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! 

rotterdam.

how do i begin to talk about a country where you eat chocolate sprinkles and cake for breakfast, orange is their national colour and bikes trump cars for transport of choice? if you’re not already in love with the idea of living in holland, then read on, it’ll take you 30 seconds to be converted, promise.  i have been dying to share the last two and a bit weeks with you, but you know, life with a boy in a beautiful country that is filled with vintage and baked-good love, windmills, history and art…just kinda got in the way. my new neighbourhood is completely charming, with post office, bakery, florist, bike shop and everything a girl could need. it only took me 5 days before i had found my dream bike (a mint green gem at the most incredible price), wandered the markets, unpacked my suitcase and spent a sunny spring day in amsterdam. my relocation to rotterdam has been super smooth and made all the better with a yummy dutchman in hand. i am on the constant look out for work possibilities which is balanced beautifully with the opportunity to visit every bakery in rotterdam. of course the work/play balance is still completely out of whack, with the play part taking precedence, but with a burning desire to get screenprinting again (i found art shop heaven and could not be more inspired right now), update my big cartel store and keep a more concrete online presence… i see a more regular day to day routine in the near future. it’s been amazing having the boy take time off work and i couldn’t picture myself being in better hands than his. a proud dutchman with an impeccable knowledge for his beautiful country, i fell hard and fast for rotterdam within days of being here.  with art galleries boasting the works of koons, kusama, magritte, rembrandt and rodin…it was sure to be love at first sight. european design (not to mention the fact that eames and pastoe is everywhere I look) has my heart at bursting point. a morning spent at the market proved fruitful today when i walked away with a bike basket load of vintage goodness for under 15 euros, the place is brimming with pre-loved treasure. as i ride the streets i feel as though i’m part of something much grander, like a nationwide bike club. bicycles on every corner, lamp post and bridge, it’s impossible not to be completely enchanted by the bike culture here. i’ve already discovered several favourite bakeries, bought my annual museum card, signed up for the local supermarket’s bonus card and learnt how to say dankjewel like a true dutchie. with post it notes attached to every appliance in the kitchen, i have begun to take the language learning a little more seriously. i have spent time with some beautiful people, drank beer in a church and eaten my way through some of holland’s finest food products.  i've learnt how to live with a cat (i’m a dog girl at heart) and in turn uncover a new appreciation (ok, love) for the feline variety. in conclusion, this city has me completely under her spell. 

dutch life.

serious bike business.

market blooms.

i found heaven in art shop form.

i'm on a bike! (and deer feeding)

art, bike and a swan (bridge)

bakery and vintage love.

why would you choose fruit or cereal for breakfast over this???

reunited with kusama at boijmans.

koons love.

so much vintage goodness at the local markets (post coming soon!)

swoon.

last weekend was delicious. cue the jealousy because, hold.the.phone...i spent it with sophie, yuhuh, you heard me right.... 'her library adventures'. after realising we now lived only a hop, skip and a jump away from each other, it was time to reunite like the old blogging friends that we are. i've missed this girl, she's a real treat and our saturday morning spent wandering west end's market, art shed, coffee/book/op shops and discovering the cutest boutiques and new favourite read was swoon worthy. chatting into the evening about future plans, blogging goals and more thrifting adventures just assured me that this one is a keeper. after a super delicious saturday,  my sunday was spent in my makeshift axminster adorned studio screenprinting to my heart's content. 3 teapots and 3 cupcakes later, i'm officially besotted. a few of my prints are already on their way to new homes, i'm humbled. this weekend sees the screenprinting happening all over again, this time working on a couple of special projects for two very special people and a bit of eames lovin'. it's only 40 days until i'm off and although torn with conflicting emotions, i'm ready. i'm following my heart no matter the cost. no matter the cost. 

 a market find.

the couch at 'two trees'.

saturday's goodies.

baby pineapples mean only one thing...photo shoot!

sunday's colours.

poppin' the kettle on.

i'm in love.

a sweet treat.

super lekker.

