Poor Wednesday

Good evening,

It seems that Wednesdays I forget about the blog... it is usually the day that I volunteer at the civic center and when I get home I am quite tired of standing around. 

If you have no plans for this weekend, maybe you want to check out the Amsterdam Art weekend with different venues and plenty of choices for everybody (think photos, paintings, sculptures, etc.)

On their website you have three routes you can follow if you don´t want to miss a thing! 

On a warmer note I have to say that it is snowing in Spain and over here I am getting quite used to the weather (or it has been warmer this last days?!) If you want to see some pictures of the snow, check this link http://ccaa.elpais.com/ccaa/2013/11/28/album/1385629751_100086.html#1385629751_100086_1385650832

Saludos,

Irene

Coming up...

Good evening,

This market is coming up and I will be there so please do come by! All information http://huisvandewijklydia.nl/_media/agenda/kunstmarkt_flyer_30_november_2013b.pdf 

There will also be a table from the cake baking group I volunteer for so it will be sweet :)

Saludos,

Irene

Weekend top 5

Good evening,

How was your weekend? this is my top 5:

1. Little girls birthdays can also be fun!
2. Going to the movies to watch the last Hunger Games film (though we seemed one of the oldest people at the theater).
3. Doing some much needed winter shopping (believe me, "winter coats" from Barcelona don´t work right now in Amsterdam).
4. Working on projects.
5. Reading

Have a good week!

Saludos,

Irene

The weekend is here

Good evening,

Now, you must be wondering what keeps me so busy? Apart from my volunteering activities I am making lots of hand made products for the creative market that will take place the 30th of November at the Huis van de wijk Lydia. As you can see I am using a Christmas theme:

It is around the corner so I need to speed up "production".

Saludos and have a lovely weekend!

Irene

IDFA and other things

Good evening,

On a side note, first mention of snow in the country!!! ok, wet snow, whatever that means, but for me it already feels like winter so I have no clue what to expect from January onwards...

Today and until the 1st of December is the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. 

You can see the films at several theaters in town like Pathé Tuschinski, Eye Filmmuseum or Het Ketelhuis. Ticket price is 10€ but you have several discounts, for example with the CJP card.

And on a more commercial note, there is a big sale from the underwear brand Hunkemöller that starts tomorrow till Saturday (up to 80% discount). Check it out!

Saludos,

Irene 

New week

Good evening,

As you know Sinterklaas is in the country, we went to see his arrival with our own eyes on Sunday. Now children will get an update about him every night with the Sinterklaasjournaal or the News of Sinterklaas (how cute is that!)

Today I baked chocolate cupcakes and they turned out delicious (if I may say so myself). Thanks to my friend from El Baul de Gretel for her tip on the recipe from this other blog Objetivo Cupcake perfecto. I used this recipe in case you want to try it at home, simple ingredients and instructions: http://www.objetivocupcake.com/2011/03/el-post-que-contiene-una-foto-que-hara.html   

Saludos,

Irene

Things to look forward to

Good evening,

Reading our neighborhood newspaper I found out several things to look forward to:

- Open air ice skate ring at the Leidseplein, opening the 15th of November.
- Open air ice skate ring at the Museumplein, opening the 29th of November.This is a big one, 1400m2!!!

You are now thinking, whoa! Irene is so well integrated in the Dutch culture that she can skate. No way, I find it very frightening, specially on natural ice, but I do love the atmosphere, the lights and drinking hot cocoa.

And last but not least, Sinterklaas is arriving to The Netherlands this Saturday! The intocht van Sinterklaas is the arrival by boat of Sinterklaas for the 75th time (the tradition says he arrives by boat from Madrid, where he lives the rest of the year) You can imagine how popular I am among Dutch children when I say I grew up close to Madrid.

For the ones who have no idea what to expect, here is a picture from the site mentioned above

Monday I will tell you more traditions related to Sinterklaas that I particularly like. For now, enjoy the weekend!!

Saludos,
Irene

Make it up!

Good morning,

I was thinking, what am I going to write about today after yesterday´s blank post!! 

There is an art market coming up at the social center where I volunteer (Huis van de wijk Lydia) so I need to start working on my projects:

- I have home made soap (does it ring a bell?).
- I am making Christmas cards (hope my taste matches the one of the Dutch).
- I have lots of paint chip cards, maybe I can do one of these projects http://www.brit.co/paint-chip-diy/? Ok, the easy ones.
- I also thought of perfume sachets (made with Christmas prints).
- And maybe some pins with felt.

Plus, we are also having a table with sweets (from the Tuesday baking group) In this case the money will go to the social center. Our carrot cake seems to be selling well, so maybe we can add something like cupcakes or something of that size.

Will post a reminder when the date comes, Saturday the 30th of November, so you can all come!

Saludos,

Irene 

Surprising...

Good evening,

Surprising...that it rains and that I can carry on whatever I am doing (as opposed to staying at home as my southern mentality told me to do not so long ago), that it´s 9 degrees Celsius and I find it to be nice weather (people, I moved from Barcelona where it´s 20 degrees Celsius as we speak), that I go to a work interview (yes, still looking for work) and half of the people working there are Spanish and even from my home town (what are the odds!), that I am looking forward for Sinterklaas (no Santa Claus or Three Kings in Holland but Sinterklaas the 5th of December), that I started a blog and keep up at it and that I am discovering new things about myself (creativity, volunteering, etc.)

Any surprises on your part?

Saludos,

Irene

Sint Maarten

Good evening,

Today is Sint Maarten! for those of you who don´t know this Dutch tradition it´s about the Saint who gave half of his cape to a beggar to keep him warm, though I am not sure how the lanterns come into play. 

This evening children will go from house to house with a lantern (usually with home made decorations) singing songs and getting sweets in exchange. It is not celebrated in all parts of the country but in Amsterdam you can go to the Vondelpark this evening: 

Picture from www.hetvondelpark.net 

Enjoy!!

Saludos,

Irene

Friday

Good evening,

It´s Friday!! What are your plans for the weekend? 

I would like to get to practice on my driving skills (but not in Amsterdam, crazy traffic here!) and relax maybe with a walk in the dunes close to Alkmaar.

Today I discovered this crazy store at the Albert Cuyp market where you can buy lots of things related to sewing and hand made projects...I could spend hours in there! The store is called Jan de Grote Kleinvakman and it is located on the Albert Cuypstraat 203a.

Think of something like this:

Picture from their website.

Saludos,

Irene

Delay

Good morning,

Sorry for the delay but I need to make time for the visitors (no complains here, I am more than glad to show them around!)

I said last Monday that we made soap at home, in case you are wondering we made it based on the recipe my mother learned at a workshop from The Modern Crafters, a store in Alcalá de Henares (Spain). 

The store is really cute, have a look! They sell candles, soap, tea and of course have very interesting workshops.

Picture from their blog.

Here you have the information for the workshops of November, in case you are around:

Saludos,

Irene 

Weekend top 5

Hello,

This is my weekend top 5:

1. Surprise family reunion (I love surprises and didn´t see this one coming!)
2. Catching up with old friends.
3. Enjoying some typical Castilian food (think lamb, potatoes, vegetables... hungry yet?)
4. Making home made soap.
5. And of course, working on my almost none existing tan.

Saludos,

Irene

Movember

Good morning,

The first day of November and that means Movember!!! 

This world wide initiative was started to raise awareness of prostate and testicular cancer. The idea is that you start the month clean shaven and grow a moustache (no beard or goatee!) for the whole month. I know some people might find it difficult, since they don´t have a lot of facial hair!

On the website you can find a lot of information on how to participate, raise money and awareness, etc.

Saludos,

Irene