November 20th

I just realised that I still need to catch up with two tags I received a while ago. I was tagged by two lovely girls, Amy from the-shades-of-black and M from cross my heart and kiss my elbow. Thank you so much for that!

For these tags I need to list 6 unimportant things that make me happy. (I've answered this one before, but you can never think of too many happy things can you?)

So here we go again:

* watching Will & Grace
I can watch every single episode over and over again without ever getting sick of their jokes!


* eating yoghurtgums
the best kind of candy there is


* listening to Ray LaMontagne's music
I've only recently discovered his music but I'm already deeply in love with his voice and lyrics. If you're not familiar with his music yet I would really recommend it!


1. its fall in the leaves, 2. incomplete metamorphosis, 3. Untitled, 4. Sleepwalking VI., 5. Smoking Kills, 6. red, 7. Untitled, 8. Untitled, 9. silhouette
* coming across beautiful photographs on flickr

* rearranging my closet
there's something weirdly relaxing and therapeutic about rearranging things

* making lists
lists of movies I've seen, places I want to visit, purchases, wishlists, things to do, things I like, in my book there's a list for everything

Now that's done, I reckoned it was a good idea to dedicate the rest of this post to a bunch of random things:

Like the fact that I really like these outfits:

And that I should watch these movies again, soon!

How I want this bag from Topshop, despite the fact that I think it's a bit overpriced. It looks so roomy and beautiful, and the colour is just perfect!

Also, my birthday is coming up in less than 3 weeks but, as always, I haven't got a clue about what gifts I should ask for. So any recommendations would be deeply appreciated!

Last but not least, a very sincere thank you for all your wonderful comments ♥

October Road

Bonjour everyone!

Let's start with the tag that was given to me by the oh so cute and very kind tea drinking english rose. Thank you!

the rules are: mention the person who nominated you. list 6 unimportant things that make you happy. tag 5 blogs. state the rules. notify them with a teeny comment on their blog that they have been nominated.

1. cuddling with my bunny
2. pink skies
3. watch a polaroid photograph develop
4. driving on the highway while listening to my favourite music
5. being able to stuff myself with what seems to be an endless amount of chinese food
6. planning future travels

And I'll nominate heart in a cage, mila, margot, cleolikesyou and jess!

October picks
this month's favourites:

- origami cranes
I've been folding a huge amount of cranes these past few weeks in order to make an origami mobile. I'm not done yet but I'm sure it will turn out magnificently!

- watching globe trekker
my latest addiction. 4 times a day is not nearly often enough to keep my constant hunger for new countries satisfied. If there would be something like a globe trekker channel, I'd be sitting behind the tv 24/7.

- peel apart polaroids
these brilliant photographs have something so enormously charming about them, but unfortunately the price is a bit less agreeable. Luckily there's flickr.

- aquaria
I love the underwater world. Dolphins, coloured fish, squids, they're all so lovely and intriguing to look at.

- fall leaves
the weather may be cold and wet, but at least the trees are dressed in the most magnificent colours. And how much fun is it to go for a walk in the woods and come home with a whole bunch of colourful and beautifully shaped leaves?

- cropped (faux) fur jackets
I. Like. Them. Got one myself this week. Hate the real ones though.

- birds
There's something about birds I find so beautiful. I just love looking at them. Or at pictures of them. Or drawings. Or whatever other shape or form they come in.

- wall decoration
Posters, postcards, drawings, as long as you can put it on a wall, I like it.

- this fantastic editorial

photos from flickr (click on image for the link), theselby.com, thefashionspot and moi meme

And thank you for all your kind comments! I will respond to them ASAP!

Take photographs for fun, for fun

What better way to start a post then with some beautiful images:

1. Untitled, 2. rain bow hat, 3. Outside, 4. TwinSisterMoon, 5. Sweden summer '08, 6. theexecutionofallthings, 7. Untitled, 8. Untitled, 9. bird on blue, 10. samisen, 11. lape kukli, 12. Untitled, 13. Untitled, 14. swan ghosts, 15. Untitled, 16. ok

***

In a couple of weeks I'll be redecorating my bedroom, and I'm très très excited about the whole thing. I'm planning to give my wall a complete make over by decorating it with lots of frames and posters and whatever looks nice. Got a lot of inspiration from these beautiful images which I found on theselby.com and flickr:

***

I received this wonderful award from both mila and ariella! Merci beaucoup! I'm supposed to pass this award on to 7 other blogs I love and those are:

Restée Rêveuse, sweet dreams till sunbeams find me, discotheque confusion, chic looks, hello sailor! , coccinelle and intimate vignettes!

