52 project: a portrait of my children every week 31/52

August 7, 2016

E: Not really available for picture taking these daysL: Trying skateboarding and liking it31st week of the 52 project and going. I know, I should post other things by now than just portraits of my kids. But we are settling nicely but slowly, taking time to be together and try to have some holidays. I have lots of ideas for future posts and things to show you. For now, outtakes will do!Stockholm bound:And holiday freckles:Helping set up the Kräftskiva (crayfish festival): And trying to steal her brother's cap:Lily's faces:Some more of Eliott's because there isn't much otherwise:And last skating ones for the road:Have a good week all!

52 project: a portrait of my children every week 30/52

August 1, 2016

L+E: embracing the Swedish summer Voila, we moved. To a posh Island called Lidingö. We are discovering it and so far, enjoying the summer while unpacking millions of boxes. While I'm writing this post, there are still many lying around so I won't write too much. I will instead just let you see some of the outtakes for this week:My growing up son:My daughter playing with 2 (sometimes 3) dolls:Yo man:New hairstyle:Making headphones and ipod with masking tape and shells:Throwing rocks or dreaming:And some more:This is Lidingö:

52 project: a portrait of my children every week 29/52

July 25, 2016

E: looking forward to the Swedish skateparksL: looking forward to be closer to the seaThis is Malmö, Sweden. We are there! Not yet arrived in Stockholm but on our way. So far the weather has been amazing! I don't think I remember Sweden with so hot weather, especially in the evening. The light is always amazing here for picture and this time I have tried a new camera for the portraits of this 29th week of the 52 project. Can you make the difference? I'm still learning how to use it!Let's see what you think with the usual outtakes:Eliott has been taking my previous camera (he is waiting for me to give it to him):Lily played along and has been mostly enjoying Malmö:My crew in Malmö:These pictures were taken with the older camera:What do you say? There is still some work to do on all fronts!Some more outtakes (Just because):That's it for now, and bye bye Malmö!

52 project: a portrait of my children every week 28/52

July 18, 2016

E+L: Summer vibes, finally!!Aaaaaaah, summer! Aaaaah Holidays! We waited for some sunny days for so long...June was awful as I probably said millions of times. Beginning of July wasn't better. The kids already had some summer days in Vendée before we arrived. They had quite a tan. Three days only for us, parents, but we soaked it in fully I think. In terms of news, my other camera is repaired, movies will be coming up as I've been missing some monthly memories and all is packed to go up North! In other words, the blog will be alive again for other posts than my children's portraits, hurrah! Adventures coming up...We did a lot of portraits for this 28th week of the 52 project. The rest of the sea holidays might be ground for another post . (You can also always check Instagram for more)Here are the outtakes:And some more:See you soon for some more pictures. In the meantime, have a nice week!

52 project: a portrait of my children every week 27/52

July 10, 2016

E+L: Away on the west coast of France for two weeksphoto credit: my dad!Yes, my kids went away so we could do the move. I haven't taken many (if not any) pictures since then. However, it's the 27th week of the 52 project. I asked my dad if I could publish some of the pictures he sends me everyday (yes, you now guessed where my photo obsession comes from), added my own little editing and I took some pictures before they left. Completely ready to have a blog post even though my kids aren't with me! Here we go, while we are emptying our house, kids are having a blast in Vendée.Some last silly portraits:How they were soooo ready for holidays (and leave the mighty fine Brussels weather):And then boum (Looking slightly better, less eye bags):yes, they did some surfing again:And last one for the road:Thanks a lot to my dad for lending his skills to this blog. Next week I'll also be there and it will be my own photos again! Have a great week everyone!

