December 10, 2014

Christmas wishlist.

It's that time of year again... Christmas is coming. I have to say, I get easily bored with winter. I'm always cold, freezing my ass of while waiting for the train to come, constantly with hair in my face because of the wind and my hat. But the holidays are what make this all worth while. All the pretty christmas lights, decorated trees, christmas fairs, hot cocoa everywhere and of course: presents! Here's what I put on my wishlist this year. I don't have that much to wish for. I'm spoiled, I already got it all.

December 3, 2014

November

1. View from my workplace // 2. Making dinner with the boyfriend // 3. ... and dessert to of course // 4. Going to 'de Boekenbeurs' (a book fair) // 5. And of course we couldn't come back empty handed // 6. Going to the movies to see Fury // 7. Making soup with the boyfriend this time // 8. Enjoying my bunny onesie // 9. Forgot my lip balm at my sister-in-law's place// 10. Going to wagamama: Chicken Katsu Curry! // 11. The boyfriend likes it as well // 12. And I cut of about 20cm of my hair. 

In November I also:
  • had a sleepover at my sister-in-law (see also number 9.) with my other sister-in-law. Due to the stupid (I really want to use another word here but I'm being polite) strikes I couldn't get to work. Fortunately, my dear sister-in-law lives in Antwerp during the week and she was nice enough to let me stay over. We had a lovely girls' night. 
  • started a new tradition with the boyfriend. As you may know, we are both taking a cooking class together and we're enjoying it very much. We both love cooking and so we started cooking meals every Sunday for my parents and ourselves. So far we made pasta with shrimp (see 2.), brownie (see 3.), mushroom soup (see 7.) and a lot of other dishes that are not pictured here such as: petit-beurre pie, salmon sates, patatas bravas, albondigas, different appetizers, risotto with mushrooms, ... . I'd love to share the recipes here one day but did you know that it's very hard to take food pictures in winter? I mean, I do my very best to post pretty pictures (which might not always be enough) but by the time I get home or when dinner's on the table it's dark out and there's no way that I can take pretty pictures. And in the weekends I'm just too busy to cook! So, I'm sorry that I haven't been posting any recipes. I'm trying to figure out a solution to photograph my food in lovely way but as I'm not the best photographer out there, it may take a while. I love posting recipes so I'm sure I'll come up with something ;-)

November 27, 2014

Thursday Tunes.

After a two month break: Thursday tunes are back!

November 19, 2014

Currently.



I've seen this posts on other blogs and always loved the concept, so I thought I'd give it a try myself.
So, I'm currently:

November 15, 2014

October.

These last couple of weeks have been very busy, especially the weekends. Which is why I didn't have time to write new posts. But I'm back and with a bit of delay, I'm here to show you what I've been upto in October:
1. Taking a lunch break with the Boyfriend: Fishburgers, njam, njam! // 2. Lisa Smolders at a local bar; had to check that out // 3. Breakfast at work... // 4. ... because it's customer service week and that deserves a cupcake! Homemade by the big boss! // 5. Watching ou Red Devils on a big screen at a friends' house // 6. Celebrating my sister in law's bithday too // 7. Eating out with my parents + bf: dessert time // 8. Lots of work! // 9. Home alone = cooking your own dinner // 10. Eating out with friends // 11. Meeting up with friends in Leuven; and we saw Bart Peeters // 12. We had lots of fun // 13. And I bought this supercute rabbit onesie // 14. Eating out with the boyfriend (lots of eating out this month) // 15. Crazy. Stupid. Love

November 1, 2014

Lisboa /2

As I've mentioned before, about a month ago, I went to Lisbon with my parents and boyfriend. And we had a blast. And I want to show it.
Ribeira das Naus

The second day, we went to Belém. If you ever go to Lisbon, never skip this part of town. It's not that close to the historic centre but it's definitely worth the tram ride. It's got the Torre de Belém, the Ponte de 25. Abril (a copy of the Golden Gate Bridge in SF) but most importantly... it's got the pasteis de Belém. Thé. Best. Pastries. I. Ever. Tasted.

October 11, 2014

Lisboa /1

I can't believe it's been more than two weeks that I've been to Lisbon. After two weeks of work, I already took my first days off and went to Lisbon with my parents and boyfriend. We lucked out with the weather (25+ °C) and enjoyed a beautiful city. As you can see from the pictures below:

Torre de Belém

October 7, 2014

September.

