This is a Lifestyle blog which focuses on life itself, interior ideas and some tried and tested recipes. Under each of these headings there are sub-headings for you to explore.

Glad you stopped by. I chose the name of my blog when I imagined readers taking a break with a cup of coffee (or tea) while reading through my blog posts…

Background

I immigrated with my Dutch parents to South Africa.  So, I grew up in South Africa – with many Dutch influences – where I went to school and college. Together with my husband, who had a similar background, we left South Africa with two small children at the start of the new century for Ireland.

These different cultures have always influenced my way of living, the friends I make, the interiors I love, how I decorate, the food I cook and just my general way of life.

I love all three of these countries that have formed me and feel really close to them.

This has also made me very inquisitive about other cultures and food.  Even styling my different homes over the years, there are so many influences from different cultures and travels.

I guess this kind of mixing of cultures and backgrounds will only happen more and more often with people integrating and moving around because of studying and working possibilities in different parts of the world.

Life

Many of my blog posts under Life, sub-category This Is Life, are about having a foot in more than one country and how to adapt to being an ‘expat’. But this category also includes reviews on some books I’ve read, easy life hacks and if you enjoy travelling like I do, I have some interesting blog posts about places I’ve seen.

Recipes

Do you enjoy baking and cooking?  Well, join the club. My mom was great for encouraging us to make and bake in the kitchen, to try it out ourselves. I never thought much about it until I had kids and realised what a mess they could make in the kitchen – especially if you just leave them to their own devices. They experiment. And actually, that was a good thing, that was how I learnt.  So, the recipes I write about in this category will be something I’ve tried and tested before.  Not only do I have recipes on cakes and cookies, but there are also some soups, savoury ideas and sauces to try out.

Interiors

As a trained journalist working in South Africa during the late eighties, early nineties, I have always had an appreciation for words. I’ve worked for newspapers, magazines and press associations. But a few years ago I also qualified as an Interior Designer from the IDAI and am combining these skills in my blog posts under the category Interiors.  These blog posts will on the one hand cover more practical ideas like how to update certain rooms, which plants are great for your house, how to organise spaces, etcetera, and on the other hand are there blog posts that might be more historical or theoretically as well as investigative, for example I wrote a blog about ‘the chair‘.

Whatever I am writing about, I hope you enjoy it and want to continue reading new blog posts.

All the writing is my own work and the views my own. Please leave a comment if you’re inclined to do so and if you want to contact me for a consultation or a collaboration please feel free to do so on the contact page.

Happy reading.