Dutch Lifestyle

I am back with another house tour! We had a wave of visitors over the past months so I took a little break from the blog and from my art. But in an attempt to get back on track, I am parked here at Chummy Leiden with an Iced Americano…

I have been thinking a lot lately about my relationship with Facebook. Actually for a couple of years now. Sometimes wishing I could just delete it permanently, but then thinking about all of my connections overseas I would loose touch with. Now that we are the ones overseas, the feeling…

Spring seems to be showing its face around here the last couple of days! Actually we had a massive wind storm, but in general the air feels as though it’s changing. I am seeing tulips again at the market and daffodils are springing up all over the park by our…

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a Dutch Home Tour! I’ve been so busy splashing paint all over the place and having a blast. However, my friend Henriette just found out she will be moving to Bonaire for a year, so I wanted to make sure and get some photos before…

Over the past few weeks we have been experiencing some of the Dutch Christmas markets, or “Kerstmarkten”. It seems to be a widely accepted truth that the Germans do them the best. Portland has a lot of markets throughout the year, so that is my only point of comparison as far…

Piet and I have been pretty busy around here. We just finished celebrating Sinterklaas in the Netherlands. Luckily this was not our first so we knew what to expect. Every year in Portland my brother-in-law organizes a gift exchange with a group of Dutch expats and their partners. This year…

As promised, I am finally writing a post about the amazing trash system here in Leiden, and many other cities in the Netherlands. What makes it so amazing you might wonder…because it is underground! This means, once your garbage bag is out of the house, its gone! Now, the whole…

The answer is simple – put on a dress and get on your bike. The Dutch don’t let clothing options get in the way of hopping on the saddle. Besides, when your bike is your main mode of transportation, what other choice do you have? To be fair, I think the bikes…

In the last month or so, we have been enjoying the celebrations in both Leiden and Rolefarendsveen (where the rest of the van Zoen family reside). The annual 3 Oktober festival in Leiden is a true example of the Dutch and their pension for partying. The festival commemorates the anniversary of the…

We have officially been here for just over two months, and already have had multiple visitors with another couple of friends from Bristol arriving this Sunday! What fun its been! My poor blog has been neglected however, but I have a few updates lined up for you. And now…may  I…