SoBinique

Villa Augustus

2012-01-13T15:36:00.000+01:00

Another good place to have breakfast or lunch (or dinner, but I've never tried that before) is Villa Augustus in Dordrecht. You can also stay for a night cause it's a hotel as well! Vegetables and fruit come from their huge garden and they even make their own bread! You can buy all the food, cookbooks and some nice things for decorating your home, in their shop. So if you happen to be near Dordrecht, go and pay a visit to this place!

Une fille comme les autres

2012-01-09T22:19:00.001+01:00

Une Fille Comme Les Autres from Jalouse blog on Vimeo.

Ottolenghi

2012-01-08T19:34:00.000+01:00

The beautiful and delicious pies by Yotam Ottolenghi in London! Can't wait to get back there again!

Picknick

2011-12-20T10:43:00.000+01:00

Another one of my favourite places in Rotterdam: Picknick. I go there every Tuesday for a delicious scone with homemade jam and clotted cream!

Marry me!

2011-12-16T16:31:00.010+01:00

I shot these photos a while ago at the wedding of Rose and Camiel. It was a beautiful day, they both looked gorgeous, the sun was shining and the place just looked like it came from a fairy tale!

Campania London

2011-12-15T00:03:00.004+01:00

Campania in London: Great place near the flowermarket to have breakfast or lunch. I was in London last summer but I couldn't find the time before to post some pictures. More will follow!

Lennebelle

2011-12-07T17:08:00.001+01:00

Some photos of Lenneke from 'A little hamster' selling her beautiful stuff on Swan Market. Swan Market is a new lifestyle market in Rotterdam where lots of creative people sell their products! You can find food, clothes, Jewellery, furniture and lots of other things there. Can't wait for the Christmas edition coming up so I can buy my presents there!

Little printer

2011-11-30T11:23:00.000+01:00

On my Christmas wishlist!!

Ceramics

2011-11-30T00:11:00.000+01:00

I took these photos at Nootenzo, a shop in Rotterdam where you can also follow workshops! I'm thinking about following a pottery class so I can make my own tableware!

Sweetness

2011-11-20T10:37:00.003+01:00

Sweets by Lof der Zoetheid

Oogst festival

2011-09-20T17:12:00.003+02:00

So I haven't been keeping my blog up to date lately but I think right now it's really gonna change! I know I've said this before but I've got a blogger app on my phone now so it will be easier to post more!
I'm starting with some pictures I took last weekend at the harvest (oogst) festival in Rotterdam. I posted about this festival before last year and I'm gonna do it again now cause it's just a really nice event! It's all about food and the ones following my blog might have noticed already that this is one of my favourite things in life!

Niche

2011-07-25T00:49:00.001+02:00

I already wrote a little thing about the shop Niche in Rotterdam a while ago, before it was even open (here). So now it is, and it's looking really good! Next to flowers they sell beautiful vintage wallpapers, accessoiries for your home and little presents to give away (or just to keep for yourself). They also give artists a place to expose their work. On my photos you can see the funny collages of dogs by Dutch illustrator/designer Niels Kalk. I think it's a really good thing Rotterdam is getting more and more creative shops lately! I still hope to open my own little shop one day..

Macaron test..

2011-07-22T17:22:00.001+02:00

What better way to test my new lens than with some lovely macarons? The perfect models.. Yum!

Mulberry by Tim Walker

2011-07-18T10:31:00.001+02:00

Love this!!

Off to London again!

2011-06-09T22:43:00.004+02:00

This weekend I'm going back to London again! It's been almost a year since I've been there and I had a perfect time then! So I can't wait to go! I made myself a little Topshop wishlist again:

Last year I got some great tips from my followers here but if there's anyone who's got some places or things I really, really have to go and see please let me know!!

Vera

2011-05-27T21:27:00.000+02:00

Vera was really cold during this shoot but doesn't she still look beautiful?
I shot these photos for the new Dutch brand Aicha Marley..

La grande epicerie de Paris

2011-05-17T10:01:00.004+02:00

This must have been the most beautiful supermarket I've ever seen: La grande epicerie de Paris. Of course I was all over the sweets but everything else looked really nice as well! I love the way they display their products! If I would just only live in Paris....

