…between the Rijks Museum bell towers. This beautiful city never ceases to amaze & inspire me.

this is a collage i made a few months ago from magazine clippings and frangipanis

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The weather in Amsterdam this past week has been glorious. and I have been able to enjoy alot of it in between work. It’s been a busy week – for me and my gorgeous guests – so we are all going to take a breather this weekend and get back to posting on Monday. Riley, Yvette and myself have some awesome things coming your way!

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For now, here is a list of some of the “day enhancing” things I’ve been taking pleasure in this week which are all part of the local landscape here in ol’ Amsterdam. Perhaps some of these things will enhance your day too…

…the smell of this flower which I planted in my little garden by the bridge of mon petit bateau.
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…the fine company of this wonderful lady who I met for the first time yesterday, while on her way back home from an intense month spent in Africa. She was one of my first ever readers, and it was such a treat to meet and get to know her in person. We enjoyed pancakes for lunch, wandered these streets, and had some morning tea here.
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…enjoying tea and lunch in my beautiful friend’s incredible abode. I can’t wait for her to show & tell!

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…spending time with my (blog)house guest, buying herbs for each other’s gardens.
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…having another divine massage and facial at this fabulous place.
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…soaking in the afternoon sun while sitting on a gorgeous old French fisherman’s chair which i bought at this lovely boutique(which I’ve featured here before).
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…floating around in a long cotton dress I bought at this store(who knew they had dresses!?).
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…incredibly touched that this piece reached family members far and wide.
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…enjoying dinner at this lovely restaurant with my new friend (who you will learn more about soon!) (and who ordered a lavender & honey parfait for dessert that was to-die-for-delicious)

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Hmm, now looking at this list, perhaps I’ve over-indulged a little…?

xx

PS have a fabulous weekend! Please let me know what you get up to, wherever you may be in this world.

Yesterday I was working on location at a lovely house in Laren (pronounced Laa-ren). The house was surrounded by this beautiful forest. I found myself gazing out of the large windows to this view every chance I got, wanting to wander out there to hear the crunch of the leaves beneath my feet, listen to the early spring birds sing to each other, and watch the branches sway and creak in the wind. I imagined these naked trees to be looking forward to Spring just like me, their trunks and branches breathing sighs of relief as the clouds part to make room for the sun to shine on their arthritic joints.

I could imagine how lush this forest would be in it’s Summer months. And I could imagine a treehouse nestled in it’s depths, wouldn’t that be grand?

I think I have been to Laren once before a few years ago, and from memory it is a rather gorgeous village with lots of quaint boutiques and restaurants. There was no time to explore yesterday, but I would like to get back there sometime and just stroll around. I remember there was a really nice homewares boutique where I bought quite a few gifts from to take home to Sydney. And a restaurant that was so nice and gezellig (cozy), lined with dark wood panels and walls filled with books.

Let’s hope I can make some time to go exploring in this direction again.

xx

PS oh it’s so good to be back in the (blog)house! I have something fun in the making for my next post…

I bought these beautiful ribbons at the noordermarkt yesterday morning. They came in little bundles and I selected these particular colours because I was so drawn to them. I love that dusty plush rose combined with the soft cream lace. But what do I plan to do with them? Well, alot. I bought them for one idea I have to create here in the houseboat, but I think I want to try lots of things with them.

I was supposed to create an etsy favourites and blog favourites for this week but I’ve been distracted making things. Do you mind? I hope not because I do like to take you with me on my wanderings. or scribblings, as the case may be…

…detoured into the art store today.

I may or may not have loaded up on the most amazing art supplies and spent the whole afternoon painting while the rain fell on the roof of le petit bateau.

and I may or may not have begun painting my first self-portrait in a long long time. which I may or may not show you in coming days.

For now I leave you with this fabulous quote…

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“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.”
William Wadsworth Longfellow

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bon weekend mes petits!

xx