I'm trippin'

Have you ever heard of Your Little Blackbook?

Yesterday, when I was strolling through Bloggerland, I came accross this wonderful blog. If you're ever planning to take citytrips, check this blog first! Maybe something's written about the city you've planned going to. You can read about the best restaurants, clubs, hotels, bike tours, shops and many many more!

I just love the way they write about everything they see. As a guest of their website and a wanting-to-be-tourist you get enough information, plus.... great pictures so you get the idea of what it looks like!

Written about:

• Amsterdam
• Antwerp
• Berlin
• Copenhagen
• Dublin
• Helsinki
• Lisbon
• London
• Madrid
• Maastricht
• New York
• Newcastle
• Paris
• Reykjavik
• Rio de Janeiro
• Tallinn
• Valencia
• Vienna
• ASIA - Bali
• CENTRAL AMERICA - Mexico
• SOUTH AMERICA - Brazil
• USA - California
• USA - Texas

When you're on a trip, I think you should always be overloaded with the right music. Let me tell you about a wonderful playlist of Spotify: ACOUSTIC SOUL. It contains 78 songs and should entertain you for 5h4min!

My new favorite song is definitely First Choice - Gabe Bondoc. For the home session click here and this is the studio version. Want to sing along? Here are the lyrics!

Another thing. When you're travelling you are gonna see the most beautiful and impressive architecture and engineering, indoor and outdoor. To give you an impression of what I mean, check out the Facebook page of Architecture & Engineering!

A few examples that make my heart skip a beat and make my jaw drop haha!

I hope you're having a great vacation and will see some, listen to some and do some beautiful things! Let me know if you've seen, listened to or done something great! HAVE FUN!

Ps. DIY's will be coming up in a few weeks!

Much love, Yasmae.

Weatherproof outfits

The weather in Holland is... really weird. The weather swings from nice and warm to 'I FLOOD THE WHOLE FREAKING COUNTRY RIGHT NOW'! I'm not even kidding! A few days ago whole cities were.... flooded. People's houses were literally filled with water. The fact that it's July and summer doesn't really apply to my country, I guess.

So, as a Dutch citizen I need to be prepared for every kind of weather. All day, every day.

You'll probably guess the weather that day wasn't really promising. It actually looks like it's fall. SURPRISE! It's friggin' summer haha. I've made sure I won't catch a cold, but won't sweat it out at the time. 'Cause believe me, even if it's raining, the weather is still very oppressive. So here's my summer/fall outfit.

The next thing I know, the sun shines bright and suddenly the summery feelings are back. All I can think of is tropical shit! I've been shopping at The Sting and it's my lucky day - SUPER SALE!

boyfriend jeans, turtle top

Doesn't this look beachy and tropical? It's not too cold or too hot for the weather around here. I would definitely wear this on summer nights. The fit is sooooo loose and I love it. I don't like those skinny, tiny cloths in summer. They tend to get really sticky and it's just so hot. Pfffff. 
This turtle neck fits surprisingly good. I'm wearing an XL. I get really uncomfortable when something's tight around my neck. I tend to get the feeling I can't breathe. So, that's why I took an XL. It's nicely wide and that's perfect for hot summer days. 
These items were on major SAAAAALE! Boyfriend jeans: 59.95 - 19.95. Turtle top: 15.00 - 9.95. So, I immediately bought it haha.

You see the turtle top is really coming up high to my face. I really, really like it and I did not expect that at all. I neeeeever wear shirts or tops this high. To show you guys it's not suffocating me, I made close ups. The neck is nicely loose!

Oh my God, it fits my bag perrrrrrfectly! "Perfectemundo, muchacha!" Tropical all the way. Can't wait to wear this.


Well, I've been snoopin' around for cloths for fall, too. Since I'm buying the jeans, why not look for items to combine it with? I'd love a fluffy cardigan this fall in a fun color, like blue - definitely my favorite color if that wasn't clear yet haha - and there they were! Just in, cute and fluffy cardigans! Mine is blue, but there's also off-white, pink pastel and navy!

