OOTD: Black & Blue

The other day I went shopping so I needed an outfit that would be both comfortable and handy for trying on clothes etc. It was also a pretty dreary looking day so I went with items that would not only be practical but that would also keep me warm enough. By the end of the day it became sweltering though so I was happy to be wearing a jacket with the outfit which I could easily take off and prevent from getting to warm. It’s a very simple outfit, but since the pants are so bright and the jacket has some cool details and is very textured and has some fun details I thought it worked. Here’s what I wore:

What I’m wearing:

- Black woolen uniform style jacket (Only)

- Blue skin tight pants (Forever 21)

- Black low cowboy boots (Divino)

Like I said: it’s a very simple outfit, but it’s practical and fun at the same time. The blue pants were featured in my last shopping haul post as I bought them at Forever 21 in Antwerp. They are super comfortable as they are made of this stretchy material that just molds itself to your body. It’s therefore super tight. The fabric is a bit thick too so it is also good for keeping you warm. The jacket I bought on sale I think 2 years ago at Only. It’s made out of wool and so it’s very warm and also quite heavy but it’s perfect for the transitional weather we’ve been having. I wore a t-shirt underneath so it would be handier with trying things on.

Close up of the pants and the boots

The boots I bought from the now discontinued store Divino. Again I’ve had these for ages! They are very comfortable though and I wear them often. They are also practical as you can easily slip them on and you’re out the door in a jiffy.

Front of jacket

Here’s the front of the jacket. It’s very simple with just these antique style buttons that go down the front in a double row. Half of them are fake buttons, the other half are used to close up the jacket.

Detail on button

As you can tell the pictures aren’t the best quality as I didn’t have the best lighting that day, but you still get the idea I think. Also no face of the day because I opted out of wearing make up that day. It was just one of those days. I will compensate though and have just a face of the day up some time soon.

Quite something different from the ditsy polka dot dress I showed last week don’t you think?

New shoes: black studded biker boots

I would like to introduce you to my new love, my latest addition to my shoe collection: a pair of black heeled ankle boots with studs, a chunky zipper, silver hardware and a biker feel to them. I bought them from a shoe store called Sacha. I first saw these online, but as I am not fond of buying shoes online without trying them on I decided to not buy them. Until I saw them in the window display last week. I immediately went in and tried them on. They ran a little small, but taking a bigger size worked miracles and right when I was about to tell the store clerk: yes I want these, I noticed some of the silver hardware detailing was missing. The only other pair in my size had the same issue. That is why I took to their website and found out they had an offer for free shipping when you spent over a certain amount of money. I didn’t hesitate one minute, hit order and a few days later these babies popped through my mailbox. I love them so much that I thought they needed a complete post of their own. Don’t you think?

Black biker boots with heel, studs and tassled zipper

Other side

Front view

The back

The details that make the shoe: silver hardware, silver studs, silver zipper and a tassle

Silver cuffs on the edge of the shoe

Tassle!

Studs!

I love the edginess of these shoes. They have a nice, sturdy block heel so they are super comfy to walk in. I love the details on them and I actually don’t have any black ankle boots with a lower heel that are comfortable enough to walk in all day. I like how the heel is in fact a heel as it’s not too low, nor too high. The only downside is that the bottoms of the shoes are super smooth, but I will just have to use some sandpaper to roughen them up. They are real leather too so these will surely last a long time.

Any opinions on my latest purchase? Let me know in a comment below. Thank you for your time.

SOTD: Marcus Foster – Shadows of the City

I have been playing this song over and over for the past few weeks. Every single time I hear it I want to burst out in song. I love how it starts all quiet and melancholy and just swells to this amazing song. I managed to find the official video as well as too amazing live performances. One literally on the streets of London and another in some yard of sorts. Both times it’s just him and his guitar. I haven’t decided yet which I like better: the album version of one of these stripped down ones… Which is yours?

