Oct 31, Style du jour - Yesterday evening

Dress : Zara
Bodywarmer : Zara (and my God, it WAS a bodyWARMer)
skirt : H&M
tights : Doré Doré
belt : Hermès
boots : Vintage but I can tell that they were made in Italy ('cause the sole said so)
bracelet : Claire's

CC* style tip :
always use at least 1 *expensive* item on the outfit ; mainstreamers never can tell what part of your outfit only costs 29$ :-)
Invest in a good pair of tights : they're a bit more expensive than a Hennes pair but you will have so many colours to choose from and they last longer !
And it does upgrade your look, doesn't it ?

"Leiden" C-ya tomorrow !

Jihaa ! Another day off tomorrow ! When everyone is going to be really really sad on November 1st, I dare myself and push our family into the direction of the Netherlands !
They don't 'celebrate' their deaths as we do...they just open up their shops and we are quite happy with that !
Found Leiden through a mumsy magazine and they presented this village so nicely that my curiousity took over and decided to take a trip of 1 hour and a half into Holland.
Leiden is situated near Den Haag (the Hague) ; so for us in Antwerp-living Belgians not that far (seems like a walk in the park compared to our +3 hour trip to Paris this week and even that was not unpleasant.
Will show you guys all the details and little shops (or maybe I just keep a few as a secret) on my next Sunday blog.

"Het Zuid" - The South of Antwerp

The South area of Antwerp is known for it's trendy hotspots and cosy winebars & café's...
Centre meeting point of any student, local or trendsetter is The Museum of Fine Arts.
Until two years ago you could find people on the lawn just in front of the Museum. Now this has changed and the city has invested in a "watermirror" by the Spanish artist Cristina Iglesias.
Every seven minutes the water fills the pond fully, a simulation of ebb and flow. At the bottom panels ar placed in this way that the viewer sees the reflection of the Museum in the water and later when the water runs away again, the oxidated leaves re-appear ...

faces of Paris

J'ai deux amours, mon pays et Paris...

What to wear on a Saturday night out - part 2

coat: Valentino RED
sweater : Laundry Industry
pants : Zara
shoes : New Look
clutch : my secret but if you ask me nicely I'll let you into it ...:-)
camelia brooch : Chanel

What to wear on a Saturday night out

After I closed up (work) I did a bit of window shopping (I never ever buy anything on a Saturday, too busy, too many people that distract you) and it's alway nice to see a wonderful window display like the one I saw at 'Louis' today. Louis is known for it's lovely brands like Margiela and they've put a special edition of the Brilliant of Delvaux in their window.
A 'Brilliant' is a handbag that was specially designed in 1958 for the World's Expo and has been their most succesful number since.
Because of it's 50th birthday, Delvaux has asked some designers to make a special and limited edition of this handbag...
The 'ceci n'est pas un Delvaux' is my favourite ...

http://www.delvaux.be/

Steve Duteuil

Met Steve at Dagny's shop a few days ago...she is going to put an enlarged picture of him he took in Iceland on her blue wall.
Had a little chat with this Parisian born guy and just googled him...
OMG, the most beautiful pics of my beloved city Antwerp and so much more !
Check him out and keep following this talent !!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/steveduteuil/

Coffeeshop

I'm not a regular customer for my morning coffee. By that I mean that I don't want to sit in the exact same place or spot each and every morning. As I also like to check out new hotspots, this morning I took my chance and tried out the re-opened Espressoshop that has moved just across the street of where they used to be.
The interior is now completely white, modern and brighter...even when you came out with the right foot out of the wrong bed ;-))
or the other way around, this place gives you that extra extra shot that you will also find in your daily dose of cafeïne.
A very nice girl welcomed me and we chatted about coffee and hotspots while she was preparing my latte...
As you can see in the picture, not a regular or mainstream safe cup but a beautiful glass version with a perfectly made latte ...
10 points from me !!
She will definitely see me again, trying out those other flavours.
Until now, we don't have a Starbucks in Antwerp, so I guess we just have to enjoy these little surprises we tend to find just around the corner.

Oil & Vinegar

Love this shop in town !
They just re-opened and have the most gourgeous herbs and chocolats and olive oils. As I'm willing to try anything new, I've brought these 2 new items home and I must say, the taste as good as they look...

Outside Antwerp, snapshots of my favourites at Interieur 08 Kortrijk

Some pictures of the items I liked the best last Sunday ...

Veronique Branquinho

Veronique was born in 1973 in Vilvoorde.
She studied fashion design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. In 1997 she presented her first collection under her own name in Paris. She also founded her company in Antwerp at the same time.
Her collection includes women's and men's designer wear, shoes and sunglasses. In August 2003 she opened her flagshipstore in Antwerp. Celebrating the 10th anniversary at the Spring Summer 08 show. In March 2008 she presented at the MoMu in Antwerp the exhibition "Moi VERONIQUE BRANQUINHO TOute NUe" with an overview of all her collections.
She also designed a mini-collection for 3 Suisses.

dEUS, Tom Barman - Mauro

You can run into these guys anytime in Antwerp ; they are so down to earth...love their looks and their music even more !

