From never been to Amsterdam to visiting four times in five months. Oui, c’est moi! The reason for my latest trip was a visit to the press day of Dutch chain store HEMA. Brand new products and well-established items were presented right in the middle of the HEMA headquarters, aka the epicenter of all things pretty.

I was bombarded with the newest designs and innovations, but I love how every single item still has that distinct HEMA-feel.  From cutlery and make-up over yarn and bedding to clothing and furniture, HEMA’s got it all. My favourites are their too-pretty-to-write-in notebooks and the very cool Instagram printing service they offer. I’m in the process of ordering myself some mini Instagram-books, which I’ll blog about as soon as I receive them. Oh the last thing I love about HEMA? Their food. Too good.

This time I got to experience the city in a totally different way, which led me to believe that Amsterdam is a place with many facets. I already had the pleasure of enjoying its shopping, food and scenery, but now I can also say I’ve been on a boat ride to the city. A ferry took us to the center of Amsterdam, where we fell right into our old habits and went shopping. 

After spending some quality time with our friends Hennes, Mauritz and Monki, it was almost time to hop on the bus for the drive home. But one cannot leave Amsterdam without having had the pleasure of enjoying a broodje kroket, can you now? We indulged in the local delicacies, ran for our lives to still catch our ride and talked about how perfectly awesome Amsterdam was and is on our way back home. I’ll be back!