A dove's tale

Last weekend, Marlon and I achieved another DIY milestone: painting the living room. This time around, we chose a totally different feel from the bedroom and went for Dove Tale from Farrow & Ball, a lilac-tinged dove gray. 

This time, it went a whole lot faster and smoother. Having lots more space to move around in made a huge difference. We were able to be more systematic and orderly about placing our "drop cloths", which were reused cardboard boxes from Ikea and from our moving in, plus bubble wrap from a couple of furniture deliveries. Marlon had wanted to buy proper drop cloths from Gamma, but when he saw that one was €27, it was easy to sway him to adopt the cheaper more eco-friendly alternative.  

Goodbye boring white walls!

After priming the walls on Saturday morning, we let the primer dry overnight. With Farrow & Ball, primer pa lang, maganda na! That could be the seed of a winning campaign if they ever decide to venture into the Philippine market. 

Excuse the dining room mess. We had to dump everything somewhere.

We finished both coats in a record 5.5 hours, with an hour's lunch break. We had to work a lot faster because streak marks are more obvious with a lighter color. Also, instead of painting the corners first as we did with the bedroom, we painted them last, which turned out to be a wise decision. The paint dried smooth and a lot more even this time around. "We're getting better at this, Mrs. Plazo," said Marlon. 

The night before we painted, I had an anxiety dream that Dove Tale turned out to be a cheap satin bridesmaid kind of lavender that Marlon hated. I still had my doubts while we were diluting the paint, but after the first coat, I decided that I loved it. And by the time we finished the second coat, I was in love... again.

So here's the living room before, with blah flat white walls:

And after, with Dove Tale. Tadaah! I've been obsessing about gray walls for the last few years, so I'm ecstatic to finally have them!

It turned out to be more lilac-tinged in our living room light than the way it looks on the website, which is more brown. I'm envisioning bright yellow accents with touches of purple here and there.

We have quite a few paintings with metallic frames, which I think will work really well against the gray. I'm excited to hang them up.

Marlon thinks it looks yummy. "If we had gone any lighter," he said, "parang sayang lang yung effort natin mag-paint." And a few shades darker would have swallowed up the wine crates and daybed. 

So, the living room is well on its way! We've still got a lot to do, like hang the paintings, put books and other knickknacks inside the crates, buy an easy chair, replace the big floor pillows and add bright throw pillows to perk up the daybed. And the dining room still looks like a war zone. But for now, I'm patting us on the back and enjoying the lovely lilac hue. 

Made to Noorder

Speaking of avoidance, another thing I was doing my best to avoid was hitting the second-hand markets. That's because I know myself too well. After being deprived of a decent market scene for 3 years, it was all too easy to picture myself going wild. But since part of my DIY list includes a pair of seat cushions for our vintage dining chairs, I finally found a decent excuse to visit the fabric market at Westermarkt.

I took the tram to Marnixplein and trailed the crowd of women with large eco shopping bags to Westerstraat, which lies behind this lovely canal. Westerstraat is home to the Westermarkt, a Mondays-only street market that's mostly known for fabric and notions...

... but also carries everything else from clothes to cheese, from everyday household items to curious novelties. (Or an interesting combination thereof, such as these psychedelic palangganas from a stall manned by an African man.)

It seems all of Amsterdam comes to squeeze through this single narrow aisle in the middle of Westerstraat: the fur-clad doyennes of the Oud Zuid with their Gloria Swanson-esque turbans, gangly Turkish teenagers and pram-pushing Moroccan moms, the nerdy-chic hipsters of the Jordaan, and more.

Walking the entire length of the Westermarkt will lead you to the Noordermarkt, held on a small square fronting Noorderkerk. It's a farmer's market on Saturdays, and a second-hand clothing and antiques market on Mondays.

Oh, Noordermarkt. You have become my new favorite way to zap the Monday blues (which I don't even have because I don't work anymore... but still). Second-hand shopping is my weakness, and declaring a shopping list to Marlon the night before wasn't as powerful to ward against it as I thought. Because though my list was composed of three simple things ("fabric for seat cushions, a vase and glasses"), here's what I actually ended up coming home with.

1) Fabric for seat cushions (yay!), a graphic floral-print canvas for €16/meter

2) Back-up fabric in case Marlon doesn't like the floral print, map-printed canvas at €18/meter

3) Back-up fabric #2, purple and yellow herringbone in case we decide we've had enough of maps, and since, hey, it's just €2/meter!

