Paper Flower Girl

Coconut orange cakes

2011-02-21T14:59:00.005+01:00

I have been attempting eating low-carb and mostly grain free for some years now. I initially adopted this eating pattern because I wanted to loose weight, but it also made me feel healthier, fitter and happier.

Since having the new kitchen I have been cooking a lot, and have adapted some lovely classics to a low(er)-carb version.

One of my recent favorits are these coconut orange cakes.

What you need for about six cakes is:

50 gr coconut shavings
10 gr wheat fiber
20 gr fresh ginger root
50 gr butter (at room temperature)
50 gr fresh cheese
1 medium orange
1 sachet of vanilla sugar
2 scoops of whey concentrate
2 eggs
1/4 tsp stevia

Directions:

Preheat the oven at 175°C.
Wash and slice (don't peel!) the orange and remove the seeds. Peel and chop the ginger. Bring to a boil with just enough water to cover and let simmer for about one hour.
Blend the orange and ginger in a kitchen blender. Blend in the eggs, fresh cheese, butter. Then blend in the dry ingredients.
Grease your cake molds. You can use butter or grape seed oil for this.
Let the cakes bake for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean. Let cool in the molds.

Always tea-time

2011-01-13T22:47:00.001+01:00

A new hook in the kitchen! Now we have tea-time always :)

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T20:32:00.002+01:00

Happy new year to you all! I hope it will turn out to be a good one to each and every one of you!

Our Years End looked like this:

I cooked in my Le Creuset oven dishes for the first time (they were a Christmas present from my father) and I tried to make jelly pudding for the first time in my life. It was a wonderful and happy evening and we added a touch of magic too by watching The Illusionist, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and Alice in Wonderland. Yes, all three on the same evening!

2010-12-24T11:14:00.001+01:00

Marie Antoinette + IKEA

2010-12-08T18:36:00.005+01:00

= I LOVE!

images via livet hemma.

In the blink of an eye

2010-12-06T20:35:00.003+01:00

Our Christmas tree, waiting for decorations... Tree decorating and other follies will be for the weekend! I'm already looking forward :)

PS.: Isn't it great how Christmas can make you go back to your childhood in the blink of an eye? It makes me feel as if the whole world is exciting and I want to unwrap all the gifts under the tree and as if I really can't waint untill the day is there :)

Christmas preparations I

2010-12-03T11:53:00.002+01:00

I've been thinking a lot about the first real Christmas party that we'll be hosting. We'll be inviting all of Mr. B.'s family over at our home for a Christmas lunch on the 27th.
And off course, it will have to look perfect. That's me, the neurotic, hilarious, and slightly crazy perfectionist.
Our table will be all white with touches of gold, silver and black. I think I'll be adding soft pink candles, flowers and candy to bring in some colour too.
I haven't decided yet on all the courses, but I will be making pumpkin soup with grilled almond chips I think, and will be baking fresh pistolets (these are small breads) and cakes, with all kinds of tasty things to put on.

Outdoors

2010-12-01T22:42:00.002+01:00

Last weekend me made a wonderfull walk at the Nieuwkoopse Plassen in Holland. I wonder what it would look like now with all the snow of the last days...

Winter is standing on the doorstep.

2010-11-30T10:44:00.000+01:00

A wintery corner of our living room.

Chalk

2010-11-17T19:49:00.002+01:00

I finally have a chalkboard door in the kitchen! This has been one the top of my list for such a long time now! We still have to apply the hardware (we chose for traditional style gold toned hardware, to match our watertap and add a touch of luxury to our small kitchen).
Now at least I won't ever have to forget that we ran out of salt our that we have to bring things to the recycling centre!

Kitchen progress....

2010-10-02T10:40:00.000+02:00

Still a lot of small things to do, but we can cook again :)

Kitchen renovations

2010-09-24T23:24:00.002+02:00

The past month we have been working on renovating our kitchen. This is how it looked last week. I'll try to get round to making new photos of the progress this weekend. Maybe then I'll also have the courage to show you the before. It was a nightmare, I can tell you! :)

Have a lovely weekend!

I heart...

2010-09-16T22:47:00.004+02:00

this silk blouse from topshop

this purse from topshop

this coat from topshop

Switzerland, Solothurn

2010-09-13T22:22:00.002+02:00

Vacation.
1 1/2.
Week.
Ago.

August sun

2010-09-07T20:45:00.001+02:00

The house in june

2010-07-19T19:53:00.003+02:00

These photos were taken for BLOESEM.

the home of Lucy Chadwick and Duffy in London

2010-06-18T10:22:00.000+02:00

Beautiful home, and AMAZING shoes!
via the selby

Homegrown

2010-06-17T00:27:00.001+02:00

Delicious foods from the garden. It feels so fulfilling to be able to (nearly) fully rely on home grown veggies!

