ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS HOLIDAYS.

Mes belles, this is my outfit for the Office Christmas Party happening tonight. I bought this dress from a cute fashion designer girl @ Siam Square, Thailand and I was truly amazed how contemporary fashion is flourishing there, a whole neighbourhood is dedicated to true one-of-a-kind mini boutiques and all these unique pieces are available at extremely low prices. I do hope there will be a next time when I'll be a lot more prepared taking only an empty suitcase and bringing all these gorgeous things home with me!

This year's Christmas will be a bit special for me, instead of doing the usual tour de family, I will be far away, it will be just the two of us with David. A perfect escape. I'm not saying I don't love my family but having a blended one can sometimes be a bit of a burden.
While away I'll try to post from time to time but first I will try to focus on us relaxing and spending as much quality time together as possible.
You know, escape a bit.

But I'll be back in town soon, mes belles, and compensate for these quiet weeks.
Till then have fun and happy holidays!!!
xoxo,
katika

ps: I'm wearing a lovely evening dress designed by a Thai fashion school graduate, a DIY hairbow and silver sandals from a thrift shop.

IN THE MOOD FOR VERA WANG.

The other day when I was checking out the Versace for H&M campaign with Daphne Groeneveld, I was wondering how this hype around designer clothes works. And then I realized, the idea is brilliant. We have to admit there are not plenty of us ready to spend a fortune on these long-desired, beautiful items and that's where this whole 'XY designer for H&M' idea comes in. Let's make them available for the masses. The quality might be lower and they are not one-of-a-kind treasures but still. Who wouldn't warmly welcome a Versace or Marni item in the garderobe?

I even went further with the thing, because my designer clothes are true one-of-a-kinds. Once being proud parts of a long forgotten seasons' pret-a-porter collections, then owned by a mysterious ladies back in the '60s-70s-80s-90s and then deprived from dignity hiding in piles of pre-owned clothes in dusty sacks. And then found by me. OMG, each vintage designer dress in my garderobe is considered as an elegant old lady back to real life, after properly cleaned and ironed, back to the glamorous days.
I will happily introduce you all, piece by piece.

Today I'm glad to share this lovely Vera Wang silk dress with you, it might not be that old but still a true gem, I cannot get enough of its sophisticated elegance and beautiful colours.
Back to the golden days, Vera!

xoxo,
katika

YELLOW AND BLUE.

So here I am, mes belles, wearing these two vibrant, beautiful colours making me smile!
If colours could get married I would definitely make a couple of mustard yellow and royal blue, powder pink and caramel brown, red and beige, red and pink, orange an pink, wow, I love colour blocking sooo much! I cannot believe that there are people in this world condemned to wear black or one single colour in their entire lives. Or just stick to one. There is this friend of mine convinced that pink is not her colour. Neither is yellow, green and red. She only wears pigeon grey and black and from time to time she puts on some daring browns.
Oh, girls! Please don't deprive yourselves from colours. They can change your mood and the world we live in.
I remember laughing out loud when seeing a Barbie pink bus and a baby blue taxi parked next to each other in Bangkok. And how I found our home soo boringly plain when arriving home.

So here is a colourful and vibrant outfit for you, mes belles, enough of black & grey!
This is what I'm wearing:
my fave royal blue vintage cape, vintage blazer (mustard yellow, of course), asos boots & bag.

Oh, and in style for yellow, here is my new fave video, the latest Goldfrapp track: Yellow Halo!

xoxo,
katika

THE SHIFT.

I was wondering how this blog should really function, I mean to what extent should I share inner thoughts and feelings or instead of being personal should I just post photos of lovely vintage outfits and eye candies. I haven't decided yet. All I know for sure that at the moment it feels good to write about things that are on my mind. It might make me even more vulnerable and exposed to public despise but I decided not to care anymore. So if you're bored with my long babblings about how I feel or how my life is, please feel free to skip the text and just check out the outfit photos. At some point when I'll be more experienced with the whole blogging thing, I'll find the right text-illustration proportion for sure. :)

So now after this long intro I feel more comfortable with admitting that I feel terribly confused and sad today. It might be the consequence of the grey and gloomy weather and contrast between all the lovely people/nice things in London and Bruxelles and the grumpy faces/bad taste at home but I cannot stop thinking that something is wrong with my life. It might just be some sort of mid-life crisis and I'm still seeking the right attitude, but the fact is that I'm not sure if I feel happy on the track I'm currently on. Should I just consider this as a great challenge? Will fighting against all the adverse conditions finally make me strong and happy or should I take it as a sign to change and make that desired shift towards something all new and different, maybe choose a new track to follow?