Home made granola

2011-05-13T20:28:00.000+02:00

I'm quite obsessed with food lately! I just love cooking, going to good restaurants and instead of fashion magazines I now buy magazines about food. I even read cookbooks in bed before I go to sleep.. One of my favourites right now is the book Home Made by the Dutch Yvette van Boven which I got as a present last Christmas. Next to her delicious cooking she also makes great illustrations. You can see more of her work and follow her on her blog. The book Home made is only out in Dutch but will be out in English this fall!
The recipe for this granola is in the book as well. It tasted really good and I gave some of it as a present to my mom in some old jars which I thought looked quite nice.
Hope you will all have a great weekend!

Paris versus New York

2011-05-06T20:25:00.000+02:00

I don't know if there's another city which can conquer my heart like my big love Paris did.. I've never been to New York but I definitely want to go there! I'm pretty sure I will like it cause I heard so many good thinks about this city.. but will it top Paris? Do you have a city you're in love with?
The blog 'Paris versus New York' compares typical things from both of these cities. I love the simplicity of these images, just go and take a look at this great blog for more!

Lof der Zoetheid

2011-04-16T15:32:00.000+02:00

One of my favourite places in Rotterdam definitely is Lof der Zoetheid! This place is owned by mother Anastasia and daughter Elena who serve the best home made pies and sweets in Rotterdam! If you're not a big fan of sweets (I can't imagine..) there are lots of other delicious alternatives! I like having my breakfast there and I recently had a perfect high tea which I highly recommend to everyone who loves pies! (I will post some photos of that high tea soon!) The atmosphere in this beautiful lunchroom is perfect, I love the little (vintage) details you can find there everywhere like the old pictures in the little menu books. They are closed now for a while but they will probably open again in May (from Thursdays till Sundays). So when you come to Rotterdam you really cannot leave without paying a visit to Lof der Zoetheid!

Ouen

2011-04-03T13:56:00.000+02:00

More photos I took at Puces de St. Ouen! I could not stop taking pictures there! I just loved the box filled with old handwritten letters.. Isn't it much nicer to receive a letter like that instead of the e-mails we write nowadays??

Amber

2011-03-25T20:16:00.000+01:00

Polaroid I took of pretty new face Amber in my Isabel Marant dress!

Cake days!

2011-03-22T19:55:00.003+01:00

New on my wishlist: The book Cake days from The hummingbird bakery!! Don't these cakes look all delicious??

Soup

2011-03-16T22:21:00.000+01:00

Little movie made during a shoot I did a while ago with Miep Jukkema. I posted some photos from this shoot before here..

soup from Miep Jukkema on Vimeo.

Gare du Nord

2011-03-01T10:20:00.002+01:00

Some photos from my last trip to Paris..

With Paris being my biggest love I'm thinking about going there (again) this summer but this time for a few weeks to take a French course.. I've been trying to learn French for a long time already but I think the best way to really learn it is to live there for a while.. I can't wait for summer to come!

Back to the future

2011-02-17T11:47:00.004+01:00

I've been gone for quite a while from the blogging world and I even thought I should stop blogging at all.. I think I would really miss it though so I'm gonna try to post some more again. I've never been so busy as I've been lately so I really couldn't find any time for blogging. I'm glad to see I still got some followers! In the future I will post some more about my inspiration starting with the work of Irina Werning who's working on her back to the future project. She's obsessed with old photos and with this project she invites people to get back to their own future by recreating one of their old photos.

Check out her website for more..

Sorry!

2010-12-29T23:34:00.003+01:00

Time flies by so fast! It's almost a new year already! Hope you all had a lovely Christmas! I definitely did! I've been so busy lately, I couldn't find any time to post anything! I've been restyling some parts of my house again so there will be some new interior photos coming up!

Meanwhile I will try to post some more..

Here are some polaroids from a styling job from a long time ago for Dujour magazine, photographed by the talented Fiona Ruhe.

December high tea

2010-12-08T15:28:00.000+01:00

Last week I did a guest post for the amazing blog 'The Drifter and the Gypsy'. When Michaela asked me for this I thought that was the perfect excuse for me to start baking again. I'm planning to throw a Christmas high-tea party for my friends so I used this occasion to experiment with some cookies and some different table settings. I combined vintage cups and wooden plates and some purple details. I hope my friends will like it!

Paris by night..

2010-12-03T23:18:00.003+01:00

..I wanna go back!

Lovely puces de St. Ouen

2010-12-01T22:29:00.006+01:00

I think I can fill a whole blog with photos from this place. I posted about it a few times now (here and here) but there's so much to see there, I could go on forever! So there's more to come.. For now here are some photos from Puces de Saint Ouen again!

Baking...

