Party party party tunes!!! :D

It's always like this: I leave Holland and go to Sweden, and I play house tunes non-stop. In Holland I have it everywhere around me all the time, and then I play reggae-stuff. Then in Sweden, where they don't play House-music, that's like the only thing I feel like listening to.

I'm totally excited for New Year's Eve and I'm enjoying myself BiGTiME here in Sweden!! Pics are coming later :P But right now I just wanna share some hot hot hot party tunes with you !! :D


Inna - Sun is up


Eva Simons ft. Afrojack - Take over control


Alex Gaudino - I'm In Love (I Wanna Do It)



Ducksauce - Barbra Streisand



Rihanna - Only girl in the world



I can't believe it ! LOL but this is what I'm listening to and going crazy to right now ! :D Yay !

Happy New Year's Eve everybody and have fun partying into the new year tomorrow night ! :D

Greetings,

- Stef

Extra nice to be home :)

It feels even more special to be here at home today, because of the fact that the weekend didn't go exactly as planned!!

Friday: Serious train delays on the way to airport. Cancelled flight. Chaos at the airport. Going back to the Hague. PANIC and DISAPPOINTMENT big time !! KLM phonelines not available.

Saturday: Get up early. What to do? KLM phonelines still not available. Dad gets thru and got my ticket rebooked to Sunday afternoon. BUT. Had to go back to airport to stand in line from 1.30 PM until 9.20 PM with hundreds of other people with hardly no food or drinks to check in to the flight. Reached ticket office desk finally and friendly lady checks me in on a flight on Sunday evening instead. Going back to the Hague.

Sunday: Get up early. Pack everything again. Go to airport on my own with 2 heavy bags in the snow = SUCKED with 1 hour waiting for the tram. Get to airport and realize it's totally not busy, drop luggage took 5 minutes! Baby meets up with me and I have a great few hours with him before my flight ! 11 PM in Gothenburg airport picked up by mom and dad ! :D

So now being here, I missed cutting this year's Xmas tree - but I was told the sheep weren't there this year, so at least I'm not too sad about missing that :P And since nobody really knew when the flights would start to go again, I was really faced with the possibility that I might not be home in time for Xmas !!

Felt like a movie or something.. With a happy ending of course !! :D So now is the time to be extra happy for being home, with family and with friends !

I hope all those thousands of people stranded in Amsterdam airport for the weekend got to where they were planning on going in time for Xmas !! :)

Thanks for reading !! ;)

- Stef

Reminiscing the good old days when we were younger :P

... such as 16-17 years old ! :D What amazing years these were. And really good music years as well.

So, to motivate myself to do a good job with my "packing-for-Sweden" process, I hit up the old HD to make a playlist of some old goodies :)

Back in the days when I would listen to a lot of rap songs :P Here are some tunes I came across and that made me smile when I heard them :)

Chamillionaire - Don't be afraid


Shawnna ft.Johnny P & Syleena Johnson - In the Chi


Lots of nice flashbacks from back in the days, hanging out with the international class back in Borås in Sweden. It's so nice to take a little trip back in the memories of the past simply by putting on some good old nice songs :)

Songs can be really good, but eventually you get tired of them and you find something new. Then, a few years later, it's crazy fun to listen to them again!

I hope you guys do that too sometimes :P Have fun !

- Stef

Xmas rush ? :P lol

Bah, finally progressing on the recovery from my baaaaad cold which kept me in bed the whooole weekend. That really sucked ! But luckily, I had my awesome baby with me who provided me with lots of tea and nice company :)

I've now fully realized that I'm leaving for Sweden on Friday evening, which gives me like 1,5 day to pack and get everything I still need to get before I leave! My gosh...

Some school stuff to be taken care of first tomorrow, then some final Xmas shopping and some serious packing and preparation for the departure!

On Saturday I'm gonna go with mom and dad to cut down a Xmas tree ! :D That's the real deal. Oooh I hope that place still has sheep there, so that I can cuddle with them :D Yaaay !