Parsley and ruccola

2010-06-15T23:28:00.004+02:00

Accidentally we forgot to harvest the ruccola in time, and now it has grown flowers.
This must be one of the best accidents that ever happened to me. Look at them being so simple but amazingly beautiful! The black veins make them look like dragonfly wings, don't you think?

And what do you think of our parsley vase? The vase was a lucky thrifty find of a couple of weeks back, that was left standing purposeless on the sideboard in the living room. Purposeless no more!

The Vamoose

2010-06-13T14:22:00.003+02:00

Amazing jewelry and photography by The Vamoose
I really really could bang myself on the head for not being the maker behind both :-D

website
blog
shop

The last shot

2010-06-13T14:03:00.002+02:00

Last Friday me and my sister went to the fashion show of the Antwerp fashion academy. I took my camera to document the evening, but just before half way the show my camera died. Error 99, said my LCD screen, and that was it. The last shot.
Lucky me: it happened 3 weeks before the end of my warranty. Now I will have to wait a months for a repaired or new one.
A months without my camera!? It's disaster. Terrible. Nigtmare. I'm not sure yet how I will survive.

An elegant solution

2010-06-10T23:32:00.003+02:00

I took this turtle neck sweater from the washing line today, only to notice one of the metal bezants was missing.
The best solution I could come up with was to replace it with a button, so I went looking in my stash and found one nearly in the right size.
Will have to do for now.
It's one of my favourit sweaters, so I am not ready to part with it!

charlotte tolhurst

2010-06-10T12:43:00.003+02:00

Amazing food photography by www.charlottetolhurst.com

Green gnome

2010-06-09T23:07:00.003+02:00

I was so charmed today by this little project by Jutta.

Some time ago in the dining room

2010-06-09T11:57:00.002+02:00

I haven't been in our Holland home for weeks now, due to exames, work, etc. I miss it. Badly. I'm leaving on Sunday, finally.

Shop update at Thé Dansant

2010-06-07T08:30:00.002+02:00

These cute as pie creamers will be up in the shop today! They are hand painted and dishwasher safe! (Well, that is, they last at least 12 test runs in the dishwasher without fading, when you want to be sure they last longer than that, we recommend hand washing).

Random beauty

2010-06-06T17:28:00.001+02:00

A random beautiful house in Ghent. I love the climbing roses. And honestly, I wouldn't object to a boyfriend riding in bike like that ;-)

I now have 24 squares

2010-06-05T21:00:00.000+02:00

This will take ages :)

A beautiful home from Skona Hem

2010-06-05T18:13:00.000+02:00

I think I love everything in this home. The mix-matched art and chairs, the rustic dining table, the white walls, the black desk with its gracefully curved legs, the chrystal candalier, ...

I whish we had space for a grand dining table like that! (Any excuse that allows for buying more chairs will do! - I'm in a chair-addiction phase).

Black or white?

2010-06-05T00:09:00.000+02:00

Unknown source (saved to my computer back in the days when I wasn't so consistent in noting down where I found photos).

Photo by Marian Hoogervorst.

Last weekend, Mr. B. and I bought a buffet cupboard for our living room at the thrift store. It is now finished in a very ugly drab brown varnish, but is destined to be painted white very soon.
The top two doors are glass, and I want to display all my pretty white ceramics behind them. Now I'm debating what the inside colour of the cupboard should be... Black or white?
I love the softness of the first photo, but also the contrast in the second, and how the ceramics really stand out against the black background... I do know for sure I want something neutral, white, black or grey. The walls have a very light old rose shade, and I don't want it to become too girly. So lovely patterned wallpaper glued to the inside isn't an option :)

What do you think?

One week ago...

2010-06-04T12:01:00.002+02:00

... my sister baked cake and I made bonbons. Find the recipes here & here.

I've embarked on a new project: granny blanket

2010-06-02T17:36:00.001+02:00

I've been wanting one for ages. Making it on the other hand is something that I have unconsciously trying to postpone as long as possible. This is one of these projects that are very dangerous for me. I can get quite obsessive about them. And then after a few weeks, all of a sudden I'm tired of them, they end up somewhere on the attic to never be seen again.

Let's hope I can be slow and steady about this one :) I'm using all vintage, thrifted and leftover yarns so it will be a very eco-friendly blanky once it's done!

Blomsterverkstad

2010-06-02T16:33:00.001+02:00

Don't you want your garden to look exactly like this? I know I want mine to. I found all the above delicious images at Blomsterverkstad, a fabulous blog written by the ever amazing Swedish lady Minna. She has published a beautiful book too, that really is high on my 'I want this badly' list.

