Is it a little pathetic that I’m super excited about the fact that the first of January is on a Monday? Because I totally am! I’m a big sucker for New Year’s Resolutions and I always make a list of a few things. Every year (like basically all people) you can find ‘eat healthy and exercise more’ on this list. You might think, why would you put it on the list every year? It’s not there because I feel like I failed last year, but I think it’s an important thing to put on the list and I think that is why it’s such a popular one. Every year again you have to look after your body. It’s always better to put it on the list and give it some attention. Going into the new year with the idea to be better for your body is the first step to a good year. I always make small lists with quite general things. When I was a teenager I used to make a huge list and those never worked. It didn’t work because I used to always write down every little detail and felt like a failure whenever I couldn’t or didn’t do something. It was just too long and I was too obsessive to do everything from the whole list perfectly. It’s a classic mistake and I won’t be surprised if this sounds familiar. Nowadays I write down a few things I want to improve or pay more attention to. I write them down on the top of my daily to do list, so I’m reminded every time I look at that list (which is a lot). I also write down why I want to do it better and why it’s important to me, together with a little suggestion-routine. I used to make tight schedules, but that of course also didn’t work. Now I try my best, I motivate myself by reading why and I just try to make better decisions every day. It’s also important that you reflect a few times a year. You can do that every month (like me), but if that sounds a like a little too much, you could also do it every time a new season starts for example.
Here are the things that are important to me personally, what and why I want to improve and how I will do it. Maybe it will inspire you.
Eat Healthy.
Everybody always thinks I eat super healthy. But I do have my weaknesses and I do not always eat healthy. There are actually 2 things I have to pay more attention to. The most important one is to eat on normal times. This has always been a thing for me. Where other people eat breakfast lunch and dinner on set times, I eat all over the place. On the days I work, breakfast and lunch are mostly ok. It’s on the days I’m off and basically all dinner times where it goes wrong. I sometimes eat ridiculously early. This is most of the time not a proper meal and it also makes me hungry later in the evening (what ends in snacking). Sometimes I eat very late (and then I eat way too much, because I’m so hungry + it’s never good to sleep with a very full stomach) and sometimes I skip it all together. The best way for me to be better at this, is to be well prepared. Cooking different dishes in advance and prep meals in a way that I only have to heat it up or mix it together. This doesn’t only help for eating on set times, but I also tend to eat a lot healthier this way. It just saves so much time.
The second thing is to stop eating too much chocolate. I love chocolate! And after meal times I often crave some. Chocolate is actually the only thing I eat that contains sugar. I do think it’s fine to eat a bit now and then, but I just find it almost impossible to only eat a little piece. This takes a lot of willpower and discipline. That is a shame, because that is exactly what you need to solve this big problem. Haha!
Exercise More.
Ok, I have to admit that last year I wasn’t very good with exercising regularly. I hardly did any yoga, because I like to do that in the morning, but my ex and I had different work times and it wasn’t possible living in a studio. There were some weeks I was doing very well, doing at least something. I did little work outs before lunch for example and that felt very good, but it never lasted. This was because of my relationship, holidays and also later this year because I moved and rescued Lucky Oliver (a piglet). This shouldn’t be excuses, but I find it difficult to fit it all in one day with a lot going on. I do have to let go and just do it though and doing some is better than none. So I will focus more on that.
Read more.
I actually only read when I’m on the train or aeroplane by myself, what is almost never. I love reading. It’s relaxing, educational and it inspires me so much. I always say I don’t have time, but actually it’s because I do not make it a priority. I could easily spend a little less time on social media and spend that time reading instead. So that is what I’m going to do. At the moment I’m still reading ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up’ by Marie Kondo. I love this book. Even though I already did a lot of the things she talks about, based on my own experience. I love reading it, mostly because I recognise myself and her journey to tidy up. I love learning new tricks and it gives me a good perspective of how we treat everything around us. I have a long list of books I still want to read and I’m determined to do so this year. Reading is so important and it’s definitely something I want to increase even more once I’m traveling around Europe with my van one day.
More mindfulness.
