coffeeklatch

it's funny how sometimes you get to 'know' people through their work, instagram and twitter feeds and because they travel in the same circles as you do, but you've never actually met them. last week i finally met the brains and talents behind coffeeklatch, an online magazine about creatives and their universe.

it's got everything to keep you busy for quite a while - browsing through the gorgeous pictures of interiors, people and the stuff they keep close to them, and reading the delightful interviews. it's like a window into a side of belgium that you haven't seen before - and i dig that. also, magali and bart are seriously cool and nice folks, and you might want to check out their other work, too.
all images by and via coffeeklatch

from cover to cover

i love the from cover to cover project by graphic designer jenny volvovski: she is designing her own book cover for every book she reads. i can only imagine the library she'll end up with - all covers perfectly coordinated and yet each as unique as it gets (jenny actually spilled sand onto her plastic-wrapped scanner for that dune cover!) it sort of reminds me of the branding 10,000 lakes project, which i also love. what can i say, i'm a sucker for series.
via huffingtonpost all images by jenny vovolvski

wise words for the weekend

these illustrated lyrics of the beatles' hey jude are the radness.

broer bretel

every time i am near the harbor i regret not making the trek up north more often - it's such a pretty neighborhood and there are plenty of new cool spots, especially since the beautiful mas museum opened up. but there's only one coffee bar for me around there, and that's broer bretel. i love the homey vibe and friendly service, not to mention the cool graphic design and instant photo wall. i usually get my coffee to go to whatever meeting i'm headed to, and i really like that there's no menu up on the wall - i find myself resorting to the classics (flat white, hold the sugar please) instead of choosing between hundreds of flavor combinations.
yes, those are my trusted zuriick simone slippers - i do own more than one pair of shoes, but i just can't get enough of them

maid of honor

i finally was able to ask both my best friends to be my maids of honor with little packages i put together in venice beach's urbanic paper boutique. i'm not a person who cares much for tradition, but i do love how some traditional 'getting married' activities bring you close to all of those other people you love in your life, too. i don't see my girls that often, so clearly i am looking forward to spending all that quality time with them.

lacma

wherever i go - if there's a museum of modern art, it's on my to see list. these places usually are beacons of good design, art and architecture. and though i've seen my fair share of beautiful museums, nothing could have prepared me for the wonderfulness of lacma.

the building, its collections, the location, the cafe, the shop and even the outdoor area - everything felt so right and inspiring and interesting. notice how i can't even properly describe it. so since my english seems to fail me in trying to convince you to go there, have another look at the pictures, will you?

also - my visit to lacma made me understand where so much of my personal aesthetic is rooted. i can tell anyone i'm an east coast girl as loud as i want, but apparently california has had a serious hand in defining my style preferences.

modefabriek

it wasn't the fashion that inspired me most at modefabriek yesterday (neon, colored jeans, bright stripes: basically nothing new for ss13), but what was happening in the periphery. rotterdam lunch 'n brunch place picknick installed little catering corners, i spent way too much time investigating the contents of the options store, and i loved the colorful balloons in the press corner.

more corners

so apparently i can't shake my fascination with geometric shapes. i would happily add this sculpture and lamp to my interior (if i weren't moving to a 50 square meters apartment, that is.)

paper sculpture by present & correct / pilke lamp by tuukka hanonen for skandium via dezeen

wise words for the weekend

ya hear me?

poster by weekday carnival

score+solder

i love having green around the house - i'm just not very good at it. since cactuses and succulents seem to be the only plants that are able to survive my special brand of tlc, i am seriously considering investing in a few terrariums. honestly, these geometric kinds by score and solder look nice even without any plants in them.

1 / 2 / 3

aire de bardenas

i'm actually not quite done telling you guys about our trip to california, but i already wanted to share our experience at aire de bardenas in spain last week. we were visiting friends in the pyrenees and made a short two-day trip to the tudela area to stay at this hotel. i can't really describe it, but if i had to try, it would go like this: think design container camp in the middle of nowhere (and that nowhere actually looks a lot like california!)

we really liked our airy room with a little garden and the interiors of the hotel (except for the restaurant - a little too dark and overwhelming for us), but we especially loved the outside spaces like the patio, veggie garden, industrial swimming pool and the patch of trees smack in the middle of the little domain. if i were planning a wedding, i could definitely see it happening here. oh, wait a second. :)

during the day it was nearly too hot for the gap shorts and madewell top i was wearing, but by night it cooled off enough to wear my club monaco striped sweater