Time To Bake A Chocolate Cake

Last Friday Claire, Roos and I wanted to do something fun, but since neither of us really felt like going out we decided to have dinner at Roos' house. Roos would do the main course, I would do dessert and Claire was there to eat it all. After searching the internet for a while I stumbled upon this lovely chocolate/strawberry pie. Easy to make since there is no baking involved whatsoever. I did change a few things here and there but the cake turned out to be so divine. The only downside, it was so rich that we were simply unable to eat more than one slice each.

Here are the ingredients that I used:
For the crust:
- 90 g butter (unsalted)
- 25 g dark chocolate
- 200 g oreo cookies (without filling)

For filling:
- 125 g sugar
- 35 g cornstarch (maïzena)
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 6 egg yolks
- 500 ml milk
- 175 g dark chocolate
- 1 bag of vanilla sugar (8g)
- 150 g raspberry's


Just follow the steps in the original recipe and your cake will be just perfect. One tip from me, let the cake stay in your freezer long enough. The longer it will be in, the better it will set, the better you can slice it.

I had the best time ever the past week and I have a lot of sleep to catch up on (seriously staying up until al least 4 am for 4 days in a row is not good for you). So it's good night for me.
XOXO Nina

I JUST RIDE

Lazy Thursday

Today I literally did not get out of bed until 4pm. It might have something to do with the fact that I didn't come home before 5 am but nevertheless it is still quite an achievement. I mean 4 PM! Well at least I did have the best time yesterday..

This is what I've been doing for the last week..

1. Me and Annemijn went to my old school to watch our friends band play live. There were some other bands playing to and an old classmate of mine was DJ'ing between the different acts. Laught a lot, danced a lot, had a ball!

(Wearing: ZARA top worn as dress, AMISU blouse, H&M booties, vintage belt)

2. Enjoying the lovely Dutch weather.. Yes, it is raining again!

3. Wishing I was back in South Africa. So beautiful, so warm, so lovely!

4. Sorting through old pictures. Finding this super cute one of me and my brother..

5. Catching up on my TV-series, currently watching Royal Pains.

6. Still wondering what dress to get for my school gala and I also need to buy one for my upcoming birthday. I just can't believe that I will be 18 in less than two months.

7. Trying to do some work for school. I still need to finish my painting and start learning for my upcoming exam week. Urg...

8. For some relaxation I went to the sauna with my mom. We always go to the same one in Veenendaal.

It feels like my vacation is almost over and as all fun things it is going super fast. But looking on the bright side, every day that goes by is one day closer to December. And that is when all the fun begins!

Are you enjoying your week as much as I am?

XOXO Nina

The outfit.. school gala

Before reading, please press play..

As I told you in my last post I've been looking for a new gala dress. And it is a seriously hard job. I've never had to wonder about a dress to wear because my lovely niece gave me this beautiful red dress. But after two years of wearing the same thing I feel like it's time for a change. however the dress I loved most was way over budget so I am now wondering about just wearing a stunning skirt/top combo, in this way I get the whole peplum/wide skirt thing just how I like it.

So here's the dress (for those of you who have the money, do buy. I'll just be a little jealous):

BAD GIRL dress Three Floor Fashion €158,87 


As for the skirt/top combo I absolutely fell in love with this Topshop Peplum top, lucky for me it's on sale for only €37,23. All I need now is a great skirt and some statement jewellry to go with it. I've created this outfit below as an idea. This outfit is still terribly over-budget but I will look for a cheaper version.

Jaquard Peplum Top by Rare €37,23

Blue Sequin Skater Full Skirt €55,85

SHAKESPEARE Velvet Platforms €43,44

ASOS Permium Spider Jewel & Spike Necklace €70,58

Have a great week and for all my dutch followers enjoy your autumn holiday!

XOXO Nina

P.S. I found my flat black booties. I bought these super cute Bowrain boots from Supertrash.

In With The New

Hi Guys,

I feel like I've been a really bad blogger lately since I haven't really posted anything for over a week now. I still want to make outfit posts but I'm having trouble finding a photographer. I'll have to work it out sometime, but for now I will just post other things.

I have been looking for the perfect coat for winter. I felt like it was about time to buy a new one, not that my current coat isn't lovely and comfortable (you can never go wrong with a simple black trench), it's just also six years old. So after weeks and weeks of web store searching I finally found one that was to my likings. Unfortunately it was just a tiny bit too expensive (say €185 too expensive), so I don't think that I will get my mom to agree on that coat..

The search kind of stranded after finding that coat until I was checking up on my favourite blogs the other day. I came across KAYTURE, and she was wearing this lovely grey coat from the Zalando Collection. It was instant love, especially when I found out that it was also available in red. It is still a bit pricey, so I have to be really convincing when I claim my case. Let's hope for the best.