September's been a busy busy month. So busy that I forgot to take pictures. As you see:

1. I started working! // 2. Saw Get Ready perform (which was very nostalgic for me) // 3. Went to Pairi Daiza and saw the pandas // 4. AND came very very close to an elephant. Probably the closest I'll ever get! // 5. First (and last) time at a disco (La Rocca) // 6. Boyfriend letting me know he came home safely // 7. Later that week he found a lizard // 8. And we ended the month with great weather and ice cream!

September 27, 2014

Salmon wraps.

zalmwraps

As you may have noticed, I'm kind of struggling to find a new routine that works for me ever since I've been working. I might have taken on a little more than I can handle. The only free time I usually have is on Wednesday evening and all I want to do then is napping. But I'm trying to make it work! It might take some time to find a balance again but I promise I'll find it eventually.
Starting with one of my favorite appetizers; salmon and philadelphia bites. I don't really throw parties, but if I would, this would definitely be on the menu. It's quick, delicious and a little bit sophisticated (even if I say so myself). Want to know how to make these yummy little bites? Find out here ;)

September 23, 2014

August.

Wow. It's been a long long time since I've last been here. Since I've started working, I've been crazy busy. Not only do I work now, but I also take a French class, a cooking course ànd started doing yoga again. Don't get me wrong, I love being busy but sometimes it's nice to just lay in bed all day.
Anyway. With some delay, here's what I've been up to in August:
1. Watching a Clouseau performance // 2. Snapchatting the boyfriend on the train // 3. his respons // 4. Watching the sunset in Nieuwpoort // 5. Juice time @Wijnegem Shopping Center // 6. Watching another performance. This time of Coely @Jour Tibour // 7. Enrolled in a cooking class // 8. I PETTED A GIRAFFE! HIGHLIGHT OF MY SUMMER/LIFE // 9. Got a job and celebrated! // 10. saying goodbye to Leuven. I'll miss you. // 11. Last breakfast in Leuven + 'I found a job'-treat // 12. Reading // 13. Eating burgers @Burgerfolie // 14. moving my 'kotstuff' back home // 15. Late birthday diner.

August 25, 2014

Garlic bruscetta.

look bruscetta

Eén van mijn favoriete gerechten is tapas (in zoverre dat dat een gerecht is). Ik vind het geweldig dat je veel verschillende gerechten kan proberen, kan experimenteren met verschillende smaken en dat je toch voldaan bent achteraf. Ik bedoel, tapas is mijn soort van eten: veel keuze, kleinere porties maar nog altijd heerlijk. Natuurlijk heb ik een favoriete tapasrestaurant en één van de dingen die ik daar altijd bestel is dit: een bruscetta met look, tomaat en gerookte ham. Ik probeerde al vaak om het recept te kopiëren en het lukte me voor zo lang niet... tot nu! Ik denk dat ik vrij dichtbij het origineel ben gekomen en ik wou dat natuurlijk delen met de rset van de wereld. Dus check zeker het recept!

August 19, 2014

Job hunting: tips + my experience.

Real life has begun. As of three weeks ago, I'm officially unemployed. Which means, of course, that I have to look for a job. Such fun.

No really, I actually have a good time looking for a job. Probably because it's only been three weeks. Three months would be a whole other story! But it's not all rainbows and unicorns either, it can be pretty frustrating too. My main frustrations?
  • When a job description says you don't need experience and then you get turned down because you have no experience.
  • That apparently no one is willing to give you a shot to get experience. I mean, you've got to give me a chance to learn something.
  • That every freaking firm is looking for someone with experience.
  • Experience is not everything, people!
But anyway, I've learned a lot too. To not take things personally for example. I've sent my CV out to approximately 10 different companies (or even more) of which I have received no answer of 3 of them and got turned down by the other 7. Auwch. At first, I was like "okay, it's only one firm. Better luck next time". By the seventh e-mail I could barely restrain myself from not throwing my laptop against the wall. Just because I had such a low success rate, I started looking into things online and I have learned quite a few things. From online fora as well as from my own experience. So here are my best tips for anyone in the same boat as I am:

August 16, 2014

Italy /3.

After this post, I promise I'm done with holiday pictures (until I get back from Lisbon in September that is). So I hope you're ready for the last part of my Italy pictures.

August 13, 2014

Liebster Award.

Hey, want to hear the coolest thing ever? I got nominated for a Liebster award! Woop woop! The ones who have won this award a thousand times already must think I'm a huge dork (it's true, I am) but for a newbie like me it's an honor!
Okay, I'm sure everyone by now knows what a Liebster award is but because I'm so happy/enthusiastic (and a huge dork), I'm still going to explain  it anyway.
A Liebster Award is an award for bloggers with less than 200 followers (since I have only 10, I definitely meet that criteria). You get the award from another blogger, in my case it was Sandra (thank you!) and you pass it on to 11 other bloggers. Sort of like the principle of a chain letter. "The rules" state that you answer the 11 questions of the one who has nominated you (see below) and that you make 11 questions for your own nominees. You also have to link back to the person who nominated you, so go visit Sandra's blog!
Pretty clear, right? Okay, ready? Set. Go!

