Monthly Recap July + August '17 | Engagement and Vacation time!

A lot of things have happened these past two months (all really exciting), so I was too busy to write separate recaps. Here is an overview of all the things I have done that made me happy:

July:
The most important and best thing that happened: my boyfriend went down on his knee! July 25th is the day we (finally) got engaged. He asked me in a romantic way and he designed a beautiful ring for me. I couldn't be happier!

I took some steps towards becoming more active: I had a yoga lesson in a park, when we had a beautiful sunny day, and I had a test day at a sport center (that I will join when they are done with their restorations)

I had some friend – and family time. I ate spareribs with my grandmother and grandfather, I had lunch at the Yogurt Barn with my mother and sister, lunch at Bagels & Beans with my sister and a trip to the hair dresser, I went to a birthday party from a friend and I saw Despicable Me 3 at the cinema with friends.

August:
I went to Italy last year (and three times before it too), so for many people it was no surprise that we went there again this year. We are definitely Italy-lovers at this point. Last year we booked a tour that brought us to many different places, but we both decided we needed more freedom.

This time we flew to Florence, where we had an apartment with swimming pool on 5 km from the center. We spend 4 of our days in Florence and we made trips with the train to Siena, Pisa + Lucca and Pistoia. We had two full days of just lying at the pool with a book. After 11 days we moved to Venice, where we had 3 more days before we flew back home.

I can say that this vacation was PERFECT. We really enjoyed having a pool, where we could dive in after our full day of walking. We had the BEST ice cream in the world every day and pizza's like they are meant to be. We also had the best weather you can imagine.

I can finally cross off three places on my bucketlist (Florence, Pisa and Venice) and I definitely need to return to Venice at some point. It is such a magical place and I loved to wander around all the alleys and to see all the beautiful buildings. We also hired a gondola and although it was really expensive, it was so worth it! Siena was a surprise and I ended up falling in love with all the all the Medieval influences.
   
If you are interested in more vacation photo's, I share some more on my Instagram: Mel_1704.

I had a delicious lunch together with my sister and then we went to buy some plants. I had a fantastic wedding party from Daisy, who looked beautiful in her dress - and two book club meetings.

Talk Bujo to Me | July '17 & haul.

If you are new to bulletjournaling: it is basically a wish list, to-do list and journal – and what I like to do is decorate it with doodles, handlettering, stamps and washi-tape. I have two informative posts about my step into this bujo-world and setting up collections.


Every month I like to pick a theme or a theme color, so for July I went with blue and ocean/beach details. I found two sets of doodles that inspired me: this set on Shutterstock and these doodles from Jamtoons. This was one of the first times I tried to use watercolours in my bulletjournal and I'm impressed with the paper; it holds the water really well! I think I will definitely continue to use watercolours in my spreads, because it is an easy way to add a pop of colour.

This was the first month that I participated in the new Instagram challenge by Boho Berry, simply called #bohoberrychallenge. Every month has its own theme and this time it was all about personal development/growth. I loved making all the spreads and to truly think about topics like: what I need more and less off or what I truly love about my life. Sometimes these are good things to think about. It always makes me realize how happy I am with the life I have and how far I have come as a person.

There are still aspects of my life that I need to work on, like dealing with my negative self-talk and how I deal with some unrealistic fears that still hold me back, but this challenge also showed me all the things I CAN celebrate about myself. Also tell me: what is your greatest talent? This is always one of the hardest questions, because I have a feeling I haven't discovered mine yet? So in the end I decided to go with reading multiple books at the same time, without losing track of the characters/plot.

I have a little haul to show you this month. The first thing I got, after going back and forth between buying or leaving, I got this beautiful handmade glass dip pen from J. Herbin. I've practiced a little in my learning bulletjournal with some black ink from Pelikan 4001 and I really like it! It takes some practice, but the result is pretty and I definitely want to get some more colours ink.

And I got three new notebooks. Two of my beloved notebooks from Leuchtturm1917 for my collection. I got the Anthracite one and Red, which will be my bulletjournal for 2018. I've already started my preparations by copying spreads that I will need, like my book wish list of upcoming publications, my goals and Ultimate TV show tracker. I will show you all my spreads in one of my next bulletjournal updates.

