Stress is a major problem for many people, especially in today’s fast paced world. We all want instant results and for those who answer to a higher voice, the pressure is on. When I worked as a graphic designer I was able to let it go quite once I had clocked out. For many that’s not the case. Managing stress can sometimes be a difficult art to perfect. After moving to The Netherlands, I’ve found new sources of stress to…
To introduce it, Hypnotic Polish is an online store based in The Netherlands that carries and ships a thousand different types of polish. You can find Indie brands and big name brands here as well. Now I’m not turning into a beauty blog, but this is a lifestyle blog about living in The Netherlands. Sander’s been encouraging me to find stores that are Netherlands based so that I can purchase the little things that I take pleasure in. Even though…
When summer comes to mind, what else follows? A beautiful, tall cup of iced tea. Sitting outside with ice cream while enjoying a cool breeze in the shade. And of course, the beach. Langevelderslag Strand is the closest beach and boy is it breathtaking. So when Sander’s sister asked if we wanted to join her and her friend for a walk on the beach with all our dogs… We couldn’t say no. The unique part of summer here, is that the…
This has been the warmest winter in years! Imagine my surprise to wake up and see the landscape with frost all over. I had been hoping to wake up to a white Christmas but it was still too warm. Now we have had light frost on the trees and ground before. But this was as close to a winter wonderland as it was going to get. The air was so crisp and refreshing but the ground was so stiff under…
Christmas time is the best time for family and travel! This isn’t a problem if you enjoy seeing your family and enjoy traveling though. We headed down south to spend the holidays with Sander’s brother. Our new temporary home was a house built back in the 1830’s and looked like it came straight out of a Harry Potter book! Immediately we emerged into a winter wonderland. From what I’ve seen, most cities make the most of this time with Christmas…
While the Netherlands is well known for celebrating Sinterklaas in early December, they do also celebrate Christmas. Lights hung from every lamppost and ran up and down the main street for miles. The displays in the larger department stores were fantastic and marvelous to see. In Amsterdam, Christmas is a fantastic time for tourists. The entire city is alight and magic hovers everywhere! The streets were busy, as usual. This is common for Amsterdam any time of the year. We tend…
Christmas time is almost here! And that can only mean one thing, Christmas markets in every city. We decided to go out to Haarlem this past weekend and see what the fuss was all about. Boy were we surprised! There were so many people in the streets! The Haarlem downtown area had vendors lined up and down the length of the square. For a few weeks these specialized vendors sell seasonal items as gifts or home decor. The first thing…
I missed last weekend’s post because of a major change in our lives but I’ll be making a post on that later! Before that, I want to talk about an early autumn date that we had in Haarlem. It’s a few days away from it being winter in the Netherlands. I want to reflect on fall before it completely escapes me. We spent the day catching Pokemon and touring the small streets in the historical city. There are many large…
Every morning the trees are deeper shades of reds and golds. We’re greeted with crisp, autumn air and the sun takes longer to come up over the horizon. I never thought I’d get to experience a change in season because I lived in California. Now that I can experience autumn… It’s something out of a fairytale. Sander offered that we travel to the local park since it seemed to be a hot spot play Pokémon GO (yes we’re still on…