Music Monday

It took some time to get used to this song, and truth be told, it starts out a bit boring if you aren't really in the vibe yet. But if you are, my oh my, this song is magical. Somehow the further I'm in the song, the more I love it. Enjoy!

Montly resolutions: April

Today, as my pupils from internship joyfully made obvious to me, is the 1st of April. For them a great day full of jokes. Seriously, the stories these 6 year olds tell.. haha! I should write some of their quotes down sometimes. I love how simple children think sometimes. But that's not the point I wanted to make today. For me, it is the first of a month, a fresh start.

See I decided this year that New Years Resolutions aren't really my thing. After a few weeks I get lazy and forget why I'm doing it. I mean there are so many things I want to better, but it is simply impossible - for me - to maintain a healthy life style, work out, spend time with friends and family, not spending all my money on clothes, take good care of myself, stay on top of my uni work, and so on. I can't just do them all perfect. Here comes the monthly resolutions. I just take a few items where I want to focus on that month. That way, I usually am successful  in keeping them since the goal isn't super unrealistic. And I still am productive, working on some of my flaws every month instead of just those first two weeks in January! So far, it's been going great. Things on my list have been from just taking better care of my teeth to going to bed in time.

Anyway, so far the long introduction on this monthly returning topic.

My resolutions for April:

1. Drink more water. It is just really healthy and good for you.
2. Do things with confidence. Don't think about what people think of you anymore. ''Not everyone likes apple pie'' not everyone will like you and that is perfectly fine. That shouldn't be a reason to be insecure.
3. Take good care of teeth and skin. That way I can look nice without too much make up, just the way i like it!
4. Finding my energy through alternative ways. I've been lacking energy lately and I am not sure what the cause is but I do know that a regular doctor doesn't really fit for a solution. I hope to have a solution in my problem through alternative therapist/acupuncture.
5. Make a planning for uni/fun stuff and stick to it. I need to do  a lot this month. Because of the lack of energy I have been sort of neglecting my uni work. I need to catch up big time but switch it up with fun stuff that I got planned and will try to plan more.

Love, Fenna

Music Monday

When putting together my ''songs that make me happy'' playlist I was on a hunt for new artists with happy songs. Then I stumbled on this. Not a happy song, but it is so dreamy. I've been trying to come up with words to describe it but I can't. It just gives me a summer feeling - the kind where you're in a car and just want to throw your hands up in the air and close your eyes and dream away..

x Fenna

Do more of what makes you happy

A while ago I was super stressed and I just couldn't get a break of it. I wanted to be relaxed and happy again and wrote a blog post about it. It definitely helped! Dealing with your issues is the best way to get rid of them. This post however I wanted to take a closer look as to what exactly makes me happy, since dealing with your problem is usually a long term plan. So here it is, a list of things that make me happy!


1. Certain music can lift any dark cloud for me, so I made a playlist full of songs that make me smile
2. Dancing around the house (preferably kitchen) on said music
3. Dress up nice. Even if I don't have anywhere to go, dressing up just makes me feel better. Looking good is partly feeling good for me.
4. Pamper yourself: take a nice bath, make an appointment for a massage, etc!
5. Bake something yummy, alone or with a friend
6. Take a walk through the park
7. Watch your favourite feel good movie. I haven't really figured out yet what mine is though..
8. Pick up an old hobby. I like to look up my key-board (music guys.. not the computer of course!) now and then to see if I still have the skills.
9. Shut off the laptop, put your phone on flight mode, and just relax for half an hour. It doesn't matter if its reading a book, listening to music or even doing some cleaning, just disconnect yourself to clear your mind.
10. Plan fun things to look forward to!

I'm sure there are a lot of things that make me happy but I've never really thought about it that much. My goal is to write down what exactly makes my mood lift instantly and just start doing these activities more. If it makes you happy, why not do it as much as possible? :)

x, Fenna

Outfit inspiration: Mellow in yellow

Finally a post that includes less drama and more fun! I've been loving the sunny weather lately even though it is still quite chilly here. Never the less, I'm already in a spring mood! Recently I've been on the hunt for more yellow items. It's such a  fun and happy colour and I don't see it enough. That's why my first Outfits post features a girly yellow skirt.

Top: H&M

Skirt: River island

Sunglasses: Zero UV

Shoes: Missguided

Necklace: Forever 21

How would you style such a femine item? Let me know!

x Fenna

How I deal with stress

I'd like to dedicate today's post to this little voice in my head that can ruin my mood in no time: stress.

