Viewing: Shopping & Finds

Queen’s Day flea market

They say the business-minded Dutch, inventors of the multinational corporation and stock exchange, are Europe’s shrewdest when it comes to money. And they say Queen’s Day, when the streets turn into a free-for-all flea market, is when Dutchies first learn to make money.

Queen's Day kiddie bakery

That said, to join the Queen’s Day flea market with the goal of making money is to miss the point entirely. The point is to have a good time! The Dutch sense of fun and humor comes out in blazing orange on Queen’s Day, and there are as many silly gimmicks to enjoy as there are bargains to be found.

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Posted on May 2, 2013
Category: Life in Amsterdam, Shopping & Finds · Labels: , , ,

Unicorn from Planet Fur

While gathering inspiration for how to decorate the baby room, I saw an unbelievable number of animal heads. Stags, rhinos, bears, stuffed and mounted on walls like hunting was a kindergarten pastime. Along with chevron prints, cloud pillows and moustaches, animal heads seemed to be a huge trend in the world of children’s rooms. I just didn’t get it.

“I’ll never put an animal head in my child’s room,” I sniffed, adding this to a growing list of “when I am a mom, I will never”—a list that includes posting pictures of Tala when she’s sick, or making her feel guilty about what I went through when I was pregnant and in labor.

Anyway. I ate my words when I saw this unicorn trophy from Planet Fur, an Etsy shop filled with whimsical, hand-sewn felt creatures by Dutch blogger, crafter shop owner Marlous Snijders. I simply had to have it.

Planet Fur felt unicorn

All my “I-will-nevers” faded in the face of my lifelong unicorn obsession. I first discovered them in a book when I was five, and it was love at first sight. I collected them all throughout grade school, and consider A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeline L’Engle one of my favorite young adult books ever because one of the main characters is a unicorn. I even have a unicorn tattoo.

Marloes made my daughter her very own unicorn trophy using the pink and gray color palette of Tala’s room. Now, this little guardian presides over diaper changes from the wall beside her changing mat. Maybe he (or she?) needs a name… what do you think?

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Posted on April 26, 2013
Category: House & Spouse, Shopping & Finds · Labels: , , ,

Revisiting Singapore

After almost two years away, we find ourselves back in Singapore this week.

This is just a stopover en route to Manila, where Marlon and I will spend Christmas, but it’s also a chance to catch up with good friends and indulge in a few things we miss about this city.

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Posted on December 16, 2012
Category: Food & Drink, Shopping & Finds, Wanderlust · Labels: , , ,

Old Manila notebooks by 23060

I seem to be in the mood for architectural drawings these days. After sending out my canal house Christmas cards, I rewarded myself by placing an order for these illustrated kraft paper notebooks by Kath Mitra of .

I first saw them on Daphne’s blog and was immediately drawn to the line drawings of old Manila churches—I just love old buildings. I eventually found my way to Kath’s  and ordered a set of three notebooks (Php 559, or €10) to add to my little stationery collection. They will be sent to my mom’s house while I’m in Manila for the holidays, so yay!

An architect by profession, Kath draws buildings for a living and for fun. Fascinated by stories her history professors would tell about old Manila, Kath set out to create notebooks and products that bring Manila’s faded architectural treasures to life. She has a series of notebooks featuring such as the Metropolitan and Capitol Theaters, and is working on designs for mugs, cushions, coasters and more.

“I make notebooks so people will know about these buildings, and appreciate the fact that these beautiful structures are not found in Paris, Tokyo or wherever, but in the Philippines,” says Kath. “It makes me happy whenever people recognize the buildings printed on the things I sell. I get a sense of fulfilment whenever the architect behind the buildings I use is acknowledged or remembered. I guess I’m sentimental like that.”

With just a few days to go until I fly home for the holidays, Manila is very much on my mind. I know the heat will probably be torturous, but there’s nothing like Christmas in Manila. I can’t wait to be home!
4 Comments
Posted on December 14, 2012
Category: Manila Girl at Heart, Shopping & Finds · Labels: , ,

Minimalist Nativity

One of the Christmas traditions that Marlon and I both grew up with was the belen, or Nativity scene. It was easy for us to agree on having a belen in our home during the holidays—what wasn’t easy was finding one that we both liked. Most of the Nativity sets we saw (mostly in the Philippines and Germany) were either too old-fashioned or elaborate for our tastes.

Well, after nearly five years, the search is over! We finally found our family belen last weekend at the Aachen Christmas market.

Hand carved wooden nativity scene1

I was browsing with my friend Leslie in a store called Käthe Wohlfahrt, which sells traditional German Christmas ornaments. As soon as I saw this hand-carved wooden belen, I fell in love. Clean, simple, no fuss—just the way I wanted it. I brought Marlon back with me to see it, and he was equally charmed.

