Richard Avedon’s work is being shown in Foam Photography Museum on the Keizersgracht here in Amsterdam.  I was able to attend the press preview last Tuesday and was very impressed by this exhibition of his work. The collection has been put together by The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark with Foam and The Richard Avedon Foundation.

Please click here for my report on Vrouw.nl

I have a couple of new year’s resolutions I would like to share with you from this beautiful island I am visiting. First let me show you my view:

porch with a view

Fashion related resolutions:

• Lots of layers for spring, using beautiful fabrics such as silk and cashmere
• Quality above all else
• Find my true fashion style
• Bretagne shirt, combined with skinny jeans and a white jacket
• Nude ankle boots

General resolutions:

• Live a healthy and happy live
• Go to plays
• Watch The Duchess again, on the big screen this time
• Write letters

I am planning on writing about the trends I see for spring which I have already partly shared with you in the abovementioned resolutions. So keep coming back friends, I will report to you on all the trends as mentioned in the magazines.

I hope y’all have a wonderful night and wake up to a fantastic brand new year. We are going up a little mountain to watch the fireworks all the resorts are going to light up.

Good morning or afternoon or evening depending on where you are reading from….

Merry Christmas!!

I have been in the Christmas spirit for over a week now and feel like I used to when I was little…  the bottom of our tree is packed with gifts and it almost seems like more gifts appear every day (that’s because they do)

Santa woke me up really early this morning and I just couldn’t go back to sleep. Luckily Santa also woke up my beloved so I suggested we get up and I would fix some breakfast. This was at 5.30 am so you can imagine how crazy we are.

Anyway, look what Santa gave me:

watch

It has 8 little diamonds on the inside and its totally gorgeous.

Just so you know, that is a painting of me in the background by the most amazing artist Rachael Rendon. Click here to see more of her work.

I got excited about a new website I found: Iconic Chic  the fashion bible in women’s designer accessories.

I loved the look and feel of the website, its very luxurious and it isnt necessarily a webshop. It has trend reports and gave me some great ideas about christmas decorations and gifts for my loved ones.

iconic chic

Have fun browsing, its a great alternative to buying expensive magazines.

I just watched the movie Marie Antoinette a period piece about, well, Marie Antoinette. In these gloomy days before Christmas I have a hard time enjoying what I love and fashion is a part of that. This movie put a little smile on my face. The costumes are amazing, the colours, music and lighting is fantastic. Thank you Sophia Coppola for inspiring me.

Marie Antoinette

I just opened my new Elle (thanks to the BF as I am still abstaining from purchasing ‘luxury’ items) and a flyer fell out for the Viktor & Rolf exhibition in the Centraal Museum in Utrecht.

The House of V&R

Description of the exhibition from the Centraal Museum ” ‘The House of Viktor & Rolf’, the largest extensive exhibition ever presented in The Netherlands by the famous designer duo, opens at the Centraal Museum on 25 November. The exhibition offers all visitors the unique opportunity to experience an exclusive fashion event hosted by Viktor & Rolf. This retrospect draws attention to spectacular highlights from the Viktor & Rolf collection over the past fifteen years. During this period, the influential duo wowed the fashion world with their heady mix of cool irony and surreal beauty. Following a successful stint at the Barbican Art Gallery in London, the exhibition now moves to the Centraal Museum in Utrecht. Centraal Museum places an integral focus on current fashion. ”

The exhibition runs until 8 February 2009 and I definately plan on going to see it. Who would like to join me?

I went to see Damian Hirst’s diamond skull yesterday  at the Rijksmuseum with a dear friend of mine. We were totally blown away by it. I was kind of apprehensive after hearing so much about it. Then when we got there I was a little afraid because the room in which it is presented is completely dark, not a good place for someone who can’t see… in the dark. Anyway, it was amazing, such detailed craftmanship. It really made me think and that doesnt happen often (with art I mean :)

So, back to the budget shopping tips, they have a really cute collection of artsy fartsy knick knacks in the museumshop, very pretty and very affordable. Nice china, art books, and even some great jewelry, so the good kind of knick knacks… Their collection of copies of famous paintings was also impressive, these are not cheap but a fantastic gift for classic art fans.
 
Now for something completely different, why don’t you give the gift of meditation? Now thats a gift that will keep on giving.
 
I was made aware of a fantastic deal here locally at the Maitreya institute, you can purchase a 10 day pass for only € 28 for supervised meditation. Mondays from 19.00 - 19.45 english medidation / Wednesdays from 19.00 - 19.45 dutch medidation. It is not neccessary to pre register and you can bring a friend on your own pass.
 
Sure this is a local deal, but I am sure if you would like to give this type of gift you can find a local meditation institute.
 
Have fun gift shopping, I know I will :)

Look at this painting my talented cousin Rachael Rendon just finished. Our home is full of her beautiful paintings and I just might want to purchase this one as well. Check it out:

Now don’t go and get confused, this is a painting not a photograph, nor is it a painting on top of a photograph. She’s just that good. If you want to see more check out Rachael’s website.