Zara Summer Shopping Haul

Zara is one of my favorite brands! The brand always has so many cute things and is actually affordable as well. For me, the clothes don't have to be very expensive. Often after wearing something like a skirt the whole summer, next summer I'm not that into it anymore. Do you recognize that? I feel like this summer I for sure have experienced the sunniest and warm days compared to the past summers. But that means a good excuse to buy more cool clothes aha. I'm currently in Florence and I couldn't come home empty handed of course with so many shops here. I would love to show you the items I bought, let's get comfy and right to it! 

I bought 3 things at the Zara in Florence. I read somewhere that the Zara in Spain and Italy, don't know about other southern countries, that it's about 10% less expensive. And it's true, especially the jeans or t-shirts are cheaper, so that's always a plus! They already have the autumn/winter 2018 collection in store, and maybe you wouldn't think it, but the items are from that collection already. I was looking for a longer skirt for summer, something different than denim skirts. I loved this one! The buttons are really cute, and it's high waisted with an open split in the front in a dark yellow/orange. The split in the front does go quite high, so I prefer to wear it to the beach with a bikini underneath. I combined it with a striped colorful top and has some glitter too. It has the same shade as the skirt and some darker colors. You can also wear this top in combination with a pair of jeans and sneakers. Or you can make it less casual buy wearing heels and other accessories for an outfit to go out. 

This is the second outfit, the same skirt but with a different top. I thought it would be handy to buy 2 tops and 1 skirt. I love that the top is white and the zipper has colorful stones in it, in the color of the skirt. It's perfect for warm summer days, with no sleeves and it's made from really thin fabric. You can also again wear this top on a denim skirt, jeans, shorts. It has a more sporty look and maybe it'll even look good on a pair of sweatpants. 

Thank you for reading today's post! Summer goes by soo fast! It's almost mid-August already. Hope you enjoy your summer and have a nice day! 

Question time - Do you buy new clothes every summer? 

Have a lovely day,

Isabella❤

Tous, A Stylish Spanish Jewellery Brand

And it's almost August! Can you believe that?! Sometimes it feels like I'm living in a movie, because of how fast the time goes. I'm currently in Florence taking Italian classes, just arrived yesterday evening. Florence is one of my favorite cities, it's not too small, not too big and just perfect because everything is walking distance. Before this trip, I went with my family to Valencia, another one of my favorite cities. Everything is so relaxed there and the city is just beautiful. I always go there to the hairdresser Tony & Guy, it's cheaper than in the Netherlands. But also the style and how they cut your hair is different and I like it better. And the two nail polished you see in the picture are from the supermarket called Mercadona, which are super good! But I'll write a full review on that in another post soon. 

I stayed at the Illunion Aqua 4 hotel in Valencia, which basically is above the Aqua 4 shopping mall. Perfect for shopping! You have all kinds of shops there, from the Zara to Calzedonia, to Home decor and beauty stores. I have a high prescription, -5 for my glasses and plus the frame often makes it really expensive. So I tried and went to the local optic store and I came across this pair of glasses from the brand called Tous. I never heard of the brand before, but it's a famous Spanish jewelry brand. The frames they have are all square or round and are really comfortable. I also bought the lenses with it, and I'm super happy because you pay half of what I pay in the Netherlands. And besides that, the frame is just so cutee! Tous also has bags, watches, necklaces and much more things. Some of the things they sell are I think a little bit more for your girls, but you just have to choose the right items. I don't know if they have Tous glasses at the Corte Inglès, the big warehouse. But I'm sure they sell them at every optic store. For the jewelry and other accessories, you can easily find them at the warehouse.

The case for the frame is also cute, in soft pink. I could choose from a variety of colors, blue, green and pink. But, of course, I choose pink to go with the pink/purple frame!  The logo of the brand is a tiny bear, which is also visible on the sides of the frame and on the back of the case. If you're looking for a pair of glasses and for a new brand, than I would definitely recommend Tous.