Coat 1: Kyra Coat by Coast €285,00
Coat 2: Classic Coat by Zalando Collection €119,95 (in red)

Now that I found my perfect coat I still have many other things to look for. A few other thing on my wish list include
- A dress from Three Floor Fashion, the only problem here is money..
- Flat black booties with a twist (trying to find them is the hardest job ever, since I always wear heels.. But I need them for my driving lessons and I guess I have to agree with my dad on this one when he says that stiletto's are probably not the best choice when it comes to driving a car)
- A new gala dress (also very hard since I never had to buy my current dress, it's my niece's old one and it is drop dead gorgeous (figure hugging, flaming red), but after three whole years of wearing the same one I feel like it is time for a change.
- A statement necklace (I DIY'd one the other day but I just need a shinier version, one that just stands out)
- A pair of black go-to jeans that I will actually wear..


Lots of shopping to do here as you can see. I did buy a few things that were on my wish list including a red jacquard skinny from ZARA, a grey/green blouse from amisu and the camouflage shirt in the picture below from ZARA.

XOXO Nina

Drive ON

Trying to picture myself behind the wheel..

I will be having my first ever driving lesson tomorrow and I am totally freaking out! Seriously, all of my friends keep telling me that driving is just fun and relaxing an I thought that it wouldn't be such a big deal. But now that I know that the day is almost here I am starting to get really nervous. In an attempt to cool myself down a bit I googled "first driving lesson". People mostly said that it was a bit scary at first but once you get the hang of it you are going to be fine. So let's hope for the best. Here's to driving without injuring people (or the car).

Autumn is upon us

Summer has to end somewhere and 4 days ago it officially did. However here in Holland it probably ended two months before that since our summer wasn't very "summery".

Anyhow it is getting colder by the day and the rainy days are back, yes it is autumn and I actually quite like that fact. So here are some reasons why I love those colder months of the year.

1. Come autumn, come winter, come sinterklaas, come my birthday, come christmas. Yes, I love these months especially because of all the holidays. I mean presents, family and turning a year older  (this year I will be turning 18! I can't quite believe it myself).

Me turning 17 (my brother Cas on the left).

2. Baby it's cold outside! So let's drink some hot cocoa (or tea) by the fire place. Being inside your house is so much better when it is really pouring outside or just terribly cold. Watching the rain fall on the window just makes me happy, I don't know why but it just does.

3. Colder weather means warmer clothes, more clothes that is. I LOVE autumn fashion because unlike summer and spring you can layer like crazy! Put on your comfy sweater (This Topshop sweater is definately on my wishlist), your cute booties and top it off with a warm scarf.

4. The time when all the leaves are losing their green colour. In autumn all the trees are some sort of red/yellow/gold/brown, and it is so pretty around here. 

5. As autumn begins, so do most of my favourite television shows. With Gossip Girl and Revenge both returning this fall I don't see any reason not to be happy with the end of summer anymore. 

So embrace autumn as the beautiful season it is, just make sure to take an umbrella with you wherever you go.

XOXO, Nina

Images from weheartit

Music To My Life

Today I just want to share some good music with you guys. In my previous posts I already shared Blaudzun and Asaf Avidan. And now it is time for some of my all-time favourites.

Starting with Florence + The Machine. If you know them than I guess you understand, if you don't you are really missing something in your life..

Shake It Out (the video is just as amazing)

No Light, No Light

Second Noah And The Whale. I discovered them two years ago and I have been hooked to their music ever since. If you like them equally you should definately download the album First Days Of Spring, the ways that the song just form a whole is just so amazing. Sometimes I can't even hear when one song starts and another ends.

Blue Skies, 

this song always picks you up when you are feeling down.

A great way for me to find new music is by watching my al time favourite TV show, Gossip Girl. Many of my favourite artist I discovered trough GG. Those artists involving the XX. With their new album out for a few weeks now they are getting more and more publicity here in Holland. But I still feel like they are not know enough. Especially since I noticed that a lot of their music is used by other artist such as Shakira and Rihanna.

Intro.

This one was used by Rihanna

Not only TV shows but also movies are a great way to find good music by new and upcoming artists. 500 Days of Summer helped me find this band. Their name is The Temper Trap.

Soldier On.

To top off this list I am bringing you Kings Of Leon. I am sure that most of you know them and that is just because they truly rock. Now here is a good way to end this post.

Sex On Fire. 

Music is just one of those things that can make life a little better. When you're feeling down there is nothing like a good tune to pick yourself up again. I hope you enjoy the artists mentioned above.

What kind of music do you guys listen to?

XOXO Nina

Freakin' Weekend!

