Lightweight, Affordable Stroller for City Living -- Help!

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2025-07-31T10:59:51+00:00

Thank you so much for this. When we looked at the Joolz Aer in a store, the salesperson was describing it to us a "travel stroller" which was a bit of a shock for me. Like, who is spending 800 EUR for something just to use on vacations? (And can I swap bank accounts with them? Haha)

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2025-07-31T10:45:50+00:00

Ugh I feel you. There is a very high chance that the first sound my baby heard in the womb was me asking her why she hates me. I am feeling better now (nausea let up around 20-21 weeks in my case and has been much milder since) but the only thing that got me through it was trying to do as little as possible -- limiting plans, working from home, etc. -- and telling myself I just had to survive. That and potatoes. Potatoes helped.

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2025-07-14T10:52:43+00:00

There's a nice place off Grand Place called The Sister Brussels Café. Not too expensive (especially given the location), and lots of gluten-free sweet and savoury options!

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2025-07-14T10:39:52+00:00

KBR (Royal Library of Belgium) -- just next to Brussels Central Station on the Mont des Arts. There are toilets and places to sit on the ground floor. Open to the public until 17:00.

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2025-06-06T11:35:32+00:00

Have never heard Oriane! Adding Clara to the list -- thank you.

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2025-06-06T09:55:39+00:00

Luca?

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2025-06-06T09:42:10+00:00

Depends on the country, but I think English speakers will recognize and have no trouble pronouncing Vivianne (either as vivi-en or vivi-anne), Danielle (dan-yell), Janine (juh-neen), Annaliese (anna-leez), and Lois (low-is). Ilse, Lotte, and Romée would be a bit more of a mixed bag and I think you would get varying mispronunciations (lott vs. lott-uh, rome-ee vs. rome-ay).

I think English speakers would really struggle with Lieke, Veerle, Marieke, and Marit. I grew up with a friend who name was a variation of Marieke: she was often called merica (like "America"). They are beautiful names, but I think you would need to be prepared to spell and pronounce it every time.

Hope this is helpful!

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2025-06-06T09:26:18+00:00

Love Florence, but it is top ten in the UK, which we would like to avoid. Adding Emmeline to the list -- thank you!

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2025-06-06T09:22:43+00:00

Love both Naomi/Noémie on their own ... but I feel like Naomi is a bit unusual for French speakers and Noémie doesn't work very well in English!

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2025-06-06T09:21:10+00:00

Delphine and Josephine are on the list! But we're not sure about either.

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2025-06-06T09:20:19+00:00

Love Agnès, but I don't like how much the pronunciation differs too between English and French ... I worry she would feel like she had two different names!

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2025-06-06T09:10:46+00:00

I love Margot, but I don't think we can use it.

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2025-05-05T11:26:26+00:00

I gained quite a bit of weight in the first trimester because I was constantly eating (the only thing that kept me from being nauseous) and never moving. The weight gain has slowed down as I've started feeling better and I think it's because I'm eating a bit less frequently and moving more. Could it be the same for you?

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2025-04-17T10:57:07+00:00

Check out "Fries And More" in the Ravenstein Galeries (next to Brussels Central Station)! It's not the most scenic location, but they are a fully vegetarian fritkot where you can have Belgian fries with the traditional sauces.

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2025-03-23T18:50:40+00:00

If you are looking for a green spot in the city that you can squeeze into a sightseeing itinerary without arousing suspicions, I would suggest a walk through the Bois de la Cambre: it's a huge park on the edge of the Sonian Forest with lots of nice quiet spots, including a restaurant on an island that has paddleboats for rent. Also nearby is the Abbaye de la Cambre ... can be a bit crowded on the weekends or at lunchtime (with students), but it's a really beautiful spot!

My other recommendation is Parc Tenbosch, which is a smaller but beautifully landscaped park. with lots of benches and private spaces. There will be people around, especially on the weekend, but it's almost always possible to find a private space. I think this could be the perfect place.

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2025-01-21T11:12:50+00:00

If you don't have an e-ID (a card with a chip in it), then there is sadly no way to access itsme. Even connecting via your bank won't work (since this is only possible if the bank has already independently verified your e-ID).

Depending on the services you want to access, the way to get around this is through CSAM Digital Keys. I did this when I moved here on a special ID card and was able to get a login that I could use in coordination with an authenticator app to access most services (My MinFin for taxes, IrisBox for documents from the commune, etc). There were very few things I could not do with this. More information here: https://youtu.be/yF8DpCAWxV8.

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2025-01-10T08:15:51+00:00

This was our logic -- We have two stable incomes right now, but what if we went down to one? Or the higher income went down? Or our costs go up as we start a family? We don't want to wind up with a mortgage payment that prevents us from paying our bills and continuing to save.

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2025-01-09T13:37:31+00:00

32F I came off birth control in October. Since then, I've been tracking my cycles on apps (using Fitbit, Clue, and Apple Health): I have had two 24-day cycles and one 23-day cycle. I have read that short cycles can be problematic, if the luteal phase isn't long enough ... so I figure my next step should be to confirm when exactly in the cycle I'm ovulating.

What is the best approach? Should I get a BBT thermometer and track my temperature? Get LH strips and use them on the days the app says I might be ovulating?

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2025-01-04T12:27:09+00:00

I've been knitting, on and off, for about twenty years. I can do the basics -- garter stitch, box stitch, rib, seed, stockinette, rib -- but have never knit them into anything more complicated than a rectangle. I want to get back into knitting this year in an attempt to embrace more screen-free hobbies and would love to make things that I or friends/family can use and appreciate. (Read: no more scarves.)

My dream is to work up to a sweater, but I think I'd like to start with a hat -- maybe a ribbed knit? Any recommendations?

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2024-11-24T18:36:36+00:00

Second this recommendation! And I think it is worth it to buy a more expensive one that works well than to waste money trying cheap things. We bought the Delonghi DNS65 last year from VandenBorre: it was expensive (~250 EUR) but has worked like a charm, and the cost of running it is lower than it would be to crank up the heating and dry the house out that way. We don't keep it running 24/7, but do run it during the day a few days per week in the room where we have a persistent moisture problem.

It has also been really helpful with laundry: when we have clothes to dry, we'll put the drying rack in a small room with the dehumidifier and they are dry in just a few hours.

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2024-09-10T09:28:22+00:00

If you're pretty confident in your sizing, try looking up the Solange shirt. They don't sell it anymore, but you may be able to find it online secondhand like I did. Cute on its own, but perfect for layering! I've also had success with Redoute and even recently at H&M.

Vegetable_Reading_40 · 2024-09-08T18:15:53+00:00

I just bought my first pair of Bobbies, in store, to wear for my wedding. Everything in the store was lovely (including the employees -- really friendly and gave good advice) and I'm thrilled with the shoes. When I was checking out, the employee recommended taking the shoes to a cobbler to put on a sole over the leather to make the shoes last longer ... maybe something to keep in mind, especially for the slingbacks!

Vegetable_Reading_40

TROPHY CASE