52 project: a portrait of my children every week 26/52

July 4, 2016

L+E: Rainy and dark June, some are more happy than others about itYes, it's June. It feels like November or rather March like a friend put it earlier. With March, there is at least hope of a future summer! Reaching the exact half of the 52 project this week, but feeling very little inspired by the weather. Or by the move. Or the emotional rollercoaster I'm in when about to leave my beloved Brussels life. That's it for now folks! (When I'm done with all this, you'll see me back here like there is no tomorrow, but right now...let's enjoy the calm before the storm as we say in French!)I do have some (dark) outtakes anyway!Another new hair cut:Pretending to sleep so she doesn't have to pose, but not managing:Yes, that's how June evenings are rolling apparently:Loving her music gear, looking like a teen but also loving doing the dishes and helping:A last rainy onesThere are some I need to keep for next week as I won't be with the kids but otherwise, there is always Instagram!

52 project: a portrait of my children every week 25/52

June 28, 2016

52 project

L: Smiley moodE: Melancholy moodWe are getting moods on this 25th week of the 52 project. Lots has been going on lately (I'm not even mentioning the depressing results of this week): In a little bit more than two weeks we are moving north of the north (Brussels-Stockholm kind of move) and it's playing on our emotions. It's filled with parties and nice moments to say our goodbyes which of course triggers a rollercoaster of feelings. Not to mention the stress that it entails, of course, but that's almost secondary. All in all, the adventure will soon begin.Meanwhile, some outtakes:Lily's makeoverMoods part 3455678Still want to try the guitar too:Can be happy at times also:Bubble queen:Taking the makeover a little far sometimes (these are maracas!):And more:Have a nice week!

52 project: a portrait of my children every week 24/52

June 20, 2016

E: His laughterL: Her attitude24th week of the 52 project! Even if I find it harder to take my camera every week and have new ideas, even if I feel that I'm not going to manage this time, I still do it. It sort of makes me proud, in the midst of all the general ongoing stress. Aaaand there are many more outtakes than I thought there would be (and if you really want some more, haha, you can always follow me on Instagram) :From his heart to yours: New earrings, present from my mum:In between reads, there are always comic books:And there are always marker's stains on her hands:New games, new laughters:Waiting for the rain to stop:Writing his book again:Flower girl:Typical kind of Sunday activity for these two:yep, this happened, but also grandma love:And more: oh, if you are still here, well, there are even more (yes, I got a bit carried away this week in fact but also Eliott agreed to pose quite a lot):

Tale me: rent your maternity and kids clothes

June 14, 2016

I heard about the idea of renting clothes for your babies from 0 to 4 along with pregnancy clothes and thought "I'm not the target, but that hey, that sounds interesting". The clothes you can rent are ecological and ethical clothes. They are also from designers. I thought: "ok, that's a great concept, I have to have a look". Then I met Anne and her crew, and asked like most people: "what do you do with stains and holes?" and they totally convinced me that I wished this existed when I had my two children. (wanna find out how they do it, click on "read more "!(Anna the founder of Tale Me)See those beautiful kids clothes in the window? Well, instead of buying them for an expensive price and having your kids only wear it a few times, you could rent them, send them back and therefore change clothes every two months. And you can choose from an immense choice of ethical (made in Belgium, France and Portugal mostly) and organic clothes.It's really nice designers clothes too. Ecological brands I used when my kids were little and lasted forever, like la queue du chat or l'asticot. But also Belgian new designers such as Maurice and co. This idea is actually amazing: Slow fashion. I totally support this responsible consuming (and you know me, I'm quite the shameful consumer but still, I know what would be the best way. If you read French, click on this article about not possessing anything in the future. "you have a nice pullover, where did you rent it?" could be the way forward!).They also have the same concept for maternity clothes. The typical time when really, you will not use the clothes more than... a few months! So why not rent them? and if you give birth before the end of your rental contract, you can switch to breastfeeding or baby clothes.Right now you are thinking, just like I did: "yes, but kids of those ages (from 0 until 4 years old) stain easily their clothes and they also make holes. How much do you have to pay when you send them back in that state?" Well, I was totally blown and satisfied by their answer: Nothing! you send the clothes back how they are. Tale me will try to wash them and render them as nice as possible, in the best way they can. They will use ecological products (that they also sell actually) and tricks. Check out this cute video!If it doesn't go away, or if the hole cannot be repaired, they use the remaining fabric to make other clothes that they will rent! How fantastic? They have a great person sewing in the back of the shop, genius!You have several ways to rent, for several prices. If you read French, this blog explains it so well. Otherwise you can either go to the shop for really good advice or you have also information on their website. I'll also try here:For children clothes, you can rent either 3 clothes or 5 clothes every two months. Right now, it sizes from 0 to 4 but they are intending to go up to 8 yrs old in the future. You can choose the clothes in the Tale me shop in Brussels (details below) in the prices shown or you can choose them online on their website for slight more expensive price. The amazing thing: they deliver all over Europe!!The same goes for pregnancy clothes:You can change every months! Or check the details here.If you have children of those ages or are on your way to maternity, you have to try it out. They have for instance really nice Patagonia coats in the winter, or more suitable to this period, swimming suits. Again, the typical type of clothes that will not be worn more than a few weeks. Aren't you convinced already?The textile industry pollutes a lot, and Tale me is already working with mostly ecological fabrics and they print fabrics in the Netherlands to design some clothes in Belgium. But apparently Anne is also working to find fabrics that are solely made in Europe. The way forward! TALE MEChaussée de Charleroi 166Opening hoursMonday 11h until 17h30Tuesday to Friday 11h-19hSaturday 10h30-18hTel : +32 2 851 53 49or the website: taleme.be

