Weekend Cooking: Marinated grilled Zucchini

Hello everyone!

A healthy dinner doesn´t contain much carbs or better, none. 

That´s what experts say. 

So today, I decided to cook such a quick and easy low fat/low carb dish:

Marinated grilled Zucchini with garlic yoghurt dip

Slice the zucchini in pieces as wide as a finger and put the slices onto a plate.

Use as much olive oil and seasoning (e.g. povencal herbs, thyme, salt/pepper...) as you want and marinate the zucchini for 1 hour.

               A garlic dip goes great with the zucchini

       Mix 3 tbsp. yoghurt with a tiny chopped garlic clove                       and season with salt and pepper.

I also heated up some left over veggie burger. 

           P.S This dish is also a great healthy snack 
                   or a side dish to a barbecue!

Treasure Find: Chanel Sunglasses

Hello everyone!

Yesterday, I went to a high-end second hand boutique without guessing what I will find there. 

This boutique mostly sells vintage designer clothing, accesories and shoes from worldwide known brands like Hermés, Gucci, Dolce&Gabbana or Chanel, but there are also German brands like Hugo Boss, Jil Sander or Schuhmacher. When I´m visiting this city, I always go there to rummage through all the things.

I was about to leave the store as a blue box caught my eye. Inside the box were big round-edged havanna coloured Chanel sunglasses!

I tried them on and I just loved them. First, I didn´t know if 

I´m about to buy them because I own that much sunglasses, but these Chanel ones were in magnificent condition and the price tag only said 65€! Chanel sunglasses are often retailed up to 500$...

Julia ♥

Amsterdam HAUL!~

Hello everyone!

As promised, I will show you the shopping items I purchased during my trip to Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is crowded with fashion, shoes, accessory and shoe stores, so when you visit the city, you really have to schedule to go to the most interesting stores on the main shopping streets. If you are a sucker for vintage boutiques or thrift stops, you will also find a lot of such stores with reasonable prices.

I went to a lot of known shops like H&M or Monki, but I also found some nice and unique things in local boutiques!

                                                                 

In the Monki store on Kalverstraat, a main shopping street for younger people, I found this short sleeved shirt with an awesome pattern. The colours will be great in the fall/winter season, so I´m really excited to wear this shirt tucked into a maxi skirt for example. I got it for 15€.

School starts in September, so I needed a light-weight bag with a lot of space. At Monki, I bought this beige tote bag with a cute cat print on it. I love cats and I thought that this bag will go with everything casual. I paid 8€ for that.

At H&M, I saw this crazy patterned t-shirt and I just had to buy it. I got it reduced to 5€, so I made a great bargain.

At a local boutique I bought this navy blue maxi skirt. I really like the material and its fit. This colour is on trend for the upcoming season, so I will find a lot of shirts that will match  this skirt. I only paid 10€!

In the same store, I bought this delicate apricot bracelet with a golden infinity symbol. It was 3€.

In a boutique at Magna Plaza, a shopping mall in a historical building near the city centre, I bought these big unique golden earrings. Because of the grey coloured gemstone, they match to a lot of clothes. I got them for 20€.

In a store called WE Fashion, I bought this chunky golden ring with a mint coloured gemstone. The reduction from 8€ to 2€ makes this ring to a great bargain.

In the same store, I bought this golden chain bracelet. I´ve always searched for a small one like this, so I was happy that I found this for 7€. Because of its small size, it´s perfect for stacking with other bracelets.

                                                                 

...and last but not least, I also found a pair of shoes on my Strasbourg visit today. They are from Zara. I am really happy that I found those awesome cobalt blue heels with a real wooden sole. There was no price tag on it but I got this last pair on sale for only 20€!

Julia ♥

In Between: Yesterday´s Outfit

Hello everyone!

Before I upload my Amsterdam haul, I just wanted to show you the outfit I wore yesterday to complete my OOTD uploading manner! (every look also on Lookbook and Chictopia)

It was pretty hot here, so I went with my lovely mauve midi skirt and a navy blue striped shirt. I also wore my glasses which went really well with my outfit, I think!

