I think we are pretty well settled into our little flat in east Berlin. The jury is still out on the function of a few of the kitchen appliances, but all in all we are feeling pretty comfy and cozy here.

We’ve gone out and done a bit of exploring around our own neighborhood – learning the layout, finding the grocery stores and making note of neat places to eat as we trod along the cobblestones. Also getting bread from nearly every bakery we stumble upon… because why not? Butter stuffed pretzels are apparently a thing here. I feel like I’ve died and gone to a sweet, buttery, salty heaven.

The majority of our time here is of course, still spent working. I’ve been trying to keep regular “studio” hours in the corner of the bedroom, with my paper, pens and pencils strewn about the floor. I’ll admit though – it’s a little hard to stay on task knowing how much neat stuff there is outside that I haven’t seen yet. I’m sure once we get a few more ‘touristy’ activities under our belts that feeling will start to wane.

I’ve also been attempting to spend a good bit of time in the mornings absent-mindedly sketching at the kitchen table. It’s a really great way to start the day here. Or anywhere, really — I’d love for this habit to follow me home. At home it’s easy to fall prey to “I can’t sketch – I need to do laundry.” or “I’ll sketch when I get back from the store…” (which invariably never happens). Here, with both of these distractions minimized if not all together deleted, I feel like I can simply sit at the table while the coffee is brewing and just. draw. Combine that with a butter-filled pretzel and I am in paradise

What about you? Any tricks for keeping a daily sketching time sacred?