Hope you'll enjoy it!

How I'd wish I had an endless supply of polaroid film. It's funny how something as simple as a photograph can evoke such an immense feeling of instant happyness. Took these yesterday, in the late afternoon. I love autumn and it's everchanging colours.

Viva la Vida

The ever so lovely tea drinking english rose surprised me with a wonderful blog award! Now that is one gift that is always welcome! Merci beaucoup :)
For this award I'm going to nominate heart in a cage, mila, joanne, allure, luyi and jillian!

***

Talking about lovely things, last week I came across these polaroids of Michelle Williams from boy by band of outsiders and I ADORE them. Michelle is so adorable and both the light and colours in these photographs are beautiful!

***

I was actually lucky enough to be given yet another pretty award, this one by the charming Luyi. Thank you! If you ask me, daydream lily, knight cat, sophie jade, the search for chic and mettch all deserve this award as well, so I will pass it on to them!

***

Now it's time for something completely different. Last friday I received a packet from Hong Kong, carrying a bunch of new instax cassettes! Took a few photographs over the weekend but I'm not quite sure how I feel about them. Nevertheless, I'm still very excited about my Instax camera!

***

One last thing I really need to share (oui, it's indeed a pathetic cry for sympathy) is the following. Last week I was stupid enough to cut my hair. And since I'm fully aware of the fact that great minds think alike, even when it comes to stupid actions, I wasn't surprised when I saw Kate Moss with the same haircut I got. But can anyone tell me why she looks insanely cool with her new hairdo while I look like a cross between a dorky 8 year old and a middle aged secretary?

I must never cut my hair again. Ever.

***

To finish this ridiculously incoherent post, here are some more flickr favourites of mine:

1. c is for camera, 2. lipstick and ghosts , 3. Lomo self-made development - experiment1- the old man and the sea, 4. D _ LE 11, 5. Pastries and Scones, 6. Untitled, 7. Untitled, 8. Untitled, 9. kaysie - naples beach

Time flies

Bonjour mes lecteur(e)s!

Thank you very much for all the lovely comments, I will try to catch up on responding to them as soon as possible!

***

the adorable Ariella from pearls in your hair tagged me with the habits list, so let's start with that:

1. Clothes shop: I don't know. I'm having such a hard time finding anything decent these days. Whether I go to H&M or to a more exclusive store, almost nothing manages to live up to my expectations. The fit is wrong, colours are off, the overall style of current collections is simply not my cup of tea. And I'm affraid that isn't going to change anytime soon. Fortunately I really like clothes hanging in my closet.

2. Furniture shop: Ikea. I don't care about the fact that probably half the world owns my hensvik bookcase or my hjärta pillow. I love everything they sell and if I could live in an actual Ikea store, believe me, I would.

3. Sweet: icecream smoothies with strawberries and banana.

4. City: Paris aka my one true love <3

6. Music: lately I've been going through a Michael Jackson and the Doors phase, I literally can't stop listening to them. And I'm terribly excited about Kings of Leon's new album that will be released on september the 22nd.

7. Tv-series: I just love Jericho. It's such a shame they never got to finish the second season, my monday nights will never be the same. Other than that I'm probably the biggest Law & Order Criminal Intent fan you will ever meet. I can watch every single episode over and over again and still not get bored. I'm also crazy about 24. My family even makes jokes about it. Last year my mother got me a fake Jack Bauer watch for Christmas, I'm telling you, it was the best gift ever!

8. Film: At the moment I'm obsessed with Juno, as you might have read in my previous post. I can't get over how charming that movie is.

9. Work out: I don't work out. At all. I wish I could convince myself to get off my lazy butt and do something but I just hate sports. The only exercise I get is walking my dog, and that's not even something I do on a regular basis, yes shame on me.

10. Pastries: I think I love all pastries. Especially chocolate croissants, cupcakes, creampuffs, cheesecake, you name it.

11. Coffee: I don't drink coffee. Starbucks is only good for one reason and that would be their chocolat frappuchino's. Now those I do drink!

***

This week I purchased the most awesome camera on ebay! A Fujifilm instax instant camera to be exact. It's pretty similar to a Polaroid camera yet the film is a lot cheaper and more importantly, still produced! Now I'm anxiously awaiting it's arrival ;)

***

Yet another tag. The lovely Mila from Loveology gave me a present (thanks!), a bff gold card and I don't even have to spend the money wisely! So what shall I use this generous gift for?

