We are moving to.....Paris!

Hello everyone, I have some big news. I am moving to Paris very soon! and I am very excited. We found a pretty little house in the suburb with a little garden really close to the Gare St Lazare. That means a lot of chances in our lives, but I am really happy about it. Now it's getting so real, that we have even booked a moving company, I can't wait to be there.  I have been spending over 10 years in Germany, Berlin first and then Hamburg. I am really grateful for all the great experiences I had here, and all the great people I met and will dearly miss.  That's where I started my professional and marital life, where I started my blogging life and where my sweet little Ella was born. I will never forget that, but I am excited now about starting a new chapter of my life and living closer to my family, which will also be great for little Ella. 

I am so excited about:

* The food * The museums and the cultural life  * The concerts  * being able to work in my mother tongue * being able to see my family without having to take a plane * having a garden and be able to grow my own flowers * discovering some new flower shops  * growing a cut flowers garden in my mum's garden * being able to see my French friends a lot more

Of course, I will take madame love with me in my little suitcase and continue blogging about flowers and interior design. I will also of course share my shopping tips with you along the way and start a Paris guide after my Hamburg guide.  Talking about Paris Guide, you can check out the blogs of my friends Igor and Judith for some great Paris Tips.  PS: I stole their beautiful pictures (with their permissions of course) to illustrate this post, and now I am even more excited about our new start! Take care and have a lovely weekend! Elodie

My green Amsterdam

Hello everyone, as promised on Instagram, here comes my blogpost about the green side of lovely Amsterdam. After two pretty intensive days visiting the Keukenhof park and the flower bulb region, I had a very nice and relaxing Sunday in Amsterdam with my friend Ivona. I had my camera with as we went for a walk and I decided to take another angle for my blogpost about Amsterdam and to show you the green side of the city. So no canal houses, bikes on the bridges or boats on the water even though they are beautiful.  I am showing you the green side of the city, but not the obvious green side, with the blooming cherry trees and the lovely parks, but the plants and flowers in front of the houses and in the shop windows. When you walk around Amsterdam, you really realise, how much the flowers are loved in this city and how beautifully they are displayed. So here are a couple of photos, I took during my walk in the city centre of Amsterdam, in the restaurants and cafés and even in the lobby of the beautiful Rijksmuseum. So here are some wisteria, rosebuds, lilac and clematis for you, and of course also a couple of tulips! I wish you a great day! I will be back soon with a round to my visit to the daffodils festival on Saturday on some designers I love.  Have a great afternoon! Elodie

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Stockholm #4: Where & what to eat

BREAKFAST:

Claretti Tastesheriff and myself, we arrived very early in Stockholm on Friday morning, so the first thing we wanted to do, was to have breakfast. We went to the lovely bakery Vete-Katten (wheat-cat) and had a coffee and a lovely Swedish cake.

The bakeries were full with Semla, when we were there, a traditional Swedish pastry, made out of a wheat flour bun seasoned with cardamom, filled with almond paste and whipped cream. You can find a recipe on the gorgeous Swedish food blog Call me cupcake!

Vete-Katter Kungsgatan 55, Stockholm

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 07:30 to 19:30 Saturday 9:30 to 17:00 Sunday & Holiday 12:00 to 17:00

LUNCH:

On the last day of our trip, we visited the Nytorget Urban Deli for lunch with Ricarda 23qm still Clara Tastesheriff, Kathrin Happy home blog and Judith Joelix. Urban Deli, is a beautiful little restaurant located in an organic supermarket and beautifully decorated with bare light bulbs and yellow tolix high-chairs. The place is located in the trendy area of Södermalm and you can also go there for breakfast and dinner.

Nytorget Urban Deli Nytorget 4, Stockholm Opening hours: Sunday to Tuesday 08:00 to 23:00 Wednesday to Thursday 08-24:00 Friday - Saturday 08:00 to 01:00

DINNER:

We had three evenings in Stockholm, so three opportunities to try nice restaurants. Stockholm is not exactly cheap, but we had good food and always extraordinary bread to go with it. Here are the addresses of this three places, that I can all recommend, because of the food quality, ambiance, decoration and service. If you want to go to one of those great place, it is always wise to book in advance.

