My 25th Birthday | Loepsie’s Life

Cheerful Monday greetings to you! Last Thursday was the day I turned 25, and I can honestly say this has been one of the best birthdays ever. Not only because I got to do loads of fun things to celebrate, but also because 25 actually feels amazing. I feel like this is an age that suits me well, and just feels right, in a way. Every year around my birthday I can’t help but reflect on my life and where I always thought I would be at this age. I know that that expectation isn’t really important (or it shouldn’t be, at least) but honestly, feeling like you’re doing well and are “on track” with life is quite wonderful. So yes, this year I’m totally at peace with getting older and I thoroughly enjoyed the festivities! And they were good, guys. Let’s take a look!

The double hammock has quickly become one of the favourite spots for the rats. They all hang out in it at some point, and sometimes they all snuggle up in there together. I should probably make more of these!

On Monday, Robbert came home from Malmö and I was very happy to see him again. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed my weekend alone at home while he was away, I had a fantastic time but having him back was really nice as well :)

My mom kindly agreed to take care of the rats for two days while Robbert and I went away, so I laid everything she’d need out for her on the table, with a page and a half of instructions, haha! Oh, life with two elderly rats :)

On Tuesday evening we got up bright and early and headed south to… THE EFTELING! My favourite place on earth, the fairytale theme park here in the Netherlands. A few months back something magical happened as someone from my network called to see whether I’d be interested in working on a video with the Efteling. I believe she was rather uncertain whether I’d be into something like that, so I’m sure my reaction must’ve suprised her as I almost screamed YES through the phone, haha! Judging I already have shot seven (yes, I counted them) extremely happy vlogs in the Efteling myself over the years, I figured there’d seldomly been a more organic cooperation :) They offered me a night in the Efteling Hotel and two days in the park in return for a vlog, and we were able to make it happen right before my birthday so you can imagine how excited I was. I visit the Efteling about twice every year, but had never been at the hotel before even though it’s something I’ve always dreamed of. I could honestly jump with joy again just thinking about these two days!

The face of pure joy :)

I’ve always wondered about this little hidden piece of veggie propaganda in the Lavenland. It says “people eat meat, Laafs never do”. Not complaining though, haha!

So much love for the Lavenland. This place is genius. It’s a complete little village where the magical Laaf creatures live and it’s the coolest thing.

Another thing I’ve always wondered about: the expression of complete terror on the faces of merry-go-round horses. I noticed horses often have this expression in paintings as well… I decided to go with  the flow :)

When we were able to check into the hotel in the afternoon, we went over there to warm up and get a bit of rest. And check out the room of course, which I was really excited to see. I found this super nice card wishing me a happy birthday on the bed, along with some chocolates.

After a little break we headed back into the park again.

The park was so calm and quiet! There were barely any other guests here so we could go on all the rides as often as we wanted, without ever waiting in line. As we were staying at the hotel we stayed in the park until closing time, and got a look at the Efteling at nighttime. That’s a completely new experience, really beautiful!

We decided to have dinner at the hotel this night, as we get to eat in the park a lot but this was a unique opportunity, of course. We didn’t regret it one second! The food was actually rather fancy and really delicious. I had couscous with tempura as a main and this chocolate mousse for dessert. Afterwards we headed into the hotel bar for a drink, before going to bed.

I woke up the next morning with a huge grin on my face :) We enjoyed a lovely breakfast at the hotel and then headed back into the park again.

The sun was out so we went on a tour through the fairytale forest. We shot so much footage, guys! I’m going to edit everything into a nice video which should be going live on Thursday, so keep an eye out for that :)

We went on a few more rides and then it was time to go back home.

In one of the shops in the Efteling we found a beautiful embroidery set, which Robbert bought me as a birthday present. I’ve never properly done embroidery before but it seemed like something I’d enjoy, so I really wanted to give it a go. I started the project the same evening and oh my gosh, guys. I LOVE IT! It’s so much fun to do!

So yeah, your girl’s got a new hobby, haha! The image is coming together very slowly so it’ll take me a long time to finish, but I’m actually glad of it. I don’t want this to be over :)

On my actual birthday on Thursday, I got to pay a visit to my favourite city: Utrecht!

I got myself a huge portion of fries with vegan mayo (Dutchies: did you know Smullers has vegan mayo?) and headed over to the University.

I was invited to the career event they were hosting, to talk about my career after graduating from a humanities study. I would’ve loved an event like this back when I was studying, so I gladly went over and held a little presentation.

Friday was completely dedicated to preparing the party I was hosting on Saturday. Robbert and I decided to give a combined birthday & housewarming party for all our friends, so we needed a bunch of groceries. Luckily my friend who owns a car offered to help me pick everything up so I didn’t have to do it all by bike :)

I didn’t get any photos of the actual party, but it was loads of fun. We had a proper Dutch birthday party where everybody sits in a circle and congratulates one another, hahaha! So many people showed up and we had a great time. I made a ginormous amount of snacks and nearly everything got eaten, which is always a good sign. These are some of the presents I received! Little tip for small house dwellers and/or minimalists: I always like to ask for gifts that can be used up, or experiences. We were kindly gifted lots of amazing loose leaf teas, some theatre and zoo tickets, a delicious scented candle, and yes, a bag of kale, haha :) Long story that one, but it’s something I’ve been looking for for a while. Major thanks to everybody who came and made us feel loved! :)

On Sunday Robbert and I went over to my parents’ for dinner and the final birthday cake.

I honestly couldn’t have wished for a better birthday. What an amazing way to celebrate a quarter of a century of life! I hope your week was wonderful as well, guys. Talk to you soon!