My answers

  1. What's the biggest compliment you ever got?
    Immediately a tough one! Uhm, the biggest compliment I ever got probably is that I did a good job on my literature study with my thesis. It felt good knowing that I hadn't been working my ass off all year for nothing. Plus, I love to write and it felt like a compliment for my writing skills as well.
  2. Why did you start blogging? What do you love the most?
    As I said, I love to write. That's probably the main reason I started in the first place. But what I love about blogging is that it's the perfect combination of lots of different "passions". I'm able to combine cooking, DIY-ing, photographing, traveling, music, ... into one project. I don't have that many followers but it's okay. This blog is about my personal life and I get that not everyone is interested in knowing what I had for lunch yesterday. I just hope that some people have a laugh at my silly texts every now and then and I'm grateful for the people who think my life is interesting enough to keep track off. So thank you, dear 10 followers!
  3. What are your favorite beauty products?
    I don't really have favorite beauty products. I do use make-up daily but I switch it up regularly. I do love my current day cream from Garnier and I'm pretty pleased about my waterproof eyeliner (which after a swim in the swimming pool actually turned out to be kind of waterproof) from Rimmel. 
  4. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
    As far as character goes, I'm pretty content with myself... which annoys the Boyfriend like crazy because he can't guilt me into doing something. Whenever he says "you're so self-centered, can't you do anything for me?" I'm like "Yes, I'm self-centered, you're completely right" and we're done arguing. But of course, nobody is perfect and if I could change something about myself it would probably be the selfishness. Being an only child I never really had to take other people's opinions in mind and it has taken its toll. I'm working on it but it's not always easy.
    As far as looks go though, there are thousands of things I would love to change (as most women, I guess). But there is one big thing that I hate about my body: stretch marks! I don't know how because I'm not thàt fat but I'm covered with them. I hate them so much and there's nothing I can do to get rid of them. They're like scars.
  5. Who is your (fashion) role model? Who do you look up to?
    I don't really have fashion role models. I just wear what I like and if it's not fashionable, too bad. But if I had to chose one, it would be Marilyn Monroe. Timeless beauty.
  6. What's your favorite quote?
    I'd go for something Marilyn Monroe once said: "I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.".
    Because it's true.
  7. What's always in your purse?
    Besides my phone and my wallet? Uhm. Hand sanitizer and hair elastics.  And most of the time chewing gum.
  8. What's your last bad buy?
    A cute little dress I'm never going to wear (I think).
  9. What's your favorite drink?
    Nonalcoholic: Fanta
    Alcoholic: (strawberry) Mojito
  10. What do you still want to learn (language, hobby, ...)?
    How much time do you've got? There's soooo much I still want to learn. This year I'm planning on taking a course in French, in cooking and I want to start doing yoga again. But I also want to learn more about photography, how to use Photoshop, to play the guitar again, sewing, ... .
  11. What does your ideal Sunday look like?
    Since I normally work on Sunday, my ideal Sunday is one without work. Sleeping in, having a royal breakfast/brunch. Relax in the sun, go for a bike ride and a picnic or a drink. Chilling with the boyfriend. Or a rainy Sunday spent cuddling under a blanket and watching Disney movies sounds great too!

My questions

  1. What do you (still) want to accomplish with your blog?
  2. What's the best thing about blogging for you?
  3. What's your favorite music?
  4. Which tips and tricks do you have share with other bloggers? What are the biggest blogging do's and don't according to you?
  5. What's your favorite place in the whole wide world?
  6. Which item/category/series of your blog do you love the most? What are you most proud of?
  7. What are you looking forward to in the coming year?
  8. What would be your ideal vacation? What's your dream destination?
  9. Who is your blogging role model?
  10. What's your favorite meal?
  11. What's your favorite jewelry accessory?

And the nominees are...

As you can see I had a hard time finding 11 blogs under 200 followers and who hadn't been nominated in the past year (I didn't want to harass people with this questionnaire again) so I stuck to 6 blogs I really like.

