May 14, 2013
by maureen
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The witty knitter

I have a confession to make. I started to knitt and I’m really witty at it. ( And I’m also getting jiggy with it -once I’ll finally have a scarf, I’ll do a little knitty dance….).

I knit in a womans group at my work ( Yes, I’m that lucky) with a bunch of super funny and super nice women. So I really enjoy every second of their company. It makes me happy.

I took the thing home since It’s also a easefull hobby.

Today, I did the most scary thing I have ever done in a while, so that witty knitty comes in handy.

I used to be much more impulsive… and euh, I don’t like how I am now. I’d like to go back and not think about things so much. I don’t like it that the past has made me a bit more carefull and scared. But, I’m learning to trust again. Learning to not be afraid. What will be will be, and if the outcome isn’t that great….there will be other chances, I’m sure.

Soooo. I’m not going to say anything about the thing I’ve did until I get some sort of feedback, or no feedback at all, in the worst case.

Oh yeah, my knitting isn’t perfect, but that’s oké.

It fits me well like that, and it’s perfectly pink. Maybe, I’ll get crazy and knit everything in the house pink, including my cats.

That would be super funny! If they keep me up all night, they might get a little torment back…

Oh, and by the way, Do you remeber the days when all those models were knitting. Yeah, that period is kinda over. They are now all playing the flute or something when they wait for their turn at the fashion show. I’m AFTER trending. which makes it again to hip to handle.

This knitted underwear is my next project… I was kinda looking for a pattern and thought this would be fun.

Then I found out it was a bit of a naughty video…hahaha.

I only wish I knew what she was saying to her boyfriend, it sounds nice.

Yeah yeah….

Because sharing makes you lovable and smart!

May 13, 2013
by maureen
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Be kind, rewind

As I was surfing the waves of www, I came across a favorite movie of mine, which is called ” Be kind Rewind”. It’s funny that I came across it, I completely forgot about it.

I has the super talented and super cute Mos Def and my favorite actor Jack Black in it. There, allready 2 good reasons to watch it.

When I was living in Ostend I had movie nights with my friend every week. Needless to say I practically forced him to watch every Jack Black movie there was. It was very essential for my friends growth, no doubt.

So the movie is about two guys working in a videostore. When one of them gets magnetised and accidentely whipes out all the tapes, they decide to remake all the movies themselves. So when people ask about a particular movie they suggest the 20m minute version one and say that it’s Sweded. Better than the original one, and it’s made in Sweden, hence sweded.

It has the best movietitle too. I can relate to it as an ecological vintage freak, but also on a profounder, personal level. I’m not so fond on dwelling on the past, but in order to be kind to ourselves, it’s sometimes necessary to refelect on our life, our motives and goals and what we could have done in another way. So we can be better and do better in the future.

You never know where life leads to, even when you think you have it all figured out. I made a decision a very long time ago and I wouldn’t ever have imagined then the magnitude of it and all the consequences it brought about, and how long they would dragg along. I was hopelessly stuck for a long time to change something about it. The fact alone that I wasn’t in a good place and I had no power to change anything about it for such a long time, drained all the energy right out of me.

When someone asked me what I’ve learned about that situation, I was in no place near to reflect on it, because I was literally still stuck in the middle of it. Now, I finally have time to process it all.

I sometimes wonder, if I believe that everything happens for a reason, and everyone has it’s path. What should I have learned from all those obstacles in the past years? What is the universe telling me?

If knowledge is the path to a Sweded life, I really want to know.

Jack and Mos…

I saw this too…

Because sharing makes you lovable and smart!

May 7, 2013
by maureen
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Scandinavian and ECO fabulous

Swedish Hasbeens

The founders found 300 pairs of clogs from the seventies in an old clog factory and decided to remake them. They are handmade in a small factory in Sweden by craftsmen that have made shoes for decades with production methods that are kind to people and nature. And they are so retro beautiful.

Modstrom

They support the UN global compact and the 10 universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. So no child labour here and good working conditions. It’s stylish and not too expensive.

Excellent for basics too.

Minna

Minna is a brand by Finnish designer Minna. Great if you’re looking for beautiful bohemian lacy tops and dresses. Minna keeps searching for better production methods that minimise the impact on the invironment.

Because sharing makes you lovable and smart!

May 3, 2013
by maureen
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The Gentle Woman

Goodmorning to you all!

I watched the documentary from Beyoncé last night on TV channel EEN. So I guess it was time to tell you about “The Gentle Woman”.

