2015: New year, new you!

As for most people, the start of the new year was a moment of reflection for me. I know the concept of New Year's resolutions is very cliché, but hearing about other people's good intentions kind of inspired me! I thought I'd share some of mine to keep me accountable...

Health goals:

1. Be confident about and happy with my body
2. Eat clean and work out consistently
3. Complete the Start To Run programme by running 5K

Beauty goals:

1. Quality over quantity when it comes to beauty products
2. Make an effort to do my hair, make up and nails regularly
3. Experiment with different beauty looks

Life goals:

1. Finish school and start my first real job
2. Blog consistently: post 2 times a week
3. Travel as much as possible

What are your goals for 2015?

Top 10: Cute college planners

A little over two weeks until my classes in France start, I'm thinking about everything I still need to buy before I leave. That's why I found myself spending almost a whole day searching the internet for cute college planners last week. So why not share my top 10 with you?

I firmly believe that a functional planner is the way to an organised life! (I'm not saying I'm the most organised person alive, but it helps me, a lot!) The last two years I used the planners that my school provides for free. I really liked them and found myself a pretty efficient system. But this year I want to buy my own planner.

 I'm looking for a planner for the coming academic year (september until june) that is practical and big enough to write down all of my homework, deadlines and personal commitments. Plus, it should look cute, because who wants to look at a boring planner every day?

These are some of the ones I found on the Internet (most ship from the US, for some reason it is very difficult to find cute planners in Belgium). In the descriptions I included the most obvious links, but you can always try Amazon for international shipping!

1. Kate Spade  2. Sarah Pinto  3. Etsy  4. Lilly Pulitzer

These four are the ones I like the most! They are both cute on the outside and functional on the inside.

5. Moleskine  6. Hema  7. Etsy printable

These three planners are my next choices. The Moleskine one is very functional, because it can be used both horizontally and vertically. They also come in a range of different colours. But I think there are cuter ones in this top 10! You can find number 6 at Hema (a Dutch store). They have a lot of other cute designs, except I don't really like the inside. They lack monthly overviews and don't have enough writing space per day. You can also find cute printables on Etsy, I just prefer buying an actual copy instead of printing all those pages myself.

8. May Designs  9. DIY with washi tape  10. Hema design service

These last three options, I also like but are just not for me. The first one I actually really loved but the shipping issue again! On the May Designs website you can design your own planner (but also a regular notebook, budget planner, etc.) from the background design to your own name or monogram. The possibilities are endless! Option 9 is a DIY project: the only thing you need is a regular planner and some washi tape. And last but not least, some photo printing services also offer an option for planners, in which you can include your own photos. I'm not really a photo person but if you like the idea of pictures of your friends and family in your daily planner, this could be something for you! I linked to the Hema website again for you Dutch/Belgian readers out there but I'm certain you can find similar services in your country.


I'm not quite sure which one I'm going for yet, partly because of the shipping issue. Let me know which one you prefer. Or if you have found other cute planners I would love to read your suggestions!

Haul: Estée Lauder Company Store

Last week I visited the Estée Lauder Company Store. Read: a factory outlet that sells the brands that are owned by Estée Lauder, at a 40% discount. Right up my street! 

I'm not going to go into too much detail, as most items are pretty selfexplanatory but I do want to share what I picked up!

From MAC I bought an eyeshadow in Satin Taupe (so pretty!), a 217 blending brush and an eyebrow pencil in Strawberry Blonde. I also got an overnight moisterizing face mask from Origins. I just had to buy my first Jo Malone fragrance and I chose the Earl Grey & Cucumber Cologne. I also bought a travel set with volumising hair products from Bumble&Bumble, which will come in handy while traveling or just to give them a try. Last but not least, I stocked up on my everyday moisterizer from Clinique. 

I'm very happy with all of my purchases and can't wait to give them all a try! If you're interested in a review on one of these product, let me know and I will definitely share my thoughts! 

