Finally it is getting a bit colder here in Holland. No snow yet, but I have had it up to here with this dreary rainy weather we've had up till now!  What happened to a good old-fashioned winter?! It seems America stole it... 

Luckily, now I have the opportunity to wear my most amazing fashion buy of last year's visit to Bicester Village Outlet: my brown Hobbs Celeste coat. We have seen Kate wear this coat on three occasions already. First on Valentine's Day 2012 while visiting Liverpool, then again with a red scarf while attending a Christmas service in Berkshire with William and her family, and then lastly last March while she was pregnant, during a visit to Grimsby. I really like the way she styled it the first time in Liverpool, with the turtleneck dress and black tights. What's your favourite? 

Currently I am totally in love with everything tartan, both for my clothes and for my house, so when I saw Pippa rocking a scarf with the Isle of Skye tartan I couldn't resist buying a similar one for myself, as I also recently bought a 'RepliPippa' of her purple cashmere dress. But I think the scarf works really well too with the brown coat. The dark brown suede boots I already have for many years, but they make a nice replikate for the Stuart Weitzman Zipkin boots. 

Last year Ayvee from DianasJewels.net identified a pair of UFO earrings of Diana as the Venus earrings from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I have loved them ever since, and last December, when my parents visited New York, they brought a pair back for me as a Christmas present ( I have the BEST parents!)

The earrings are inspired by the painting Venus In Front Of A Mirror by the Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens. 
This painting, made in 1615, shows the Roman goddess Venus with blonde hair and naked, with a fat, rounded figure in the usual style of Rubens.  She is sitting with her back facing the viewer and her face only partially visible, but she is aware of the viewer in a mirror that frames her face like a portrait. The only things she is wearing is a bracelet and the pearl earrings. 

More information about the painting you can find here. 

So, what do you think of the painting? Who wears them better, Venus or me? ;-)

I watched the latest Hunger Games movie recently, and Jennifer Lawrence looked so gorgeous in all her different outfits in Catching Fire! So I thought it would be fun to also add a few Katniss Everdeen items to the shop as well. 

Since no one ordered those yet, the listings don't have any 'result'  pictures, but as soon as I have those, I will of course add them to the listings as well!

Did you watch Hunger Games: Catching Fire yet? What do you think? Did new costume designer Trish Summerville a good job? 

Yes, I know, I just went to Dublin, and now I am already on a new trip. Maybe it is a bit much, but I do love visiting other places so much! 

This week I have been on a skiing holiday with a group of friends to La Joue Du Loup, a small town in the French Alps. 

I tried skiing on the first day, but as I dislocated my knee a few weeks ago, it hurt too much and I didn’t feel comfortable to ski anymore, so that was a bit of a disappointment. But I had such a great time nonetheless!

Just before Christmas I caved and bought the black furry Oscar snow boots that Kate has been wearing during several skiing trips over the past few years. I bought them at The Alpine Room and I must say: I couldn’t wish for a better customer service! As they weren’t sure they would be able to send me the boots in time for me to enjoy them during this holiday, they offered to send them directly to the hotel in France. As I never stayed there before, I decided not to do this and just take the risk, but it is so great if people think along with you. They shipped the boots the very same day and they arrived just 3 days later. Definitely recommend ordering at The Alpine Room! 

Regarding the Oscar boots, they are SO great! As soon as there is even the slightest bit of snow on an entire area of ice, you have amazing grip. Felt very safe walking on them. They were a bit of an investment piece, but they will also be great use to me when I am going to Iceland later this year!

We heard that there was a walking path to Baily Lighthouse, just outside of Howth with beautiful views over the shore, so we thought that would be a nice morning work out. 

But they didn't lie about the view!

The end of the trip to Ireland was marked by celebrating New Year’s at the official Countdown Concert in front of Trinity College, which was a lot of fun! Among the artists performing were the Sugababes and Madness, so I had a really great time! (I already shared pictures from that concert in my previous post about my New Year's resolutions.)

All in all, I would definitely recommend visiting Ireland, and Dublin in particular, to anyone who loves history and nature!