Lobby pictures

Breakfast & hotel hotspot

Imagine...
friendly welcome, design but warm interior, windows with a beautiful view to the outside world, hot coffee in a golden cup, warm croissants and freshly made jam, freshly squeezed OJ, eggs and crispy bacon if you please, a fashion magazine...and Damien Rice as background music, what more does a (wo)man need ?
Go and find out yourself when your in town - if you're in Antwerp for business or pleasure, you can also enjoy one of the 3 hotelrooms...

I leave you guys with some pictures to see for yourselves...

Best beauty product of the month

As I am no fan of sunbeds, I've always been on a search to find a good sunless tanning product that don't make you look tangerine or has that bad smell self-tanner can produce...
I think I have found thé one....Guerlain, self-tanning 'baume voloptueux', a creamy texture that has this lightly golden shine in an instant, and does not smell too bad...in fact - even if you use this balm 3 days in a row, it doesn't stain or make you look like a freak.

Products of Guerlain can be found at Parfuma, Eiermarkt 31, 2000 Antwerpen

Oct 18th, Design du jour

As promised, I would go and visit Anne Zellien's shop today to watch the designs...
She had laid out the 38 little diamonds to let me see what kind of shape the ring eventually will have and let me try a similar model but with a blue gem.
The pink gem my ring will have is called a 'morganite'...
Now I now again and I hope I won't forget because the moment you start wearing her designs, people always get excited when they see the jewel you are wearing...
Have some pictures to show what kind of ring it will become in the end...Imagine it with the bright pink gem (the pink shows in one picture on the left in a box)
On my way to her shop, we walked by a new interior design shop called a.puur.a (translated as "A dot pure dot A")
In the window display we saw a tray with a deer head on it !
My shop is called 'oh deer' so you can imagine the scream it provoked...:-)

note : if the pics seem a bit blurry it's because I took them with my cellphone, sorry !!

Oct 17th, Style du jour on a Friday (late) night dinner

I was mentally wrecked yesterday and had to get out and see some familiar and nice people...
So I always go and have a bite downstairs, just across our building on the corner at The Artist..It's a French inspired Brasserie, Charles Aznavour and France Gall as background music...The boss is called Joël, a super-friendly and warm guy that gives his heart and soul to his business and clients.
He also has his regulars, André (picture still to come) and Pamak (you see him in the pictures "smirting" with my husband outside ;-) ,
Normally Joël's girlfriend Virginie is seen there but I think she called it a night and went home early so I did not get the chance to say hi...
Just leave you with a few images to let you feel how the "atmosphère" is inside The Artist

Cry baby # 2

Today started very sad .... a phone call of the Antwerp police informed me that there was a burglary in my shop ...
I was crying all the way to the shop but was happy at first sight to see they did not take any clothes or accessories ...
My second door was kicked in and they 'just' took my Macbook ....(a**holes)
Luckily I still have some back up and ther isn't too much lost...

Tomorrow I have to go to Anne Zellien, the jewel-designer, as she finished some drawings for my new ring to come...
I bought a bright pink oval stone (forgot the name of the rock, but I'll keep you guys informed) - and had some extra little diamonds she could use to complete the design...(in rosé gold instead of the traditionel more yellowish golden colour)
I hope it's not over the top as we speak about 1 big pink gem and 38 little diamonds...
Hope I get to take a picture or 2, so I can let you see what she imagined the ring would look like...
I'll leave you as promised with a picture of my bright blue gem and white golden ring she has made for me last year ...

Le pain quotidien

Jihaa !! My favourite breakfast 'espace' has re-opened 3 days ago !!
Lovely to see that the shop & resto have become bigger but has not lost it's cozyness...(hope I spelled that word right ..)..
You still have the BIG table to socialize with your fellow breakfasters or if you just want peace and quiet and your own space, they added little tables for 2 or 4 persons.
Took my usual breakfast and to celebrate an extra : 1 softly boiled egg with 2 large pieces of sourdough bread...
My usual is a double cappuccino and a 'notenfluit' ->> roughly translated as nutsflute ;-))
Grabbed the local newspaper and read that Lonely Planet has rated Antwerp one of the hotspots you must see as a tourist...!!
Of course you MUST ! And let me be your personal guide to help you with that ...

Oct 15th, Style du jour

My daughter took this picture of me..while enjoying again another Indian Summer evening on my terrace...
Note : the Kent fags are not mine :-//
They're from my hubby who's using this "space" of the appartment as his smoking area :-O

and for those interested :
boots : Sasha
leggings : H&M
blouse : H&M
belt : Hermès (the real stuff and the most expensive item in this outfit, it was a present...)
bodywarmer : Essentiel
shorts : American Outfitters
bracelets : Essentiel and Claire's

My little shop...

Like it or don't come in !! And if you are in a bad mood, you can always leave it in a bin outside the door ;-)
This little blog is just to explain who I am and what I do...I've been in interior decorating for over more than 10 years. Got sick of it and the rush-rush kinda-life that goes with it...
Now, I have the littlest but cutest shop in Antwerp, where I sell second hand & new clothes and all kinds of childrens stuff.
Let me leave you with a few images, so you can experience what the shop feels like ...

Warm Indian Summer evening, room with a view

This is what I see every single night when I look out of my window...(sorry for the blurry pics)