Miffy's wonderful world...

In my last post I mentioned that I had been visiting the Miffy museum and giftshop in the city where I study. I have been studying so intensively lately, that I needed some superficial relief.

I am a weird person...I seem to switch from the intelligent, diligent, studying person into a very childish person....and I like it...he he. Anyway, don't we all have a little child inside that wants to play?

Anyway, I love to show you some of the picture I was able to make in the giftshop (and some sneaky pictures in the museum.

The first picture is the welcome board, and where to find the tickets. The Miffy museum is used to receiving Japanese visitors, as they have the instructions in Japanese as well.

But ofcourse, Miffy is incredibly Kawaii! Look at the overload of cuteness in the shop!

I loved the collection of China with Miffy on it. The China is made in the traditional Dutch, or Delft's Ware tradition (website of the official producer of Delft's Ware)

Except for the little Miffy key holder I bought, I was not able to resist some other items. These items are not all for me. Some have been send away (or will be soon....)

Last picture...he he, a bit of culture (are you bored yet?). It is the city I study in. It is quite small for international standards, but that makes it cosy and not so threatening. And, *smiles* lots of bicycles....

That was a bit of the Miffy day I had. I hope you will have a wonderful weekend filled with relaxation and peace. And, keep your inner child happy!

Tough cookie: Dutch Limited Edition @ Lush

The holiday season is about to start very soon. That means a lot of shopping for your family and friends, stressing out about the perfect gift, and....delicious candy and cookies.


In the Netherlands we have a kind of pre-Christmas event that takes place on 5 December: Sinterklaas. The run-down to that date is paired with The Saint and his white horse visiting malls and other places, handing out candy a children. Small childern place their shoe in front of the fireplace (or central heating) at night, in order to find a small gift inside their shoe in the morning.

Chocolate letters, small cookies and sweet candy that comes together with Sinterklaas

One of the most common cookies that is served around this period are the 'taai taai's, which means something like 'Tough Tough'. The cookie is quite leathery and you really have to bite hard to get a bite. When you do, you will taste a combination of honey, anise, nutmeg, cinnamon and other warming spices....mmmm...
Their shapes resemble the Christmas cookies that are made in the US (UK as well?). But they are more resilient to teeth (LOL) and have a different blend of spices.

The fun thing is, that Lush has jumped to the occasion to make a limited edition of a shower gel that is specifically targetted to the Dutch and Belgium market



The scent is really lovely: not exactly like the Taai Taai cookie, but still a warm and conforting scent for the winter season. It contains orange oil, cinnamon and smells like gingercookies...yumm...

I love Lush shower gels. The only downsite is, even though they claim to be such a natural store, they still contain Sodium Laureth Sulfates. Anyhow, as long as I do not use it on my scalp (my scalp doesn't like the SLS's) I will be fine....

(available at lush.nl - the site is in Dutch, but they do ship internationally)