Oh, hello there! How are you? How have been things going for you? This year is obviously the worst one in terms of me taking care of this lil online space of mine—I even let my domain expire before I paid for the renewal. But, here I am, and here we are. My time in New Zealand is coming to a close, and it's finally time to share some of my travels and impressions of the country with you! But before that, here's another enormous stash of cool links I wanted to share with you. Sorry if some of them are a bit old—don't get me started on that time I didn't have a computer because it broke. :) So... enjoy your weekend!

Link Stash for the Curious

I was told some people missed my Weekend Reads. I missed sharing my finds as well. Sometimes I wouldn't read anything significant. Other times I just didn't feel like writing, but kept on reading. That's why I have a million links for you today:) 

Do you bookmark things? I do. I bookmark my heart out. As a matter of fact, up to quite recently, I had 13 folders (!) and 54 subfolders. It is mad. I thought it was just a way of staying organized. But is it really staying organized if the majority of the subfolders are never being looked at again?

What I Enjoyed in 2017.

I know, I know, this is old news and I might've published it in June as well... but, if you'll believe me, I have also enjoyed these things (or at least those I could have!) in these two months as well.

Berlin Boatride or How To Enjoy Your Town Cruise

Oh wow, it's been quite a while since this boatride happened. Google Chrome keeps reminding me of it every day, as I installed a plugin to make me more productive... though the reality is it's only making me more miserable. Give it a go if you'd like. Anyway, the day before my 27th birthday my friend who visited his BF in Berlin was struck by the fact that I had no plans for my birthday whatsoever, so the two of them arranged a boatride and invited me to join them. As this was actually one of the things to do before I (eventually) leave Berlin, I was delighted! My birthday is in late September, so we enjoyed the fall colors and just seeing the city from the water. We also had wine and a birthday cupcake. It was a day well spent.

Top 10 Things You Need to Figure Out When Moving

In case your plans for this year involve moving to another city or even country, congrats! I've moved cities and/or countries six times in the past three years (actually, it's even less than three years!) and it's so stressful, but on the other hand so rewarding because - yay, new adventures! But before you get all out and about making the time of your life (no, that's not really how it goes in reality, but sounds nice!), you should sort loads of things out. My friend Ivan, who moved to Denmark from Serbia last year, published this post on his blog and I loved it so much that I asked it if I could feature it on my own blog. Obviously, I can :) - thank you Ivan! I'm much more about the whole 'new life' craze so I'd never think of writing this, but it's a great guide and good to have in mind. Here's what Ivan suggests you put on your to-do list as soon as you arrive to your new home.

What to See and Do in Pecs, Hungary

Hometown friends are a special sort – you know, those who’ve known you for a lifetime and with whom you share tons of adventures growing up? Yes, I have those too. But the funny thing is that I met two of my 'hometown friends' on a night prior to my moving abroad two years ago. Yes, I’ve known them before because it’s a type of town where everybody knows of everybody, but this was the first time I was actually introduced to them and we spent the evening together. Best way to wrap up a life phase. 

This past spring I came home just in time to be asked if I’d join them on a road trip to a nearby town in Hungary. The two of them + one girlfriend + another friend had already planned it and they had an extra seat in the car. Why, sure! Especially because I’d never actually been to Hungary before, even though my hometown is really close to the border. (If we rule out the occasional landings and departures from the Budapest airport, that is, and we do because I say so.) So yes, a short one-day trip to a random town called Pecs was definitely something I was in the mood for.

The True Cost of Our Behavior

*I know this is too long a blog post, but please please please read it as it’s SO IMPORTANT. The introduction is long, but I think it makes sense as it gives you the context you might be in right now. Or, if you absolutely don’t want to read this, it’s OK too, but then please just watch the movie The True Cost. That’s your take-home message for today. Write it down, make a mental note, just watch it.*

About a year ago, I was an avid shopper. I feel slightly embarrassed writing this, because shopping as a hobby is usually perceived as something superficial people do. Now, I wouldn’t exactly call it a hobby but let’s say I left shops with bags full of clothes and accessories at least once a month. I would also window shop out of boredom, curiosity, desire, or sometimes combination of the above. Most of the time I would know exactly what was on display in H&M, Zara, Vero Moda and the like. It went so far that I could instantly say where a random girl on the street had bought each of her items. Whenever I would spot something I liked, I would buy it without blinking an eye, because hey, of course I can afford a sweater that costs €15 or a top that’s less than €10.

