Today ...

Let it snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

The first snow is falling! Well it looks pretty when you're sitting inside with a hot chocolate, right? But I have to admit that winter is my least favorite of all seasons. I always get rather sad and tired during this time of the year. Not speaking about what the cold does with my skin and... my weight ;) But these pictures made my heart skip a beat, a lot of pink, sunshine and cakes gives me always an instant boots! How about all of you, do you love or dislike these cold months?

My second of fame

This weekend I went to a big dance event in Brussels, named Groove city! It was amazing! The only thing I didn't like about it was that we had to go outside for going to other music rooms, it was -6°C. Brr! That was something totally different this summer when I went to Tomorrowland, a big outside festival. I enjoyed the festival so hard that even the camera crew noticed me. So I made it to the clip of the festival. (look at 0:49) Hell yeah! Except the fact that I was pulling a funny aka strange face I think it's pretty cool. Summertimes, it isn't winter yet and all these amazing memories seem so long ago. I'm really craving for hot weather and great parties like this!

First christmas gift!

Perhaps a little bit early but I really adore the atmosphere that the holidays entail, so here's my christmas tree. When I saw him in the habitat store I was smitten, it's a pretty modern design that gives the apartment in a second a christmas feeling. But no real christmas tree without presents, and I had to start somewhere so I treated myself. Haha! When it gets colder I always suffer from a dry skin and broken lips. With the saying "To prevent is better than to cure" I stepped into Lush. They make natural handmade bath and body products including handmade natural soaps, bath bombs, shampoos etc. The ingredients like fresh, organic fruits and vegetables are only purchased from companies that do not commission tests on animals. In other words you can pamper yourself without feeling guilty. It was so hard to make a choice, but with the help of a super friendly saleswoman I walked away with a smile on my face and a pretty gift in my hands. Also something fun is the fact that instead of wrapping paper they use vintage scarfs for packing your gifts. I think that's a really cute idea because you can really do something with the whole package. So sad I have to wait another 4 weeks to open my present.

We made it to the Monster Ball!

Yesterdag night I went to the show by none other than LADY GAGA! Oh my God! She left me speechless. I'm so blessed I could go and it was really the best performance I saw in my life. Did you already go to her show? I have to admit I always thought she was a awesome lady but didn't have the brains and attitude. Well she's amazing and so sweet. Really she made me believe every single word she said to her fans. Here are some of the pictures I made of this great event I will remember for a very long time.

Just waiting on the sun

 It's 3am and I can't sleep. Lying down, trying to sleep. But everything I've done to fall asleep has been unsuccessful. So as you can see there are some little changes done over here, I hope you like it. When I saw the header image I was smitten. How beautiful is Coco drawn? I love it and I think it's a good eye catcher. What do you think? I also added some new pages like About and Links, if you want to exchange links let me know!

Now I am going to resume counting sheeps. Where was I? Hmm let's start over.

Enjoy life to the fullest

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."

- Roald Dahl

Beautiful quote of one of my favorite writers when I was young. After this busy week I am craving for some sleep and days filled with doing nothing. Instead there is waiting a lot of schoolwork for me to finish. Let's say life can not alway be as perfect as you want. I hope you have lovely plans for the weekend! 

Some Coco-Lennert love.

He wants me to believe that he is not as crazy about Coco as I am. And yet I catch him all the time with Coco in his arms. But still I was slightly surprised when he also asked me to take some pictures of him and Coco cuddling. Men, inconceivable!

The Queen of Winter

It's getting colder and colder outside but I'm prepared. With my faux fur hat I will pass the cold this winter. Hope you all enjoy your weekend, I am going to have a delicious breakfast and some quality time with mister Coco.

Kitchy Friday

Is there a better start for the weekend than baking some cupcakes? Beyond eating them I don't think so! It's now raining for over 4 days, and staying inside with a hot drink and something sweet gives me a happy feeling. This time I baked nothing special, just a basic no-mucking-around vanilla cupcake. I like to see sprinkles and sweets, so I have a great sprinkly pot that has four different types of sprinkles in one pot. Easy!

Makes about 12 cupcakes:

110g self-raising flour, sifted

110g caster (superfine) sugar, sifted

110g margarine, softened

1tsp baking powder

2 large eggs

1tsp pure vanulla extract

Buttercream:

225g icing (confectioners') sugar, sifted

100g soft unsalted butter

1/2tsp vanilla essence

2tsp cocoa powder (sifted)

Let's get started. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with cupcake cases. Put all the ingredients in a mixer. Mix really well until the mixture is light and fluffy. Always sieve the flour and sugar - it doesn't take long and makes all the difference, believe me. Plonk heaped teaspoons of the mixture into the prepared cases, and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until golden, and firm and springy when you give them a light prod on the top. Let them cool before preparing the icing.

To make the icing, you really must sift the icing sugar. Beat everything together in a large bowl for a few minutes until light and fluffy. If the mixture looks a little on the heavy side. 1/2 teaspoon boiling water whisked in works wonders. I added 2 teaspoons sifted cocoa powder and a little bit coconut to the buttercream mixture. Pour a little buttercream on top of each cake, and add whatever decoration takes your fancy before the icing dries.

