Thursday, September 22, 2011

'Be a realist, remain a dreamer'

One of the things I absolutely love to do on a useless day is strolling around the city, discovering new and interesting stuff. I had one of these days last week, and it was fun!



I met up with my girls for an evening around town and while chatting and sharing with each other our old and new, we ended up walking along the Amsterdam canals, where we stumbled upon this amazing store/studio/gallerie spiritually named 'Buddista', at Prinsengracht 688, if you happen to be in the neighbourhood.


Our curiosity piqued, we walked into this messy hallway, greeted by a full-scale Lagerfeld poster. Beside this almost humbling entrance rested an installation of old suitcases positioned on top of eachother, illustrating   both the concept of leaving as well as coming home, as explained by the artist, suitably dubbed Buddista.

While leisurely holding a beer in one hand, he invited us to have a look into his workshop:  it's what you would expect of a disorganized, buddhist artist's studio.


One of my favorites was an unfinished painting of a woman with butterfly wings, staring into 'nothingness', as if preparing to fly away into it. Being a dreamer at heart I can relate to this image. Same goes for this one:



One of the reasons I love citylife, is because every day can bring surprises, and there is always something new to discover, especially culture-wise. Untill another urban expedition!

Love



Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Crete, I love you


After having spent eight amazing days of sunsets, nightswimming, and beachfun, I'm back in Amsterdam, where autumn has already (way too soon if you ask me!)  given us a heads-up of what to expect these coming months. But, let's not get caught up in bitching about the weather, as this post is all about the reminiscence of those lost summerdays. Here's a little photo report for y'all, hope you like it!


We were on the island of Crete, which is the largest and most populous of the Greek isles. Taking into consideration the crazy almost vulgar popularity of touristy places such as Chersonissos and Malia, we went for a somewhat quieter and authentic village called Analipsi, a perfect place to indulge in the picturesque Greek landscape and to spot cute litte chapels, like this one.


My friend and I both have Moroccan roots, so naturally we feel at ease with the Mediterranean culture and cuisine, which consists of lots of fish and other seafood, olive oil, and colorful ingredients. We cooked this meal on our second day: grilled sardines with a fresh tomato salsa, and tomato and Greek feta salade, yummy!


Although I love the relaxation that comes with the slow village life, this born city girl can't survive without the impetus and rush of urbania. Naturally we paid several visits to Heraklion, which is the capital of Crete. Here's a sticker I came across while strolling through the streets. Somehow streetart makes me feel at home.
 

I'm the typical tourist, wherever I go my camera goes. Seriously, I think I shot around 800 pics, so don't be confused if, every now and then, an exotic picture pops up on the blog:) It'll just be me reviving and sharing with you great memories.

 Feel free to leave a comment. Ow, and if you like what you see on FSHNvanguard, show your support by liking the Facebook page here. Thanx a million!

Love

Friday, September 2, 2011

Artsy Autumn

Although I'm not really one to incessantly whine about the weather, these past few weeks (or should I say months) have not been your typical hot summer days. Being a Dutchie at heart I know not to expect anymore sizzling days at least until May next year. As I have my eight days of sun covered (someone is leaving for Crete tomorrow!) I can't wait for fall to bless us with some richly coloured foliage, coziness, and a new wardrobe. Let's take some time to marvel at this season's hot trends and styles!

Albeit not uncommon, the season's catwalk-styles rocked fine arts- inspired ensembles, flaunting contructivist colour grids, geometric lines, and opaque gouaches.

Splashes of colour and pattern, geometrics, and turtlenecks at Jil Sander, Yves Saint Laurent, and Céline


Cubism-inspired bright coloured planes at Chloé and Prada

 Clean-cut silhouettes and wavy autumn colours at Céline and Jil Sander

A striking resemblance with Matisse's gouaches at Chloé

It doesn't really matter whether you choose geometrics, bold colour grids, or sharp silhouettes, as long as it's colourful and perky. This won't be an issue for me, as I am a true fan of colour: you will rarely find me sporting an all-black outfit. Yay, can't wait to do some serious shopping! Of course I'll keep you posted on my interesting finds.

As my flight leaves in a little more than 3 hours, I guess I'll be checking out for now. Catch you in a few days with holiday pictures!

Love