August 9, 2014

Chocolate Chip Cookie (Dough) pie.

cookie dough taart
Chocolate chip cookies for the win! I love me some chocolate chip cookie anything, so when I saw this recipe for a chocolate chip cookie PIE (say whaaaat?!), I couldn't resist. Besides, I've planned a date with some of my friends to celebrate my birthday (I made this a while back) and I have to treat them with something, right? I made my own version of the original recipe (as always; I didn't have everything and was too lazy to go to the store) but mine looks pretty good too, no? Anyway, I'm sure by now you're drooling all over this pie and you're dying to find out how to make it. It's up to you to choose which recipe you like better. If you prefer mine, you'll find it after the break ;)

August 6, 2014

July.

Here's what I've been upto this month. I tried to tone down the Italy-pictures. You've probably seen enough of those in my Italy-posts already (and there's more to come!).
1. I graduated! And took a picture with the head of university (he's pretty famous in Belgium) // 2. Then I went to Italy and saw the Ponte Vecchio // 3. ... ate some pizza // 4. ... tested the ice cream // 5. ... saw some art // 6. and made some amazing, funny, sweet new friends // 7. I also saw these cool masks in San Gimignano // 8. And when I came back home I had lots of catching up to do (500+ blog posts to read: CHECK) // 9. I reached 10 followers (milestone; maybe a lame one but I couldn't be happier) // 10. Sfinks Festival // 11. Went to Antwerp for some fun // 12. and discovered new places
// 13. AND I went to Antwerp for business: the job hunt has begun! // 14. I still love the sight of the grand station in Antwerp // 15. And I've met a dinosaur there too!

August 3, 2014

Italy /2

Here's part two of my (and my travelmates') collection of holiday snapshots. We went hiking in the mountains for three days (not exactly my idea of fun, but I survived -- barely) and afterwards we went on to visit different historic cities: Lucca, Pisa, Firenze/Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, ... .

July 31, 2014

Thursday Tunes.

A few songs that remind my of my Italian holiday. I'm homesick already.

July 28, 2014

Chocolate covered strawberry popsicles.

aardbei-ijsjes met chocolade
It's actually been hot these last couple of days! Okay, today it started raining and it looks like it will continue to rain for a little while longer (gotta love Belgian weather) but when I was preparing for this post it was hot. Trust me. So anyway, I needed to cool down and my friends just recently bought me new popsicle molds. Add 1 and 1 together and you see where I'm going with this. Strawberry being my favorite summer fruit and chocolate being great with everything (especially strawberries), I didn't need to think long about getting a recipe together. Did I get your interest? GOOD! Behind the break, you'll find the (super simple) recipe. Only 3 ingredients needed!

July 25, 2014

Italy /1

Hello again! I'm back from my trip to Italy (insert sad face) and I still feel like I'm on 'vacation mode' while in fact I have lots of things to do to prepare for real life (ànd I have to read 500+ blog posts -- whaaaat?). Oh yes, the job hunt begins. More about that later. Right now, all I want to talk about is my amazing vacation in Italy. The past 2 weeks were the best. I've made new friends, discovered new recipes (which I'll try to replicate later) and tried new things. Oh Italy, I miss you already. Anyway, I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures of this past holiday with you. Starting with part one today: here we go!

July 21, 2014

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.

havermoutkoekjes
So recently, I've discovered oatmeal. Or better yet, my mom has re-discovered oatmeal and introduced me to it. Although I haven't tried it as breakfast yet, it doesn't really look too appetising to me. But that doesn't stop me from trying it in other recipes! As you may remember, I've already tried a rhubarb and strawberry crumble and these oatmeal blinis. I've heard a lot about oatmeal cookies and voila, I gave that a try too! Even if I say so myself; it was quite good! And easy! Cooking time aside, it took me like 10 minutes to make the dough for these cookies. If you want to try it too, you'll find the recipe after the break.

July 16, 2014

DIY Garden markers.

Last year, I already told you about our vegetable garden. We absolutely love this little garden and the Boyfriend and I have come up with a pretty good working schedule: he does all the dirty work and I do whatever I'm in the mood for :D. Okay, I might not be the perfect gardener but I am pretty good with a painting brush and you need to know where you've sowed the carrots and the beans too. So I promised the Boyfriend that I would take care of the garden markers while he does all the rest. What I've come up with is pretty basic but very clear, I think. And what you'll need to do to make these is pretty simple too.

July 12, 2014

Mojito.

mojito
I may be in Italy right now - hopefully enjoying the sun - that doesn't mean I leave you guys hanging ;) . Like I said, I'm hoping I'm enjoying the sun right now and what's better than relaxing in the sun with a good magazine in one hand... and a cocktail in the other. Today I share my recipe for my alltime favourite cocktail: the mojito! Everyone has his/her own recipe for it, I guess. At least, whenever I order it in different bars, it's never the same. It took me a while too to find the perfect mix between sour and sweet and the freshness of the mint. So after many years perfecting my own recipe, I came up with something that's exactly how I like it: very sweet (I have the biggest sweet tooth) but still fresh!

