Lifestyle – Floating in Dreams

It’s the little things…

… that matter most! I was definitely reminded of that these past few weeks. With COVID-19 making its rounds in The Netherlands now too, it definitely helps putting things into perspective. What exactly? That we should appreciate what we have, that life can be more simple if we choose too and that stressing out about…

Happy Moments #4

A new year, a new post with happy moments. I decided to do one again now that the new year has properly kicked off. December and January flew by as they are some of the busiest months of year if you work in education with it being the end of a semester and all that….

Happy Moments #3

It’s the end of the month and that means it is time to have a look back at what I have been up to this month. Like last month, it was a month with some ups and some downs. I definitely enjoyed myself for the majority of it, but I was swamped by grading and…

Happy Moment #2

October just wrapped up and it was a month of many ups and a few downs. I came down with a cold for instance, but what was perhaps the most shocking was the sudden passing of my grandfather. I found out as I had just arrived in my New York hotel and the funeral was…

Happy Moments #1

So I thought it would be fun to also write some more blogs about my life and what I’ve been up to. Therefore, I will be posting a blog post once a month, possibly on the last Friday of every month about my ‘happy moments’. I want to keep this positive and focus on the…

Merry Christmas & a Happy 2019

This message is just a quicky to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May 2019 bring you everything you wish for. Here’s to lots of love, health and happiness. I won’t be posting anything tomorrow, but I will be back with a video on Thursday! Happy holidays!

Happy Birthday to me!!!

Happy birthday! To me! Yep today is my birthday! Happy birthday to me!

Personal update

It’s been a while since I last wrote a personal update. In fact, it’s been more than 6 months since I last wrote one. At that time, I had just moved to a new city and my life had taken quite the 180. So how am I doing a few months down the line? What’s…

Work Life balance | How to balance & tips

When I wrote my blog post on my tips and tricks to stay motivated and productive, I had never dreamt of the response it would get. While I am no expert, people seemed to enjoy that blog post and I like sharing what I have learned by sharing my experiences. If there is one thing…

217 of 2017

Every year, at the beginning of the new year, I write up a giant list to review the year that was and look forward to the year that will come. This list pertains the highs, the lows, the blog stats, the memories and everything else that meant something to me in the previous year. This…

Happy Moments #8

In my Happy Moments series I focus on things I’ve done or that I have happened that I am grateful for or that literally make me happy. Since it’s been a while since I have done one of these, I think it is high time to do one again. Happy Moments

How I lost 20 pounds

Remember how I was on this journey to lose some excess pounds? Well I did it! And that is why I’m bringing you a completely different blog from the usual. All in all, I think I have lost a good 20 pounds or so (I don’t weigh myself, it just makes me too obsessed) and…

Motivation & productivity | Tips & tricks

I juggle a job, a blog, a personal life and regular workouts. In the mean time I try to cook as often as I can, watch Netflix, do housework, read books and do lots of other things on the side. Sometimes it’s just good to go back to basics and regroup and think of how…

Personal update

Normally there would be a video up on Sunday, but unfortunately, that was not feasible this week for several reasons. In this blog post I will briefly address why and will update you on some goings on in my life right now. Personal update

What I’ve been up to #10

Time for a new diary in pictures again. I last updated you on my life this summer and loads has happened since then. Curious to see what I did the past 3 months or so? Then keep on reading! Fall time in Leiden

What I’ve been up to #9

I just recently figured that it was about time to update you on what I’ve been up to these past few weeks. Well, let’s make that months shall we? Just before my summer vacation life was very very busy and so I didn’t take too many pictures and after that I also just spend a…

How to get back into shape

One of my goals for 2017? Lose weight and get back into shape. I think that goes for many of us, but when I make a goal out of something, I tend to stick to it as well and this mission was long overdue. I used to write about healthy food and workouts all the…

It’s my birthday!!!

Today is July 6th which means it’s my birthday today! I thought I would share with you an oldie but a goodie from a few years ago and where I look like the happiest bunny on the planet. But today I won’t have anything too special going on on here. Not only because I will…

Happy Moments #7

Let’s get personal again shall we? Lately I’ve been realizing just how blessed I am and how amazing my life actually is. I’m not sure why, but before, when things got hectic, I sometimes lost track of that, but I’ve taught myself how to focus on positive things when life feels like a maelstrom. With…

My library job

Did you know my first ever job was as a librarian? That’s right! From the age of 15 till the age of 20 I used to work at my local library and I thought it might be fun to reflect on that period in my life. It being my first job and all, it was…

What I’ve been up to #8

Since I last posted one of these, which was at the end of March, life has been full of bumpy rides. I became an auntie, traveled to Orlando, continued my house hunt and was incredibly busy at work. I also threw in some beauty bits and that pretty much sums up what I’ve been up…

How to be productive

Teacher by day, blogger by night. That seems to be my regular mojo. I’m a busy bee and that sometimes has people wonder how I do it. Because next to a 4 day job as a teacher and daily blogs, I also try to workout at least 3 – 5 times a week, try to…

What I’ve been up to #7

The last What I’ve been up to went live on January 6th, which means it’s about time to give you a new overview of some of the things I did these past few months. If you like to stay more up to date with what I’m doing, then Instagram is the place to follow me….