2010-11-28T23:05:00.004+01:00

I've been on a cookie/ tart diet lately. I just can't stop baking! Every excuse I can find I use to bake something.. It feels like some sort of therapy for me, I just love it! :) I will show you the results of this baking session later this week! Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Papier

2010-11-24T22:08:00.006+01:00

One street you cannot forget to visit in Paris is Rue du Pont Louis-Philippe. There are some great stationery boutiques there including the beautiful 'Melodies Graphiques". The walls are covered with envelopes which instantly makes you want to write a long letter to tyour loved ones! Paper, envelopes, writing materials, stamps, this shop sells it all and every single piece looks beautiful.

The last photo is from Papier +, a more modern stationery boutique but gorgeous as well!

I just wish I would have my own little shop in Paris some day...

H&M Home

2010-11-22T22:26:00.000+01:00

So with Christmas coming up I've been looking around for some presents on the internet and I stumbled upon the H&M website. I was surprised by the H&M home collection for this season, I think they've got some great stuff! Aren't those illustrations pretty? I think I'm gonna order the lace table-cloth for my Chrismas dinner..

Yum!!

2010-11-21T00:30:00.007+01:00

I would definitely gain a lot of weight if I would live in Paris! There are so much beautiful pastry shops with all these delicious sweets!!

Closed

2010-11-16T22:26:00.006+01:00

One thing I was really looking forward to on my trip to Paris was visiting the shop 'Le petit atelier de Paris'. I fell in love with this boutique last december when I was in Paris and I couldn't wait to get back there and buy lots of gorgeous little presents! One extremely important thing I forgot was to check the opening hours. They're only open from Thursday to Saturday and I was in Paris from Sunday till Wednesday so I was standing before a closed door! It was such a big disappointment cause I was really looking forward to enjoy the beauty of this shop again and I already had a huge wishlist.. Well, at least I got to enjoy their lovely window-display and I took some photos of that. The next time I visit Paris I will make sure I will be there on one of the days this shop is open! You can see the pictures I took inside last December here or take a look at their website.

Bad luck

2010-11-15T00:46:00.003+01:00

Last weekend I was testing the beautiful new face Jeske from Max Models. It was a terrible day. It was her first shoot and she was doing great but I had some bad luck myself with my camera's.. I use to have 2 great lenses for my camera but on my trip to Paris I dropped my camera and one of them broke. Thank god it wasn't my best lens I thought.. But when I was shooting with Jeske that one just stopped working as well! I took my old camera which works quite well but because I didn't think I would use it I didn't charge the batteries so I could only shoot for half an hour.. That brought me back to my analogue camera's but I only had one film left! I was so stressed! It just wasn't my best shooting day I guess.. The model was doing a good job though and I still managed to get some good shots of her! The good thing about all this is that I had to buy a new lens! I bought a macro and I'm experimenting with it right now and I just love the results! I will show you some later!

I hope you all had a good weekend...

Here's a polaroid I took of Jeske:

Marché aux oiseaux de Paris

2010-11-09T22:16:00.000+01:00

I already told you I've got a little thing for birds.. Every Sunday the marché aux fleurs at the Place Louis-Lepine in Paris turns into a caged bird market so I had to pay a visit. There are cages of canaries, parakeets, parrots and lots of other pretty coloured birds. Just loved walking around there, looking and listening to these birds..

Dusty..

2010-11-08T22:56:00.000+01:00

More photos from the test with Lisa. I like it when a model has got something special, something extraordinairy what makes you want to take a second look at her. She doesn't have to be perfect, most of the time perfect beauties aren't that exciting.. Lisa has got that something special for me, I think she's beautiful.

Reflections of Paris

2010-11-06T23:53:00.002+01:00

I love just walking around in Paris, getting inspiration from all the beautiful window-displays and taking pictures of them. This doesn't always work out the way I plan but that can actually give some great unexpected surprises. I meant to take these pictures for the things behind the windows but the reflections on the glass show the lovely buildings of my favourite city and I actually think this makes the pictures more interesting..

I hope you're all enjoying your weekend! :)

Merci!

2010-11-04T16:24:00.000+01:00

In all my trips to Paris I never visited the shop Merci before, but in my last trip I did! I was really, really looking forward to it cause I heard so much about it but I must say I was a little bit dissapointed. It's a beautiful, big shop filled with lovely stuff but I thought I would go all crazy and that I would leave with a bag filled with must-haves. I didn't see that much things I really fell in love with and the things I did see were just a bit too expensive for me. I'm not saying that when you visit Paris you shouldn't go and visit Merci because I really think you should! It's a gorgeous shop with great products but I think my expectations were just a bit too high.. By the way, the place in Merci with all the bookshelves where you can have a drink looks amazing!! Feels like you're having a drink in a library: I really loved this idea! :)

Roos

2010-11-02T22:23:00.000+01:00

The beautiful model Roos who I photographed a while ago. I just love freckles!! I wish I had them..