52 project: a portrait of my children every week 23/52

June 12, 2016

L: Green/brown eyes actuallyE: getting more and more freckles We are getting closer to the half of the 52 project, the school year is slowly but surely getting towards the end, how did this go so fast? Too many things to do, so little time and I almost spent the entire week-end without seeing my son (such a social agenda this one) so not many pictures of him, but still some outtakes (the moody weather created these variation of warmth, light and colors in my pictures):He finally finished the last book of Harry Potter, that was a bit of a trauma for him: (trying to imitate her brother, now she also wants to do guitar)He is tuning it for her: morning scenescurrent hair mood: Important phone conversation:Rainy week-end:

52 project: a portrait of my children every week 22/52

June 6, 2016

E: Happy fellowL: Gracious ladyAnother week of the 52 project, another camera. New perspectives to try. This week-end was full in "end of year events": the school party, the dance show, the piano show, the art school exhibition... there will be a movie on my Instagram account and also vimeo soon with scenes from the week-end. And therefore, numerous outtakes:Finishing the last book of HP: Lots of garden play: did you know that this was a lady bird larvae?End of art school exhibitionDance show:School fair:Getting ready for the next show, the piano concert:(and I made this myself, with flowers from La Frénésie)The actual concert:Afterwards there was much fun:Have a nice week all!

PLAY- the finale of my video course

June 2, 2016

As promised, the last video of the make films course of Xanthe Berkeley in one post. It's kind of my grand finale for this course . The other videos, I posted here last time. The theme was PLAY and it could be anything that we could play with so yes we played! (to watch the video click read more)I tried to use a maximum of technics I had learned (slow-motion, stop motion, timelapse, putting yourself in the frame etc.) and my house was covered in glitter and confettis. My camera stopped working a few days after that, I'm wondering if it's because it's full of it too... But at least we did it and we had fun!Some photos outtakes of the play from Lily:and with my current grown up camera:Hope you had fun watching it as much as I did making it!

52 project: a portrait of my children every week 21/52

May 29, 2016

L: DreamingE: DreamerA lot of projects going on. Even more than just for this blog. 21st week of the 52 project and I'm taking my big girl's camera every time but sometimes it's harder than others Therefore not many outtakes this week but still:Favourite hair at the moment: Making crazy faces all the timeLoving tea:Hiding from the camera sometimes:But not when I have a great project to work with, even if I try 50 times:Here was the state of my terrace and garden after:More to come later this week!

