We Wear: Christmas sweater and glitter socks

I FOUND MY BROGUES! And a new job. And I found these brogues at my new job, ain't that convenient. 2015 hasn't been so nice for me yet but finding a new job and working on my concert photography already mean a few steps in a better direction. And there's another project coming up, but I won't tell more yet (I knooooow, I'm sorry) because I don't want to jynx it.

How has your 2015 been? Anybody else had major issues with turning 27? 2015 for me can be narrowed down to: insomnia, nervous breakdowns and general sadness. I'm glad this year is almost over, that is all I can say.

I'm wearing:

Vest, sweater, skinnies, scarf: H&M

Brogues: Pertini via La Bottega

Glitter socks: Sacha

We Wear: No pants day

Indoor outfit pictures are a rarity on the blog, mostly because yugh lighting and ferociously abstaining from using the flash. But the weather this Sunday was just too awful to face it without packing myself in a rain coat and something to keep me from blowing away, which wouldn't make too much of an outfit. Or actually it would, I can imagine some of you out there wanting to witness that. But no, I wanted to wear this outfit - which gives the illusion I'm not wearing any bottoms. Not to worry, I am wearing a skirt, it's just hiding under the large amount of oversizedness that is just too awesome and cool to not let it predominate the entire outfit. 

The sweater was actually a total misbuy, caused by my emerging aversion from fitting rooms on a Saturday in town. I just grabbed it in a size L without thinking too much, cause I like my things loose, breezy and oversized. But this particular sweater was already designed to be highly oversized, hence buying it in an L made it pretty much something like a blanket. I was going to exchange it for a size down, but I couldn't find it anymore and I absolutely adored the olive colour so the uber oversized thing that is this sweater was kept by my side. And then I wore it and couldn't be happier that I didn't take it back to the store! All's well that ends well! 

Also, check out the first glimpse of my apartment, which is by far not finished that but I'm getting there. One (extremely) slow box at a time. Thank god I'm not wasting any time in fitting rooms on Saturdays when it feels like the entire world is out shopping.  

We Love: King Kong Coffee

Een post in het Nederlands, jawel, omdat de King Kong nu eenmaal in Hasselt ligt. En omdat ik het interview eveneens in het Nederlands deed en Marc zijn gevatte antwoorden niet wou ontkrachten met een slappe vertaling.

Het moet niet meer gezegd: koffie is hip, koffiebars zijn nog hipper en barista's dienen mannen met baarden te zijn. Ikzelf ben geen grote koffiekenner maar wel een grote liefhebber van het zwarte bakje troost - geen melk en geen suiker aub. En er is geen plaats waar de troost zo goed smaakt als "bij de King Kong" in Hasselt - want is Hasselt niet eveneens hoofdstad van de Smaak? Omdat ik nogal wel eens nieuwsgierig van aard durf te zijn, stelde ik Marc en Gemma enkele vragen over hun geliefde zaak. En ik ging er langs om ne koffie te slurpen en wa foto's te pakken, ahja! (En ne roze donut te eten.)

Lorenz was al een uur op mij aan't wachten... Ik ben thans nooit te laat. <3

We kunnen er niet omheen, koffie is hip. Misschien zelfs hipper dan ooit? Hoe is bij jullie de liefde voor de boon ontstaan?
I drank coffee before it was cool! Al sinds m'n kindertijd drink ik graag (en veel) koffie. Koffie is en was een deel van de dagelijkse gang van zaken. Koffie was toen nog gewoon koffie. Zwart, sterk, heet...caffeïne... Tot er een paar eye-openers kwamen, koffie die meer was dan dat. Betere koffie. Vanaf dan zat het spel op de wagen. Ik wilde altijd die betere koffie...en liefst ook thuis. Zelf een espressotoestel kopen, betere bonen kopen, andere aanpak proberen, meer aandacht voor het zetproces en de diverse variabelen proberen onder controle te krijgen, beter toestel, nog betere koffie kopen, nog betere espressobars zoeken, elke barista die je aan de praat kon krijgen de oren van het hoofd vragen, weer naar huis gaan, andere aanpak proberen...het hield niet meer op. Een obsessie was geboren. Damn!
 
