Mar 31, 2013

Food Diary #1 (College Student Edition)

Hello there lovely people! I've been documenting some of the meals I've eaten in the last couple of days. Since I'm a student, I have to deal with eating alone most of the time and a low budget for buying food. Although I'm limited with my knowledge and time, I really love being creative with preparing meals. I'm in no way saying that what I eat is healthy or the best for me. I'm (just) trying to do the best I know and can. I'm hoping this will give you some ideas for preparing your own meals!

Easy and healthy dinner
It can be hard to eat healthy whilst your in the middle of preparing for exams, schoolwork or other activities since you don't have a lot of time to prepare a meal. On days like that I resort to eating these salad meals. These are available at almost every supermarket. The one I ate this weak consists of all sorts of lettuce, some pasta, salmon, capers and dressing. This meal is defenitely easy to prepare and tastes delicious.


Delicious breakfast
I'm trying to make breakfast an exciting meal, because usually I'm running around trying to get ready and I don't have much time to sit down and eat a good and healthy meal. This week I bought some semi skimmed vanilla yoghurt and I decided to add some fresh raspberries. Unfortunately, raspberries won't last that long so I ate them all in two days.



Comfort food
I can't eat healthy all the time, so I made some mac 'n cheese. This is one of my favourite meals and it's really easy to prepare. I used pasta, ham, small tomatos, unions and lots of cheese! Everytime I eat this meal I feel a little bit American because I found out about this recipe through YouTubers I'm subscribed to and I love it!


Fish-y dinner 
I love fish, I'd choose fish over meat everyday. I was craving some bread and soup all week, and finally I decided to buy some chicken vegetable soup and I ate it with two baguettes. The salmon slices were discounted this week so I treated myself to some salmon and crab salad. It was de-lic-ious!


Almost Easter breakfast
On saturday I woke up at my parents house and ate a very simple, yet festive meal consisting of Matze's (or in English; Matzo) and a banana. Matze's look like really big crackers, but they are in fact an unleavened bread that is traditionally eaten by Jews during the Passover holiday. It has been a family tradition to eat Matze's at Easter and I've been looking forward to eating them all year long!


That's all for today! I hope you found it interesting! If you'd like me to do another food diary, let me know in the comments below and I'll be sure to do another one! Also, if there are any recipes you'd recommend to me, I'd be excited to try them out!

Happy Easter!

Mar 24, 2013

Places in the Netherlands: the Hague

Hello there lovely people! I went on a 'daddy daughter date' and I took some pictures to share my day with you guys! My dad and I spent some time together in the Hague. The Hague, as you might know, isn't the capitol of the Netherlands, but it's a very important city because our government is located there.

We arrived in the morning at the Hague Central Station and decided to start the day with a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Starbucks was pretty quiet which gave us the time to sit down for a little while. I ordered a caramal latte (if I remember correctly) and my dad ordered a standard black coffee.


Beside spending some time together, our mission of the day was to visit the exhibition named Gustave Caillebotte in the 'gemeentemuseum the Hague'. The 'gemeentemuseum' is located just outside the center of the city, so we took the tram to get there.


The 'gemeentemuseum' has been one of my favourite museums since I was little. The architecture and style of the building are quite dated, yet it suits the purpose of the museum quite well.



The exhibition shows the work of Caillebotte, whom are mainly photographs and paintings. His works illustrates how he used photohraphy and photograph perspectives in his paintings. Which was quite unusual in his day. We watched a movie about his live and walked through all of the rooms filled with his work.



Leaving the museum, I felt inspired and impressed. Gustave was original and innovative in his time and he left us this amazing collection of work. I felt especially drawn towards the photos of the city he lived in, which showed the renovation of Paris.




Walking to the tram, that would take us back to the centrum, the sun started shining and the air felt crisp and mellow. We ate lunch in 'de Bijenkorf' and I ordered a tuna sandwich and a banana and yoghurt smoothie.



The day wouldn't be complete without some shopping, therefore we walked through the 'Spuistraat' and the Passage whom are both filled with lovely stores.



Finally the day came to an end and we decided to eat dinner at one of our favourite restaurants called 'Vapiano'. We both ordered the same pizza and enjoyed talking about the experiences we had that day.