Empties (July 2013)

I already have a second Empties post for you all! (check out the first one!) I'm just really enjoying using up stuff and replacing it with new products :)

• I'll start at the top: The little blue bits in the left hand corner are the remains of my favorite solid shampoo from Lush, Seanik. I figured that if I wait until it's completely gone I can't show you anymore... I like this so much that I already bought a new one (probably for the third or forth time by now).
• A jar of Virgin Organic Coconut Oil from Fushi, which I ordered from Feelunique. I use this for a lot of different things but particularly to take off my make up at night.
• Rituals Himalaya Wisdom body scrub, but only a sample package. I have a whole gift set of this line but the scrub is the first thing I used up because it only had enough for 3 or 4 uses. I'm thinking about buying the full size, mostly because I love the scent (it smells like a spa in my own bathroom), but first I'm going to use up scrubs I already have at home.
• A deodorant from Dove, very exciting! ;) Off course, I bought a new one already.
• A sample sized Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve, which I got for free when purchasing other Kiehls products. I kept this on my bed side table and applied it before going to bed. It's very rich but not greasy, which I like. I'm not sure if I will purchase it myself, maybe in winter when my hands get dry again?
• A tube of Nutribronze from L'Oréal, a body moisturizer with a little bit of self tanner. I use this on my legs to give them a hint of color because I have very fair skin. I have a second tube at home at the moment.
• A lip balm with Cocoa Butter from The Body Shop. I also kept this next to my bed to apply before going to bed. I liked it but I'm using another lip balm at the moment and it does the job too...
• And last but not least... Ultra Facial Cleanser, also from Kiehl's. This is also a sample size and in fact the second one I used up. It is a good standard cleanser for sensitive (or just normal) skin, plus it can be used on the eyes as well! Just like with some of the previous products I'm trying another cleanser at the moment but I may buy a full size in the future...

That's it! 

More stuff to throw away and replace ;)

Deauty Box July 2013

I have yet another Deauty box post for you all! I know it hasn't been long since I wrote about the previous Deauty Box but I wanted to put this up tonight as you can still order it.* 

That being said, I'm also pretty exited about this month's edition! Deauty did their first themed box and they choose to do a "Respect box". You may have noticed a difference in the packaging (to compare: the "normal" may and june boxes) but the content is also different! All the products are either natural, fair trade or good for the environment.

• An eyeliner by Avril, made from all natural ingredients. 
• A mini nail polish, also by Avril. I'm not crazy about the color but it doesn't contain any harmful chemicals, not bad if you ask me!
• Savon Noir (black soap) from Alepia. This soap is especially good for opening and cleansing pores and can be used for face and body.
• In the little green bag are a hair mask and leave in conditioner with shea butter from René Furterer.
• The last product is a mini Shea Body Scrub from The Body Shop.

I love that Deauty decided to do themed boxes! This one has a lot of products and brands that I normally wouldn't buy or know about but now I get to try them. I'm curious to see what they come up with next!

If you are interested in this box and live in Belgium, you can still order until tomorrow night (21st July).*


* UPDATE: you can't order this box anymore, but you can still subscribe for the following months!

Recipe: Sweet Potato Wedges

I made these sweet potato wedges a few times already and they were a success every time! Sweet potatoes are known to be a very healthy vegetable so why not add them to your diet? They have the same amount of carbohydrates as normal potatoes but more other nutritional benefits. I did some research and found that they contain a lot of fiber, vitamins and minerals. 

Let's get to the recipe!

1. Take the desired amount of sweet potato (I used half of a big potato for one generous serving)
2. I like to leave the skin on because it gets very crispy and most of the nutrients are just under the skin. If you choose to leave it on like me, you have to give the potato a good scrub and rinse to take off all the dirt. You can also peel it if you want ;)
3. Cut the potato into wedges (or something that looks like it, I'm not very precise). Just make sure the pieces are roughly the same size!
4. Season the wedges: I used a tablespoon of paprika, half a tablespoon of cajun spice and a sprinkle of salt. You can use any seasoning you like!
5. Drizzle with some olive oil. I don't measure this but I think it's about 1 tablespoon.
6. Mix the wedges, seasoning and oil until every piece is coated evenly.
7. Put them on a lined baking sheet, in one single layer, and bake at 200°C for 20-30 minutes. Flip them half way. 
8. Check if they are cooked (soft all the way through) and dig in!

Summer Fashion Haul (July 2013)

I went shopping a few times since my exams ended and I want to show you the results (aka damage?). Some of the items were on sale, which is always a good thing ;)

Black skirt (America Today - €10) - Striped T-shirt (C&A - €3,95) - Pink maxi dress (C&A - €14,90) - Neon shorts (America Today - €34,95) - Green bralette (Gilly Hicks at Hollister - €13,99) - Nike tight fit workout capris (Decathlon - €39,95 ) - Floral skirt (America Today - €15)

I love how a few new pieces make my closet feel up to date and ready for summer! <3