Merry Christmas!

After a long walk and turkey dinner we had to leave. My boyfriend and I need to go to work tomorrow, so we want to be home at a reasonable hour.
I wish I could have stayed a few days longer, because it's awesome to walk the dog here. Behind the house there's a river and although it reminds me of The Killing somehow, it's soothing in a way. 

Before we left I tried to finish a 1000 piece puzzle from my mom. We have been working on it with four people, but couldn't finish it before we had to leave :-(. Never thought puzzling could be so addictive!
I had a very nice holiday weekend! Thanks mom & dad!

Christmas Eve: Present Time

Present Time!! 
I know Christmas is about family and it is, but it's still fun to give presents and of course receive some. 

I got:

• A sweater from Ted Baker
  (fell in love with this brand, or should I say 'branch' -haha- With all the trees, get it?!)

• A Japanese tea ceremony (still have to pin the date, I'm so excited about this!)
  You should have seen the look on my face when I read the card my boyfriend wrote. I didn't get it... I was confused, because I thought we were going to Japan (the next travel destination on my list!).

• Socks

• And the best thing EVER: a clothing hair remover thingie in the shape of a black cat... Absolutely adorable!
  

X-Mass Akoestik

Every year the youth club at my boyfriend's hometown organizes an evening with acoustic performances the last weekend before Christmas. It's called "X-Mass Akoestik".
Like every year there's a competition with strong beers: "Den Tocht van 't Straffe Vocht". Literally translated to English: "The Journey of Strong Fluids".
And like every year my boyfriend is a liiiitle bit too enthusiastic. He gets awfully drunk, falls asleep somewhere and I end up dragging him home. 
This year we went there by bike, because I wanted to drink some cherry beers too, so getting there by car wasn't really an option.
Our night went exactly like any other year, only I could get him home pretty easy. No moaning about staying 5 minutes longer, he just went along with me. 
It was a fun night and I was quite surprised I could drive my bike that good after all the beers I drank. We got home safe and sound. 

Ready for a Wallonie Christmas

My parents planned a Christmas trip to La Wallonie. I needed to prepare myself, so I bought a pair of walking shoes and a fleece. We leave on Monday.
I'm ready!!

Early Christmas Present

I'm going to confess something I shouldn't, because it's not being positive...
Christmas shopping, two weeks before the holidays, is something I truly hate. Too many people in one place, wanting the same thing. It's like sample sales after office hours, but lasting the whole damn day!
What I do like about giving presents is to search for original things or something useful and giving it in a special or original way. Last year we gave our parents a weekend trip. We had five different pictures that were meant to be hints. We wrapped them as presents. I had so much fun doing this and it was so funny seeing the look on their faces, not understanding what their presents meant.
So that's what I like about Christmas shopping, but this year I'm having troubles finding inspiration. I was wandering around 'De Bijenkorf' at Maastricht today and bumped into a beautiful pair of pumps from Marco O'Polo. They fit perfectly and were 30% off. Because of a liiiittle imperfection I got 10% extra. Because I was still doubting if I would buy shoes I didn't really need, my sister said she would contribute for Christmas. Sounded like a good deal to me! I totally love them!
Miraculously, I got some ideas for a few presents too... Inspirational (and crowded) day!