All the bridges of Brooklyn and Queens and Staten Island stretch across the restaurant’s promenade. Even New Jersey looks good from here. Down below are all of Manhattan and helicopters and clouds. Everything to hate and fear is invisible. Pollution is but a cloud. A fire raging below Washington Square is a dream, silent, almost unreal, though you can see the arc of water licking flame. Default is a silly nightmare. There is no doggy doo. Garbage is an illusion.”

On 9/11, 79 employees of the restaurant „Windows on the World“ lost their lives. It is believed that the photo of the “Falling Man” was one of the workers at the restaurant based on his uniform.

We Will Never Forget! 🙏🏻🇺🇸

„HEY BOOBS“, POWERTALK, „Clitorias Secret“… it’s all about girls & women today in Stuttgart: the first and only BitchFest! 

We are ready 💪🏻

„Die weibliche Form von Hund oder doch als Synonym für Miststück oder Schlampe, ein seit Jahrhunderten bestehende Beleidigung für Frauen? Auf der Suche nach einer Definition für „Bitch” sind sich Wikipedia, Urban Dictionary und Co. mehr oder weniger einig: die Konnotation ist meist negativ und mit sexistischen Stereotypen behaftet.

Ihre ganz eigene Definition des Begriffs hat die Stuttgarter Unternehmerin und Gründerin Jennifer Reaves: „Die Bitch ist für mich eine starke, selbstbewusste Frau, die sich traut, etwas einzufordern. Auch auf die Gefahr hin, anzuecken oder mal einen schrägen Blick zu kassieren”, erklärt sie.

Mit der ersten Edition ihres Bitch Fests launcht die ehemalige Geschäftsführerin der Designmesse Blickfang ein Festival, das Themen wie Zyklusgesundheit, finanzielle Unabhängigkeit und Selbstakzeptanz in den Fokus rückt. Ein Programm aus Workshops, Talks mit Speakerinnen wie der Sex- und Beziehungsexpertin Paula Lambert, Pop-up-Stores und Konzerten soll eine Plattform für Frauen und Mädchen bieten, die sich austauschen und connecten wollen.

Reaves eigener Weg in die Position der Chief Bitch gestaltete sich holprig: Infolge der pandemiebedingten Probleme in der Veranstaltungsbranche und Herausforderungen in ihrem Privatleben durchlebte die 44-Jährige einen Burnout, der ihr vergegenwärtigte, für welchen Zweck sie wirklich brennt: Frauen in ihrem Selbstvertrauen in allen Lebensbereichen zu bestärken. „Ich habe in Gesprächen mit vielen Frauen bemerkt, dass es uns immer noch schwerfällt, über unsere Bedürfnisse zu sprechen und diese auch einzufordern”, erzählt Reaves.

Die gegenwärtige Landschaft an Festivals, Kongressen und Plattformen, die sich für die Förderung von Frauen, Gleichberechtigung und Austauschmöglichkeiten einsetzen, seien außerdem stark von der sozialen Blase der Gründerinnen und Unternehmerinnen dominiert. „Ich habe den Eindruck, dass man sich Female Empowerment in Deutschland erst verdienen muss”, erklärt Reaves. „Diese Plattformen kommen häufig sehr erfolgs- und leistungsorientiert daher, womit sich viele Frauen einfach nicht identifizieren können.”

Mit ihrer hybriden Medienmarke BitchFest denkt Reaves aber schon weit über die Grenzen des Festivalformats hinaus: Ob Events in weiteren Städten, die Vision eines Podcasts und Magazins oder der Aufbau einer bestehenden Community – an Inspiration und Ideen mangelt es der Gründerin jedenfalls nicht. „Ich möchte eigentlich als Chief Bitch des Landes durch die Welt reisen und meine Message herausschreien, egal über welchen Kanal”, erzählt Reaves lachend.“

-Sita Rumpel-

We had a blast! Of course it was all over the top, and that was the fun part of it. Seeing so many young and older women on stage as well as off stage yesterday was very wow. Very cool. Very inspiring! Be what you want to be! Let’s go, girls! We are awesome!

💃 💃 💃

It’s September and for me it’s still summer! Maybe late summer. Nobody knows how many more sunny and hot days we are going to have… it doesn’t matter. We are enjoying the last summer days.