La Duree madness!

2010-11-01T19:52:00.002+01:00

I saw 3 La Duree stores in Paris and they were all filled with customers! They must be doing a great job! Besides the macarons you can find some delicious pies, cookies, tea and at one shop I even saw La Duree Perfume! I haven't smelled it but it all looks beautiful! A bottle of that perfume would look great in my bathroom...

Waking up in Paris..

2010-10-31T10:04:00.002+01:00

I wish I was waking up there again today! Love the way how the sun finds it's way through the Beautiful buildings..

Tombées du Camion

2010-10-29T22:30:00.000+02:00

In the little village where I grew up lived a woman who collected all kind of stuff. Her whole house was filled with her collections cause she could't threw away anything. She went so far she couldn't even walk normally through her house anymore cause of the clutter which was everywhere. It was even piling up against her windows! When I was a child my parents said to me I looked like her cause I liked to collect everything and I really had problems with throwing away things as well. I haven't changed much since but in contrary to that woman from my village I can still walk through my house normally (most of the times). When I was in Paris I visited this little store called Tombées du Camion (which I found through Pia Jane's book Made by Hand: Paris). It's a little shop filled with all kind of collections: Litlle dolls, parts of dolls, buttons, little boxes: I thought I went crazy: All these beautiful things together! I couldn't stop taking photos.. When you go to Paris, go and take a look at this beautiful shop. It was only until I got home I found out there were more them in Paris. Next time I'm there I'm definitely gonna visit them all. Don't forget to take a look at their beautiful website for more photos and the adresses as well..

Louis Vuitton City Guide of Paris

2010-10-29T01:14:00.008+02:00

Right before I went to Paris a friend sent me this video with some of the best pastry shops you can find there. I love this inspirational video and I did visit some of the adresses they talk about! I will show you some pictures of all the sweets I saw there later! Meanwhile, take a look at this beautiful video.

City Guide Louis Vuitton - Paris from SoLab on Vimeo.

Ps. If you can't understand French, you can find an English version on Youtube as well!

Canary

2010-10-27T23:08:00.001+02:00

I've got a little thing for birds. As a child, we always had a bird in our house. My grandfather owned a lot of doves so I called him grandpa dove. So when I heard there was an exhibition about canaries in a museum nearby I thought I: Why not take a look? So I did, and it actually turned out te be quite nice! At first I didn't really like the idea of taking a look at dead canaries but all these birds had a great life and died of natural cause. I actually thought the sight of all these colourfull birds together looked quite beautiful and there were some beautiful birdcages to take a look at as well! I wish I could have a bird or another pet but I'm allergic to most of them so now I just own a fish. :) Do you have any pets?

Chocolatepie from La Durée

2010-10-26T23:51:00.000+02:00

Of course I paid a visit to La Durée when I was in Paris. Though I think it's all quite expensive I couldn't leave without tasting some of the delicious things they sell. I've tried the macarons before so I decided (as a real chocolate junkie) to pick the pie which looked like it contained the most chocolat. It was so good! I think it tasted even better cause it was all wrapped up in a cute little box and this lovely green bag! I'm such a girl..

Rose Bakery

2010-10-25T22:08:00.006+02:00

One of the days in Paris we had lunch at the Rose Bakery on 46 Rue des Martyrs. This place is not a typical French bakery but definitely worth a visit! I just loved the interior and the food was delicious! I had a quiche with a colourful salad next to it, doesn't it look beautiful on the plate? There's another Rose Bakery in Paris on 30 Rue Debelleyme which I will surely visit the next time I'm in Paris!

A bientôt..

2010-10-22T22:25:00.004+02:00

Just came back from Paris! Like everytime I come back from this amazing city I'm a bit heartbroken again, my time there was just too short, just wish I could live there... I hope you won't mind but I think the upcoming weeks will be filled with posts with pictures I took in Paris! ♥

Restored

2010-10-16T09:53:00.000+02:00

A while ago Lenneke and I went to Amsterdam for a lovely shopping day! We visited some great shops but one of our favourites was Restored. It's a creative conceptstore filled with beautiful things from young designers. Little cards, nice presents, gorgeous jewellery, clothes and ceramics, they sell it all. When you're in Amsterdam you should definitely visit this shop!