I talked a little yesterday about my new favorite magazine ” The Gentle Woman”. On one hand I’m so glad I discovered it, on the other hand I’m a bit bummed to only just have discovered it. Only to tell you how I feel about it! It’s super duper amazing!

It’s so different from all the other magazines, and the good thing is that you can get it delevered here, which isn’t the case for other magazines that I realy liked like for example “Another magazine”.

Don’t you also feel that the magazines to be bought at local newsstores in Belgium are just so blah.

The only thing worth buying for me is Elle magazine, but to be honest, I would stop buying it if the Dutch version wasn’t included in the pack. The Dutch are much more daring in their composition of fashion ensembles and much whittier in their writing. That, and it has that easy going, we mock ourselves, to be found in colums but also in the styling, je ne sais quoi Dutch thing over it.

I mean they are able to have a good laugh at themselves, what’s life if you can’t do that.

It wasn’t a surprise to see that the creative director of “The Gentle Woman” is a London based Dutchman.

So what more. The magazine focusses on strong women. Every issue there are long and deeper pieces on their lives and achievements. It doesn’t focus so much on fashion and make -up, and if it does, they do it from a sort of different, twisted, weird angle.

I saw this issue in Paris, ( more about that later) and as the dummy that is me, I didn’t pick it up in the international press store there. An hour later I regretted being dombo and well, the outcome was that we went in to every newsstore we saw. Only to find out, the horror, it wasn’t there. Also I want to point out, it had Beyoncé on the cover and amazing photographs of her inside. I’m not crazy of the obsessive kind in general, you know. IT HAD BEYONCE ON IT! The previous issue had ADELE. I’m so sorry to have missed Adele too. Gentle women allover here!

Home, I went on line, got myself a subscription. They release it every 6 months, but don’t get me wrong, it’s that thick that you can read in it for about a half a year. After subscribing, the automatic computer thingy said I would get the next issue.

Bye Bye queen B. Then, as lightning bolts began to flash, my mind started working, finally, and the next crazy idea came after the other. Why not go to London? Why not again to Paris? Why not stalk the UK office? Then, the most brightest popped into my head. Yes, BAZINGA! Drumruffel…trompets…The international press store in Ghent! My most favorite store after all my tea stores and vintage stores and also a few online stores, blush blush. I called, they putt it aside for me, since… it’s ran by the most friendly people that know everything and have everything. International press store info here. Ceci n’est pas une blague. A week later I was on the way to Ghent. An hour later I kissed Beyoncé. Or more likely, the cover of Gentle Woman.

Et voila, pardon my French but I saw it for the first time in Paris, La conte magique du Gentle Woman.

I’ll leave you with a fabulous Beyoncé story… and I promise to putt the Isabel Marant story up later.

Because sharing makes you lovable and smart!

May 2, 2013
by maureen
0 comments

The John Wayne

I’m currently totally in to Little Green Cars. I’m so completely convinced that they will provide the soundtrack of my 2013 summer.

I bet it’s going to be great. Sun or no sun.

And with a song called John Wayne, who can not love them. Allthough the actor John Wayne was right from a political standpoint, he was also fun and lovable kind of guy. That, and he didn’t have to go participate in the Vietnam war, because he was needed by big Hollywood studio bosses to make legendary cowboyfilms that made the boxoffice explode the first week. Lucky him.

John Wayne makes me think of cowboys and Isabel Marant makes me think of cowgirls.

I read a great piece about her in my new favorite magazine which is called ” The Gentle Woman ” (more about that later).

I’ll just leave you with Isabel now, and with Little Green Cars, band from Dublin formed in 2008. Blog and website of band to be found here.

Oh yeah, not only does the song build up musically towards bombastic middle pieces and tones down afterwards again.

Like the sea. What is better than the sea with calm and fierce waves?

The song’s lyrics are just sublime.

“You know it’s your neglect
is the reason that I’m so obsessed with you
And when I asked you your name you said John Wayne
And I guess it’s true
Coz then you shot me down
Doubled over and I hit the ground right in front of you
I guess in the Wild West
it’s ok to shoot the pest that’s annoying you”

Man, if I were in the Wild West, with Johny or not, I’d definitely would be wearing this.

( drawing by Gigi)

or this

or maybe, I can wear it right here, since you’d have to be blind to not know that we’re still living in the wild west, and the survivest of the fittest is even more the case. I know I won’t be fitter with nice clothes, but I will LOOK fitter, and since people mostly judge a book by it’s cover.. well…
Lett’s seize the day and all buy Isabel Marant all the time! ( hahahahaha, I’m not kidding, if only it would be possible, that would be freakin awsome…)

Because sharing makes you lovable and smart!