July 2, 2014

June.

This is what my month has been like. You'll probably notice a few football/soccer (whatever you like to call it, I personally call it 'sjotten') pictures in there. I always thought hell would freeze over before I would cheer on any football team but look at me: our national team's number 1 fan!
1. The weather has been great to us // 2. Deciding on which outfits to bring to Italy // 3. Celebrated my birthday with a trip to Antwerp and found all these birthday cards in UO // 4. Also celebrated the end of my internship // 5. Birthday cake // 6. Studying // 7. Reading to relax // 8. Walking through Leuven with the Boyfriend to one of our favourite places // 9. Sinksenfoor // 10. Go, Belgium, go! // 11. More studying // 12. Lighting a candle for our national football team... // 13. ... which worked! WE WON !! // 14. Nail polish // 15. Went to a Rolling Stones Concert // 16. I won an app! For the first time ever I actually won something!!

June 26, 2014

Thusday Tunes.

Cheering on our Red Devils tonight!

June 17, 2014

Oatmeal blini.

Long time, no see! I've been studying these last couple of weeks ànd working hard finishing up my internship so I've hardly had the time to write (as you may have noticed). Between two chapters, I thought I'd make some time to make a proper lunch - really important while studying - and I immediately took some pictures to break the silence over here. 

To be honest, I have no idea what blini's are exactly. I saw someone make this dish on television and it looked good so I gave it a try. Now it's one of my favorite go to quick and easy lunch recipes (when it's actually meant to be breakfast). The main ingredients are an egg, milk and oatmeal. The rest you can add to your own taste. But I'll tell you everything about it after the break.

June 9, 2014

23 before 24 list

Tomorrow, I'll be turning 23. It seems like slowly I'm becoming a grown-up. This year is probably going to be a big year for me too. I (hopefully) will quit studying and have to find a job and everything. So weird. But I'll deal with it when it gets here. First of all, I wanted to share my goals for this year, so here we go:
 

June 7, 2014

May.

1. Poffertjes // 2. Being crazy (again) // 3. Bought this really cool toy camera after seeing it here // 4. I loved this old mural.. It was advertising for a club, I guess // 5. Oreo magnums? How could I not know these exist?! // 6. Favorite Red Devil! // 7. Studying on the bus // 8. Going to Scherpenheuvel for the boyfriend's grandparents 55th anniversary. // 9. Leuven Skyline // 10. Date night // 11. The boyfriend's got a store named after him ;D // 12. I love Leuven.. I'm going to miss it sooooo much! // 13. Life through my sunglasses // 14. Chocolate muffin as dinner // 15. Again: Leuven // 16. Celebrated our 3 year anniversary with le BF.

June 3, 2014

22 before 23: recap.

My birthday's in a week and I'm planning on making list of goals to achieve before my next birthday, like I did last year. But before I'll let you see what's on that list, I thought I first make a recap of last year's list. If you haven't read it yet, you can find my 22 before 23 list here (or below).

And well, this is kind of awkward... I didn't really achieve that much in the past year. Of the 22 goals I've set for myself, I only realised about 8 or 9 of them... And some of them were very easy to achieve. But let's have a look: 

May 29, 2014

Thursday Tunes

Just some songs that I've been playing on those long bus/ train rides I've been taking lately.

May 20, 2014

3 year anniversary.


Today, the Boyfriend and I celebrate our 3 year anniversary (the pictures and title kind of gave it away, didn't they?). So be prepared to read a corny post. Well... Actually, I don't have that much to say except that I love him and blablabla... But he knows all of that... and I'm guessing you don't really want to know so I'm not going to dwell on that any longer.
It's just that 3 years ago, I would have never guessed/dreamed of still being with him today. Certainly when I think about the fact that 3 and a half years ago I couldn't even stand him. This ladykiller with his smooth talk and his enervating arrogance. And look at us now. He even stopped smoking for me. Who could have known that behind that "tough guy" there was a funny, sweet boy who was actually perfect for me?
- I didn't... but luckily, I figured it out.

Well, guess I just got corny in the end! Sorry about that ;)

May 8, 2014

Things I'm loving lately

What I love about blogs is that you are able to discover what other people like and in doing so you might discover something you really like. That's probably why I love the blog features where links are shared the most. And then it hit me: I never actually shared the things I like myself. So here it is: a few things I've been loving lately, maybe you will too!