I’m a very mindful person, but the last few months I wasn’t sure where I was in my own story, if you know what I mean. With the move, ‘new’ work and rescuing Lucky Oliver I lived in the past and the future a lot more than I wanted. Weeks flew by, time went so fast, I forgot things, mixed things up didn’t know what day it was and I was living in my head, rather than in the moment. Now I had a break from it all and rested a lot over the Xmas break, I think I’m more likely to live more in the now again. I will train myself to be more conscious and to create more space and peace in my head this way.
Are these things you also find important? Or does your list look very different? I would love to hear the things that are important to you and how you try to actually stick to it. Do you have a certain tactic or do you have something to say or add to this? Please let me know in the comments below. Thank you! X
World Vegan Day!! The event was established in 1994 by Louise Wallis. She picked November, because she knew the society had been founded in November 1944, but she didn’t know the exact date though. So she picked the 1st, because it’s after Halloween, the day of death. Anyway, an important day like this one, asks for healthy chocolate truffles. Truffles without cruelty, without crap.. something you can enjoy to the fullest, without feeling guilty for bit. They’re super easy to make (a little messy though) and are a great snack or treat to share. You can easily keep them in the fridge for a few days and so they’re perfect to make in advance.
DRUM RUFFLE TRUFFLE
Nowadays everything has to be bigger or more. The bigger, the better! More of the bigger is what makes people happy. Does it? Do 3 sports cars, a mansion, the newest gadgets, (lots of) expensive clothes, even more shoes and a perfect manicure really make you happy? Very cliché, but you can not buy happiness and if you could, I’m sure there would be people making a huge profit out of it. Because everybody wants happiness. People do tend to buy stuff to feel happy and almost everybody owns more than they actually need. Most people have cupboards full of stuff and a lot of that stuff we don’t actually need or use. For example, most people own a lot of clothes, but they only wear a small collection of these clothes. Also, almost everybody has stuff in storage and I’m sure if I’d ask you what you keep in your storage space, you don’t know exactly what’s on that attic anymore or what’s in those bags in the back of the cupboard. Why do we feel the need to own all this stuff? When it comes too actual stuff, I believe less is more. People have the habit to collect and to keep it all though, for a lot of different reasons.
More is better.
What if’s. 
Sentimental value.
If you’re following me on Instagram, you might know that I have some exciting news to share. I waited a bit with making it public as I wanted to be sure about a few things first. Also I had to get used to the idea myself a little bit. I can’t tell you that I am now, at least not for a 100%, because it’s quite a life changing thing (and no I’m not pregnant haha!). Not only that, it will also make a very big dream, I’ve had for quite a while, come true. So what is it? Well.. first of all, I’m moving! I’m moving next month, out of my beloved London (and my very much loved flat!!) and to the country side. I’ll still be close to London though. It’s a little over an hour from Paddington. So that’s nice. I will move to a farm house where I will be partly looking after the children I looked after before. I will also look after the animals they are going to get (chickens, horses, pigs (!), dogs etc.) and I will do some garden/household work as well. And living in the countryside means that I can finally adopt a dog (so exciting!) for myself. So this is one part of the big news and already so lovely. But there is more..
For many years I have this dream, to get a van and build my house in there. So that is what I’m going to do. I will hopefully find my van in the end of this year or in the beginning of next year. Then the whole process can start and I hope to finish it (asap) in the spring/summer. I will live in my van as soon as it’s finished (I can already not wait!). Then over the weekends and in the holidays, I can do little try out trips through the UK and Ireland. I always wanted to see more of the UK and doing it like this will be the best way ever. After 2-3 years, my dog and I will cross the North Sea and then I will travel around Europe. This for me is the ultimate feeling of freedom, in so many ways. Personal freedom, but also living in peace, free from (most) bills, the norm of staying in one place and other society expectations. I will just live my own life in my own world. I will not isolate myself, but I can if I want to. That feeling is amazing and suits my character perfectly. I will see so much of the world and I’m sure I will learn so much about myself, nature and planet earth.
