lately.

again, i've let far too much time pass in-between posts. maybe it's because my job demands i spend 8 hours behind a computer screen, which was completely foreign to me until a few months ago. it really does affect the relationship i have with getting behind a keyboard and letting my own thoughts drive the topic of conversation. it has taken a sick day, a day of renewing my energy for our forthcoming trip to london with a rooibos tea in hand and london grammar playing gently in the background to get me blogging again. the sun is shining and winter has never been more beautiful. the boy and i have been out and about lately with afternoons spent wandering our favourite galleries, treasure-hunting, watching our favourite dutch band and nights spent snuggled on the couch finishing the last season of breaking bad. the new season of girls awaits me patiently on my usb, hearty soups are fast becoming my favourite dinner choice and the long weekend sleep-ins are making winter bearable. we booked our tickets to australia for september for a whole month of fun times, reunions and the wedding of the year. until then a few weekend trips to london, paris and gent will keep us busy. last but not least, march 1st marks my 1 year anniversary in holland. boy, how time flies when you're having fun. 

we finally framed the fabulous foursome from the beloved white album.

market treasure. 

these colours.

a happy find for our kitchen.

hyacinth providing the sweetest scent to our home.

saturday's 2 euro find. 

our local market treasure.

been spending nights in the studio finishing a batch of these beauties.

my arty partner in crime.

marimekko. blew my heart out.

wandering in heaven.

toucans & strawberries. perfection. 

to market.

if you've been to paris, then it's more than likely you've wandered the enchanting alleys of les puces. on my first trip, i was too daunted to attempt them on my own so stuck to the safety of the dreamy arcades in opera. i still love perusing the old bookstores and photographing the decorative tiles that abound in the passages. last year i wandered les puces with my two best friends which was just magical. the treasure we unearthed was incredible, the majority too large or too expensive to come home with us but inspiration was at an all time high. this time around my sister and i spent a chilly but sunny saturday morning wandering, fossicking amongst and admiring the treasure that les puces had to offer. i have to admit that i was a little bewildered at just HOW expensive things had become. for the regal furniture dating back to the 17th century, it was a given, but a lot of the everyday retro finds stretched too far from my budget. this didn't stop the excessive photo-taking (when i was allowed to) and my heart must have exploded at least a hundred times at the colours and compositions presented before me. within the first half an hour, i had been fed at least half a year's worth of screen-printing and collage project ideas. a quick crepe fix and a few finds later...i was in heaven. having my sister in such close proximity and living in such an amazing city means a weekend wander around these incredible markets is now only at arm's length. oh the possibilities! 

modern loves.

the weather’s been a tad dreary around these parts and it looks to hang around for at least another week or so (as i write this the sun is beginning to shine her happy face.) i don’t always see that as a bad thing but an opportunity to get in some valuable gallery time. the boy thought likewise so we grabbed our pre-purchased train tickets, our museum cards and a heavily flavoured starbucks and made our way to amsterdam. the train is so accessible and can be reasonably priced when you get a good deal, i'm like a kid when i board the train, first in and a window seat secured. i so love hanging out with the boy. he watched me squeal as rows of coloured tulip fields rushed before my eyes and i attempted to snap photos amidst the dirty windows and power lines. this is only the third time i’ve been to amsterdam, but like i’ve said proudly before, rotterdam is my beloved new home and sometimes i neglect the small calling of her nearby big sister. both of them individually unique and charming in their own ways. i also like to shake it up everytime i go, no vintage shopping or nine streets wandering this time, but an incredibly inspiring art fix delivered perfectly by the newly renovated rijksmuseum and the awesome home of modern art, the stedelijk museum closeby. we had plans for van gogh, but as any art lover will know, you can never determine just how long you’ll spend looking at works, especially when there is a huge array of your favourites in such close proximity. the rijksmuseum was obviously busy, very busy.  at one point, after 4 shoulder nudges and pushes from impatient art onlookers, i was getting a little over it. did i mention that this was within 15 minutes of us stepping foot inside? an incredible collection and an even more impressive renovation process, the building is simply stunning. i was told that the number of visitors had jumped from 3000 to 10000 per day, a crazy thought that makes GOMA’s numbers seem pretty sweet. i saw some beautiful dutch history (including some never seen before rembrandts) but after a couple of hours i was ready for some time with my modern loves. the stedelijk was beautifully quiet, and as we wandered into each room, my heart would beat even faster. confronted with some rauschenberg, rothko, sherman, kelly, mondrian, matisse, de kooning, flavin and lewitt  and then topped off with some gispen and eames design, i was in heaven.   my favourite of the day? a perfectly pastelled de kooning inspired by his time on long island.  won my heart on first glance. as the day crept on and the temps dropped we sought refuge in the newly opened marks & spencer. anyone that knows me well (or follows me on ig) knows that i am a fiend for british food. i grew up with it and would choose a scotch egg over a cupcake anyday (well, maybe 70% of the time). so i grabbed a bag and filled it with treats that would make my nanny kit proud. custard creams, walnut whips, hot cross buns, mini pork pies and some scotch eggs were the chosen ones. i look forward to venturing back sooner rather than later, i can’t deny a vintage wander for too long. amsterdam, you were damp and dreary yesterday but in rain, hail or shine you’re a great city with some amazing art. as any true rotterdammer (or surrogate one) would say, you’ve graciously earnt your second place ranking. wink wink.  

