Collection | Details

Welcome!

Today I'll be sharing details of doors that I photographed in France over the past years.

At every brocante I am looking for a door knocker like this hand but no luck so far. Then I bumped into this ogre! Very welcoming. Not sure I would want it on my door...

Lovely crocheting on display in this door. I am still figuring out the pattern.

Detail of one of the many carved doors at Azay-le-Rideau.

I think my stepfather once told me these hands were chopped off disobedient girls. I found that not hard to believe at all. 

I thought I'd be at the end of my collection by now, but I actually have many more doors to share. Hope you enjoy.

Collection | French doors in blue

Some people were interested in more photos of French doors, so here you are. This time I chose only pictures with a lot of blue in it.

This one is a bit out of focus, yet I couldn't resist sharing it.

No blue doors here, but don't you love the fuchsia plastic flower garlands against the deep blue sky? It was very hot that day in August...

One of the many abandoned houses in the old city center of Montluçon (Allier, Auvergne).

I don't remember where I took this picture, but it was somewhere south of Paris and north of Marseilles. 

Next time I'll show you the rest of my door collection.

Collection | French doors

When in France, there are many thing I can't resist. For example a fresh baguette with salted butter. Or a provincial market with fresh produce. Honey, garlic and olive oil. Castles, ruines and churches. And doors... I can never walk past a door and not take a picture.

This little collection has been photographed in several regions of France in over a decade.

The Périgord is one of my favorite regions.

I love city doors as much as country doors.

But I love them especially with some flowers on the side.

Let me know if you would like to see more.

Inspiration comes in many shapes

Some of the things that inspire me - to be happy, to be satisfied, to create new things, to go to work or to just be - are the littlest things.

A big latte with some crackers and a book in my favorite spot in the garden.

The North Sea (or any sea or ocean for that matter - this one happens to be near by).

The smell of white laundry drying in the sun.

Coffee and cake with my love at Mandelahuisje overlooking Het IJ.

The sea of sunflowers on Museumplein. 

Watching my son playing with water in the beautiful garden of the Rijksmuseum. One of Amsterdam's best kept secrets...

What are the things that inspire you?

Four seasons in Vondelpark Amsterdam

Those of you who follow me on Instagram or Facebook will probably remember seeing these pictures before. You also might remember I am taking them to keep myself occupied while practising my daily walks. 

Today I realized I have been walking almost every workday for a whole year now.

I thought it would be fun to choose a landscape for every season.

Even though the Vondelpark is not a very big park, every season still offers totally different pictures. And now it's Spring again and nature is waking up. If you want to see it progress, follow me here or here.

Listing a crochet baby blanket on Etsy

As much as I love crocheting, I don't like taking photos of my work.

There are so many artists out there, on Instagram for example, who take absolutely gorgeous pictures of their work that not just give lots of information about the product but that also convey a whole atmosphere that I would love to live in. I don't feel like I have that talent. 

Don't get me wrong. I have no problem taking a picture of my work lying flat on the ground. But it doesn't convey more that the shape and structure of the product.

And it is hard to see how big this blanket is, as there is nothing to compare it to.

It wasn't easy to find a spot in the house that had good enough light and wasn't cluttered. So I ended up in my daughter's room (amazingly not so cluttered!). Her pink walls are so lovely.

She even had all kinds of props to help display the blanket.

Now my question to you is: are you getting a good impression of the blanket this way?

Or is a photo like the above one good enough? I'd love to find out ;-)

Summer flowers - July

Early July I kept up my daily walks in Vondelpark and enjoyed the beautiful weather and bright light.  But then our Summer break started and gone was my routine. We took it easy for a week - slept in really late - and then got in the car and drove to France for the rest of the month.

There were days that were too hot to even think of photographing flowers, but I did manage to capture a treasure here and there.

If you're curious where exactly we went on holiday, I invite you to take a look at my other blog called Pig Islands where I share unique holiday places that I have discovered though out the years in Europe and the United States. I hope you enjoy and would love to hear what you think.

Vondelpark

Vondelpark

School gardens

School gardens

Vondelpark

Vondelpark

In my garden

In my mother's garden

La Pierre Verte, Uzès (France)

La Pierre Verte, Uzès (France)

La Pierre Verte, Uzès (France)

La Pierre Verte, Uzès (France)

La Pierre Verte, Uzès (France)

La Pierre Verte, Uzès (France)

La Pierre Verte, Uzès (France)

La Pierre Verte, Uzès (France)

Gite Baron, Cazouls-lès-Béziers (France)

Cazouls-lès-Béziers (France)

Gite Baron, Cazouls-lès-Béziers (France)

Please do not copy or reproduce my photo's without my permission.

Spring flowers - June

Can you still call them Spring flowers in June? 

Again I bumped into some jewels on my daily walks in Amsterdam. It has become some kind of obsession I have to admit. I cannot go from A to B without trying to spot flowers worth photographing. There are so many that qualify. 

Next month I will be in France and I am eager to find out what will enchant me there. I hope you will check in with me in August again for more (flower) photos.

Have a lovely Summer!

Ophemert

Ophemert

Ophemert

Ophemert

Ophemert

Ophemert

Vondelpark Amsterdam

Vondelpark Amsterdam

Vondelpark Amsterdam

Vondelpark Amsterdam

Vondelpark Amsterdam

School gardens Amsterdam

Derde Kostverlorenkade Amsterdam

Derde Kostverlorenkade Amsterdam

Bellamystraat  Amsterdam

Derde Kostverlorenkade Amsterdam

Derde Kostverlorenkade Amsterdam

Vondelpark Amsterdam

Jacob van Lenneptstraat Amsterdam

Vondelpark Amsterdam

Vondelpark Amsterdam

Please do not copy or share these photos without my permission!

Spring flowers - May

Here is a selection of flowers that I photographed on my daily walks in May. Again I used no filter and I did not edit them. I keep being amazed at the quality of the camera in my iPhone. I hope you enjoy them too!

Vondelpark Amsterdam

Vondelpark Amsterdam

Vondelpark Amsterdam

Vondelpark Amsterdam

Vondelpark Amsterdam

Derde Kostverlorenkade Amsterdam

Vondelpark Amsterdam

Jacob van Lennepstraat Amsterdam

Frans Halsstraat Utrecht

Curacaostraat Amsterdam

Vondelpark Amsterdam

Vondelpark Amsterdam

Hoeve De Pippert Ophemert

Hoeve De Pippert Ophemert

Please do not copy or share my photos without my permission!

From my great grandmother's sewing basket...

My great grandmother's sewing basket is like a treasure chest. Although I would like to keep it intact, I also like using the materials that she collected and used herself.