Hou koers

The blogger behind the houkoers-site is a very talented young man with a passion for sleeping in, surfing and photography. On his blog he showcases the results of combining the last two talents. I am a big fan of his work and when I heard he had an expo going on, it was a good excuse to give him that extra bit of exposure.

His rough, gritty sea and surf scapes are currently on display at the Zeehuis in Bergen aan Zee (yes dears, that would be Holland). To give you a bit of a hint of what you can expect, this is one of my faves of the expo:

So go check it out! For more info about the expo, pics and other brilliant stuff, go snoop around on Hou Koers!

It has arrived!

It is finally here! I've been waiting in suspense since the beginning of August. We have know that it was coming for a while now. But it still makes you wonder. How much will it weigh, what will it look like, is it coming on time or will it be late. Or better yet, will it be early?

And finally, after a long wait it arrived yesterday afternoon. Pretty, perfect and unspoiled:

















...God how I love Ikea.

Friday, I'm in love!

Packages always make me happy. Even though 99 of 100 times I know exactly what is in them, simply because I've ordered it myself. It's the thrill of unwrapping, hoping your expectations meet whatever is in the package. And of course, is it all still in one piece?

I received numerous packages that made noises they weren't supposed to make. No fun in unwrapping shards of what used to be a lovely retro vase, devestated to hear clingy noises when you're expecting a set of soupbowls that looked just like the ones your Nan used to have and took about a century to find. (I can still almost cry about that one.)

So I was very excited and yet very scared when I went to pick up my package from Belgium today. I was excited about it's arrival, but it had to come all the way from Antwerp. And the longer the journey, the more time it has to get broken. But the seller (Ulrike, you are a genius) wrapped my new addition in the best shock obsorption way ever: Hay.

Thanks to that brilliant and eco friendly wrapping, I can enjoy my newest piece in one piece. So, so pretty. Friday, I'm in love!








Coffee pot by Thomas, Germany. 1957.

Revamp

Revamp (ré-vámp)

To patch up or restore; renovate.

PrincessPeppernut is in need of some serious revamping. And no, I'm not talking botox, fillers and a new nose. The revamping has to take place on this blog. It has been too quiet. Almost deadly quiet. That's why my Almost Fall resolution (hey, who says you can only make these babies up at New Years?) is all about the blog, I'm going to restore, patch up and renovate.

And if that's not enough challenge. I bought myself a great swiffely chair that looks a bit crappy right now but will look gorgeous and Peppernut worthy when I'm done with is. Well.. That's the plan anyway. I'm thinking grey wool, white cotton or cognac leather to replace the hiddeous velour fabric.
Take a look at my little pet project and tell me what you think: Rethink my purchase or revamp it?

It's triplets!

Meet Karl, Nils and Junior. I found these funny looking guys in a second hand shop today. I couldn't resist, they are adorable. And they looked so familiar. Do you see what I see? There's a big hint in one of their names.

P.S.

Curious about the beautiful dresser I mentioned in the first bloghopping post? It was this one from Broyhill's Brasilia line which was created in 1962. The signature lines and waves of Brasilia furniture were inspired by the distinct architecture of the city of Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. For more information on Brasilia furniture go check out Brasilia Connection.

Bloghopping #01: Pushmepullyou Design

I can spend evening after evening just wandering around in Blogland. There is so much to see! I've decided to share my most fantastic finds with you through the new Bloghopping posts.

Here's the first!

Pushmepullyou Design

While clicking away in my enormous list of designblogs I found myself at designsponge, staring at a picture of the most beautiful curvy dresser. The picture was part of a sneak peek of Eleanor Grosch's new home. After looking at her pictures I just needed to find out more about her. Turns out that Eleanor Grosch is a designer and runs a designstudio called Pushmepullyou Design (named after Dr.Dolittle's two-headed llama) from Philadelphia. She specializes in screenprinting, a technique used to transfer an image to paper. And hers look absolutely amazing. My favorite for now is the Aesop's Fabels series:

The prints are 19" x 25" and are available through her webshop. Whilst you're there, go check out the iPop magnets. Supercute!