Awww, ain't easy to answer, right?
All I know for sure that I will cure the uncertainty and sadness with spicy tomato soup and goat cheese toast tonight.
I would never deprive you from some new outfit photos, here is one from the Bruxelles weekend, I'm still selecting the ones shot with my friend's DSLR and I'll come back with a full photo recap for sure!
On this photo we are having fun at the Budapest airport before taking off and this is what I'm wearing:
vintage pleated mini skirt, vintage knitted top, asos knee highs and boots.

take care, mes belles!
xoxo,
katika

LONDON, les photos!

Here is a quick photo set, just to give you an update before I fly to Brussels! London was just as daring and fascinating as always and I felt miserable spending the entire day at the UK office attending endless meetings and presentations. A perfect London day would have included a visit to the opshops in Hackney, a check-in to Tate Modern and the Christmas Harrods, and hot&spicy dinner @ Nandoo's.
Whatever.
I was still in London and survived the day with attitude.
The last photo is the evening MTV Christmas location, the Shoreditch House roof terrace with a pool. Isn't it so very fancy?
xoxo,
katika

LONDON.

Sorry mes belles, for not keeping you posted for a long time now, but this is that crazy, hectic week loaded with travel I told you about. I'm in London now and unfortunately not on holiday but on business and my heart really ached yesterday when I saw the beautiful Christmas decoration in all the shopwindows and streets!!! I wish I could do just a tiny tiny bit of cruising around today! Keep your fingers crossed so that I can give you an upate on what's going on in downtown London. Now back to business!

oh, and this is my outfit for day1:
vintage blue wool dress, mustard yellow thights & beret.

xoxo,
katika

RECAP.

Hello mes belles, here is a short photo recap of what I've been up to his weekend. After the lazy Saturday i did plenty of things today, including taking Lulu to a Christmas fair close to our place. Not only the mulled wine was yummy but Lulu met new friends, including a newborn goat, an American mini pig, Cookie and two mini ponies. Inspired by the lovely smells of the food stalls I ended up baking a broccoli-blue cheese quiche, an apple crumble and a banana-fudge pie. Feel free to stop by for a bite.
Oh, and this is what I'm wearing: another cute vintage tartan skirt, tee from H&M, vintage puffy sleeves velvet blazer.

xoxo,
katika

THE DAY AFTER.

I consider myself a pretty smart drinker, anytime we go partying, I'm layering whatever I'm drinking with plenty of water to make sure I don't get dehydrated and thus avoid having a terrible hangover. It's not the case today.
Gosh, I admit I do have a hangover. Triple X might be an explanation. When your best friends are reaching this magical number of years you do have to celebrate with attitude. We did so yesterday and I'm not saying I did care too much about water when we were dancing in mere happiness to tracks like 'Eye of the Tiger' yesterday night @ Merlin club.

My friends started to call me 'sexy granny' as usually I'm the one canceling parties, prefering staying in or if going out making sure I'm in bed by 2 am. I now it's pretty pathetic but I feel just too tired and old for a white night. And when finally this 'sexy granny' of me turns into a real party animal once in a while, despite all the terrible hangover of the day after I'm proud of myself. I'm proud because it means that I managed to let my controll freakness go. Even if just for one night.

Today is a no-brain day, so here is my best hangover recipe: cuddling with Lulu on the couch, watching Modern Family, eating quiche, drinking tons of green tea.

Oh, and this is what I was wearing for this very special Triple X occasion: vintage tartan wraparound skirt, Guns 'n' Roses tee from H&M, boots from ASOS.

xoxo,
katika

WINTER.

It's so unbelievable that time passes so quickly! It's already December and today morning we woke up to snow covered rooftops and a numb city. The good news is that vibrant vintage clothes go amazingly well with greyish and foggy winter colours. Here is another photo of last weekend favourite outfit. Please note that these lovely vintage clothes will be soon up to sale on the blog, I just need to photograph them first and withou David on board it's not an easy thing to do. But I'll figure out something for sure.
Oh, and have a happy Friday and a lovely weekend, I just realized this one is the last that I'm going to spend at home before going away to London on business, then to Brussels to visit a lovely friend and then finally to our annual holiday with David. Superbusy days ahead, I'll try to make the most of it!

This is what I'm wearing: vintage abstract print skirt and pink knitted top, Mango heels.

oh, and I'm constantly listening to Yuksek's new album, Living on the Edge of Time, greatest score to these hectic days!

xoxo,
katika