Cloud nine is a strange combination of French food and Sim Sum bistro Torsgatan 1, Stockholm

Boqueria is an excellent tapas place, which was recommended by our hotel, the decoration is lovely. Galleria Mood Jacobsbergsgatan 17, Stockholm

Scandic Grand Central - Restaurand Teaterbrasseriet - The restaurant attached to the Scandic Hotel is really fantastic. You can also eat some Köttbullar, the traditional Swedish meat balls. Kungsgatan 70, Stockholm

OTHER FOOD RELATED PLACE:

if you go to Stockholm, you should definitely pay a visit to the Östermalms Saluhall - It's a beautiful covered market, where you can find all sorts of food.

I hope you got a little inspired by this post and not too hungry! Speak to you soon xxx

Elodie

Stockholm #1 - First day in the city

Hello everyone,I spent the first days of February in Stockholm this year. You might find it a strange idea, as the meteorological conditions are not the best for visiting a city but I had an excuse. I was attending the "Meet the blogger" conference - An international event for home design and lifestyle bloggers. The conference took place on Saturday and Sunday, but I will talk a little more about what I learned and who I met in Stockholm in another blogpost. I arrived to Stockholm very early on the Friday morning with Clara, and we had a few hours to discover the city before the sun came down - and believe it or not, it was a very sunny day!

It was a charming first day in Stockholm with a lot of walking around. I will be posting more Stockholm in the next few days - So stay tuned. What about you? Have a visited Stockholm? Do you like the city? Talk to you soon

xxx

Elodie

Antwerp #4 – Where to sleep

Hello everyone, I think nobody likes Mondays ... I think the best cure is to plan your next holiday and think back to your last holiday. While doing it, I realised I still wanted to give a last tip about Antwerp, where I spent a fabulous break last October. After telling you what to do in Antwerp by day and showing you the city by night, where to eat in Antwerp and where to shop, here comes my ultimate tip: where to sleep in Antwerp - and the answer is a beautiful Bed & Breakfast called Home @ FEEK. It is one of the most fantastic places I have stayed at in my life - it was the night of my birthday and it was definitely special!

It is located in the old house of the harbour master and five minutes walk from the MAS (Museum aan de Stroom).

The place is run by product designer Frederik van Heereveld. Frederik is known worldwide for his collection with FEEK and new materials, which he integrates into his interior designs. All the furniture in the rooms can be bought. Even the lift is really funky.

The changing colour lamp in the bedroom was also a highlight.

Hone @ Feek Website: www.http://home.feek.be Oude Leeuwenrui 23, Antwerpen

The Human Empire - A design studio and a shop

Hello everyone, I have another shop presentation and another spot will be soon completing my little interior design map of Hamburg. The Human Empire is originally a design studio that turned into a shop in Hamburg. The shop is very well-known for the posters with their own design and designs from other designers which can be bought online too. They also sell a selection of items from very interesting designer, such as Donna Wilson and exclusive magazines such as Kinfolk Magazine *Kinfolk is a growing community of artists with a shared interest in small gatherings* and the magazine is really great, or the beautiful books from the Japanese editor Paumes as well as casual clothes for men and women. The TIGER print from my living room, that I presented there and there also comes from Human Empire. I wish you a wonderful and stress-free day and hope that this post will inspire you bit, maybe to redecorate your home a bit with a new print or find some original x-mas presents. xxx Elodie

Japanese interior books from édition PAUMES, animal plates from Donna Wilson, tea towels from Skinny laMinx, familien Matroschka from OMM Design, postcards from Human Empire Artist Series, wooden animals from Aeraware

Human Empire Schulterblatt 132 20357 Hamburg Mo. – Fr. : 12:00 – 19:00 Sat.            : 12:00 – 18:00

Antwerp #3 - Where to eat?

