I love living in The Netherlands because I get to observe seasons. A year in California is a year of summer so when I moved I was a bit overwhelmed. It’s been 4 years since I moved and I’ve adjusted well. I have to say that spring and autumn are my favorites but there’s so much to see during the spring. So allow me to share a bit of what makes me happy! Babies! Oh boy, the amount of baby…
It’s been almost a month since the Dutch Prime Minister gave his first press conference. He recommended we stay indoors and that we limit contact with others. That also meant we had to postpone all our holiday plans. This is not a mandatory quarantine but Sander and I want to respect our neighbors. Sander and I are like bears and staying inside hasn’t been easy. We hibernate all winter and in spring we emerge to do all sorts of wonderful…
On the edge of the Amsterdamse Bos sits a circle of beautiful cherry blossoms. 400 of these elegant trees were a gift from Japan to Amstelveen in 2000. Of course Sander and I kept missing our time to go so we decided to use the sunny weather to head outside. I know we’re supposed to be in quarantine… But Sander and I could not resist the outdoors on Saturday. We’ve been in the house for so long and it was…
Whew. We thought that 2019 was terrible but nothing prepared us for 2020. It’s only mid-March and it sounds like the world is spiraling out of control. Sander and I live in a small town in North Holland so we’ve been safe so far. But all our big plans for the spring crumbled due to COVID-19 and advised social distancing. Here’s an update on what’s going on with us and our situation here in The Netherlands. Staying Home Remember that…
I used to work with my dad in his print shop and we were known pretty well in the community. We had lots of fun helping others and most of our customers were a dream to work with. I had long hair for years but the hair care routine for it was so time consuming… I’ll never forget the reactions I got the first time I cut my hair short. There were a lot of compliments paired with unwanted advice…
When Storm Dennis wandered across Europe, The Netherlands received unexpected high speed winds and stormy skies. The heavy rain and wind sucked out my energy and served me with a huge helping of a lack of motivation. I wanted to spend the entire day in bed, under the covers with our 3 blankets piled high on top of me. But of course, that’s no way for me to live my life. So instead I dragged myself out of bed and…
It doesn’t matter if you celebrate Valentine’s Day alone or with a partner, I think it’s an important day to remember. Not because of consumerism or romance. If there’s one day to love yourself, it’s Valentine’s Day. It’s important to love yourself before you begin to love someone else. Because if you don’t respect who you are, and what you stand for… How can you help support someone else? So this Valentine’s Day, take the time to show some love…
January is for resolutions. We want to get things done, we want to improve. And then February hits and the thrill of new beginnings has become stale. I can’t speak for everyone but I know that I’ve forgotten half the things I want to do in January. I want this year to be different though. This year, I want to observe commitment. I want to get more things done by following a yearly plan to achieve success. And I’ve already…
Dutch words are hard to read and even harder to say. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a beautiful language. Dutch has its quirks and charms, and even those words that make you want to gag. I was disappointed when I first learned that duck was “eend.” However, if you add a -je to the end of it, eendje sounds so much cuter and is a ton more fun to say. I use -je for as much as I can.…