Weekend is here again. And it is my last day of loneliness, as for tomorrow my parents will be coming home. I had a great time over the past two weeks. It can be so relaxing to have no one telling you what to do for a while. Freedom is awesome.

But anyhow, enjoying my final evening by doing what I've been doing for the past two weeks. W'apping with my friends, cooking some dinner, DIY'ing, writing on my blog while listening to good music an watching Switched At Birth (my latest addiction).

Here is what it looks like..

First we have the music; click play and enjoy.

1. Cooking dinner for Thim and Claire, I made Aisian wraps

2. To quote Claire: "So true"

3. Starting my lovely blog, anxious to write my first post..















4. Grabbing some Thai @ Lemon Grass 

 5. I Just love my DIY! (making the headband I wore to Appelpop)

6. Pimping my phone case, inspired by Roos

7. How awsome are these fitting rooms?! @ Monki, Utrecht

8. Wearing the ugliest shoes on earth, yes my own just fell apart at school... RIP booties:(

9. Remind me to never EVER get botox! 

10. Helping Claire a hand with Math over skype.

Hope you all have a great weekend, I'm sure I will!

XOXO Nina

Appelpop 2012

Just some random snaps from my Appelpop adventure. Had the best time!

XOXO,
Nina

T-shirt, Earings (both H&M), headband (DIY)

Easy Asian Rolls

Hi Guys,

How was your weekend? Mine was amazing, I already told you in my first post that I was going to Appelpop (a Dutch festival) this weekend. And it was even greater than I had imagined it to be. I just can’t tell you guys the feeling you get from standing in the middle of a crow with your lovely friend listening to good music an just dancing (or more jumping) your socks off! I would say that the highlight was definitely when the Dutch band Blaudzun played their single Elephants. I just love that song so much!

Well any ways, after such a day (& night) I was just so tired that I did not want to spend much time making dinner. So after some web searching I found this recipe on Love & Olive Oil. It inspired me to make these easy Asian rolls.

Here's what I used:

- 1 red onion

- 1 shallot

- 2 toes of garlic                                                                          

- 1 hand of green beans

- half a broccoli (around 150 grams)

- 4 tb of olive oil

- 2 tb of soy sauce

- a squeak of lemon juice

- a little tabasco 

- salt & pepper

- two Kaiser rolls (or something likewise)

- mayonnaise (or yoghurt)

First preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (follow the instructions on the packaging of the rolls for this). Start peeling and chopping your onions and the garlic, I chopped them fairly small but if you prefer bigger pieces that will be fine to. Using a large frying pan (preferably one with a lid) put the olive oil in and add the garlic and onions. Stir them frequently and start chopping your vegetables, start with the green beans. Add the beans and stir for a while. Then add the broccoli, the soy sauce, the lemon juice, the tabasco, a little salt and pepper and some water. Put the lid on and leave cooking for 8 minutes. You now have time to put the rolls in the oven, I always like to use the remaining time to clean my kitchen. 

Finally get the rolls out of the oven, cut them open and put some mayonnaise on them (I would have used Greek yoghurt for this but I was all out). Lastly you put the vegetable mixture on the bun, serve with some Asian crackers (I don't know if you have them where you live but in Holland we call it kroepoek) and enjoy!

XOXO Nina

Welcome to my world

My name is Nina Carlotte Hélène Joustra and I was born on December 8th 1994. I live in Heveadorp, a very small village in The Netherlands (seriously, it has around 300 houses and one restaurant). But I must say that in all my seventeen years and eight months here I have never not liked living there.

When I am not at school you can usually find me at ZARA or H&M. I love to go shopping with my friends and if my wallet allows me I will always bring something home with me. Beside shopping I also enjoy dancing. I have been dancing ever since I was just 4 years old and I used to dream about becoming a ballerina (I even had this book called Nina The Ballerina). That dream faded with age and now it is merely a hobby of mine. I take classes once a week and I am currently looking at Ballet or Ballroom. 

Since my parents like to go on vacation a lot I am frequently home alone. On those days I always like to cook and bake a variety of things (I just made brownies, and for dinner I am having wraps, jum!). So cooking and baking have also become big hobbies of mine.

A few other hobbies include; reading blogs (AtlanticPacific I love!) and fashion magazines (Elle, Vogue, Glamour, and everything fashion), making my own agenda's, making jewellery, going out with friends or just hanging out with them(we are going to Appelpop next week, that is a Dutch festival), having discussions with my dad and watching television shows (I live for Gossip Girl!)

But there is always room for a new hobby and after long consideration and a little push from my friends (thank you Claire and Roos!) I am now officially a blogster. So here's to you, I hope you guys enjoy my blog!

XOXO,

Nina