wise words for the weekend

trying to live by this motto every day of the year.

letterpress field note by ian coyle

carry on

 i am such a sucker for nice luggage. you can keep your it-bags if it means i can roll around that rimowa cabin trolley or that bright yellow globe-trotter for j.crew suitcase. and in my constant search for the perfect holdall to take on board with me, the other two are serious contenders. what's your favorite travel luggage?
1/ globe-trotter for j.crew 2/ square 1 holdall by hard graft 3/ mismo grid shopper 4/ the incredible rimowa topas aluminum cabin trolley iata as photographed here

john dory

whenever people ask me where to go in new york, i suggest they head over to the ace hotel. it's the coolest place in town to spend the night, but besides that, it also has the best coffee bar, the best hotel lobby for sipping cocktails and spotting hipsters - and the john dory oyster bar. it's a place where you go to see and be seen, and to enjoy the quirky interior as much as the pretty wide selection of sea foods. it's my favorite place in manhattan to do pre-dinner drinks and whip up an appetite with a gin tonic and a few oysters. oh, and i love those fish tanks.

scentology

i don't really have many beauty go-to products that i couldn't live without - at least not based on their supposed miracle working. i do, however, have a few favorite scents that i'm practically addicted to. i know for a fact that i will be in big trouble if i don't find a new tube of kiehl's coconut scented lip balm once this one runs out. big, deep trouble.

some of my favorite scented products: nuxe crème prodigieuse (reminds me of my childhood - buy it here) // aesop resurrection hand wash + balm (smells of rosemary and mandarins) // kiehl's midnight recovery concentrate (deliciously soothing lavender scent) // kiehl's lip balm #1 (the coconut edition) // byredo bakers' guild scented candle (devastated i just found out they don't carry this scent anymore either - i need to buy all of the stock that's still around)

monochrome

one of the reasons why i still haven't sealed the deal on a kitchenaid is that i can't seem to make up my mind which color to get it in. i have a love/hate relationship with color, but i will always be faithful to monochrome. and so i go back and forth between temporary crushes on the bright colors and my everlasting love for true classics like this glossy white or the matte black. i feel like the color is nearly as important as the rest of the artisan's functions, as it's almost more of a design object to me.
what color would you pick?
photo by petra bindel

rock the boat

i've always loved the iconic timberland boots. sturdy and tough, sure. but at the same time their design is elegant enough to be able to wear them with jeans and a wool sweater and have this kind of outdoors-y elegance that makes you want to get a dog and go for a walk on the beach. um, i digress.

 

last year, timberland graciously offered me the opportunity to design my own pair of boat shoes, complete with initials and everything. basically i spent over an hour trying out different colorways before settling on this combination. i was pretty happy to be able to wear them out for the first time this weekend.

you can customize your own boat shoes here.

little things

andy knows best.

image via simple design

grocery shopping

cool grocery stores always conveniently make me forget that i barely have time to retreat to the kitchen. there's something about the design interiors, the sheer volume of choice, the offer of quirky or local products or their irresistible packaging that makes me load my basket to the brim. last year while we were in new york, we spent more time browsing interesting foodie stores than visiting museums. in geneva, i literally have to force myself to walk past globus' food department without picking up new goodies, and now that i've come to think of it, it's been way to long since i've been to rob's gourmet market in brussels and foodelicious in rotterdam. the pics above are from grocery stores high on my travel wish list - because to me, no city trip is complete without finding the coolest local grocery shop. how about you? do you have any 'other' must visits when you travel?
post inspired by the lovely lamb411 // photos: 1/ catalina fernandez, mexico via yatzer 2/ kochhaus, berlin 3/ unpackaged, london via we heart 4/ bianco latte, milan

hopper

i kinda like rotterdam. not a terribly attractive city at first sight, it does hide lots of cool little nooks and places. i recently stopped by the hip and happening neighborhood at the witte de withstraat for work, and went for coffee at nearby hopper. they take coffee very seriously - but i especially loved their sandwiches (i always get hungry drinking coffee, don't you?) i also loved their industrial interior, and apparently the place is permanently filled with rotterdam's creative crowd. definitely one of my new favorite addresses.