Official Video:

On the streets in front of Rough Trade West for Record Store Day:

Outside in some yard of sorts:

What can I say? Boy can sing. And the best part yet: I’ll be seeing him live in June when he hits up Paradiso. Ha! I hope you enjoyed, let me know what you thought in a comment below.

NOTW: Million Dollar Green

I thought this is a very spring like nail look. It definitely reminds me of sunrays hitting the green grass of a park. So perfect for this time of year. My nails have been pretty banged up lately. I cannot seem to let them grow out and they break like there is not tomorrow. I do have to say that my being busy led me to not have much proper time for nail care, so I hope that as of right now I can take care of them again so will become longer and healthier again. Anywho: without further ado I present to you this weeks nail look.

Doesn’t this just make you happy straight away! I’m so glad the sun came out and I felt inspired. Products used:

- Etos Nail Strengthener in very strong as base coat

- OPI Green-which Village

- Catrice Million Styles Top Coat in Million Dollar Baby

- INM Out the Door Fast Drying Top Coat

Here are some more pictures and a close up!

 

What are you wearing on your nails today?

Denim shorts DIY: how to give your jeans a distressed look

Today it’s time for something different. Something I have never posted on before: a DIY or do it yourself project. I am quite handy when it comes to creating things with needle and thread so I thought it would be a good idea to customize a pair of denim shorts. I’ve had these shorts for 2 years already, but I may have worn them once. Why? I found them too plain and boring. Now however, that has changed as I have done several things to them to make them look much edgier. Want to know what I did? Then keep on reading.

First of all, I forgot to take a before picture as it was a spur of the moment idea and I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. So I didn’t take a picture of what the shorts looked like before I started messing around with them. But here is a picture of a very similar pair of shorts:

They are just a basic pair of denim shorts from H&M. They sell roughly the same models every year so it should be easy to do with whichever pair of shorts you have lying about. The ones I have were a bit longer than the ones in the picture above and you will see that mine comes with a distressed look/ frayed holes. Those frayed holes were in the shorts when I bought them but minus the belt. They did however have the rolled up legs and the color is also the same. These retail for 25 euros, which is also the price I paid for mine two years ago. And here is what mine look right now:

Customized denim shorts – front

Customized denim shorts – back

What a difference right? Here’s what I did:

- Cut off the seams at the bottom

- Added studs

- Dip dyed the shorts with bleach

- Added spatter with bleach

First up I cut off the seams at the bottom of the shorts. I just followed the edge of the seam as much as possible. I didn’t want it to be too neat, but I did cut off any excess bits that I missed. As I mentioned my shorts were quite long and the seams made the pant leg too narrow for them to be comfy. It’s why I hardly wore them in the first place. My initial plan was to just cut off the bottoms and leave it at that, but as I was cutting I had some other ideas pop into my head.

Secondly I added studs. I bought the studs on Ebay from this seller for less than 2 dollar including shipping. They are really easy to use: you push them through the fabric and then I used a nail file to bend the end so they stay put. Just make sure you don’t put them anywhere where they contact your skin directly as they can leave scratches or make the shorts uncomfortable.

I studded both the front pockets, as well as the edges of the back pockets

Next, I dip dyed the shorts by hanging them in a bucket with a few good skirts of bleach to which I added 3 – 4 liters of hot to boiling water. I used the hanger to hang the shorts into the bucket only a little bit into water as I wanted to make only the bottom part of the shorts lighter. I left the shorts in there for 15 – 20 minutes. Just make sure you keep an eye on it. When you use more bleach you will need less time for it to take effect. Afterwards I rinsed the shorts with cold water, tumble dried them and let them dry overnight.

Last but not least, I put the now dried shorts on a few plastic bags in my kitchen floor. I then put some water on my dishwashing brush, added a skirt of bleach and went Jackson Pollock on it, by sweeping the bleach onto the shots. I repeated this several times until I thought I had created enough spatter. I let the bleach sit and work its magic for about 5 – 10 minutes (watch out the bleach doesn’t eat through the fabric), rinsed it with cold water and then put it in the wash and let it dry. Just watch out for your clothes when you do this.

