Lovely Letters with Dear Friends

It has actually been over two months since I last wrote on here. I thought my friends were making it up when they said work exhausts you - I'd always had really fun internships that gave me a boost, even when I left work.

But this time it's...different. It's way more serious. It's fun - but it's challenging. And I come home and hang out with my puppy and then basically want to go to bed.

I was really excited when I was able to participate in the Lovely Letters blogger exchange, and I had such a nice partner in Taylor from Dear Friends - she sent me the sweetest things that I love using in the office when I want to make things a little prettier.

I love it ALL - the S stamp is so much fun, and i have so many different coloured stamp pads. As soon as our kitchen is redone, those flower clips will be hanging up all of my pictures (of my pup, TBH).

And Taylor, your use of washi tape in packaging and letter decor? On point.

There's something so amazing about getting paper mail, and packages are def my favourite to receive. I left some jeans at a friends place in Sweden and getting them in the mail was amazing, even though I knew they were coming...

Unfortunately it seems that Lovely Letters is over for the time being, but I hope that a snail mail exchange happens again soon!

xox,

Suz

Weekend in Paris

SO. Last weekend we went to Paris for PJ's birthday. We're both fortunate enough to live in a place that gets us there in 1 hour by train, and extremely lucky to not have this be our first trip to Paris. 

But I think I've really taken for granted the times I've been before, and I really appreciated how lucky I am to be able to visit such a beautiful city (and eat such. incredible. food). 

Thank the stars for booking websites because we stayed in the cutest area, right next to Les Folies de Bergere, just a 10 minute walk from both the Opera and Galeries Lafayette (which we obviously took advantage of...)

My favourite part of the weekend, beside spending some quality time with PJ and the amazing views, was the little games we played. Like finding the best little cafe for lunch (even when I thought I was going ot implode from lack of foodthank goodness Peej thinks my grumbling is 'cute').

Or our new favourite €10 challenge: we went to the top floor of Galeries Lafayette and tried to find the funniest/goofiest/most us thing for under the set amount. We came up with coasters, a magnet with the little prince and sheep, a fuzzy cat pen, and I had to get PJ a Godzilla card (monsters are a weird obsession of mine...)

But past all the oven-baked camembert, red wide and (crazy-good) Italian pizzas and cheesecake, we just explored. PJ took me all over the Marais, his favourite area, and I made him take a ride on les Bateaux Mouches, which he'd never done! Instead of fretting over what we had to do, we just did what we wanted. Which thankfully involved popping into Sephora and doing as much as possible to find some kicks for Peej.

I hope you enjoy my snaps as much as I enjoyed my trip!

THIS is my new favourite necklace. I love it so much and have been wearing it everyday since I got it - it reminds me of my favourite phrase: "Wander & Wonder"

This weekend was so much fun and we had such an amazing time going vintage shopping, looking for new places and visiting museums!

We ended up seeing the techno parade, which was amazing, and realised that my boyfriend has a better eye for vintage designer duds than I do. Outside of a cafe, he pointed to a shop window and pointed out the most amazing vintage LV travel trunks and I went in and really almost bought some green suede peep-toe Louboutins, but I had to control myself since they were wayyyyyy out of my budget. But I digress...

I can't wait to the next time we go back. I will officially save up for at least one vintage buy. Bahhhh!

If you have any tips for places to visit, let me know <3

xox,

Suz

Forever 21 // Autumn Picks

So I think we're all pretty aware that Forever 21 has some pretty big plans for their future and is really stepping it up in terms of style geared towards...well...people my age, aka the millenials of the world.

And recently, a lot of *ahem* high rollers have been seen wearing those very same shirts we can shop!

But I've gotta say, I've loved the brand since I first started buying chains upon chains of cheap jewels there back in my teens. Most of my most beloved, bright pieces come from the fast fashion giant, and I am in no way ashamed of my love for them, and it just makes me really excited that they're going to get the recognition they deserve for being a company that can churn out affordable, great pieces ( as long as you take care of them), and has awesome brand partnerships.

(And, I can only hope that these positives will also turn into more high quality pieces, use better metals in jewelry and safer working conditions in factories across the world.)

Today I'm showing you some of my recent favourite pieces for fall that I can't wait to get my hands on :D

They're a little more subdued and a touch more 'professional', if you will, than what I usually wear, but I. Love. It. 

 

high socks // shirt dress // faux suede heels //

overcoat // keyhole top // cutout shift // 

crescent pendant // crochet dress // tooth necklace // 

I'm in this crazy "must-get-work-clothes" mindset even though my office is ultra casual (I'm mostly in jeans, occasionally with my dog in my lap), and I'm really digging the preppy/varsity/laid back but boss-lady vibes a lot of the pieces are giving me.

I'm especially impressed with the contemporary line, and that high-neck crochet dress has me catching my breath, and with those silver jewels and a big floppy hat?

Send me to boho heaven! I could die happy. Though not before wearing those clothes. 

Here's to the beginning of autumn and a whole new way to wear our clothes!

xox,

Suz

Clouds In My Coffee // Belgium

This first month of working has actually physically drained me. Like, to my core. I know I should be used to getting up early and working for a whole day. I mean, i DID write a 60 page thesis that only ended in May. 

But here I am on a Saturday afternoon, sick in part from germs in my office and utter exhaustion. But I wanted to tell you guys about this amazing coffee shop just a few minutes biking away from me.

Introducing Clouds In My Coffee! It's actually outside of Gent city centre in Sint Amandsberg, quite close to Dampoort station, and has been gaining in popularity, and for absolutely great reasons. 

