About Me
 
 Below you can find out more about me by hovering with your cursor above the pixels images.

~ I was born in the Netherlands in 1977 ~~ I love everything pink ~~ I have an online shop for penpal supplies which I run together with my husband Henk. Click on the image to take a look! ~~ I love Korea! We go there twice a year and I love Seoul! ~~ I love getting mail - nothing beats a full mailbox! ~~ I lived in New Plymouth, New Zealand when I was younger ~~ I love reading, especially chick-lit books. I think the Shopaholic series from Sophie Kinsella are my favorite ~~ I love Starbucks coffee! You can wake me up for a white chocolate mocha any time! ~
~ I love going to the movies or renting a couple of videos and watching them at home ~~ I love travelling - there are still so many places to explore and the list of countries I want to visit is endless! ~~ I love shopping! Mainly for second hand books and cute bags! ~~ I love flowers - daisies and daffodils are my favorites ~~ The Hard Rock Cafe is one of my favorite places to eat - we used to visit the one in Amsterdam at least once a week... The Potato skins, the Nachos and Joe Perry's Quesadillas are to die for! ~~ We used to have a goldfish called Hootie (after the band Hootie & the Blowfish). He was pretty strange because he'd been swimming on his back for years! ~~ I love flip flops! ~~ I've also lived in Aberdeen, Scotland ~

My name is Michelle, I'm 31 and I'm originally from the Netherlands. I married Henk in 2005 and we moved to London a few months later where we stayed for about a year. We moved to Toronto, Canada in November 2006 and are really enjoying ourselves over here so far! And in July 2007 our beautiful baby girl Lorelei was born. I spend most of my time working on our online shops: LetterSets.com and TheCutestStickers.com. If you're enjoying yourself here, I'd love to hear from you via my guestbook!

These are a few of my favourite things...
 
 Below you can find some of my favourite things... It can be anything, from things I like to do, books I love or Internet sites that I visited and would like to share. Enjoy! And if you have any suggestions at all, free free to email me! 

Flip Flops

I absolutely love flip flops! I walk on them all summer long. My favourite brand is Havaianas, of which I've got 3 pairs: one baby pink pair with white flowers, a pair of the same ones in baby blue and a pair of lime green ones with metallic straps. Havaianas are a little more expensive than other flip flops, but SO comfortable! Definitely worth a try. Click on the image on the left to visit their website - it's very cool!
Girly Books

I LOVE reading and I read anywhere between one book a week in a normal week to a book a day when I'm on holiday. I especially love reading Chick- Lits. Amongst my favourite authors are Sophie Kinsella, Jill Mansell, Belinda Jones and Emily Giffin. I also like girly books with lists and tips that look nice and pretty, like the one on the right: Bibliotherapy by Nancy Peske and Beverly West: "The Girl's Guide to Books for Every Phase of our Lives". And now I live in the UK (Chick-Lit heaven!) I never have to worry about having something to read.
Bagels & Beans

During our last trip to Holland I fell in love with a place called Bagels & Beans, where they sell the most delicious bagels. They have a really cool menu and what I liked most is that they sell "Bagel Tapas"  in the afternoon: little bits of bagel served with all kind of dips and things like sun dried tomatoes, pesto, olive dip and houmous. Great to share with a friend. So if you ever spot one when you're in Holland, be sure to pop inside and have a bite to eat!
Danny Wallace

If you ever stumble upon one of Danny Wallace's books I would really recommend reading it. He does all kind of projects, started a cult by accident and had now started his own country...(!) You can find out more and become a citizen here. I particularly enjoyed his little book "Random Acts of Kindness", which contains 365 tips to make the world a nicer place by performing a random act of kindness every Friday. Very inspiring, but not always very practical... It often made me laugh out loud and does change the way you think.
Our Online Shops

As you may know, Henk and I run a couple of online shops in cute things and that's where I spend most of my time on. We go to Asia a couple of times a year to stock up on the cutest items. It all started in 2003 with LetterSets.com, an online shop in penpal and writing supplies as well as cute bags. We now also have TheCutestStickers.com in which we sell cute stickersheets for only Euro 0.89 per sheet. Our aim? To spread cute items worldwide against low prices :)
Blond Amsterdam Painting

One of my favourite things that I own is a painting of Henk and me given to us on our wedding day on August 20th 2005 by my sisters Marlous and Madeleine and their boyfriends. It was made by the Blond Amsterdam designer duo which I love, as you've just read been able to read above. I found it an incredibly personal gift and I still smile every day I see it.
Traveling

I love to travel. The best trip I've made so far was on our Honeymoon. First we flew to Moscow where we spent a couple of days. We then took the train along the Trans Siberia Railway that took us too Beijing, China in about 7 days. It's amazing to travel one third of the world overland. We then spent a week in China and took the boat to South Korea where we also stayed a week. We then flew back to the Netherlands via London where we had a couple of days to go flat hunting before we moved there 3 weeks later. What a trip!
Design-her-gals

I found this website a while ago when I was browsing through Oprah's O list. It's called Design-her-gals and you can design your own mini-you! Choose your own hairstyle, outfit etc. and then send a gal pal a free e-card or order some very cute personalized stationary! You can see my creation on the left and visit www.designhergals.com to create your very own! And when you do, send me an e-card at michelle@shelley.nl to show yourself off :)
Blond Amsterdam

I love bright and coloured crockery - it's a shame that we don't have much room, otherwise I'd buy much more! I particularly love my Blond Amsterdam teapot, cups and plates which you can see on the left. It's a Dutch designer duo and I also have their Tapas series as well as their Kitchen series and Tins. And we've framed some of their square cards and have them hanging in the living room. Yes, I think you could say I'm a fan... I just get so greedy when I see they've got new stuff, that I just HAVE to have it :)

If you're enjoying yourself here, 
I'd love to hear from you via my guestbook!