What is your favorite jewellery brand? ❤

Valencia Travel Diary // Budget-Friendly Places

It's already the third time for me here in Valencia. I love the city a lot! I've never really had that with any city, well, except Florence. It was already the moment we arrived again at the airport that we felt at home here. And knowing the way to your favorite spots helps a lot too. (My sense of direction isn't the best;) Valencia is very photogenic, a lot of colorful buildings and cute cafes are ready for a picture to be taken off. I was afraid it was going to be too hot here, and it is very warm, but doable. Taking a siesta in the afternoon after lunch is the best you can do. I usually prefer going to the beach or really early in the morning or in the evening as the temperature is not too high yet. I'm here with my family for a week, but tomorrow is already my last day here. Sometimes I feel like the time just goes way too fast! But that makes me appreciate the moments here even more. 

Paella At The Beach 
Rice isn't my favorite food, but I heard so many good things about the paella here in Valencia that I couldn't just go home without having tried it. I searched online for some good restaurants to eat Paella. Oh, and did you know paella is typical Valencia?! Restaurante La Pepica at the beach Playa Malvarosa was the place where we ended up eating. The restaurant is specialized in paella and they are super good! There are many different sorts, paella made of seafood, vegetables, lobster and many more. They are all made fresh and are really nice, definitely recommend this place! You also have a relaxing view of the beach. You can order it starting with two persons, or if you want to order just for yourself you can choose the complete menu but it's more expensive. The neighborhood is El Cabanyal, you don't have a lot of supermarkets and bars there. So if you want to eat something good and affordable, the best thing you can do is to go towards the beach or to a shopping mall.

Hotel Near Ciutat De Las Sciences 
The first time we were in Valencia we stayed at Hotel Neptuno, a hotel on the beach and really lovely.  This time we choose the hotel called Aqua Illunion 4, a 4-star hotel very close to the famous Ciutat de las Sciences.  If your room is at the right side than you can actually see the parc from your window. I definitely want to go back to this hotel next time, because of the location. You're kind of halfway, around 5 min by taxi to the beach and 10 min to the historical center and the famous town Rusafa. The staff is very friendly and the hotel is above the shopping mall Aqua. If you love shopping then this hotel is at the perfect spot for you. Also, you can find here supermarkets, restaurants and basically everything you need at walking distance. We often go to the Mercadona, this supermarket has a big beauty section(I lovee the gel nail polish) and it's budget-friendly.

A Yummy Breakfast
There are so many places to go to for a nice meal or breakfast. Pans and Company is a restaurant and cafe which you can find at the beach of Malvarosa or in the historical center. I ate with my family, we are with three, in total for under ten euros. You can get croissants, toast, muffins, fruit and many more things. I've never eaten such a delicious croissant as here, compared to in Holland. I usually choose an integral croissant with a cup of tea or fresh orange juice for breakfast. Trying to eat healthily! You can also have lunch or dinner here. They have different kinds of toats and baguettes and small menu's.

Ciutat Vella is the part of Valencia is love the most! It's the oldest part of the city and you can find everything from Theatre's to bars, to typical local Spanish shops and the Mercat Central. (Huge market hall) Famous squares are the Placa del Ayuntamiento, Placa de la Reina, and Placa Rodonda.


Have you ever been to Valencia? ❤

Collistar Profumo Di Benessere Body Aromatic Water Review

Collistar is one of my favorite beauty brands. The brand always has good products and I especially love their nailpolish a lot! But I need to stop buying them, I have way too many already...  Now that it's summer, we don't need that much makeup as during winter. Just some mascara and lipgloss is most of the time enough. While walking in my neighborhood, I came across this body aromatic water. It's a refreshing body oil and I think is perfect to use after a day in the sun to take care of your skin. 

The last time I body a shimmering body oil with a light self-tanning. But this time I wanted to try out a different type of body product. The beauty product is called Collistar Profumo Di Benessere aromatic water. It's from the line Benessere, all with oils and aromatic plant extracts. It sounds like something they use at a spa and when you use it definitely also feels like that. With the right products you can create a relaxing at home spa. 

The product contains pure and natural oil extracts from the ginseng and gingko biloba together with the oils that make your skin feel super soft. It hydrates and also tones your skin a little bit. When I use it it does make you feel relaxed and I love the scent! You know, sometimes you try products and the scent is way too overwhelming, but this is very refreshing and not to over the top. Both men and women can use it. The scent lasts for around a few hours. 