Hand carved wooden nativity scene3

The small size is perfect for apartment dwellers like us. Though the figures are tiny (no taller than my pinkie), they’re all mounted on one piece of wood, making them less likely to be misplaced. They have a young, Playmobil kind of feel that I like… suited to the kids that (I think) Marlon and I still are in many ways. Plus, it fits this year’s minimalist theme at home, too.

Hand carved wooden nativity scene2

Part of what made our belen search difficult was my tendency to be particular about faces and expressions. These ones, I like. They’re fairly neutral without being dead, and cute without being cheesy.

Hand carved wooden nativity scene-Mary and Baby Jesus

This scene doesn’t include the Three Wise Men, but that isn’t a huge deal. The shepherds and angels were the first on the scene anyway. Besides, I couldn’t resist these tiny adorable sheep!

Hand carved wooden nativity scene-sheep

Our little family is still figuring out and making up its Christmas traditions, but I’m happy that this year, another piece of the puzzle has fallen into place with a quiet click.

Did you grow up with a Nativity scene at home, or do you have one now? I’d love to hear about it!

6 Comments
Posted on December 6, 2012
Category: Shopping & Finds · Labels: , , , , ,

First baby clothes

Apart from a gorgeous first day, Costa del Sol hasn’t quite dished out the sunshine and sandals weather I came here for. So I figured: what else was there to do in the pouring rain but shop?

Mata Caprichitos Marbella1

When we first arrived, I saw a shop called Mata Caprichitos, moda infantil, in the old center of Marbella. It was closed for siesta (from 1-5pm… how does anything get done here??) so I decided to come back and check it out today.

Mata Caprichitos Marbella2

The display window was just too precious. Admittedly, the clothes for older children are a bit too traditional and proper for my taste, but they have the sweetest details. Somewhere in my subconscious, I have this impression of Spanish baby clothes—knits in particular—as being cute, well-made and good value for money.

Mata Caprichitos Marbella3

“Is this your first?” the smiling sales lady asked in Spanish, as I lurched vaguely towards the clothes for 4-5 year olds. “Newborns, this way.” As I went through the racks, I dredged up what was left of my Spanish to make conversation, enjoying the rarity of friendly customer service (unfortunately not a strong suit of the Dutch).

Funny thing about baby clothes: seeing them used to give me massive baby pangs, which vanished as soon as I got pregnant. Finding out that we were having a girl didn’t make me rush to the nearest baby store, which surprised me. I didn’t even want to shop online despite pinning dozens of images to my growing . I felt like I could go for at least another month or two before wanting to buy anything for Little Mango, and I was happy to wait for the second-hand baby clothes offered by my generous mommy friends in Amsterdam.

I suspected my undoing would be walking into a baby store on purpose. And I was right. There was nothing scientific or methodical at all about how I purchased Little Mango’s first baby clothes. I had no idea if I was buying the right sizes for the right seasons. I just turned into one big puddle of hormones; it took nearly all my willpower not to buy everything in sight.

Not only did I feel slightly weak-kneed and giddy upon leaving the store, I also walked away with some pretty cute baby clothes. Want to see?

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Posted on November 8, 2012
Category: Pregnancy, Shopping & Finds, Wanderlust · Labels: , , , , , ,

Brooklyn leather camera satchel

The best gifts come from people who know you best. Don’t you agree?

Take my husband, for example. He knows I’m always carrying around a DSLR with at least one spare lens. He knows I have a terrible habit of using my nice, “grown-up lady” bags as camera bags, which is great for me but not for the bags. (I once horrified a friend by taking my DSLR with the clunky wide-angle lens out of a buttery soft Bottega Veneta handbag.) He knows that I’ve been in the market for a sturdy brown leather bag for a few months now. Most importantly, he knows that I pin pictures of all .

This is how he completely bowled me over with his birthday gift: the Brooklyn leather satchel from Ona.

I absolutely love the vintage style of this bag, as well as the chestnut leather that’s just begging to get all nicely worn and beat-up. The cross-body strap makes it easy to carry… and it looks great with everything! I can totally see this becoming my go-to travel bag.

Not only is this a good-looking satchel on the outside, but it’s also a camera bag on the inside. Removable inserts (attached with Velcro) allow it to store a DSLR and up to three lenses. Generous padding cushions the whole kit.

As if this wasn’t awesome enough, tucked into the padded interior was another birthday surprise… a Canon 60mm Macro lens!

I discovered this lens at The Hive Berlin, when Yvonne of Fraulein Klein (who takes beautiful photos) used it during her photography workshop. Like my 50mm lens, it’s a fixed-focus lens with shallow depth of field. However, it’s a lot sturdier, more light-sensitive, and easier to use for macro photography.

I will post test photos when I’ve gotten to play around with it a little more. This definitely completes my photography wish list and I think I’ll be very happy with my current set of lenses—all four of them!—for a long, long while.

