Healthy Friday snack!

Treat yourself to a simple but delicious snack to start the weekend!

I just put some rucola salad on a plate, cut a few strawberries in half and added some blueberries. Some pepper and salt to give it some extra flavour and I also added some balsamic cream to give it some acidness. De-lic-ious! The blueberries are full of antioxidants by the way so it's the best of both worlds. It's nearly the end of summer so we should enjoy those delicious fruits while we still can.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next to the lovely salad I made myself a few toasts with avocado and some salmon. Both full of valueble fats and a real vitamin bomb!

 

 

Uhm... to top it all off I suggest you pour yourself a nice glass of white wine!

Have a nice weekend everyone!

x.

 

Nail pearls

It's such fun to experiment with nalpolish colors! Every beginning of summer don't we all buy the craziest colors? Just because it makes us smile! And this while we probably have enough nailpolish to be painting our nails day in day out for the rest of our lives. Oh well... isn't it lovely to be a woman?

 

Next to playing with colors you can also play with textures. Great example and supereasy to apply are nail pearls. You can find them in one color (on the picture i got the color 'it rains money' which is a shiny gold/silver) or you can aplly nail pearls in different colors (on the picture it's called 'candy buffet'). It is a playful extra. Fun to do and it adds a cute detail.

 

I know thes has been a trend since more than half a year or so. But it's not about when the trend is there but whether you like it. And right  now I really felt like trying!

 

I got the left set for myself and the right set is a little gift for my friend.

 

 

First I like to start with cleaning my nails properly. Then I apply a nail care pen. It nourishes the nails. I also use a nail hardener as a base.

 

 

Then I apply a first layer of nailpolish. I chose the color 'sparkling water lily' as a base. After applying the second layer of nailpolish you sprinkle the pearls over your nail. Fun to do, really! Make sure you put something underneath otherwise your floor will sparkle...

 

 

 

To finish it off I use a few express dry drops. It not only dries your nails much faster (which is much needed when you want to change your nailpolish quite often) but it also  fixates it a little.

 

Hope you enjoy applying the nail pearls as well!

Love.
Happy Girl Dreaming

Handy pocket books

 

I love these little books! They are small in size  and at about as heavy as a smartphone. These pocket versions are perfect to take to bed or to use on the beach. Because the direction of the text is in a different direction you can hold the book with one hand.

 

I am especially looking forward to reading 'Reizen zonder John' ( Travelling without John) of Geert Mak. It's a mix of historcal lines and looking for the little stories of regular people and how they fit into this historical version. It is about finding who you are by meeting all these other people...

And may I say that it's so important and rewarding to do so.



www.dwarsligger.nl

Shoes with a story

 

 

 

I love second hand shopping! It is wonderful to encounter old objects which belonged to somebody else. They each have their history and stories behind them. I always make up stories where the things I find might come from. 

 

 

A few days ago, I got these ethnic shoes in a second hand store. They look as if they've hardly been worn. I love the beading on them. They are a bit quirky but can look really fun with black skinny jeans and a crisp-white blouse.

 

I imagine them coming from a  positive dark-skinned mother who loves cooking a lot. Therefore she's in her kitchen for hours and hours to make big portions of unbelievably delicious food. No idea why I get this association. Hopefully they are like a Cinderella shoe giving me the talent to cook wonderful food for hours as well?

 

Love.

Happy Girl Dreaming

If it makes you happy

Today I wrote down a simple quote I try to tell myself more often.

 

 

Back on the mat!

 

 

During the past month I did not really practice yoga a lot.  Since this week I'm really back on the mat!

 

This balance pose is called 'Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana' which literally means 'stretching your hand to your big toe posture'. Asana means posture or pose. This one strenghtens the leg muscles and opens your groin.

 

It is done from your 'core'. So use your core muscles. To get into the pose focus is the most important. It is all in the mind. It is the pathway to finding your focus point strangely enough calms you down and makes you more balanced. And that's what yoga is about.

 

I just love balancing poses. They challenge you on different levels. And in a way any yoga pose is a balancing pose. It's about building on stable foundations and dividing your weight between these foundations.

 

I'd love to inspire you to try some other postures and modifications for different levels if you'd like me to....