Some splatter results

I think they look pretty cool now! The dip dye bit could perhaps be a bit lighter but I like them like this. I am actually quite satisfied with the spatter patterns I created and the cut off pant leg also makes it look much more distressed. Remember, the frayed bits were already there when I bought but I’m sure that if you cut a small hole and then picked apart the fabric would lead to similar results. A pretty cool thing to do on a slow day. It’s quick, super easy and has great results.

Have you ever customized any of your clothing items? If so, what and how?

My favorite stores for shopping clothes

If you hadn’t noticed already I love to shop. I’m not an expensive shopper, which is one of the reason why I can buy quite a lot of things. If I spend more than 50 euros on a single item of clothing it’s a lot and then it better be good too. I will only spend 50 euros or more on items that I deem special enough to be worth the money. This means that it’s usually limited to dresses, the occasional blazer or cardigan and a pair of jeans. I make exceptions for shoes though, as a good pair of shoes is usually a bit more expensive. Which is why I usually end up going to the same stores and why I like getting a good deal (on sale or just in general). Over the years I have thus developed a few favorites and that is why I thought it would be fun to give you a list of my favorite places to shop for fashion. Here are my 5 favorites.

Source: weheartit.com

H&M

This blog has featured plenty of hauls from H&M. It’s easily accessible and not expensive. I have to say that H&M can be a bit hit or miss at times, especially when you order something online, but my experiences overall have been good so far. I think that most of my clothing comes from the Swedish mega company. I just love how they have good basics in the colors that are trendy that season, as well as some more trendy items that seem to be taken straight from the catwalk. You can get dressed from head to toe under 50 euros using only H&M as they also have great accessories, shoes, bags, underwear etc. And not in the least bit important: I exactly know my size so I usually know right off the bat which size I need. Biggest disadvantage: everyone and their mother wears it.

Asos

This website I usually only use for window shopping. Just to get inspiration. I don’t always find the price/ quality combination worthwhile on Asos, but they do have some great, more different items that not everyone in your town will be wearing. It is also huge. I think that if I were to spend an entire week on that website I would still not have been able to see everything that is on there. Another thing I love is how they actually have a catwalk video for all the items so you can see how the clothing moves: whether it’s stiff or flowy etc. You usually cannot see that in a picture.

ZARA

What I love about ZARA is how they are usually very quickly with translating trends from the runway into consumer fashion. If you read about a trend today, chances are ZARA is selling it tomorrow. I also like how they have a lot of more business casual clothing at affordable prices. I know that if I ever need to buy smarter clothes for a future job, all I have to do is hit up ZARA and I’ll be set and ready to go within minutes. They usually have a great selection of blazers and dressy shirts but the TRF/ Trafaluc line is definitely edgier, with more trendy pieces. The main downside with ZARA for me is that the sizes can run a bit small and sometimes a large won’t even fit.

Topshop

Topshop is not yet available in Holland, nor anywhere near it, but every time I go to London I have to have a peek. You don’t go to Topshop for basics, but for the more trendy items they sell. Especially because that is where you can get the best deals. A t-shirt at Topshop can easily cost you 25 punds, which for a t-shirt is quite expensive if you ask me. However, I bought two knits in February and both cost around 30 – 35 pounds each, which for a thick knit sweater that not everyone and their mother will wear is definitely not bad. Out of all the stores in this post I think Topshop is also the most trendy one. They seem to sell the trends before they become trends, if you know what I mean. It is not only great for clothes, but also for shoes, accessories, make up and everything else you need to put together a complete look.