pretty girl.

time to take my new pants and shoes out for the day. 

favourite. (de kooning)

i love art you can walk on. (carl andre)

a sol dewitt masterpiece and my love.

mondrian and his pastel love. 

stunning botanical gouaches at the rijksmuseum.

love a bit of (upside down) ellsworth kelly.

view from the train. 

peachy.

i can't believe it's almost been 3 months since i left australia. time has flown and i feel truly happy here in holland. it's now time for some resume writing for a little thing called the job hunt. i've been spending most days up to my eyeballs in pastel paint, cutting stencils and designing new prints. the time i've had to put into my printing has been a real gift. combined with bike riding, socialising with beautiful people, baking sweet treats, art gallery wandering and sun workshipping as of late, i've had the most inspiring three months. the weather has turned a little sad so the past few days spent in the studio amongst the pretty colours and beatles tunes have been so good for my creative soul. i am ready now more than ever to take a leap into a new  job environment, meet new people and learn new skills. i am excited about balancing creative time with a regular income and to save some money for future trips around europe with the boy. there is so much to look forward to. life has never looked so peachy. 

london baby.

back in 1993 my family made the big move from australia to the UK. the idea was to spend a couple of years getting to know our british family and experience the british way of life. 10 years quickly passed and the call to return home was becoming more profound. the family then made the decision to return to australia, this time to the east coast. 10 beautiful years of learning to drink 40 cups of tea a day with my nan, christmas spent by the fire eating quality street whilst watching eastenders, being the aussie novelty in an east london primary school, riding bicycles and building snowmen in the prettiest english village, learning to play cricket inside, enduring several miserable summers and falling in love with london's finest galleries really left its mark. the UK became my second home to many wonderful memories so my heart has always been torn across these two parts of the world. i'm a very lucky girl and have always cherished the ability to move between the two countries with ease. so being europe-side for the past couple of months, it was only obvious that i would be returning to london sooner rather than later. spending a week in london when i first arrived in february after my big move, was the perfect integration into european life. i promised family that if all went well in rotterdam, that i would be back, dutchman in hand. so later in the day on april 20th we set off on our adventure via boat to london town. not only was going by boat the cheaper option, it was the most fun. we arrived at 9am at liverpool street station on the sunday morning which worked out perfectly. bags were checked into left luggage which meant easy meandering of the local markets. brick lane was first on the agenda where many instagram pics were snapped and treasures unearthed. being on a tight budget meant that a lot of treasure was left behind but a few goodies were collected along the way. we spent time with my family and best friend, dinnered in soho, lunched in regent's park, saw the best exhibition of my life at tate modern, discovered the beautiful courtauld gallery's impressionist collection, did the whole touristy thing (a quick stop by big ben, london bridge, tower of london) and hit my my favourites anthropologie, covent garden and columbia road. we packed a whole lot into the four days, spent far too much money and i ate too many scotch eggs. it was lovely. whenever i visit london, i don't feel the pressure to see everything, a little bit how i treat NYC. there's a whole lot going on and not enough time to see it all, so i like to hit a few of my favourites and know i can catch up on the forgotten places next time. thanks for a lovely time and beautiful weather london, i'll be seeing you again soon. 

boat fun!

heaven.

brick lane delights.

love the street art here.

i'm obviously in love with brick lane.

much love for covent garden.

pop boutique delights.

underground amazingness.

colour fun on the underground.

the beautiful view from the tate modern.

so in love with this guy. 

treasure hunting.

hello sunshine!

abbey road with the biggest beatles fan.

i took my love to violet hill. 

oxford street with my favourites.

pretty girl.

my london treasure. (thank you columbia rd, anthropologie, brick lane and pop boutique!)

a favourite souvenir.