I couldn't resist this lilac coloured notebook from Rhodia. This is one of their new lines. I already owned their dotted Notepad to practice handwriting, so I decided to branch out and try their dotted Goalbook. I have to say I'm not impressed.. The quality of the cover is disappointing. It is made of a soft material, so you can see every line and scratch the moment you touch it. The paper has darker dots and seems flimsier – I don't think it will react to water colours as well as the Leuchtturm paper. Shame! They have a different range of colours, so I hoped I could switch between them, but I will stick with my good old Leuchtturm notebooks.

Audio book Adventures | Two short stories.

Also: I'm not sponsored by Storytel. They don't even know who I am. Note that this is a Dutch website, another version of Audible. It is basically Netflix for audiobooks, because you pay 9,99 euro per month and can listen to as many audiobooks as you want.

I have listened to three books so far and I'm currently in the middle of one (Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, narrated by Dan Stevens) I love the fact that Storytel allows me to go from audiobook to audiobook, because I'm quite picky when it comes to the narrator. I have found out that I enjoy listening to males more than females, so that is where I will focus on right now.

Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs. Read by Simon Callow. Listen on Storytel.
This audiobook was fabulous! This book has different stories set in the world of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. There is a princess with a fork-tongue, there are friendly cannibals and a boy who turned into a locust. Each story had something magical and strange about it and I loved them all. The narrator did a fabulous job of using different voices, which made the stories come alive. Highly recommended.

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaimain. Read by Neil Gaiman. Listen on Storytel.
There is something special about authors who narrate their own book and Gaiman has a pleasant voice to listen to. This is a short, middle grade story about a father who spins a tale around the fact he returned late from the store to get some milk. This book is really entertaining and I think young children will love the adventures!

Talk Bujo to Me | What I use for bulletjournaling.

If you are new to bulletjournaling: it is basically a wish list, to-do list and journal – and what I like to do is decorate it with doodles, handlettering, stamps and washi-tape. I have two informative posts about my step into this bujo-world and setting up collections.

Today I want to talk about all the materials I use for my bulletjournal. Almost everything I get is bought on a Dutch website called Penstore. I am not sponsored, but simply enjoy using this website. It is easy to navigate, with different sections, and they provide fast shipping. For my Dutch followers: if you want there are also Notitieboekplaza, de Inktpot, Writersplaza, de Kwast and Liefde voor Papier.

You don't have to use anything that I mention in this post. Bulletjournaling is all about what works for YOU. So if you use a regular 1 dollar notebook and only a pencil, that is fine too! I just want to show you all the materials that work for me and it might give you some inspiration.

Recap June '17 | More new books.

Bookclub! I was the only one who finished the book, but most of our conversations are about other things anyway, haha. Daph gave me a birthday present that took ages to arrive and it is this gorgeous Grimm's Fairytales picture book. It looks great in my growing Fairytale book collection. I haven't shot a photo of it yet, but it will follow!

Travel agency. We are busy with the planning of our vacation (we really need to start booking something..), so we went to an agency for travels with the train to get some information. Looks like we might visit Venice after all! I'm so excited and hope to share our booked plans soon.

Shopping. Because what else would you do when you get your vacation money from work? Haha. I'm building a new wardrobe, so every month I buy some new pieces and this time I discovered a new favorite store.

Family. My mom and dad celebrated their birthday together and it was fun to hang out with everyone. My father got a special tablet for photo editing and we treated our mom by going to La Cubanita. On one of the hottest days, Father's day, we went to the park and I had a barbecue over at my grandparent's house.

Music festival. There's always a free music festival, with different stages and lesser-known bands. Unfortunately, it started to rain really hard that day, so we only went there for an hour. We visited our friends and even took a walk in the woods after we had some delicious ice cream (Tony Chocolonely flavour!)

Team building. This year we went with Insights, which is a personality test that shows your percentage for certain colors – and those are assigned to certain personality traits. The test also makes some sort of story about you, with different subjects like 'strong and weak points' and 'the way you interact with others'. Some things were spot on, but I also noticed a few wrong elements that made me sound really harsh and cold. We had some team building elements, followed by a barbecue, so I had a great time.