It's very easy to apply the body oil. You just have to spray it over your body or apply it on your temples or wrists to get the full effect. The packiging from Collistar always looks luxury and expensive. I bought it for €28,95 for 100 ml. Overall, if you're looking for a good body oil or something that refreshes and takes care of your skin, than the one from Collistar is really good! I don't really have anything bad to say about it. I'm happy I tried it and every time I come out of the shower, the next step in my routine is to use a body oil. 

Have you ever tried a product from Collistar? 

Have a lovely day,

Isabella ❤

Why I Prefer Living In Southern Europe

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Ok, so this is kind of a different post than I usually post here on my blog. I thought, why not share my view and experience with you guys. Maybe you're just like me, an inbetweener kind of person. Having a Dutch and an Italian nationality sometimes makes me feel different. Not different in a way of being an outsider, but more the direction of feeling international. I've lived for 5 years in Rome untill my 7th and after that we moved back to Holland untill now, my 20 year old self. It's only since a few weeks ago that I started to realize that I always felt different than my dutch classmates. Being raised in two different countries has its advantages, and I'm very grateful that both my parents teached me their own languages and teached me about their culture. 

My Dutch has always been my native language, it's the language I think in, I make jokes in and where I can fully express myself in. Italian instead, is the language I can express myself in as well, but up to a certain level. I would say this. I don't feel Dutch enough, but  if I were to go to an Italian school I wouldn't feel 100% Italian as well because I can't write the language yet. And this is the difficult part of it. This year, during my gap year I traveled a lot. From the trips, my favorite cities are Valencia and Florence. These trips made me realize so many things and teached me valuable lessons about life. The thing that I enjoyed a lot and that I see a similarty with in all the southern countries is their way of living. The culture in these countries is more soft and family like, more drawn to each other than in the Netherlands. In Holland I feel more isolated, because the individuality in my opinion is a bigger part of the culture than in the south. When I came back from both holidays, it made me think so much about who I was and about the future. The Netherlands is a great country, everything is well organised and you can have a good education here. But for the first time in a long period of time I felt more like myself, that I fit in more when I'm in these southern countries.

It's when you go to the shops, go for a walk on the beach or order something in a restaurant. Simple, small, yet important things that make a different in your daily life. These trips also made me think about the future, about wanting to travel even more. I live in a small town close to the beach in Holland, it's quiet but nice. But eventually after all these years I'm kind of outgrowing this phase of my life. I'm up for a new challenge, a challenge to improve myself as a person, to find my trough self and to listen to my heart. In the end, I believe that you should always listen to your own gut. Do what makes you happy, do what makes you smile and what makes you feel proud to be you. With having two nationalities come good and bad things. By having to switch schools a lot, you learn to make friends a lot quicklier and having to adapt to different environements. My heart and gut tell me I'm the happiest in a country like Italy, France or Spain. In the end, do you. ❤

Do you feel the same sometime?

Breakfast At Valencia's Hotspot

I hope you're enjoying your summer just as much as me! I'm just back from a family trip to Valencia and I have to say, I would've loved it to spend my summer there! It's a lovely city and the people are really friendly. I always have the feeling I'm more surrounded by others in the more southern countries than in countries like the Netherlands. I think the people and their way of living have a lot to do with that. I love buying clothes for summer, it's the perfect excuse to buy that cute summer dress or skirt because otherwise, it's way too hot. 

Every season I tell myself to not buy too much summery stuff because the summers in the Netherlands are quite chilly. But this time I wanted to buy some dresses because I traveled a lot of warmer countries and it's nice too! They are easy to style and are cute outfits for summer. I bought this dress while traveling in Florence at a local clothing shop. It's flowy and made from super light material, which is perfect for warm days. The shoulder fringe makes the dress complete. I combined it with my white Birckenstocks. I prefer to wear sandals with a low heel, but Birckenstocks are more comfortable if you need to walk a lot. 

Valencia has a lot of hotspots, from restaurants to tiny bars with yummy food. This time we choose to go to La Mas Bonita, a small bar/restaurant at the beach La Playa Malvarossa is definitely worth a visit. It looks very cool, in baby blue and they hire students only as waitresses in cute kitchen outfits that match the atmosphere there. You can have breakfast, lunch, and dinner here. They have croissants, toast, cake, anything you want. I ordered a velvet cake, although 6 euros is a lot, I really wanted to try it once. And it's very good! The beach here is also very nice, with palm trees and big as well. 

