Happy Monday, everybody! As I’m typing this, there’s a bright winter sun shining right in my face. Can’t say I mind it too much, it’s always good to see the sun, haha! I’ve had a really good week, productive and fun. The best combo! As always I took photos all throughout the week, so let’s take a look at what I was up to.
The purge at my parents’ continues. I went through my closet again as there’s still way too much in there, and I got rid of some old pyjamas and T-shirts. It’s getting harder and harder to get rid of things now, but there’s still so much left! I’m afraid I’m going to have to make a bit more of an effort. Or hope for a bigger closet in my next home :)
Driver’s seat selfie! I drove my mom around for some errands, to get some driving practice in. I don’t drive nearly enough and it still feels super weird for me to be driving a car. I need to start driving more and longer distances to get more comfortable with it.
Dance class started again! We’re back after Christmas break and it feels so good to get moving again. After class I headed home to Utrecht.
Grocery haul! A bigger one this time. I got paprika crisps, spicy hummus, oats, wholewheat bread, onions, garlic, peas, avocado, onions, clementines, crackers, bell peppers, a chilli, courgette, falafel and tomatoes. Nothing like a fridge stocked with fresh goodies, I tell ya.
Painting your nails and then realising you forgot the laundry in the washer… And ruining your fresh paint job by hanging it up. Sigh.
D&D night! I was cooking this time and I made a green veggie risotto with Italian herbs and oven roasted cherry tomatoes.
Getting ready to film a Beauty Beacons video.
Mystery plant is so close to blooming! It hasn’t bloomed since I got it and now I can finally see little pink flowers coming through. I love when my plants start blooming again, it’s like they’re telling me: “thank you, I’m doing well!” and it’s just so rewarding.
The sun was out so after filming I headed out for a walk. With my long curly extensions in, ’cause why not.
The park, looking beautiful as ever.
In the evening I cooked Sanne’s delicious pepper soup, that she’d brought to our D&D Christmas session the week before. I made some falafel with it to get a more complete meal.
The soup JUST about fit in my blender, haha! Phew!
I’m still so glad I decided to get bangs. I feel they really suit me and I think they make all the simple hairstyles look so much cuter. Haven’t felt regret for a second!
Avocado, tomatoes and nutritional yeast on bread. Pretty much my standard lunch whenever I get a bag of avocadoes.
I realised a while back (and finally accepted it this week) that we might not be able to find a decent place to live in Utrecht at all. The prices are just ridiculous, especially if you want to live in a nice neighbourhood. After my experience in Amsterdam I absolutely refuse to move back to a “disadvantaged neighbourhood”, which makes the search even more difficult. We’re looking at some other options and no matter how excited I am to live in a bigger space with Robbert, the possibility of having to leave the city that stole my heart does make me kind of sad. So I decided to enjoy Utrecht more while I’m still here, head into town a bit more often, really soak up the sights and the atmosphere. I kept my word and headed out to the mall after having finished work early!
I had a good shopping session at H&M and ended up getting myself some nice items. I headed to Action as well and got some random bits and bobs I needed (like laundry detergent. Always a pleasure to buy).
I wanted to do something different with my leftover risotto. I stirred a few olives in, made little balls of them, rolled them around in nutritional yeast, and cooked them in a little oil. The taste was amazing, but the balls disintegrated easily. I might work on this a little more, try to make them firmer and share the recipe with you if I succeed.
In the evening I decided to just relax and watch a Dutch romcom on TV, with a pot of tea and a bag of crisps.
New outfit! I think this might just be the perfect sweater. Black, long, chunky, comfy. Love!
What I got at Action: laundry detergent, chia seeds, a sheet mask, batteries, vitamin D supplements, a bath pillow and soup packets.
Pepper soup and avocado toast for lunch!
I got a lot of filming and editing done this week, always a good feeling.
My oldest friend came over and we headed into town for a bit to do a little shopping, before sitting down with a soy chai and a coffee. We ended up sitting there and chatting for hours. We discussed how she might just be the key to solve our apartment hunting problem (key, heheh)…
Next day Robbert and I went to look at an apartment we might be able to rent through this friend of mine, in the city where I grew up. The apartment is absolutely amazing and we’re really hoping we can make this happen! I don’t want to jinx anything, but it’s looking good so far. I’ll be really sad to leave Utrecht but truth be told, I have nothing in Utrecht holding me there. I love the city but my social life is in this town; my parents, my dance school, scouting, my doctors, dentist, Robbert’s parents… I graduated uni and that’s what I went there for in the first place. It would make much more sense to live here as I travel back and forth all the time anyway. This apartment is an amazing opportunity for us so please cross your fingers for us!