When I mentioned the fact that I'm leaving in less than 2 days and I still didn't pack my stuff yet, Theo's comment was that I was becoming more African in my ways LOL. Nah, I'm gonna speed-pack a little to get back on the Swedish "perfect planning" track :P

Thanks for checking in my blog :P And by the way, how about that "Happy Holidays" banner I made all by myself ? :D Pretty nice if I can say it myself :D

Peace out !

- Stef

What lit up my evening today... :P

... were 45 new mini-lights in my Xmas tree ! :D

Since half of the lights from last year were broken, I finally copped some new ones :) Now I have a super-cosy Xmas tree again ! :D



And here is my other little creation with colored lights ! I have always loved colored lights because they look so joyful ! :D AND, my newly bought Xmas flower can be seen next to the computer !! :D



I did my first Xmas shopping this evening and it was so nice !! :D I love getting gifts for everyone. I'm not done yet, but I'm a good bit on the way :P

I'm really not a fan of the recent trend that people don't get each other gifts for Xmas ! Sure, I'm not religious, but Christmas is about giving (love) and showing it ! Of course you should show your love for your loved ones more often than just for Xmas.. But I think it's a nice tradition and I'm gonna get Xmas gifts to the important people in my life my whole life ! :D

Say whatever you want about gifts for Xmas being unnecessary, but be honest to yourself and answer this:

Don't you feel happy when someone gets you a gift to show you that you are important to them?

.... Exactly ! You definitely feel happy if someone takes the time to get you a little something.

I'm not talking about expensive gifts, because I'm also not a fan of the trend to buy crazy expensive gifts for Xmas. The gifts are not about money, but they are about bringing a smile to someone's face :)

So I'm doing my best this year, every year, to give things that will make my family and friends feel happy and smile :)

Now gonna finish my beer with raspberry syrop and watch some Swedish TV online :D

Peace !! :)

- Stef

Christmas Gala evening :)

Last Friday evening, it was time for a Christmas Charity Gala at my school :) I found a new dress the week before, so I was really happy about that !

We had a really good time and here are some nice pictures :) We were quite happy (read: tipsy) in the end ! But it was a perfect evening.

Before going home we had 2 cheeseburgers at McDonalds :P Hahah !



The stunning couple ! (In my opinion...:P )



The stunning dessert buffet !



I really enjoy dressing up and going to these kind of events with my baby :) Too bad it doesn't happen more often !

But I know my life is going to bring me more fun and wonderful events like this one, and I'm eager to experience them ! :P

And soon it's New Years, and we will see what Sweden holds for me for that particular evening ! :P

- Stef

Delightful things in these busy times :)

Less than 2 school weeks left until the holidays now and in short - there's sooo much left to do before then! I haven't even started the actual Xmas shopping, which is VERY late for being me. Hm. Good thing is that the center is open til 9 pm on Thursdays :D

Today I was busy for school the whole day and in the afternoon, I decided to treat myself to something special ! Namely, Swedish meatballs, potatoes, cream sauce and lingonberry jam ! My GOSH, that food is sooo good !! (Theo says that I make the best meatballs in the world! --> :D Isn't that love or what? :P)




Then having been sitting on the couch with the laptop the entire day, couldn't help but admire my little rubber plant, who has been re-planted recently and is growing and growing ! 5 new leaves popping up at the same time in 2 different places ! :D It's cool to see other things living their lives, so to say :P



And here is another plant that is flowering for the 2nd time now ! :D Yay ! And my cute little frog is sitting there in the background :)



Here's my little Xmas tree :) It's so cosy with all these little lights. However, I had a double setup of lights for this little tree, but one set stopped working, so I have to buy another set.. That's why it looks a little "light-less".



Lots of things to take care of at the same time - myself, the items in my house and my plants, as well as school and my Xmas preparations ! Time will show how it all will go :P

Thanks for peeking in!

- Stef

Christmas time is approaching :)

So, today is the first day of December and Christmas is slowly but steadily approaching !

Yesterday I drew up a gift-plan with ideas for gifts for everyone :D I love shopping for Xmas gifts and wrapping them nicely and so on :)

I'm not religious, but I love the Christmas spirit of giving, showing kindness and celebrating the people we love :) I think it's important to be able to feel the joy of giving and making other people happy :) Of course, sometimes we should take care of ourselves, but for Christmas, it's about others !