Het viel mij op dat enkele jaren geleden de koffiezaken in Hasselt ineens als paddenstoelen uit de grond zijn geschoten. Heeft ieder zowat zijn eigen publiek of is er concurrentie voelbaar?
Koffiezaken en koffiezaken zijn twee. Je hebt veredelde tavernes/brasserieën, met al dan niet beter dan gemiddelde koffie, die zich koffiehuis gingen noemen en je hebt de koffiehuizen/espressobars waar de focus onmiskenbaar bij de koffie ligt. Wanneer je een zaak binnenstapt merk je vanzelf wel waar je bent beland. Ieder maakt z'n eigen keuzes, en zo hoort het ook. Bij ons ligt de focus 100% bij de koffie, dat is waar wij voor kiezen. Koffie is de basis, de rest is de rest. Wij leven en ademen koffie. Ik lig daar 's nachts wakker van hoe we onze koffies beter, lekkerder, op een hoger niveau kunnen krijgen. Ik werk met en in de koffie. Haast al onze "vrije tijd" draait rond koffie. Wij leven koffie. Koffiegekken zijn de ergste gekken. Maar naast de hele koffiegekte is het voor ons ook superbelangrijk dat mensen happy zijn/worden bij ons. Het klinkt misschien tegenstrijdig, maar precies daarom proberen we onze eigen koers te varen, zonder al te veel concessie aan "hoe het hoort" of hoe "men dat wil". De KingKong staat voor wie wij zijn en wij staan voor wat de KingKong is. Dat werkt het best. Wij happy...gasten happy. Wie het niet leuk vindt, blijft vanzelf weg. Wie het wel leuk vindt komt vanzelf terug. Zo selecteert KingKong zijn eigen publiek, en dat publiek maakt KingKong tot wat het is. Raar èh! Klopt da wel? 

Jullie maken o.a. het verschil door geen "gewone koffie" op de kaart te zetten. Wat is de filosofie hierachter?
Gewone koffie bestaat niet! Iedere koffie heeft z'n eigen ziel. Onze koffies worden zonder uitzondering met de hoogste zorg uitgekozen en met het grootst mogelijke respect behandeld gedurende het hele proces van boon tot kopje. Daar is niets gewoon aan. Ik snap heel goed dat niet iedereen ervan wakker ligt op welke hoogte, op welk soort bodem en in welk klimaat de koffie geteeld wordt, welke variëteit boon het is en of het een washed of een pulped natural processed koffie is die je in je kop hebt. Maar "gewoon" daar doen we niet aan. Voor gewoon zet ik 's ochtends de La Marzocco niet aan.
 
Ik ben zelf geen grote koffiekenner, ik weet vooral dat ik hem graag zwart drink. Wat is jullie favoriete koffie?
Zachte filter of intense espresso. Zwart sowieso. Zo weinig mogelijk de smaken camoufleren, want hoe zonde is dat. Onze koffies worden vrij licht, lichter dan standaard, gebrand...precies omdat we graag de eigenheid van die koffie willen proeven, herkennen en erkennen. Donker branden muffled de smaken, alles gaat een beetje hetzelfde smaken (bitter/verbrand/vies, kies zelf maar uit). Minder kwalitatieve bonen worden haast altijd donkerder gebrand om fouten en defecten te maskeren. Onze koffies staan voor wat ze zijn...enkel topkwaliteit haalt onze molen. Wij willen graag proeven wat we drinken. Vandaar.

 
Tot slot: als jullie de zaak ooit beu moesten zijn zullen Lorenz en ik deze wel overnemen... Deal?
Talk to the daughter of the house! Yo! 

King Kong Coffee

Maastrichterstraat 58

3500 Hasselt 

Ik heb ook asap brogues nodig.

We love: Batoko

My mailbox is bursting out of its seams with the reoccurring same message over and over  flashing on my screen: IT'S BLACK FRIDAY, IT'S BLACK FRIDAY! Although totally not a big deal or even a thing here in Belgium, purchasing things and subscribing to American websites makes it a more than familiar phenomenon. Yep, the day after Thanksgiving is a safe guarantee for bargains all over the web, which is why I choose to talk about a brand I absolutely love: Batoko. It's fun and slightly weird, just as all the good things in life should be. Check it out below for yourselves or on their website of course, but I'm already an enthusiastic follower since a few months. I mean, I was more than sold the moment I spotted a watermelon crop top, that's all it takes really. 

If you'll excuse me now, I have to go order some stuff! 

We Wear: That leopard coat again.