with only 3 weekends to play with whilst in europe i had to make sure my plans were pre-organised to make them as fun packed as possible. the first weekend would be my london weekend spent with family and my best friend, the second my extended weekend with my girls in paris and the third spent in beautiful holland. with my two best friends in europe, it was important for me to spend some valuable time with them, sharing in their daily lives and getting to know their friends and surroundings. never having been to holland but living through trudy’s beautiful photos, i was excited to get to know a place i’d heard so much about. of course i expected to see windmills, tulips, clogs, drink delicious beer, bike everywhere and meet handsome dutchmen…well, i can safely say that it delivered all that and more. i flew into amsterdam from copenhagen on thursday evening, making my way to rotterdam as soon as i had landed. i arrived at trudy & tom's just before 7 and it wasn’t long before we were chatting over a home cooked meal in their gorgeous central rotterdam apartment. before i knew it we were out cycling around town. designated cycle paths and the bike friendly atmosphere had me in bicycle heaven. here we were, cruising the streets of rotterdam at 9pm at night without a care in the world. friday morning saw me sleeping my copenhagen exhaustion away and then meeting trudy for a wander around her local opshop and late lunch at her favourite cutie pie café spot, picknik. it was a chilly but sunny rotterdam afternoon spent catching up over chicken & coriander curry soup and coffee. as this was the last leg of my europe adventure, i could feel the tiredness setting in. saturday morning saw the three of us wandering the local markets with coffees the size of our heads and saw me stumbling across vintage fabric heaven. a 2 euro retro teapot and several floral pillowcases later, i was slowly but surely falling in love with rotterdam. trudy and i wandered the local shops buying ridiculously cute stationary and gathering ingredients for a big chicken curry i’d be whipping up for our last dinner. a few beers, curry and some lounge room dancing later and we were heading out to meet some of their favourite dutchies. i was onto my second belgian beer (my new favourite) and i soon found myself surrounded by a group of gorgeous dutchies. my crappy attempts at the dutch language (except for lekker and dank je wel) were smiled at and soon i couldn't get enough of this captivating crowd. after what can only be described as an incredible night, i was cursed with the hangover from hell, so our amsterdam plans were pushed back to later in the afternoon. a mid morning brekkie date with trudy’s nearest and dearest dutchie brought girl talk over plates of eggs, bread, juice and coffee. we were soon on our way to amsterdam where i would fly back to london later that night. as soon as we arrived in amsterdam we made our way to the quaint canals and strolled through the decorative neighbourhoods. sadly at this point I was a slither of my former self with what would turn out to be the first stages of food poisoning. in my sorry state i was unable to really appreciate the beauty of the city, but knowing i will be heading back next year has me comforted that i will get to revisit and discover all it has to offer. i left a piece of my heart in rotterdam. my favourite souvenir of the trip? a little piece of someone else's.

the obsession for hagelslag has begun.

market wanderings.

rotterdam.

the two euro teapot.

amsterdam decor.

beautiful canals and bike culture of amsterdam.

hitching a ride.

houseboat heaven.

street art, rotterdam.

the fleas.

the last time i was in paris 7 years ago, it was all about the galleries, the patisseries and to put into practice the behaviour of a parisian flaneur that i’d spent the past year at uni year learning about. back then i wasn’t the secondhand treat lover that i am today, infact, i didn’t visit one secondhand shop or market during my 4 day jaunt. i was travelling alone so wandering the streets aimlessly into the night just wasn’t a sensible option. instead i spent my mornings wandering the arcades, afternoons at the louvre and my evenings watching bad french tv in my hotel room whilst devouring several (at least 3 at a time) pain du chocolat. this time however, my girls and i were dinnering late into the evening and rarely in bed before 1am. locals were still ordering dinner at 11pm and the nutella crepe stands were making a killing well into the early hours. i was falling more and more in love with paris the longer i spent walking her streets. my heart was put to the ultimate test when we decided to spend our saturday wandering one of the biggest flea markets in the world. les puces or ‘the fleas’ is an extensive array of vintage/pre-loved eye candy that only my dreams could have prepared me for. even though the majority of what i wanted (all of it, every single thing) was too big to come home with me, i fell in love, over and over and over again. i wasn’t disheartened, only inspired and delighted by what my eyes were uncovering. photo opportunity after photo opportunity had our creative juices flowing from the get go. i still look back at photos (most notably THIS chair) and fall in love. i’d be flicking through boxes of old postcards, love letters and family portraits whilst my girls were neck deep in vintage chanel, fashion magazines and lace. the variety of treasure was beyond incredible, i probably pinched myself about 20 times to prove i was really there. we were creating mental mood boards in our minds of future home displays and collections and eyeballing items that we’d mail home in a heartbeat if the budget permitted. there’s an incredible history and charm exuded by the treasure found at a french flea market that my local oppie can never compare to. covering a gigantic 7 hectares of land, this flea market requires patience, regular coffee stops and a camera. this time i learnt that paris is definitely a city for lovers…lovers of vintage treasure that is.

THE chair that all my dreams are made of.

market reflections.

more chair delights.

beautiful art.

retro colour.

german beauties.

elegant vintage chanel.

pretty tiles.

for the love of eames.

love letters.

pretty patterns.

suitcase rummaging.

perfect displays.

mirror love.

pick a number.

vintage dress heaven.