Hi there! Friyaaaaaay when I'm typing this, and the perfect moment to share a photo report of the lovely weekend my guy and I spent in Amsterdam. We were introduced to the new Kruidvat collection and enjoyed a relaxing stay at Element hotel Amsterdam. Oh, and of course I shopped a bit.
So! Oona and Kruidvat invited me for dinner + a night at Element Amsterdam, which is only a 25min tram ride away from the city center. After a grueling ride to get to Antwerp train station in the nick of time (traffic is awful in Belgium), we caught the Thalys and a quick and comfortable ride later, we arrived in Amsterdam. When we made our way over to our hotel, golden hour was in full swing and I fell in love with Amsterdam all over again as I saw those historical buildings bathed in the sunset.
We had about an hour before drinks and dinner, and we were starving so my boyfriend and I ventured into the Gelderlandplein shopping mall. You can imagine our delight when we stumbled across an Asian specialties supermarket where they had actual fresh onigiri like the ones we LIVED on back in Japan! I had one with kimchi and pork and my guy had one with salmon, and I had just about enough time to slip on the pink velvet Zara top I had saved especially for the occasion.
I don't often rock a cleavage, but when I do, it's a memorable occasion. I did my hair with the Irresistble Me curling wand btw, using the 25/13mm iron. My hair looked amazing until I washed it again 5 days later (don't judge me), can't state enough how much I love that wand. Time for drinks and a first look at Kruidvat's new line!
The new collection is called Moments of Me, and it is centered around the idea of taking a moment to step out of the ratrace, quality time with yourself so to speak. The line offers bath oils, shower gels, bath balls, bath salt and sugar scrubs, all centered around three core fragrances/themes: Balance, Relax and Energy. Oh, fun fact: the bath balls release little flower petals!
The Balance line revolves around sweet orange and is meant to bring, well, balance, obviously! Balance is kind of a vague concept but I can see how orange is balanced: fruity and energizing yet with a soothing, golden sweetness that takes off all the hard edges.
The Energy line revolves around eucalyptus, very refreshing and bright. The Energy scrub is my fave out of the entire Moments of Me collection, the scrub almost has a soufflé type of texture that delivers a thorough removal of dead skincells without being too rough. The eucalyptus + mint combo has a hammam feel to it, quite lovely.
Finally, the Relax line offers lavender and is perfect for unwinding after a long work week. Ugh, I wish I was in a lavender bath right now instead of writing a post. Workaholic life is no joke, y'all.
Look at boo rocking his COS sweater and blazer (we went shopping for some new gear recently), holding my drink. I love it when my boyfriend holds my drink, I really value those silly little things that show me he's always got my back.
Of course, I didn't just hang with bae, I also had the best of time with Paulien, Robin, Manon and Karen! Four of the funniest, most talented chicks I know. Robin and I probably got on everyone's nerves by getting way too hyper talking about some of our favourite (trash) tv-shows, but when I get my drank on, I get really excited. I'm an excited drunk, if that een exists.
We were probably just as tipsy as we look. Well I was, my boyfriend doesn't drink. Woops.
Next morning, we packed our bags and dropped them off at the Amsterdam train station lockers before making our way down Amsterdam's pretty streets! It was a beautiful day, sunny and not too cold, and the crowds were not too bad for a Saturday.
We stopped for a drink at Café 't Loosje, which I have actually blogged about before! A really cute place with lots of history, reasonable prices and a killer pastrami-sauerkraut-pickle sandwich on the menu which I'm sad to say I didn't get to try.
We just enjoyed the city, really, taking in the sights, the sounds and the scents (broodje kroket with a side of marihuana, interesting combination to say the least!).
I didn't buy much, actually, just some flannel PJ's and this AWESOME €25 fluffy faux fur coat at Primark. I obviously had to wear it straight away, as it worked so perfectly with my hair for a free spirited, 70s folkrocker look.
Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the trainstation and catch our ride back to Antwerp. I noticed this beautiful bit of old Dutch poetry on the side of the building.
Free translation at the best of my knowledge: "Look for fortune, sometimes, also he who sits still. The buoyancy of the mind pushes us to strange lands. Thus people meets people, their fertile fraternal bonds. Too much rest is rust, no idiom is quite as true." I couldn't say it better myself, so I'll leave it at that. See you again soon, Amsterdam!
No comments