Bye bye 2015!

The end of 2015 is very close so it's time to look back at some of my favourite moments of this year! It really has been a good year full of creativity, nice collaborations and great events. I have a lot of reasons to be thankful! It also has been a busy year and I have a feeling that 2016 will be pretty busy as well... But I'm ready to work hard, follow my dreams and have some fun while doing it! I hope 2015 was a great year for you as well! If you have had some setbacks, I hope you have family and friends to fall back on and cheer you up. I like to think that a new year comes with a clean slate and with a positive attitude, you can achieve anything!

These are some of my favourite moments of 2015...

FLEXA

It was great to collaborate with a brand like Flexa. At the Meet The Blogger event, I had the opportunity to host a Flexa workhop which was so much fun! Later on I used the Colour Of The Year "Ochre Gold" in our bedroom and I'm still in love with it.

MOLLIEMAKES CHRISTMAS SHOOT

This year, Christmas came early for me because in August we did a Christmas shoot for Mollie Makes magazine at our home. It was pretty difficult to get a real Christmas tree at that time of the year but in the end it worked out and I was a little sad when it had to go back to the owner once we were done shooting! The pictures were made by Henny van Belkom.

VTWONEN

I'm very happy that vtwonen decided to work with bloggers more and more because we can do some great things together! In August, the "vtwonen loves blogs" magazine came out where I was featured in together with a group of inspiring bloggers. We were all invited for a lovely lunch at the vtwonen headquarters to celebrate our collaboration. Since November, I'm also blogging weekly for vtwonen about my love for greens!

SNOR FESTIVAL

In 2015 there were a lot of great events that I went to and met up with fellow bloggers. This is always very inspiring but more important, a lot of fun! It's great to meat up with people that have the same interests & eye for detail (and don't bother me taking pictures of everything because we all do it!!). The event that stuck with me the most was the lovely "Snor Festival". The location was amazing, the weather was good, the people were nice, food was delicious and we got to see Anki & Casper from Zilverblauw launch their book "Shoot!"

NYC

I love traveling (who doesn't?) and a great plus of my job at Costes is that I get to travel to amazing places on a regular basis! The best trip of 2015 definitely was New York City... I love the atmosphere and the people. You can feel at home very easily here because this city makes you feel very welcome! This place, Tiny's and the Bar Upstairs, is where we had breakfast a couple of times, isn't it cute?

Pictures by Marij Hessel

New York City

This Saturday I came back from a inspiration & shopping trip in New York City where I stayed for about 3 days with my Costes colleagues. This is the third time I've been to New York but every time has been different! I really love the vibe & energy in this city, there's so much to see! And I haven't seen halve of it! I kept looking up, to the enormously high buildings, the signs, the big contrasts like the beautiful Saint Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Avenue that is in between the high skyscrapers. I also love the typical stairs, the yellow cab's and the streetart!

A must-go is Tiny's and the Bar Upstairs on West Broadway. As you would expect, it's a small but very cosy place with an authentic interior. We had a delicious breakfast here and a day later we also enjoyed a couple glasses of wine in the bar upstairs! The fact that the building is pink on the outside is a big bonus off course!

A great place to have lunch is Jack's Wife Freda in Soho. I love the name, the logo and even the sugar packets are pretty! We had a nice lunch here and spotted some New York hipsters in the meantime...

We also found some time to take a walk through Central Park, it was the first time I visited this famous park and it's a great spot to escape from the hectic city centre for a while. We took a healthy lunch with us and enjoyed it in the park where I spotted this cute squirrel!

This city is fascinating, sometimes it does feel like your in a movie setting! I would love to go back and explore much more of this beautiful place...

Pictures by Marij Hessel

Marrakech Day 4 & 5

On day 4 in Marrakech we visited Palais the Bahia, a beautiful palace build by Morocco's top artisans. When you see all the details you'll understand why it took them 14 years to build this place. I especially loved the woodwork on the doors and ceilings! And those Moroccan tiles...

After wondering around the palace, we took a taxi to the Beldi Country Club for the real hammam experience... This was just what we needed after a pretty amazing and fun night at one of the hottest (we've been told) clubs in Marrakech. Now it was time for some relaxation with a traditional Hammam treatment followed by a great massage! If you visit the Beldi Country Club, don't forget to take a look at the amazing rose gardens!

On the last day we did what we love the most... Shopping! This trip was such a great experience and I had so much fun with these girls. I wouldn't have missed it for anything! I'm pretty sure I'll come back to Marrakech one day!

Pictures by Marij Hessel

Marrakech Day 3

Day three in Marrakech was shopping day! The closer we got to the Souks, the more excited we got... Surrounded by Moroccan souvenirs we got into the shopping mood pretty quick & I actually started to like the bargaining game! We tried to resist all the beautiful pillow cases, poufs, rugs, ceramics and accessories but we failed incredibly. 

Pictures by Marij Hessel

Marrakech Day 2

On the second day in Marrakech we had planned a cooking class at the luxurious Jnane Tamsna Hotel. The lovely Chef Bahija welcomed us with open arms and took us to the garden where we could pick some of the ingredients for our tagine recipe. Bahija showed us how to prepare four different dishes with a tagine. Meanwhile she told us some interesting stories and showed us the traditional Moroccan tea ritual. After an hour of waiting for dinner by the pool, our delicious tagine dishes were served in the garden of the hotel. What a day!

Pictures by Marij Hessel