To prevent the list from getting endless I will only name 5 'things', starting with:
- a little Puggle friend for Max. They are just too cute!
- a month long trip to la belle Paris together with my friends. So we can wander around the city, take a trillion photographs, eat good food and do some serious fall shopping

- a diana dreamer camera and a lifelong supply of film. I've been in love with this pretty version of the diana camera ever since it first appeared on urbanoutfitters.com
- chinese food, loads and loads of it

- a holiday to an exotic place with my family

I'm not going to tag anyone this time, but if you feel like answering one or both of the above tag questionnaires, consider yourself tagged by me ;)

***

This morning, after a relentless search, I was finally able to track down the new issue of Lula magazine. When it's first scan's started circulating the web I wasn't at all enthousiastic, but the more saw the more I liked it and when I was finally able to gaze at this issue in real life I was sold. It's once again filled with beautiful photography and great interviews, quite a relief when mainstream magazines are getting more and more dull each month.

That's it for today, perhaps I'll do another post tomorrow. Have a great weekend!

Sunday Smile

This post took a little while but here it is. I got tagged by the delightful tea drinking english rose, who not only has a great blog but also did a great job on making the premio look a lot prettier! And as I've learned today, the lovely Mettch has tagged me as well! Thanks girls!

The Rules:
1) When received, you may post the premio on your blog
2) Link to the blogger you received from
3) Give it to 4 blogs
4) And link to those blogs
5) Also, leave those four bloggers a comment about receiving the brilliant premio.

So now I have to pick 4 bloggers to give this premio to, which is a really small number considering there are quite a few more bloggers who would totally deserve it (but I hope you know who you are even without the premio confirmation!)

My choices will be (surprise, surprise) : Mila from Loveology , Kim from Heart-in-a-Cage , Heloïse j. from In This Style 10/6 and Lana from Smells Like LonPardonis! Hope you enjoy this pretty premio!

I like you

The wonderful 'Mila' from Loveology tagged me and now I have to name 6 things I currently like and tag some other people to do the same.

Well, here they are:
1. Baking cupcakes. Even without baking skills it can be done, and they taste like heaven!

2. Art books. Illustrations, photography, paper art, Impressionism, fashion, my wishlist goes on and on.

3. Watching Travel Channel. I've been a Globe Trekker addict for years and years and it's a nice surrogate for summer holiday as I won't be traveling anywhere myself. At least not any time soon.

4. Daft Punk's Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger dance routine. It's genius and silly at the same time and I would love to learn it myself.

5. Rummaging around my room. Cleaning out my closet, sorting through my bookcase, create some order in my deskdrawers, rearrange the furniture, it's all good.

6. Short suede ankle boots. I'm in love with these APC ones but am equally enamoured by the original ones from Isabel Marant. If only I could find a similar pair for this winter!

I tag: Heloïse j. , Laurel, Jillian, Joie de Vivre and Joanne!

Proust?

+Maco+

the lovely S.C. from for the moment asked me to fill in this Proust questionnaire. As always, I'm more than happy to oblige.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Being pleased with who I am.

What is your greatest fear?
Losing a loved one.

What historical figure do you most identify with?
I have yet to come across that kind of person. I don't know nearly as much as I would like about most historical figures, so any identification with one of them would most probably be an inaccurate one.

Which living person do you most admire?
My mother.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Insecurity.

What is the trait you most despise in others?
Disloyalty.

What is your greatest extravagance?
Books, food, clothes, traveling.

On what occasion do you lie?
When I feel like comforting someone with a lie would be better than hurting someone with the truth.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?
I absolutely hate how small my waist is.

Which living person do you most despise?
Any person who deliberately chooses to hurt another human being or animal.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
(roughly translated) I'm hungry/ oh well/ nevertheless/ what are we doing today?

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Be more appreciative of what life has brought me so far.

If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
I'd wish they were a bit more open minded and less self absorbed.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Being where I am right now.

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
I honestly don't know. I feel like any answer I could possibly give would come out of arrogance anyway.

If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be?
A dolphin.

Who are your favorite writers?
JD Salinger, Jonathan Safran Foer and Oscar Wilde.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Blue Van Meer

What is your most treasured possession?
My photographs.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Not being able to see the beauty in life.

Where would you like to live?
France. Eventhough Paris would be great, I think I might prefer to live in a tiny house situated in a small village somewhere in the Cote d'Azur.

What is your most marked characteristic?
My sense of humour (I hope).

What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Courage and self awareness.

