finkelsteinandsons

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Warning: #18summers includes multiple summers with a teen

Warning: #18summers includes multiple summers with a teen

One of 2018’s summer hashtags is #18summers. It refers to the 18 summers you can spend with your children and how you should relish and savor those moments. And to make most of them. But I’m guessing that the one who started the hype didn’t have teenage kids.

People don’t change just because their surroundings change. Teens don’t, in any case. In fact, I feel my almost 14 year old went full on…

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Ho Tay water park: How to make the most of a rainy day in Hanoi

Ho Tay water park: How to make the most of a rainy day in Hanoi

‘I want to go swimming.’ Mini is very decisive about what we should do on our second day in Hanoi. Hotels with swimming pools are rare in Hanoi, do ours doesn’t have one. Some hotels, like the Army hotel or the Apricot hotel, offer day passes if you want to use their pool. But it’s a small lap pool at best, for which Apricot charges 20 USD because of the rooftop location of the pool and the views…

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[Hanoi] Traveling with kids and dealing with culture shock.

[Hanoi] Traveling with kids and dealing with culture shock.

We arrived late in Hanoi. Waiting for our taxi driver to pick up the car, it was only a 5 minute standing in the dense air filled with cars honking, people waiving name cards and the smell of…, well Asia I guess. ‘When Schiphol airport and the Pasar Malam had a love child,’ Junior aptly described. Mini is still having fun being swinged around on the trolley, sitting on our bags. The taxi arrives,…

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How to beat jet lag when traveling eastwards, before departure

How to beat jet lag when traveling eastwards, before departure

I love traveling, but here’s the thing: I’m very jet lag prone. Maybe it’s because I’m a bad sleeper on planes, or that I’m a morning person that likes to wake up early. But when we traveled from Europe to the Americas (Canada, US and Costa Rica) I had a hard time adjusting. Just when my husband had set up that idyllic camp fire, I. just. could. not. keep. my. eyes. open. Or I woke up in de…

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Lost in preparation: Vietnam

Lost in preparation: Vietnam

Ah, to immerse yourself in a country. To sit and stay, savoring the moment. It’s how I dream traveling would be, to intensely experience a culture and to truly interact with local people. But it couldn’t be farther from the truth. Sound of vinyl scratching. I’m traveling with kids. With limited paid leave. Ain’t nobody got time for that, girl.

I hate planning. My personal style is to do…

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What to pack for Vietnam, Tim Gunn style

What to pack for Vietnam, Tim Gunn style

Dear Tim, you need to know that I consider you my tv BFF. So I tell you out of love that your 10 item capsule wardrobe has its limitations. You need to expand those stylish wings and translate your capsule wardrobe rules to other climate zones and other day-to-night occasions. Like traveling to a country in South East Asia. Like Vietnam. But don’t worry, I got your back.

One warning to those not…

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How to budget for seeing the world with kids

“Paul found tickets for 350 euro a piece. And life in Cambodia being cheaper than here, I’ll think it’ll cost us a 1000 euros in total.”

Said no parent ever. It wasn’t a parent, obviously, but a twenty-something girl discussing her holiday plans with a colleague in the train. Envy hit me. The luxury to travel where you want and when you want. For a 1000 euros. It’s something I never experienced.…

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Zo houd je reizen met kids betaalbaar

Zo houd je reizen met kids betaalbaar

“Paul heeft tickets gevonden voor 350 euro. En het leven in Cambodja is goedkoper dan hier. Dan zijn we voor 1000 euro klaar.”

Een meisje van in de twintig bespreekt haar vakantieplannen met haar collega naast mij in de trein. Hij heeft een joekel van een koffer voor een tweeweekse werkbezoek in het buitenland. Hij moet natuurlijk pakken mee, is zijn excuus.

Een gevoel van jaloezie bekruipt me.…

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When I wrote about what to pack for Norway in summer, it was a theoretical exercise based upon Tim Gunn’s 10 essentials items for a capsule wardrobe. And although Tim was right about a lot of things, our time in Norway learned you need some other items too.

We went to Norway in 2016, and that summer was cold, even by Norwegian standards. At the Hardangervidda highlands we stopped for the opportunity to stand on some gletscher ice, and two middle aged ladies warned us to put on jackets as it was ‘quite cold’. They themselves put on their insulated outdoor jackets, gloves and hats and their back packs. A while ago, they had agreed to do a multiple-day hike from cabin to cabin this weekend, not knowing the weather would turn out like it had. However, they had planned already, so they decided to go anyway.

Junior may be exaggerating a bit here at Hardangervidda.

I really liked this Norwegian attitude. The weather is shit anyway, so what’s the use staying inside and wait for better weather? With the same attitude, we saw people downhill roller skiing when it was pouring with rain. Of course I’m telling you this so you won’t think I’m a pussy when I say Norway was cold in summer. It was cold. The Norwegians themselves thought so.

Bring it all

You want to bring at least 1 of every clothing item you can think of. So tank tops AND t-shirts AND long sleeves AND a sweater AND a fleece AND a waterproof jacket. So shorts AND joggers AND khakis AND waterproof pants. A cap and a hat.

