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