Quite a while ago I discovered the amazing artist Maria Tiqwah on Facebook. I asked her if she’d like to be on my blog and though it has been a while since the first time we spoke, she still agreed to it. Lucky me and lucky you, because she makes amazing things. I think she is super talented and her work should be out there more! Maria was born in Boskoop (Netherlands), in October 1982. Already since a very young age she is fascinated by animals. Her first words (yes, before ‘mummy’ and ‘daddy’) were ‘cat’ and ‘fish’. Because her love for animals, she always drew animals. That is also where her inspiration is coming from. She says: ‘Animals move me, amaze me and fascinate me. They make me smile and that smile I want to pass on via my paintings’.
In August 2011, Maria watched a horrible video about the bio industry. She decided she didn’t want to contribute to this cruel industry any longer and she gave the sausage, she just got that morning, to the dog of her employer. At first she thought that veganism was a little extreme, but when she did educate herself and found out what was behind dairy, eggs and honey, she became vegan. She only uses vegan materials to make her paintings. When she became vegan she checked everything and luckily it turned out everything she was using was vegan already. She only uses 1 little brush for everything. She doesn’t like to use 20 different brushes and 100 
different colours. She rather shapes her brush in different shapes and mixes colours herself. For her paintings she uses a combination of: soft pastel, water colours (aquarelle) and a white gel pen on paper. She likes soft pastel as she can work faster and it gives nice bright colours. ‘The water colours are perfect for sharp lines and details’ she says and she uses the gel pen for the white bits in a painting. For the aquarelle paper she uses, she always has to make sure she gets the right one as some paper is made with gelatine. She used to use oil based paint and then she would sometimes work on a painting for 100 hours, within 1 year. With he technique she is using now, she can finish a painting in about 20 hours. She makes about 10 painting a year now.
With her paintings she wants to show people the love, beauty and individuality of animals. This way she hopes there will be more respect for animals. This is why she also used a few of her paintings to create organic, ‘
Maria is quite a busy woman, because making beautiful paintings isn’t the only thing she does. She also runs her own green advertisement business. Some clients are: ‘Partij voor de Dieren’ (Party for the Animals – a political party in the Netherlands) and ‘Dier & Recht’ (Animal & Right – a organisation for animals). Last year she also published a little book with her paintings, called ‘
volunteers, doing some graphic design work for Dutch organisations: ‘
Nowadays Maria lives, with her husband Raqib, in Istanbul. They fell in love in 2005 and in 2009 they decided to move to the popular Turkish city. For them it’s the perfect place to live, as both cultural and geographical, it’s in the middle of the Netherlands and Kurdistan (where her husband is from). You can buy her work, though she doesn’t like to send her paintings via the mail. The easiest way would be to come to the VegFestNL in the Netherlands (28/29 of October 2017) or to plan a trip to Istanbul! You can always contact her via 
Some of you may, just like me, swear they love routine. Some of you might be allergic for only mentioning the word routine. I do get that for both ways there are pros and cons. But a routine doesn’t have to mean you plan every second of your life (even I would be deeply unhappy if I did that). To have meals around the same time every day is a routine. And this is something what can be very beneficial for your body. For myself I created a morning routine, a day routine and an evening routine. I like to have something I can hold on to and do things that are good for my health. I feel happier and much calmer if I follow some sort of routine. I will tell you about my routines and it might inspire you to have a routine yourself.
MY MORNING ROUTINE 
Then I do some yoga exercises for about 15 minutes, followed by some meditation. Then it’s time to get dressed, do my make up and get ready for the day. At 7:00 I take the time to make and eat breakfast. This always includes a green smoothie, either with fruit or overnight porridge. Just before I leave for work around 7:45, I take a little time for affirmations, visualisation and sometimes I do some writing or reading too. By this time I’m full of energy and ready to start my day. This energy is with me the whole day whenever I start my day like this. I have a rule to not touch my phone during my morning routine.
MY DAY ROUTINE
MY EVENING ROUTINE
full until bed time and sometimes I do eat something like veggie crisps, a piece of chocolate or some home-made biscuits/cake or something. I also make myself a Chai Latte quite a lot. This is a real treat for me, I love it! At 22:00 I start to get ready for bed. I prepare some things for the next day (put my breakfast necessities on the counter, pack snacks etc.) I brush my teeth and plat my hair etc. If it isn’t 22:30 yet by that time, I read a little bit and just before closing my eyes, I always wish my boyfriend a good night sleep. Often I do relaxation exercises before I go to sleep, to make myself fall asleep fast and to benefit my overall sleep.