Bloggerproblems: going to take outfit pictures on a location nearby and forget your tripod plate. So I had to drive back home, retrieve the damn thing and drive back towards location. Preparations, my dear readers, are important. Luckily this location wasn't all too far from basecamp so I only lost about half an hour. This lake, also known as 't Koet, is a popular swimming location during summertime, although it's a private domain (as you can read on the tree). And people are - of course - stupid enough to leave their garbage behind, make fires and do other unbelievably stupid things so the forbearance of the owner is over. I don't go there anymore as it's mostly as crowded as a regular public swimming pool. Alas! But it did make a pretty new outfit location spot. I also didn't leave any garbaga behind, because why would I.

New item in this outfit: the denim skirt. Classic, you-can-never-go-wrong-combo with the striped top and dark tights. And I really like the yellow tones of my coat and the burgundy vibe of my gloves. It adds to the seventies feel of this skirt. I am on the lookout for a decent pair of brogues though, to go with this skirt. To my surprise, my leopard heeled chelseas didn't match well with it. I don't think this skirt is made for heels. Maybe heeled boots. But I never find boots to my liking.

And well I really really want to wear brogues with glitter socks.

(I don't know if you can see this but I accidentally named my pictures "granola", please ignore that.)

I'm wearing:

Coat: H&M

Top: H&M

Skirt: H&M

Sneakers: Vans

Scarf: Zara

Gloves: Urban Outfitters

Totebag: Muncie Girls

We wear (and we think): Dark days

Tuesday night and I just sat down to write a blog post when I got sidetracked. Sidetracked by a TV show about the horror going on this weekend, aiming at finding answers. I was determined to 'just' write a blog post, without elaborating on the Paris attacks, also because I thought Lies basically articulated my opinion and feelings about it. But as I find myself getting sidetracked and distracted a lot these past days, it shouldn't come as a surprise that my resolution to blabber on about an outfit was destined to fail. After deleting nonsense sentence after sentence, I got to this point which is a weird and off combination of an outfit and being saddened to such a deep level for all of the victims and their families and friends.

I know similar attacks have happened and will happen again in other parts of the world that the Western media seem to overlook. It's not at all that that's not important, it's just that this attack hits so close to home. Not only in the literal sense as Paris really is just a car drive away, but also because it is so identifiable. I am those victims, my friends are those victims: We are the people that go out on a Friday night, grabbing a bit, going to a concert, having fun. It's less identifiable when the victims are at a local market in a foreign country we can't begin to image, but by all means, it's just as sad. It's a clear sign that we as a people, as the human race, need to better. And it's about time too. 

  

    

   

We are horrified: #ParisAttacks

November 13th, 2015: some assholes decide to attack Paris. Random shootings, explosions and too many innocent people who have died. While I was at a party being happy they were serving free leftover falafel, people in Paris were happy to still be alive. We probably left the house with the same resolution: to have a good time. That makes me sick. I've read on social media that we should all "pray for Paris" but that feels wrong. In my opinion, and I bet I'm not the only one, religion has brought more damage throughout the world and over the years than it has offered solace. So let's not pray but let's get our asses out on the street, showing we're not afraid, showing love and have a hell of a good time. So fuck you, IS.

These snaps we're taken before I knew of the attacks or what damage they had really done. One moment you're doing your make-up and the other the world is falling apart.

We Wear: All black and a dash of sparkle

And a dash of leopard of course. I've been wearing these shoes non-stop, seriously, so that's why you spot them so much here on our little space on the web. Since we sort of still have an indian summer going here, there's no need to be wearing a coat yet. And that's a good thing 'cause I don't even have a new winter coat. I've been wearing my leopard one constantly (as you may have noticed too) and I'm really tired of my green Zara coat I've been wearing for two winters already. My goal is to find a perfect thrift shop coat. Budget shopping 2.0.

I like to wear black on black but I'm not one of those people who wears only this combination. But when I do, I add some sparkle. I've always had a weak spot for sparkles or subtle shimmers in clothing and this cheap ass top from H&M totally fits that bill. As does this purse, which I rediscovered when dressing up for a twenties themed party. I'll make an outfit post of that too, since I'm actually almost a week overdue with this post. So that's me saying "I'm sorry" and "Can we still be friends?".

I'm wearing:

Top: H&M

Skinnies: Cheap Monday

Boots: H&M

Purse: Zara