Girl Crush: Octavie

How I have grown to love the online community.

Yesterday I posted this on Instagram.

Even before I received Marloes‘s lovely gift, Octavie – who I never met in real life – touched me with hers.

 

I would wish for all of you to be Dutch. Just to be able to read Octavie‘s blogs.

In the commercial blog world, her non-commercial one really stands out. Sharing her beautiful drawings and her magical view on life. Such integrity, such sincerity.

 

I found the painting below in my mailbox after a little post on facebook that I loved her robin so much…

 

Thank you so much, Octavie (and Marloes and Anki, and all those others that give so much), you don’t know how much these things mean!!!

 

 

A lovely Sunday in Amsterdam

Starting your own business, or better/worse (*please delete as appropriate ) your own shop, can be compared to renovating an old house. If you would know up front what you’d run into, you would never think of starting it. But hey, as said you never know what will happen, so still moving along! ;)
Nevertheless, there have been a lot of deep breaths lately.

 

I deserved a break. So last week I donated myself some offline time, which culminated in a beautiful day in Amsterdam. I was invited to Ingrid‘s (aka Ingthings) booklaunch – at colourful shop All the Luck in the World in Amsterdam – and decided to combine this with a three hour breakfast on a sunny terrace at the area called De Pijp. I met my talented friend Nadine there which always makes for some good conversation.

 

I must say my distaste for Sundays is maybe, just maybe, slowly giving me less of a hard time.
I had a blast!

 

So many smiles: Dog Marley showing us her icebear moves, kids grooming guinea pigs (!) in the parc, Mikodesign‘s daughter being all excited about going to the best high school ever, this beautiful Frida she designed together with her mum and gave to me, and all those little gifts that Ingrid had layed out for all us guests to take home. She really knows how to throw a party (and must be the most generous person I have ever met…). I took home the little bird below (unfortunately my cat liked it as much as I did..!).

Check out Ingrid’s wonderful book, about thrifting, DIY, and foremost about enjoying small things, right here: Kringloopgeluk.

 

(sorry for all the filters, peeps, only had my iphone on me!)

 

 

Letter blog

Dearest readers…

Forget about snailmail.

There’s a new concept in town.

 

The Letter blog!

 

Italian rooted Dutch creative centipede Chiara van den Berg spent wintertime at her family’s old casa in Palermo.

There she came across beautiful old craftpapers and envelopes.
At a garage sale she found inspiring antique and devotional pictures.

She cut, glued and wrote, and there it was. One letter blog. Everyday.

When her stay had ended she had made twentynine letters.

 

I decided to order one of them. That Churchill picture alone would’ve been worth the money.

Chiara van den Berg Letter blog

Chiara van den Berg Letter blog

 

Would you also like to receive a letterblog? Chiara is still sending them all over the world!
You just need to transfer €3,50 to her account, so she won’t starve on all those orders and can still have nice vegan dinners every night.

Check out all twentynine Palermo letters right here.

Also check out JaniceMacLeod, who writes letters from Paris!