4) Scarves, 3 for €5! Scarves are like shoes, they know no fatness and are therefore irresistible. I got one in gray leopard print, one in an emerald green chunky cable knit (the type that you can wind into one of those huge neck braces), and another in colorful ikat-print cotton (because spring is now on my mind).

5) A faux fur vest for €5! Either I've been watching too much Rachel Zoe or reading too much Man Repeller, I love the fact that I can now wear faux fur without looking like a pretentious tool.

6) A gray leopard print beret to replace the one that I bought at Zara last Christmas and promptly lost without ever wearing, boo hoo. This one is a better deal because it's 60% rabbit fur for only €10!

Lilian once told me that cats love rabbit fur, and I know now that it's true. Rogue went for that hat like it was a long-lost lover.

7) Two vintage glass vases in hues of smoky purple. One is €25, one is €3; I'll leave you to guess which is which ;)

8) And my find of the day... an entire box of mounted antlers.

KIDDING! I'M JUST KIDDING!

I think it needs to be a long time (and a few freelance gigs) till my next visit to Noordermarkt. It will be my ruin, I tell you!

Avoidance

This afternoon I exercised for the first time since November. Yep, it's been that long—since this whole moving to Amsterdam process first got started, in fact. 

I'd been putting off this workout since we got here. When I first arrived in Amsterdam early January, I resolved to use my time at the serviced apartment by using the in-house gym. Guess how that went. Then when we moved to our permanent address, I got all excited about having the picturesque riverside a few minutes from my doorstep. I told myself every single day that I was going to run. Or at least walk. Tomorrow. Hah! Fat chance (a pun that truly applies to me at this point).

I avoided exercise with an odd, inverted determination. There were a lot of excuses, the cold being my favorite scapegoat. "When I go out in the cold, I burn more calories anyway," I told myself. E ano kayang ginagawa yung mga cold cuts and cheese sa bahay? 

Finally, today, I just went out and did it. I didn't think much about it. I just put on a Heattech top and tights plus a regular hoodie and sweatpants (a 100% Uniqlo outfit), stole Marlon's Nike GPS thingamajiggie and stuck it in my shoe, and went out.

And found what I had been avoiding all along was actually... not so bad at all. In fact, it was wonderful.

Half jogging, half walking west along the river, I discovered Beatrixpark just minutes from my house. It's a beautiful open space with long winding paths, duck ponds and large green swathes of grass. I saw lots of doggies bounding along happily, playing catch with their owners, and old ladies sitting all bundled up on park benches with their smiling faces tipped up to the sun. Because of the cold, a kind of fine mist hung in the air, making everything look soft. 

It was another "Is this really my life?" moment. I didn't feel cold at all and I didn't really care that my pace was atrociously slow. It felt that good. 

And I realized I avoid a lot of things that turn out to be less painless than I think they'll be. I think of it as the "hell week" syndrome—you know, back in college when it's the week before exams and you're terrified you're going to flunk or die, but when you're halfway into it you realize you're passing and alive and hey, it's not so bad.

Exercise is one. Housework is another. I never did housework in Singapore, ask Marlon. Getting me to do it is like pulling teeth from a baby lion. But yesterday when the sun streamed in through the windows into my house, it hit me how dirty everything had gotten in the span of a few days. And so I began vacuuming and mopping like a madwoman. I remember thinking to myself, "Hey, this really doesn't take that much time." And seeing my all-white kitchen just sparkle in the sunlight gave me a domestic thrill that bordered on perverse. Hallelujah, I have seen the light!

I also used to avoid calling clients. And it wasn't because they were difficult, I just had this strong irrational sense of not wanting to do it. It doesn't last long, maybe an hour at most; people who've worked with me always find me quick to respond and very "on." But sometimes even if I already found myself on my way to doing it, I would get a heavy, draggy feeling in my chest in those last few seconds before picking up the phone. Then we would have a normal chatty conversation, getting things done, and I would feel like myself and all fired up to work again. Weird huh?

What do you find yourself avoiding lately and why? And how does it turn out when you do get into it?

Take a bow

While cleaning the living room this morning, I was aghast to find that the tulips Marlon gave me just the other night had... er, taken their final bow.

Dying swan ang drama. Bow.

As in salampak! This puts the "over!" in overnight. This has never happened to me, not even in Singapore.