I'm a sunny person who loves sunshine and WARMTH, but I must say that even I enjoy to have a white December with some snow around me to brighten up the darkness.

Here are some pictures of past Christmases :) I hope this year will be just as nice !

Nice & cosy girls' evening with Xmas gifts !

And of course, the beauty of my neighborhood :D Love to have a forest across the street actually! I never thought I'd say that, but living in a busy city where there are only dirty sidewalks to walk on if you just want to take a small walk around the neighborhood.. Nature owns !

And my precious house ! I love this house so much :)

Enjoy your own Christmas planning now ! :D


- Stef

Xmas feeling and celebration ! :D

My house is now really cosy after having decorated it with Christmas things !! :D It's a bit early, but what the heck :P I like Christmas ! :D

And in Sweden, you also have this thing called Advent and the 1st Advent is today (Sunday) and it means that there are 4 Sundays left until Christmas, so you light a candle for each Sunday :)

Today we had the first candle lit for breakfast :D



Since my wall is F'd up and it's not a good idea to try to put any hooks up on the wall to hang these big bulbs on, I was creative and hung them in my Devil's Ivy instead :D Looks pretty festive at night when the light is shining on them :P Hihi !



My visit to IKEA together with Sara was really fun and very lucrative ! It brought nice things such as Swedish ginger cookies, which we eat tons of before and during Xmas!) and Swedish mulled wine = Glögg ! :D To my happiness, they even had Swedish Xmas Cola = Julmust at IKEA !!



Now it is very cosy in the evening here with this advent candle thingy in the window :D



Last but not least, last night me and my baby celebrated our 2,5 years together by going out to eat ! We had booked a table at one place, but when we came there, we were very disappointed and left again - it just wasn't what we had expected. So we went to the city centre and found a recently opened Sushi Grill place :D Very nice place and we left feeling very full and happy ! :D We got a beautiful table at the window with many orchids ! :D





My baby is just the best, I love him so much ! <3

Enjoy this cold, but indeed sunny day ! :D

- Stef

Operation scarf completed :P

Fun things always go fast, and here it is - the finished scarf for my baby :)

It's soft and warm and nice, and I hope you like the colors of the yarn as much as I do :D

There will be pictures of the scarf and my baby together soon ! :D

Now winter is really getting closer and closer, and I'm started to get a nice Christmas vibe :D I cannot wait for going to IKEA and buying some Swedish Xmas specialities and I think that all the Xmas stuff will be up by the time next weekend comes ! :D

Can't wait to get all the decorations, lamps and candles up and about the place ! :)

Ciao for today :P



- Stef

Space for growth :)

Today's good deed was to provide Mr. Rubberplant and Mr. Palmplant with some more space so that they have enough space to grow :)

These 2 are 2 of my favorites and they were both considerably smaller when I bought them 1,5 year ago :D

You can see when a plant needs to be put in a bigger pot, if you can see the roots coming out from the holes in the bottom of the plastic pot.

Simply fill a bigger pot with some soil, about half-way up, take the plant out of it's old pot and put it in the bigger one. Fill up with soil on the sides - make sure you pack it tightly so that the plant stands firmly, but also make sure you don't pack it too hard as the plant also likes some air for its roots :)

Finally, pour some water through the new soil and now your plant is ready to face the future !

Bottom line: Be nice to your plants and give them all the things they need to grow, and in return they will give you a cosy and peaceful atmosphere in your home ! :)

Thanks for reading!

- Stef

My favorite quote.. :)

... and my life philosophy. By Buddha:

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change."

The reason why I think the content of this quote is so vital to us, living in this modern world, is the fact that many people don't see the beauty of the simple things anymore... They want gold and diamonds, metaphorically speaking, and the bigger the better.

I think that mentality is just so wrong. The quote takes us back to basics and brings us down to earth and says "Hey, take a moment to look at all the things in the world and really see the true beauty of them".