Urban Outfitters

Last but not least is Urban Outfitters. This US store (which is also located in Antwerp by the way) is not for basics. It’s trendy, but slightly more edgy and rough and tough looking than Topshop. If there is one thing for sure it’s that you will not find a standard item in the store. The cuts are always slightly different, so are the colors, the textures, well everything. That is probably why it is expensive. A knit cardigan can set you back 75 euros in one go and basic looking t-shirts can cost as much as 30 – 40 euros. However, some of my most loved items (little black dress, comfiest cardigan and one of my favorite t-shirts) all come from this store. So if you’re willing to make an investment and you like slightly quirky clothing items this is the place for you. And even if you think the clothes are too expensive: have a look at their accessories, books, and quirky pop culture items that are also being sold there.

Dutch vs English

Two weeks ago I wrote a post on how difficult it can be to learn a foreign language. People responded to that post asking for some more language posts. One request was to know more about cognates and similarities and difference between Dutch and English. You ask, I deliver.  Today’s post will be on linguistic similarities (and with that a few differences too) between Dutch and English. The similarities go beyond mere words and I just thought I’d point a few out. So whether you’re a Dutch person learning English, or an English person learning Dutch, I think this will be helpful either way.

First of all I would like to point out that right when I first started this blog I wrote two posts on learning Dutch. Post 1 was the introduction and it has a long list with cognates in it for very basic, every day items. Post 2 was on adjectives in Dutch. I suggest you have a look at at least the first post before continuing to read this one. I also put a few links at the bottom with some interesting sources regarding this topic.

Vocabulary:

There are plenty of words that are similar in both Dutch and English. The main reason being that both come from the Germanic language family and therefore many basic words are very much the same, or at least appear very similar. This can actually help you learn the language and at least know the basics such as standard items around the house, and basic family relations. However, these similarities can also cause problems as they often are what we call ‘false friends’: words that look the same, but actually aren’t. On the other hand there are words that look so similar that you simply wouldn’t believe that they actually are the same thing.

Words that are similar and mean the same thing:

anew (opnieuw), seldom (zelden), lift (BrE, lift),

Words that look similar but mean something different:

undertaker = not ondernemer (entrepreneur) but funeral director (begrafenisondernemer)

stool = not stoel, but barkruk

knickers = not knikkers (marbles) but BrE for underwear

actual = really, not actueel = current

realize = beseffen, not realiseren in the sense of making something happen = produce or achieve

advocate = not advocaat (lawyer) but someone in favor of something (voorstander)

eventually = not eventueel (potential) but

The list goes on and on. It leads to quite hilarious situations at times. Now forgive the inappropriate example here, but it was the first thing to pop into my head. When I was 12 and first starting to learn English someone told me the following sentence:

The pig stood stiff in the brook.

I thought it was hilarious. Why? Because it sounds like: De pik stond stijf in de broek, which means: The penis was rock hard in the pants, whereas it of course means: Het varken stond rechtop in de sloot.

Sentence structure

When it comes to basic sentence structure both English and Dutch use Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) structure. Now basic sentence structure means when the sentence is just made up of a subject, a verb and an object. The minute you start adding adverbials (time, place etc.) things become more complicated. But still: basic sentence structure is the same. Compare:

Ik eet een appel – I eat an apple

Hij leest een boek – He reads a book

Wij schrijven brieven – We write letters

etc.

Grammatical tenses

Grammatical tenses seem very simple and similar at first. However, when you start using them in either language you will find that there are some difficulties. The only tense that really works one on one is Past Perfect. In both Dutch and English you use the tense in the same way and in the same situations. Compare:

Toen ik thuiskwam, had de hond het eten opgegeten.

When I came home, the dog had eaten all the food.

The tense is the same (had …. opgegeten vs had eaten) and in both cases the sentence indicates that something happened in the past tense (came home) but that there was another event which happened before the past tense you are talking about (the dog eating the food). In order to refer to an event which took place before the past tense which you are referring to both English and Dutch use Past Perfect. The clue is usually in the word ‘when’, or ‘before’. These words usually occur with Past perfect. With all other tenses there are complications, so I will discuss those in the future.