Ganun ba kainit kahapon? It's been fiercely sunny the last couple of days, which doesn't necessarily mean it's been warm. By some weird winter logic, sunny cloudless days actually have lower temperatures of -2 to 3℃ while cloudy gray days are warmer at about 6 to 9℃. And yes, my tropical friends, 9℃ is warm. Masaya na ako doon.

Time to hie off to the bloemenshop for some new tulips...

Wish list

The living room is next on the DIY hitlist (Marlon and I are painting it this weekend), but before we leave the bedroom, there are a few bedroom bits left to share.

This was the main inspiration for the current look of the bedroom. No mood boards or anything, just this image. I can't remember if it was from the now-defunct Domino magazine or from Design*Sponge. We kept the window moldings white as well; looking at this picture now makes me think of buying faux molding for the ceiling (to cover up our masking tape messes).

The bedroom still needs a few more touches, so I also made a mood board after we painted it. Well, it's really more of a wishlist. I don't have Photoshop, so I apologize for the jologs Powerpoint.

Hindi uso ang fluorescent ceiling lights dito. (How do I know? The Dutch love leaving their curtains open, exposing their homes for all to see.) It's all about beautiful fixtures and soft lighting, coupled with multiple, smaller task lights. I would love to change our boring ceiling light to the Icarus lamp by Tord Boontje for Artecnica, which you see here "hanging" from the ceiling.

Marlon and I both fell in love with it, but he worries that Rogue is going to attack it from the bed. He's probably right *sigh* My Rogue-safe alternatives are the House of Mayflower's Sky floor lamp for that industrial look, plus Nicolette Brunklaus' modern take on the chandelier (first and second from left on my mood board).

Marlon, in a rare show of consumeristic desire, really loves the Block Lamp by Harri Koskonen, on the side table in this mood board.

He rarely goes gaga over little house things like these so I figured we should get it. This is why we kept the bedside tables simple and modern. It seems a little small though (madaling matabunan ng kalat) so I need to see it up close before I decide.

Hmm, I think I am officially obsessed with photo print. Because I am madly in lust with this owl pillow from Mikkili. It is the Puss in Boots of pillows!

Big Eyes + Feathers = Love

I think it would go perfectly with the cobalt blue and white color scheme without being too matchy-matchy. And, it makes me think of Ladyhawke. Yes I know Michelle Pfeiffer turned into a hawk, not an owl, but I can't help it. Okay, maybe Legend of the Guardians would be a more appropriate reference. The only thing is it's 60x60 cm, which is rather... huge for a throw pillow. Marlon's suggestion: "Just put it behind the pillows we use for sleeping." E di anong point ng owl?! Pfffft. Men.

We leave the kingdom of lust and enter into practical everyday territory, because the bedroom also needs a chest of drawers for Marlon's stuff. My mood board just shows the Ikea chest that matches our closet, but Marlon gets the skeevies at the thought of any more Ikea in our bedroom. So we'll probably go for a second-hand equivalent.

And the metal side table you already met in a previous post.

So in about six months, given our current budget for furnishings, the bedroom should look like this. In the meantime, the Eye of Sauron shall turn to the living room. Halflings, beware.

Zinc inc.

Okay tama na ang lafang, haha. Back to our regular programming.

After searching in vain for a narrow console table for the kitchen that was long and high enough to fit over the radiator, I gave up and decided to go for tall, open metal shelving instead. This was the peg.

Luckily, with enough online sleuthing, I managed to find a reasonably priced equivalent at Gewoon Chic. It's made of zinc instead of steel and is just €110.

In real life a.k.a. my kitchen... hmm I need to work on my styling skills, haha. But pretty styling aside, it works great as storage for the breakfast appliances (oven toaster, electric kettle and coffee maker), which used to clog up the kitchen counter. That way we now have more counter space for prepping meals. 

The shelf also fits perfectly in the space between the radiator and Rogue's little corner with her feeding bowl and her litter box. Yes, she sh*ts where she eats, no wonder she's trying to kill me. 

My other purchase from Gewoon Chic was a pair of side tables for the bedroom, also made of zinc. Marlon and I agreed on something silvery to go with our blue-white-metallic palette, and without closed storage so we don't end up accumulating useless junk in drawers or behind doors. We are also considering some very... interesting bedside lamps, so the table has to be very simple. This fits the brief for €69.