I'll be your mirror

For the next seven years I won't leave my house due my little accident this morning. What ended up like a set of consecutive hazards. Yes, I broke my mirror. Yes yes, my superstition haunts me. After I broke my mirror, I broke accidentally a cup, or may be it was for balancing the bad luck... But I think my seven year sentence is only reduced to a three and a half. Because after that I stepped in a shard in my bedroom. (don't ask me how it got there?) So my new strategy is keep sitting in bed and don't move. Hoping somebody will feed me now and then.

No, that really doesn't sound like a good idea. Let's take a little look to the origin of the "break a mirror, face seven years of bad luck" superstition. The Romans believed that a mirror had the power to confiscate part of the user's soul. If the user's reflected image became distorted in any way, this could mean a corruption of his or her soul. If the user should break a mirror it would mean his or her soul would be trapped inside the Bizarro world the mirror represented. (all right...) The Romans also believed that a person's physical body renewed itself every seven years, so under that criteria it would take seven years before the user's soul would be fully restored.

via Exiting wonderland

Lucky for me, my soul feels like it's renewed during this post. So now the only thing that have to be done is cleaning this mess.

Een kat in de zak gekocht?

Like I told you, Coco and I travel every weekend between my apartment and the house of my parents. And he loves it. Sitting as a proud king in his bag (not the plastic one of the picture ofcourse!!) while people admire him. I still can't believe how much I am already approached while I was travelling with him on my side. People love Coco.

The title of this post is a dutch saying. The literally translating in English is 'to buy a cat in a sack', which is similar to the 'pig in a poke' saying, that means to make a risky purchase and so having the chance to commit a bad buy. I thought it was rather funny because I never thought I would be so happy with Coco. In this short time we're together, my love for him grows and grows. How could it be otherwise if you look as cute as him?

Lazy sunday afternoon.

via C'était salement romantique

Lazy sunday afternoon, I got no mind to worry,

Close my eyes and drift away.

Close my eyes and drift away.

Close my eyes and drift away.

Faces Small

This morning my friend Sophie and I returned satisfied from our kind of gastronomic weekend at the coast. We enjoyed a delicious diner with a culinary orgasm of scallops and caramelized endive in most the tastiest sauce ever! Yummie!! After that we were the happiest girls in the world and danced all night long. So now I'm having a very lazy sunday afternoon at home: catching up with the boyfriend, cuddling with Coco, watching some stupid old comedy shows and checking out some blogs. Love it, because what else is more relaxing and cozy when it's pooring rain outside?

My favorite place in Amsterdam

The most amazing cakes you get at De Taart van m'n Tante, that catches the eye by the bright and colorful things in the lunchroom. Seeing the decoration cakes in de window made my mouth water. Lennert and I enjoyed a delicious piece of chocolate cake with a hot chocolate. (Chocolate overload!!!) This is really the perfect place to get warm again. So write it down: De Taart van m'n Tante, ferdinand bolsstraat 10, Amsterdam. 

I look so unhappy here, but I think it's due I wanted to start as fast I could.

Have a great weekend, loves! I am going to the night of the advertising by Perrier. A big event where  you can find a lot of champagne, gadgets and of course commercials which have been awarded. Sounds fun! After that I'll catch up with an old friend of mine during a little trip to the beach. What are your plans?

A walk in Amsterdam

We didn't had a lot of luck with the weather so our trip ended in sort of a pub-crawl. But I think we saw pretty much of the dramatic looking Amsterdam in the pooring rain. I really recommend you to visit it in summer when the city is alive. In this post I'll give you our tour around Amsterdam. If you want to visit Amsterdam you can also go to Design sponge online where you can find a guide with a lot of other spots to eat, drink, shop and site-see in Amsterdam.

We started in Oud Zuid (Old South) this posh museum district is home to a lot of cultural attractions, like the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh museum. We visited the Rijksmuseum, but we noticed we aren't 'museum-people', so after that we decided to just stroll around in the city. Through the museum plaza we had a walk in the Helmersbuurt that is well-known for it's pretty houses and quiet streets. After that we stopped in the Vondelpark and took place on a bench near to the water with of course bridges. 

We resumed the route after we enjoyed the nostalgia and new discoveries at Pancakes, really an ode to the pancake world.

pancake filled with bananas, nuts and chocolates

With a full stomach, we resume our walk in the nice neighborhood de Negen Straatjes (The Nine Streets), a combination of hip, tradition and easiness. This is the it-place for shopaholics with all its small boutiques with clothing, shoes and home items, jewelry shops and delicatessens. The canals and historical houses offer many beautiful. 

You find Amsterdam like it is known in the historical centrum. Here you feel the soul of the beautiful historic city: the origin, the metamorphoses, the wealth. Stately canal houses are interspersed with the world famous red lights. Definitely worth a visit are the Dam with the National Monument, the New Church, where Màxima en Willem-Alexander are married, and the Royal Palace. Unfortunately the complete outside is wrapped due the renovation work. We drank something in cute little vintage café with a warm, friendly atmosphere. At night it's always fun to go for a drink in the Irish pub. 

The most life do you experience in Chinatown and the red light district. Lennert and I made an evening walk through it. We ended this day with a drink in th art deco café 'the famous Rembrandt pub'. Tomorrow I'll show you my favorite place in Amsterdam!