There's a new trend going around the world (of fashion). Items lookin' like marble. This top is a perfect example. It's a really easy print to combine. Easy, but it ain't boring.

Shirts/tops with oneliners or a good quote are also 'the shit' nowadays. I decided to tie it up 'cause I don't take this too seriously haha. This trend is really something to play a little with. The top is also on sale! 17.95 - 9.95!

Thesting.com is a really cool site if you want some easy and nicely fitting cloths for a cheap and teen-friendly price. Worth checkin'!

Let me know if you found anything!

Much love, Yasmae.

Paint me like one of your french girls, Jack

Have you ever seen the Titanic? 'Cause Jack knows how to draw his girls! I've been practicing to draw/paint girls' bodies, too. Now, don't freak out. It was a school assignment of my art class to analyze an artist and to blend his/her methods in a piece of art we would make ourselves. So, I chose Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. He is a wellknown 'expressionist' and I love his work. It's just... I can't really put it into words, but it was very striking to me! Not all, but most of his work is very provocative.

Warning: this content contains sexuality

The first one is really... well... there's no way you can deny it. It's provocative and revealing. It's exactly what I wanted to do. All the pieces I made in art class were never beyond the boundries, it wasn't shocking. Now it was my MY turn to provoke. 

The second one spoke to me because of the vibrant colors. I just love this combination. It's mysterious and wild. This really triggers my fastasy.

Sooooooooo... I decided to combine these two pieces of Kirchner - the provoking and the colors - in order to create a piece of art that I could be proud of.

At first, I began to sketch. I wanted to create the sense of high class meets sensuality. People of high class are never seen expressing their sensuality. I created a 'behind the scenes' and revealing situation.

These are quick sketches. What I created here is what I had in mind at first. It's behind the scenes. It's like I sneaked up on this women and photographed them while they took off the high class cloths and attitude. But it isn't.... provocative enough. I needed to let the women be more than open about it. So, I made another sketch - which I liked - and I made it my final piece.

All rights reserved on the paintings

I must say I'm actually proud of my painting. It's what I had in mind when I decided to make a combination of the two works of Kirchner that were so striking to me.

I'm really curious if you guys also love to draw, paint and create! If you have links of paintings made by you, leave it in a comment below! Share it with the world ;)!

Much love, Yasmae.

Slip in 'n slip it out

Hey guys! This time it’s not Yasmae posting, but me, Robin. We’re best friends and she asked me if I wanted to post some articles every once in a while. Well, ofcourse! - Even though I have totally no experience in making things like this, but I’ll try my very best.

For my first post I decided to write something about slip-ons, since I bought slip-ons a while ago and I love love love them. The thing about them is; they are really stylish and you can wear them with so many different outfits. They give your head-to-toe-look an extra edge. Plus, you can get them in all sorts and sizes - from a plain, neutral color to a bold animalprint.

This is my own pair of slip-ons. I got it from ASOS (which is an amazing online shop for clothing and one of the plus sides of this site is that your order will get delivered in less than a week woohoo). The reason I bought exactly this pair of shoes is because it's just a little bit different: the shoes are made of woven raffia.

Here are some examples of outfits you can combine slip-ons with (click the links to buy it):

Top, jeans, sunglasses, bag, shoes

Jeans, top, sunglasses, lipstick, shoes

Blouse, jeans, bag, shoes, lipstick

Skort, single, bracelet, top, hat, set of bracelets, shoes 

Notice: the prices of the clothing are all very different. Please comment if you'd like more designer stuff or more lower prices.

I hope this is a good inspiration for you guys and I hope you all like my first blogarticle. You'll propably read more stuff from me!

Much love, Robin.

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It's Yasmae again! Isn't Robin aaaaaawesome? I absolutely love her post - AND her shoes - so I hope y'all benefit from her post, too!

I have a small addition. I walked right by Monki the other day, in a bit of a hurry so I didn't have time to shop, but BOOM - there I saw them, the perfect slip ons for artsy fartsy peeps like us haha! It's black and white, so you can wear it with everything, but they're not even close to being boring!