1. I have to take a road trip through America one day.
2. Love this hair style! Never thought of using bobby pins that way.
3. Cookie dough AND brownies? Best idea EVER!
4. Had a good laugh with this article about how to piss of a Belgian. So true!
5. Strawberry kiwi margarita? Count me in!
6. Sugar Scrub Cubes. Genious.
7. This post about mont juïc got me all in the mood to go to Barcelona again.
8. Edible flowers ice cubes. So so pretty!

May 1, 2014

April.

It's time for my favorite series again. I love looking back on what I've done in the past month. I hope you do too!

P.S.: I'm sorry I haven't been around lately, I've been crazy busy with school and it work just keeps piling up!

1. Made some friends during my run // 2. I love him so much // 3. Sunny days are the best // 4. Still craving the bagels from Jackies // 5. School work; again // 6. Hanging brochette // 7. Looking forward to our trip to Lisbon // 8. Coin dozer: my guilty pleasure // 9. Seeing some birds at the flea market in Nijlen // 10. Working in the garden // 11. Taking the train to Leuven // 12. I'm in love with this new restaurant: La cucaracha in Leuven: Best Mexican Food Ever! // 13. My cute towel // 14. Watching Once Upon A Time

April 27, 2014

Homemade Lemonade.

I love these sunny spring days. It makes me long for summer. And because sometimes I just can't wait for summer to get here, I bring a little summer into my home. This homemade lemonade is exactly the way to do just that. It's the perfect drink to make the transition from spring to summer: refreshing but still sweet and almost as good as my strawberry lemonade (strawberries beat anything in my opinion). The only thing I can say is to toss that storebought lemonade asight and try this homemade version. I promise you won't regret it.

April 18, 2014

Crab salad.

I actually have no idea if I translated the title well. But anyway:
This crab salad is a favourite here at our house. We used to buy this at the supermarket until my mom realised we could easily make this ourselves. So she started experimenting. Weirdly enough, whenever my mom experiments with something it turns out good from the first try. That NEVER happens to me, there's always something wrong with my first try - and usually the second too. Anyway, I thought I'd share our family recipe in case there's anyone out there who's tired of always eating cheese with their slice of bread. Because I sure am! And besides, doesn't this dish look perfect for spring with the bright colors?

April 14, 2014

DIY Body scrub

As you can see from the lid: I'm a Disney fan! -- didn't have any other containers to store it in

We've been getting a lot of sunshine lately and I've been loving it. Although I haven't done it myself this year, I've seen lots of people walking around barelegged. I'm lazy, I don't like to shave my legs and make them look nice. On top of that I have quite a pale skin, which makes my legs look like milk bottles. Anyway, I love sun and warm weather and I can't keep running around in my skinny jeans all year so I thought it's time for a make over. Oh yes, I don't like to do all that lady business-stuff but when I do, I do it all the way. I make a day out of it. So; I got shaving cream and a razor, I got lots of body milk and butter (thanks to the lovely presents of the Boyfriend) and I also got the best shower gel (also thanks to the Boyfriend!). What didn't I have? A body scrub. But hey, no biggie! I happen to have seen a super simple DIY for this on the Internet. So let's do this!

April 8, 2014

Frozen Hot Chocolate.

Apparently frozen hot chocolate is a thing. I didn't know until recently, but hey, I'll go along with it. I'll have to admit that I thought it was a little strange at first. The name itself is already weird to me: frozen hot chocolate. yeah right, it's one or the other, matey! (Yeah, I said matey!). Anyway, if I wanted to have cold chocolate milk, I'd just drink Cécémel! But on the other hand, how bad can frozen hot chocolate be? So I thought I'd give it a try. And so I did. And it's waaaaay better than Cécémel (and I already love Cécémel a lot). This tastes really really chocolate-y, what can be bad about that? If you would want to give it a try, you can find the recipe below:

April 5, 2014

March.

1. Breakfast @Dijk34 // 2. Day out in Antwerp @Coffee&Vinyl // 3. Snow White at carnival // 4. Trying rose hip tea for the first time // 5. First ice cream of the year: banana split! // 6. The weather is actually good. Whaaaaat?! // 7. Going out with friends // 8. Oatmeal blinis // 9. Strawberry mojito @girlsnight // 10. View from Leuven // 11. Bored // 12. Planted tomatoes // 13. Enjoying the sun // 14. GOING TO SEE THE ROLLING STONES IN JUNE! // 15. New shoes // 16. Being crazy #100happydays


April 2, 2014

Pastry with chicken + bacon

I don't think I've ever mentioned this, or maybe I have, I don't know, but my all time favorite chef is Nigella Lawson. The reason is pretty simple: she doesn't look at how much calories there are in a dish. So yes, you might get quite fat making all her recipes, but oh my... They are SO SO SO good! I'm not sure if this one in particular is very fatty, but it's really good and it looks so fun to make. This recipe is inspired by this dish of Nigella, but I adjusted it a little bit and changed a few things to my own taste. How I did that, you can find out below. The most fun about this dish is cracking the top open when the pastry is baked. Such fun, such fun!