Swings

2010-05-28T17:51:00.000+02:00

via first option

via first option

via skona hem

I love swings, inside our outside the house, doesn't matter! I whish I had a tree in the garden big enough to hang one from, or a home with plenty of space for swings!!!

Table silver

2010-05-27T10:12:00.002+02:00

A collection of recent thrift find. I came to the conclusion I love vintage table silver. I will definatly pick up some more of it soon.

Storing seeds the pretty way

2010-05-27T09:04:00.002+02:00

I was inspired to make these seed envelopes when I found ready made ones at manufaktum.
All you need is white envelopes or paper bags and a black pen.

The brass owls are available here.

Willow trellis

2010-05-26T18:40:00.002+02:00

I seem to have a crush on garden trellis thingies made from basket willow branches. I whish I had a larger garden so that I could put in several. I think next year I'll put the sweat peas in flower containers with trellis like the ones beneath to climb on.
Are you in love too?

I already have the clematis. I planted one last week. Photo from Green Fingers

This one is from miss pickering blog. If you don't know this blog yet, do drop by, it's a real treat! I also adore the white flowers in the foreground. I've been looking for those in our garden centre, but they only sell the fuchsia variety. *Sad little me*

Spot the small willow trellis? I also love the iron garden fence. Photo from first option.

You can also use them in pots and containers!

Step by step directions for making your own at live for gardening.

Magazyn in Antwerp

2010-05-26T16:55:00.009+02:00

I want all of this! I came accross Magazyn last weekend. It's an amazing shop in Antwerp. If you are near, be sure to pay them a visit!

Juicy drink

2010-05-26T15:20:00.000+02:00

Perfect for a warm spring day.
The recipe is blogged here.

Flowers trough Ellen Silvermans eyes

2010-05-26T12:47:00.013+02:00

All photos taken from the book 'Flowers for the Home', photograhpy by Ellen Silverman. One day I want to be as good with the camera as her. She must be one of my all time favourit photographers.

Peter Morrens

2010-05-25T11:57:00.020+02:00

I love everyhting about Belgian artist Peter Morrens' work. His colour scheme is just about perfect, the mix of typograhpy, handwriting and image is so strong, and the way he uses his exhibition spaces betrays a speckless sense of styling. And -- I LOVE his studio.

Photos found here, here and here.

Styling my guy

2010-05-25T11:42:00.003+02:00

The sofa got a new white fresh-spring-feeling cover!

We also bought a new outfit for Mr. B

Italian leather shoes - C&A
Linnen/cotton mix pinstripe jacket - Vroom&Dreesman
Black cotton shirt with star print - H&M
Blue jeans - H&M

Last weekend

2010-05-24T22:58:00.003+02:00

Our bedroom. I don't think I have showed you the mirror before. It has been hanging there for some time now!
I also added some new art of the last months. My favourit is this print by the fabulous Sarah MacNeil. Can you spot it in the background?

Trying to get better at food photography

2010-04-11T13:24:00.002+02:00

I got new shoes!

2010-03-29T17:21:00.002+02:00

From ZARA, and I'm completely in love with them!

Pink in the bedroom

2010-03-24T12:24:00.001+01:00

It's spring and time for a little bit of colour! I added a few pink touches to the bedroom. The vases are some of my most recent thrifted finds :)

Dining room

2010-03-16T14:21:00.004+01:00

Another step forward: we painted two ikea cupboards (RAST) black and added mother of pearl knobs from ZARA home.

Greens

2010-03-16T13:48:00.000+01:00

Plants in our home and in the garden. I love spring.

Thé Dansant is open NOW!

2010-03-10T15:27:00.001+01:00

Shop is open NOW!, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

the shop is open for business!!

I would be so happy if you could just have a peek and tell me what you think :)

Grand opening tomorrow!!

2010-03-09T14:09:00.001+01:00

A new project, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

Together with my sister Nimue, I started a new project: Thé Dansant.
Thé Dansant is a small handmade/vintage shop with little treasures for you and your home; goods that'll add spoonfull of glamour to your eveyday life! We will open our doors tomorrow!

In the mean time you can have a look at our blog for more info and even some sneak peeks!
www.the-dansant.net

Bathroom inspirations

2010-03-02T13:24:00.005+01:00

This post is for my sister. In her new home (which still needs a LOT of renovation work) the bathroom has a sloping ceiling, which makes for a rather difficult lay-out. I collected some bathroom photo's with sloping roofs over the last couple of weeks.