Natural History Museum

2010-10-12T18:47:00.001+02:00

Went to the Natural History Museum a while ago. I like them more when they're flying around but also in a box I think butterflies are so beautiful! I think there might be some flying in my stomach right now.. But I will tell you more about that later! :)

The city of light

2010-10-11T16:12:00.002+02:00

This is my first Much love Monday participation! I love reading this gorgeous blog where Anna gives her readers the chance every Monday to share the things they love..

One thing I really love so much is my favourite city Paris. I've been there 8 times now and I'm going back again next week! I just can't wait! Last time I was there was last December with my ex boyfriend and it actually was not such a great succes. You would think Paris can only bring a couple closer together with all the romantic Christmas lights but it didn't work for us at all! Maybe it was just too cold and I guess we weren't really meant to be together.. He gave me this little heart-shaped plant below on Valentines day and the funny thing is that the week he broke up with me this plant died! Coincidence? :)

R'damse oogst

2010-10-08T16:08:00.001+02:00

Another food festival! I just love them. :) This one was really nearby my place and in the open air on a sunny saturday. It was called the harvest festival and there were lots of people selling pure and honest food. On the first picture you can see some edible flowers from Niche, a flowershop which will open this month in Rotterdam. I will definitely visit them when they're open! Of course I bought myself a vegan cupcake from Rosie and the cupcake factory who have this cute website you should take a look at! There were more great participants like Het Vlaamsch Broodhuys who sell the most tasty breads, Public Pie with delicious pies and Voorlopig which is a lovely shop where you can buy all these cute little creative presents! It was a great day..

Button up!

2010-10-06T23:25:00.002+02:00

I was walking on the market in Rotterdam last week when I saw this pretty suitcase filled with all these coloured buttons! I wanted to buy the whole suitcase but I should stop collecting all this stuff cause my house is getting too small for all my collections! So I only took some photos and I didn't even buy one button! I felt quite proud of myself! ;)

Or maybe I should just try to find myself a bigger house..

Bon anniversaire!

2010-10-03T15:59:00.003+02:00

Today it's been exactly one year since my first blog post! Time goes by so fast!

It's been quite an intense year. You might not have noticed that cause I don't always share that much personal stuff here, but I think this year (and esspecially the last months) has been the year that I really got to know myself. It's been a year of ups and downs, with some amazing hightlights which made me so happy and some great dissapointments which made me truly sad... It might sound stupid but I feel like I've learned a lot about life, people and about myself. A few years ago I already felt like an adult and like I knew it all but when I look back now I can see I learned a lot and I really changed since! And I know now there's still so much left to learn!

Well.. back to blogging: I would like to know what you think about my blog? Do you have some suggestions or tips for me? I would love to hear them cause I know that also in blogging I can still learn a lot! :) I know my English is not always perfect but I hope it doesn't bother you too much.

Anyway.. I wanted to thank my followers. It feels good to see people are coming back to see my blog and I love reading the comments I get! I don't always find the time to respond but I really appreciate getting them! Thanks!

I will miss you...

2010-09-30T12:34:00.004+02:00

..summer! The warm, sunny days are over. It's getting really cold already! No more going to the beach, barbecues in the park or having breakfast on my balcony. Well, I'm gonna make the best of it, I'm trying to look on the bright side of autumn: Cosy nights with hot chocolat watching movies on the couch. Sounds quite alright...

Some photos of my balcony from last summer..

Testing again..

2010-09-28T00:14:00.003+02:00

I'm testing quite much lately for modeling agencies. Because it's for the portfolio of the models it's all pretty basic. I'm a huge fan of Tim Walker with his gorgeous fairytale-like photos and I wish I could photograph like him some day but right now the basic style is more 'my thing'. Last week I photographed the lovely Lisa again:

Dinner party

2010-09-24T16:15:00.002+02:00

You might have noticed my posts about food and eating are increasing. Lately my interest for food is bigger than my interest for fashion.. Maybe I should make a career move? :)

My friends and I started a cooking club. Each month one of us has to cook 5 courses for the rest and it should not be food we daily make but something new and culinary. Last month was my turn and it was a lovely evening. My friends told me it was all delicious so I was happy! Here are some photos of my table before they came. Some fresh flowers spiced up my white interior. As you might see I changed the interior of my livingroom a bit. My table is now on the other side of my room, I will show some more photos later!

