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Perfection in the tiny details

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This time two years ago, I was in Australia on a wonderful trip. I was very lucky to go Down Under for work and then I took the occasion to travel and spend time with friends I hadn’t seen for many years. I can’t believe 2 years have passed already! I will be digging out some pictures of that trip from the archive to celebrate what an awesome trip I had:)

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For now some details from walking along the sand on Cable Beach with my dear friend Alex at magic hour. I was mesmerised by the beauty of these patterns of tiny perfectly formed round balls of sand spreading outwards like fireworks.

Futher along the beach on I saw this simple footprint turned into a magical looking tree, which reminds me of the many boabs that we saw on our trip. So gorgeous! I love nature’s tiny beautiful details.

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Quiet morning off

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JOYFUL GRATITUDE #42

Every second week I have the Friday off from work. I enjoy those Fridays even more than regular weekend days because I feel like I have this precious time for myself while the world around me is working.

Spending those mornings in one of my favorite cafés without needing to rush anywhere is bliss. I love watching the baristas at work, taking the time to reflect on the past week in my journal, observing other customers (I confess I also really like eavesdropping and hearing the most unexpected conversations)… I am grateful for these pockets of quiet time off to recharge my batteries.

Exploring Knoydart

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It’s always a pleasure to look back at holiday pictures and I’m enjoying reliving the walks we took back in early June when discovering the spectacular the landscapes of the Knoydart Peninsula.

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Being outdoors all day long and exploring by foot felt wonderful. Sometimes we walked on proper paths and other times we improvised our way up the hill through the bracken, Paolo ambitiously choosing the steepest side of the hill to reach the summit.

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As we climbed the views were more and more breathtaking. The light constantly changes on the loch and the islands on the horizon, it’s impossible to portray in these photos how beautiful and vast the view was.

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Whoever said it is always raining in Scotland is… not entirely correct. We enjoyed lovely sunny spells, though the weather does change very fast. Luckily there are cafés with cakes (including lots of icing), just the right thing to cheer up after finding yourself in an unexpected rainshower:)

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Of course we couldn’t stay forever… This is the view of the cute village of Inverie seen from the ferry on our way back towards Mallaig, where we took the wonderful train ride back to Glasgow. It was a magical stay!

Relaxing walk

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IMG_3454JOYFUL GRATITUDE #41

The great thing about working from home once in a while, is that on those days I don’t need to cycle back through the bustling city and instead as soon as I finish work I can take a relaxing walk around the neighbourhood to get some fresh air.

I’m grateful for a lovely stroll with Paolo, along our usual route (a.k.a. la via Fannigena) that is bathed in sunlight in the early evening.  As we walk and chat, we have our tiny habits like stopping to look if there are any treasures in the free little library, people-watching and checking on the tiny fruit garden by the canal. It’s always such a nice way to reconnect after a busy day:)

More impressions of Capraia

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Here are a few more memories of our lovely time in Capraia… The ‘mulatiera’, a beautiful rock path that the mules use to follow to carry goods up and over the hills to remote parts of the island.

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The splendid colours of the vegetation, lush and green in some parts and a drier orangy-red in other spots.

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I’m captivated by the warm colours of salt-damaged surfaces that are so gorgeous in their imperfection…

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Spending time looking through my holiday pictures takes me back to those moments and I’m reminded of the sun shining on my skin, and the tug of leg muscles slightly tired from hiking uphill, and the joy of spending all day outdoors… Can’t wait for the next holiday!

 

Seeing Amsterdam with fresh eyes

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20170812_163959JOYFUL GRATITUDE #40

A great thing about having dear friends over from abroad is that you get to explore your city with fresh eyes.  It was a wonderful weekend of walking around different neighbourhoods, having lovely talks over steaming bowls of ramen, cycling for kilometers past cute farmhouses along the Amstel and soaking in the atmosphere of a sparkly daytime dj persevering despite the rain…

The last time these friends visited me was in 2006 just a few weeks after I first moved to Amsterdam. So much has changed around Amsterdam since then, practically none of this skyline seen from NDSM was as it is today. I’m so grateful for living in this amazing city that keeps evolving and that I get to rediscover all the time:)

Enjoying dawn and dusk

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Those moments around dawn and dusk, when the light is soft and a magic glow shines on everything, are my favorite times of the day.

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While we were in Capraia Paolo and I made a point to be outside and enjoy them often (even if it meant getting up at 5am to see the sunrise).

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We have our own favorite ways of being in the moment: I like to take pictures and capture the gorgeous light, while for Paolo it is the best time for fishing. Over the years, I’ve taken tons of pictures of Paolo on different coasts, patiently casting his line against stunning backdrops of changing skies.

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Dawn is particularly magical because it is so quiet, and as the fiery sun makes its majestic appearance, it feels like nature is putting on this show just for you.

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Chilling in Haarlem

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JOYFUL GRATITUDE #39

There are those magic days where you travel to another city to meet with a friend for no other reason than to go and eat scones! Hooray!

Then you explore the tiny, well-kept streets overflowing with plants, and somehow later find yourself sitting in the sun for hours, enjoying vegan delicacies and talking about ‘everything and nothing’ like we say in French:) One topic leads to another and you start reminiscing about the books you read (or didn’t read!) as a teenager – Adrian Mole’s diary, Watership Down, ‘Fucked up youth’ (??, so curious about that last one;).

So grateful for the simple pleasure of good company, tasty food and lots of laughs!

My favorite books for creative inspiration

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IMG_3752Summer is the perfect time to take a pile of books on holidays to read in the sun. Or to while away Sunday afternoons while our friends are abroad on holidays.  I’ve decided to share some reading lists of my favorite books for those in search of some ideas.

These are some books that I just keep coming back to, books that I can pull off the shelf and open at a random page, sure that they will bring me the wisdom and encouragement I need to hear.  Today I’ve listed my favorite books for creative inspiration.

Living out loud – Keri Smith
Lovely colourful and playful book about tapping into your creativity, including stickers, how-tos, guidance for living out loud daily.

The artist’s way – Julia Cameron
A classic, this book teaches you not just about creativity but also about how to live a life without fear and with boundaries.  I love her simple tools to get inspired (morning pages and artist dates!).

How to make a journal of your life – Daniel Price
Small hand-written jewel filled with tips for journalling by writing and drawing, full of ideas to really look at the world (beware: this book makes you want to take a notebook and go on a long roadtrip;)  )

Everyday matters – Danny Gregory
A heartbreaking memoir, such gorgeous drawings and wise words on how important it is to actually slow down in order to really see things and learn to treasure every moment.

Big magic – Elizabeth Gilbert
This book about the magic of creating is really fascinating. It changed my view on how to ideas appear and how to do the work. With her amazing podcast Magic Lessons Elizabeth Gilbert continues to dive into the subject with clarity and humour.

Happy reading!

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Back to the roots

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JOYFUL GRATITUDE #38

I am grateful for a lovely long weekend spending quality time with my family in France.  What a pleasure spend the hours like we did, chatting away while baking cakes, practising my portrait skills with my very patient sister as a model (portraits are so hard… I’ve got a lot of practise ahead of me), taking walks with Paolo in beautiful parks, enjoying long meals all together, celebrating birthdays and eating above mentionned cakes;), laughing and catching up…