Red riding coat.

Last weeks the sun has shyly started to shine and I find it inspiring. Last Wednesday I put my inspiration to the test, going second hand shopping with mom and my personal style advisor, Eric. We got in the car and drove to Drachten, having heard this town has large and interesting secondhand shops. Eventually we spent the entire afternoon in only two shops. Large they were. And so cheap! Around 5 o'clock in the eve, we headed back home, all of us satisfied with our purchases.

♥ Shopping outfit. Dress, Vero Moda; Tights, CoolCat; Necklace, New Yorker. ♥

♥ New shoes, Van Haren. I bought a second pair after wearing them for one day. They fit all the requirements; cute, black, heels and comfy ♥

As for what I purchased on our shopping adventure; three bags. One backpack to replace the one I have now, completely worn off. Yet another camera bag, with red inside, and hard cover. This one needs some fixing, so no pics yet. And the third bag is more like a suitcase, British vintage style. When arriving home I realized it matches so perfectly with my British red coat! Proof below. 

♥ Coat is a secondhand find from like ten years ago in Hungary, brand Collector. The suitcase is a vintage secondhand find. ♥

I can totally imagine myself, standing on the station to go to my childhood home for a day or two. Waiting for the bus, with this suitcase and that coat. ♥ Usually I go there with just a small purse with the necessary stuff, and when I return home, I am carrying bags full of stuff mom gives me, like flowers, food, magazines and of course stuff that we shop together. This suitcase will be perfect for these occasions!

Some dark semi metal music I have discovered recently and totally like:

 In This Moment

Aesthetic Perfection

Sunny afternoon in March

I really needed to get away from everything a bit, back to my roots, under the wings of mom and the comfort of my childhood home. As my friend Harmany said, no matter how young or old, moms fix everything. It was great being away and spend some time with her. But honestly, it was also very nice returning back to my independent adult life up here in the north.

♥ The dress is one of my newest ones, originally from Vero Moda. I love how timeless it looks. ♥

Our lazy morning was spent sleeping and slowly waking up, being just on time for a ten o' clock coffee. Or tea for me.
Our afternoon was spent shopping and having a small improvised picnic at a nearby lake, with a fresh mix of melons and a pale late afternoon sun.

♥ The faux pockets are just plain gorgeous! ♥

During our shopventure we ended up in a hat shop and the woman put me into all sorts of hats. It took her a while to accept that I would only try on black hats, and no other color! I totally love the one below. I think I like it because I actually own a similar one, that I hardly ever wear. I didn't buy it. Even though with this classic look it would rock.

Major ring post

♥ New year's eve was celebrated with friends and this was my outfit. ♥

And lately I have been finding lots of joy in jewelry again, I thought it was time to post about my pretties, some of them new, some of them old, but certainly all much appreciated.

♥ Plastic bracelet bought in Berlin on a school trip like eight years ago (H&M). Rose bracelet if new (Six). ♥

♥ Black ring with rose pattern (old, I don't remember the brand), large new ring with black stone (Six), bird-skull ring from years ago (Accessorize) & a smaller new ring with black stone (I am). Other hand: small new ring, suited for every occasion (Kruidvat) & a double-finger-ring with roses (old-idk). ♥

♥ Hair clip is one one my prettiest new purchases, from the Kruidvat limited edition holiday collection. I love holiday style!  ♥

Last month I decided to buy the gel-nailpolish lamp after all. I had been doubting a lot about it lately, because a lamp is expensive. In hindsight I am glad I bought it. My nail polishes last up to a weak with this new system (compared to a couple of hours only, as before)! This system requires a special LED-UV lamp and special gel base- and top coat. Additionally, I use a gel primer and pre- and after cleaner from the same brand. Sometimes I just put top and base coat without any color, but for optimal result I like putting my Lady in Black OPI in-between the layers. But of course any color would do. Occasionally, I put a mattifying normal top coat for increased mysterious effect.

♥ The keys were originally purchased with those ugly hooks on them, but I transferred them onto these little roses that I have been wearing for ages already. (Key hangers - Six, black earrings - Pim Kie) ♥

♥ Red collection. Hardly wear it to be honest, although the bracelet is one of my old beloved pieces. ♥

The Birds

"Why are they doing this?
Why are they doing this?
They said when you got here, the whole thing started.
Who are you?
What are you?
Where did you come from?
I think you're the cause of all this.
I think you're evil!
EVIL!"