3 Comments
Posted on November 2, 2012
Category: Personal Style, Pregnancy, Shopping & Finds · Labels: , , , , , ,

Inside Design Amsterdam: Kids on Roof

It should probably come as no surprise that my absolute favorite find from Inside Design Amsterdam was a kids’ brand. Yep, those hormones are kicking in all right. It was love at first sight for me and Kids on Roof, a Dutch company that makes colorful toys with a modern, architectural but still very playful feel.

I wanted to buy everything! A flock of swallows to hang over a crib, a playfully modern cardboard city to build and populate…

a white cardboard house to decorate, a little tent for the back yard…

… and a rocket ship to reach for the stars.

Can you tell that I am already so excited for this baby? Little Mango has yet to grow proper toenails and bones, and here I am already dreaming of all the colors we’ll paint, the stories we’ll make up, the places we’ll go, the nights I will sing him to sleep under the stars.

Since Little Mango has a long, long way to go before he can start his astronaut training or camp in the back yard, I was able to resist my hormonal impulses to ransack Kids on Roof’s room at Inside Design Amsterdam. I also let out a little steam by buying this irresistible People of the World coloring book.

I love how the simple line art allows kids to create their own features, clothing, and details instead of just coloring them in. How fun is that?


 I will just have to hang on to this until Little Mango’s fingers are ready to grasp crayons and start drawing. Let’s hope I can resist the urge to break out the crayons and beat her to it!

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Posted on September 25, 2012
Category: Life in Amsterdam, Shopping & Finds · Labels: ,

Inside Design Amsterdam

Last week, I entered a contest on Petite Passport for tickets to Inside Design Amsterdam (IDA 2012), Elle Decoration’s annual showcase of Dutch design. I never win these things, so I was thrilled when I did win! Filipinos believe pregnant women are lucky, and in this case the superstition proved true.

Marlon and I spent an enjoyable (but cold) Saturday afternoon exploring the IDA 2012 route on IJburg, one of Amsterdam’s newest, most unique and design-friendly districts. The products, exhibits, even the neighborhood itself was designed and styled so appealingly, I must have taken over a hundred photos. It was difficult, but I managed to whittle down my favorites from IDA 2012 to a manageable list of 10… well, except one that just deserves a separate post.

Here are my top 10 favorites from Inside Design Amsterdam, starting with the one I actually took home:

This necklace by Yvon Visser, made of concrete and wooden beads, felt like a perfect token to commemorate our house hunt. Hopefully this is a sign that we’ll find our own little house soon.

House necklace Yvon Visser

When we do, I will think of the perfect spot to hang this clever paper pendant light: the Helix by Marc de Groot.

Helix pendant light Marc de Groot

These ABC necklaces by Sandra Turina were so cute, and so cleverly displayed.

ABC necklaces Sandra Turina

I have baby brain at the moment, so I couldn’t help thinking about how fun it would be to create an alphabet with found objects and unusual words to hang in the nursery. Filing the idea away for future use…

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4 Comments
Posted on September 24, 2012
Category: Life in Amsterdam, Shopping & Finds · Labels: , , , ,

Notebooks from LikeStationery

Before things get lost in all the baby excitement, I wanted to show off a few goodies that I picked up from Kleine Fabriek. It was a trade event, so I couldn’t buy any of the adorable children’s clothes and things on display from the exhibitors. However, that doesn’t mean my wallet escaped scot-free!

Not when a funky pop-up shop from Dutch webstore LikeStationery was on site to tempt me with its irresistible wares. LikeStationery is the online store of Amsterdam-based graphic Sanne Dirkzwager, a.k.a. Strawberryblonde, who, as her shop name implies, has a passion for stationery. Something I’m sure lots of girls can relate to… like I do.

I love paper, but notebooks are my true weakness. My mom loves them too, and my growing collection of unused notebooks—which grows after every trip—is one of the things that makes me realize that perhaps we are all destined to turn into our mothers someday. (My penchant for red lipstick is another.)

So I just couldn’t resist picking up these adorable notebooks at LikeStationery’s pop-up store. I’ve been craving for color during this (mostly) drab gray summer. Since I couldn’t choose between something pastel or bright, I got both. The Swedish words on the pastel one pushed my wanderlust button.

I also couldn’t pass up this sunshiny yellow notebook with a library card slot in the front. This reminds me of a childhood pleasure: borrowing books from the school library! I was a voracious reader as a kid, a true librarian’s pet and nerd-in-the-making who always filled up several library cards each school year.

Aside from the notebooks, I also bought a smart little earphone winder. It’s just a simple strip of suede, but it keeps things tidy and (the most important thing) I have managed to somehow not lose it yet. Sometimes the simplest things work best.

LikeStationery offers worldwide shipping and has a fun, colorful blog chronicling the inspirations behind the shop’s wares, as well as Sanne’s own design work.

Do you find stationery irresistible too? What form of paper can you absolutely not resist?

3 Comments
Posted on August 16, 2012
Category: Shopping & Finds · Labels: , , ,