31st of July

Daniel and I are over at Daniel's parents this weekend. After this we are going to Stockholm for work. We went on a short trip to Öland and there we ran into our good friends Thomas and Sofia from Gothenburg! Such a fun coincidence.

I'm wearing a dress from Miss Patina.

We're having a good time, relaxing and spending lots of time with our family and eating all the Swedish food that I've been missing.

Song of the day: Veronica Maggio - Jag Kommer

Baby Edwin

This weekend I became an auntie! Meet Tanya's little bundle of joy, Edwin. He's so cute and so tiny! Awwww, kittens.

♥♥♥♥♥

I'm wearing an adorable cat-print dress that Tanya gave me for my birthday!

Song of the day: Mew - Beach

23rd of July

Today we had another big Ikea-raid and the house is starting to look soooo lovely! I want to save the end result for one big post but I can't help but share little details.

Song of the day: Amy Winehouse - Back To Black

What a tragic day

I just wanted to say that my heart goes out to all the people who have lost loved ones in Norway. Hearing and reading stories about it have brought tears to my eyes several times today. How any human being can do such a thing is completely beyond anything I can understand.

Why are you so skinny?

This is gonna be a long post about an issue I've been meaning to address for quite a long time. A large part of the questions I get are about why I'm so skinny, how I stay skinny, what I eat, what diets I recommend etc.

What I do to stay skinny? I'm sorry to say this, but not much at all. Actually, as an avid fastfood and pizza lover, I'm surprised I'm not twice as big. I've always had a fast metabolism and everyone in my family is just naturally skinny. Unfortunately not everyone is blessed with this and I realize how lucky I am, but I and other bloggers like me have been getting a lot of comments about our weight and lots of questions about eating disorders. Apparently a lot of my photos have appeared on pro-ana blogs and I just wanted to say that I am not okay with that, I do not support or promote that kind of lifestyle at all.

For everyone who genuinely want to know about health and recipes etc: I can give you some tips on how to get to get healthier without going diet-crazy. These are simple basic things that I try to live by, although I have the luxury to ignore these rules sometimes.

I'll start with an awesome recipe for something everyone can enjoy: crisps.

These ones have no fat at all, they're gorgeous and crispy and delicious, super fast and easy to make.

With a potato-peeler (or cucumber-slicer or whatever you like to call it), cut really thin slices of potato. Put them on a sheet of baking paper that'll fit into your microwave. Make sure they're not overlapping, or else they won't be crispy! You can add any seasoning you like, anywhere from salt, pepper, chili-, curry-, paprika-powder and so on. You can even dip them in vinegar! You don't want to put too much salt on 'em though, cause that'll take it back to being really bad for you.

They should look like this when they go in. Put the sheet of baking paper onto the glass plate of your microwave. I set my microwave at the highest setting for 2,5 minutes. Then I open the microwave for a couple of seconds to let the steam out and then they go for another minute. You're gonna want to experiment with the settings of your microwave a bit to find out what's perfect for yours. You're waiting for them to turn a bit brown in places.

When they come out, hopefully they'll look like this:

Let them cool for a while and then you can put them in a bowl. Leave the door of the microwave open while preparing your next batch to let the steam out.

How beautiful is that? This bowl has about two batches. I never thought a microwave could make such gorgeous healthy snacks.

Here are some useful tips for healthier living:

-Never skip meals, especially not breakfast. Eat something small every couple of hours to keep your metabolism going.
-Lower your portions. I eat all the things I like, including fries, pizza, burgers etc, but I generally try to keep my portions small. A great tip for lowering your portions is to buy smaller plates, bowls, pans. That way you won't have that much empty space on your plate. Also cook less so you're not tempted to go for that second serving. If you want to have some crisps or ice cream at night, put a serving in a bowl. Don't eat out of the bag, cause you and I both know it'll be gone before you know it.

-Slow down. Chewing your food well will make it easier to digest. You'll also see that you're less likely to overeat.

-Eat plenty of fruit and veg. It's almost too obvious, but I thought I'd mention it anyway. I tend to buy fresh vegetables, but it's a good idea to always keep some frozen veggies in the freezer!

-Quit soda, drink lots of water. Soda = poison. It's such a bad thing to put into your body. For me this is quite an easy one, 'cause I've never been a fan of soda. But I agree, tap water is one of the most boring things to drink. That's why I buy sparkling water! It still has that nice fizz that'll make it feel like soda, but there are no calories, no sugars, no sweeteners, no artificial flavors. It might take a while to get used to, though, so you might want to add some flavor by throwing in a slice of lemon or a couple of mint-leaves. This'll also be good for your wallet, cause over here you pay about four times as much for a bottle of Coke than for a bottle of sparkling water. Winning!

-Work it. If working out/going to the gym is a big step for you (it certainly is for me), then see where you can sneak exercise into your daily routine. Get a bike, cycle to school or work, walk more, go dancing! Every bit helps.

-Consider vegetarian options. I think a lot of people still see vegetarianism so black and white. A popular misconception is that you have to be either a 100% vegetarian (the kind with armpithair and a deep hatred and judgement for everyone who does eat meat), or not you're vegetarian at all. That is such a 1970's state of mind. I eat mostly vegetarian and often vegan food, but I'll have a Whopper if want one, I'll take salami on my pizza and I love a good barbecue. But most of the time I eat meat replacements. Vegetarian alternatives are really yummy, really healthy and -not unimportantly- a lot cheaper. I think people could benefit a lot by eating a bit less meat. No one likes an evangelical vegetarian, but if you're into the subject, read Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. It really put me off meat for a while and I was shocked by the effect the meat industry has on the environment. I buy the best quality meat whenever I can. People have been asking me about yummy vegetarian recipes and I'll think about sharing some on this blog from time to time for inspiration.

