Barbecue entre amis

 Last Friday we invited our friends over for a bbq, but of course, as always in Belgium, the weather came in between us and a pleasant evening in the garden. However, my man, is not a quitter, so he barbecued our meat anyway under the parasol, while the rain was pouring. We had to move the dinner inside, but it was a happy evening anyway, with good company and 2 little princesses.

On the menu:

 >Appetizers

Home made eggplant caviar

Salmorejo Andaluz

>Main

Roast peach & Parmaham salad

Pasta salad with olives, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and lots of herbs and seasoning

Côte à l'os

>Dessert

Just strawberries after we ate all that meat :)

Industrial Urbanism in Eindhoven

This weekend we went to discover the old Philips factory in Eindhoven. Strijp-S is the place to be for people who like small scaled initiatives, renewed concepts and challenging combinations of fashion, (eco) design, re-used, vintage, interior and urban art! There was also an Urban Culture Festival going on. We had lunch at 'Onder de Leidingstraat' (weird name for a resto) with mostly bio lunch items, we had soup, salad and a sandwich and it was good food. It was so interesting to see what they did with an old industrial site which otherwise would have dilapidated slowly to some sort of ghosttown. Today it is a vibrant area, where you can live, eat, food, shop, go to galleries and concerts or participate in one of the many events. Once again the Dutch impressed us with their sence of style and design. Definitely worth an afternoon visit. 

Olivia liked watching the BMX artists do their thing - Definitely working on her street credibility :)

Cette petite fille

At the moment, this little girl likes:

Her Woefke (her preferred stuffed animal)

Dancing Ballet (sort of)

Dancing free-style (and I mean, really free style), preferably on Princessia

Dokter Peluche (Dr Mc Stuffin) and taking everyone's temperature, to say 'Oeieoeieoei' - Baby beetje ziek (baby little bit sick)

Minnie Mouse everything

Her princess bed - She loves to go to bed since she has a big girl bed

Teasing everybody, she is cheeky (I like that)

Difficult eater for everything not related to chocolate

Choosing her own clothes (damn, already)

Going to school, she really feels good there

Playing in the sand

Reading Dora & Boots over and over again before bed

Sleeping late (We love that!)

Doing everything herself (petti doen!)

Showering with her baby doll

Watching people opening surprise eggs on youtube (stays popular)

More at Thirty Four

Last week I celebrated my 34th birthday.
 I always make a little post about a new number (33 here, 32 here, 31 here and 30 here)
Being in my thirties, becoming a mother and having a sense of belonging, really made me grow as a person. I care less about gossip and what people might think of me. I care more about living a good life, being genuine, being a good mother, wife, friend and daughter. I spend less time with people & situations that steal my energy and try to put me down. And if I cannot change a situation, I try to set emotional boundaries, until I can. 
 I try to spend more time with friends and family.
This blog is my journal of mostly good things, because the things I document here are the things I want to remember. Of course life brings negative things to all of us, but they do not belong here.
I focus on the positive ones, I focus on today and being happy with the little things.
Some things I am still working on are to take responsability for my own happiness, to stop the excuses, to take action & dream higher. I hope that by my next birthday this will be on the '...in progress / done...' list, although it is an eternal work in progress, this life.
Overall, I can say that I am a very lucky girl at 34, with the best husband I could ever wish for and the best daughter I could ever hope for, we are healthy, we have a great support system, we have a roof over our heads and great food on the table. 
And that is what matters most, at 34 and I am grateful for this every single day.
(I try to forget about the 7 grey hairs and the starting wrinkles)

Trek - Food Truck Festival

 Yesterday we went to TREK - Food Truck Festival, which was in Maastricht this week. And again we were impressed with the organisation, the cosiness, the feeling of this festival in the city park of Maastricht. And of course the food! We had a great burger, a pulled pork burger, some ice cream, southern fried chicken, a chicken tortilla, some cocktails,... Needless to say we had great fun together and some great food.

I love the vibe on food truck festivals - it is friendly, creative, with theater, music and drinks. 

Just people having a good time around some good food. All this family needs for a great Sunday!

Olivia too had a great time running around the park, eating bio-fries, playing with sticks, eating ice cream, and of course dancing with her daddy.

Two weeks ago we went to the Barrio Cantina in Gent and last year to the Food truck festival in Brussels and honestly, we Belgians have a lot to learn from the Dutch in this area, although I hate to say it.

If you want to read about our food truck adventures at 'De rollende Keukens' last year in Amsterdam, go here