February Challenge

2010-02-26T22:59:00.004+01:00

My entry for the February Challenge at the Interior Styling group on flickr.
I love the girl-upside-down photo so much!
The sleeping beauty illustration is by Anton Pieck, a Dutch 20th century illustrator. The other images are cut from fashion magazines and vintage books.

@ apartment therapy

2010-02-25T18:32:00.001+01:00

@ apartment therapy, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

Our bedroom got featured at the apartment therapy blog !!!

Finished chalkboard

2010-02-16T12:17:00.001+01:00

Finished chalkboard, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

I finally finished the chalkboard for the office!
It still needs to be fixed to the wall. That is something we'll do this coming weekend. Hopefully :)

Cut glass

2010-02-02T17:00:00.001+01:00

Glasses II, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

On our living room shelving unit. The smallest one I got as a little birthday present from my mother in law, the other ones were collected over the years.

I've been considering making some kind of glass doors for this shelving unit, because now the objects in it get really dusty in no time, and I don't fancy cleaning them every weekend...
This will have to stay an idea for some more time though. First we need to finish the office, which needs painting and fixing shelves, curtains and frames, and the painting of our table top.
It is crazy to know we have moved into our home five months ago, and we still have so much work to do. I guess I was too optimistic when I thought we would have been ready by now :)

New lamp | Nieuwe lamp

2010-02-01T21:42:00.001+01:00

New lamp | Nieuwe lamp, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

We finally fixed the new lamp in the office. It's an OTTAVA lamp from IKEA, now sadly discontinued.

Shameless self promotion once more :)

2010-01-27T16:41:00.005+01:00

I have to admit: I really do not have time to blog. I promised myself not to. I really intended to not blog before Monday.

The worst of all is that I break this promise to myself with a post containting nothing but shameless selfpromotion! (Bad, bad me!)

Oh well, in the idle hope that you will forgive me: there's new stock over at Hannah Zakari!

Mirror on the mantlepiece

2010-01-15T11:56:00.001+01:00

Mirror on the mantlepiece, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

A snapshot from the mantle in the dining/living room. I shot it a while back, but never got to uploading it.

The plaster frame mirror is a find we picked up at the local thrift store.
The lampshade in the reflection is bought at a loval DIY store and the lamp foot is an oldie we got from Mr. B.'s aunt.

Cold outside

2010-01-12T21:11:00.001+01:00

View from my studio in Belgium.

View from the kitchen door in Holland.

Toilet under the stairs

2010-01-06T21:37:00.005+01:00

The walls in our toilet used to be dark blue (I will post some totally embarrasing before photo's later). We added a decorative wooden border, painted in grey, and repainted the walls in mocha.
Both the paint of the walls and the paint of the wood are mixed from leftovers we had from other projects around the house.

The shelves are recycled IKEA shelves that my father had to get rid of after redecorating his own flat. We repainted them in the same colour as the decorative border. We decided to hang book shelves in this tiny room, because we do not have much space left for our fiction elsewhere in the house.

The ugly cheapo white plastic toilet brush we first had has now now replaced by a nice one in stainless steel from IKEA. We also got a new lamp (not visible in the photo) and a cotton carpet to protect bare feet from the winter cold.

I'm really happy with how it turned out, it's feels like a rather homely place now :) And considering you spend quite a lot of time of your life in there, it's not even too crazy to make it a bit more agreable.

It is however still a work in progress. I want to cover the walls with vintage frames and on the top shelf collect intpiring curiosities.
I think I will in time put wheels underneath the steel boxes (they now serve as convenient storage for cleaning products and shoe polish)on the floor for easy access as well.
And finally we want a wooden floor in here. We have some wood leftovers from other projects that we can probably use for this, yay!

1. Lavatory redo I, 2. jars of white fluff, 3. Caroline Keith of C.Keith Vintage, 4. n° one, 5. Toilet under the stairs, 6. Untitled, 7. Untitled, 8. Untitled, 9. Lavatory redo II

I paired some of our new toilet photo's with the pics of some amazing inspiring people as a moodboard for the further decoration of the lavatory.

At the bottom of the sea

2010-01-06T14:00:00.003+01:00

Office I, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

Hello dear readers. I've been away for a while during the holidays. We took some time to continue work in the office room and in the toilet downstairs.
We also did some thriftshopping and spent way too much at IKEA on storage boxes, a lamp for the bedroom, window shutters, porcelain soup bowls, and more.
I haven't even had time to think about new year's resolutions, which is really bad. I think most would have to do with the renovations anyway.