Harry Potter. Twenty years of Potter magic! Seventeen years ago I discovered this fandom and it has never let me go. I can't believe it and it makes my heart so happy to see Harry Potter is still alive, especially now with the Fantastic Beasts franchise.

Let it go | Collection of books.

Patrick Ness- Release. 
RATING: 2/5.
Patrick Ness' books always make me feel stupid. It's like I'm not clever enough to truly grasp his intentions, because I can't figure out how the two stories combine. It felt like I was reading two books at the same time and they didn't mesh together in my head.

The first story is about Adam and how he deals with his homosexuality and his family, who are very religious and believe it is something he can be cured of. They try to avoid the topic, but whenever they can they make it clear they aren't willing to accept him. No matter what he does, it is always wrong. The moment his father tells him that is is hard to love him, but that the tries, my heart completely shattered for Adam. The fact that there are people in the world who think like that is just unbelievable to me. Love = love, no matter what, as long as it makes you happy.

Adam's romantic moments with his boyfriend made me melt and it was good to see he was so supported by him. The sex scenes were nicely done. Also his friendship with Angela! That was one amazing girl.

The other story is about a Queen and a Faun. She is possessed with the spirit of a girl that was strangled to death and she is now on the hunt to get justice. The Faun is hopping along to sort of protect her? The story was really poetic, but I struggled with it. I didn't understand what this story had to do with Adam.. and why it was there in the first place. I just don't see what it adds to the overall story.

So yeah. I'm starting to believe Ness' work is just not for me?

Recap May '17 | Being active again.

May was a great month for sure. I became a little more active and it feels good. The awesome sunny weather makes it easier for me to go outside, so I hope to keep it up.


1. I went to a yoga class with friends and it was so relaxing yet intense. I love this way of toning your muscles and getting relaxed, so I need to get over my fear of going alone. First step was taken, now it is time for me to be brave..

2. I had a short vacation with my boyfriend's mother, sister, brother their boyfriend/girlfriend. We stayed at a bungalow house from Friday to Monday and we had some great activities and fantastic weather! The first day we swam in the subtropical pool and I got injured after I bumped my head really hard under water in the wild-water course. Nothing too bad though, but it shocked me and I had a monstrous headache that night.

The next day we had a parcour in the trees, about 6 meters of the ground. It was scary at times, but it felt so good to complete it without falling! After it we went into an Egyptian themed escape room, which we completed with 3 minutes left. Everyone went for another swim in the pool, but I stayed back home with my mother-in-law and finished a book.

The next day we went for a round of paintball. The guns were bad, but it was fun to do and afterwards we did a few adventure golf courses, which was challenging. Board game night!
On Monday we had to leave the bungalow at 10:00, so we went to the pool and stayed there until 14:00. We ate some ice cream, I played pool with my boyfriend (and won of course ;P) and then we went home.

3. I had a sport event with work. Archery tag, Lasergame, Volleybal, Estafette and Bubble football. We didn't win anything, but it was fun to hang out with some colleagues after work.

6. De-coloured my hair! It turned green, but after I washed it with ketchup and more Head & Shoulders it slowly turned back into blonde. I have to say; the purple hair adventure was great and now that I know it will wash out relatively easy, I will return to it!

Recap April '17 | Birthday, YALFEST and book club sleep-over.

April is always one of my favorite months, despite the funky weather. It was definitely a great month! I've done so many fun things; which meant I had less time to read, as you can see..

I went to Beauty and the Beast in the cinema twice. Once was in IMAX 3D and what an experience! You can see my thoughts about the movie in my review, but in one word: MAGICAL. I definitely shed a few happy tears and the songs are on repeat. The first time I went with friends, the second time with my family and we combined it with going out for diner. Talking about food, hehe, I went with my boyfriend, sister and brother in law to a Dim Sum restaurant. Delicious!

I participated in something we call 'Duinenmars' which is a yearly event where you can walk different distances and get a medal or a new pin. Every medal holds 3 pins. This was my 5th time, so I got a new medal. We had amazing weather; it was incredibly sunny and warm. I've also picked up running (again), but this time I see myself improve and that is motivating.