 

"Be truly one, and everything will come to you" (LAO TZU, China)

Granola for a kick start!

'Breakfast is the most important meal of the day', somebody wise once said. Unfortunately it's not always as easy to spend time on breakfast. Most of us are more worried to get to work on time every morning. So lots of people skip breakfast which makes you grab unhealthy and unsatisfying snacks.

So planning is everything then! A friend told me about 'granola' and now I'm totally hooked. You can prepare a big jar of granola which will last you a week. It is supereasy to make.  Plus personally i just LOVE the little cracking sound when chopping nuts.

I never weigh these ingredients and just mix the nuts according to my liking but here's the general recipe :

What you need...

400 g oatmeal
150 g almonds
150 g hazelnuts
150 g walnuts
100 g pumpkin seeds
50 g grinded coconut
50 g sesamzaad
5  Tbs biological apple juice
 6 Tbs agave sirop
A bit of peanut oil
 Cinnemon
 Nutmeg


How to make it ...

1. Preheat oven on 180°.
2. Chop all the nuts in chunky pieces. Mix it with the oatmeal, grinded coconut and sesame seeds.
3. Add the apple juice and the agave sirop and mix it well.
4. Add nutmeg and cinnemon.
Don't be afraid to add nutmeg. It may seem strange but it creates a wonderful depth to the taste.
5. Add a bit of peanut oil. If you don't want it to be too sticky add less.
6. Pour everything on a baking sheet and place it in the oven.
7. Let it bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Halfway stir it around.
I like it crunchy so check for yourself what you prefer...

Then let it cool and pour it into a pretty jar.

 

Great with greek yoghurt and some frozen raspberries. Enjoy!

Bucket list of little things

Lots of people's bucket lists require an infinite amount of money and time and expect you to become a star at whatever you do. For me a bucket list isn't about any of this. We aren't all rich superstars or muscular action seekers.

Why have one then?  Writing down your dreams of (even small) experiences helps you to set goals for yourself. Do you even know what you want in life? Do you know what you want (full stop)....?

Achieving these goals you set for yourself make you feel successful. A bucket list is all about making your dreams clear and trying to achieve them. These dreams are different for everyone. You are the one deciding what it's about.

What makes it even more rewarding is when there's other people on your bucket list and when you focus on the little differences you can make in your and other people's lives.

This way you create wonderful memories and come on... it just makes your life so much more interesting in between the day to day routine.  And this has nothing to do with money or talent!


I like changing my bucket list as I grow older as I as a person also progress and change. So these are the things on my list for the following year:
- Be a tourist in my own city
- Do a road trip to someplace new
- Get to know 5 new contemporary artists' work
- Send a postcard from my home city
- Host a game night
- Sell my old clothes on a junk market
- Start a blog
- Do a wine tasting
- Bake homemade bread
- Bake cookies or cupcakes for co-workers
- Get a pedicure
- Go jogging in the morning
- Go a full day without spending any money
- Invite a neighbour over for a drink
- Log off facebook for a week
 - Spend a full day in silence
- Run 8 km
- Do a detox diet for 7 days
- Learn to do a baby hopper yoga pose
- Make a difference in at least one person's life
- Kiss in the rain
- Lying down on wet grass at the crack of dawn
- Wish upon a falling star
- Swim in a lake at sunset
- Plan a date for a single friend
- Throw someone a surprise party
- Find a signature parfume
- Help someone to achieve an item on his/her bucket list

I'd love to do these things within a year. Can't wait!
Ready to make your own bucket list?

On my nightstand...

How nice is it to wake up with some flowers on your nightstand. There are so many possibilities. I chose a bunch of pink carnations. It is by the way a supernice gift idea. Why don't you surprise someone with some flowers on their nightstand! Tip : Next week Thursdays is Mother's Day....

 

 

 

Hoe fijn is het om wakker te worden met bloemen op je nachtkastje. Er zijn zo veel mogelijkheden. Ik koos voor een bosje roze anjers. Trouwens ook een superleuk cadeau-idee. Verras iemand met een bosje bloemen op zijn of haar nachtkastje! Tip : volgende week donderdag is het moederdag...