This post was also a guestpost at Floddertje: take a look at her beautiful blog!

Elsevier

2010-09-23T12:06:00.002+02:00

I posted about painter Kees van Dongen before. A while ago I did the styling for a shoot inspired by his work. It was for a Dutch magazine called Elsevier and it was photographed by the great Miep Jukkema. Here are the results:

Kunsthal kookt

2010-09-22T10:37:00.014+02:00

Last week I went to this festival called Kunshal kookt. This festival is all about cooking and good food. There were lots of stand with so much great and delicious (biological/ ecological) food! I always get overexcited when there's food involved, I wanted to taste everything! The good thing about this festival was that you were allowed to try it all! So I did.. Esspecially the chocolats and (as a typical Dutch girl) all sorts of cheese! As you can see I had some trouble making a decision which photos to show you cause there were so many lovely things. I just hope it's not too much..

I'm hungry again..

Foggy

2010-09-21T11:40:00.000+02:00

I decided to post some more random pics on my blog. I've got lots of them on my computer but there's not really a story behind them. I love combining photos that reinforce each other. I think the photo with model Esmee I took during a testshoot looks more special with the photo of the fog next to it. Don't you?

By the way: I edited the lay-out of my blog a little. Hope you'll like it!

Charlotte Wooning

2010-09-19T22:52:00.003+02:00

Promoting Rotterdam part 3 ;)

This new shop filled with the beautiful jewellery of designer Charlotte Wooning is definitely worth a visit! The place looks amazing: a vintage suitcase as a display for her products, dried flowers hanging on the wall, a custom designed cabinet, it all looks beautiful! The shop is only open on Fridays and if you're not able to come to Rotterdam to visit her you can take a look at her jewellery on her website!

Just because...

2010-09-17T18:29:00.003+02:00

they make me so happy!! To celebrate the weekend I thought I could just treat myself with some delicious macarons! I'm really happy I can buy them here but in 4 weeks I'll be eating them in Paris again! I can't wait to go back! I hope you will all have a lovely weekend!!

Branco

2010-09-15T15:44:00.003+02:00

As I told you before here, I want to show you some adresses of great places in Rotterdam. If you're (just like me) a bit obsessed with good food and cooking you should definitely visit this place called 'Uit de keuken van Branco' (from the kitchen of Branco). Branco is a lovely little restaurant with delicious food and this place is it's little sister where you can buy ingredients of the food you ate at the restaurant. Next to that you can also have lunch there or just drink coffee or tea with a macaron or one of their other delicious treats! The interior looks lovely and creative, I love it!

Roos

2010-09-12T22:45:00.004+02:00

Some photos from a testshoot I did last week with the beautiful Roos. I used the carpet I made for my birthday party as a background for some photos..

Picturewall

2010-08-31T16:05:00.000+02:00

Took some old pictures of my mom from when she was a kid and hung them up on my wall..

Result:

Tempel deluxe

2010-08-30T13:00:00.002+02:00

Another great shop/atelier we visited during our wander with Pia Jane Bijkerk. Such a creative, inspiring little place called Tempel deluxe where you can buy these pretty handpainted pottery and little gifts.

Happy..

2010-08-24T23:40:00.003+02:00

Do you know the feeling you can have after you had this dream which was so good you just want to go back to sleep and continue dreaming? I just had the most amazing time last weekend and it feels like it was all just a perfect dream like that and I wish I could go back in time and relive it all...

Vintage finds 8

2010-08-23T07:51:00.001+02:00

I found these old cards on the market in Rotterdam a while ago. It were five cards with cars on it made with parts coming from old watches. Ik took them all off cause I think they are quite beautiful. I want to make something with it, just don't know what yet. I was thinking about a necklace or something.. Do you have any ideas?

Chocolat is the answer

2010-08-21T21:14:00.000+02:00

Another perfect place in London: Columbia Road. On Sunday this street is transformed into an oasis of follage and flowers. The shops here are just amazing! You can find lots of creative/ vintage/ fun stores there! It's near Brick Lane so if you go there make sure you visit Columbia Road with it's flowermarket as well!

Amsterdam: Made by hand part two

2010-08-19T10:00:00.001+02:00

Another shop/atelier we visited on our wander through Amsterdam with Pia Jane. It's called Keramiek van Kempen. This place made me want to create beautiful things myself!

My birthday party!

