Is it too late for some good old new year's resolutions?

Is it? And why not just call them resolutions? Things we tend to live by, no matter the time of the year?
It's been awfully quiet here, I know. And I am not going to apologise for that. Been there done that. It's been a rough couple of months and this is the first time I felt confident enough to actually write something here.

To give you guys an update on what's been going on, here's a short summary.

1. The house
We have been cleaning and painting our asses off and I think we've come to a point in the process where we can live here for a few years before turning it completely upside down. We just finished the bathroom and nothing in the world makes me happier than taking a shower in the morning in a clean, nice, all white bathroom. Plus, gigantic selfie mirror, what else?



2. The job
I've been without a job for quite a while now and I'm not yet at a point where I'm able to talk about it without bursting into tears. However, I got the opportunity to turn my hobby into something that hopefully one day will pay the bills. I got the chance to work at an all vegan specialty coffee bar in the centre of Ghent and I couldn't be more grateful for that. I learn so much every day and I work with people who are so kind and so generous. And just recently I got a call to combine that with teaching one of my favourite subjects. So all in all, all is well.



3. The reading
I've read more books the last couple of months than I've read all through high school. And I love it. I started my own bookclub and the first couple of meetings were an absolute succes. Plus, it actually awoke something inside me and I've started writing some things on my own as well. And you know, maybe one day I'll publish them, we'll see.



4. The blog
As I've said somewhere last year, I really want to turn this blog from being a vegan lifestyle blog to a more personal blog in which I get to tell my story. I've started this blog to help me in my transition towards being a fully grown pain in the ass vegan and I honestly believe I managed to become that person, if I want to be that person. Just kidding, I still haven't managed the being a pain in the ass part of being a vegan, instead I still let people tell me that it's not my place to annoy them with my views. Any tips and tricks on that front, leave them in the comments below. Thanks for reading.

Green lifestyle?

Just because I live a vegan lifestyle, doesn't mean I live a green lifestyle. I'm going to be quite honest here with you, I try my hardest but even I have my flaws. Just because I eat plant based, doesn't mean that the plants I buy at the store are ecological or sustainable. I did buy some reusable grocery bags and of course I still use my keep cup on a daily base. And writing this, makes me realise I've never written about my keep cup before, so I'll update you guys on that in one of the following posts. But I am aware of the fact that my plastic use is a major pain in the ass and that I do have to try harder in order to reduce that even further.

So next in line in my attempt to live as green as possible, is this Ecover dishwashing liquid. Just look at that bottle. Isn't it the prettiest? Not only is it the prettiest dishwashing liquid bottle you'll ever see, it's also made of plastic taken from the Amsterdam canals. What?
So how's buying a pretty plastic bottle made of recycled plastic going to help me reduce my use of plastics? Well, this bottle is reusable and over at Ohne here in Ghent, you can it filled again once it's empty. That's how. Therefore by using this bottle, I support cleaner oceans and I support my locals.

I'm not saying that this has a major impact on anything, but you gotta start somewhere right? If however you have any tips and tricks for me, feel free to leave them in the comments!

Love, Elien

Interesting talks

Yesterday I attended the Viva Las Vegas food festival in Amsterdam. Last time I was in this city was for the Dirty Chai event and I wanted to return to this city ever since. It's so lovely and I can easily imagine myself living there one day. A full report of the food festival will follow soon but I just wanted to take the time to talk about the interesting talk I had with Merel from De Groene Meisjes at the festival. De Groene Meisjes is a dutch green lifestyle blog that is major here in the dutch speaking part of the world. This blog has been a huge inspiration for me in starting to blog. She started her presentation, if I can call it like that, by telling how it all started for her and how the blog got to where it is now. But she also talked about what it takes to life a green lifestyle. And about doubting yourself and questioning if what you're doing is good enough. About handling the negativity and criticism that sometimes comes along with blogging and the life choices you make for yourself. She also talked about how to deal with students who have questions about our lifestyle and how to answer them in a correct way.

I've learned a lot yesterday and listening to someone that positive really made me realise that I just have to keep doing what I'm doing and leave the negativity behind me since it's not helping me move forward anyhow.

Project Postcard

So, we've moved and we are three weeks into our two month holiday. Unfortunately we're not going anywhere this summer. This due to the fact that we have to paint and redecorate and do all house related stuff. Not bad, not bad at all, 'cause really, this house needs a painting job. However, it does make me a bit sad that I can't see the coast of France, Italy, Spain,... this year since we kinda planned last year that this year we'd be going on a little road trip through southern Europe. To ease my wanderlust I started project postcard which is me asking you to send me a postcard from your holiday location. In return I'll send the prettiest handmade postcard from Ghent you'll have ever seen. So if you feel like sending me a card, email me over at info@deathstaronamission.com and we'll get in touch!

Enjoy your holidays kiddos!

We've moved

We did it! We've moved back to the big city. And I must admit, one of the best decisions we've made so far. It's been three weeks now and I've just found the time to write this down. After weekends spend cleaning and cleaning and cleaning, this is the first weekend we're finally able to sit down, relax and enjoy our new home. And although it doesn't quite feel like home just yet, I do feel at home already. I don't know if that makes any sense? There's still a lot to be done, like painting and fixing the garden, but now that all our stuff is unpacked and practically every box is emptied, I feel like I can start making this house into my new home. We've had some friends over already, even though I said no one was allowed to visit until we've painted, and they all loved our new home in the state it's in now. So I do really feel like everything will be alright. Cause I've cried and I've cried hard the first few nights we slept here. Mainly because this place was a mess and I didn't feel like it would turn out the way it turned out to be. I felt like we've made a huge mistake. This all topped with the stress that comes with making exams and taking exams (CLIL, which I've passed), turned me into an emotional wreck. The last few days however have been better. I'm correcting and grading, I'm making plans for the summer and I'm looking for a new job. Plus, I'm waiting for my VISA card so I can finally open my new webshop (more on this in another post). The new house also comes with great lighting, great floors and some new and exciting things for me to blog about. I'm really excited and really looking forward to what summer brings me.

Enjoy the weekend kiddos and see you soon!



Picture on top: view from my new desk
Picture on the bottom: new city garden