Idiomatic expressions

The worst (in any language really) is to learn correct idiomatic expressions. When these things go wrong you will literally become lost in translation. What usually happens is that people try to use an expression but instead of using the correct equivalent, they simply translate literally. This usually goes wrong and Maarten Rijkens wrote two books filled with Dutch people using wrong English expressions. Especially his second book is handy because it lists all the expressions from the first book with the intended meaning of the speaker in Dutch, what you’re actually saying in English, as well as the proper English translation. Some infamous examples:

I always get my sin – Ik krijg altijd mijn zin (I always get what I want).

Now the monkey comes out of the sleeve – Nu komt de aap uit de mouw (Now we know the truth)

I always drive topless. Ik rijdt altijd met open dak (I always drive with the top down)

Who are you doing? Hoe gaat het met je? (How are you doing?)

Links to interesting sources:

List of cognates

Ronald van de Krol – Voertaal: English. The sticky world of Dunglish and how to avoid it

Maarten Rijkens – I always get my sin. het bizarre Engels van Nederlands

Maarten Rijkens – We always get our sin too. Tips om bizar Engels te vermijden

Let me know in a comment below whether this was helpful! Thank you.

LOTD: Orange & Polka Dots

Today I have another look of the day for you. This time featuring a ditsy polka dot dress and a bright orange eye look. I bought the dress at Topshop in Dublin when I was there in August and apart from a salsa night in September I hadn’t had the chance to wear it yet. Temperatures are going up though so I’m sure that I can start wearing dresses again more often. I kept the outfit super simple with semi-opaque black tights and patent black peep toe shoes. Since the outfit didn’t have much color I once again decided to go with a pop of color on my face. Leave a comment below to let me know what you think!

What I’m wearing:

Cream & black polka dot shirt dress (Topshop)

Opaque black tights (don’t remember!)

Patent black peep toe pump heel (Van Haren)

Like I said: I decided to keep this very simple: no jewelry or accessories. With that dress it would quickly become too much or take away the effect of the dress. These two pictures are the only two that came out. Today was not a good day for taking pictures! But I do really like the next one. Here you can really see the cute collar detail.

So to amp up the color palette of this look, I decided to use a very current and trendy color: orange. Unfortunately my camera hates bright and dark colors and washes them out completely so in real life this was much brighter and noticeable then it is in these following pictures.

eye look

eye closed

Full face

full face with better lighting & close up

Products used:

eyes: Inglot palette (orange & white highlight), a bright orange from my 120 color palette, MAC fluid line in dipdown, Maybelline The Falsies Flared mascara & Benefit ooh la lift in the inner corner. I also used a random soft matte brown eyeshadow from one of my Sleek palette, but I can’t remember which one!

eyebrows: MAC eyeshadow in Omega, The Body Shop clear brow gel.

face: Garnier BB cream in light, MAC Studio Sculpt concealer in NW20, MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural in Medium, Benefit blusher in Coralista.

lips: Maybelline Color Sensational lipgloss in Pink Petal.

What do you think? Would you like to see me do more outfits with dresses? Or how about a: my favorite dresses including pics where I style them? Let me know!

Current favorite songs: May 2012

Music time! I have been gathering quite a bit of music as of late and so I thought I’d share my favorites with you. This time it’s a pretty good mix of different styles I think. There’s some rock, some indie, some dance, some chill out, a bit of everything really. I hope you enjoy! Leave a comment below and tell me about your favorites.

1.) Summer Heart – Come with me

This song makes me want the sun to start shining for real.

2.) Tender Forever – You have the woods

A bit dark and mysterious, but I love the droning drums in the background.

3.) Maps & Atlases – Winter

Now for a more cheerful vibe. I went to see these guys in concert a few weeks ago and it was surprisingly fun! It’s this folky, poppy, indie music which is unexpectedly danceable too. Sometimes cheap concerts (I paid 8 euros for the ticket) are the most fun ones because you have no expectations. If you get a chance to see them: please do so.

4.) Red Alder – Supernova

Dreamy indie pop with a hint of melancholy. I listen to this to take my mind off of things before I go to bed. It’s so relaxing!