Have a lovely day,

Isabella❤

TOMS | If The Shoe Fits..

.Hoi allemaal!

Ik ben alweer terug van mijn taalreis naar Valencia. De tijd gaat zo snel! Wil wel weer terug naar de zon hoor! Natuurlijk niet alleen daarom, Valencia is gewoon een super leuke stad. Maar het is toch ook wel weer fijn om thuis te zijn, in je eigen vertrouwde omgeving. Vandaag wil ik met jullie iets delen over het schoenenmerk TOMS. Lees gauw verder!

Ik weet bijna wel zeker dat je weleens van TOMS gehoord hebt. Het merk is begonnen in 2006, toen Blake Mycoskie, een Amerikaanse reiziger kinderen ontmoette in Argentinië die helaas geen geld hadden voor schoenen. Toen kwam hij op het idee om TOMS op te richten. Bij elke aankoop wordt er een paar schoenen gedoneerd aan een kind in nood. Een super goed initiatief! 

Ik heb er zelf eigenlijk nooit echt over nagedacht wat de boodschap achter dit merk is. Nu ik het weet, ga ik zeker een paar schoenen kopen. Niet alleen omdat het voor een goed doel is, maar ook omdat ze gewoon leuk staan bij een jurkje voor de zomer! Ze hebben heel veel soorten modellen en schattige kleuren waar je uit kunt kiezen naast het standaard model. Zoals kant, leer, suede en meer! 

Deze muiltjes zijn klassiek en kun je overal bij combineren. Je kunt ze zelfs in de herfst nog door dragen. Ze zijn in een soort honingkleur met een rubberen zool en ook te koop in het zwart. Maar voor de zomer vind ik ze in het licht oranje net iets leuker. 

Bedankt voor het lezen van mijn blog post! Niet te vergeten, Toms heeft ook een coole winactie waarbij je kans maakt op €250 shoptegoed!

Question time - Wat vind jij van dit schoenenmerk?

Liefs,

Isabella❤

Red For Summer

Red has always been one of my favorite colors. For every season, but especially for summer. Summer is the perfect time to wear those bright shades or pastels tints. I'm currently on holiday with my family in Valencia, and it's 41 degrees, super hot! In Holland, there is a heat wave as well, in the whole northern part of Europe it's sunny. When I'm wearing cute outfits, I feel more confident and who doesn't like shopping?! In my country, the shops are quite expensive and not a lot of choice in comparison to Spain or Italy. Here in Valencia, everything is much cheaper and in Florence where I traveled to a few weeks ago, there are a lot of local clothing shops that you can't find in the Netherlands. That's why I enjoy shopping abroad a lot. Over the years my clothing style changed a lot, and now I can tell that I found my style and combine it with new trends and ideas. 

This outfit is a red floral dress from the Zara. I bought it while traveling in Florence. The Zara here has more choice than the shop in my town, and I really like this dress. It's bright and with flowers and red combined with soft orange. It's just above the knee and the back a little bit longer for a wavy effect. I combined it with a pair of wedges I bought in a local shoe shop in Florence as well. They're made in Italy and from leather. The bright red looks cool in combination with the dress. The only thing I need to learn is how to walk in them, haha, they are pretty high! But practice makes perfect. And I painted my nails in red/orange too, to complete my summery outfit. 

Tees with big logos, I'm usually not a fan of. But when I was shopping at the Urban Outfitters store, I saw that they combined it with a red skirt from UO itself. I bought the skirt too, but this time I wore the shirt with a pair of denim shorts. The shirt is from Tommy Hilfiger and in cream, off-white kind of shade. It's made from pretty thick material, so maybe it's better to wear for chillier nights instead of to the beach. I love UO, they always have cute and different things, not like other stores. I never wear high waisted denim, but I kinda liked how it looked and the style of it. In combination with the shirt, it looks American varsity like. It's comfortable and I bought it at the Zara in Florence too. 

Have a lovely day,

Isabella🖤