It's does the job and keeps the bedroom from tipping over into frou-frou territory. I like the zinc because it's not too precious, i.e. I don't have to worry about water stains. I go through at least 3L of water a day and always have a bottle of water and a glass beside the bed.

Now that I practically live in the bedroom, it's such a relief to have a place for my assorted junk, which would otherwise end up piled on the bed or floor. 

Me & Mamy Louise

On our last visit to Brussels nearly two years ago, Uncle David introduced us to a very special lady in his life: Mamy Louise.

A beloved neighborhood restaurant in the suburb of Uccle where he lives, Mamy Louise is where he and Michele would often end up when they aren't in the mood to cook at home (which, I understand, is pretty often). My sister, Marlon and I all fell in love at first bite, particularly with their scrumptious gaufre de Bruxelles, otherwise known as the Belgian waffle, with chantilly cream and white chocolate.

Mamy's gaufre was one of the first things that popped into my mind and got me salivating when I started planning this weekend trip to Brussels. So it was totally awesome that we headed there for Sunday lunch.

We began the three hour-long lunch with their signature aperitif, champagne with some peach liqueur, mint leaves and... an ice cube. Unusual to have ice with champagne, but it works really well here.

To start, Marlon and Uncle David both ordered the poached egg with bone marrow, which I'm sure my sister would have loved.

I was torn between the winning mushroom toast, which I've had before, and this ravioli with goose liver. As you can see, goose liver won.

For mains, I had a braised rabbit with tagliatelle in a sweet onion and wholegrain mustard sauce. Kill me now. (Said the rabbit.)

And of course, I couldn't leave without sinking my teeth into the famous gaufre de Bruxelles. Crispy, warm, airy and soft, with hits of extra sweetness from the white chocolate nuggets mixed into the chantilly cream, this is a Belgian waffle that makes any other Belgian waffle (Starbucks, I'm mostly talking to you) about as light and tasty as a toilet seat cover.

Marlon's stuffed smile and glazed-over eyes? I had them too. Somehow we managed to battle the food coma long enough to pack ourselves off to the train station, board to our train, and make it back to Amsterdam without passing out or giving away our belongings to enterprising thieves. And I spent Monday with a very upset stomach. I guess it didn't want to go back to Amsterdam after a weekend like this.

Aux Armes de Bruxelles

I am borderline obsessive-compulsive when it comes to creating travel itineraries. To that rule, Brussels is the exception. Literally, I just show up and go along for the ride. With a hyper-organized, large-living gourmand behind the wheel.

Marlon, who had his first Brussels experience, Uncle David style, a year and a half ago, said it was like being a kid again and letting your parents be in charge of everything. Which you kind of miss after you start working. And which is really nice.

I've never given much thought to things I wanted to do or see in Brussels; there was one time when I decided I wanted see what the vintage shopping scene was like and that was about it. I've never set foot in a museum. To me, Brussels is all about family and food. Like a vulture, I just swoop in and eat. And eat and eat and eat.

Saturday night dinner was in the centre of town, a few streets from the Grand Place. Aux Armes de Bruxelles is right across the landmark Chez Leon, tourists' go-to restaurant for Brussels' famous mussels ("more well known, but not as good," said our gourmand.)

The one thing that I forgot to do before leaving for Brussels was... go on a fast. That's because meals with Uncle David are always, always decadent three-hour affairs. Three courses, plus aperitif and at least one bottle of wine. And God forbid you skip one of those courses, even when you feel stuffed to bursting. That's just the way it is. It's tough, but someone's got to do it.

For starters we shared not one, but two plates of the raw mussels with lemon and mustard sauce. I must eat more raw seafood in three days in Brussels than I do in a full year anywhere else, sushi and all.

Marlon had the veal brain with tartare sauce, which certainly fulfills his restaurant criteria of "something I can't or won't make at home." It was surprisingly good, but too rich for me.

I had raw oysters, yum. I get a kick out of squeezing lemon onto the oysters and watching them squirm. Yes, they're still alive. So far Brussels is the only place where I can get live raw oysters.

For mains, I had escargot in puff pastry. "Snails as an entree?" asked Uncle David with a raised eyebrow. There are strict protocols, you know.

Marlon stayed true to his carnivorous roots and ordered the rack of lamb.

And for dessert, we had crepes flambees with vanilla ice cream. Mmmm.

We ended the night with a stroll around the Grand Place, which was gorgeous as always, especially with the lights shining off the wet cobblestones. I must have seen it half a dozen times, but it never gets old.