12/31/2014

London Shopping Haul!

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I purchased some cute items on my trip to London. And let's be honest, every girl needs a little shopping time now and then! So I thought I would share these with you. And who knows, I might give you some idea's for your next wishlist! :)


Large Longchamp Le Pliage Tote in Navy

I love this bag! But I did my research on this one, so I knew I would! I've been carrying it pretty much non stop since I got it. I carried it to work, to the playground, to the grocery store... I love how I can stuff my entire universe in here and i can still reach down and find my lipgloss. It doesn't have different compartements, but somehow everything just sits neatly in a row and it's still very organized. I guess it's just the perfect shape and size or something. I also love the simplicity of the bag. It just looks so neat and pretty! And the price! It was really affordable for a bag! In matter of fact, chances are this is actually the cheapest bag I own! 


Essie Fiji Nail Polish

I'm a big fan of Essie nail polishes and this color has been on my to get list since last summer. Somehow I just hadn't been able to get my hands on it yet since it always seemed to be sold out or simply not in the assortiment. So I was absolutely thrilled to find it on this trip and I just had to get it. Now granted, this is probably more of a summer shade, but I just couldn't wait. Me and Charlotte are both rocking some fiji nails right now!


Mulberry Tamara Scarf in Oak

Yes, there she is! Isn't she gorgeous? I am absolutely in love with this scarf and I have been wearing it almost daily since I got it. I have been obsessed by this scarf for months, so I am so happy I can finally enjoy it. I got it at the Mulberry store at the airport, so I could buy it duty free. I'm a sucker for any deal that can save me a couple of bucks. I love the feel of the scarf and I love that it goes with practicaly everything! Downside however is that it isn't machine washable. I am used to throwing my scarves in the laundry and this one has to be professionaly dry cleaned. A bit of a bummer, but I guess I'll survive a trip to the dry cleaner every once in a while. 


My First Harrods Kitten

I was planning on getting the festive Jasper Bear, but Charlotte didn't want anything to do with him unfortunetely. She did however drag this kitten around the store and practictly made out with it (drool and snot included). So that was it for poor old Jasper...


Steps Classy Blouse in Pink


Now Technically I didn't get this in London, I got it a couple of days later, but I thought it was so cute that I decided to throw it in here. It's a lovely pale pink blouse with long sleeves which will be lovely for spring! Yes, we just had the first snow here and I'm already preparing for spring. I'm so not a winter person! Haha!

So, that was the last post of 2014! I hope everyone will have a lovely new years eve! See you in 2015!


12/23/2014

London, baby!

What better place than London to go and do your Chistmas shopping, right? So I was really excited to hop on a plane and cross this one of my bucket list! It was a very exciting trip because it was Charlotte's first time traveling by plane and we had absolutely no idea what to expect! But it all went very smoothly and it really was the perfect time for her first flight. Since she's still under two she could sit on my lap and we didn't have to pay for an extra seat just for her. And that definitely saved us some serious money! She loved seeing all the planes fly by and was really excited to be in one herself!




We stayed at the Shakespeare and Dolphins hotel near Hyde Park. The building was absolutely gorgeous but the interieur was a bit dated. But I kind of expected that from a hotel in London, so that was okay. We didn't end up spending much time at the hotel anyway. Hyde Park was absolutely fantastic around this time of year. A Winter Wonderland was organized there and it was great for getting into the Christmas spirit. We had all the hot chocolate we could ever need right at arms length. We also ended up enjoying a traditional English afternoon tea at the park.



We had a couple of days of shopping, going out to dinner and some serious sight-seeing. We visited Harrods, Oxford Street, The Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, The Tower Bridge and Picadilly Circus.We also had dinner at one of Jamie Oliver's restaurants. The food was great and Charlotte couldn't get enough of her little pasta dish! It was so cute!






And then it was time to fly back home again! Due to the stormy weather the flight home was a bit unpleasant. But we all made it home safely, and that's the most important thing. We had a lovely time in London and I hope we'll be able to visit again someday.I purchased some lovely items on this trip, but I'll show you in a seperate haul post soon. So if you could choose any place in the world, where would you like to go Christmas shopping?




11/29/2014

December Wishlist!



How fast has this year gone by? December is only a few days away and that means the end of the year is already in sight! In the month December we look back on a year of hard work and it's the perfect occasion to treat ourself to some well deserved rest and maybe even a little present here and there. We're planning a Christmas shopping trip to London this year and since I'm horrible at spontanious shopping, I decided to make a wishlist of the items I want to buy on this trip. As you can see I'm not all about quantity. I only plan on getting a few well thought out gifts for myself. And in this case I definitely believe that less is more! Get what you absolutely love and will get great use out of. So here are the items on my wishlist!