1. Finish the bedroom
2. Finish the office
3. Decorate the studio
4. Read more
5. Don't spend too much money (you don't have it!)
6. Work harder
7. Get my drivers licence
8. Lose 10 more pounds
9. Write more
10. Allow myself more slow time

Here are a couple of shots from the office. I found this amazing glass jar for 1.40 EUR in a thriftshop, which made me super duper happy!
The petrol blue frame is an ugly frame I painted over myself. It will hold a chalkboard soon. We will add other petrol blue details to the room soon.
We also made a desktop to size and adjusted IKEA shelving to fit our walls. The desk and shelves will be painted in an old rose shade. I will post photo's of this as soon as I have them.

Vintage ceramics

2009-12-20T16:53:00.003+01:00

These two vintage german porcelain teapots are my favort thriftstore finds of late. The tallest of the two I found in Antwerp for 2.40 EUR, the smaller one in our home town in Holland for 3.00 EUR or so. White porcelain with gold brims and details makes me oh so happy!

What my weekend has been about...

2009-12-15T20:37:00.003+01:00

Last Saturday we threw a party to celebrate our new home with our dearest friends, and also Mr. B's birthday! Here are some shots of the parte preparations :)

Progress on the living room

2009-12-14T15:04:00.004+01:00

New IKEA klippan couch, we replaced the ugly IKEA legs for wooden legs with brass wheels. We also bought a natural cotton slip cover for the klippan, I still have to see what the living room will look like with a white sofa :)
New coffee table, vintage 60's legs with new oval MDF table top that we painted black.
On the couch, pillows from IKEA & HEMA and a handwoven throw in natural and hand dyed handspun wool.
New window foil on the windows for some more privacy. We still need to fix the curtains.

@ sfgirlbybay

2009-12-09T21:49:00.001+01:00

@ sfgirlbybay, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

Thank you Victoria, for writing about my Ghent home on your
wonderful blog!

And a warm welcome to all of you who found my blog trough Victoria's, I have to say, flattering post!

Nous téléphonons, vous téléphonez...

2009-12-08T12:54:00.002+01:00

Our telephone, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

One of my interior design objectives is: never buy ugly things, even if they are intended to be merely practical objects. Ugly things make you unhappy, make things look cluttered and unorganized.

So, no ugly telephones for me.

New white floor

2009-12-07T17:07:00.002+01:00

For a long time I have been dreaming of having my very own white wooden floor. Now, the time has finally come...

Let me introduce you: our new studio, still in need of more furniture and not yet stuffed with all our tools and fabrics and odds and ends, but unmistakebly there.

*Happy*

Inspiring places:: Light and shadow

2009-11-30T18:14:00.001+01:00

Light and shadow, originally uploaded by Lillian Day.

Cutypie tiny chickens in this kitchen corner in the home of super talented Lillian Day.

House doctor :: Bedroom nearly done

2009-11-29T21:15:00.004+01:00

I just realized it has been ages since I last showed you the progress on our bedroom. I think I got stuck posting about it in the phase of painting the floor. Well, now the bedroom is nearly done! The only things still need change are:

1) the blinds: the striped ones that are there now are still there from the previous owners, it's a bit dirty and they don't work as well as they probably used to when they were new.
2) the built in closet needs redoing on the inside
3) the mirror and ceiling lamp need to be fixed
4) the current curtain (which was actually made for the living room and is still destined to end up there) has to be replaced with a new one, which will be in transparent white cotton fabric.
5) we will stick window foil to the windows, because now our neighours can look right into our bedroom...

In the photos you can see:

1) A lovely new Orla Kiely fabric pillow, made by HandmadeOrla on etsy
2) A pale brown metallic pillow from HEMA, got it as a present from my sweet sister last year
3) Frames on IKEA frame shelves, most of them described here
4) Cotton curtains in IKEA fabric
5) A 22 year old sheepskin on the floor, I got it from my grandparents for my first birthday
6) A vintage sewing machine used as night table
7) A vintage church chair at the bed end
8) Vintage porcelain vases, blogged before here
9) IKEA bedlinen
10) Antique colonial hanger
11) Square chrome garbage bin from GAMMA
12) Bed lamps from MASSIVE
13) Curtain rail from IKEA
14) My guilty pleasure: reading romantic novels :)

Inspiring places :: Alabaster in North London

2009-11-23T21:14:00.002+01:00

Alabaster in North London 1, originally uploaded by Rosenatti.

Designer Paul Massey's home. Via Rosenatti's flickr stream.

I LOVE the side table, and the coffee table. The wooden table top and metal wire frame are an amazing combination.
I'm so exited to know we will have a white wooden floor in the living room very soon as well!

Paper Flower Girl @ decor8

2009-11-19T10:28:00.002+01:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paper-flower-girl/4117165496/, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

This morning I received an e-mail from the lovely lady behind IvyStyle33, to let me know my blog was featured on decor8 yesterday as 'blog of the week'.
I could not ever be more honoured then to be featured on my ever favorite interior design blog!

