Petit déjeuner

Gebroeders Niemeijer, nieuwendijk 35, Amsterdam

Do you know where our plans on going to Paris this summer were created? Yup, at Gebroeders Niemeijer. While me and my friend were eating and enjoying our petit pains et croissants avec confiture et beurre, with some freshly squeezed orange juice and a nice cup of tea, we decided we should visit the city of lights for a few days together. This place, and this delicious breakfast, definitely reminds me of Paris (and France in general), expect for one thing: the waiters, they are actually friendly.

I heard a lot of good things about this lunchroom, their patisserie must be to die for. They sell macarons, so I certainly have to visit again. You know, to do some research on French food….  They bake their own bread in the bakery down below the restaurant, which make the whole place smell terribly good. Go there for lunch (baquette with San Daniele, gruyère or manchego Romero), for tea (tart tartin or tartelette au chocolat), for breakfast (pain au chocolat or brioche and some fresh fruit) or for take away. Just go there! (*must warn you: you might want to go to France after you've been here..)

Sorry for the bad quality pictures, I forgot to bring my real camera with me. 

Ps. You know how I love places with high quality food and low prices. Gebr. Niemeijer is another one on my list!

Hello Mr. Sun

Let me start by saying I’m not a Bieber fan. There’s no Bieber Fever at my place (even though we did had such a blast in Malapascua dancing with the local kids on his songs). But, sometimes I do have a weak spot (or should I say embarrassing weak spot?) for this kind of music. These British and American high school boys with catchy tunes and happy lyrics. Okay, well some of them might have graduated from high school a loonggg time ago, but they still fit in the same category according to me ;). Justin Nozuka, Jason Reeves, Matt Wertz (“Carolinaaa”),  Jon McLaughin, Tyler Ward.. You name it.
Anyway, I just found another one (thanks to Grey’s Anatomy’s soundtrack): the 23 year old Joe Brooks from Southampton! Get rid of your cranky dark mood and listen to this Mr. Sun on Spotify (or Youtube of course, if you do not use this fantastic player. Yet.)

Here's to the girl who holds her heart out for the world
Not worried if her song is out of key
And here's to the boy who loves the girl and tells her so
Couldn't give a damn what other people think

*Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!*

Happy List III

1. Planning a sweet little trip to Paris this summer
2. Wining and dining with friends on a Saturday night
3. Strawberry breakfast
4. Daydreaming about macarons at Ladurée, having a picknick at Jardin Luxembourg, eating this pizza, cycling along the Champs-Élysées, shopping here and here, strolling around Montmatre, having breakfast at Paul.. *sight*
5. Reading exciting travel stories from people who travelled through China
6. Drinking freshly squeezed orange juice and green tea, sitting in the sun, starting my day properly
7. My attempt to make home-made macarons.. Difficult! But fun J
8. Watching the craters on the moon and the ring around Saturn with a very good telescope, breathtaking!
9. Buying new All stars (even though they’re still so white they hurt my eyes ha-ha)
10. Painting my finger- and toenails in the same pretty color

Eco-style arm candy

www.bagladies.com

Well, this must be familiar to all of you: while your groceries are being scanned at the checkout, you realize you forgot to bring a bag with you. Again! By now, I have a huge collection of plastic bags (costing 19cents each) from the supermarket that’s still growing since I keep on forgetting to bring them with me. This is not only a waste of money, but most of all it’s just super bad for the environment.

So, are you already familiar with Bagladies? A company offering fashionable and funny alternatives to these supermarket plastic bags. The original concept was from Caroline Yates, who created a tote made of organic cotton. This ‘I am Not A Plactis Bag’-bag was designed to encourage people not to use to much plastic bags. While the orginal price was just 15 dollar, the bag is now being sold for about 400 dollars on eBay since it’s so popular.

Luckily, Bagladies isn’t that expensive, but their message is the same. Stop using plastic bags, start using ours. Their prices are between 7 and 50 Euros, which gives you a fancy bag made of 100% organic cotton.

