From what I could see the traditional artisan craft in Bruges - aside from chocolate making - was embroidery. There were so many shops selling unique handmade pieces - the 2 above were my favourites as I love Art Nouveau!

Posing like a pedo. The daffodils were so beautiful :) there were families taking photos sitting in the middle of them and I could just imagine what those photos would look like and how pretty they would be. Mo & I attempted our own version but it was a selfie so yeah...not quite so artistic!

This bridge was so pretty! The pastel colours of the houses reflected the sun and made everything so bright and lovely.

Yay for pretty floors!

Grey jumper dress - Forever 21

Leather jacket - ZARA

High-waisted super-skinny jeans - New Look

Ballet-style pumps - Primark

OUTFIT 3

This bridge was so unexpected! Mo had been to Bruges twice before so he knew some cool places to pass by. We were on a main-ish street and there was a door in a wall at the side, through that door was a park that was almost empty. There was a huge old church to one side and a tiny ancient looking building to the far end in front of us - that was the buildings you see behind me in the pictures. As we approached the latter building I saw that there was a little nook which lead to a tiny bridge over a canal! I think I flapped my hands in true girl style when I came across it, PLUS there was a swan swimming there! We came just at the right moment alhamdulillah.

The first time we passed by there the door to the tiny building was closed, but the second time it was open, so we decided to explore. In there we discovered an artist's exhibition. His work was all over the walls and it was breathtaking and so inspiring that I have decided I want to start painting again. As we walked through we found the artist's cat asleep on a ledge next to one of the paintings, and in the back room the artist was working on a new piece, so we stayed and watch him sketch for a while. It was pretty awesome and really calming. I love finding strange hidden places and new unexpected experiences!

More pretty floors!

Chiffon dress - ZARA

Leather jacket, jeans & pumps all as above.

The food was also pretty amazing.

We had the traditional Belgian waffles...

The most AMAZING fries I have ever had - from the fries stand in the main square, with homemade tartar sauce (if you ever visit Bruges, pay them a visit & get a large.

And of course we had to have some Bruges chocolate since it's the chocolate capital of Belgium, and Belgian chocolate is renowned the world over.

I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity to have visited such a beautiful, cultured and historical place as Bruges. Until next time!

Peace x

After spending the last month or so getting into the minimalist lifestyle and progressively clearing out my house of clutter and junk I don't need or want, walking around these shops is such an eye-opener to how my mind used to work not so long ago. I used to want pretty much everything I liked, I didn't buy it of course, but I still wanted it, and I'd think about it for ages afterwards, wishing I could have it, thinking of ways I could save up to buy it. Now I really don't care. That mirror was gorgeous and that screen was so beautiful, but I don't need them. My house is small and space comes at a premium - I can't just put something attractive in every corner.

Now that I have reduced my possessions by so much, I feel so much freer and my house is so much calmer to be in. Getting rid of things is so much fun too! (I think :P)

Anyway, I digress.

Boring errands day ended with a short hunt for a decent spot to shoot some ootd photos. So I chose a tiny side street I walk every week to my Dutch lesson where the houses are pretty & have very small doors and there aren't many people.

Told you the doors were tiny!

Then I walked past the same door many times. It was great.

Leather biker jacket - ZARA

Location: Zandstraat, Leiden, Netherlands.

Photography: Muhammed Hussein.

So I've put another video up on my channel! Crazy, I know. But I've been feeling super motivated recently and I just needed to make another. It's so strange how creativity and motivation comes in waves...sometimes I feel like doing something ALL THE TIME and then at others I can barely get off the sofa. Right now though I'm feeling super creative and super productive and I'm giving my energy and time to a number of different projects and it feels great! So I'm just riding this wave while it lasts!

So I decided to film some hijab tutorials because I haven't done any for a long time, and I love making them but I just didn't have any new ideas for a while. But recently I've been getting bored of my usual layered and voluminous styles and I've been getting inspired by a lot of simpler, more casual but elegant looking looks.

I feel like I'm experiencing a new beginning in my life and I'm making quite a few lifestyle changes, and so I feel that I want a change in how I look and my style choices, and that includes the way I wear my hijab.

I always switch up my hijab style every now and then as I get bored easily, but I always seem to go for volume and layers - so those are the things I've decided to do away with in these hijab styles! These styles are also a nod to Spring and Summer which are approaching us now, and the simple minimal vibes that are on trend right now.

 I wear glasses, and they have always contributed to me always feeling like no matter how hard I try I never look put together or elegant, however these styles are glasses-friendly and are a simple way to look elegant & chic without having to try too hard :)

I hope you enjoy!

A little pot for my cactus

A candlestick holder - finally.

A bigger plant pot.

They were all so simple to make! For the candle holder and the cactus pot I used plastic cups as moulds, and for the larger plant pot I used a Ben & Jerry's bucket - which I totally didn't buy AND eat all to myself specifically for this project. Don't judge me!

They all now live on my coffee table/foot stool (we don't have a coffee table anymore as we hated it so my husband took it apart and we gave the legs to our rabbits to chomp on as that's what they used to do anyway when it was still a coffee table - so we put it to good use ;) ) on a beautiful tray from a shop called Action here in the Netherlands.

I am not done however with these little random objects - I have a full sack of concrete that now lives next to my spot on the couch and I will not stop until it is finished! So I am currently making another, slightly smaller, candlestick holder and a weird concrete egg thing...

Don't ask...just...Pinterest is all I can say.

So this batch is just going to be a test so I can work out what the best concrete-to-water ratio is for strength and appearance, and also so I can figure out the best ways to mould and the best objects to mould in. After that, I'm planning on buying 3 more bags of concrete, some reinforcing steel bars, and making a coffee table top for which we already have the legs. And then finally we will have a coffee table we actually like xD

I also think once I get the hang of this I might open an etsy store and sell whatever I make there. Could be fun!

So, I have another song I have been listening to a lot this week, here it is , in fact, I've been listening to all her music a lot because I find it really interesting, unique and calming. I also just kinda love listening to music that isn't sung in English, it just adds to the music, like another instrument I guess.

Anyway.

I hope everyone has had a great week and has a great coming week :)

I will be uploading a 'what's on my phone' video to Youtube today and will post it here too.

Peace! x