I want to thank Holly of decor8 for featuring my blog, home and shop and I want to welcome all the new readers who found me trough her wonderfull post.

Shop news

2009-11-18T16:58:00.006+01:00

It's been quite a while since I last gave you any news about shop updates and the like, so I thought it was getting about time!

I just sent new stock to the lovely Rachael of Hannah Zakari and she got it all online yesterday. It is a small new collection in cold wintery tones: silver, pale blue, grey, light pink. Elements used are vintage ribbon, bow shaped findings, religeous medals and vintage compases. I hope you will like it :)

Inspiring places:: Black chairs

2009-11-17T16:46:00.003+01:00

, originally uploaded by JanelleGrace.

I've been spotting a lot of black dining chairs around the internet lately, and am totally in love. now I'm contemplating painting the charis we bought a while back black as well. When painted black they would better match the dining table. but it would also be sad, because their natural colour is a lovely mahogany wood.
What to do: paint the chairs, or find another table? And what to do with the upholstery of the chairs? The fabric is now dirty and spotted, and I don't like it, but I'm not sure what to replace it for...

Any ideas?

Dining area

2009-11-16T17:20:00.002+01:00

This is the current state of our dining area. The photo is taken from the living room. The door on the right leads to the kitchen.
The walls are now freshly painted in a soft greyish pink. The new lamp we found in IKEA for 25 EUR, the table is a piece handed down to us by my father, the small desk in the front dates from the 40's or 50's that we inherited from Mr. B.'s granddad. The lamp on the desk is a vintage lampfoot with a new greyish pink velvet shade, the fruitbowl next to it is a piece I got for my birthday last year.
The new chairs (we thrifted these in a local thriftshop) still need new upholstery. I'm not sure about the fabric yet.
The curtains still need to be hung (they will be in a white cotton fabric). And we are probably going to change the floor: now we have an ugly laminate flooring in the living room and dining area, in the kitchen and the hallway. At first we thought putting in a wooden floor was going to be too expensive, but we found a good solution for a very very reasonable price. So, the new floor will be solid wood, painted white or off-white in the living room, dining room and kitchen, and black in the hallway, so that it will have the same colour as the staircase.

It's so much work to get this place to look just as I want, but it's also so rewarding to see it evolve.

Inspiring places :: Light shed bedroom.

2009-11-15T11:00:00.001+01:00

, originally uploaded by JanelleGrace.

Another amazing bedroom, found via JanelleGrace's flickr stream. I love the brown and white bed spread and the assymetrical bed side tables. Oh, and the stack of magazines providing a place for the bed lamp!

Inspiring places :: Nautral and mustard bedroom.

2009-11-12T23:17:00.001+01:00

bedrooms, originally uploaded by * d a a n *.

Another great bedroom this is! I found it on *daan*'s flickr stream (you find a link to her stream just beneath the photo). I love the headboard in mustard dupioni silk and the grey bedspread in the front of the picture.
I was at habitat (http://www.habitat.net) earlier today, where they have some amazing 100% wool bedspreads. I didn't buy one though, I'm totally running out of money.

In class

2009-11-11T22:50:00.003+01:00

I don't think I have already told you about my new studies in textile coneservation and restauration. We are a class of nine students. We bake cake or pie at least once a month to eat during breaks, we make tea, we listen to the radio while sewing, dyeing, and documenting, we talk and laugh, and we have a lovely studio. With amazing old industrial sewing machines. LOVE!

Inspiring places :: Cream and white bedroom.

2009-11-11T22:09:00.001+01:00

photo by Atlanta Bartlett, originally uploaded by Beautymist.

I love the natural tones and the industrial lamp. Last weekend a trip to our local IKEA resulted in buying some bed linens just like the ones in this photo. I'm coveting light earthy colours in the bedroom right now, together with wintery fluffyness: wool blankets at the bedend and sheepskin on the floor!
Fluffy things are my winter comforts. And hot tea. And reading in bed.
What are yours?

Home made apple compote

2009-10-29T15:59:00.001+01:00

Home made apple compote, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

Recipe:

4 big apples
the juice of 2 oranges
4 cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
honey to taste

Peel and slice the apples. Put everything in a pot and bring to boil. Leave to simmer untill tender. Bring to a boil again and pour everyhing in glass containers.

Empty study

2009-10-21T14:24:00.004+02:00

Last weekend, before I got hit by a foodpoisening, we finished the floor in the new study! We were a bit hesitant about the black floor at first, but I'm so happy we decided to go trough with it. The black together with the grey walls gives a very stylish look to this tiny room (it's only 3x3 meters large).