Navy/White Striped Shirt: H&M

Mauve Midi Skirt: H&M

Black Heels: H&;

Panto Glasses: Loacal Optician Store

Golden Bracelet: WE Fashion 

Golden Ring: vintage

Navy Blue Purse: thrifted

Julia ♥

Guide To Amsterdam!~

Hello everyone!

I´m back from my short trip to Amsterdam!

I had a great time there, so today I will show you the best places to be when you are planning to stay a couple of days in the capital of the Netherlands!

When I´m abroad, I like to do some "touristic" stuff like going to museums or on a sightseeing tour. But, I also search for other interesting places where mostly no tourists are.

In the following, I will show you the places I saw via pictures and give you some tips for your stay in Amsterdam!

                                                                 

ARRIVING

After a 7 hour long train ride we arrived in Amsterdam around 12 o´clock. It is the perfect time to start your short trip because you don´t loose a day and get the chance to explore the city right after you arrived. 

I recommend to get rid of your luggage first, so you don´t have to take it with you the whole day. If the check-in time in your hotel allows you to move in to your room early, it´s the best to place the luggage there. Another possibility is to use the lockers at the train station. 

For a stay in Amsterdam, it´s advisable to get the "I amsterdam"-Card which allows you to use public transport like tram, metro or bus. The card also includes free admission to around 40 museums and a free canal tour. 

EXPLORING THE CITY

First thing to do when you are in a city for the first time is to get to know it better while walking down the pedestrian areas or some of the biggest main streets. In Amsterdam, the hotspots are the Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht, Königsgracht, the Leidsestraat or the Kalverstraat. There you can find a lot of stores, restaurants, the awesome dutch architecture and A LOT of bikes.

While walking through the streets you maybe find some places you want to see closer another day.

The Cornelis Schuytstraat is known for its high end and stylish clothing or accesory stores in beautiful dutch-characteristic buildings. A lot of unique and dutch brands can be found there. Restaurants, bakery shops or an organic supermarket are also represent.

For even more high end stores, you have to visit the P.C. Hooftstraat which is the place for brands like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Mulberry, Gucci and a lot more. Even if you don´t buy anything, it´s a nice street to see.

Amsterdam offers a lot of interesting museums and if you aren´t impatient to stay in line for a really long time and have enough time, there are even more. I was curious to the see the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum but the waiting lines were too long, you almost had to wait 1 hour to get in!

 But, we saw some other ones! The Diamant Museum near the Museumsplein is an awesome place for jewelry fans who want to get to know more about how to rate or work with diamonds. There are also some rooms where you can buy jewelry.

Another museum for fashion-lovers is the Museum of Bags and Purses. It shows a collection of around 4500 bags from the 16th century to the present and is located in the former canal apartment of the mayor of Amsterdam.

Fendi Baguette Bag

1970s - Chanel 2.55

 1950s - Kelly Bag - Hermés

Bayswater - Mulberry 

Cupcake-Bag - Judith Leiber (appears in „Sex and the City“ movie)

There are also some really unusual bags!

If you are interested in how rich people lived in the 17th century, you have to visit the Museum Willet-Holthuysen near the Museum of Bags and Purses. This canal villa was comitted to the city of Amsterdam from the people who lived in and was changed into a museum. The visitors can walk through the full-furnished rooms and the glorious garden.

To explore the city a little more, a Canal Boat Tour is the best option to do so. In an 1 hour boat trip you can see all the interesting places from the water and learn more about the history and people from Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is famous for its art and architecture. During my trip, I took photos of the most interesting one I passed.

 nude sculpture in the Oude Kerk! Maybe because the church is near the Red Light District?

real-looking bronze saurian figures near Leidseplein

Hope you all enjoyed my Amsterdam tour and you stay tuned for the upcoming Amsterdam shopping haul!

Julia.