We headed to Robberts’ afterwards and pretty much all I’ve done since is browse Pinterest and online furniture stores, haha! I’m getting way too excited way too soon, but we’re really close to getting this apartment so I’m hoping everything goes well! Plus, I can’t help myself. I love interior design and decorating and it’s all I can think about right now, haha! If you’re interested you can follow me on Pinterest, I’m really active in all my home boards right now :)
I hope you’ve had a good week as well and a great one ahead! See you soon!
Hello dear Lucy, the first Dutch person I loved– my boyfriend now is Dutch ;-) — with your risotto balls, I would suggest adding an egg and some breadcrumbs (Panko would be good, as it’s softer) to make them bind together better. Also flattening slightly into patties could help.
Best of luck for the apartment hunt, dear! <3
I’m happy for you Loepsie! I’ve been following your YouTube channel for a while, and I can’t wait for a new tour video of your new home. Best wishes! Greetings from México.
Hi! What a lovely blog…always like seeing a glimpse of your days. Oh…could your plant be a hydrangea?? If so it makes the prettiest cluster of flowers.
Good luck on the apartment!
Ooh, def. keeping my fingers crossed for you. :D
Fingers crossed and best of luck in your apartment hunting! It will be fun to follow you along on your journey… I was wondering if you had still been driving at all, so that’s cool that you’re still working on it :)
Okay, I might be a bit emotional this week, but this line – “I love when my plants start blooming again, it’s like they’re telling me: “thank you, I’m doing well!” and it’s just so rewarding.” – almost made me tear up, it’ so cute, oh my god. I love plants.
Wish you the best luck for the apartment!!!
Fingers crossed for the apartment! What is the laundry rack you use? It looks much more compact than mine!
I got it from my mom, I believe she got it from one of those cheap household stores… Not sure, sorry!
Lovely blog lucy :)
Could you do a post or video of your favourite Dutch films? I’m a Dutch language learner and would love something to watch (probably with subtitles) to help. Any genre you like :) xx
Oh gosh, I’m afraid Dutch movies are generally really, really bad… Terrible acting, weird story lines xD There aren’t really any I’d be willing to re-watch, haha! Gooische Vrouwen is fun though, I can recommend that one :)
Good luck with the place!
I am waiting on a confirmation, too – for an internship in research for my bachelor’s degree in psychology. I understand your nervousness quite well ;)
Love the weekly photo-logs ;)
Ooh, good luck to you too! :D
Hi Lucy,
In various videos, you’ve commented that living in Amsterdam was quite a miserable experience for you and again, it’s something that you’ve mentioned in this blog post. Do you have any videos or blog posts that go into a little more depth about your experiences or would you consider making a video about it? Thanks :)
Hi!
I don’t really want to share in-depth why I had such a bad experience in Amsterdam. Bluntly said, I was raised in a fancy pants city and then I moved to a ghetto-like neighbourhood. It was as if I’d moved to the middle east and that wasn’t really what I signed up for. There isn’t any way I can share what that was like for me in a politically correct way and that’s not how I want to present myself on the internet, but I’m sure you can imagine :) Plus, I had a bunch of issues with my flatmate and it wouldn’t feel right to talk badly about her (I wasn’t exactly an angel in this matter myself). All of it is just very awkward and uncomfortable and not a story I want to associate myself with publicly, haha! Hope you understand!
Oh completely, sorry I hadn’t realised all of this had happened! I just thought that you’d just really hated the city and I was just curious why – shouldn’t be so nosey! 😋
No worries, I do also just hate the city 🙈 it’s just bad experience upon bad experience piling up in that place, haha!
Oh, I love everything that has to do with housing, interior design, and so on. :D I keep my fingers crossed for you and Robbert to find a place soon. It’s a pity you’ll probably have to leave Utrecht (it’s a nice city, I’ve been there before) but as you said, you would also benefit from moving back into your hometown. I’m sure all is going to go well for you and I’m looking forward to seeing and reading more about interior design. :)
Haha, now I know why I suddenly see more of your pins! I’m (hopefully) about to move into my first own flat too, and can’t wait to buy all the furniture. Do you know ikea hacks? They’re brilliant ways to transform cheap furniture into something much nicer looking for little money and effort. I’m the same when it comes to location – I’d much rather live in a small flat in a nice area than a large one where I don’t feel safe.
Yep, I believe I saved some IKEA hacks on Pinterest as well, haha! Good luck with your move, hope all goes well! :)
Hi Lucy!!
I think you have a very mature attitude about what you can and cannot do regarding living in Utrecht in the immediate future (however – I’m sure as your channel grows you’ll be able to move back one day, and probably have a greater appreciate for it!)
Good luck with the apartment hunting!