We grabbed the "I love you a latte" plates (with champagne, obvs) and I couldn't event finish the mad amounts of food that we got, but it tasted SO damn good, and I've been recommending it ever since. 

We actually couldn't get over the decor, the location and the food - we even met up with some people that PJ had known in South Africa, which seems to keep happening to us (fate? destiny? I think so.).

Once I get over myself and my sickness, I plan on doing way more of checking out these places and finally getting to know this city that I now OFFICIALLY live in!

I have some really exciting things coming up and some fun stuff that I've done since I've last written, and I intend on sharing those with you as soon as I get this pounding out of my head. 

Enjoy your weekend!

xox,

Suz

On the job

Hey, I got my new shoes on and suddenly everything's right...

Last week was AMAZING. I had some friends with me in Bruges on Monday when I got a phone call that rocked my world...I got a job! And I got it fast; they wanted me to come in for a prelim meeting the next day and to sign my contract by Thursday and to sit in on an events meeting. 

Well I did, and so today marked my very first day! Luckily for me, the office is really casual and fairly cool, especially nice during this little heat wave we're having. 

I didn't have time this morning during the rush to snap a photo, but PJ gladly took one of me and my first day baked goods (they also made a good impression :)!) 

I went with a button down bright chiffon top with some blue jeans, and my new favourite shoes (I feel like I use this expression far too often) from COS in a flat slipper style. 

Blouse (similar here and here) // Old Jeans // COS Flat Leather Shoes // Vintage jewelry

I had such an amazing day, and I can only hope that the rest of my time at my new job is just as amazing. The train ride home was SO hilarious!

xox,

Suz 

Berlin Neighbourhood Guide // Friedrichshain

So, maybe you knew that we went to Berlin. I'm so happy to give you a little pictorial guide of the area we stayed in Berlin: Friedrichshain! We've been there before, so instead of doing the hotspots, we did a bit of an off-the-path kind of stay, including a visit to the Hamburger Banhof museum where we saw a big pile of fat (excuse me, sculpture of tallow; no pictures of that, thank God). 

We were lucky enough to stay in Friedrichshain on Simon-Dach Strasse, a very hip street in the neighbourhood with this crazy amount of restos, bars and cafes around each corner. Right at the bottom of our staircase was Café 100 Wasser. They served amazing cocktails, but what really got me was the incredible breakfast we had there the morning after we arrived. They were based on cities and places around the world, and the Barcelona plate truly rocked mine. 

We ate some burgers at a vegan place called YoYo; I can't say that it was really my favourite place in Berlin but I guess for people who want meat like food without the meat, it's a cool place in a nice area. 

PJ and I took a little lunch date by ourselves (sorry, Louis :D) at Datscha Resto Bar, an incredible and truly authentic Russian resto. My blinis (Russian pankcakes) were incredible, and I imagine would rival those made in Moscow!

Our final meal was at an Mediterranean café called Proviant, where the boys had some meat and cheese plates with fresh bread, and I had a goat cheese and salami ciabatta with green pesto. Though it was a bit of a wait (there was a line and they slice everything themselves), it was TOTALLY worth it. Wow. I love Mediterranean food..

The breakfast plates at Café 100 Wasser

Hamburger Banhof Museum

Outside of YoYo

Breakfast at Datscha

On the Spree

Treptower Park

Molecule Man

Club Der Visionaere

Birgit und Bier

Birgit und Bier

Our meal at Proviant

Since we had seen some things in Berlin before, we went off the radar. My favourite part was grabbing a few beers and a pedal boat and riding down the Spree River from Treptower Park. It was amazing to just chill with our feet in the water, a few hundred metres from the Molecule Man statue and chatting with the boys. 

We walked through an incredible alley next to Badeschiff and found ourselves in Club Der Visionaere, a favourite party spot for the boys. A friend of Louis offered up another spot that we absolutely loved: Birgit und Bier. It had this amazing carnival/fair type theme that we loved, with ping pong, some arcade games and two HUGE vats of fresh beer. Some locals were selling sausage (oh Germany.) and we grabbed a few and chatted near the carousel before taking a walk back to the kebab stands for a late night snack and venture through all the new spots and biergartens opening up in the neighbourhood. 

I wish we had done even more shopping. My only fantastic purchase was the peacock t-shirt that I wore to YoYo from UVR Connected. The thing I love about Friedrichshain is all the small boutiques, I can't even name all of them! There's vintage, clothing, gifts, decor; I bought so many postcards for my friends and some hanging decor for our little terrace! 

I really can't wait to get back to Berlin again, not only to see my friends but to explore more of the neighbourhoods; we got a tip about some galleries off of Auguststrasse that we didn't get to see. I'd like to take my mom back to the exhibits at Hamburger Banhof (which is where we saw the Joseph Beuys tallow sculpture; again, ew) and to do some amazing shopping. I also FINALLY found some black jeans that really suit me thanks to a tip from some friends (thanks, ladies)! But, more on that later. 

To say this week hasn't been mentally tough would be a lie. It's been a huge wave up ups and downs since Sunday, but coming out of it has given me a lot more inspiration to take better care of myself, my mind and how I'm going to move forward in my life. 

I hope you enjoy all of my photos, there are so many! Sorry again about the overload, I just really loved playing with my new camera and taking pictures of everything. If you have any tips for my next trip to Berlin, PLEASE let me know, I want to do everything there is to do there!

xox,

Suz