On saturday we also found this amazing tea cabinet in the local thriftstore, where I also scored some lovely apothecary bottles and vintage vases. The silver plated dessert forks in the second photo are a family heirloom.

Bedroom progress | Black floors

2009-10-08T21:46:00.004+02:00

We finally painted the floor! Maybe the most memorable parst was where I was sanding the floors, wearing a dust mask, having my hair feel like a powdered 17th century wig and looking pale as a corpse covered in a layer of white powder.
Tomorrow we will be fixing curtain rails, bed lamps, frames and shelves to the walls, and we'll move in our bed.I'm totally excited: tomorrow night will be the first night in our real bedroom :)
I can't wait to show you photo's of the finished room.

Schöne Sachen | Pretty things

2009-10-02T16:49:00.001+02:00

---, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

Vintage sauce container
Pepper and salt shakers from ZARA home

The work in the new home is progressing slowly. One good thing is that the bedroom is nearly finished! The floor needs one more layer of paint and then we can put in the furniture.
I will show you photo's soon :)

Art selection for our future bedroom

2009-09-20T19:37:00.002+02:00

As I wrote earlier today I want an art wall in our future bedroom. I couldn't resist starting to work on a selection of pieces. I am surprised about how many frames I still had in the house that I could use for this project.
I have some more things that should come to hang in the bedroom, but I couldn't fit them all in this photo, so you'll have to wait untill the wall is finished to see them ;-)

In the back: a vintage print of Joan of Arc

In the oval IKEA mirror frame: a print by me (available in my etsy shop)

On the right of the oval frame: a watercolour by the famous sculptor Auguste Rodin

In the front: a postcard with a drawing of French artist and cartoonist Honoré Daumier (one of my all time favorit artists)

The large print behind the Rodin: a digital collage by Art and Ghosts I bought on etsy

In the white frame in the front: a postcard I bought in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris 5 years ago showing a painting by Gustave Caillebotte, called "Les raboteurs de parquet"

On the right: a vintage postcard showing a woman in traditional Dutch costume

Bedroom ideas

2009-09-20T11:19:00.005+02:00

The plasterer came by last Friday, so now our bedroom is ready to be painted. The walls will be light grey and the wooden floor will be painted black. The ceiling and woodwork (doors and window) will be white.

The bedroom is tiny: 2x3 square meters, with a built in closet inside. This doesn't leave many decorating options. I've been looking around this morning for ideas to make this room a small but attractive and cozy bedroom.

Tine K Home, found via Decor8

Found via Bird in the Hand & Oneblackbird

I want pillows and a blanket in muted purples and pinks, greys and black, in silky and velvety fabrics. I will probably make most of the pillowcases myself. I have lots of crochet lace I inherited from Mr. B's grandmother, I have been wanting to turn into pillows for some time now. Maybe I'll score some pillow cases at IKEA or ZARA HOME as well.

I want a lot of frames on the walls, with artwork I collected over the years, found objects, etc. I still need to collect a lot of frames for this purpose, since I hardly have any. I'll probably buy a lot second hand ones, and maybe some cheap ones from IKEA or HEMA. I'll go for a combination of vintage and modern frames, in natural wood, black or gold colour.

I also have an idea for the bedside tables, but I will tell you about that later!

House doctor :: Slaapkamer | Bedroom

2009-09-18T11:43:00.003+02:00

Another part of the work in Mr. B's house: the bedroom.
The walls were covered with layers and layers of old wallpaper, and the plasterwork beneath it was in a horrible state. Wallpaper has been removed, and now the plaster-worker has to come to fix the walls. The mdf pallets on the floor have to be removed, the wooden floor underneath it has to be sanded and painted, the walls painted, etc.

Endless list?

INSPIRING :: places

2009-09-18T00:30:00.001+02:00

Into the Office, originally uploaded by twelve22.

A view from twelve22's living room into the office.

http://www.twelve22.org/

I love the frames on the floor.
I love the wallpaper.

Nieuwe woonkamer | New living room

2009-09-16T22:02:00.004+02:00

It's been such a long time since I blogged.
There has happened a lot in the mean time.

One thing I have been doing is helping Mr. B. with moving into his new house, and playing interior designer. The house was built in de mid 50's, so we decided the interior should have a subtle mid century feel.

In this post are photo's of a small corner of the living room that is now in a more or less finished state. The floor was already there when Mr. B. moved in. The walls were white, the ceilings and walls were dirty, the mantle was painted in an orangy-red colour which didn't at all fit in this room.

We decided to go for neutral tones. The walls of the sitting space in the living room are now painted in a pinkish brown. The colour was achieved by mixing several leftovers of paint we were given by friends and family. The dining area, which is not in this photo's, will be painted in a much lighter shade of the same colour.