Nine Months Later: Where I Am with My NY Resolutions

Beginning of October was the time to check in and see how I was doing with my New Year’s resolutions. I totally forgot, though. And then when I became aware of that, well, I kinda put it off because there was not much I can brag about. These past three months were the worst this year. Although I did manage to travel to London – that was the good part. :) But speaking of resolutions, I did bad. I was in a very bad place overall, and I’m not ready to share that yet, but one day I might, just to tell everyone who’s feeling similar – it’s OK.

So, here’s how it went. Check in is a check in, even when there’s nothing special to be said...

Flirting with Minimalism

If I find an interesting challenge online, chances are I will try it out. We love challenges, don't we'?Though it tells nothing about how far I will come. Plank challenge, half way through. Abs challenge, not even that far. 30-day yoga challenge, well, eventually I finished it! Only because it took a lot more than 30 days, though. But all this shouldn't mean I (and you!) shouldn't even try because I know (OK - I suppose! Some positivity here...) I won't be as successful as I should be. So I found another one, ages ago! I loved it and bookmarked it right away. But I wasn't ready to take it until now.

If you'd like your surroundings and daily life to be with more purpose, and if the thought of being more present appeals to you, you might want to join me. Read on! 

I'm a Tinggly Ambassador!

I don't know about you, but when I'm facing someone's birthday, graduation or even wedding, I have NO IDEA what to get them. And it doesn't have to do with how well I know the person. It can be my best friend or my sister, but I'm still paralyzed with cluelessness every freaking time. And when you're friends with many people, that can be troubling. Especially because I do care, and I do want to show them I've given a lot of thought into the idea of a present. 

Maybe somebody over at Tinggly had the same problem, but unlike me, saw it as an inspiration to make something awesome :) And I'm so thankful they did, because I have a great announcement to make today - I'm a Tinggly Ambassador! Woo! But let me explain what this means.

How to Survive a Shopping Ban

Last week I shared my thoughts on why I started my shopping ban. It was pretty much stepping into the unknown. It was a challenge I wasn't sure I could endure up to the end, so I allocated a six months' period pretty randomly. I thought: let's say six months, and if I cannot make it, well... that's it. Nothing too serious.  The initial idea was six months without buying clothes, but soon I extended it, so it was six months without buying clothes (except for one pair of jeans because I really needed it), decorative cosmetics (which shouldn't be too hard, as I use minimal make-up), nail polishes (ok, harder, because I'd been eyeing a shade or two), glossy magazines (hard!), candles (sad, because I was really used to their lovely light in the evening), flowers (super hard, as buying tulips in the Netherlands is the most natural thing, plus it's incredible how much they always brighten the desk), jewelry (not that hard, but then again, I had to remember not to buy it!), Starbucks coffee (at that point not that hard because Groningen had Starbucks at the main railway station and I almost never went there). In a nutshell: I was banned from buying things I didn't absolutely need.

Why I Started a Shopping Ban (And Why You Might Too)

As I mentioned on the blog a number of times, I'm bad with money. OK, well, I'll always be a person who prioritizes rent over anything else, and you can be 200% sure that I will never end up in a situation where I cannot afford to pay this month's rent because I bought an expensive pair of shoes. I'll never, ever get a loan so I could afford a vacation. If I cannot afford something, I cannot afford it and that's it, end of the story. But me being bad with money applies to those situations when I can afford something. Come a paycheck, and I'll be the queen of the world! Clothes, shoes, nail polishes, magazines, flower bouquets, cute mugs, trinkets that will make my home prettier, accessories that will make me feel so. I want it all!

Aaand that's where the paycheck melts.

Foreign Habits Worth Adopting

I wish words could express how much I miss traveling. Or even better, I wish I could travel right now! But as I already said a couple of weeks ago, my staying in one place at the moment is one side of the medal - the other one is saving money, and I like that one way better. After all, I've got a lifetime ahead of me to travel... right? So if you're in the same boat right now, lusting for travel but not going anywhere, you might want to bring the world to you. If Mohammed will not go to the mountain... ;) Here are some great little ways to internationalize your days.

