Tuesday 30 April 2013

Holland; We have a King!!

Hi my friends! Today was a special day for all the Dutch people. It is a tradition that we celebrate Queensday on april 30. But this year was different. The queen is retiring (or abdicating I should say) and her son has become the king today. Queen Beatrix was a queen for 33 years, and it has been over a 100 years since we had a king. It was celebrated mostly in Amsterdam, where the coronation took place. But, like every year, it is celebrated throughout Holland. Lots of markets, music and people dressed in Orange! Orange is our national colour. The whole ceremony of the coronation was quite impressive.
Orange decorations throughout.

More Orange in Amsterdam!
Markets where people sell their goods.

Our new king Willem Alexander, our former queen now princess Beatrix and queen Maxima

King Willem Alexander and his wife queen Maxima

The king and queen with their three daugthers

During the coronation, singing our national anthem
All throughout the day there were many events held in Amsterdam. Music from our most well known artists, showcases of Dutch athletes, a runway show with only Dutch designers and so on. Lots of royal families from all over the world were present for the coronation, from Japan and Denmark to Spain and Qatar, amazing! But the most beautiful thing I thought was the joy of all the Dutch people present, with their Orange hats on! It was such a party! And it still is, as I write this. It is night time, the sun has just set and the party is still going strong with lots of music and fun. 
The king and his family on the boatride after the coronation

Next year there won't be a Queensday anymore, but a Kingsday. And no longer on april 30, but on april 27 which is the kings birthday. I look forward to see what this day, and the king with his family will bring us!

Sunday 28 April 2013

What I have pinned

Hi everyone! I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. Here it is sunny, so I have been in the yard. Soaking up the sun and doing some chores as well. We have some interesting days coming up here in Holland. With our queen retiring, we will soon have a king (her son is taking over! ) I will tell more about that in an upcoming post! First some of my favourite pins from my Pinterest page.

Baking it
How amazing is that cookbook? Link for webshop is here

A picture from the Retro cookbook
This strawberry cake makes me drool! Recipe found here
Home
Cutest pillow ever? I think it is :D

Love this kitchen, perfect colours.
Cuteness
Amazing miniature!

This is just to cute!

Friday 26 April 2013

The art of papercutting

Hi my friends! Just recently I have discovered the beautiful art of papercutting. My enthousiasm led to me buying a book all about that particular art and a hobbyknife, to try it out myself. Not familiar with it? Let me show you some amazing examples.









The last picture is that of Dutch papercutting artist Geertje Aalders. She is really amazing! I got introduced to her work through a Dutch magazine and that is what led me to start this venture myself. I look forward to trying this out! I will let you all know how my progress is going. Have you heard of papercutting? And if so, do you do it yourself? Have a great weekend all!

Tuesday 23 April 2013

Elfia: where orcs, trolls and elves are equals

Hi all! On sunday I went to the amazing festival called Elf Fantasy Fair. It is the biggest open air fantasy festival in Europe. I always look forward to it, the people there are so nice and most of them dress amazing as well. The festival is held in Utrecht, on the castlegrounds of Castle Haarzuilens. For that weekend only the grounds are called Elfia. It is a unique world, all on it's own! Me and my best friend were also dressed to impress. My friend as catwoman, and me, I went as a very pink Sweet Lolita girl. We saw some performances on the day, with some great music. Ate nice food. Joined a reading all about witchcraft. And we even saw a horseshow, with actors who played characters of The Hobbit. A show with fire and stunts, pretty cool! I took lots of pictures in the proces, so you could join in a bit of the fun! Enjoy!

The Lord of the Rings fans are always present! My faves :)

Beware of the mountain trolls!

Oh nooooo, another troll. A big one at that!

Elfia is also for the smaller fans :D

Not afraid of the troll you know

The cutest dog you will ever see!

Awesome Hobbit artwork

Enjoying my bratwurst in the sun!

Amazing outfits

The castle!

More cool ´campsites´

Reading about witchcraft


Oh my, it´s Gandalf!

Defence against orcs, always useful

Brilliant outfits

Once upon a time in Elfia

Monday 22 April 2013

What I have pinned

Hi everyone! As promised a new edition of What I have pinned, with my favourite pins. I added two new boards, one called Tea time and one decicated to Vintage goodies. Want to check them out? Please do so, by clicking this link. Hope you all had a good weekend. Tomorrow I will post some pictures of the Fantsasy festival I went to. It was awesome!!

Fashion

Party



Cuteness



Saturday 20 April 2013

Preparing for pinkness!

Hi everyone. Just a quick post here from me, preparing for pinkness. Tomorrow I will be off to the best (and biggest) Fantasy Festival of Europe. It's here in Holland and I look forward to it every year! Dressing up is always a big part of the fun. This year I will be a sweet Lolita. Basically I will look like a doll, with lots of pink going on haha. So I won't be able to post tomorrow, but I will have a What I have pinned for you on monday. And ofcourse lots of pictures from the festival. There will be a massive troll, so that will be really cool. And many dressed up people who are a bit crazy just like me! Have a good weekend all!


Wednesday 17 April 2013

If I had my own teahouse

Those who have been following my blog for some months will know that I have been dreaming of my own shop for a while. It is still in my mind alot, because to me it would be a dream to have my own place where people can sit, drink tea and have some lovely cakes and sandwhiches. High teas are the best. I enjoy them ever time I go to one. Those cute little cakes and fingersandwhiches. And I am addicted to tea, so that makes me happy too! Alot of great pictures float on the web that keep me inspired, so I can think...someday if I have my own shop....I would use soft pastel colours and a vintage twist to the decor. A homely vibe with lovely china. A girl can always dream right?!