2021 Spring Plans

Oh man, spring is here! The Dutch spring is amazing, as in it hits you almost over night. One day you’re wearing your winter jacket and boots… And the next day you’re in a lighter jacket and trainers. The sun is so warm, it will bake you if you wear too much! I think that’s what I love about the spring. If you get too cold, you can sun bathe and soak it all in without burning just yet. But to top it off, the birds are singing again, the flowers are blooming, and everyone is out. Our town seems less like a ghost town, even in the middle of quarantine. Even though we’re still stuck inside, Sander and I do have plans! So here’s what we’re doing to do this spring.

Invest in more sun
Our balcony gets a specific amount of sunlight each day. In the winter we get none. In the summer its about an hour and a half of blazing heat. The beautiful medium is in the spring. The sunlight grazes our bricks and softly warms our faces. Haru even sits outside to sunbathe and it’s always adorable to watch. So our spring plans include finding time to sit outside and enjoy the weather, when it’s good! There are still plenty of spring showers headed our way. What I’m most excited about is my outdoor plants will see the sun again! And that means they will bloom. I’ve already seen my tiny pink hydrangea sprout some leaves. She was a gift from Sander’s mother and my heart is so full when I see her revive after so long in the cold.

Spruce up the house
Sander’s lived in this flat for 10 years. Can you believe that?! The unfortunate thing is that we need to do some hardcore maintenance. And by that, I mean painting and fixing a few things around the house! The other thing is… We’re lazy and home improvements can be expensive. I definitely want to paint the bedroom with Limewash this summer but in the mean time, my spring plans include adding to the hygge of the house. After all, we’re going to be stuck inside for another few months due to world events. We might as well make the home as beautiful yet comfortable as possible! But the thing about the Dutch… They love to be frugal.

That’s why it’s taken me so long to do the sprucing! If it was up to me… Our home would have had a make over, over night! At least this way, I’m challenging myself and taking things slowly, but purposefully. This includes updating the bedding and cleaning out the pantry.

Bring back wandelen
We used to go for long walks in the park but it’s been ages since our last one. I’d love to be able to return to the parks and forests around our house. If you recall, wandelen is typical Dutch activity. Sander is already barely sitting on the line of what makes him Dutch… So I need to push him back in! He’s not a fan of biking places, cannot stand seafood… I don’t know what makes him Dutch if he’s not into what the Dutch usually do! Thankfully he loves wandelen so it won’t take much for us to jump right back in.

Eat healthier
I’ve baked my last batch of banana bread, at least for the next few months. It’s time for lighter and cleaner eating because warmer weather is coming. Heavy comfort food is perfect for those colder months but warmer times call for lighter meals. We’ve been eating a lot of vegetarian meals and now, as part of our spring plans, we’d like to cut out a majority of our sugar intake. I’m sure that will get easier when Easter is over.. We’ve got tons of chocolate eggs in the house! But all things come in time, so we’re enjoying ourselves while we can.