As I am already back from Dublin I am a bit late with this post,  but I had just such a lovely time in Ireland I just wanted to share some pictures I took.

Because Ireland is so renowned for its beautiful landscapes, our group decided to rent a car during our second day in Dublin. We had to wait an hour before our car was ready, so we walked a bit alongside the river Liffey. 

I love the way they combine old with new in Dublin. 

When we got our car, and overcame the first difficulties of driving left side instead of the right, we visited  Powerscourt House and Gardens, a few miles south of Dublin. For those who already watched the fourth season of Downton Abbey Powerscourt might sound familiar. (The Duchess of Yeovil tells Tom Branson that Lady Powerscourt is her niece, and apparently Tom HAS seen her, but he wouldn’t say he actually met her.)

Powerscourt House itself is turned into a interior design shopping centre, which didn’t really interest me, but we took an hour long walk through its beautiful gardens. Really gorgeous. I want gardens like that SO MUCH! Very Downton Abbey! 

Our journey continued to Glendalough, which is a small town with a monastic settlement from the 6th century located in Wicklow National Park.

Glendalough lies in a glacial valley with two lakes, and is a great place for walking and enjoying the nature around you. It rained quite a lot in the weeks before our visit, so unfortunately this meant we couldn’t visit the church and grounds around it. The bridge to the grounds had become completely useless....

Luckily, the rest of Glendalough is beautiful as well. The whole area just had this amazing mysterious light, like walking right into a Lord of the Rings movie. 

After Glendalough we returned to Dublin, and that was that for my second day in Ireland!

I know, I know! It's already a few days ago, but I hope you all had a beautiful New Years Eve filled with fun, good company and lots of champagne! I had a great time ringing in 2014 in Dublin at the Countdown Concert, partying with friends and talking to random strangers in the street (Oh, what great it is to be young ;-) )

We had such a great time! Ireland really is a magical place. (For those interested: pictures of the last two days will follow in my next two posts!)

The start of a new year is always a great time to reflect on the lessons and achievements of the past year and look forward to the future. 

While 2012 was a year I felt I achieved absolutely nothing, 2013 was actually a great year for me. It started of slow, but at the end of it I can definitely say I moved forward, both in 'real' life, as well as emotionally. 

If 2013 taught me anything, it proved to me that you don’t have to have all of the answers. Reaching out to others for help can actually make things a lot better. The past few years I struggled with my studies enormously, barely making any progress at all, up to the point I stopped believing in myself. Until last January, when I was diagnosed with ADD. 2013 will always be the year for me that everything 'fell into place'. Now that I am taking the right medication I have passed every exam since and feel there is finally light at the end of the tunnel (and hopefully a successful job as well ;-) )

If there is something fashion related I've learned this year is that having a great style is based on two principles:
1) You don't have to be 5 pounds to look amazing. True confidence comes from accepting your own body and all its unique assets by dressing accordingly. 
2)  You don't have to own a million bucks to look like a million bucks. Anyone can buy a $1,200 dress, $600 shoes and a $800 bag and look great, but a woman with great style has the ability to mix affordable clothes (possibly with a designer piece) and look even more amazing. For me, Kate is the true embodiment of this principle. 

As we don't celebrate Thanksgiving in the Netherlands, the end of the year is always the logical time for me to give thanks to the life I have. Last year I have been thankful for:

• The health of my family, friends and myself
• My parents and how they are always there for me
• The travelling I have been able to do
• My best friend for always supporting me
• My two sweet cats Taiyo and Vashti
• My part-time job as a paralegal that gives me the opportunity to already gain some experience in the legal field. 
• My great apartment
• The opportunities that living in a country like the Netherlands give me
• The fact that I lost 15 lbs 
• Ice cream and chocolate
• You, my dear readers!

It is kind of sad to be taking down all the Christmas decorations, but I am also happy to get the house back to normal. Bye bye, Christmas tree! Hello brand new year and a fresh start! 

So what are my hopes and dreams for the coming year? As I am a notorious list maker, here are some things I am looking forward to in 2014:

And last, but obviously not least, I want to wish you all a very happy and healthy 2014! Thank you for your readership and support this last year. Looking forward to another great year to come!