❤☆decor8 (design blog): decor8 (design blog)
❤☆haus maus (personal blog): haus maus
❤☆real simple: simply stated
❤☆my husband: alternate:words
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❤☆facebook: holly becker
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Many have asked what my "German Connection" is since I am an American living in Hannover, Germany since August 2009.
My husband Thorsten Becker and I met online, he read something I wrote on the topic of true femininity (not interior design related at all!) and modesty back in '98 and was impressed by it, saw my email beneath the article, and wrote to discuss the topic further. We quickly became good friends, emailing and calling daily for over a year. Then, while I was in London on holiday in Oct. '99, concierge gave me a note that he had called to be sure that I'd arrived safety and that I was having fun. That gesture of kindness from a friend completely touched my heart. I returned his call and he said he just had to meet me, my gut told me to go for it, so he flew me to Germany and I stayed with a friend of the family in her beautiful guest apartment.
After 18 days with him and his wonderful family, I knew that this was the man I would marry. We just celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on July 14.
After maintaining a long distance relationship for 1.5 years after that, we were engaged in Hannover, Germany, he relocated to Boston, Massachusetts where he lived with my parents for three months until our wedding day. We're old fashioned like that. After we got married, we continued to live in the states, at first in Boston but then in New Hampshire. We went back and forth to Germany, spending two months each year in Hannover, then in April 2008 we took an apartment here. After 8 years of living in the states and going back and forth between countries, we decided it was time to move to Germany so I could now experience his life and culture. We moved into what was once our "vacation" apartment in August 2009 and are still here in our small one bedroom flat -- but looking for a large flat as we're dying to have our own office space at home and extra rooms for me to decorate and for our friends and family from America to stay.
I think the moral of this story is to allow yourself to be open minded to new things (back then meeting a man online was still very new and not too cool - my parents thought he would be a serial killer) and follow your gut. Listen to that inner voice. You don't always have to obey it, but at least listen. :) Oh, and never think of any mountain as too high. True love conquers all - faith can truly move mountains.
So that's my German connection. :)

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Groups (50)
- Food stylism 1106 photos, 257 members
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- What I Wore Today (drawings only!) 1863 photos, 1375 members
- Twins' Garden - Show your work 37 photos, 7 members
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- Food Styling 10074 photos, 1144 members
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- Beds & Fairy Lights 80 photos, 45 members
- Bend the Rules with Fabric™ 17 photos, 105 members
- Lovely Clusters 360 photos, 167 members
- PaPaYa! Around the World 30 photos, 70 members
- Burbuliatorius 960 photos, 142 members
- DOMESTICITY: Artful photos from INSIDE the house. 9203 photos, 1192 members
- Vintage German Childrens Books - Alte deutsche Kinderbücher 272 photos, 104 members
- Bench Monday 4995 photos, 1758 members
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- J'aime les détails (I love details ) 17206 photos, 1320 members
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- Still Life Photography Selection (please read pool description) 8651 photos, 6942 members
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- Hannover Streetphotography 568 photos, 94 members
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- Fujifilm Instax Room 9753 photos, 2007 members
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- "Go to Your Room!" Kids Rooms at home 3720 photos, 1289 members
- I LOVE LINEN! 1197 photos, 670 members
- Eclectic Interiors 9468 photos, 1381 members
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- Shabby/Vintage Chic Decorating & Collecting 15140 photos, 1744 members
- IKEA Lovers 10525 photos, 4032 members
- The Art of the Display 2151 photos, 867 members
- Inspiration Boards 2669 photos, 3509 members
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- HAPPY'S HOMESTYLE DECORATION 630 photos, 388 members
- Collage for beginners (like me...) 8231 photos, 965 members
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Testimonials (6)
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samlovesherdog says:
"Holly, is an incredible blogger and designer. Everything she posts about is so beautiful and artful. When I saw a message from her in my inbox wanting to post about my art I was thrilled and so excited that she liked my work. I am so honored that she posted about it on Decor8. I hope she knows how inspiring she is."
9th March, 2008
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jmchodesigns says:
"This is a must see Blog. Holly really does her homework and is always searching for the best designs all over the world. This blog always inspires me!! Thank you Holly . Keep up the great work!!!!
Jacqueline"11th February, 2008
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G A I L E says:
"Holly is an inspiration to finding your inner spark and learning the talent of sharing this gift with others. Thanks Holly for being my inspiration! Over the short year of connecting through this amazing world of blogging, I'm grateful to find other like minded people who realize the power of sharing resources, I've learned so much and look forward to a new year of bringing ideas into fruition. Cheers and smiles your way!"
25th January, 2008
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Creature Comforts says:
"Holly... you are such a lovely person and a delight to "know"!
What a whirlwind of inspiration you provide us all with! Thank you so much for all of your hard work and you devotion to promoting indie businesses and artists!
xox
Ez"31st December, 2007
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paperbullet says:
"a constant source of inspiration!"
21st May, 2007
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moroccanmaryam says:
"Egad, how much do I love this girl, her blog, her photos, her spirit? Why far more than a few lines could ever hope to capture. ..."
27th February, 2007