That's it! We had an amazing and enjoyable day in the Hague!

What's your favourite city to visit?



Mar 17, 2013

TAG: What do you drink?

Hello there lovely people! I wanted to make a blogpost about what I drink, because I absolutely love drinking and I definitely have my likes and dislikes. Therefore I'm creating my own 'TAG' to make this blogpost even more fun!

What's your breakfast drink?
I drink Vifit every morning, and I've done this for the past three years. Vifit is a Dutch dairy product that contains the LGG bacteria. Drinking vifit gives me energy and it keeps my digestion running smoothly due to the bacteria that's in it. There are a couple of flavours, but my favourite is 'red fruits'.



What do you like to drink during the day?
I'm obsessed with drinking Iced Tea. Especially the Arizona Iced Tea! I love the taste and the package design! Since there are a lot of calories in Iced Tea I try to drink the grean tea version, which (most of the time) has less calories. I really like pomegranate Iced Tea, especially when it's really cold. 



Favourite alcoholic beverage?
I don't drink beer, I like white wine, but my favourite alcoholic beverage (that I've tried) is rosé wine. I like the sweet taste, it's almost lemonade but stronger and with alcohol. 

Tea or coffee?
Tea! I love drinking tea with my friends or roommate in the evening or on cold days. I'm a sucker for fruity tea, chai tea or spicy tea. I try to drink it without adding any sugar, to make the drink as healthy as possible. I also really enjoy the picking out a cute tea mug!


What do you order at Starbucks?
In the previous question I told you I prefer tea over coffee, but I'm starting to get into coffee a lot more lately. I don't like the standard black coffee that all Dutch people seem to like! However I love coffee with caramel or another taste. I like a 'Bambino' or a 'Frappuchino' and I'd order that at Starbucks. 

What do you drink at dinner?
I usually drink either Ice Tea, any fruit drink (like mango, orange juice or tropical fruit) or just water. I like to mix it up at dinner, because I don't want to drink the same thing over and over again every day. 



What's your 'guilty pleasure drink'?
I'm such a sucker for hot chocolate! I could drink this every day.. but I'm trying to contain myself! I usually make this at least once a week during winter. If you'd like to see my hot chocolate recipe you can read it here

Do you make any drinks yourselfs?
Yes, I do! In one of my latest blogposts I've shown you how I make smoothies with a blender. I'm still trying out new recipes and I absolutely love doing that. I think smoothies will be delicious for spring and summer and I'm looking forward to sharing more recipes with you!



That's all! I TAG everyone who's reading to do this tag! OR, if you don't have a blog, you can answer all (or one) of the questions in the comments below!

Mar 10, 2013

February 2013 Favorites

Hello there lovely people! Today I'm back with a very exciting blogpost! I've been watching 'monthly favorite video's' on Youtube the last year and decided it's time to start my own monthly favourite series. February has flown by, hence it's already march 10th and I'm finally writing this blogpost! Better late than never I guess?! So here it goes..

Hairproduct: Wella Age Restore Spray
I'm starting with my favourite hairproduct of the month because I'm (usually) not really into hairproducts, apart from trying out some new shampoo or conditioner now and then. I've recently cut my hair a little shorter. In the process of doing that, the hairdresser used some really great products on me, but one in particular caught my eye. This product is great for medium to long hair, it'll detangle your hair and will make it really easy to comb!


Store: New Look
Spring is around the cornor, which means I am reorganizing my clothes and searching for new spring items that I can add to my wardrobe. I've been loving the store 'New Look', both in real life as well as online. I love the prices, variety and how true to size their clothes are!




Book: The Perks of Being a Wallflower
I've bought quite a lot of books this month but I sadly haven't had time to read much. The one book that I have read and liked is 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' by Stephen Chbosky. The book is also made into a movie, which is defenitely a must-watch!  


Song: Passenger - Let Her Go
For this favourite I've checked my Spotify playlist and it seems like I've been playing 'Let Her Go' a lot. I love how calming and relaxing this song is!


