Amsterdam

via Piet Musterd

Lennert and I are off to Amsterdam, the Netherlands and I'm so excited! We leave in a couple of minutes but I just wanted to wish you all a happy, spooky halloween! I'll be back tuesday night and I hope to see you wednesday with a post about all our adventures. 

If you know some great spots in Amsterdam, please let me know in the comments. Maybe if I look as sweet as possible Lennert will allow me to catch up with you on his Iphone ; )

The blonde lost girl

Once upon a time somewhere far away there was a blonde girl lost in the woods. She was gone astray after she fled from her stepmother who wanted to kill her. And now she was alone, no life in sight. She was so hungry and craving for some water... But was this real? Did she really saw in all these darkness something red sparkle, an apple? Yes, when she picked it up from the ground she couldn't feel happier anymore. Her hands were holding the most precious and beautiful apple she had ever seen. Somewhere in her was holding her against taking a bite from it. But what could be wrong with this fruit? Never minde, she thought, and took a big bite from it. 

But what happened to her? When she bit into the fruit, she fell to the ground in a faint: the effect of the terrible poison left her lifeless. In her last moment of consciousness, the girl saw her now chuckling wicked stepmother appear from behind a tree... The end.

I really couldn't continue with ignoring the fact that the whole blogosphere is totally into Halloween. So here was my little halloween post, I hope you liked it. What are your plans with halloween? Lennert and I are thinking about making a quick trip to Amsterdam.

Hot tips to enjoy fall

via A white straw

Fall has started already here on the northern hemisphere. Even though it means the end of summer, I love fall. Here are my tips to enjoy fall to the fullest:

drink lots of tea and hot beverages. Fall is a great time for many kind of beverages. A warm apple cider, hot chocolate, a relaxing cup of tea and I can go on for hours.

smell the fresh air. Wear a comfortable knitted scarf and some gloves and go outside. Spend lots of time outdoors and enjoy the crisp and clear air, and the warm sun on your skin.

play with the leaves. Be aware of the child in you and have fun playing with the fallen leaves. Gather lots and lots of leaves and then throw them over your head. It's also fun taking pictures with your friends of it.

buy some new stationary. The days can become too cold to spend much time outside so you can best ensure that you feel yourself home. I really love snuffling in all those Etsy shops. You'll get something unique and pretty and support someone who is following their dream!

Take fall inside with you. Every season had its benefits and in my opinion are all the beautiful colors of fall great decoration objects. Bring some branches with colorful leaves on the table and lighten your house with your own carved pumpkins! 

read great novels. There's is nothing more relaxing than taking some me-time. Isolate yourself from the world outside and start reading a good book. 

see some new films. When I think of autumn, I think of Halloween. So rent some old, scary favorites, make some pop corn and shiver under a blanket!

visit a museum. To visit a new exhibition is a great way to spend those fall afternoons. Lennert and I went a while ago to a musical based on the film The fearless Vampire killers of Roman Polanski from 1967. That was a great experience so I really recommend you to do some cultural activities.

learn something new. Fall is school time, and even though your are not in school anymore, spend those longer nights on learning something you have always wanted to learn. So grab those old cookbooks from the dust and start making the best pastries ever made!

plan the next summer. I think is really a bad habbit of mine. The new season isn't started yet or I am planning and dreaming my next trip. But it gives me an instant boots when I am totally done with all the coldness and darkness.

And many more. What are your best tips to enjoy fall?

A weekend happy list

via Show me the fairy dust

Don't you love this picture too? It makes me smile because it reminds me there are so many reasons to be happy. In my opinion is it truth that the little things in life bring us the greatest happiness. We have to keep that in mind and that's the reason I want to start this weekend with sharing a little happy list. I would love to hear the things that put a smile on your face! Have a great weekend.

