Oh of course I mock! Next time I shall give you something more heartfelt. Today I’m bummed about the crappy Monday weather. Also, I can’t decide what to have for dinner.

xx

…I saw a man, perched precariously on the edge of the arm of an outdoor bench, with all limbs crossed, reading a comic while drinking an espresso and smoking a joint.

Amsterdam never ceases to impress me.

Meanwhile, le petit bateau now reeks of fromage. I may or may not have bought a few hundred kilos of the stuff yesterday. I may or may not have bought (too) many fabulous bottles of fine French wine. I may or may not have sunk this boat.

whoops.

So I thought it might be nice to take you on a little tour of the über stylish office space of the House of Orange. What + who is that you ask? well, it’s the agency that represents me here in Europe (see the little orange circle on the righthand side of my blog?). They are the master keepers of my styling portfolio and the lovely people who book me work! So come with me as I take you on a little wander through this fab place…

This is the kitchen + bar, where there is always tea upon arrival, and orange lollipops (and at easter there are chocolate easter eggs to snack on). This is also the area where meetings are held between stylists, clients, photographers, and art directors. It’s a pretty cool space.

Here in this photo is half of the styling team, Joanne and Marilie. Missing in this photo unfortunately is Erik and new arrival Martin. These four are always flat chat as they represent more than 40 stylists from The Netherlands and beyond – from fashion stylists to hair+makeup, and a sprinkling of interior stylists including stylist and art director Stef Bakker , Bas Andrea, Ulrika Lundgren, and me.

Above you can see all our portfolios. We each have our own shelf with our name and inside the shelf is a little drawer for our mail, magazines and invitations (that’s where I found this gift). If the shelf is empty it means our portfolio has been requested and is out with a client.

And then up those seemingly intimidating stairs is the photographic department. It’s a whole other world up there! And then there is the modelling part of the agency and then Orange Babies which is the agency’s charity organisation for helping with the prevention and care support for HIV babies and mums in Africa. Orange Babies organises alot of fundraising events within the fashion industry, read more about this wonderful organisation here.

And just recently the House of Orange published it’s first magazine! (as shown above) It’s full of great articles and photos from the talent at the agency so if you’d like to get hold of one just ask. You can read more about the House of Orange by heading over to their website, and have a browse through everyone’s portfolios by clicking on a department and name. Enjoy! I do hope you liked this little tour, and I have no doubt we’ll be back here again soon, for now I just wanted to show you a little bit more of my life in Amsterdam.

No need to be alarmed. We are indeed, in Amsterdam. Welcome to one of the oldest Botanic Gardens in the world: de Hortus, right here in my neighbourhood. The above pictures are from the 3-climate greenhouse that is just one of the many highlights. The 3-climates being sub-tropical, tropical, and desert-dry. In other words, my kinda-climate. As soon as I walked into the space I recognised so many of the plants, I felt like I was home. And now that I’ve bought a pass to the gardens, I know exactly where I’ll be coming to get a dose of Aussie heat when it is the middle of winter here…

There is also the Palmhouse (seen above), another jaw-dropping structure that was built back in 1912 for Professor Hugo de Vries. And inside, I found this little set up you see below. My guess is that the last lecture was about how to grow herbs and vegetables in everyday left-over containers. How fabulous. It reminded me of why I have held on to my Milo tins…

Then there is the butterfly enclosure…

Just being amongst these beautiful creatures brings a smile to my face.

And oh, the succulents! For me, this wonderful hothouse was like being in a mini New Mexico. Well, very mini, but inspiring all the same.

The Orangery terrace café is also lovely, and French Boy and I indulged in a wonderful long Sunday lunch there, complete with wine and dessert.

I will be visiting this special place often and want to show you more of it’s features, but I couldn’t hold back any longer, I just had to show you what I found so far! There is so much to see at these gardens, and this is just a snippet for you, so I do hope you’ve enjoyed this little wander…

Author’s Note: Just after I finished writing this tonight we ducked out for some Indian at our local – being the first time I’d ventured outdoors for the day as it has been a rainy, windy, and all together damp day. But there appeared to be a break. So off we went. And we were out for no longer than 50 seconds before it started to pelt down. With hail. With hail!?!!

Check, please.

…tomorrow! I’m going to take you somewhere rather special in Amsterdam but for now, I leave you with this beauty to give you a clue as to where we might be going. It’s bedtime in these here parts. so slaap lekker. Bonne nuit… et à demain!

xx