oh solange

i'm not exactly sure why i didn't know much about solange knowles before, but i'm happy that i do now. apparently she's not just a musician, she's also quite the talented photographer, globetrotter, wife and mom, and style inspiration. i love how she combines prints, i love her eye for detail in her photographs, and i adore her damn blog. and i mean, you just gotta love a woman who documents her trip to fashion week on one page, and her game of bingo with her friends a few pages down on her blog.

photos via my damn blog

geometrics

i am completely besotted by these colorful installations that turn geometrics into art. would love to see them up close some day - i bet that would feel like of jolt of electricity through your body.
above: mural by matt w. moore at since gallery in paris // middle: 'through looking back you may go blind' by megan geckler at group exhibition 'avant-la' in los angeles // below: 'plexus no.9' by gabriel dawe at peel gallery in houston

design online

if you've been reading this blog for a while it won't come as a surprise that i love to shop online. i love to have goodies delivered to my door step, whether for fashion or interior decorating (next to the prerequisite ikea, i only bought stuff online for our geneva pad - like this, and some of these). so imagine my delight when a few weeks ago fab.com announced its first european version in germany with fab.de. last week i also learned of two new online design resellers that operate much in the same way (by invite, and for limited periods of time only): decovry.com and monoqi.com. the latter is the most exciting one in my opinion, as it debuted with a truly impressive array of brands (gestalten, hay and thonet). the other two can sometimes feel a little too etsy and not enough design, if you know what i mean. regardless of that, there's a lot of interesting stuff to score at all three of these shops.

photos: 1/ monoqi has a supercool blog which highlights designers and artists 2/ anna tascha's scandinavian jewelry at monoqi 3/ bretell magazine rack by ak47, a brand on sale soon at decovry 4/ fun neon bag by shanghai trio at decovry 5/ areaware's colorful pillows for sale at fab 6/ möve's funky ray ban beach towel at fab

follow

i'm still crazy about this song, especially in this remix. and speaking of following - did you know you could follow me on facebook as well? yup. i resisted for such a long time, then finally caved. made a page. i promise not to bore or pester you if you hit the like button though. i'm just using it to post nice photos, videos and music, and the occasional link to this blog. you can also follow my ramblings on twitter, where i dole out unsolicited travel advice and randomly post links to articles and sites i find interesting. do come and say hi to me over there! and if that's not enough 70percentpure awesomeness to your taste, how about visiting me over on pinterest, or following my instagram feed? see you there?

wise words for the weekend

i love this quirky take on the dreadful 'no parking here' sign and message. i wish all traffic signs were this funny and well-designed.
photo by throgers

hungry mornings

 i'm not a hero in the kitchen - yet. but i have every intention of conquering that domain step by step, one breakfast and brunch at a time. see, that's the master plan. first: become a master in cocktails. then: become the queen of brunch. if all else fails after that, i can survive every day with just those basic skills. brunch for dinner, anyone? anyhow, these recipes are on my to try list. i'll let you know how my attempts turn out.

photos: baked eggs by designlovefest // parmesan knots by real mom kitchen // my pic of pancakes with maple syrup at the standard new york // cinnamon rolls by the faux martha

one minute wonder

i am in love with both of these 'one minute' series. i've known dennis swiatkowski's video's for a while - ever since my friend elisabeth ouni posed for him - but they came to my attention again once i discovered the one minute wonder series. i knew they reminded me of something, and sure enough the concepts are quite alike. but where dennis focuses on imagery and music to create moving portraits, one minute wonder attempts to show off brains and intellectual processes rather than looks. seems like they complement each other really well. like i said, i love both.