I celebrated my birthday (26 years already, eek!) I had a lot of healthy snacks, I got a beautiful birthday cake made by my talented sister and I got really thoughtful presents. I felt loved :)

I had two fun bookish events. I went to YALFEST with a girlfriend, which is a pretty new book event hosted by different Dutch publishers. It was great! There were eight authors (Amy Ewin, David Arnold, Lesley Livingston, Megan Shepherd, Donna Freitas, Veronica Rossi and Victor Dixen) who were interviewed and then we got time to get our books signed + a picture. I had a workshop about translating books from English to Dutch and there were different stands with activities, like making your own buttons or getting a temporary bookish tattoo. I'm definitely going again next year.

The other event was our book club sleep-over, which is actually for the Dewey 24-hour read-a-thon, but lately ends up as a day/night where we watch really (and I mean REALLY) bad book adaptations. This time we picked Fallen and The Fifth Wave. I think we were all pleasantly surprised by The Fifth Wave, but maybe it is because you can't get anything worse than Fallen. This movie is by far one of the worst movie I've ever seen. Every scene takes 100 hours and is filled with cringe-worthy sentences, broody looks in the distance, swoony staring in each other eyes and terrible special effects. It was hilarious. Hanging out with these girls is the best.

March '17 | London (first flight!) and lots of food.

This truly was an amazing month! And what is my monthly recap without mentioning the fact I ate some delicious food?

The best thing that happened was my trip to London with Debby and Daphne. It has been.. 8, perhaps 9 years since I first been to London and I fell in love all over again. I had an amazing time with my friends and I believe they got to see a side of me they didn't know yet, haha. I definitely can't wait to return any time soon, because there are still so many things left I want to see/do!

Highlights of the trip were: (check out my Instagram for more pictures)

-We went to Les Misérables, which was an amazing experience.
-We saw Seven Dials after we met Samantha Shannon, for her book signing for The Song Rising. She was lovely! She promises us a lot of pain in the upcoming books. I'm ready to endure all of it.
-British Museum, Natural History Museum (They moved Dippy, I WAS SO DISAPPOINTED), Victoria & Albert, where we also ate scones. Walked across the Tower Bridge, posed in front of Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, saw the whispering Gallery in St. Paul's and we bummed over the fact Westminster Abbey was closed for a special service. Also had a glimpse of 9 3/4 on King's Cross.

-All the bookstores. Debby showed me the wonderful store Forbidden Planet. I'm in love.
-All the food. We tried pies, English breakfast, fish & chips, the best cookies, ice cream surrounded with candy floss, a real Sunday roast, Scottish Eggs, Sushi, yuuuum. We also had the worst restaurant experience ever, so thanks Kimchee, never again.
-My first flight. Yep. It finally happened and I survived thanks to the support and beautiful serenade of Debby and Daph in the middle of the airport. We went with the train to London and went back flying. It was interesting. I did NOT like the start, but the middle part was okay (had to stop thinking about the fact you are floating around) and I liked the landing.
-A ride in a Double decker. I love those things.

I had a fun bookclub meeting. I finally had a house-warming for two friends, because things kept coming in between, and we went out to get hamburgers (I had a delicious hot dog) We went over to our friends to celebrate a birthday (I love the fact I can finally give someone books for her birthday!)  and I got addicted again to playing Mario on my Nintendo 3DS.

I'm getting more responsibilities at work, which is scary and really exciting. I have a feeling I might get a permanent contract at the end of this year *fingers crossed*

Recap February '17 | Photo shoot, Love-a-thon and bookshopping.

This was a good month, where I discovered my new addiction; the TV show Outlander. A few years ago I read the first four books, but for some reason I quit and now I remember again why I liked it so much. Hello, Jamie Fraser and your darn adorable accent. It's such an easy show to binge-watch. Trigger warning for sex scenes, violence and sexual abuse.

I went disco-bowling for a friend's birthday. It has been a while since I bowled and I was reminded of the fact that I am terrible at it, haha. But it was fun and that is all that matters.

To celebrate Valentine we went out to eat hamburgers and I got a pretty set of three piercings for my ear. We always like to acknowledge the day without making too much fuzz, so this was nice.

I went out to drink bubble tea and to do some book shopping with someone who is quickly becoming a friend. It was great to browse for new titles with someone who loves books as much as I do. Our boyfriends decided to hang out in the pub in the mean time.