*drooling*

I think we all know that creations by Monki all always a piece of art. These shoes look like they have been the doodle book of the creator. It's covered in little drawings, overloaded with fantasy and creativity - just the way we like it - and therefore every shoe has a different print. If you want to buy them online, you can click right here, but that way you can't pick out your little piece of art for your feet by yourself. You get a randomly picked print. Don't get me wrong, all of them are fabulous, but just so you know... I'd go to the shop!

For the cute, girly girls among us... these slip ons by Monki are perfect! If you love pets, the color pink or any other pastel, it's heaven on your feet, sweety!

really got the awwww-factor

If you look closely, you can see they've also put a bit of clouds into it! These are perfect for summer days. Both of these slip ons are new on the online shop, so get it before it's sold out! Get this pair right now!

We hope to see you all in slip ons soon! Slip in 'n slip it out!

Much love, Yasmae.

Compilation of Inspiration and Creation

I came across a lot of inspirational stuff lately, all in the ZARA HOME shop. I love the style of their products - it has a dash of style, but it stays practical! Here are a few items that triggered me!

fancy drink coasters

There was just one whole bin of coasters filled with beautiful pieces. I photographed these three. The first one is very simple, yet not... It's got this kind of relievo, which makes it feel funny. This should blend perfectly in every interior. It has an exotic side, a stylish, a simple, a sophisticated and a minimalistic side.
The second one is made of gold and pearl, which looks amazingly different everytime you change position and lighting. I wanted to show you guys this effect, so I experimented a little. I hope you can see the variety of the material. It looks super stylish and sophisticated!
The third one makes me feel like home (Holland), because of the delftware. I love the color blue. But.... this could also be a link for people to Chinese porcelain.

This artsy fartsy pillow immediately made me think of another DIY project. With a little fabric paint you can make your own piece of art on a pillow. It'll probably not be as beautiful as this one from ZARA, but well... at least we can try, right? If you just want this one, here's the site.

I find these door knobs amazing. I have an all white closet, but it's still missing door knobs. Again, there was a full bin of door knobs, each styled perfectly by ZARA. Maybe for a DIY project, you could carve something out of wood or clay! If you just want this awesome pair, here it is!

Isn't this awesome? It's nothing like the modern and minimalistic funiture and interior nowadays. That's what I think is so beautiful about it, it's imperfect. Also, every piece is different. Get it now.

At first sight, I thought this stone-ish tablets were supposed to be used as some kind of chalkboard - something I'd use to style up dinner for friends or family with the 'Menu du Jour' written on it. Unfortunately, that's not the use of it! I added the chalk on the picture with Paint on my laptop, hahaha don't tell anyone... My father laughed at me when I asked what it was. Turns out these awesome looking tablets are coasters... I would use it as a chalkboard rather than as a coaster, but oh well, both will look fabulous.

I came across a wall of really cute hangers. They were all covered in fabric or flowers - fun DIY for a lazy day. Buy some fabric at the market or the fabric store and cover up your hangers. The fabric stops your cloths from slipping off the hanger!
This reminded me of my own little, cute hanger in my room. I'm kind of obsessed with labels of the shops I go to. Most of them were attached to the cloths I bought. If they look cute - 9 out of 10 times they do - I hang them on my hanger, as seen on the left and the right. This is easily done at home as a DIY project. It immediately brightens up the room!

This shiny, gold accessory of a Scarabee was so striking that it caught my eye, the moment I walked by. I love the Egyptian history and all its legends, myths and more. The Scarabee perfectly fits the picture. I looked at the online shop of ZARA, but I couldn't find it anymore - which I think is strange since I saw it at the shop like 4 days ago - so I can only give you the link of other (also gorgeous) little pieces of art.
Speaking of art..... this accessory made me think of a drawing I made some time ago!

It's so big it doesn't quite fit the page, but I want to show you guys this in every little detail. Just click on the picture to see it fullscreen! The Scarabee in my drawing is inspired on a tattoo of the great Dr. Woo. Go look up his instagram!

New DIY's and art are coming up in the next few days! Stay tuned! Let me know if you want to know anything about my art!

