Choc chip cookies

After a few too many games of this (warning: highly addictive stuff in sight), we were seriously craving chocolate chips cookies. I found an old recipe I got straight from the States years ago (Anne, maybe it was yours? I can't remember...). Anyway, they are de-li-ci-ous, and we have been enjoying them tremendously!

Two little cuties

Mart brought back the cutest little aubergines from the market this morning. It almost felt cruel to put them on our pizza for dinner!

Blue beads

Fell in love with these on the weekend. And just had to try and make myself a nice blue one.

Happy birthday Papa!

Another birthday away from home, another present sent through the mail. It's really time for me to go back for a visit again; it's been way too long. I wish I could have been there today.

Joyeux anniversaire Papa!
Gros, gros becs...

Pretty colours (kind of)

I liked the real-life colours of this packet much better (the tones were somehow softer and prettier - the photo really doesn't do them justice).

The real thing

So, it seems that my memory was a little off. :-)
My mum found a piece of the fabric she and my dad used to make my little sleeping bag, and it turns out it wasn't exactly the way I thought: it didn't have any trees but balloons.
But it did have the light blue tones I remembered, and there were indeed clouds around... I wasn't too wrong after all!

And can you see the little flower at the top right corner? I really don't remember there being flowers at all...
I hope this little sleeping bag is still somewhere at home, and that we'll find it one day. I'd love to look at it again and try and remember looking at all the details years and years ago, when I was just a few years old.

Coconut & lime yogurt popsicles

I've been looking at products like this one for a few weeks already, thinking it would be so much fun to have in the summer... but then reason gets the better of me and I end up not buying anything because a) our freezer is about the size of a matchbox, b) summer over here only lasts for a few days it seems (or at least this year it hasn't really appeared yet) and c) am I really going to spend 50 euro on a machine to make a few ice blocks every now and then? (I just saw that you can get them for slightly cheaper online, but still...).

Anyway. The other day we saw a few rays of sun, and I got the urge to make little ice creams... and so I did with what I had on hand at home. The adorable little dishes I received for my birthday a few years ago turned out to be the perfect shape, and I just stuck mini spoons in there to make the sticks. A bit of the delicious coconut & lime yogurt in there, a few hours in the freezer, and that was it!

Weekend breakfasts are the best

And one for me too

I liked the mini version that I made for Rosalie so much that I decided I had to have one too.

Happy birthday Rosalie!

A cute little t-shirt and bandana for Rosalie's first birthday.
Had loads of fun making the anchor stamp and printing all over the shirt.
Am keeping my fingers crossed that the ink is indeed permanent!

:-)

Memories

When we saw these pillow covers in a shop in Stockholm, they immediately reminded me of a sleeping bag my parents had made me when I was a little kid... the fabric had the same feel, with a light blue background, clouds and trees... And when I shared this with Mart, he said he had pillow slips pretty much exactly the same when he was little!

We just had to buy them to sleep on these soft blue landscapes again... ah, memories...

Pretty blue

Cinnamon memories

We quickly went to Ikea today and were delighted to see they had 'kanelbullar' in the restaurant section. We ate some almost every day when we were in Stockholm in May - we absolutely loved them. Today, the taste of cinnamon and cardamon brought back great memories of this beautiful city and the wonderful time we spent there.

We came back with a new wrap for our couch and most importantly, a new stock of the best biscuits in the world! :-)

On my balcony

Remember the beautiful present my friend Claire gave me last year? Well, part of it grew into a beautiful little garden last summer. I had kept some seeds for later though, and almost one year later, we have dahlias flowering again! I like them for two reasons: 1) they bring a bit of colour to our balcony and 2) they make me think of Claire, who has just moved far, far away with her fiance... We've been friends for 10 years now. And even though we've been on opposite sides of the globe for most of this time, she is always really close in my heart.

♥

Mmmh, and talking about fiances: mine is a total poser, don't you think?

Happy 4th of July!

4th of July decorations from here.
Poster from here ('stuck on' wall with these).
Great mid-semester party from here.

Heiligdomsvaart

When I first set foot in Maastricht in the summer of 2004, all excited to be starting my third year of university, as an exchange student in another country, I remember hearing people talking about this huge religious celebration which we had unfortunately just missed by days. It seemed to be quite a big deal, but it only took place every 7 years, so I quickly forgot about it thinking I'd never witness it anyway. I wonder what I would have said back then if anyone would have told me 'oh, don't worry, you'll still be here in seven years, you'll get to see it then!'.

The adventure that was supposed to be just a year abroad during my studies actually changed my life. I found love, wonderful friends and a new home. 7 years on and we are still as happy as we were when we first got here. Things have changed, of course, but you couldn't expect anything different in so many years.

And this afternoon, right after the end of the procession, we caught ourselves wondering if we'd still be here in 7 years' time... and if so, what our life will look like then.
I'm curious!

Back home again

Yep, I know this is a re-post, but that's ok, isn't it?

Mart came back home today after ten days away for a congress... I'm super happy to have him home again!