neonify

neon has been creeping into my subconsciousness for a while now, but i finally admit i can't live without it any longer. both my home and wardrobe are getting a much-needed injection of color this summer - that beautiful home of ceramics designer silje aune eriksen sealed the deal for me.
square photos from silje's home are from elle decor by trine thorsen, styled by kirsten visdal // circle one scholten & baijings for hay tea towels via espoo // circle two instagram picture of my cos tee (available here) and scarf

erba brusca

i am planning a very short trip to milan in april - my first visit to the city ever, and my first encounter with milan design week at the same time. needless to say i'm beyond excited and i'm planning the weekend minute by minute to take in as much good food and good design as possible in such a short time span. first on my wishlist is erba brusca, which i discovered via my fave hot spot site petite passport. it has everything i love in a restaurant: a good wine list, a garden filled with fresh herbs and a nice looking interior and terrace. can't. wait.

photos by erba brusca

griottes

the only thing i love more than food is well-designed food. i am digging these pantone creations by french art director and food designer/blogger emilie de griottes. needless to say, her blog is worth checking out. emilie's online presence makes me so happy, i also started following her on facebook and pinterest.
via reannatime; photos by emilie de griottes

wise words for the weekend

lino print by funnelcloud studio via bows and sparrows

stripe me

for spring and summer, i'm getting inspired by bold clashes of colors, prints and textures. for a girl who pretty much stuck to uni all of her life, this is revolutionary.

photos: layered stripes // miroslava duma gets it right most of the time // pattern mix i crave // textures and prints by kling

flavored booze

last weekend the boyfriend and i tried our first hand at infusing vodka with different flavors, an idea i got here first. we went for lavender, lemon + thyme and rosemary + black pepper. we also decided to seal in fruit parts with vodka and bourbon, adding twigs of rosemary and lavender flowers to the lemons, and cinnamon to the oranges. we're hoping the fruit and these custom vodka flavors will spruce up future cocktails. i've become quite obsessed with mastering the art of cocktail making, so naturally i'll let you know how they turn out.

paint it good

 

i am freaking out over these awesome examples of using paint to mess with your head. thinking of ways to do that somewhere in my house, but am not sure my painting skills are up to that.
photos: top styling by sarah parker photography by alexander kent // bottom edwine de charette's home in milk magazine

rope drawings

 

 

 

if you're in antwerp this week, make sure to go by valerie_traan for the final days of their seventh exhibition, rope drawings. it features work by diane steverlynck & workmates, maud vande veire and chevalier-masson, who explore the thin line between art and design. i love the ingenuity of some of these works, but i fell especially hard for their color scheme. feels like i'd love to live in that gallery right now.

two seven

my birthday celebrations typically start the weekend before and end the one after - and this year is no different. i feel like it's going to be an interesting year, and i've decided i'd like to make this blog just a little more personal in order to share a bit more of my life with you. i'll start by saying i'm extremely happy the boyfriend has decided to stay in antwerp a day longer this week before jetting back off to geneva - and i'm leaving a day earlier to start a weekend filled with friends in the mountains. life going back and forth between belgium and switzerland is daunting, to say the least, but this week should be a pretty perfect start to year #27.
photos: b&w pic via lost in the moment // confetti via debee(art)

wise words for the weekend

illustration by wasted rita via society6

absolut x design

i've always been a fan of absolut. because of their brilliant ads - the first ones that made me actively think about advertising and the use of iconic products - and because their collabs with photographers, designers and artists have introduced me to some pretty spectactular creative minds. i'm truly sorry i can't make it to the absolut blank experience in brussels, where i would have loved to see the work of damien gernay. i hadn't heard of him, but you could say i pretty much fell in love with his aesthetic.

photos: gernay's proposal for the absolut blank campaign // damien gernay himself // dustdeluxe strukt chair // dustdeluxe barnum table

tom ford's pie

in the category "how to present food as stylin' as possible" wallpaper takes home the trophy. this picture by richard foster illustrates tom ford's recipe for pecan pie, which obviously should only be consumed in aesthetically pleasing surroundings.
via elke spelters