Much love, Yasmae.

Fiëstavals

Parties, fiëstas, festivals... it's EVERYWHERE. Summer is all about celebrating our freedom of ain't doing shiiiiiittt. 

Music expresses feelings, just like fashion. So, let's check out the best festival/fiësta outfits.

okay, maybe her giant crown of feathers is a llittle too much,
but it looks like she's having fun and that's what festivals are all about

yeeehaaaaaaww

celebrities showing us how to do it

miss festival wearing her flower crown

1: flowers are a must at festivals. A little touch is enough, don't take it too far...

I think this says it all

Wear it on your head or wear flowerprints. You can make a flowercrown like Vanessa Hudgens yourself - like we all do at days at the park by braiding daisies - or you can get one at various shops for a good price! For example, these beautiful flowery head pieces cost 9 euros or less at New Look. If you´re not the kind of girl that likes fowers, try wearing a hat (fabulous and a shield for the sun) or a ribbon.

get it now

2: take out all the laid-back basics out of your closet, 'cause you're gonna need them. Festivals mostly take place when it's hot, so don't scrunch yourself into your tiny skinny clothes. Go for loose fitting items, especially at the top. Bottoms can be tighter, like cut off shorts.

loose tops, tight bottoms

3: we see an awful lot of white when we look at festival outfits and that's quite understandable; white reflects the heat of the sun - so you should stay relatively cool - besides the fact that it looks fresh and summer-ish. 

4: crop tops and bralets are the next big thing, especially when it's hot. Go for unicolor or amazing prints; from flowers to graphics. Style them off with little western boots or cute sandals and cut off shorts OR a bottom which matches the bralet/crop top. These so called 'combi's' are very cheery; perfect for a festival. Style it off with a sheer kimono or an opened up maxi blouse. Here are some examples of combi's with prints.

left: get it now
right above: get it now
right down: get it now

5: cut off shorts are peeeeerrrfect for summer as we all know. If you want that really nonchalant look, you can easily cut old jeans off yourself - which is really fun to do by the way - because you know for sure it fits you right and you can decide the length of the shorts and how it's ripped/frayed. If you don't exactly know how to do this properly, here is a great tutorial! DIY, baby!  But to buy one online or at the store is just as much fun because of the great supply. Tip: high waisted shorts definitely make your legs look longer!

left above: get it now
right above: get it now
left down: get it now
right down: get it now

6: prints, especially tribal and western, are still hot and happening at these events. Mix up the white and sheer clothes with a dash of color and prints! Or, you can just wear print on print, like Beyoncé in the picture below. Whatever it is you feel good in, do it.

7: look like you ain't give a shit, like you didn't try to look good, like you just pulled something out of your closet without even a second thinking about it. Try not to try! Just put something on in which you can have fun and let loose - that's what festivals and fiësta's are basically all about. It's not even supposed to be a fashion parade; don't forget you're there for the music, it ain't a catwalk. Have fun! Chill out!

These are my seven tips for you. If you have a festival or fiësta planned, I wish you the most of fun! Have a great time. 

Much love, Yasmae.

Pretty Kool For Oldschool

Do you guys know Kool & The Gang? 'Cause if you don't, look 'em up! This group of four men makes super funky music. I'm pretty sure you know their greatest hit. This song can easily be played on a (barbeque) party or a lazy weekend day.

This weekend there's a lot going on in Rotterdam. I'm talking about various wellknown artists and also carnaval, all Brazilian style. So agaaaain, the tropical shit. The other day we sat in the subway and at that moment beautiful women came walking in, all dressed like ... giant peacocks or something. But needless to say that it was very spectacular.

Unfortunately, the weather wasn't that tropical. Oh my God, it was raining. No, not raining men - which is also unfortunately - but I'm talking about Dutch rain. That's the real shit.

Kool & The Gang was really awesome. Even better, their performance was for freeeeeee! I see these men as quite funky with a lot of soul andcharm.

But however, we were very glad to be there. The funky music, which used to be my parents' jam, is now also my jam. Let me know what you think!

Much love, Yasmae.