Now, I see what you’re thinking: if you forget to bring one of your own plastic bags to the store, why wouldn’t you forget this bag as well? Well, maybe I like them so much, I can bring it with me all the time! (and I’m sure they will totally match with my grocery-shopping outfit: hoodie, all-stars, sweatpants *wink wink*)

“It is durable, environmentally friendly and will last a lifetime; the perfect plastic bag alternative. Oh and you will look incredibly stylish of course!” (Bagladies.com)

The Invisible Man

So.. did you or didn’t you had to look twice to notice the man in the photo’s? Awesome isn’t it? The man in the pictures, a Chinese artist named Liu Bolin, observes and observes and then paints himself to look just like his surroundings. To take one photo costs him about 10 hours, just to make sure he totally blends in with his background. And no, there’s totally no photo shop at work here!
*he’s standing in front of the wheel, I seriously stared at it for a good 30 seconds before I found the guy*

Even though he’s knew for me, Bolin started this art project already in 2005. He sees it as some kind of protest against the Chinese government who make it very difficult for artists in China. He calls it his “silent protest against the state”, since he’s constantly standing still and is secretly hiding in the city.

I think it’s very funny and super well done and I can’t resist to show you a few more: 

My 'vintage 2.55'-dream

Moriaan, 2de Anjeliersdwarsstraat 19, Amsterdam

When I’m vintage shopping I’m always secretly hoping I’ll run into a vintage Chanel 2.55. Until now that didn’t happen… But still;)! I do like vintage shopping, but I must say most of the time I’m on the lookout for vintage design. A well hidden Alexander McQueen party dress, a Ralph Lauren purple label blazer or a pair of YSL boots, you name it. Oh yes and bags, an vintage Gucci tote (with their old monogram), a nicely weathered LV or perhaps even a Balenciaga..! Sight..

Anyway, a few weeks ago I found out about this vintage shop in my neighborhood, called Moriaan. No, I don’t think this is the place-to-be to find a designer piece (although, you never know..), but they do have some real nice dresses, boots and bangles. I really like how the shop is arranged, all sorted by color. And how you can quickly scan if there’s anything you might like, because you don’t have to dig into big piles of musty smelling clothes. They even sell children’s clothes, dating from the fifties and sixties, which are just fabulous. I mean, look at this hilarious mini blazer below:

But, what I mostly like about this shop, is that their collection is far more special and exclusive, than when you go to Zipper or Episode for instance (I mean, I’ve seen enough of these vintage Adidas jackets and Levi 501’s). Most of the collection contains clothing from the sixties until the eighties.

So if there’s another sunny day coming up, take a stroll through this small neighborhood (my favorite pizzeria, Perla, is only a stone’s throw away!) and make sure you check out this boutique as well.

Finding my inner DIY

I’m always on the lookout for fine new bracelets. Recently I bought myself a few of these Brazilian good-luck-bracelets. They have a lot of different colors, all representing something like love, wisdom, concentration, success or confidence. That might come in handy on time or another, right? Anyway, I just spotted these DIY rope bracelets and I think they’re perfect! Their original design is from Miansai and you’ll pay just about 95dollar per bracelet (*cricket sound*). Definitely DIY-material!

I must admit, beside the occasional drawing or doodling, I’m not that much into crafting anymore. But, I like to make a exception for these fine accessories and go find my inner do-it-your-self-er! It shouldn't be to hard, should it? On the website they explain it step by step, accompanied by clear photos. Maybe, if they succeeded I’ll share the result with you. Or maybe not ;)

Happy List II

Things that put a grin on my face last week:

1. The celebration of my sisters birthday on a beautiful sunny day
2. Having prosecco and blueberry pancakes for breakfast
3. A fountain filled with soap
4. Trying out all of my delicious new smoothie recipes (they taste great, even though they look quite nasty sometimes)
5. Homemade pizza with Mozzarella di Buffala from Perla, woah never tasted anything like that!
6. Drinking a fine glass of wine while the sun slowly sets
7. My mum’s mouthwatering pie’s, one with courgette one with tomato and brie, hmm!
8. Singing songs around the camp fire, accompanied by the guitar (and me pretending to play the guitar …)
9. Taking a little nap in a park in the evening sun in Weimar
10. Buying myself one of my favorite summertime treats: frozen yogurt! @ Frozz

*Oops, while reading back my list I realize I mention food very often when it comes to happy
moments in my life. Hm, it’s true. I’m not even ashamed of it. ;)

An oasis of rest: the real one

Begijnhof, Spui, Amsterdam

Remember my post about Zara Home as an oasis of rest in the Kalverstraat? Well, I actually forgot that there’s a real oasis of rest in the city center of Amsterdam. I just found out about it a year ago, but now I visit it every once in a while when I feel like taking a break from the bustle of the city. I’m talking about the Begijnhof, a small medieval courtyard located within the Singel of Amsterdam.

