Friday, May 9, 2014

The one with the things I liked this week (66)

Days flew by this week and I can't believe weekend's almost here again. Reason for that might be that monday was a national holiday and I mostly stayed away from all things work related. We annually celebrate Liberation Day on may 5th, to mark the end of the occupation during World War II. Festivals are held at many places and a parade is held with veterans in the city of Wageningen. Part of the parade are old airplanes, of which many flew over my F & R's backyard (where I made some new friends as well), where we celebrated the liberation with a glass of champagne and some very tasty chocolates. I think it's great that we take a moment each year to celebrate and appreciate our freedom, the fact that we can speak our minds, and we live in a country where (most) people respect each other. 





Other than that, I came across a guy hidden in some green on a bikeride on my way to lunch with R & L. I did some window shopping after work, where I came across this truer than true quote: 'Life's too short to blend in'. I'm not quite sure if I like the last photo though. Not being in my twenties anymore might take some special 'tools' to fight gravity. At least I think the package looks good :-) I also like that this brand doesn't test on animals. I have high hopes that the mirror will tell me one of these days that I don't look a day over 18!




How was your week? Special plans for the weekend?

Thursday, May 8, 2014

The one with more links I like



Spend the next two minutes in top museums

Yes to this zucchini lime and pecan pie

How to cut cherry tomatoes

A (very) hungry raccoon

An Upworthy video worth watching

Who doesn't like watermelon wrapping paper (tutorial)?

A can of worms

I love these photo's

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

The one with a sunday in Zwolle

Last sunday we (mum + me) visited the city of Zwolle. I love these day long trips! They feel like mini holidays, and I am always surprised with how much beauty the Netherlands has to offer. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't say 'no' to a holiday abroad. Still lots of cities and countries on my list. A list that seems the get longer weekly, I see the most beautiful places through other people's blogs!
Our first stop of the day was Museum de Fundatie. For both of us it was our first visit. Built between 1838 and 1841, it first served as the Palace of Justice and later it accomodated the National Department for Town and Country Planning. After that, in 2005, it was converted into a museum. It was renovated in 2012 and the elliptically shaped structure was placed on the roof. The Museum named it 'the eye' or the 'cloud', but I prefer it's nickname, which is 'the egg'. It gives a great view over the old city. My fear of height almost kept me from taking some shots. I'm not a big fan of taking photo's of art in museum, but I really needed to take one of a painting by Dutch painter Carel Willink that shares a name with my mom: Wilma. 







After the museum, we wandered the small streets of Zwolle and ooh-ed and aah-ed over all the pretty houses. I was happy as a bird with a French fry, some of the houses were all pink and pretty! I have enough shots of doors to make a whole new post about them, but I think the amount of doors in this blog might be getting too much. Anyway, I did squeeze in some into this post...







We had mozzarella sandwiches for lunch, warmed up with a cup of tea, and started walking again. We found a lovely store that imports fine food products from European company's that are at least 100 years old. You can find French macarons, Russian tea and Italian cookies. Most of them packaged in beautifully designed tins, cans and paper boxes. We couldn't leave without taking some candy and tea. 




Hope your weekend was as good (maybe a bit warmer though) as mine was. Do you play tourist in your own country? Any museum visits worth mentioning? How about more doors? Yay or nay?

Friday, May 2, 2014

The one with the things I liked this week (65)


Did I ever tell you that I like chocolate?

Detail on the outside of a bakery

Beautiful tiles on a decayed building

A new month

Struggling with a King's Day treat (photo borrowed from my mom's blog)

Making some armcandy for summer

Adding a new notebook to the shop


Thursday, May 1, 2014

The one with more links I like



Jimmy Fallon's lip sync battle with Emma Stone

Abandoned malls

How to make your own fabric twine

Awesome dog portraits

Please let the sun shine, so I can make (and eat) these coconut pops

I love these stackable candle holders

This is my kind of salad

A sassy bracelet tutorial (in Dutch, but picture heavy)

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

The one with the hamsa bracelet DIY


Last sunday I wanted to make some quick and easy armcandy for summer. I've been eyeing pretty hamsa beads over at Atelier Luna for a while now and finally figured out what to do with them. This project is pretty easy, not time consuming at all, and very inexpensive (one bracelet costs about 1 euro) to make. I guess (and hope) the pictures are pretty much self explanatory. The hardest thing about this DIY was actually finding out how it's 'ingredients' are named in English. Of some of them, I don't even know their official Dutch names. Like the crimp covers, it took me about an hour of research to discover that a crimp cover, is named a crimp cover. Enough writing, let's do some crafting!


For one bracelet you'll need:
  • 1 eyepin
  • 1 crimp cover
  • 2 x 25 centimeters of elastic cord
  • 1 hamsa bead
  • 1 tiny bead to fit inside the hamsa
  • 2 pliers



Stick the pin in the hamsa and add the bead before sticking all the way through

use your pliers to make an eye on the other side of the pin as well

Attach one of the pieces of cord on one side



Do the same on the other side with the second piece of cord

Measure around your wrist and make a double knot


trim excess cord and cover the knots with the aforementioned crimp cover


Have you got a DIY project to share? Please scribble down the link in the comments, I'd love to see it. Or maybe a tasty recipe you tried out? DIY-ing always makes me hungry and I love a good recipe!

Monday, April 28, 2014

The one with King's Day

Last friday I wrote a bit about King's Day, that was celebrated last saturday. I skipped the flea market this year and I didn't feel like going to any of the party's. Together with my mom, I did a bit of shopping, we walked around town, had breakfast, and did some people watching from my balcony (enjoying a tompouce). It's tradition to wear orange, but because I don't have anything orange in my wardrobe, I decided to rock some orange nails for the occassion. We also watched some of the festivities on the television. I think the queen looked gorgeous. How was your weekend?






Friday, April 25, 2014

The one with the things I liked this week (64)


getting some vitamins

to compensate these.....

working on a new DIY project

a gorgeous rose and thrift finds: a kitschy souvenir from Greece and a postcard booklet from Versailles

This guy

Waiting for dinner on Easter sunday (which was cheese fondue)

New Dutch stamps, I don't really like orchids, but I do like how colourful these are


A couple of weeks ago I received an email from a lady over at Reader's Digest, asking me if they could use my sharpie plate DIY on their website. Yes please! It got featured with 5 other lovely DIY projects, that are 'unique and easy ideas' for Mother's Day gifts. Woo and hoo!

Tomorrow we'll be celebrating King's Day over here in the Netherlands. We celebrate the King's birthday, which is actually a day later, but because that's a sunday, it will be celebrated the day before. This national holiday includes concerts, flea markets, partying and wearing orange. It's tradition that the King visits two different cities on his birthday. What will you be doing this weekend? Hope you'll have fun!