29-02-2012

2 nights of Amsterdam

Amsterdam, good food, music, shopping and expositions.
Ambiance shot

Music
Our city trip started with marvelous concert by tUnE YarDs. Their lead singer, Merill Garbus is an amazing artist.
The line of fluorescent paint on her face, and a giant feather earring made her look like a sweet little bird.
But looks are deceptive, because when she started singing, she turned into a genuine indian warrior (and not the sweet Pocahontas kind :)). But enough about her appearance, I loved her so much for other reasons. The sampling she does for example: she samples her own voice and the drums, so she can sing and play a small guitar while the drums keep playing.

The songs made me long for sun and freshly cut gras. The cheery tunes got everyone dancing and wanting more.
In short, a very nice performance, hope to see her again during a festival in the summer. 
Never heard of them? Listen to some tunes and look at a performence here.

Food
Love for my tummy and a delicious Foodgasm are the things that I got on my plate in Amsterdam.
At De Goudfazant,a huge restaurant in a building that used to be some kind of pilot, you get a simple menu with fancy words (read a lot of French, which according to me 70% of their customers do not understand) and some humor. You won't stop smiling when your food arrives. Nice portions, not too big, not too small of perfectly cooked food, served by an extremely friendly staff.
Heavenly mud by Hans Bormans
One little disadvantage: it's in the middle of nowhere, so get enough money for a cab, or make sure you have a gps.
That foodgasm I was talking about was given to me by the chef of Pont 13. A wonderful restaurant on a boat. Yes, a boat! The man who cooks in that gorgeous kitchen (you can see how everything is prepared) is my new hero. Their dishes are an instant way to happines. No need to say more: Yum!

Shopping
I can brief the whole experience by saying this: if my boyfriend buys: two pairs of shoes, a sweater AND gets a lovely (and cheap) haircut, I can assure you this is a great shopping city.
The fact that I bought a dress and three pairs of earrings isn't really a miracle I suppose :) 
second hand treasures
Foam
Foam stands for Fotomuseum Amsterdam, where Joel Sternfeld, a pioneer in color photography, was exposing an overview of his work. Without beating around the bush: I love him. His mission is to capture the American landscape, and I must say, he's doing a good job.
Here's one of my favourit shots:

The man has made very interesting series. Like On This Site where he fotographs places that seem random, and not interessing. But then you read subtext and learn that someone has been killed or society failed.
He's also capable of photographing people in a very particular way. Some explames can be found here.


Even though the weather was kind of grey and it was only two nights, I must say I had been a long time since I had felt so rested and ready for monday.
Tulips anyone?

Special thanks must go to our wonderful and uber fancy hotel Citizen M
I must apoligize for the lack of photos. I was VERY lazy, shame on me!
Love, I

23-02-2012

The road to a logo

Since I'm the adventurous type (running through the city on 10 cm heels is an adventure), I decided to try something completely new.
So when the boyfriend asked me to make a little something for his dj-duo Cheap Charly Men, I gave it my best shot
Designing a logo, I must say is not a piece of cake.
Endless respect to all you graphic designers out there.
I ended up making a whole lot of little things, so here I present to you: the road to a logo, a work in progress.
The Disco versions


And we aren't there yet! More to come soon
Love, I

07-02-2012

What to do on a snowy sunday: & of Vintage Market


Brussel - 10°C, or way too cold to go outside!
After a couple of hours of doubt, I realized that the & of Vintage Market (you can find them on facebook and their own website ) was only one metro ride away.
So, I stopped whining and put on an extra sweater.
And boy, was I glad that I did.
Disco

The & of Vintage Market can be found once a month, at the beautiful K-nal,  a rather big building with view on the water in the North of Brussels
As I entered this building that I had only seen in the dark (during Libertine Suppersport) I was amazed by it's cosiness. You could eat, drink and enjoy jewelry downstairs ( as Elle noticed as well) and upstairs was a
retro-lover playground with shoes, clothes and accessories.
Underneath the bling bling coming from the discoballs on the ceiling you could find gorgeous purses, shoes to die for, and a lot of hipsters looking for a hidden treasure.
It was very crowded, I guess a little bit of snow doesn't stop a Brussels vintage-seeker from finding what he/ she needs. Yes ladies 'he' as well, I spotted a lot of young men on this Market. The organization even understands their needs (read: they do'nt like to search through a huge amount of clothes) and puts up nice little signposts for them, how cute is that!


Men's corner

For the impulsive buyer the & of Vintage Market is ideal since you can only pay in cash. You choose a budget, and you can't exceed.




Let the purse search begin!











 Are you thinking 'want, want, want' than don't worry, the next & of Vintage Market will be on the 4th of March, between 1 and 7 pm.

Love, I

02-02-2012

A walk in the cold


Come back and look around


What's behind that door?
Brussels- 2 feb 2012