T-shirt, denim shirt and hat in Myrkdalen

Insulated and jacket in Voss

T-shirt, denim shirt and jacket in Geilo

Insulated jackets on the boat to Flam

We ended up layering it up: I wore a denim shirt over a t-shirt with my lightweight down jacket and my waterproof jacket in my bag. During a hike, I would get out of my jacket, only to put on my rain jacket moments later when the weather turned bad. In the east of Norway, the air felt warmer than the windier west part of the country. So on sunny days on the fjord, we’d still be wearing our lightweight insulated jackets.

Waterproof it

Rain jackets in Preikestolen

It rains a lot in Norway, even more than in the already rainy Netherlands where we live. Grounds get muddy so you will be really happy if you have waterproof shoes. When we were visiting Bergen, I saw so many girls walking in hip Wellingtons, colourful rain coats and see-trough umbrellas. It was sunny, so I wondered why. Then the sky went black and rain start pouring down on us. With a shower so heavy, you need he most water-repellent and plastic rain jacket you can find.

What we bought

Fortunately, there is a great choice in outdoor gear, a wider offer than in the Netherlands and for a better price. Especially in the kids department! This is what we bought at the Norwegian outdoor store:

Wool hiking socks

Waterproof hiking boots or shoes for everyone

Light weight down jacket for me

Light insulated jacket for Mini

Hat for Mini

I’d love to hear from Norwegian natives how they deal with their summers! And from other families that went on holiday to Norway too: what had you wish for you’d packed?

xoxo – Irene.

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What to REALLY pack for Norway in summer When I wrote about what to pack for Norway in summer, it was a theoretical exercise based upon Tim Gunn's 10 essentials items for a capsule wardrobe.

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Feeling blue

Feeling blue now…

My birthday hydrangeas are in full bloom! Instead of the usual bottles of wine (which I love as a gift too, don’t get me wrong here) I asked my guest for a blue hydrangea. There are now 20 in my afternoon shade border, ranging from a deep blue to a reddish lilac. You see, I’m gardening on heavy clay soil here. So it’s just a matter of time until my blue hydrangeas will purple…

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How to make a travel photo book the easy way, even 2 years later

How to make a travel photo book the easy way, even 2 years later

With a few weeks before our next holiday, I decided that my Norway photo book project was way overdue. And although I thought I had prepared properly, I obviously hadn’t. It is possible to make a travel photo book 2 years after the actual trip. (Yeah. I know. 2 years!) It would have been easier though, if only done some things during and immediately after the trip. In this blog post, I’ll share a…

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Bad choices make good stories, or how my 13 year old son bought a yacht.

Bad choices make good stories, or how my 13 year old son bought a yacht.

On the escalator at the subway station, a teenage girl’s jacket sends me the quote of the day.

Bad choices make good stories.

It reminds me, failure is not only a good thing as it lets you learn and grow. It’s also a fun thing too, with great entertainment value! I never got round to telling you about that time when Junior was planning on buying a boat with his friends. Boat as in sailing yacht.…

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Searching for the ultimate photo camera

The best camera, is the camera you have on hand. That is the easiest non-answer to the frequently asked question ‘What is the best camera?’

Unfortunately, the non-answer is true. Because ‘best’ depends on what you think is important in a camera. Most of the times the camera I have on hand, is my iPhone. But to be honest, I want more out of my photos than that. So I tried different kind of photo…

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Enjoy the silence

Sharing has become so much harder.

I started this blog as one of those mom blogs, including pictures of my kids. But when the news hits you with pedofile networks downloading those kinds of pictures to get their kick on, it starts me thinking. Junior has now turned full-on teenager on me and would hate me to share anything personal. Mini is now a real kid with his own recognizable features. That…

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Everyday, I’m enjoying our remodel. I love how the seasons change in the garden and how the light moves differently every month. The negative space in the whole house gives room for family Nerf battles, tag games and dance parties. It’s a joy. It ‘s such a joy.

So I wanted to show you where this remodel came from and where we ended up today.  Of course, we still have unfinished business (that door needs painting!) but it doesn’t take away from our delight of living here.

Before: carpet and a l-shaped fire place

After: Dry wall and ceramic tiles

Before: a massive custom side table out of granite

After: built-in wood storage

Before: Carpet world.

After: hard stone look ceramic tiles

And if you’re interested in some through-put pictures:

xoxo – Irene

Before and after: open concept living room Everyday, I'm enjoying our remodel. I love how the seasons change in the garden and how the light moves differently every month.

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Zonnepanelen verdien je zo terug

Zonnepanelen verdien je zo terug

Vanaf deze week zijn Manlief en ik te zien als poster boy & girl voor Rotterdam Duurzaam. Via een verhaal en video op de website 010duurzamestad.nl zijn we een van de voorbeelden hoe je als Rotterdammer kunt bijdragen aan een duurzame stad. Het campagnemotto wat ons in de mond is geschoven: ‘Zonnepanelen verdien je zo terug’. Dat is…

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Instant make over voor je slaapkamer

Ah, de slaapkamer. Voor een kamer waar je vooral verblijft wanneer je je ogen dicht hebt, is er een hoop gedoe over. Ik zal bekennen: ook ik dagdroom over een slaapkamer als een hotelsuite. Je weet wel, een mega boxspring met 4 soorten kussens, nachtkastjes met verse bloemen, een bureautje/make-uptafel met een nespresso-machine en een badkamer ensuite met inloopdouche, dikke witte handdoeken en…