Candy corn & sparkly spiders.

Yesterday were my first 30 min. at school again. Surprisingly it caused me way less anxiety than I thought it would. I'm super duper excited about finishing up and sending out my exchange application for MICA and also to start focusing more on what I really want to do. I don't quite know what I really want to do yet, but I'm looking forward to figuring it out.

Afterwards some friends and I went to Amsterdam, just for funs c: It was a very welcome day of fun, yummy food and some minor shopping. I was most happy with finally getting my hands on some candy corn again! I missed that stuff. Even just looking at it makes me happy (and miss America and its wonderful halloween shops like crazy). I also couldn't resist taking some Reese's and Twizzlers with me. Nomnomnom!

We also visited a shop with EVERYTHING CATS. Cats & Things. The kitties there were so cute...

My delightful jar filled with candy corn and some cute earrings I got! I already have two pairs of spider earrings now... though, I'm not sure if I can really call them spiders since they only have six legs. But oh well. It's not like you see pink, sparkly spiders walking around every day anyway.

These pictures were taken earlier, but I thought they went nicely with the ones above it teehee. I'm obsessed with sticking diamonds on my nails lately (with a little dot of top coat polish) and I also looooove editing pictures on my iPhone with the Picute app!

Last three days of summer. I'm ready.

Current Obsession: Making Badges!

When I saw this diy on Rookie on how to make your own awesome decoupage badges, I knew it was the thing for me! But impatience was the problem here. I couldn't find decoupage shapes to my liking anywhere and was too impatient to order them. BUT, a couple of days ago I found some really good and perfect decoupage hearts at a local store for cheap and brought two bags of them home with me right away n.n I'm now hooked on turning these little wooden hearts into awesome badges. The possibilities are endless!

I like my craft projects easy, inexpensive and quick. I'm honestly a very impatient person and once a project (or anything really, a person, a pizza..) takes too long I either loose interest or throw a tantrum (or both). I know that patience can pay off in the end, but it's just not for me.

The pictures I used where either cut from magazines or from my clippings folder, but you can honestly print out anything and everything you want and put it on there. Which is exactly what I'm planning to do next. The only thing I couldn't find anywhere where the flat pinbacks, so I had to order those online.. ugh! But thankfully the company I ordered them was super fast and I could glue them to my first badge of hearts the next day!

My favorites right now are the three eyed cat (from a painting by Marion Peck) and the one with John Cusack and Ione Skye in Say Anything ♥

Badges action shot!

I figured these would make really cute presents too, so I'm planning on making some special ones for friends! If you're bored, go make some too c: maybe we can do a swap!

To-read list

A small list of books I still want to read. I love books, and I love collecting them. I hardly ever give out my books to other people because they're too precious to me. Anyway, on to those books now, shall we?

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
'Hi! My name is Nao, and I am a time being. Do you know what a time being is? Well, if you give me a moment, I will tell you.' Ruth discovers a Hello Kitty lunchbox washed up on the shore of her beach home. Within it lies a diary that expresses the hopes and dreams of a young girl. She suspects it might have arrived on a drift of debris from the 2011 tsunami. With every turn of the page, she is sucked deeper into an enchanting mystery. In a small cafe in Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao Yasutani is navigating the challenges thrown up by modern life. In the face of cyberbullying, the mysteries of a 104-year-old Buddhist nun and great-grandmother, and the joy and heartbreak of family, Nao is trying to find her own place - and voice - through a diary she hopes will find a reader and friend who finally understands her. Weaving across continents and decades, and exploring the relationship between reader and writer, fact and fiction, A Tale for the Time Being is an extraordinary novel about our shared humanity and the search for home.

Theory of Everything by Kari Luna
When Sophie Sophia's eccentric physicist father disappears for good and Sophie's mom moves them from Brooklyn, New York, to Havencrest, Illinois, for a fresh start, things take a turn for the weird. Guided by Walt, her shaman panda, and her new (human) friend named Finny, Sophie is determined to find her father and figure out her visions, once and for all.

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
Twenty-seven-year-old Josey Cirrini is sure of three things: winter in her North Carolina hometown is her favorite season, she’s a sorry excuse for a Southern belle, and sweets are best eaten in the privacy of her hidden closet. For while Josey has settled into an uneventful life in her mother’s house, her one consolation is the stockpile of sugary treats and paperback romances she escapes to each night…. Until she finds it harboring none other than local waitress Della Lee Baker, a tough-talking, tenderhearted woman who is one part nemesis—and two parts fairy godmother…

Fleeing a life of bad luck and big mistakes, Della Lee has decided Josey’s clandestine closet is the safest place to crash. In return she’s going to change Josey’s life—because, clearly, it is not the closet of a happy woman. With Della Lee’s tough love, Josey is soon forgoing pecan rolls and caramels, tapping into her startlingly keen feminine instincts, and finding her narrow existence quickly expanding.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan
One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, teenager Will Grayson crosses paths with.. Will Grayson! Two teens with the same name who run in two very different circles suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions. Culminating in epic turns-of-heart on both of their parts, they team up to produce the most fabulous musical ever to grace the high-school stage. 

