Attitude

'I behave properly and I eat my lunch 'cause Santa is watching!'

'Who cares about Santa?'

Ps. Sorry for blogging so infrequently, my dear Readers. Times are quite hectic these days... I will be back and respond to your comments ASAP

Magyar fordítás:
Marci eszik, mert a Mikulás biztosan figyel. Danit ez szemmel láthatóan nem aggasztja. Két eltérő személyiség...

The ultimate wardrobe mission: the navy coat

This post has nothing to do with anything. OK, not anything, but anything that I should deal with right now. But I saw this picture of Nadia, my favorite french fashion blogger ever and could not get that coat out of my mind.

via nizzagirl

Maybe you remember my post about my ultimate wardrobe mission when I promised to buy only things that are in Nina Garcia's book 'The one hundred'. I am happy to announce that I will not break the rules by buying a lovely double-breasted navy coat as the pea coat is included in the list. So here is my own take on this classic fashion item.

The original from France. Ahoy!

from brittany boutique

Classy and feminine

from Crew Clothing

A bit edgy
from ASOS


A longer style

from Joules Clothing

An elegant version

from Dorothy Perkins

With peter pan collar, oh so lovely

via Urban Outfitters


The plan is to wait until the sales so all I need is patience!

Birthday party inspiration

My sons' birthday party will take place next weekend. These days I am collecting inspiration for decor, food, games, etc.
It is quite new to me as in Hungary birthdays are celebrated in a much simpler way than in Western countries. We have never attented a themed party, we do not have cupcakes and we usually do not give thank you gifts to guests.

To be honest this is the first real birthday party for my sons so I decided to make it special. (Back in Hungary we always celebrated with family.) I still believe that food and having fun is more important than decoration, but I would like to create a simple, natural setting for the party. I am thinking about Scandinavian with reds and whites and natural materials maybe some decorative items that I will be able to use for Christmas as well.

Nothing has been decided yet, but here are some ideas that inspire me.

Oh, yes the cake. I have never done a cake before so this weekend I am planning to rehearse it. It will be nothing like this...

Photos displayed on a string, I may steal this idea.

What a cute idea!



I love the bunting!

More buntings...

images via cookiemag

A brilliant gift idea: create your own photobook - it is addictive!!

I had been given personalized calenders several times, but had not been really fascinated about them. Until one of my friends recommended foto.com, a site that offers a whole range of personalized stuff like photobooks. This was something new to me and I think they are awesome!! Foto.com offers a variety of format options and backgrounds and everything is highly customizable. I already created one, but today I came across Bob Books that offers similar service. Every month they select the best book created by their customers and they are awesome! I feel so inspired I can not wait starting my project over again... (Compared to these books mine looks very boring) I warn you this can take a lot of time and it is really addictive!

Here are a few pages from a photobook created by John Burger about his Californian trip. It is the book of the month in October.

Fun, is not it?

Dream wardrobe

I have always dreamed of a wardrobe full of black, white, grey and nude-colored clothes. Paired down, simple silhouettes, comfortable cuts, high-quality materials. Timeless pieces that last for a life-time.

You think that you have already seen everything in fashion. And then one day you come across a new label and you fall in love. This is what happened with me. Loft design by is a French label that is very similar to A.P.C.

I am officially inspired!

Trendwatch: chalkboards

Busy, busy, busy! I have so much on my mind and I desperately need a good plan, but I do not want to think about anything. Furthermore, I am very tired and I do not think I will be able to relax in the weekend.
The birthdays of both of my sons are approaching and the fact that my bigger son is planning the party of the year (he has his own ideas, do you know how difficult it was to explain that I can not make a button which you have to push and a million of ballons will fly up in the sky...) does not make it any easier...
Decorating is not on my agenda right now, but I plan to create a crafting place for my sons and I do not know exactly how, but I would like to incorporate a chalkboard. Here is a selection of chalkboards from my inspiration folder.

images via design sponge (1), aparment therapy (2), cookie magazine (3, 4, 5, 6), desire to inspire (7)

I WISH YOU A NICE WEEKEND!

A brand new me

Finally the time for change has come! Remember how I wanted to have brown hair?

Yesterday

Today:

I love it and my husband loves it, too!!
(I am much happier than I look like :-)

Simplicity: the Shakers

I came across this post about the Shakers a couple of days ago and I become fascinated about this design philisophy.

The Shakers developed from a religious group called the Quakers and were originally located in England. Design and architecture were major attributes for them and their dedication to hard work and perfectionism resulted in a unique range of architecture, furniture and handicraft styles. Their work enrichened the cultural history of the US, their design philosophy is still frequently applied: "Don't make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don't hesitate to make it beautiful". Their most important inventions are: the Shaker peg, the flat broom, the Shaker box and the clothespin.

There is a Shaker Village in Pleasant Hill, Kentucky which was founded in 1805. It features 34 restored buildings, acres of farmland planted with heirloom varietals and an extensive museum collection. Photos via Flickr.

I love how the landscape becomes part of the design.

I really like the colors of that rug.


This bedroom is all about good sleep.


Artwork is inspired by nature.




I love the movement of this staircase.



Doors and windows are beautifully crafted.


Great storage is a must!


Traditional Shaker boxes.


I adore the symmetry.

Peg rails can be used for hanging almost everything, even furniture.