-Don't set a goal weight and don't diet. I don't mean to sound like Dr Phil on this one, but it's unavoidable. Don't say: I'm gonna try this diet until I weigh so-and-so many kilo's. Going on a diet will make you feel like you're depriving yourself of something, and as soon as you reach that goal (or as soon as you notice the diet's not working for you) you'll probably fall back into your old habits quite quickly, resulting in the famous yoyo dieting. Instead tell yourself you're going to change your lifestyle. It can only take small changes like the ones listed above to make a big difference in the way you eat. If you're seriously worried about your health, you should consider seeing a dietician.

17th of July

Yesterday we had a cosy little evening with my besties Tanya and Michelle and the boyfriend. It was pouring outside so first we stayed in with some wine and a lovely cake that Michelle made. She's the best cook I know. We watched lots of Youtube, this video made Daniel cry with laughter. Later we went to Amsterdam Soul Club. It's my favorite club, 'cause they play only Northern Soul and we are usually the only people there under the age of 40. I made a little video!


Tanya looked adorable in my Miss Patina dress. I had to let her keep it cause it looked so good on her.

My Michelle in an exceptionally stylish tequila hat.

I wore a cute blue cat-print dress that Tanya gave me for my birthday. ♥ I'm sure it'll pop up in an outfitpost very soon!

Song of the day: Martha and the Vandellas - Heatwave

Photoshop tutorial 2

You guys gave me a couple of cool ideas to work with, and I thought I'd start with another Photoshop tutorial. I did one a while ago, and what I do is basically the same but I can show you what the effect is on different photos. I use Photoshop CS4, but you can do this with any version of Photoshop!

So, the left is what we start with and the right is what we're gonna end up with. If you want, you can download my original image here and follow these steps to practice.



I always start by making a curves layer. I always have the Adjustments-panel right there, but you can also create a curves layer by going to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves. We're gonna lighten the photo up a bit by dragging the curve up in the middle. You should play with this a bit to see what works best for the photo you're editing. I make sure I don't overexpose my photo's when I take them, cause it looks better to make a darkish photo lighter in Photoshop, than to make a light photo darker.

Now we're gonna make a gradient layer. I always make mine in pink tones for a summery effect or blueish for a colder effect. Again, play with this a bit. Of course we don't want our photo to be all pink, so we're gonna do the following:

We're gonna set the layer style to overlay. This is gonna create a hideous '90s effect, but don't worry, we're gonna tone it down a bit by setting the opacity of the layer to somewhere around 25-30%, and then it'll look like this:

Almost there! Now we're gonna select the part where the light is coming from. In this picture it's the upper left side. Select that part and feather it (Select > Modify > Feather).

Then we'll turn that selection into another one of those lovely pink gradient layers. You'll do the same as before, but not as an Overlay, you set the opacity of the layer to whatever you think looks nice and natural. If all goes well, you'll end up with something like this:

Aaand you're done!

11th of July

Vintage top, H&M skirt and shoes, Primark satchel and belt.

photos by Daniel

Okay, so now that I have more time for the blog again, I'm a bit lost on ideas on what to post. You guys such an incredibly important part of this blog and you're what keeps me going, so if you have any cool ideas or if there's anything you'd like to see more of, I'd love to hear it!

I also wanted to say thanks to everyone who's joined my new Facebook page this weekend! You guys are awesome.

Song of the day: Fake Blood - I Think I Like it

9th of July

Dress c/o the lovely Miss Patina and shoes c/o Kling.

If you're always on the lookout for new things to listen to, you'll certainly love Radio Soulwax. The Soulwax/2manydjs boys worked really hard to mix 24 hours of music, accompanied by video. Every hour has a different theme, and there's already 7 hours up. More hours will be added soon. My favorite is the Under The Covers hour, I love the animated record-covers and it makes me want to party! You can also get Radio Soulwax as an app on your phone.

Don't forget to enter my Beta Boutique giveaway if you want that $50 of store credit!

And are you following me on my brand new Facebook page?

Song of the day: Alcoholic Faith Mission - My Eyes To See

Like me on Facebook!

I just created a Facebook page! I'd like it if you'd like me.

♥

Beta Boutique giveaway

The lovely Beta of Beta Boutique and I have put together another little giveaway for you guys!

We'll be giving away $50 of storecredit to one of you lovely readers. Awesome! I already picked out some of my favorites from the shop. The giveaway is open for everyone and you can enter until the 15th of July.

How do you participate?

-Make sure you're following The World Looks Red on Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin'.

-Follow Beta's blog Vintage Beta.

-Leave a comment telling me which item from the shop is your favorite.

Don't forget to include your e-mail address in the comment so I can contact you if you win!

As if that wasn't enough, everyone also gets a 20% discount at Beta Boutique by using the code VeryImportantPerson at checkout.

Good luck, ladies!

couchpotatoes

OH YEAH. NEW COUCH.

Just waiting for the TV to get here so we can host Paul Rudd movie marathons.

4th of July

Top and shoes are from Romwe, the skirt and the purse are vintage.

Yes yes yes, this is indeed the same room as in my post of last week. We've been working so hard on it, I'm really proud of my boy and myself. It's not completely done yet but we're getting there. Today we bought an awesome big couch, I can't wait till it gets here! I have lots of cool ideas for this room.

Song of the day: Jon Brion - Knock Yourself Out

3rd of July

Today I picked up another roll of film. There were still some photos on it from months back!

Song of the day: Dirty Projectors - Stillness is the move