On a the street called Spui (next to The American Book Center), there’s a big wooden door, leading to a small corridor which brings you to the courtyard. This entrance has only been here for about a century, since the Begijnhof used to be enclosed by water. It could only be reached through a bridge at the other side of it. It used to be a monastery, but after it had been renovated in 1979 they turned in into homes. This place has a long history. The exact date of foundation isn’t clear, but it’s about 1300. During two big fires (The Great Fires) in 1421 and 1452, a big part of the Begijnhof got destroyed and needed to be rebuilt. In 1578 there was a big revolution in Amsterdam, where the Protestants took the power away from the Catholics and shut down their churches (also the one in the Begijnhof). In the beginning the Catholics came together in one of the houses, later on they decided to (secretly) built another chapel to practice their faith. A lot of things changed since 1700 inside the court, for instance most of the houses were rebuilt with brick walls, but there is still one wooden house left (probably the oldest still existing house in the Netherlands).

Immediately after closing the door behind you, you can feel the peace and tranquility from this yard. You can just walk around en look at the old houses or sit down on a bench and just enjoy the silence. Each time I sit here, I always notice other people also just reading their books or drinking their coffee-to-go, preparing their selves for another day n the city.

Whenever you walk past the entrance at the Spui, just take a little peek inside, I bet you’ll enjoy it. 

This is really worth a detour

Trattoria Pocicino, Schadowstraße 11, Düsseldorf

While driving home from our little trip to Germany last week, we decided to make a quick detour to Düsseldorf. After living the good life for a couple of days (eating out both for lunch and dinner) we figured the best way to end this lovely habit was to have a final lunch at one of our favorite spots in Düsseldorf before going back to our normal routine. So we went to Trattoria Poccino.

This Italian restaurant is located inside a shopping mall called Shadow Arkaden. Let's just say that it shouldn't be judged by its interior. They have a large terrace outside, which is a great place to check out all of the upper-class Düsseldorf residents who come here to show their new wife, bag or botox (just kidding!). You can also sit inside and watch how the cooks prepare your dinner.

I love their tortellini ‘Buongustatio’, filled with ricotta and spinach topped off with mushrooms and a creamy sauce (and I think the word ‘Nudeltaschen’ is hilarious), but their pappardelle alla ‘Toscana’ are delicious as well. It all tastes very authentic, just the way I love my Italian food. Like I said, I can be very conservative when it comes to food, so all I ever order at this place was their tortellini. But it’s just so great! Note to self: next time you’re at Poccino, try something else!

Oh and did I mention the fact that this Italian hotspot is not expensive at all? Think 8 Euros for a good pasta with real parmazan, served with complementary bread and olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 

Photo: poccino.com

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Take my bread away

Vlaamsch Broodhuys, Haarlemmerstraat 108, Amsterdam

Last week I finally had lunch at this place. I’d been there before to buy some bread and cakes, but now we’ve made it to their lunchroom. For lunch, you can order one of Dimitri’s Sandwiches, a salad or a quiche. Or you can pick a ‘savory plate’ for two, for people who can’t choose (like me). When you order such a plate, you get a fine combination of their cheeses (like goat cheese and mozzarella), sausages (salami) and salads (with chicken or tuna) and a basket filled with all kinds of bread. We sat there for about 2,5 hours and we kept on eating (okay and chatting and chatting and chatting), while ordering nice latte’s and tea’s. Big asset: you pay just 7,95 Euros per person for a plate like that, which is an incredibly good price for what you get.

While waiting for our lunch we saw a little boy eating a chocolate muffin and we almost stared it off of his plate because it looked so good (and I bet it tasted even better, since he scraped every inch of the paper cup with his fork so he wouldn’t miss a crumb of it). And as much as we wanted to try it for ourselves, our bellies were stuffed after our big lunch. So if you happen to visit it soon, try one for me!

In Amsterdam you can find Het Vlaamsch Broodhuys also at the Eerste Constantijn Huygensstraat, the Elandsgracht and the Vijzelstraat. But they also have stores in Utrecht and Rotterdam.