Imagine if you would take the time to study a snowflake, a raindrop, a ray of sunshine, a growing sprout from a seed... We are surrounded by truly amazing things all of the time, but if we are blind to seeing them, it's just a waste of life in my opinion. Some people admire expensive things, but money is man-made and is actually not that impressive compared to the miracle of something coming out of, in our limited eyes: nothing.

Before I become too philosophical, let me stop :P But I think it's so important to take a moment and think about how amazing the world really is, how many fantastic things we get to experience thanks to a lucky coincidence billions of years ago: the creation of life. We are just humans, we only have one life and we need to live NOW and appreciate the world we are in. Because there is nothing awaiting us later, we are just a part of the circle of life just like anything else on this planet. Therefore, we need to enjoy our lives and appreciate the things we are "given" and so often take for granted.

I hope you like this quote as much as I do and that it inspires you in a positive way as well :)

- Stef

The delicious inauguration ! :D

So tonight I felt like having something healthy, but not just another salad... So I decided to inaugurate my Gordon Ramsay book and find a nice soup. And so I did ! Namely, the Cauliflower soup with Saffron :)

Very easy to make actually and it turned out really tasty !! I added some parma-ham chips, because I'm not a vegetarian and without any form of meat I'd go hungry later :P'

This is what it looked like compared to the image in the book :D Mine turned out more yellow cause I love saffron and took big pinches of it :D






Another fact that is totally lovely is the flower that I got from Theo's mom. It's this white pretty thing, and it smells like paradise itself !! :D Not too strong, but the scent lingers around in the living room and I love it !




Now I am going to chill and work on Theo's future scarf :D

Peace !



- Stef

Cool books !! :D

I have just started reading Usain Bolt's biography "9,58 - Being the world's fastest man" and I find it very interesting.

I'm not a person who is interested in sports whatsoever, but I like when people have an extraordinary story to tell. It's the same reason as to why I love true story movies, because it's the truth. It can make you feel very sad or very happy, but it's important to know sad events from the past, but also to know that miracles actually can happen.

I think Usain Bolt is cool in the sense that he is a world star but also down to earth. I'm a big fan of down to earth famous people that don't get drifted off into the mini-castles of Hollywood and the lifestyle of the "rich and the famous". No, I think it is awesome if you become famous and you don't change who you are and you have some smart things to say. So I recommend this cool book to everyone about Usain Bolt and his story!




Now since I'm all talking about books, I just HAVE to mention another one !

My mommy had a gift for me and Theo and guess if we totally lost our faces when we saw this !!



It's the newest book by Gordon Ramsay, and if you already didn't know, Theo and I are crazy about him and his food ! :D

So we were jumping up and down out of happiness for this awesome gift ! But let me show you exactly HOW cool it is:



It's called "Best menus" for a reason ! The whole book is split up in small pages like this, and the top shows starters, middle is main course and bottom is desserts. So you can turn the pages and combine you own customized menu - with a perfect overview of the courses!!

I think it's is spectacularly smart and handy !! :D Can't wait to get started with cooking the recipes together with my baby ! :D

Peace and out for today ! ;)


- Stef

Mommy's visit ! :D

So, the week flew by quickly, my mom arrived and left again, but left are many happy memories !! :D

Here are some highlights from the week that I spent together with my lovely mom and my lovely Theo :D





First night: After Theo's home made Italian dinner, we went to the city center for some dessert :D Yummie !



Here we arranged my place to fit 6 people for dinner ! :D Looking nice eh :D




Theo's mom, sister and brother :) And Theo and the mommies :D



Theo, Naomi and Alexander :P So cute together !



Me and mommy and Theo's grandma :D And Theo's dad and grandma :D



At Theo's grandpa's place :D



Having a beer at Grote Markt after some shopping in The Hague city center :D




Some shopping in Amsterdam :D And a lazy dinner on the couch :D




And the happiest food-day was when we went to the restaurant Los Argentinos in The Hague city center. It is seriously the best steakhouse ever !! Home made BBQ sauce and grilled meat... We ENJOYED every bit !!





In short: The week was amazing and we had lots of fun together !! :D I just wish we could do this more often !! Now it's back to school, 1 month left until Christmas holidays and Sweden :)

Thanks for reading :P Til next time !


- Stef