USA 2013 | New York (day 1 & day 2)

Hello hello!
Yes, I know... it's been really quiet over here. Again!

Well, we just came back from a lovely 2,5 week stay in the States and, while I took lots and lots of photos, I didn't get remotely close to a computer during our whole time there. So this explains the lack of posts... but don't worry: I'll make up for my absence by showing you all the really cool places we went to!

The whole reason we went to the United States in the first place was that Mart was attending a conference in Seattle. On our way there we stopped in New York to see three of our very best friends who all used to live in the Netherlands and study with us at some point. They now all have very exciting jobs (and lives) in the Big Apple and we were thrilled to be able to go and see them.

 
We had no other plans but to spend as much time with all three of them as possible and it turns out we did just that. There was a lot of eating, sitting in the park enjoying the sun all together, catching up, walking, laughing, eating, discovering the really cool places they hang out at, eating some more, drinking a little, and actually... not taking that many photos at all. I realise I don't take many photos at all (if any) when we are in a social context. I wish I did as I'd love to look back at snipets of the times we were all together, but on the spot, I don't feel like going behind the camera; I want to be right there in the middle of it and not lose a minute of it.

 
These were taken during our multiple walks through central park. During a bright sunny morning and in the early evening. And there's a skyscraper from Manhattan whose top is in the clouds, and a yummy pizza from '2 Boots' which we ate in order to sustain ourselves during a super rainy day filled with pretty full on shopping.

Bruges, Belgium

A few photos from our weekend in Bruges... I took so many! It's such a pretty place, it was hard to control myself.

P.S. this new blogger interface is driving me nuuuuuts! Please someone tell me that it's possible to go back to the old one...?

The insides of a hill

Today we cycled across the border and visited this fort. It's an impressive place; so very big, quite scary, and full of history.

Mirrors

I love how one photo (from here) can change so drastically when replicated and mirrored...

New little corner

The living room felt a little dark after we took the christmas 'tree' down and so I decided to keep some of the fairy lights in a vase. I propped them together with the origami ball (I've taken the lights out since the other day; I was a bit frightened of the potential fire hazard) on the pretty stool we bought the other day.
The little pompons date from then. I can't get myself to throw them away just yet.


P.S. I've had a lot of visitors from Israel today, thanks to the lovely Ronit and this post (for those of you (just like me) who are not fluent in Hebrew, here's the google translate version).

Hi everyone! Welcome!

:-)

Origami

After seeing this pretty lamp (via) I put myself to the test and tried to make one of my own. Once I had found instructions on how to fold the pieces it was just a matter of folding. And folding. And some more. And then putting all the pieces together with great satisfaction. :-)

Paper 'popcorn' garland

I made a popcorn-inspired garland. With white circles, scalloped rounds and little red 'cranberry' spots.

7 years today

Today we celebrated 7 years of love with a cozy brunch at home.
I can't believe it's one year already since our magical weekend in Paris. Time flies!

At the park

Having a lovely weekend with mum, who is visiting for a few days.

Quiet

It's been a little quiet over here lately, but I'm still here.

♥

Gold cups

I made more of these. They look cute on our window sill.

A golden ring

We received beautiful news from Australia today. News with a sparkly golden ring. And very big smiles all around...

To celebrate the wonderful announcement, and because I had wanted to do something like this since seeing these, I made this golden ring glass today.

Luce in Lecce

A bit empty

I feel a bit of a void today.

Because my voice is missing. It kind of disappeared a few days ago and is yet to make a complete come back.
But mostly because my 24 students from all over the world, who I have been taking care of since early April, have left today to move on to their new universities... The last four months have been exhausting at times but so rewarding... I am going to miss them all greatly.

Happy birthday Rosalie!

A cute little t-shirt and bandana for Rosalie's first birthday.
Had loads of fun making the anchor stamp and printing all over the shirt.
Am keeping my fingers crossed that the ink is indeed permanent!

:-)

Soft sounds and lights

I was extremely tempted to turn the heater on tonight.. it's been rainy and cold all day, and I just was tired of this ugly damp feeling that's everywhere. But it's June. Almost July! There's no way I'm going to turn the heater on in June!! So I lit up some candles. I guess they do produce a little heat -not enough to make the thermometer in the living room go up any degrees though- but psychologically it makes all the difference. And with this CD I bought today (discovered here), it turned out to be a lovely evening after all.

Stockholm I

We just came back from five beautiful days in Stockholm. I took lots of photos, which I look forward to sharing with you in the next few days (I've found I really like doing that... it allows me to go back to many happy little moments again, and to keep the wonderful holiday feeling going for a little longer).


We had the most traditional (or stereotypical is maybe a better word) arrival in Stockholm. First we were greeted by a reindeer on our way from the airport to the city (well, he was just eating grass on the side of the highway, but I was very excited about the whole swedishness of it all already!).
Then the weather turned out to be quite chilly and a bit rainy, which I guess is quite normal for Stockholm at this time of year, and which was a great contrast with the warm almost summer-like weather we had been having in the Netherlands before leaving.
And third, we had the first of many meat-ball-y type of food of the weekend, on board the very cool boat-hotel we stayed on for the night (the first photo is the view from our very small cabin).

A great start to a fantastic long weekend!

LED

We recently bought LED light bulbs for the lamps we use most in our apartment. They give a very nice light, are supposed to last for about 25 years, and use up to 80% less electricity than normal light bulbs... pretty neat, no?

This is the lamp we have above the dinner table...

Happy birthday me!

It was my birthday yesterday. I had such a nice and busy day. Full with beautiful presents, tons of messages from all around the world, sun, sushi, and love... the perfect mix!

This little card was made by my dear friend Claire. Cute eh?