Hello everyone,I have got a restaurant tip for you from our holiday in Antwerp with Mr. Love. I already gave you an overview of Antwerp by day and of Antwerp by night and now I would like to give a nice address for lunch, dinner or even breakfast. The restaurant Hangar Eenenveertig is situated on the docks and we went there by accident, while looking for a place to eat lunch and I had the most amazing grilled sandwich ever with grilled tuna and tapenade! The place is also beautifully decorated with dark walls & ceilings (chocolate colour), a very original wooden floor and some fancy lamps over the bar. Here are a couple of photos.

If you have the chance of going to Antwerp, please visit this place for me! It is situated not far away from the Klosterstraat, the street with all the beautiful antique shops.

xxx

Elodie

Website: HANGAR EENENVEERTIG Sint Michielskikaai 41 2000 Antwerp

Antwerp #2 - The city by night

So I hope you enjoyed seeing this beautiful city by day, here are a couple of night shots to complete my impressions.I am lucky Mr. Love is very patient and shares my passion for photography! We had a lot of fun walking in the streets of pretty Antwerp with the Camera and the stand. Here is the result:

I will be back soon with the best Bed & Breakfast I ever stayed at.

xxx

Elodie

Antwerp #1 - The city by day

So, Mr. Love and I came back from our fantastic trip to Antwerp and Amsterdam on Tuesday and had to get back directly to our daily lives and jobs. I was looking forward to this weekend in order to be able to sort out my 800 pictures and prepare my blogposts. I will start with the beginning of our trip and the days we spent in the beautiful city of Antwerp in Belgium.The most interesting landmark in Antwerp is the train station. I completely fell in love with it - it is just spectacular. The perspectives and the lines are really breathtaking. It is these kinds of spaces that make you regret only having a 50 mm with you and not a wide-angle - but I tried my best!

What I also loved in Antwerp is the very pretty art nouveau district called Zurenborg which is full of beautiful houses - we stayed the first days in this neighborhood in the very cool and affordable hotel Sir Plantin. If you decide to stay there, you should insist on having a quiet room, not facing the main street. Apart from that the hotel is really good and the rooms are really stylish. You sleep under huge reproductions of portraits by Flemish masters.

Zurenborg and the gold and silver buildings:

The amazing architecture, the fashion scene and the many antique shops on the famous Klosterstraat are not the only interesting things in the city. Antwerp is also a famous harbour, and you can admire the big ships just a few steps away from the old town and the cathedral. I love harbours since I have been living in Hamburg and I think it really gives cities a special flair.

The old-town of Antwerp is also definitely worth visiting, with the beautiful cathedral, the guild-houses and the cobblestoned streets.

So this is the first post about Antwerp. I hope you can't wait to visit the city now! Don't worry, I have a lot more to tell you about the city: a couple of images by night, a hot Bed & Breakfast tip, a very cool restaurant and a lovely Belgian interior design showroom. So....stay tuned and talk to you soon!

Elodie

Richard - A lovely shop indeed

As I had rented a wide-angle Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM last week-end and had my tripod with me, it was the perfect occasion to do something I have been wanting to so for a long time: a photo session at one of my favorite shops for interior design in Hamburg: RICHARD, in the Neustadt in Hamburg.I went there also with my Canon EF –  50 mm f/1.8. So some of the pictures are taken with the wide-angle lens and the close-ups with the 50 mm lens. It is obviously easier to do a couple of pics with the smartphone, but Mr. Love was kind enough to come with me and help me carry the material. Thank you Mr. Love!

It is the second blogpost I write about this district of Hamburg, the first one was about the lovely Japanese shop Akiko. They are both situated in the very cool Wexstrasse in this very creative part of the city. Richard is a shop with a  fantastic atmosphere and a wonderful mix of old and new. I am particularly in love with the beautiful vintage globe collection. The dark walls and the candles, give the shop an extremely cozy and inviting atmosphere and the prices are very affordable.

I have updated my LOVEly map of Hamburg, if you want to have an overview of my shop reviews in the blog so far. I am still working on a PDF version of the map.

RICHARD Wexstr.32a 20355 Hamburg

Monday   : closed Tu. – Fr.  : 11:00 – 19:00 Sat.            : 11:00 – 16:00