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
The Chicago World's Fair of 1893 and its amazing 'White City' was one of the wonders of the world. This is the incredible story of its realization, and of the two men whose fates it linked: one was an architect, the other a serial killer. The architect was Daniel H. Burnham, the driving force behind the White City, the massive, visionary landscape of white buildings set in a wonderland of canals and gardens. The killer was H. H. Holmes, a handsome doctor with striking blue eyes. He used the attraction of the great fair - and his own devilish charms - to lure scores of young women to their deaths. While Burnham overcame politics, infighting, personality clashes and Chicago's infamous weather to transform the swamps of Jackson Park into the greatest show on Earther, Holmes built his own edifice just west of the fairground. He called it the World's Fair Hotel. In reality it was a torture palace, a gas chamber, a crematorium. These two disparate but driven men toegther with a remarkable supporting cast of colourful characters, including as Buffalo Bill, George Ferris, Thomas Edison and some of the 27 million others who converged on the dazzling spectacle of the White City, are brought to life in this mesmerizing, murderous tale of the legendary Fair that transformed America and set it on course for the twentieth century.

Pastry pillows, gummy bears & strawberry caramels.

Some things making me happy right now...

My yummy new pillows! I had been eyeing these for a while and now they were on sale for 50% off! Score!

Receiving this gummy bear postcard + cute mail from my friend Alette!

My new pink and purple hair!

These smell absolutely amazing.. and they taste pretty good too lol

Cute pictures and shiny pink and purple gems ♥

'Organizing' my make-up in cute baskets. 

The right one is what I use often, the left what I use not so often. Organized enough to me.

Making art! It's been a while. I really needed a break from painting/drawing/illustrating, but I feel like the inspiration and motivation is coming back to me now. Just in time for school.

I don't really know what to do with myself today. Probably going to finish reading 'An Abundance of Katherines', get some cute snacks at the Asian grocery store and maybe get some fabric to make big bows! Do you have any fun plans for the weekend?

**Halloweenoccino and puppycats**

Some little things that inspire me or just make me happy on this August day c:...

did anybody else hear that?
An awesome playlist at 8tracks to get in the Halloween mood!

Bee and PuppyCat
The greatest cartoon I've seen in a while. Be sure to check out part 2 too!

Pretty pictures...

Pretty pillows, want! - Halloweenoccino - some wisdom I need to live by more - bat candle holders! - pink sparkly runnins shoes, second want! - pretty hands - some pretty damn awesome pumpkins

You Will Not Hook Up at the Show
This is so recognizable and a great reality check! Oh how many times I went to a concert and thought: 'tonight's the night!' Never happened though. If there's one thing I hate most, it's talking to someone when loud music is playing so that doesn't really help. Hooking up at a show (mostly) just doesn't work for some weird reason.

This Girl's Outfit

Like many other people, I always tend to gravitate to darker colors fashion wise when fall and winter come around. I have that exact same dress (which I hardly ever wear because it's a little short) and OMG, it looks so cool with an underbust corset! I'm all about black, lace and corsets right now so I'm definitely tempted to get a similar corset and copy this look. So cute and pretty.

Chris Ashton Kutcher's speech at the Kid's Choice award
Seriously, this made me cry happy tears (and those girls screaming 'woo!' all the time made me cry tears of sadness).

My Kawaii Style videos by Tokyo Fashion
Haruka Kurebayashi is so incredibly adorable, and I love her style tutorials that Tokyo Fashion has been posting lately. Not even necessarily to try out the tutorials myself, but it just makes me so happy to see her putting on bright make-up and doing her rainbow hair. I want to start a beauty salon with her and give everyone brightly colored hair and they can have lollipops and dance to fun music while the dye is in their hair.

(source)

Copselfies tumblr
I love taking selfies, and I don't mind others taking selfies! So cops can do it too. They make it quite hilarious and entertaining though.

Stuff that's been going on!

Seeing Alkaline Trio live

Appropiate nail art + loving my new shirt!

It's still all a little unreal to me. I still can't believe that I've been that close to them, seen them with my very own eyes. Also: Matt Skiba is hilarious. I don't know. I just love everything about him. The way he talked about and impersonated the waving bear video, how he talked about how people who read are awesome and recommended us to read this book (on which the song 'The Torture Doctor' is based). His Twitter is awesome too. Maybe this sounds weird, but seeing them live just made me feel that much closer to them. It was such a small and cozy venue and everything was very laid back and fun. It could've been a bit more energetic, but hey, I'm not complaning. Happy times.