2010-08-17T21:27:00.010+02:00

I had such a great weekend, I celebrated my birthday last Saturday with my family and last Sunday with my friends. I wanted to have a high tea outside Sunday but the weather didn't allow it so I used an empty room in my house to have my inside high-tea/ picknick. I made the party flags and the carpet myself. I'm also really into baking lately so I made some cheesecakes, chocolate tart, mini-cupcakes, scones and much more! I definitely gained a few pounds this weekend cause I ate so much but it was worth it cause I really had a lovely time with my sweet friends! My friend and fellowblogger Lenneke was there as well and she did a post on her blog about my birthday party yesterday, she took some great pictures! Here are mine:

Madame Masette

2010-08-16T00:16:00.001+02:00

Most people go to Amsterdam when they visit The Netherlands. I really get it cause there's so much to do there and the city has a great atmosphere. But I live in Rotterdam and it's much more modern and doesn't look as cosy as Amsterdam but when you get to know this city you can be pleasantly surprised. I would like to share some great things Rotterdam has to offer, starting with this charming new place where I really like to have lunch and eat some great pies. It's called Madame Masette and the owners were inspired by France and the traditional bistros you can find there. I think they did a great job capturing a French atmosphere with the checked table covers and other little details. I love how they expose their collection of vintage finds and handmade stuff, it's really an inspirational place and their food is delicious! So if you ever go to Rotterdam, just make sure you'll pay a visit to Madame Masette!

Translation: A person smiles an average of twenty times per day.

Happy birthday..

2010-08-14T11:33:00.001+02:00

to me! :)

Turning 25 today.. Feeling really old! Time just flies by.. I'm making some preperations for my party, baking some pies and cupcakes! I will show some pictures later! Hope you will all have a lovely weekend!

Brick Lane

2010-08-13T13:00:00.000+02:00

Brick Lane and the area around this street must be one of the best places to go to in London. There are lots of fun and creative stores there and on Sunday you can go to the Sunday Up market where all these creative people hang out and sell their hand-made jewellery/ vintage clothes/ art/ delicous foods/ cupcakes! I spend a whole day hanging around there and it was so much fun! It's also a great place to meet some new people.. :)

Unfortunately I didn't take enough pictures there but here are just a few I did take (mostly from a vintage store). Anyway, when you visit London just make sure you go there!

Amsterdam: Made by hand

2010-08-11T12:24:00.000+02:00

Quite some time has passed but a while ago I joined a very special wander through Amsterdam organised by the amazingly creative Pia Jane Bijkerk to promote her new book 'Amsterdam: made by hand'. My computer had some trouble with opening the pictures I made that day but this week I finally managed! That's the reason of this delay..

Though I live in The Netherlands and I've visited Amsterdam countless times I had so much fun cause I got to go to places I've never been before! Pia made these little booklets with a hand drawn map in it to guide us though the area 'De Pijp'. We saw some great shops, boutiques and ateliers here. I took quite some pictures so I will post more of them later but here is just a little preview.

Art supplies shop 'Van Beek':

Ecologic supermarket 'De Draad':

At the end of the wander we had a hight tea in the backyard of the Van Rossum bookstore. There were lots of delicious pies and scones of which I didn't take enough pictures cause I just couldn't wait eating them! I tried them all! :)

I really want to thank Pia Jane for organising this day cause it was so much fun! Maybe it's stupid but I always get a bit nervous when I meet people who I quite admire. Pia Jane was really sweet though and she signed my copy of her book!

If you ever visit Amsterdam just make sure you take this book with you! I'm going to Amsterdam tomorrow again!

Through the viewfinder

2010-08-10T20:05:00.001+02:00

An old picture of my livingroom through the viewfinder of my ful-vue camera. The lovely Holly of the amazing blog Decor8 posted some pictures of my livingroom here. I wish my blog would look like hers some day!
There were some people wondering why I've got my dress hanging up on my wall and why I've got one shoe in my cabinet. It's just that I love this dress but I don't really wear it that often so now I can enjoy it even when I'm not wearing it cause I think it looks quite pretty on my wall. I don't really like 'rules' for decorating. I also work as a fashion stylist so I love being around gorgeous clothes! The shoe in my cabinet was a price I won in 2008 for a styling contest organised by the magazine Elle: The Elle Style Awards. At that time I just started working as a stylist so I'm still a bit proud I won this award, that's why it's got a place in my cabinet! :)

This is me with my models just after I won (I've got the golden shoe in my hand underneath the flowers :) )

Sorry for the bad quality of this photo, it's scanned from a magazine.. My theme was hippie deluxe by the way.