 Now, I have to admit, I am fairly quickly stressed. See, I guess I live life very intensely. I am super duper excited about the littlest thing but unfortunately that also means stuff quickly gets me down. Luckily for me, and definitely for the people around me, I've learnt to deal with those mood swings. I kept all the good, and got rid of the sad moods I used to have where I could find myself stuck in. I do still get them, but I am still learning to bounce back to my normal mood quicker. I guess the older I get, the more I'm learning to put things in perspective: life is too short to get sad, and sadness doesn't accomplish much in the end.

Lately, putting things in perspective hasn't been working for my latest mood swing: stress. I seem to switch back in to this mood every day at least a few times. I don't feel at peace. It's not only disturbing me and things, but unfortunately I am one of those horrible persons who tend to lash out on their dearest and nearest - sorry BF! :( As a perfectionist, I am already quite worried about little things. So real stress, is not easy to bounce back from. That's why I am on the hunt for some solutions to find my inner peace again! So I made a little list with things that might be useful for me, and you :)

1. Deal with the problem. 
If the problem's gone, stress is gone. Unfortunately it's usually not that easy. Heaps of uni work aren't made overnight but that doesn't mean I want to walk around with stress until it's finished!

2. Talk about it
The more you keep the stress in your head, the worse it'll get.. trust me! It feels good to finally tell that thing you've been stressing over to a good friend, or take my example and just write it down. Either way- get it out of your system.

3. Make a plan
Stress for me is usually a problem that I don't know how to deal with. So, make a plan. Instead of stressing about it, give your mind something else to do. Think of the options, write them down, talk about it, and make decisions. In my case, my stress is caused by uni work. So I can drop out, take longer, or work my butt off. Once I realize which decision is the right one - in this case not that hard to be fair ;) - I can start make a planning. To stimulate me I like to involve other people in it. Making plans is one thing, but making plans to study with other people can help as a motivation. The same goes with for example sporting and cooking; if your stress is caused by something like your weight.

4. Reward yourself
First of all: be realistic. Don't make your planning too tight. Make little goals in between to keep your motivation up. In the example of losing weight: don't pin yourself down on wanting to lose 20 kilos in 2 months: be realistic! Don't just think about the end goal, also celebrate every time you've reached another goal and lost 3 kilo's. Basically: don't be too hard on your self.

5. Find a hobby
Stress can take up all your time and energy. Once you are working on your problem, find something that takes your mind of things in your spare time. The important quality that your activity must have is that it makes you stop thinking. I myself have the habit of spending my free time behind the laptop. I didn't really see what was wrong with watching movies and spending hours on tumblr as hobby until I realized that my brain was literally overloaded. Now I'm trying to find a nice activity that really suits me and could go on for as a hobby.

Do you have any tips to reduce stress?

x Fenna

Holiday in Rome

In January my roommate told me she planned to go to Dublin during our break in February. Me, a travelling fan at heart, was very excited for her but part of me also wondered where she got all the money from. In my mind, travelling equals money- and lots of it. When she told me they only paid around 150 euros pp, my mouth dropped. In my mind I was already calculating that yes, in fact, even me could pay a trip like that. I practically rushed to my laptop and started researching. By the end of the day I had found so many options that I couldn't even choose. A few days later my boyfriend and I talked about the options and decided on Rome.

First of all, I had never really been on a city trip where I arranged everything- hotel, flight, activities- myself. The city trips I had been to always were in a safe environment with a large group, and a tour guide arranging everything. And I have to say...I absolutely loved figuring everything out on our own! It felt like an adventure, asking people for the road (and pictures, because ultimately that's what tourists do!), travelling with Rome's public transport and wandering around the city. I always believe it is far more interesting to be between the people instead of observing them like tourists usually do. Not to forget, we had the freedom to plan our own days - which basically meant no getting up out of bed ridiculously early!

Of course, there were some downsides. Like that we didn't planned everything before hand. I did had a global planning in my head, but I hadn't thought of what to do when for example the Vatican museum has a queue for hours because everyone knows it's free on the last Sunday of the month.. not very clever of me. Or that we never decided on when to eat and where - which always ended up in a difficult decision.

And the worst thing of all, my perfectionism ruining the fun for both of us sometimes. Because we were free to design our whole trip, it also put some kind of pressure on me, to make it the best and most perfect trip. Therefor, when something wouldn't go according to plan, I would start to get frustrated. And stressed. A city trip is so short and I felt like ''there was no room'' to make any mistakes.

All in all, I absolutely enjoyed it, even though we didn't see everything we wanted. I want it to be about the joy of the trip instead of the things we checked of our list. And on the next city trip... well I'll more prepared for my perfectionist behavior!

Love, Fenna