-From: The Birds, 1963

At Halloween we started watching Hitchcock's 1963 'The Birds'. Due to partiness, we stopped half way and postponed the second half to one month later. Now, last Friday we watched the remainder. Our main conclusion was that movies were so different back then! Not full of action and heavy fighting. Scenes were much less hurried, there was actually time for characters to just sit down, light their cigarette (on the elementary school's playground!) and look around. Also the small amount of dialogue was surprising, which definitely added to the creepy mood.

♥ Crows and Seagulls. Way too many of them. ♥

♥ Tippi Hedren, actress of the main character. ♥

♥ And look who's here, on the corner of my mirror, evaluating my make-up before I leave home. ♥

♥ These dead pretties have been accompanying me often, recently. The ring is from a long time ago (Accessorize), the earrings are my most recent purchase (Six). ♥

As for some other birds:

♥ Beautiful in its simplicity. BlackBaroque uses old book prints and mixes them into strange compilations and print them on vintage book pages. This one is still on my wish-list! ♥

This is a link to a beautifully narrated
version of Edgar's 'The Raven', with music.Totally worth listening.

Judging a book by its cover

Before summer I started reading the Lauren Kate books, drawn to them by their cover print. I was looking for some easy reading, juicy surrealistic love story and this series totally fulfills those needs. It is a four-book struggle of human Luce and angel Daniel. Can you imagine how already that difference would make a love life complicated? Not to mention that it seems Luce and Daniel have met in the past. Many times... Ow, the romantic drama!

♥ From first to most recent with original titles: Fallen, Torment, Passion & Rapture. In between another book of this series was released -Fallen in Love- , with earlier love stories, which I haven't read yet. ♥

♥ Currently I'm halfway the fourth part. I read nearly every evening when I get in my comfy bed. Often I go to bed early so I can read. ♥

♥ I particulairy enjoyed the second one -Torment. It had the most beautiful scenery, on a cliff-side elitary school, where people live together serenely, the sea wind is like a calming melody, where every breakfast is a royal meal with the freshest ingredients and the flowers bloom freshly every morning. I could almost feel the sun on my face when reading it. ♥

♥ I'm in a brooch- and ring-buying mood lately. Here two of my brooches; the upper from a long time ago (vintage) and the lower from Accessorize. Since I took this picture about three weeks ago, I purchased two more; a silver snake and a skull cameo. ♥

♥ The wall decoration is a vintage soviet lamp (judging by its power socket) that my friends E and S bought for my house and I made a frame around it (wood, second hand) with real velvet background. I love the result! ♥

Germany - Cologne

♥For our 3 year anniversary, BF and I went to Cologne (Germany) for a weekend.
We stayed three days and two nights and the room he he booked was the Pink Suite. How awesome!?
Ow, and this is a newspaper I picked up in the ICE in Germany.♥

♥Back side of the Dom in moonlight.
The Dom of Cologne, situated next to the Hauptbahnhof, is a black cathedral. Its walls really are black.♥

♥Into the holiness.♥

♥First morning, Frühstuck (breakfast) was in this lovely authentic looking breakfast place.
First day I took a 'normal breakfast' (bread, jam, egg and hot chocolate),
but the second day I went all German with a 'Royal Breakfast' (bread, different kinds of meat, egg and also hot chocolate).♥

♥Walked into a random church on Sunday where the mass was still going on, so we visited its small garden.
I love how church 'gardens' have tomb stones.♥

♥Shopped so lovelily this weekend! This FUCK YOU YOLO dress is so wrong, it's awesome. I totally love it. (Nameless shop)♥

♥Other than that I shopped two more black dresses, a velvety one and one with leather straps; the ornamented leggings on the pic above (New Yorker); a fantastic bag (also in the pic above, Jumex); a pair of earrings (will surely be picted in a next post); a bow-belt with studs. Also tried on a billion high heels, but none of them were shaped for my feet.♥

♥Walking across the Neumarkt suddenly 1600 Pandas happen. WWF is asking for attention for the small amount of Pandas that are left in the wild, which is tragic of course, but the 1600 plastic pandas in the middle of the city center made me smile. They look so happy to get cuddled by all the people!♥