The landscape is also fascinating...





HAVE NICE WEEK!

Trend watch: bare bulbs

I have seen this a lot lately.

It is simple and stylish.

It is industrial, but it can look very sophisticated.

My favorite version from Bailey's Home and Garden

Seen here in the dining room of Bodie and Fou's owners, Karine and Elodie Köng.

Sticky lamps from Dutchbydesign

Seen here in this extraordinary bathroom. Photo via Madame Hervé.

Ornamental version from FinnishDesignShop

Oversized bulb from FinnishDesignShop

Similar to Sofia's little DIY project discovered via Dos Family



A polished take on old worklamps from Scandinavian Design Center. This could work in classic and elegant interiors as well.

What do you think of this trend?

I am on Apartment Therapy!!

I am so happy!! And I still can not believe it!! AT featured my little guest room project! Check out here!

I wish you all a very nice weekend!

Simplicity

Text coming soon

Living as an expat

I feel quite uninspired today and I am thinking a lot about our life here in Brussels. When we moved here 1.5 years ago, I thought it would be temporary. Now, I am not sure... I do not know what the future brings, but I feel that I have to make decisions that would affect my whole family. It is tough! I know that many of you live as expats and I would like to know your opinion and ideas.

-What brought you to the country you are living in now?

-Do you think you will live in that county for your whole life? Or do you think you will move to somewhere else? Or do you think you will go back to your own country?

-Do not you feel as an outsider?

-Do the people totally accept you? Do you have friends who have other nationality than you?

-Did you buy a house/apartment or are you just renting? (This may be a question of how long you are planning to stay...)

-And finally something else. I am just curious :-) Do you do what you have always wanted to do? If not why do not you change?

These questions have been on my mind recently and I would really love to hear what you think.

The photo has nothing to do with it, but I love its simplicity.

via design*sponge

Guest room/study: before and after

This room has received very little attention and care since we moved in 6 months ago. This is the smallest room in the house and we are glad that we could fit in a bed for guests and a small desk for the computer.
This is how it looked like some days ago. Very sad, I know...

And this is how it turned out:

What do you think?

The details:

-I spent altogether 15 euros (Can you believe it?)

-I bought 3 metres of IKEA Gunilla fabric (4 euros/metre) and my mother turned them into gorgeous cushion covers (inner cushions cost 1.5 euros each).


-The curtains are from IKEA, too, they were in my living room before and turned out to be too short for this room, so my mother made it longer with the help of some fabric.

-Three large blue picture frames (also from IKEA) were in my sons' room back in Hungary and I decided to turn one of them into an inspiration board. It was really easy to do even for me...

-I bought the chandelier sticker some time ago for our hallway, but then changed my mind about it and I think it is perfect for this room.

I am very satisfied with how it turned out and I am very grateful for my mother for her help! I am very happy that I could reuse many things and did not have to spend a fortune on new stuff.

(Now all I need is storage, lighting, a rug and a chair, but this is another story...)

Magyar fordítás:
Anya, íme a végeredmény! Gyönyörű lett minden, köszönöm szépen a segítségedet!!!
Íme, így alakult át a kis vendégszobánk/dolgozónk 3 m anyagból!!

Forgotten nation

I left my country 18 months ago... I am very sad for Hungary... due to the very opportunistic political manner during the last 20 years, Hungary is in a really bad situtation... economy is declining, people - be it young or old - do not feel safe and do not feel appreciated... just as in the past all the talented and creative people who might be able to bring change, simply leave the country.

Do you know that the computer, the helicopter, the ballpoint pen, the diesel engine, or the vitamine C were invented by Hungarian scientists? I am sure you do not know because we have never been good at marketing...

There is a new image video about Hungary. If you have 4 minutes please watch it. It features some beautiful images of Budapest and lists a couple of Hungarian inventions. Music is a modernized version of Hungarian folk music.

I hope you are gonna like it!

Paris in 6 hours

Yesterday we made the most efficient trip to Paris. It was like a dream. We departed at 7 in the morning and we were at home at 9 in the evening. We were driving 6 hours and inbetween we saw almost every famous places in Paris. How could we do this with two children? We simply took an open tour on a sight-seeing bus. It totally worth to do when you are visiting a large city for the first time because otherwise it would be exhausting.

I fell in love.. the city is magical, attractive and breathtaking. Brussels seems to be a village compared to Paris. I have never been such a great fan of Brussels, but after visiting Paris the gap is larger than ever.

The weather was really kind to us as the afternoon was sunny and warm.

Here are a small selection from the 300 photos my husband took.

Vouge cover exhibition on the Champs Elysées

Metro sign

Boats on the Seine

Tower Eiffel seen from the Alexander Bridge

Some of these are houseboats

Sun is shining on the other side of Seine

Cafés are crowded everywhere

Notre Dame and lots of people

Street vendors at the Seine

I can not understand why Brussels does not have a river. Almost all European capitals have a nice river.

Louvre. And people. Lot of them.

Champs-Elysées and the Arc de Triomphe. Amazing amount of cars.

People are enjoying the last of the sunshine.

Tour Eiffel. And lot of people. Not seen here.

Parisian street

Champs-Elysées and the Arc de Triomphe. A bit closer.

I am not sure what this is...

This has been a fantastic trip and I am sure that not the last one. Paris, we are coming back soon!