March 30, 2014

Blue Sprite cocktail.

Sprite is my second favorite soda drink, I guess (Fanta is my number one! Mmm.. Fanta!). So I'm not really too excited to use it in cocktails because if it doesn't turn out the way I wanted to, I just wasted perfectly good and delicious Sprite. If you think that's weird, I don't blame you but you don't have a clue of how many of my little 'experiments' epically fail (A. LOT!). But a while ago, at a friends housewarming party (so crazy I have friends that already moved in together), I tried this cocktail and was immediately hooked. So before I got my buzz on, I made sure I had the recipe so I could try this myself at home. With all of the sun we've been getting lately (oh, I love sunny days), I've been getting in my cocktail mood and because I love crazy colored cocktails, I thought it was time for this guy.

March 22, 2014

Cake pops.

I doubted if I would do this post because I'm not really into cakepops. Cupcakes are more my thing: there's more to eat but they're still easy to take with you (on the train for example... I always get hungry on the train). But a few months ago, my parents bought me a cake pop machine - they didn't know what to get me anymore... I'm spoiled: I got everything! Now I got this machine standing here, so I decided to use it too! Cake pops are pretty messy with all the chocolate and if you're anything like me, I recommend you NOT to wear your best clothes... I litterally got chocolate every-where!

March 19, 2014

DIY Painted flower pots.

Between preparing for lessons, giving them and taking them, I found some time to do a DIY that I've been wanting to do since last summer. I saw lots of people experimenting with terra cotta pots and I loved all projects. So I decided to make my own. I chose to paint the pots, since that looked easier and I didn't have any cool fabric lying around. And well, does this really need an explanation? I just painted the pots and drew on whatever I wanted! You can do the same, you'll see: easypeasy. I just used some paint sample-thingies that I bought at a DIY-store (which cost about €2) and they were actually ment to paint walls but it worked fine!
I'm really in love with my new flower pots, they're just so much prettier than your standard terra cotta pot.

March 11, 2014

Carnival Parade!

As I promised earlier: pictures of our carnival parade. It doesn't look like much, I know. We're just a small town, we don't really have the funds for big and bold parade wagons, I guess. But the atmosphere is like no other ;).

March 9, 2014

Carnival.

Last week, it was that time of year again! It's the time when everyone starts looking for great costumes and let's him or herself go because it's carnival! YESSSS. I can understand that this sounds weird to a lot of people reading this. In most towns, carnival isn't a big deal but here in Herenthout it's something a lot of people have been looking forward to for a very long time. Why, you ask? Well... In Belgium, there are several towns/cities that have a parade or a tradition that has something to do with carnival (the best known city is probably Aalst). As does Herenthout! But you see, the special thing about Herenthout is that we have the oldest parade of Belgium. YES, WE DO! So, Aalst may have a prettier/better/bigger/better known parade, we're older, we're 122 years old! And we take pride in it! To celebrate this event we of course have our parade on Sundays, on Monday there's a big costume-themed party for adults and on Tuesday we do the same thing but for the little ones. As you might have suspected from the picture above, I went to the costumed party on Monday (I was Snow White, the Boyfriend was a dwarf). The funny thing about this is that - as you may have noticed - the Boyfriend is quite tall... Okay, very tall. To solve this problem we just told people that underneath his costume, 7 dwarfs were sitting on top of each other. You can find more pictures below! Today's the last day the parade goes through town and the weather looks promising so I'll try to get some snapshots. Then you'll know what I'm talking about ;)

March 5, 2014

Vanilla waffles.

Okay, so I might be addicted to cookies, waffles and anything snack-related. I eat them all day long (and then get surprised when I gain weight). Snacking is my weakness when it comes to dieting and stuff - not that I do diets, I'm a 'if-I-like-it-I'll-eat-it' kind of girl. On the rare occasions that I do try (hello, new year's resolutions), I fail after two days because I couldn't resist the cookies. And these vanilla waffles are definetely on that same list. The fact that they're pretty fast and easy to make doesn't help either and as I'm typing this post, a genious idea just came to mind: to dip these little waffles in chocolate... Sounds delicious, don't you think? I might try that later and I promise I'll let you know how that turns out (probably with everything covered in chocolate except the waffles). But don't worry, these guys are prettty good without the chocolate too!

March 2, 2014

February.