Fair Trade Treasures

I decided to give the local fair trade shop a visit after a friend gave me a chain made out of colorful cardboard butterflies. She told me that she got it at the fair trade shop and I was amazed. In the early days those shops sold cars made out of old cans, woven baskets, miniature lucky dolls and some dodgy African beaded head things. That was basically it. Nothing fancy and certainly nothing stylish. So I was happily surprised to see that the shops have come a long way since. My favorites at the moment are these lovely chunky wineglasses from Vietnam. They are made out of old lemonade bottles in Vietnam so you are not only supporting the people in Vietnam but you're also supporting the environment. That's double the karma!

Other amazing finds are these love little sequined little bags. Just big enough for your money or some spare make-up when you're going out. And last but not least these wooden bowls from the Philippines. They come in 4 different colors and 2 different size. Great for serving crisps, salads or you might use one of the bigger ones in your hallway to drop your keys and stuff in.

Go check out your local fair trade shop to see what treasures they hold for you. With every buy you will be supporting less privileged people all around the world. Now that's some serious guilt free shopping!

Oh no!

Word on the street is that the sixties are no longer hot at Ikea. Why else would they ditch the luscious golden brown color of the Stockholm line and replace it with black?
Seriously.. Black? Are the 80's back already?
I really like their Stockholm furniture, it's so rocking the sixties in 21st century style.
First thing to go is the dining room table. So for all you Ikea loving sixties rocking got a big empty space in the kitchen / dining room left-ies I can only say: Run! Go get that table!

My latest project

My house is getting a bit crowded. I have this huge soft spot for old furniture. Especially the ones that are a bit out of date but with a bit of altering they still can go a very long way. As I live in a small apartment, I just don't have that much space to do up those old hand-me-downs. Nor do I really have space to keep them. But there are some finds that are very very hard to resist. Luckily my mum has a decent sized shed which already holds 3 of my hard-to-resist 'projects'.

Yesterday my lovely old neighbor gave me this little oak chair. The cushions need work as I'm not a big fan of that vomitty green color. But for the chair itself, I'm still in doubt. It seems like nowadays the hype is to paint everything white and call it Baroque or worse : Riviera Maison. That just makes the hairs in my neck stand up. I'm not a big fan of painting wooden furniture. I love wood, it's the drawing of the grain, the color. I'm more a fan of restoring old thing than slapping paint on everything. And this it almost feels like a crime to paint over this sweet little chair. At this point, I think I'll go and look for some fab fabric to re-upholster the cushions with. Something that will go well with the chair and my interior. What do you think?

This little light of mine

My nieces gave me this just a couple of days after Christmas. It's a little candle holder with 4 tiny angels attached to it. When you light the candle, the angels start to swirl round and round and round. As they twirl the light of the flame bounces of them onto the wall. It is really clever, and so pretty. Just look at the details on the little angels. Thank you girls, I love it!

When I grow up

When I grow up and me and my brother made a gazillion with whatever we end up doing, designing or just plain selling, I would like to retire early. I can just imagine a little thatched roof cottage with a wobbly chimney, green doors a small red tractor. Totally surrounded by heaps of land and my favorite animals ever: Scottish Highlanders. They are such incredible creatures. They have this rural roughness and yet they look ever so cuddly. They're basically the Hugh Jackmans among the cows.

When I was a little girl, me and my family would spend loads of summers on a campsite in the south of the country. We would go for long walks and we always passed this big field full of these beauties. Ever since I saw them for the first time I was so impressed (or maybe scared even) by these animals. But after a couple of sightings my uncle persuaded me to go and try to pet the one closest to the fence. I stuck out my hand and the cow tried to swallow it. It was love instantly, haha. If I ever get my cows, I will name the first one Albert in his memory.