Kees van Dongen

2010-08-09T17:56:00.000+02:00

A while ago I did the styling for a fashion shoot inspired by the work of the Dutch painter Kees van Dongen. He loved painting lots of beautiful women in beautiful clothes. I really love the colours he used in his paintings. The shoot I did is gonna be published in a Dutch magazine, I will show you when it's out! There's gonna be an exhibition of his work in Rotterdam in the museum Boijmans van Beuningen in september. I'm definitely gonna visit it!

Clara Francis

2010-08-06T15:17:00.000+02:00

In my post about Spitalfields market from last week I left some pictures out because I think they deserve a seperate post. On these photos you can see the gorgeous jewellery made by Clara Francis These pieces are made out of hundreds of tiny glass beads, don't they look beautiful? Next to Spitalfields she also sells online, just take a look on her website!

Rosegarden

2010-08-01T16:29:00.002+02:00

A while ago I visited this rosegarden in the Dutch city The Hague, it's the perfect place to go to for your first date (or maybe your second ;) ). It's really romantic and at sunset it's almost a bit magical... ♥

Be kind

2010-07-30T22:43:00.001+02:00

I was cleaning up my computer today and I found some scanned pages from an old scrapbook I made 3 or 4 years ago... My mom won't be too happy with the pictures I used of her doing some gymnastic moves in bikini, but I really like them! I just get the feeling that it was a perfect summer and it kinda makes me wish I was there taking the picture..

Spitalfields Market

2010-07-29T20:30:00.006+02:00

When you go to Londen just make sure you visit Spitalfields market. There are some great market stands with creative people who sell their (often self-made) jewellery, clothes, little presents, food and vintage things. I was there on a Sunday which turned out to be the best day to visit this market cause there are more stands on this day. There are some really nice stores there as well. It's such an inspiring place and I wanted to buy all these pretty things but I only bought just one ring with a rose on it I will show you later.

Parade

2010-07-27T22:42:00.005+02:00

De Parade is a festival which is traveling through Holland in summer. It started in Rotterdam where I live and I visited it a few times. It's just a really laidback festival where you can visit theater performances, listen to music, eat some delicious food, make your own 'poffertjes' (Dutch little pancakes), hang out with your friends and meet some new people. It's one of my favourite festivals! If you ever come to Holland in summer (I think you should not come in any other season) you should definitely visit De Parade! I took the pictures below at de Parade in The Hague which was actually even more fun and bigger than the one in Rotterdam.

Portobello Road

2010-07-24T13:00:00.003+02:00

We visited Notthing Hill on a monday morning when it was still really quiet. The sun was shining and we were planning to get a cupcake at The Hummingbird Bakery. Just a perfect day.. I fell in love with these lovely houses on Portobello road. Why doesn't everyone paint their house in a pretty pastel? The world would look so much happier!

By the way, this is the first time I show a picture with me on it on my blog! I'm wearing the dress I bought at Topshop :).

Esmee

2010-07-23T15:24:00.002+02:00

Some photos I took for a testshoot from model Esmee. For her first shoot she really did a great job!

Window display

2010-07-21T22:10:00.005+02:00

So except for the cupcakes I haven't really posted anything about my visit to London yet. I didn't really know where to start cause there so much to show you! I will just start at the beginning then.. The first day we did some shopping, ofcourse at Topshop where I bought a dress and the striped top wich was on my Topshop wishlist, yay! We also stopped by Liberty and Anthropologie where I took these photos of these pretty window displays. It's all really a simple idea to hang the books and the spoons from the ceiling but I think it looks amazing! I got all inspired and I'm thinking now about what I'm gonna collect to hang from my ceiling!

Banana Pancakes

2010-07-21T00:34:00.002+02:00

One of my favourite artists is Jack Johnson. A few weeks ago I went to see his concert in Amsterdam (where I took these photos). It was amazing, he was so good! His music just makes me feel really happy, esspecially the song banana pancakes. Every time I listen to this song I want to eat some! I think I'm gonna make them tomorrow... :)

(by the way: I think Jack is really pretty!! :p)

Dreaming..

2010-07-16T12:02:00.000+02:00

One of my friends bought this amazing house a while ago. She just moved in and I think it all looks really beautiful! It's a huge place with high ceilings and a wooden floor. I took a few pictures of her livingroom but I hope she will let me photograph her bedroom and bathroom as well cause they are really pretty too. I dream to own a place like this one day, I'm a bit jealous..