Some of you have told me how much you enjoy getting a glimpse behind the scenes when I am on a shoot. You’ll be pleased to know that I was able to take some snaps during the winter buffet shoot that I posted about the other day, and here they are…

how divine is that wooden board I borrowed from Julie and Odette’s antique store! Can I be in love with a piece of wood? ’cause I am.

For this shoot we set up camp in Yvette’s gorgeous lounge room. The light from her windows is rather glorious, and she had a lovely buffet table that I wanted to use. You can see I have claimed most of the space for my props (oops). Below is photographer Jeroen capturing the pineapple turnover cake which is basked in beautiful natural light…

…oh yeah and that’s me ironing! With a smile on my face of course. I’m smoothing out a tablecloth for the next shot while Yvette is busy in the kitchen, cooking up a storm…

And do you remember for the last behind the scenes post, we had a little helper named Marie. So where is she for this shoot? we called out to her many times but she was no where to be seen. Finally, we found her…

She refused to help! Obviously snuggling up was more what she has in mind for the day. But she soon realised we were having fun without her out in the lounge room so she came to join us in the end.

can you see marie snuggled up on her bed by the window? perhaps she is dreaming about treehouses…

And here are some snaps of my props laying about the place. In the basket are some pineapples that I decided I needed as props so I walked down to the grocery store with my shopping basket and bought some…

choices choices, what will I decide to use in the end…

Toward the end of the day we packed up and went over to our other location which was the house of Yvette’s friend Karlein, and with daughter’s Luna and Madelief we baked up some evening treats…

It was a super long day but super fun as always!

Emiliana Torrini’s concert on friday night at the paradiso was sublime. She had my eyes filled with tears during many a song. With her sweet Icelandic accent, she has a way of telling a story that draws you right in, lifting you up on her lyrical wings and guiding you gently through the night air.

I was alight with inspiration and found myself documenting my emotions at my mind’s writing desk throughout the performance. I managed to remember most of it the next morning to materialise it in my journal. Like many pieces of my writing, I’m not sure what I will do with them but one day, I imagine them to be set free, somehow. If not always here, then somewhere.

With the aid of Emiliana’s sweet voice, I’d just like to start this week here in the (blog)house gently. To do so I give you a song which I heard for the first time on Friday night. It’s from her new album, Me and Armini. The song is called Birds, and Emiliana described it as a moment when her and her band were sitting out in the garden in Oxford one night under a tree, listening to the night birds, sipping wine and generally relaxing. It was such a beautiful night that she never wanted the moment to end. Please click here to listen, then sit back, close your eyes and enjoy.

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click here to find out if Emiliana is touring near you sometime in the future.

Imagine: its night time and you step off the tram and walk through a very nondescipt part of town. You’ve heard this restaurant is a greenhouse of sorts but you don’t see how that is possible because you are walking along a very city-like street and there is no sign of nature anywhere. And then suddenly, it’s all black. You know that’s a sign of nature’s night time presence. And then, you see lights, in what seem to be in the shape of a house. You peek through the grassland and standing alone against the black of night you see the most magnificent structure: a glorious house built entirely of glass…

You find a long wooden bridge that guides you across a little canal and straight to the door of your destination, Restaurant de Kas (the glasshouse)…

There is a man at the door awaiting your presence. He takes your coats, you walk past a gorgeous herb garden into the main dining area which is housed inside this gigantic glasshouse. You walk past a beautiful lemon tree that stands by the entrance way as you are guided to your seat…

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“A kitchen surrounded by fertile soil where vegetables and herbs thrive … Where daylight shines in from all sides and where the chefs are free to express their creativity daily using the best the season has to offer.”Gert Jan Hageman owner of de kas

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Well, what more can I say! Last night’s dinner date was more than I could have hoped for. And that is saying alot, because I had bookmarked this restaurant from a tiny magazine article in Australia four years ago. That was way before I ever intended visiting Amsterdam, let alone living here. I loved the idea of the restaurant and I thought, hmm, wouldn’t it be nice to visit such a place one day. After a year of living here, I finally made it and oh, what an incredible place it is…

photos courtesy of de kas, with first three photos taken by me last night.

The five-course menu is based on what the restaurateurs have harvested that day, and consists of a selection of starters, a main course and a dessert. We started with a glass of champagne that was served with a tiny sprig of oregano picked from the garden. The meal was divine (I could go on and on about each dish so if you are interested let me know and I will tell you exactly what we had), the wine choices perfect, and I just can’t wait to go back! I would like to go for a lunch next time so I can see the garden during the day, and also to go in the different seasons. What a treat. It has made it into our top 5 list of best restaurants to go to around the world.

xx

To read more about de kas, please click here – you’ll find a comprehensive website with lots of lovely photos and information about the history of the restaurant and chefs.

top left:snow! pathetic i know, but that’s all we got here in Amsterdam; top right: i made a banana smoothie for breakfast; bottom right: more evidence of snow on the boat rooftop; bottom left:a morning visitor

How was your weekend? Mine was pretty fab – the highlight being a Valentine-inspired dinner over at our friends on Saturday night. We brought the champagne, melted chocolate and strawberries, and they provided a feast and great conversation. and oh how we laughed!! I don’t remember what about exactly, but it was hilarious at the time.

this gorgeous gal decided to land on the roof of le petit bateau and stomp around.

I also spent the weekend working on something that I can’t wait to ‘reveal’ to you very soon! Yes, it has something to do with this (blog)house of mine. Shall I tell you? No? Yes? No? Let me know. Because if you want to know, i will tell you! But if you like surprises instead, then I shall not give it away. but oooh I can’t wait for it to be completed!

beautiful creatures but awfully aggressive, non? this guy was making grunting noises at me. that can’t be good?

I also want to take this post to say a big thank you for all your awesome comments. Please be sure to read the comments to the posts if you have a moment because they add so much to my initial words and often provide the answers to questions, or simply different perspectives… and you all have an incredible imagination! I love it when you add an idea to my photos or creation, it creates this wonderful layering effect.

my messy desk, my morning guest leaving, and one of my many notebooks

One of my favourite (how many times do I say this word on the blog?!) commented posts is one from last month called a little tucked away treasure – it is my photo of bakers twine which I found tied to a branch in the Jardins Des Plantes in Paris, and I had this fanciful idea that someone had tied a love note to the branch for their lover to find. Raluca wrote a fabulous comment which showed I wasn’t too far off – she explains a tradition in Romania that totally explains the twine tied to the branch, I’m convinced now that the person who tied this string is Romanian! Go back and read it if you didn’t catch it at the time. Thank you Raluca! I am always amazed at how many corners of the world this blog reaches, and to learn these amazing facts about other cultures that I never would have known otherwise. Yay to comments!

Okay, I’ll let you get back to work. Have a wonderful day! But before I go, I made a little creature, just for you…

A friend of Harriet’s perhaps? She needs a name – suggestions welcome…

xx

My dear friend Riley and I just spent the morning in the Van Gogh and the colours of the night exhibition which opened today at the Van Gogh museum here in Amsterdam. We absolutely loved it. We both adored the sketches and letters presented, in particular the “study of two cottages”. We also loved starry night over the rhône.

There was a collection of old books with incredible photographs of the moon, dating back to the early 20th Century. Stunning. I will be heading back to this exhibition soon as there was just so much inspiration.

For more information, please click here.