1. when you can feel the warm sun on your skin on a cold day.
2. girls nights when I laugh so hard my tummy hurts
3. how my boyfriend always opens the door for me
4. love sessions with my cat when I get home from school
5. sharing a smile with a stranger
6. orange juice through a straw
7. getting packages in the mail
8. the satisfaction of reading the last page in a really good book
9. the look on my happy boyfriend's face when I'am clumsy
10. watching the sun through sleeves of trees

Little crush: fairytales

I remember the big box full of little sleeptime stories when I was younger. I remember that I was always nagging my parent for one last story after already the second "last" story. And when the lights shut down I always imagined how my fairytale would be: a little blonde princess living in a castle covered with ivy and roses, waiting for her prince to come along.

via Dead march

If I think a bit about the content of all those fairytales you can learn a lot from them. Pocahontas overcame a huge cultural difference and distance, but true love will conquer everything. The little mermaid could wait and cry until her prince charming would come along, but she fought for him. And maybe this one is the best: Cinderella is proof that a new pair of shoes can change your life ; )

Let's remember that all fairytales learn us that once upon a time can happen anytime. I still remember how young and lack of confidence I was when I met my prince charming, he was so beautiful and I really thought he was totally out of my leage. But look now, still happy together.

Did you love all those fairytales too, and still do like me?

Can we pretend that airplanes are like shooting stars

A bottle of wine for keeping us warm. A not so healthy dinner but quick to make. Our balcony. A good talk. And a beautiful sky. These were the ingredients of yesterday evening. Lennert and I enjoyed dinner on the balcony and watched the sun going down, philosophizing about everything and nothing. Did you now that when the lines airplanes produce stay for a long time it means the weather will stay good. But if  they vanish very quickly you can expect storm. Lennert told me and I really didn't know. 

We have been having the best autumn weather lately. I remember last year, October, was so rainy and freezing cold. This whole week has been 18°C, sunshine and the perfect breeze. And for the rest of the week, we're supposed to keep the sun shining bright. So maybe Lennert is really right about the airplanes! But it still stays sad to say goodbye to summer, don't you think so? It's so crazy to dwell on the idea they are only three more months left this year! It went by so quickly. Well let's make the best of it and start with more nights like this!

Black kitten

I think you won't be surprised if I tell you that I am a real cat lover. Therefore I am quite sad by what I have seen today. I had a very busy day. Normally I always have a one and a half break between my two classes, but today it only was a half-hour break. That gives me almost no time to go back and forth to my apartment for lunch. So I came home, gave Coco a hug and ate quickly some bread. Got all my things back together and ran to get my tram.

The tram was waiting at a red light and as usual I stared ahead, hoping the light would jump quickly back to green. And then it happened. Suddenly I saw something move in the bushes next to the tramway: a little black kitten. My heart skipped a beat. Where did he came from? Where should he go? Was he missing? Can I get out this tram, take him to my place and search his boss? But the train was starting again to move, and it seemed that I should forget the cat. But I couldn't. That trembling little body, scared of what was happening around him... I had to help!

I walked back to where I saw him last. Hoping that nothing had happened to him. I didn't see him. I searched in the near bushes, maybe he had hidden in there. But he was nowhere in sight. I walked gutted back to my apartment, sad that I could not find and could not help him. Went to bed and hugged Coco, my spoiled kitten. I cann't imagine what I would do when I lost him. And I can only hope that the little black kitten will find his boss back or will be find and loved by his new one. I wish you the best, little black kitten.

A nighttime barbecue

via Jordan Ferney

I am so lucky that my apartment has two little balconies, they are made in a way that I can always enjoy the sun on one balcony at the time. They are very small, but big enough to have a little barbecue. And that was our plan for yesterday. They announced that it would be one of the last sunny days of the year and my friends and I wanted to make the best of it by having the last late-night barbecue of this year. The sun didn't show up, but we had a blast. So much fun that we decided that this wasn't the last barbecue, but the first autumn barbecue.

I feel honored to tell you I've been wiggled by the lovely Blair of Wild and precious. Check out her wonderful blog full of inspiration.

note: Maybe you already noticed but I added a make a wish button, it would make me so happy to see my button on your lovely blog. Don't forget to let me know so I can return the favor!

My precious

In a previous post they asked if Coco would also come around on this blog and OF COURSE he will! My eye apple is so important to me that it would be a shame if I didn't let you see him from time to time. Here are some pictures of him, playing with his favorite and especially damaged mouse. I just can't believe that this cat is the same one like the small, shy baby cat I bought in the beginning of this year! I am so proud.

Winter city break

one year ago in Barcelona

Me and my boyfriend decided to take a little get away in November, but we are having trouble choosing a destination as we want a little bit of everything. St Petersburg, Madrid, Lisbon, Prague, Budapest and Vienna are all beautiful cities who stand on my want-to-visit-asap list. But which one to choose, everything has his pros and contras in November.

So my question to you: Which city would you choose for your fun-romantic-culture weekend?