Blogger recognition award

Not one but TWO lovely ladies awarded me with the Blogger Recognition Award in recent weeks, which means I have to do a post on this. I always appreciate it if people enjoy reading my blog and so I’m all for spreading that love. Blogger recognition award

How I learned English

In all these years that I’ve been blogging, in English, I not once explained how I got here. Because English is not my native language. I grew up speaking Dutch and didn’t properly start learning English until I went to secondary school. Since I ended up making my career out of it and my language…

Working out with asthma

I have asthma. That’s a fact I have only known for about 2 years or so. There had been some suspicion for a while, but results had never been conclusive. My asthma mostly plays up whenever I strain myself: exercise, walking up stairs, heavy lifting. But I am quite the workout lover and so I…

My favorite tea mugs

Anyone who knows me, knows I love my tea. Sure I like a cup of joe ever so often, especially now that we have a proper barista style espresso machine at work, but I’m a tea girl at heart. Which means I’ve tried many different teas, from chocolate to matcha, and from Lapsang to gunpowder…

What I’ve been up to #6

The last time I did a What I’ve Been Up To? September last year. That’s right, it’s been over 4 months since I last gave you an overview of what has been going on in my life. The reason is very simple: I’ve been busy, crazy busy. I don’t share much of what I’m up…

216 of 2016

It’s become quite the tradition for me to write up a giant list of facts of my year in review. I usually post these on January 1st, but I’m sure nobody minds me doing it a few days later this year. And this time I’ve decided to tag on a few new year’s resolutions/ a…

Christmas decor

Always near the beginning of the month of December I bring out my Christmas decorations. This year, I again went about things in a slightly different way from other years. First of all because I bought some new bits and pieces, but mostly as well because I just like changing things up. Which is why…

What being a teacher has taught me

I’ve been teaching for more than 10 years and it’s something I still enjoy doing. One of the good things about being a teacher is not that you’re just teaching others, but they will teach you something as well. It’s through the sometimes dead honest and sincere questions and remarks of your students that you…

5 smart storage ideas

If you’ve followed me for some time, then you might know that I live in a teeny tiny studio. At only 30 m2, I have to make the most of what I’ve got. Throughout the years, I’ve found a few tricks to use the space as wisely as possible. Of course having a good clean…

Happy moment #6

A bit of an impromptu blog post for you today, but I thought I’d do one of my happy moments again today. It’s been ages since I last did these and I thought it was time I shared with you some recent moments that made me smile. Time to share some positivity! What are your…

What I’ve been up to #5

The end of summer is almost here and since my summer vacation especially was filled with tons of fun stuff, I am posting an overview of some of the things I did rather more quickly than I usually do. If you would like a more regular peek at what I am up to, then follow…

How to kickstart your day

I am not a morning person. Never have been and never will be. My bed is my best friend and I love to sleep, hit that snooze button and just dose off a bit longer. But that is not the most productive start of your day. Surely sometimes, I like to have a good lie…

Current favorites (August 2016)

I completely missed out on July’s and June’s monthly favorites, because life simply got in the way. When push came to shove, I couldn’t think of enough items to show you that I was loving. I decided to wait until I had enough things I was loving to do an article for you. So that’s…

What I’ve been up to #4

It’s only been just over a month since I last updated you on my life. But the past month has been exciting enough for me to have plenty of pictures to share with you. I celebrated my birthday, got some exciting news, participated in a cool blog activity and I rounded up work for the…

Summer lovin’ tag

It’s summer! So this is the right time to fill out the Summer Lovin’ Tag. This isn’t a very new tag, but I thought it would still be fun to do it. Here it goes! Some summery items I’m loving

What I’ve been up to #3

Eight more sleeps till summer vacation! Eight more sleeps till summer vacation! That’s the mantra that’s been going through my head these past few days. Friday next week will be my last working day before the summer hols and it couldn’t come quick enough. The past few weeks have been hectic to say the least….

Living with asthma

For as long as I can remember, my lungs have been troublesome. Not really knowing what it was, I went through bouts of bronchitis and pneumonia as a kid and was winded very easily. I never had asthma attacks or suffered to a great degree so the verdict was that that was just the way…

April favorites

Happy 1st of May everyone! Can you believe that it’s May already? April flew by and for me that means that the latter stages of the school year have arrived. We are currently in the middle of the last term and then it’s weeks and weeks of meetings, preparing for next year and I have…

What I’ve been up to #2

It’s been slow going on the Instagram front for me. I am simply too busy to be taking and post pictures on a regular basis. So I post something whenever I don’t forget to do so. That’s why there have been fewer pictures to show you what I have been up to as well. But…

7 x Remedies for post workout muscle pain

If you work out regularly, you will know that it doesn’t come without a little bit of pain. Especially when you are trying something new, or if you’re just starting out with working out, your muscles will let you know what you’ve been up to. Weight lifting in particular will cause your muscles to become…

Spring time tag

Sunday = tag time! I found this tag on A Love Tart’s Youtube channel and decided to write it up as a blog post. The questions are all beauty related, but I just couldn’t help but add this stunning picture I took of Molen De Valk in my home town last Friday. I mean, look…

Been there, done that tag

In case you didn’t know, I love to travel and I try to go on a few trips every year. I have been lucky enough to go on some larger trips as well as smaller city breaks and some of them have been chronicled on here. That is why you will find tons of links…

Blog organization

When I wrote a blog post about a month ago, on how I combine a 32 hour teaching job with daily blogs, I asked whether anyone would like to see my blog organization. Behind the scenes, I keep a system, where I compile ideas, materials for future blog posts and make a list of what…

What I have been up to…

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Today I thought I’d give you a little insight into my personal life again. I did these posts in the past under the title ‘Instagram’ as they are a round up of some pictures I posted on there. However, I didn’t find the name apt anymore. So here we are with…

You are my sunshine blog award

To my surprise, Cassy from Baubles & Knots, added me to her list of blogs she thinks deserve a bit more attention. And I couldn’t be more grateful. It was a very pleasant surprise to see her comment pop up in my About section to let me know she had picked me. Despite the fact…