1. Mulberry Tamara scarf
I'm pretty new to Mulberry but I know enough of the brand to know that they make great quality pieces. This scarf is gorgeous and will go with almost everything I have in my closet. It's also very timeless and for all seasons. So I know this will make a great investment and I will be loving it for years to come!

2. Le Pliage Longchamp
I've been really facinated by this bag. I have seen it one practicly everyone, but I never knew what bag it was. Now that I know the name of this bag and where to get it, I am dying to get one of my own! Since my diaper bag is pretty worn out, I think this will make a great replacement for it. But I also think this bag is way more versatile. This will also be great for traveling, shopping and even for taking it to work with me. I think I will absolutely love this bag and I'll be able to take it with me everywhere I go.

3. Jasper the Christmas Bear
How cute is this little guy? It's a seasonal bear from Harrods London and if anyone asks me I will probably insist that I'm getting it for my almost two year old. But in all honesty, I think this little guy will look absolutely lovely in our living room during the holidays.

So there you have it, my December wishlist! So, what does your December wishlist look like?






11/22/2014

Local Traditions and Festivities!


In two weeks from now we'll be celebration a typical local holiday. We celebrate the birthday of a Catholic bishop that comes to visit us with his helpers and brings gifts for all the children. He usually arrives by boat a couple of weeks in advance to get everyone in the right spirit for the actual holiday. This was today. 

This is a holiday I grew up with and one that holds many dear memories to me. We always celebrated this holiday with the entire family and I remember feeling so excited and loved as a child. But it is also a harsh reminder that not everyone is still around to celebrate it with me this year. Especially my dad. He passed away before Charlotte was born and it hurt that he's not around to celebrate the holidays with us. But I do know I am very blessed that Charlotte is here and that I can share this holiday with her and make new memories with our little family. I love her so much and I'm so incredibly thankful fthat I am able to share this with her. 

Charlotte found a great viewing point on daddies shoulders. She got really excited about all the dancing and the music as the parade passed by. It was very crowded in the streets, but she handled the event like a pro. She even recieved candy from of the helpers. So she was just chilling and stuffing away her sweets. She had a great time, so that automatically means we all had a great time.

After standing outside in the cold for a while we decided to head indoors for a warm cup of coffee. There were alot of kids there, so it was impossible to keep Charlotte at our table. She went off playing with the other children and got treated to some spiced biscuits and candy by yet another helper. She got so excited about it that she ran back to our table to show us what she just got. 

Yes, she was really excited about getting candy from a stranger... we'll probably need to do something about that in the future. But not now, not yet. We're just enjoying the festivities and love being able to share this with our precious little angel. Do you have any special local traditions?



11/16/2014

My favorite kind of day...

Everyone once in a while you come across a day that is just...perfect. The weather is good, everyone is feeling healthy and you just have an overall feeling of carefreeness and hapiness. You may not know this about me, but I absolutely love nature. Being outside and walking or hiking with my family really makes me feel so incredible happy. I love that Charlotte is getting at that age where she can actually already walk a couple of miles on her own. And when her little legs do get too tired to carry on, there are always daddies shoulder sit on.And of course big bonus point for it being a Sunday.


But eventhough the weather was good, you can definitely tell winter is near. And when you've been out in chilly weather all day, there is no better way to warm up again than with a nice hot cup of coffee. In this case one with cinnamon syrup and whipped cream...yum!

When we got back home I took a shower and got to dress up for the evening. I put on my favorite outfit, shoes and handbag and headed out for sushi with friends. Ending the day as carefree as I started it by not having to worry about grocery shopping or fixing dinner. And yes, those are french fries. We had french fries with our sushi... Because that is just how free spirited we were today! I hope you all had a lovely Sunday!


10/31/2014

organic & guilt-free banana chocolate pancakes!



What the fudge, right? A second food post in a week! But I can assure you that I have a really good reason for this. I got hit with a really bad sinus infection this week and it got so bad I had to call in sick today. So I figured I needed to eat good and get me some proteine. And that's where these pancakes came in! And since they were majorly delicious as well, I wanted to share them in this quick update. You know, before crawling up the stairs again and collapsing on my bedroom floor.

These pancakes are really easy and quick to make and you only need a few simple ingredients. All you need are two organic eggs, an organic banana, a small table spoon of high quality organic cocao and a tiny drip of olive oil. 

You throw the banana, eggs and cocao in a bowl and mash the ingredients up to make a smooth batter. It helps if you mush up the banana first and than mix the other ingredients into it. You can use a kitchen aid for this, but a fork works just as well. 

Once you have a nice and smooth batter you throw it in the pan and prepare them just like a regular pancake. You use a tiny bit of olive oil for this. I use a ceramic pan, so I could probably pull off not using any oil at all. But I just like it better this way. This batch makes about 4 - 5 pancakes depending on the size. 