5.) Magic Wands – Warrior (The XX Remix)

I found this song in my list titled as Black Magic, but I couldn’t find the song under that title. I did find a song called Warriors and found that this is the actual song. So I’m renamed the title. It’s a remix done by The XX. I love their minimalistic music. If you liked The XX original stuff, you will like this too. You can download the song for free here.

6.) Ricky Eat Acid – Only Girl

I’m still digging repetitive sample music such as this.

7.) Miles Kane – First of my Kind

A bit of rock to shake you awake after that slow tune. It’s Artic Monkeys (he’s part of it) with Oasis on Don’t Look Back to Anger meets The Verve (the latter not musically, but style and video wise). This is going to be part of the soundtrack to my summer.

8.) Simian Mobile Disco – Cerulean

Simian Mobile Disco is releasing a new record soon (or already did so by now). Some track have already been leaking. This is my favorite one so far.

9.) Swanky Tunes & Hard Rock Sofa vs. Basement Jaxx – I Wanna Be Your Dog vs. Where’s Your Head At

Swanky Tunes & Hard Rock Sofa vs. Basement Jaxx – I Wanna Be Your Dog vs. Where’s Your Head At

Let’s have some more dance music shall we? Dirty house mixed in with The Stooges’ I wanna be your dog AND Basement Jaxx’s Where’s your head at? It doesn’t get much better than this! You have to click the link though, couldn’t find it anywhere else. I originally found this on a remix EP by Afrojack.

10.) Peace Treaty Vs ESOT Vs Jay-Z & Kanye West – Heard You Were Walking In Paris (Hardwell MAKJ Bootleg)

Another dance mash up. Hardwell + Kanye, Jay-Z and some other wacked out dance tunes make for an awesome track.

What are your current favorite songs?

Low Carb: 6 months later + what I eat

In November I first wrote about wanting to cut down carbs. Not because I needed to lose weight, but because I found out that eating starchy, high carb foods gave me stomachaches. Now, six months later, I’m still going strong. I have been slacking a bit when it comes to sugary things in the past month or so. Easter, birthdays and the fact that I was tired and felt a bit out of sorts for a few weeks didn’t help. When I’m stressed I simply crave sweet stuff so that added to my intake of bad food. However, that was mainly snacks. Meal wise I haven’t strayed once from the path I started. I am still the same weight I was when I wrote my last update, and I still feel great!

Instead of telling you yet again about how I’m feeling, I thought it would be much more interesting to show you what I have been eating the past couple of weeks. Not everything is low carb, but since I work out nearly 5 hours a week that simply wouldn’t be feasible. They are easy to prepare and require little to no skill. I will take you through the meals from breakfast to dinner.

Breakfast

I am not an adventurous breakfast eater. I do have breakfast every single day though. My standard breakfast is some non-fat yoghurt with some kiwi fruit, but I sometimes change it up by using Turkish, Greek or Bulgarian yoghurt and I may add banana (when I get up late) or skip the fruit and just add some walnuts and a bit of honey.

Non-fat yoghurt with kiwi fruit

Lunch

There are several things that I will eat for lunch and I will show you my options below. I occasionally eat sandwiches, but usually only on Saturdays when I had a 2 hour work out.

Fried eggs with ham and cheese

This meal I also have as a late, late breakfast, or as lunch and if I’m exceptionally lazy it also functions as dinner sometimes. The ham can easily be exchanged for bacon if you’d like and I usually add some mayonnaise too.

Carrots & celery with hummus dip

I had this a few times during last week’s vacation and I even took the left overs with me yesterday for lunch. It’s just some raw veggies and hummus. It’s delicious and healthy too. I will post the recipe for the hummus some time later this week or next week.

Salads

I have been eating a ton of salads over the past few months. It’s what I usually take with me to work as lunch. My salads usually consist of at least 3 types of veggie, meat and cheese, but I also mix in nuts, or fish. Whatever seems like a good combination really. I will show you 3 different salads that I have been eating recently.

