When I grow up I want an apartment like this...

I've been following Joanna Goddard's blog a cup of Jo for ages and fell in love with her post about the home makeover of her NY apartment with Space and Interior guru Emily Henderson. The House Imp currently au pairing in also has a great big living room table with Stokke high chairs for the kids and child friendly chairs for the adults that even with withstand spaghetti sauce smears and sticky fingers. I just love the way they incorporated subtle hints of colour in the frames on the wall, the children's toys, and fresh flowers and the mix of old and new pieces of furniture. I cant wait to stay in my own place again, but for now My small au pair living quarters in Holland will just have to do...

 

Feeling 'Design broody'...

You know how when people feel broody, and all they can see is pregnant woman, babies, and children's clothing? Well I suppose that's the case with me, but far, far from babies! Since my travel documentation to The Netherlands has been approved, all I keep seeing is news about the country, events, design and running in to friends who have family, friends and contacts there. Don't get me wrong, I am in no way complaining. I even created a Pinterest board labelled 'Dutch' . hmmm, Eager much Tara?

 

One of the events I'm looking forward to attending (and I mean one out of hundreds) is ELLE Decoration NL's 'Inside Design Amsterdam' festival that is celebrating its 10th year of festivities.

The festival spans over three days, starting at the ELLE Decoration Studio (Lobster House) in Frederiksplei and moving along various design hotspots within downtown Amsterdam. The festivals Facebook page is also a great way to keep up to date with which designers will be showcasing their work.

Their video snippet (on ELLE Décor NL website) has made me 'design broody' times ten and I think Its about time I just get over there already. I am most certainly ready to close this chapter of my life and fling open to the next...

Side note: Apologies to all of those who I am making incredibly jealous, but to make sure you don't miss a minute of my travels, watch out for the 'P.H' blog (which is the abbreviated name to keep it a surprise) which will officially commence on Sunday 25 August.

Favourite things volume 1...

 

So along with my work contract ending and waiting to go overseas, time really has been on my side (not that I have been doing much with it). I get to sleep in every day, takes long morning and afternoon runs, spend countless hours looking at blogs and generally being a complete and utter laze.

The funny things is, I feel like I actually have so much to do. Iv noticed this trend with myself a lot. When I am busy at work, then my personal life is pretty busy too. But now that I'm not doing much (only temporarily of course) I'm more tired than usual, and the days sort of surpass me. Regardless of all of this, I am still enjoying being back at my folks house and taking a well deserved break.

These are just some of the things I have been loving right now. I have been seeing a lot of peonies on Pinterest and love how vintage they can make a room feel. As for quinoa dishes, my mom has been making them for years, it's only now that it's started to become cool amongst all the hippies, so way to go mom. False Flat is a book that gives a breakdown of why Dutch design is so good. It's something a friend of mine lent to me and my nose has been buried deep into its content.

Funkis, Speciality breads and Dave Brubeck are just the other small insignificance's in my life right now that are on my ' Favourite things' list...

Go Dutch or go home...

Today is officially my last day at work. It's quite bitter sweet because I kind of love my job, and the people here are pretty cool too. Regardless, this is the end of one chapter and merely the beginning of another. It's starting to set in that I'm leaving for The Netherlands in just under a month so excitement is at an all time high...

Cheese Heaven...

I think its safe to say that The Netherlands is exactly the right place for me, because of my love for cheese obviously And I am just itching to go to The Amsterdam Cheese Store. Rows and rows of wheels of cheese, wedges of cheese and squares of cheese, Cheese heaven I tell you. 

The interior of the store was designed by Studiomfd who wanted to retain and bring through the authenticity of the brand and 'the pure experience of this distinctive cheese' into elements of the store.

'Upon entering the store, the gorgeously aged materials of the interior form an invitation to visitors to enjoy the pleasures of the classic Old Amsterdam cheese. Pure materials with lots of personality, such as a wooden floor distressed with a saw blade texture, stairs and wall covered in white classic marble and a countertop of genuine Belgian granite. Foreign visitors can enjoy images of Amsterdam in a vintage-poster-style mural showing the landmarks of the city. Everything conspires to embellish the Cheese Experience.

At the half way mark of the shop, the floor changes into a black and white tile pattern and the materials become lighter. The lighter furnishings offer a framework for other cheeses, displayed on refrigerated table tops. The interior has been built in modular elements so that the entire retail interior can be moved easily to a new location. The result is a store that presents a dynamic staging platform of the history, the city and the character of the cheese'- Taken off  Retail Design Blog

Mr Madiba...

I know for most of us working people, its a bit hard to fit in 67 minutes of changing the world into our lunch hour, or 30 minutes in my case. But as the Nelson Mandela Day's tag line goes "Make everyday a Mandela day", I hope to fit something of good into my weekend...or possibly every other day...

Stage 2 of Tomorrow Society...

So this is stage 2 of the project, where all the media get let in on what exactly it is that we are doing. Fortunately for me (sarcasm is present) the conference is in Cape Town. Nevertheless, the clothing bins unveil tomorrow at the Vida e' at 24 Central in Sandton and the other in Greenside for all of you have been wondering what these 'clothing bins' are all about...

What an exciting opportunity this has been and I look forward to future projects with Heidi and Trevor.

A bit of Mexico for your Monday...

I believe I don't have a single negative thing to say about the branding, interiors and photography of El Montero by Anagrama. There is a common design language that is followed throughout all of the different elements, and not any of them seems out of place. All in all, a contemporary restaurant that embraces the Mexican culture and surroundings . I most certainly wouldn't mind having the zig zag chandelier in my house...
 

'El Montero, is a restaurant located in Saltillo Coahuila, a city very close to the Mexican northern border. Its kitchen represents the restaurant's surroundings as it is located on one of Mexico's deserts. El Montero's menu is inspired on regional food, integrating elements from contemporary kitchens.
The project was developed inside an edification from the colonial period considered national patrimony. The development was executed with respect and care toward its elements' - taken off Anagrama's website