The Circle of Love

Wauw, what a week! An engagement clutch (unique vintage Delvaux piece) on (a Blue) Monday for starters and a vintage eighties white classic shoulder bag (also Delvaux branded) on a Sunday dinner at Granny’s place to end the same week with. I guess you can imagine that these kind of surprises totally rock my world, given the fact that I'm a bagaholic. 

Tada

As each bag deserves a post of its own I’ll focus on the „Monday” bag today. It’s the most special one because yes, you did not misread: we are engaged. Yes, we are getting married. Yes yes yes, we will indeed say I DO. So once more, YES, next spring season Le Boyfriend, who now is Le Fiancé, will become Le Husband. (Pardon me if I stick to Le Boyfriend for now, I’m still getting used to the idea.) 

How we popped the question? No big diamond or romantic proposal for us; all we needed was a conversation over breakfast to make the „marital” decision. Basically it went like this. One of us: „Wauw next month we celebrate our nine years together.” Says the other: „So next year we will celebrate our tenth anniversary.” Replies the first one: „Maybe we should do something special to celebrate this properly.” Then both of us: „Why not get married?”. And that was it, a very reasonable, down to earth „proposal”. This must have been in January or February, by the beginning of March we had gotten used to the idea and that's when we have first spread the word about our „plan”. (Something we have been doing ever since.)

„But how about that engagement clutch if it didn't come with the question?”, you’re probably wondering. Well, I found this beauty on Labellov and immediately saw myself wearing it on my Wedding day. (To bagaholics getting married requires a purse of its own, as does any other (important) event in life.) I mentioned the lovely bag to Le Boyf…Fiancé and a few days later he came home with a gift bag that contained this round, suede beauty. I baptized it The Circle of Love as it symbolizes nine years of love (and everything that comes with it), a love that (I hope) will last forever.

A sneak peak of the white (Sunday) bag

P.S. To be honest, I did not just mention the bag, I gave a very clear hint that Le Fiancé must have understood (to my surprise because my hint-tricks usually don’t work very well).

Getaway

The world is going crazy, horrifically crazy. No wonder one would like to escape from reality once in a while, right? To get distracted from all the horror and drama a cultural (surreal) excursion works just fine for me. Like a few weeks ago, when Le Boyfriend and I went to visit Dalí, master of surrealism and modern art. We didn’t even have to take a plane (thank god) as the expo De Salvador à Dalí brings the Spanish artist to (what was once) Brave Little Belgium (Liège). 

Only one-hour drive away from home we were welcomed by Dalí himself in his crazy, hallucinant and, from time to time, psychedelic world. The nicest thing about the expo is the focus on his eclectic personality, on the jack of all trades painter, photographer, movie director and sculptor that also included science, politics and philosophy in his art. Before this expo I already had some Dalí experience, I was especially acquainted with his paintings, sculptures and home designs. (The house in Cadaqués, the museum in Figueres and his colourful designs, that I’d seen a looooong time ago.) The intellect Dalí, however, I didn't recall having met him before. 

As I’ve always loved Dalí’s work (and as the expo has made me love it even more) I decided that we are going to Spain to (re)discover Dali’s land, art and much more of his fascinating, crazy ideas. Or, let’s say to explore his surrealistically extensive and impressive oeuvre. 

P.S. You want to trip like we did? Go to Liège, Gare TGV Guillemins before 31.08.2016 and visit expodali for practical information.

Candle language

Say it with a candle (in stead of flowers) my friend must have thought when she gave me this „merci” candlelight.

P.S. Here you can read more about speaking candles. 

Women on Top

No better "throwback" moment to our Lady Liberty visit than 

International Women's Day.

The Reader

About a year ago I got back to reading novels for fun. Like when I was a child and first started to read at the age of six the bookworm in me came to life again after a "disappearance" that had lasted for about ten years. Where I loved to go to the library as a child, Fnac now became my favourite spot in town. Yet again books is what kept me awake at night, out of curiosity and the inability to stop reading because you want to know what’s going to happen next. (Simple explanation for my inner-reader's departure: I used to read for fun but in college an enormous amount of obligatory literature had to be dealt with and there was no time left for the books of my choice.)

As I had forgotten what last year’s books were about (mainly confusing stories) I decided to get myself a Moleskine Book Journal. The perfect tool to abstract the stories with a briefly worded personal opinion on the „reading stuff”. 

Another practicality when it comes to this „recycled” hobby of mine is a reading nook. For now a seat with a small table and a reading light will do. But I’m a dreamer and I dream B.I.G. so maybe once, I will have a place for me and my books that looks like the ones below.

OldHouseDreams

tmmagazine-nytimes

lushome

sortrature

ruemag

LoVely Day

Today is the most lovely day of the year. We celebrate Saint Valentine and that means love is everywhere: in the air, in the shopping streets, in the restaurants and even here, on my blog (as in many other places on the www).

LabelLOV offers a great variety in second hand designer pieces.

For about nine years my (funny) Valentine has been the same. This year, however, something is different. The truth is I’m kind of cheating on Le Boyfriend as I’m totally in love with this vintage Louis Vuitton backpack. Another truth, it’s not just a crush. One could say it’s an example of unrequited love with a happy ending. You see, I’ve been dreaming about the beautiful Montsouris ever since I was twelve years old and only now (I’m almost 29 so you can do the math) I’ve managed to conquer one. It took me some time because Vuitton doesn’t produce this model anymore which makes it hard to find and true vintage. Anyway, the Toile Monogram backpack was one of the first items on my „bag-bucket-list” and now that it’s finally mine Le Boyfriend will have to accept the fact, and understand, that he has to share my love and devotion with my new LoVe this Valentine’s Day.

I bet you’re curious about the rest of that list too, aren’t you? Well, to bagaholics completing a bag-bucket-list is a true achievement and buying an item you’ve always wanted is like a milestone. (To them it’s what graduation, having a baby, getting married, etc. mean to „normal” people.)  Other items on my list that are - as we say in Dutch - „in de sjakos” (literally meaning: in the purse): LV Alma, Papillon, Soho backpack and Delvaux Le Pin. Quite some accomplishments, right? Still I wonder if the list will ever be finished because as I grow older it seems to get longer, with new (vintage) bags stealing my heart every now and then. 

P.S. Let’s hope Cupid is not coming after me today to hit me with another bag-arrow.

Januarious

January. I love the sound of it: soft, sweet, mellow and filled with hope. By the end of the first month of the year, however, the blues are rising high and the January love affair is usually over. No more Christmas Trees, no more dinner parties (as half of the Belgian population is on a diet) and it’s dark and cold outside. To prevent the winter depression I decided to call the family together again, about four weeks after Christmas, for a „light” dinner party. Not too many snacks at apero time and only main course and dessert were served. 

A simple menu so all I had to think about was a Januarious tablescape that would kill the blues. Paradoxical if you use shades of blue to do so, right? Anyhow the candles represent the softness, sweetness and mellowness; the pinecones winter that’s still reigning. In the end it’s the nice thank-you-for-the-invite presents that will definitely ward off the winter blues (as if the guests had read my mind): spring garden home fragrance sticks and tulips. Could a home be more springlike in January?

P.S. How do you like January?