Now, I don’t have alarms on my phone with all these times and I don’t feel bad when some things happen a little earlier of later. The times for me are just guidelines. I think as soon as you are going to plan your life in minutes it will get super stressed. And having a routine is for the opposite effect. Sometimes I also skip some things and that is fine. You need to enjoy life and trying to function like a robot is really not a good idea. These routines just give me a a sense of peace. I feel much better when I follow all these steps, because they’re all things that are beneficial to my health. Especially my morning routine is very important to me. It’s the base for the rest of my day and I feel a big difference during the day when I don’t do it at all.
A while ago I heard about Ethos. It looked quite posh and I thought it might not be my thing, but I wanted to know more about it. So I went to see what it was like. Ethos is very central, just a 2 minute walk from Oxford Circus. So if you’re going shopping for the day, Ethos is not far away for a proper lunch. As you know Oxford Street is very busy, but because Ethos is in a street behind it, it’s a lot quieter. The building looks very nice with the wood in the front nice and it does look quite posh. Going inside almost feels like entering a luxury hotel or something. There are a lot of trees and plants, to create some privacy in between the tables. I absolutely love it. I was served by a waiter I actually knew from tennis lessons about a year ago, what was very funny. He helped me to a seat and gave me lots of information about the restaurant. Super handy!
The food is right at the entrance. It starts with cakes and treats, then the hot food and in the end the cold bar. Ethos is like a buffet. You can get all the yummy looking foods you want and at the till they weigh your food and that is what you pay for. I tried all the vegan options, because I was too curious of course. So in the end I had a big colourful plate. Something you’ll definitely notice, is that the food is all very fresh. I did like the food, just some things had a very strong taste (mustard, vinegar etc). Like the aubergine was cooked well, but the flavour was spicy and sour. There was basically no other flavour. The chickpeas, the green beans and the little cornball in the middle were very yummy though. For the cakes and treats you pay per cake/slice, instead of by weight. I chose 2, one as a dessert and one to take away. 
Just because I couldn’t choose. Both things I chose were super delicious! Their desserts and treats are amazing I must say. The coconut in the raw heart (with rose petals) was so yum, I definitely want to eat that again. The blondie was very nice too. It was a little bit in between a brownie and a biscuit. Very good! They also do chai lattes, matcha lattes, other teas and of course coffees. This is why Ethos is not only good for lunch, but it’s also nice to just have an afternoon break with tea and cake. And for everybody who rather has a juice or an ice tea.. they have a lot of choice in drinks too. I’m sure you can find something you like.
Ethos is all vegetarian and they do have a lot of vegan food. I’d say more than half is vegan, so there is a lot of choice. It’s quite a posh restaurant, but with some good natural vibes. So perfect for formal lunches or work meetings. As it’s a buffet, there is always something you like. What makes it easy to go to if you (or the people you go with) are picky. I do think that they are a little expensive though. For the food you see on my plate I payed a little over £16. The treats were £7 pounds together. So it’s not a very cheap lunch. If you eat a little less and you choose 1 dessert, you probably pay in between £15-£20 pounds. Personally it’s not something I’d go to every week, but more for special occasions. Because you pay by weight and it’s not an all you can eat buffet, I’m sure people will think twice about what to put on their plate. This is very positive if you ask me, because there will be less food waste. Much more sustainable this way.
I got some more questions asked I would like to answer here. This way everybody can read it in case more people have these questions about veganism. I answer everything form my own perspective. I’m sure there are people with a different opinion. Last time I wrote a Vegan Advice I answered the questions: ‘Why is horse riding wrong?’, ‘Do you respect that some people are not vegan?’ and ‘Why is honey not vegan?’. Today I will answer these questions: ‘Why are you not going to the zoo?’, ‘Why do you not wear fur, wool, leather and silk?’ and ‘Do you take any supplements?. Here we go..
Why are you not going to the zoo?
Why do you not wear fur, wool, leather and silk?
Do you take any supplements?