Nailpolish: OPI - Road House Blues
This is such a rich dark purple colour. I love how it makes my skin look a little tan, how it combines well with different colours and it stays on for a good four or five days without chipping!


Random: Printagreat
You might've noticed that I'm really into taking Instagram photo's. A couple of blogposts ago I shared my obession with Instagram and printing my photos through the website Printagreat. I'm still enjoying the photos I've printed and I'm looking forward to ordering more! If you're interested in buying your own pack of photo's, you can use the actioncode 'catie' for a discount!


So there you go, my favourites of the month February! I'd love to hear what your favourite has been this month!



Mar 3, 2013

Shopping Haul February 2013

Hello there lovely people! I had the week off from school this week, which gave me a little bit of time to go shopping! If you follow me on Twitter you already know that I went to Primark, but I also went to the lovely city the Hague.



Here's an overview of all the items I bought. As you can see most items are what you can call essentials. And that's exactly what I was looking for, some essential clothing items to stock up my wardrobe. 



My recent shopping trip to Primark marked the third time I've been there. I've been to Primark in Germany and twice in the Primark near me, in Rotterdam. I'm not expecting the clothes to be extremely durable, I am ok with them being for one or two seasons.

One of things on my list were these tights. You've probably seen them in other (youtube) hauls before. I wanted some thick, opake black tights, to wear under dresses or skirts; and these are exactly that! I've tried them on and they're really thick and opake, they're also a little tight, but I'm hoping they'll stretch out a little bit. Price: 3 euro.
Since the weather here is still very cold and windy, I'm not yet wearing ballerinas or low shoes. Yet, I am preparing for spring and summer, and I'm hoping to wear loads of ballerinas when the weather is warmer. So I went ahead and bought some socks. These are special socks that won't be visible when you're wearing ballerinas. When I tried them on at home I also found out that they have padding on the heel and toes! Price: 2 euro.

I'm a little bummed that the photo doesn't give justice to the colour of these pillows. I guess you have to take my word for it when I say they're actually a mintgreen or light turqouise colour. My current color scheme for my bedroom is white, gray and a little bit of red. I'm trying to add (or maybe replace the red) some mintgreen to my room, because I'd like my room to be lighter for spring and summer! Price: 9 euro.


I guess now is the time to confess that I've never left Primark without buying one (or more) of their candles. I love the smells, colours, price and sizes in their collection. My current candles all have winter smells like cinnamon, which is why I bought this turqouise candle that matches my pillows and smells like summer! Price: 4 euro.



Another item I've seen in hauls before. These cleansing wipes are one of many items you walk passed on your way to checkout. This wasn't an impulse buy, because last time I debated buying them, but I didn't. This time I thought 'why not'. I use cleansing wipes everyday, so I'll defenitely use them. Price: 1,50 euro. 





Before going into Primark I'd done some research on their jeans and trousers. I'd heard a lot about the supersoft skinny jeans, and they seemed like a good deal to me. I found great colours and shapes. It was a little bit of a fuss to find the correct colour, size and shape, but I ended up with these two jeanes. Prices (left to right): 13 euros & 15 euros. 





I'm absolutely not a 'bag' kind of person, but I've wanted a new handbag for a little while now. I've been eying the longchamp totes, but they're definitely out of my price range. Hence I was extremely surprised when I saw this bag (that looks so much like the longchamp totes) hanging in the NewYorker. I love this bag because of its simplicity, the combination of black and brown leather, the size and the price! Price: 19,95 euro.

And finally I bought three sets of earrings in the Hague. The first ones are from SIX and they're a rusty gold colour. I love the edgy, yet wearable design because they'll be easy to accesorize with. Price: 4,95 euro.






These pale blue ones are definely more for summer and spring. I usually wear hangers and that's why I think these will add some much needed variety to my collection. Price: 4,95 euro.



























And finally these awesome looking triangle earrings. I've worn these today and they look great! They're unique, stylish and the perfect size. I just really love them! Also, Pieces is doing a 3 for 12,95 sale on their earrings. Price: 4,95 euro.

Whoa! That's all! Thank you so much for reading this, I'd love to hear from you guys in one way or the other!  

Leave me a comment or tweet telling me what your favourite item from this haul is!