There is still a lot of work to do, and a lot of things need to be added. We are waiting a vintage sofa (chaise longue) to arrive in one or two weeks, the curtains have to be made and hung, the dining area should be painted and furnished, etc...
And that is only the living room, I'm not even talking about the kitchen and the bathroom, and the bedroom and...

I keep telling myself: "We'll get there, ... eventually."

Favorit designer :: XS-M-L

2009-08-15T19:40:00.002+02:00

XS-M-L, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

www.xs-m-l.nl
Such inspiring projects!

Vivalamoda photo shoot :: Part I

2009-08-13T17:47:00.001+02:00

___, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

Photos from Tuesday's photoshoot for www.vivalamoda.co.cc that will not be published in the magazine. So, this is just a sneak peak while waiting for the 'real' photo's to be published in September.

Photos 1 & 2

Nimue is wearing: PENCIL SKIRT by h&m | ACCORDEON TOP by Cathy Landry | HANDBAG by raramodo

Aurelie is wearing: SILK DRESS & LEATHER CORSET by Katrien van de Sompel | GREY TOP by lamixx | FASCINATOR by me | VINTAGE NECKLACE | EARRINGS by Toosis Jewelry

Photos 3 & 4

Nimue is wearing: VINTAGE PENCIL SKIRT | BLOUSE by dreamsandoutfits | SCARF by creationsbyeve | VINTAGE JEWELRY

Aurelie is wearing: SILK DRESS by Katrien van de Sompel | BELT by Urban Outfitters | VINTAGE BRACELETS | VINTAGE NECKLACES and a few pieces by me

This is only four of the six outfits we did. I'll be posting some "making of" shots of the shoot in a couple of days.

A moodboard for today

2009-08-08T17:02:00.001+02:00

A moodboard for today, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

1. ..., 2. gentle miles of summer water, 3. Untitled, 4. Gallery of poetry in motion, 5. dish wall, 6. caressing, 7. Untitled, 8. Bread&Butter: Berlin, 9. I've got a message for you...

It's been a long time since I last did "a moodboard for today", but here is finally is then, the next one.

FASHION :: Max Azria

2009-08-07T10:26:00.002+02:00

Max Azria, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

Sale at Max Azria. My favorit picks.
www.bcbg.com

Favorit designer :: Doris Bank

2009-08-06T23:55:00.002+02:00

Doris Bank, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

Amazing (what do I say? MAGIC!) pottery by German ceramist Doris Bank.
http://www.doris-bank.de/

See :: Hear :: Taste :: Smell :: Touch :: Lace

2009-08-06T03:11:00.001+02:00

, originally uploaded by inthegan.

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

See :: Hear :: Taste :: Smell :: Touch :: Pink Blouses

2009-08-06T03:10:00.001+02:00

pink blouses, originally uploaded by allthishappiness.

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

Nicht nur Schwarz und Weiss

2009-08-06T02:45:00.001+02:00

Not only black or white.
Photos by me.

House doctor :: Plannen | Plans

2009-07-24T19:30:00.003+02:00

Mr. B. has found a small house, and so now we fill our days with making plans for the interior. Or rather, I fill my days with planning. It feels so *grown up* to decorate a home, not just a room, like I am used to. To make seperate plans for the living room and the kitchen and the bedroom, and the study...

This is a piece of handwoven linen fabric from Sweden, made by a friend of mine. I received it last weekend and oh oh oh it is lovely! I'll be making it into pillow covers.

I wish you all a lovely weekend! Next week I am going to France, so you won't be reading me for a little while :)

Favorit designer :: Supersterkwerk

2009-07-23T14:20:00.003+02:00

Arnout Visser, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

Today I have two amazing designers for you: Arnout Visser and Jan Broekstra. I found both their work trough the online shop Supersterkwerk.
Supersterkwerk is a beautiful online shop with Dutch design and traditional products. They have amazing glass and porcelain and also a collection of stunning damask table linens.

Via: www.supersterkwerk.nl

Snoepjes bokaal / Candy container

2009-07-21T11:10:00.002+02:00

Snoepjes bokaal / Candy container, originally uploaded by souvenirs du passé récent.

Got it from my mother in law. She was going to throw it away, luckily I was there to save it from a miserable life in the garbage bin.

My new obsession

2009-06-22T22:58:00.002+02:00

Invito / Shoes, originally uploaded by paper-flower-girl.

... Plastic totes

Anna / Lucia

2009-06-22T21:40:00.001+02:00

Anna / Lucia, originally uploaded by paper-flower-girl.

I've been making new photo's for my shop today.
There is so much going on in my head lately. I don't even know where to begin. Time always runs short.