HAND AND NAIL OIL
They gifted me the oil to try at home and review. So I’ve been using it for a while now and I love it. My cuticles were quite dry and thanks to this oil they look all nice again. The skin on my hands looks very nice too. I’m curious what it can do for me in the winter, because as soon as it gets colder I always tend to get very dry hands and almost nothing helps. I hope this will help! I have good hope. The oil is all natural and made of a combination of baobab seed, calendula, papaya seed, pumpkin seed and vitamin E oils. This turns out to be a winner! I use 1 drop on each hand 1-2 times a day, before I go to bed (and sometimes also in the morning) and then rub it over my hands for about a minute, kind of massaging my hands, making sure I give some extra attention to my cuticles. It’s lovely!
Bodyenrich is a very nice company who already won several awards. The ‘Free From Skin Care Award’ for example and the ‘OK Beauty Awards’. They do have more beauty products, like coconut body butter, body oils, bath salts, body wash, face serum, body lotion and home fragrances. Very soon they will also come with hair care. For all their products you can visit their 
There is a lot of power in being happy. That is why a lot of people these days try to find their happiness. But what is it what makes us happy? There are so many different ways to feel happy and some are very personal. I wrote about happiness before and I’m sure this will also not be the last time I write about it. It’s always a hot topic, because everyone wants to experience happiness. Some people spend a lifetime looking for it and for some it clicks within a few days. Happiness is not something you can buy or wait for. It’s the opposite of waiting actually, you need to do something to become happy. It’s something you experience in living your every day life, because happiness is now. No matter in what circumstances you are. I agree that there will be times you’re less happy, gong through something traumatic for example. You can’t be euphorically happy all the time. That is also not what I’m talking about. I’m more into a feeling of an overall happy feeling. Whatever you might go through sometimes, as soon as you master the trick of happiness, I’m sure you will be back on top soon. So what are those daily things that makes us feel happy?
having a routine and there are people who get overly happy from routine (I’m definitely on that side). Though I do advice to always have some sort of routine. You can make it as detailed as you want it to be. You can keep it simple to at least try to wake up and go to bed at the same time and to try having regular healthy meals. Or you can create a morning routine a daytime routine and an evening routine. Like I said, this might make some people feel paranoid, but it can also function as something you can hold onto, so it will give you some calm and peace. You have to experiment with this yourself.
Something else I wrote about before, is about 
I think we all heard about the powder of endorphins. Our bodies own drug which is released by a number of things. We all know our body releases it when doing physical exercise, the well known ‘runner’s high’. And I definitely recommend exercise as one of the things you can do to treat yourself to some daily endorphins. But did you know that there are other ways too? Like laughing, listening to your favourite music, meditation, have sex (ok, this might fall under physical exercise too), eat dark chocolate and smell lavender? So let those endorphins go free and discover which of these give you peaks of happiness!
We all know the feeling (some more than others) of not really want to go out. It’s just so much easier and relaxing to stay at home and watch your favourite show with a steamy cup of tea in your hand. Isn’t it? Does it sounds familiar, telling yourself you’re feeling too tired to go out after a long day (or week) at work? We’re very good at making excuses. Though going out actually isn’t such a bad idea. Especially when you are feeling a little down. Breathing in the fresh air, the exercise of a little walk (exercise for body and mind) or going out with a friend, can all actually give you loads of energy. So even though you already switched on your kettle, you can always change your mind and put on your shoes to go out! It doesn’t have to be long, even a 10 min walk will make you feel refreshed. Or go out for dinner with a friend one evening, you will see that chatting and laughing with somebody you care about, will do you good.
It’s important to feel happy. Because being happy makes everything else work. Feeling good makes you an attractive person, you will be better at your job, it will make you study go easier and it will make your life more enjoyable. If you’re not happy, you don’t have the right energy around you to attract success. You want to go into the circle of happiness. So push yourself to do things that will make you happy. Don’t sit and wait for it, because it’s not going to be dropped on your doorstep any time soon (read: never). Life is now. So even when you’re very busy with whatever you’re doing at the moment, thinking you do not have time for all these things, make time to live in the now, because your life is now. In the end it will make things go better and faster anyway. Experience life to the fullest!
Planet Manel 