Harvesting tomatoes, peppers & hops. 

Buying sunflowers and giving them a new home. Enjoying our garden in full bloom. Mushrooms for dinner. Pasta with home made pesto for dinner. 

Enjoy the late summer 🌻☀️

BBQ & Beer – the two (most) important Bs. 

Hops are soon ready for harvest! 

3 friends. We all met in the office in South Carolina about 11 years ago. One of us still living in the USA, the other 2 around Stuttgart. 

Very proud to say that we keep our bi-weekly phone calls. And even better: we make it work to meet face to face.

Yesterday 🌞

Sometimes we even manage to spend holidays together. 

Cu soon again!

Happy birthday, hubby!

A beautiful birthday weekend. 

T-Bone steak from the BBQ…

…followed by home cinema watching the „Joker“ (preparation for part II in October).

White sausage breakfast….

…followed by a siesta from all guests 😉 Nobody is getting younger, lol 😜 

End of July 2024: Donald Trump watched President Biden’s Oval Office address from his plane after his rally in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In the three days after Biden ended his re-election bid and passed the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s campaign has been crowded out of the headlines. And that’s an unfamiliar experience for Trump, who has monopolized America’s televisions, newspapers and smartphones for more than 12 months through indictments, primary victories, 34 felony convictions, an assassination attempt and a Republican convention at which he was celebrated as a quasi-religious figure.

Wow! Wow! Wow! 

Loving the vibe of the election campaign in the USA! 

The Obamas, famous musicians, the Clintons joining in… so much fun to watch (even in Germany)! 

Giving hope! What’s happening in the United States right now… this is not a campaign of a party, it has now become a movement:
Here a positive vision for the future and there a hateful election campaign, which is based above all on a set of lies and conspiracy theories. So the convicted criminal Trump should not be surprised if he catches such 7 seconds.

What a vibe! 

Awaiting Taylor Swift to get her campaign started. We already know which party she’s supporting and apparently her influence in GenZ voters is the following: 30% of GenZ & Swift fans would rather chose the candidate Swift is recommending. Wow!!! So much influence in young people, use it wisely! 

AI needs to learn a lot… 

Getting a little better…

Mr Trump, pack your bags! 

Now good luck 🍀 for Germanys election in the eastern counties tomorrow 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Friday night. The last days in August. 27C degrees. Late summer nights. Sunset. Dinner with hubby in the car (of course it’s junk food). First they started the wrong film 😂(Aliens, hubby already happy). 5min later, correct film up 🎦

Great film („It ends with us“). Great night out.

Hello weekend!

Friday night, fun night. Outdoors, a classic rainy night in spring. Inside, everything feels like a night in Spain: Flamenco dancers. Wow! Music. Wow! The atmosphere, wow! 

We purchased you in the high times of Covid (June 2020). The idea was to have a car which allowed us to travel while everything was locked down. And we did. You served us great until you broke down a couple of weeks ago 🏥 : gear box & clutch… and much more. Very expensive (and no more economically feasible for us) to get it fixed… 🛟 heart broken 💔 , we decided to sell our good old bullie! 

We had 4 van-tastic years with you.

You took us to so many awesome places: 

Our very first weekend to test wild camping in the Black Forest. 

Ireland via England and Wales. 

France via Paris, La Rochelle all the way to Biaritz. My first trip by myself (hubby at rehab).

So many times to the Ariege in France, usually with stopovers on the way. 

Several times to Bühl for wine events and sleeping directly in the vineyard „next door“. 

Another road trip to Lake Constance, Austria, Lichtenstein & Switzerland. 

Twice to the Champagne in France. 

Several times back home to „The Rhön“. 

We traveled several times to the north all the way up to the Nordsee. 

We used the bus for birthday party sleep overs. 

We travelled to see the Tulips and the Netherlands. 

Autokino. 

Transporting people, Christmas trees, boxes of wine & champagne, carton paper, flowers & groceries… probably the only van including wooden rails so beer boxes could fit under the bed…

We had dinners with you in COVID times where everything was locked down: Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, candlelight dinners, meeting friends… 

Thanks Bullie for bringing us to so many beautiful destinations!

We are very sad having to leave you behind. Hope they fix you up and find you a nice new owner!

Bye bye, Bullie. We love you & keep the many wonderful memories!