And there is the very yummy result! I used some powdered sugar to sweeten them up a little bit more. I thought they were really good, easy to make and hopefully they will help me get my strength back soon! I'm just not the sitting at home being sick type of gal. So, what is your go-to food when you're feeling a bit under the weather?


10/26/2014

Delicious Apple Crumble Apples!

 We just had one of those days yesterday. It was rainy and cold outside and we just wanted to hide away in our pj's all day. Now this doesn't happen to me very often. But every once in a while you just need a day without any obligations outside the house. So we searches the house for food and an activity to do and I realized we always have the ingredients to make an apple pie lying around. I had seen these cute apple pies in an apple all over the internet, but I hadn't seen them in the apple crumble version yet. So we made, we ate and now we share! 

So this is all you need to get started! Just open your kitchen cabinets. There's a 99% chance these ingredients will all be in there. Try it, I dare you!

4 apples
2 oz raisins (let them sit in some water for a little bit)
2½ oz plain flour
2 oz margerine (or butter)
2 oz light demerara sugar 
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Start off by hollowing out the apples. I'm sure there are all kinds of tools available for this, but I just used a sharp teaspoon and it worked fine. Thow the pieces of apple in a bowl together with the drained raisins and a teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix them together and fill the apples with the mixture. 

Take another bowl and throw in the flower,the sugar and the butter and kneed them all together. Crumble the dough over the apples and slightly push it down. You don't want the crumbles to fall off in the oven. But the apples in an oventray and fill the tray with some water to make sure your apples don't wrinkle up like a couple of old grannies. Preheat the oven at 375 degrees and place the tray in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. 

And voila! Serve it with a some chai tea latte and some whipped cream and you got yourself a delicious little treat. It was hard to snap a picture of the end result without Charlotte's little greedy fingers in it though, but I guess that's a good sign! Haha! Bon appetit! Oh, and I gave the blog a new look today. What do you think of it?



10/09/2014

It's a Wonderful Life...

I feel like I may be suffering from the fall blues a little. Life can get a bit overwhelming at times, especially if you're a full time working mom. Work has been crazy and it seems like no matter what I do, it's just nog good enough. And when I get home I feel so exhausted that I don't seem te have the energy to be the fun, energenic mom Charlotte needs me to be. And obviously the fact that the days are getting colder and darker doesn't do much for my energy level either. I guess you could say I'm in a bit of a funk at the moment and it's making me questions the decisions I have made for me and my family. But luckily I understand that eventhough I am going through a rough patch right now, that doesn't mean life isn't wonderful. It just means I have to put a little more effort into seeing it. So let me share five things that always seem to do the trick for me. 

Blowing bubbles at sunset
Because blowing bubbles is awsome in general, but doing it at sunset makes iy even more special. The setting sun will make your bubbles even prettier than they already are. The colors will really pop and it's like having a dozen little rainbows floating all around you. It's just one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. And it's so simple and easy that you can do it in your own backyard. All you need is a clear sky, a sunset and a little bit of bubble blow.  

Bake or cook something delicious (and eat it!)
Nothing says 'me time' like preparing something delicious and taking all the time in the world to enjoy it. Really create a special moment for yourself and treat yourself to one of your all time favorites. For me it's this delicious oatmeal crumble that always seems to do the trick. I indulge with a little bit of whipped cream on the side and a good cappuccino. 

Doing early morning yoga
When you're in a bit of a funk it is really tempting to stay in bed all morning. But that only make you feel worse. Physical exercise will make you feel good about yourself, it will energize you and it won't make you feel like you just wasted a perfectlty good morning. And when my daughter decides to join in I enjoy it even more! And all you need for this is a yoga mat. And preferly some loose fitting clothes, but that isn't a necessity. You can always do naked yoga! :)

Enjoying nature
Especially when life it getting a little bit too complicated, there is nothing better than going back to nature...literally! Even if it's just for a little while. Just breathe the fresh air, focus on the trail ahead of you and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. A great way to clear your head and let go of the stress you are carrying around with you. See live as it was intended to be. Simple, peaceful and beautiful. And who knows, you might walk into something cool and unexpted while exploring new places. Like this warning sign I bumped into a couple of weeks ago. Apparently the've had some issues with low flying witches in this forrest or something... I continued my way with caution! Haha!

Cuddling up!
It is a fact, cuddling will make you feel better. Cuddling releases oxytocin, which is known as the 'feel good bonding hormone'. So it will make you feel better and bring you closer to the ones that are special to you. So grab your spouse, kid, cat or ferret... It's cuddling time! :)

So there you have it! My personal five step program to get through any funkyness. And you know what the best part is? It won't cost you a penny. So what is your medicine? I'd love to hear it! 

Love,
Tessa