calm crochet mood

Working on another harlequin pillow, just for the fun of it and it's kind of relaxing as well.

Using up my yarn leftovers, sitting outside on the bench under the porch in the front yard.

This time of year, somehow i'm immensely in the mood to crochet. If you fancy to make a harlequin cover for your pillow, you can download the pattern in my ETSY SHOP.

End of summer vibes with a little bit of sunshine now and then. Sunday afternoons like this...

faded flowers

Zinnias in the garden, in the vase and for the future.

The more flowers you pick, the more you stimulate flowering. In the vase, put your zinnias preferably on a small layer of water.

Remove overblown flowers as soon as possible, therefor all energy goes to new flowers, and you have constant bloom.

However, if you want to harvest seeds to sow next year, you need to wait until the flowers finish blooming and allow the seeds to ripen. Just make sure to harvest the zinnia seeds after a few sunny days, whereby the seed heads are dry and not soaking wet.

Don't sow zinnias in the same place two years in a row.

I put these faded zinnias in a vase, and will let them dry and keep the seeds for next year. ... and I also like faded flowers.

moroccan nook

Collecting is no stranger to me...

The precious handmade souvenirs from my beloved Marrakech are gathered on an old tiny table in the kitchen.

The vintage breakbaskets, coasters and a bottle cover and clever candle holder we use daily.

I love the kind of souvenirs, genuine for everyday use and not just decoration.

The items of my Moroccan collection nook are one by one handmade in the medina of Marrakech, with simple materials and the objects are of no great value, but to me they are priceless. They remind me of my travels to Morocco and bring back fond memories.

How i miss the Red city and its lovely people.

new harlequin pillow & pattern

One pillow, two sides.

New in my Etsy shop; a handmade h a r l e q u i n pillow.

This harlequin pillow has two different sides.

You can also make a the harlequin pillow yourself and download the crochet pattern.

My newest crochet pattern is available in both an English and a Dutch version.

home-grown aubergine recipe

For dinner we had home-grown aubergine from the oven with curry, walnuts and honey.

A very simple vegetarian recipe for a quick surprise dinner. It looks exotic and oriental and has a very special taste.

Combine an aubergine with curry, walnuts and honey to get a real taste explosion. It takes only 10 minutes to prepare and the oven does the rest of the work. Serve it as a starter, side dish or lunch.

Ingredients for 2 people:

- 2 aubergines
- walnuts
- 2 cloves of garlic
- olive oil
- honey
- lemon juice
- curry
- salt
- black pepper

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Oven time: 1 hour

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Wash the aubergines, pat them dry and cut them lengthwise into thin slices and put them in a greased baking dish.

Brush the aubergines with olive oil and drizzle the honey and lemon juice over the top. Cut the garlic cloves into slices and divide them over the tops.

Finally, walnuts, curry, pepper and salt over the aubergines and put the baking tin in the oven. Bake the aubergines for about 1 hour. Keep a close eye on the aubergines during that time. If they get too brown on top, cover them with aluminum foil.

Meanwhile set the table attractively, because with a nicely set table, everything tastes even better!

PS: Last week I made a Moroccan Zaalouk salad with the first harvested aubergines.

splendid zinnias

Look at the splendid color combination of pale orange and lilac. This stunning zinnia is by far my favorite summer flower of the season.

It's the Zinnia elegans Forecast, a mixture of single and double flowers in all kind of exotic colors of purple, pink, lilac, orange, salmon, yellow and vanilla shades.

A few days after picking, the colors fade a bit and the zinnias are even more spectacular.

These ones are growing in the Villa Augustus garden. Note to self; I will definitely sow the seeds in my own garden next year.

indigo block print kaftan from ibiza

I always get a lot of questions about my outfits in (private) messages on instagram and mails in response to blog posts.

Some kaftans are made by myself, some of them I found in secondhand shops, most of them I found abroad. Some in Lisbon, some in Londen. And some online.

This block print kaftan dress is from Aurobelle Ibiza. Have a look at their colourful exclusieve collection! The aim of owner Jane is to create beautiful garments in the most ethically and environmentally conscious way possible and support artisanal practices around the world, making each piece uniquely beautiful.

I fell in love with this indigo blue beauty! A super light organic cotton fabric, awesome handmade block print design and even pockets!

Slow fashion, wear clothes that matter.

Throughout the years i've discovered my kaftan dresses are timeless and perfect summer wear for almost any occasion.

I started wearing kaftans when i went to Marrakech more often. It feels more comfortable and respectful to adapt your outfit to the culture and it's effective in the heat and yet very feminine.

I've been wearing my kaftan collection for years and it's not going to fall out of fashion, so it moreover seems to be the most sustainable part of my wardrobe.

The ones who know me, know that I could wear kaftans all day every day...

A kaftan in summertime creates comfort, ease in the heat, and very much a sense of grace. Also after summer, a kaftan is the perfect stylish loungewear after a bath or shower. You can wear it all year around.

Alltogether slow fashion!

french finds

This morning we visited our friend Lammie in her surprisingly nice and special Saturday shop.

The shop was packed with new finds from France.
We had coffee in front of the shop on the small french terrace at the harbour and had a chat with fellow customer Carmen from Almada (Lisbon), needles to say it was all about 'a vida portuguesa'...

After coffee we went back inside for a closer look at the motley french collection and did some serious shopping.

we spoiled ourselves with white harlequin plates, more yellow and black plates, a blue vase of opal glass, a grape vase, a tea towel with fish print and a gift for a friend. In short, we bought a lot, however we hadn't stopped by for a long time.

If you'll ever visit Dordrecht, you should really drop by.

Saturday shop by Lammie - Knolhaven 15 - 3311 BJ Dordrecht

aubergines

Homegrown aubergines in the backyard.

Almost ready to be harvested. It's the first time this year that I have tried to cultivate an aubergine plant in my garden. After years of tomato- and pepper plants, I wanted to try something different and this vegetable plant turns out to be a good choice.

The deep purple veggies have grown so fast during the past tropical weeks. It was interesting to monitor the growth of the eggplant closely and to see how the attractive lilac flowers turned into aubergines.

It reminded me of the artistic aubergine paintings by Erik Mattijssen from an exhibition a year ago. The paintings are so colorful and inspiring. The Pacifico painting from 2009, with eggplants in food cans, was my favorite masterpiece.

If only i would have planted the plant in a tin... I have to remember this for next year.

Next week I'm going to try the Zaalouk recipe, a delicious Moroccan aubergine salad with eggplant as the main ingredient.

coolness at the end of the day

Recover from the heat at the end of the day, in nature around the corner.

the beach to ourselves

Saturday 8th of August

We set our alarm at 7 am and left for the coast early. Once at the beach, we walked a long way, just a little further than most people would do. No doubt many will follow today.

The beach, silence and light are beautiful at this early hour, getting up early on a day off was worth it.

Breakfast on the beach while we had the beach to ourselves.

Obviously not for long. After a while the beach slowly filled up.