What is your greatest regret?
I try to not have any.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
I think it's a little early to answer that question.

If there is a Heaven what would you like to hear God say when you arrive?
I don't believe in God. At least not in the religious sense of the word. I know it's not the answer to the question, but I find it impossible to come up with something more appropriate.

How would you like to die?
As a happy person.

How will you die?
I prefer to not think about that.

I'm not quite sure if I'm supposed to tag others, so if you want fill in this questionnaire yourself please just go ahead and do so ;)

Let's boogie..

I got tagged by the très lovely Jillian from nova.style and the magnificent heart-in-a-cage!

The Rules: "List 7 songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, wether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions with your 7 songs, then tag 7 people to see what they're listening to.

Manhattan/Cold Desert/whatever it's called - Kings of Leon
I can't stop listening to KOL's newest song. It's both addictive and brilliant. And now I really can't wait for their new album to come out. Why oh why is september still three months away?

Hey Hey Hey - Room Eleven
Because it makes me happy.

Summer in the City - Regina Spektor
Eventhough the title gives you the illusion that this song is about sunny days and lazy afternoons in the park, this song is in fact the perfect example of how beautiful sadness can be.

la Noyee - Yann Tiersen
Amelie, Paris, Yann, summertime, all combined in one melody. Sheer brilliance, that's what this song and it's composer are.

Love her Madly - the Doors
I have never been a big fan of the Doors until I rediscovered their music a couple of months ago. I think watching the most fascinating documentary about the life and death of Jim Morisson must have triggered it. Anyway, Love her Madly brings a smile to my face and makes me want to dance like a crazy girl.

In Transit - Albert Hammond jr
THE ultimate summer song. Albert's voice might not yet be as good here as it is right now, but I think that's actually part of the song's charm.

Knocked up - Kings of Leon
the second KOL song on my list. It could have easily been a list with nothing but KOL songs, as I'm addicted to their music, but that would have been pretty boring. Knocked up was one of those songs I never really appreciated until I heard a live version of it. And now I can't stop listening to it. Seven minutes might seem long, but I wish this song would go on forever....

The people I tage are:
A.V.A, Allure, Héloïse j., Ariella, Nita-Karoliina, <3 fashion chalet and little parisienne
It's up to you now!

I've been tagged

Today I got tagged by the wonderful Laurel! So here we go:

The Rules:
Post the Rules, Answer all the questions, Tag 6 people and let them know.

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
Let's see, ten years ago I was ten years old and anxiously awaiting summer holiday. Most probably passing time by running around the streets, playing ballgames with the other kids, half my class lived in the same street, and stuffing myself with loads of candy on a daily basis. Those were happy times!

2. What are 5 things on your to-do list today?
1. eat lunch, it's only 11am and I'm already hungry
2. some shopping this late afternoon
3. walk my dog, not really something I'm looking forward to considering it's rainy and cold.
4. watch law & order svu tonight
5. look through the book I just received and perhaps start reading the first few pages

3. Snacks you enjoy...
I think it would be harder to come up with a snack I don't enjoy. I will pretty much eat anything from the snack department. Fries, burgers, pizza, anything with molten cheese, crisps, fried chicken, cookies, you name it. I know it's not healthy but [insert a lame excuse here]

4. Places you have lived...
I've been living in the same place my whole life. With the fullest intention of getting out of here as soon as possible. The town I live in is located in the south of the Netherlands, and has somewhere around a 1000 inhabitants. It's as boring as you suspect it is and I think that everyone who has been here longer than 30 minutes would agree.

5. 5 things you would do if you were a billionaire?
1. Travel the world! Kenya, Japan, Sweden, Russia, Egypt, India, Greece, South Africa, the Middle East, the USA, China, the list goes on and on.
2. Buy a house in the south of France and an appartment in Paris. It's my ultimate dream to live in France one day.
3. Donate a lot of money to charity and become a volunteer myself so I can help out and at the same time make sure that the money is well spend and doesn't end up in the hands of those who have no claim to it. I think that would be a very fullfilling existence.
4. Make sure that the people I love are taken care of financially.
5. Start buying the things I've always wanted to have but could never afford.

6. People you want to know more about...
Marlene Dietrich, Lenin, J.D. Salinger, Sofia Coppola, Kofi Annan, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Jim Morrison, Jean-Paul Sartre and many others. I'm always intrigued by other people's influences and motivations.

Well, that was fun!
I hereby tag: mila-loveology, heart-in-a-cage, lana, anna, sophiejade and boutdelu