Favorite around the Web: Travel Blogs

Just like reading makes a (better) writer, reading blogs makes a better blogger. Or maybe it doesn't, but it's just given: if you blog, it means you read other blogs. A lot of them. Sometimes you have troubles limiting the amount of information you devour on the daily basis, but hey, it's just one of the sides of blogging. From personal entries, blogs have become much, much more. There's a crazy amount of usefulness you can find on various blogs. You lack ideas of what to make for lunch, want to go to a vacation somewhere cheap but nice, wonder what you could do to brighten up your walls or desk, have an idea for a business but don't know how to get there... Don't worry, someone has probably blogged about it and shared the wisdom! But what you will do once you discover their range of other awesome topics and posts... that's up to you. No, I'm not grinning, and yes, you're an adult who knows what they're doing *wink*

Anyway, because sharing is caring, I wanted to share some of my favorite travel blogs. Whether you're looking for information or just amazing photos, they more often than not have both. Plus the people behind them are usually awesome, so you'll enjoy reading them.

Favorite Animated Shorts

I remember, once as a kid, I read somewhere that roughly only 20% of world's consumption of ice-cream is eaten by children. It came as a shock surprise to me: why on Earth would adults eat ice-cream that much, it's children's food?! Growing up, the realization of the obvious was inevitable. Of course we love ice-cream and are not giving it up! There is a number of things that are reserved for children, or maybe more appropriate for them, but I decide that age has nothing to do with them. One of these is cartoons and animated videos. From time to time I really wish for a Disney marathon - and nothing anyone says will persuade me I'm too old for that! Luckily, in the past decade or so people making animated movies realized that adults are a big part of their audience, so turned to making stuff that is appealing to them as well. Not that I'm saying The Lion King isn't, but, you know.

A Thought for the Beginning of the Week

Hello you lovely people, 

since you reacted so good on the quote I shared with you last Monday, I thought I could make it a thing... or at least do it again today. I know Mondays are hard, so it's nice to remind oneself once in a while that life is not all Mondays, it's a pretty good deal of Fridays as well. And the days in between? Learn to embrace them as well.

Three Months Later: Where I Am with my NY Resolutions

This year was the first year ever I've published my New Year's resolutions. I did that as a reminder to myself, but mostly to not have an excuse to quit. So I thought it'd be interesting to see where I am now that we're three months into the New Year. (Already, I know!) I might do this every three months and check my progress. I invite you to do the same! 

A Thought for the Beginning of the Week

So I stumbled upon this quote some time ago and kept it on a note on my desktop ever since. I've been wanting to share, and is there a better opportunity to do it on a Monday and inject you all (and myself!) with some energy?! Here goes:

What I Wore Today

Gemma Correll and Jillian Evelyn

My friends know that I'm the one in the circle who follows blogs. We even joke about it and I don't mind - as long as I'm free to get in front of my computer and find out what's new in the blogosphere. I don't really think they get what it is about following blogs that I like, and it's okay - I guess you do know since you're here, right?! Anyway, one of the categories I follow is fashion blogs - not my favorite, but there are some I don't miss, it's a mix of a habit and curiosity. Plus, I must admit that ever since I started blogging myself, I've realised how much effort people put in this and that it's not as easy at is seems - take some clothes, strike a pose, upload pictures, done! And if you're looking for inspiration, all you need to type in Google is "what I wore today" - voila, tons of hits! But there is one that is a bit different - it's a blog by the illustrator Gemma Correll, who chose not to take photos of everyday outfits, but to draw them. She created a flickr group where illustrators post their outfits. I'm sharing my favorites with you today!

The Venetian Lagoon: Torcello & Murano

If you're considering visiting Venice (and by all means you should, because it's such a picturesque and interesting and beautiful town with lots of stuff to do!), then don't miss out on some other gems of the Venetian Lagoon. I mentioned the Burano island earlier on the blog, as the cutest place in Europe there is, but there are two other islands you could pay a visit to.