Going to Lowlands

Picture on the right by Fleur Bult for Olympus

I have just returned from this music festival called Lowlands and it was amazing. It pushed me out of my comfort zone very very much, which turned out to be exactly what I needed. Not only the live music/performances/iced teas were amazing, but also the entire atmosphere and hanging out with people my own age. That last thing has been lacking from my life for quite some time and I'm having a hard time getting back into the swing of things, but I felt like this helped a lot. I'm not quite there yet, but it's something.

Back to school
The only reason I am kind of excited for school to start again in about two weeks is because I can start taking the first steps with working on my exchange with MICA in Baltimore. I've been dreaming of this for ages (well, three years.) and I really hope I can make it happen. I get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it.

Orange Is The New Black
So hooked on this show! Like so many other people. All I can say is: go watch it. Because I'm hopeless when it comes to describe why I like something a lot.

The story of Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling), a woman in her thirties who is sentenced to 15 months in prison after she is convicted of a decade old crime of transporting money for her drug dealing girlfriend (Laura Prepon).

I'm going to try and start blogging more frequently again. I have nothing planned for my last two weeks of summer. I have yet to visit the cat museum in Amsterdam, have a Hello Kitty high tea, visit the only lolita store here in my country and finish watching Orange is the new Black, but that's about it. I hope I can do those things before my holiday is over! Anyone want to join me? 

Hope you are having a wonderful week so far!

Current Loves: summer edition ♥

Only a few more weeks of summer left, and I'm SO ready for it. I'm trying to enjoy summer while it lasts though, but to be honest, I'm still not a summer person. I'd much rather stay pale and wrapped up in a sweater than lay around in the sun in a bikini (and get a massive sunburn). 

For now I will share some of my summer loves of the moment!

♥ The smell of my new make-up brush cleanser ♥ blinging out my phone! ♥ hydrangeas ♥ watermelon ♥ cooking yummy summer dishes ♥ little girls being mesmerized by my hair ♥ trying to make macarons for the first time (and failing miserably lol) ♥ spontaneous photoshoots ♥ trying out lipsticks with my mom ♥ caramel ice cream ♥ 

♥ buying ALL the pink things ♥ playing the Kitty Kawaii game on my phone ♥ banana green tea ♥ people on postcrossing saying they absolutely love their postcard ♥ seeing the CUTEST puppies in town ♥ cuddling with the CUTEST kitty in a gift shop ♥ 

♥ massive lightning and thunder storms ♥ seeing giant pumpkins in somebody's garden (FALL! HALLOWEEN!) ♥ dipping strawberries in berry balsamic (and eating them, obviously) ♥ late evening runs ♥ watching Sex and the City after a looong day ♥ picnics at the beach ♥ new Catfish episodes ♥ swimming in the sea ♥ pink flowercrowns ♥

Be sure to smile, drink your tea and count your blessings today! n.n 

Belgium Roadtrip Summer 2013: PART 7

Hi there! Sorry about the sudden absence. My only excuse is... VACATION. There's just so much happening and going on and there's just no logic at all in how my days are going, which I consider to be a good thing for now n.n It does mean that I'm having trouble to really sit down and blog, but here I am! Are you excited!? This will be my final post about my Belgium Roadtrip!

Our last stop was Antwerp. We weren't sure if we'd go here since we were soooo tired already from the last two cities, but then thought WHAT THE HELL and just went for it. We only lasted one day, but it was fun nonetheless c: It was so hot that we ended up visiting the MOMU, the fashion musuem of Antwerp.

There was an exhibition going on about fabrics! Loved the design of the flyer.

The main focus of the exhibition was showcasing the many, many different fabrics that are out there. There were tons of books with pieces of fabrics in them. It was so pretty and inspiring...

I'm not exactly sure what this table setting was doing here...

The florals were my favorite! I don't think there was even one fabric I didn't like.

Pink pink pink!

This was so pretty! They constantly projected different patterns on the mannequins. Made my wish I had clothes that could change patterns whenever I wanted..

Here they showed the process of screen printing fabrics. It's amazing how much work goes into this. I honestly had no idea.

It wasn't a big exhibition but definitely worth a visit. I loved every bit of it. 

Soon enough we headed back to our hostel. This one looked pretty crazy. I can only imagine how much time must've gone into painting all those bricks individually lol.

We only stayed here one night and headed back home the next day in the early morning! It felt so weird yet so amazing to be back at my own little home sweet home again. I stayed home for a week and then got back on the road again, visiting family. The weather is still crazy hot after some rainy days so I'm just... cycling around, wearing flower crowns, swimming in the sea, having beach picnics and eating lots of strawberries and watermelons. Hope you're having some wonderful days too ^.^