1. Made my own bookmarks with washi tape and paperclips // 2. Beautiful scenry // 3. Preparing for the walk // 4. Wow! // 5. Walking crew // 6. Tapas! nom nom.. // 7. The Boyfriend's Christmas Present FINALLY arrived! // 8. Made my heart tights // 9. Watching Girls + coffee // 10. Fish burger @ Domus // 11. Went out for a run.. I'm not that good, I know.. I'm just so slow // 12. Going out for a bite with a coupon for Flair Magazine // 13. Valentine's Day // 14. Present from the Boyfriend: Vanilla syrup // 15. Jimmy, the Boyfriend's niece's cat (haha, too complicated?) // 16. Checking out blogs with a cup of coffee (with my new vanilla syrup of course)

February 27, 2014

Thursday Tunes.

Favorite songs of the moment:

February 23, 2014

First Fisheye Photos

Last year, the Boyfriend got me a Fish eye camera for Christmas. It's hard to believe that it took an entire year to finish the role of film but a year later, the photos are finally developed. It's nice in a way to look back on these pictures a year later. All those memories. I already bought a new role of film to start snapping pictures again and I can't wait to get them developed as well! Here are some of the best pictures. A lot of them didn't turn out to be very good but that's okay. That gives me another reason to practise more!

February 19, 2014

Poffertjes.

Poffertjes are a typical Dutch recipe but I thought I would give it a try. After all, the Netherlands aren't that far away. I don't know how to translate 'poffertjes' that's just how it's called here but in fact these are mini pancakes. They taste a little different than pancakes but I think these are better. You would normally use a special pan to bake these but since I'm not Dutch, I don't have this just lying around and so I experimented with the cakepop machine I got earlier this year. The mini pancakes were a bit smaller than the normal size but the taste was soooo good! You can find the recipe below:

February 16, 2014

Valentine's Day.

I think this might be the first year the Boyfriend and I did anything special for Valentine's Day. Here in Belgium it's not a huge thing like it is in other countries, I guess. It's not like in the movies... or it wasn't anyway. Because suddenly it seems like all kinds of American traditions have found their way here. Halloween, Valentine's Day, wedding traditions, ... we're all going along with it. Anyway, Valentine's Day is a thing here now, so the Boyfriend and I celebrated it. Because every reason to eat out is a good one in our opinion. We went to this delicious little tapas bar in the neighbourhood and had such a nice time. The food was amazing too. I mean, that has to be the best chicken I ever ate! I believe I could become a real fan of this new tradition. I definitely could.

P.S. I got my grades that day too. They were good!

February 13, 2014

Green cocktail.

So, originally I had planned to make another cocktail for this post but when I wanted to start, I realised I hadn't all of the ingredients in house. And well, it was a rainy day, I don't have a driver's licence and I didn't feel like riding my bike through the rain so I just whipped something up and it was suprisingly good. I'm not saying this is the best cocktail I ever had (mojito will always be my favorite) but it holds up! The boyfriend and I always love a good cocktail so this might be perfect for our next cocktail night! Curious of what's in it? Find out below!

February 10, 2014

Shrimp Pasta.

Well, after the tights, I thought I could stick to the Valentine's day theme. How does a shrimp pasta fit in a Valentine's Day themed post, you ask? Well, that's actually very simple. It's my Valentine's favorite dish (or at least his favorite dish that I can cook). The Boyfriend is absolutely crazy about this pasta and the best thing is, it's sooooo easy to make. The only hard thing about it is that you have to peel all the shrimp and remove their intestines. The rest is very very simple and quick!

February 6, 2014

Heart tights.

Since Valentine's Day is approaching, I thought it would be okay if I got a little corny. I'm normally not really into heart shaped things or anything but it is almost Valentine's Day and well.. I just got caught up, I guess. I wanted to DIY some tights for quite some time but I didn't really know what figure I wanted to put on the knee. So basically, this gave me the perfect excuse to put a heart on it. You want to know how to do it? Find out below:

February 2, 2014

January.

1. First iPhone photo I ever took! // 2. Saying goodbye to the christmas tree // 3. Boyfriend happy with his Christmas gifts // 4. Study break! // 5. Study nook // 6. Ordered the cutest iPhone case // 7. Studying like a pro // 8. Some of the gifts I got for Christmas // 9. Making cupcakes // 10. Testing out that selfiecam // 11.  Cafe Latte Love // 12. Healthy lunch break // 13. Cocktails @ Joker Travel (we're going to Italy this year, WOOP WOOP!) // 14. Going to the movies to see Marina // 15. Making preparation for my internship (I start on wednesday) // 16. Wearing my happy pants!