The Love-a-Thon happened, I was one of the co-hosts, and I had a great time learning new people. It gave me new motivation to write reviews and to make more time to comment around the blogging community.

And I did something I never thought I would ever do. My mom talked me into going to a photo-shoot with her, a friend and my sister and she persuaded me by loaning a Belle dress. I decided to go with it and in the end I did get a few photo's that I like.

Love-A-Thon 2017 | Wrap Up + Giveaway.

We’ve sadly reached the end of the event! Be sure to stop by all four host blogs (Alexa Loves Books, The Novel Hermit, Super Space Chick & The Daily Prophecy) to read a little bit about our thoughts on the event, and our acknowledgements for the people who have so generously donated and enthusiastically participated.

I had a fantastic time this year and I am so happy I could host this event together with my co-hosts. They had so much creativity and it reminds me why I'm still trying to return from my blogging slump. You have no idea how motivating it was to see all these sweet messages going around the blogosphere! And I had a blast hosting one of the four twitter chats, because I got to chat with so many new bloggers. Keep this going after the love-a-thon!

Love-A-Thon 2017 | Let Me Sing You a Love Song.

Now’s the time to let your musical tastes shine! Dedicate a love song (or two or three) to your favorite book characters, and tell us why. Get as creative as you want, whether you decide to film a video, share a playlist or write out some lyrics and snap a photo. Link up at Alexa Loves Books.

Because of this post I've found out that I don't listen to romantic songs at all. Most of them are more about lost loves and broken hearts, but I guess that's also right for some of my sunken ships. Here are the three combinations I came up with:


John Legend – All of Me.
Beast – Dark Triumph (Robin LaFevers). He is described as incredibly ugly and huge, but his heart is so pure and sweet – it would sweep me right of my feet.

Jesper Lindell feat First Aid Kit – Slow down.
Shadow and Bone.

Mumford and Sons – I Gave You All.
Throne of Glass.

Love-A-Thon 2017 | Valentines Care Package.

Is there anything more exciting than receiving a surprise care package from one of your best book buddies? Didn’t think so! If you had the opportunity to surprise one or more of your favorite characters with a care package for Valentine’s Day, what would you be sure to include? Have fun virtually shopping for the character(s) you love and let us know via photos, collages, etc., what you would love to send them! Link up at Super Space Chick

I would send Sybella (Dark Triumph – Robin LaFevers) a new knife for her collection. And to stay in this theme, I would give Lila (A Darker Shade of Magic) a perfect pirate blade.
Nina (Six of Crows) gets a box of chocolate.
Copies of some of my favorite books go to Hermione (Harry Potter)
I want to give Chaol (Throne of glass) a big hug, because he is such a misunderstood character.
Cress (Lunar Chronicles) gets a set of hair products and a fancy hair brush.

Some random ideas:
Alina gets some sense, so she is able to make the right choice at the end of Ruin and Rising.
I would ship an indestructable tank packed with ammunition to Georgia and Shaun (Feed)

Love-A-Thon 2017 | X meets Y.

Mix and match away! This challenge is made for you to combine the books and movies/tv shows that you love in some way, in order for other people to find new recommendations for things to check out. Whether inspired by characters or themes, we can’t wait to see what you come up with!

New Girl / Fangirl.
Reason: Cath and Jess are both a little awkward and they have great support around them.

The Walking Dead / The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Reason: The zombies in the book are just as ruthless as the ones in The Walking Dead.

PRIZE PACK (US):

Passenger	Disney-Hyperion
Vassa in the Night	Tor Teen
Love and First Sight	Little, Brown & Company
Unforgiveable	Harper Collins
Tor Teen pin	Tor Teen
The Dark Talent pin	Tor Teen
Amberlough pin	Tor Teen

PRIZE PACK (INTL):

Passenger	Disney-Hyperion
Truthwitch	Tor Teen
To Catch a Killer ARC	Tor Teen
The Great Pursuit ARC	Harper Collins
Metaltown tattoo	Tor Teen
Tor sticker	Tor Teen
Arabella of Mars paper dolls	Tor Teen
Becoming Bonnie newspapers	Tor Teen