France-Hollande-Berlin
With François Hollande becoming France's new president today, the words France, Hollande and Berlin are trending. Also in my book, as I'll be in Berlin for my first time ever in a few days.
Growing up as a Dutch citizen and now in France, with Germany as one of the neighbouring countries, I had the chance of visiting Germany quite a few times. The last time I was in Germany is only a few weeks ago, and only for a few (fun!) hours. Above is what it looked like: so pretty!
Of course we also traveled through Germany on our roadtrip to Scandinavia last year. And in 2007 I was invited to visit the HQ of a German graphic studio and to talk about a possible collaboration. During my stay in a very rural part of Germany, I became embarrassingly aware that I overestimated my German language skills. Chatting to the taxi driver, I saw his quizzical look in the rear view mirror. Probably I spoke Dutch with a German accent, which sounds good to me, but is incomprehensible for a German…
However I read and understand almost anything in German, but speaking it, is something else… I'm off to Berlin to attend The Hive, a European Blog Conference. Besides being excited to meet lots of new people (I will definitely talk to them in English), I'm looking forward to discovering a tiny bit of (hipster!) Berlin. And of course to see what's left of the Berlin wall, as I can vividly recall the moment of the fall of the Berlin wall in november 1989. Rendez-vous la semaine prochaine!
Photoshoot @ Studio Sapique
Last week a team of 6 super talented people spent a few days at Studio Sapique for a photoshoot. Tree days of styling, talking, eating, laughing and shooting resulted in some beautiful photos.
It is so refreshing to look at your own home & workplace through the eyes of some true interior design professionals. We received a huge compliment when they told us it was one of the most unique places they've been to in over 10 years. All the hard work, blood, sweat and tears have been so worth it!
Unfortunately I cannot reveal too much yet. All I can tell is that I modeled for a possible cover image of the magazine and that one of our cats was a superstar. He played with the camera and walked the catwalk like a pro. Results in a few months!
Blossom before thunder
Unpredictable april weather stands for dramatic skies which are the perfect backdrop for the fresh white blossom in one of the trees at Studio Sapique. I couldn't help myself and shot some cheesy blossom photos.
Cranes without fuses
Our neighbours with the cool logo dismantled their main crane. Two workers were high up in the sky to remove the nails from part of the construction which was taken down by another crane. Without any safety fuses or ropes. Nothing! How brave!
Red Velvet Whoopies
My husband is the "chef" in our home. I never cook. But every once in a while I get into the mood to bake something. From the moment I saw these red velvet whoopies I knew I wanted to try to make them.
While shopping for the ingredients at my Asian grocery store, my hands turned red and yellow because the tiny jars with the food pigments were covered in colored powder. It made me wish the Color me Rad event would come to Europe.
The dough became a beautiful oxblood red. Not quite as flashy as the red cookies in the recipe. It tasted quite good though, very chocolaty & creamy.
Making the heart shapes turned out disastrous as the ziplock bag (which I used as a pastry bag) ripped open after a dozen of hearts. I decided to make some big round cookies with the leftover dough.
For the filling I used crème fraîche, sugar, a slice of butter and vanilla extract. Very rich and not so healthy. But none of the whoopies or big chewy sandwich cookies were left after serving!
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Happy breakfast with friends & flags