Cajun chicken with cucumber, lettuce, red bell pepper and cashew nuts

Salad with mixed lettuce, sweet corn, cucumber, red bell pepper, feta cheese and pepperoni

Goat’s cheese, cucumber, apple, raisins and walnutsChorizo, gouda cheese, olives, cucumber and bell pepper

As you can see, I love my cucumber and bell pepper. I also add black or green olives quite a bit, as well as capers, tomatoes, different types of lettuce, carrots, different meats and different cheeses. When I make a salad with fish it’s usually tuna or salmon with pickles, avocado and olives.

Dinner

Dinner is quite possibly my most variable meal in the week. I tend to eat the same thing for lunch for an entire week, as I live by myself and have no one to share the food with. Dinner is a bit easier for me to change up because if I have too much after making something I simply chuck it in the freezer. It is super handy, saves time, but I am limited in what I can do as some foods (like spinach) are not very fond of being reheated. With a new job starting in August though I hope to have more time for cooking and thus even more variation.

Mushroom soup

This simply came from a can. But if you have been reading this blog for a while, you will know that I also like to make my own soup occasionally. You can find my recipes for pumpkin and veggie soup by clicking here and here.

Farfalle pasta with creme fraiche (cream sauce), leak, ham and mushrooms

Not very low carb, but very delicious. It’s quite possibly my favorite pasta.

Broccoli with fish stick

Broccoli is my favorite veggie hands down. I eat it a ton. In fact, it’s on the menu again for tonight, but this time with a chicken cordon blue.

Chili

The easiest of easy meals! Instead of adding rice, I opted for two types of beans instead. So this has both brown beans and kidney beans in it, as well as some corn, bell pepper, onion and of course ground beef.

Kofta

Now this is a bit of cheat meal as well, but again delicious. I made this using a meal package which includes the rice and spices. All you have to add is some meat and veggies. Simple and yummy, though probably not the best for you. If you don’t know what Kofta is, it’s rice with meat rolls, tomato sauce and zucchini/ courgette.

Steak of tartar with rhubarb

Now it looks like I don’t eat any other veggies, but I do. I also have some other meals waiting for me in the fridge, which include an over dish consisting of bacon, a bunch of left over veggies and cheese. But this is mainly what I’ve been eating in the past 2 – 3 weeks.

Snacks & Drinks

One thing not shown here are my snacks and drinks. Drinks wise I’m insanely boring. I only drink water and tea and change it up with the occasional cup of Starbucks (I go once or twice a month) and I’ll have a glass of wine or have one or two beers when I’m at a party. And that’s pretty much it. I think I had a soda only a hand full of times in the past 6 months.

I eat bananas and apples as in-between-meals’ snacks (or any other fruit really). At night, if I still feel like having something I’ll have a slice of Dutch gingerbread. My only major snack moments are in the weekends. That’s when I allow myself to binge out and empty a bag of chips, M&Ms or whatever tickles my fancy. I also have the occasional craving for fries or pizza and I will give into that as well. I guess I have fast food once a month on average. That isn’t much of a change for me though as I rarely did take out or fastfood to begin with. I occasionally treat myself to a simple meal where I just buy some meat, cheese and olives and snack on that throughout the evening while lounging on my couch watching television.

I hope this gives you a general idea of what I eat throughout a week. Of course this is not all that I eat. I try to keep my diet as varied as possible. I change up my salads every week (this week it will be goat’s cheese, cucumber, tomatoes, olives and walnuts) and dinner changes daily. This has really worked for me. I feel fit, healthy and energetic. It doesn’t even feel like a big change until I tell people that I simply don’t eat as much pasta/ rice/ potatoes/ bread anymore. I now look forward to Saturday afternoon when I allow myself to have 2 slices of bread with peanut butter, rather than just wolfing it down without thinking about it. And what’s even more: no more stomachaches, and when I do, I know that I ate the wrong thing.

What are you doing to feel good?