"Make films course" with Xanthe Berkeley

May 27, 2016

(unrelated photo but it was taken while filming too) I am just about to finish the ten weeks class I have been taking recently with the wonderful teacher Xanthe Berkeley. If you don't know her yet despite that I mentioned her a few times (huhu) you should get over her website or her instagram right away. She is such an inspiration to me and she has been for some time. I love everything she does as well as her colourful world. Her creativity is genius, I'm always blown by her new ideas and movies. I was thrilled when I realised she offers courses and I haven't been disappointed: She is a great teacher on top of everything!I had started with the online time capsules course which takes place over the year and enabled me to start my monthly memories. The material was really great already there. Then I saw she had a faster pace course, the make films course. Ten weeks, ten challenges and despite still not having changed camera (sigh), I just couldn't wait and registered. It was indeed challenging at times, but such a great adventure and I'm almost sad it's already ending (but one might say it's not the end but only the beginning of a new creative path... who knows!). This course was absolutely fantastic! Now I'm going to show you the results, it's not always the best (especially if you have just been to Xanthe's website!) and I really have to do something with the fonts choices among other things (huhu again). It's my journey to learn and it's really fun to have these little memories to keep and watch. I hope you enjoy it too (and will see the improvements in the future!)Week 1First week was about starting up and using different angles. That week, my camera let me down and I had to use the iphone a lot but I still managed a "week-end memories". You can check them all here. Not my best one and Instagram only allowed 15s at the time, it still really nice times and I love making those small snippets:Week 2Second week was a portrait and I did one of Caroline from La Frénésie which I made a blog post about earlier. There is a longer version there, this one is again Instagram friendly:Week 3Third week was about taking a moment, using slow motion and filming yourself too. Not an easy one. Interesting since I don't really like to see myself but did it anyway:Week 4Fourth week was using wide angles and timelapse. I didn't really use wide angle in this one but planting seeds with Lily was fun anyway. I have another movie with lots of city/sky/airport timelapses but I never posted it so here is the result I shared in the end:Week 5Fifth was a breather, a week to take in all we had learnt and so I did another week-end memories movie:Week 6The sixth week was the one I dreaded the most and I was quite right: Stop motion was the most difficult thing I had to do during this course and I wasn't very pleased with the result (and my knee hurt afterwards)... But there you go, if I do it again, I'll learn more each time I suppose like Xanthe said. I hadn't even put the pictures in the right format, hence the black borders:Week 7The seventh week was about presenting an "how to" make something video using the technics we had learnt. That is probably the one I'm the happiest with. I involved the kids and we had great fun making it, especially Eliott doing the voiceover with his cute French/American accent:Week 8 The eighth week was trying to do "a day in the life" series of movies. Ideally everyday for a week or a full day from morning till evening. I thought that with my work life I wouldn't be able to make any of those and was about to stick to the week-end movies (I was in London that week-end, I could easily make two films I thought) but then I took my camera every day with me, filmed a lot and started to see things differently and was actually able to make a little movie with little scenes from each day. Here are the results (you can also see them here ):Saturday:Sunday:Monday:Tuesday:Wednesday:Thursday:Friday:Week 9The one before last. I couldn't believe it. It was about wondering if I had a series in me. Well, right now, I'm definitely going to stick to my week-end memories, that you can find here or on Instagram. I'll of course continue the monthly memories project too, and that, I will post on the blog, but you can also see them all here. The movie I submitted for that week:Week 10 The last week of the make films course! I'm glad the theme is "PLAY" because I needed it to be fun so I wouldn't get too sad about it ending and we made it fun indeed. I won't show it on this post, as we share every Mondays and it's not finished yet. But I'll be sharing it shortly here, so stay tuned!

52 project: a portrait of my children every week 20/52

May 22, 2016

E: Missing his dad super much these days (and had slept 4 hours)L: 8 years old this week (the colour version)It's been a loooong week, this 20th week of the 52 project. But we made it, and we all celebrated Lily's birthday in more or less ok shape. And she was super happy so that's what counts! Lots of outtakes from this week:Birthday girl firstDifficult to take a good picture of him these days: (harry potter fan all the way)Taken on Wednesday's drawing class:(always spinning round these days, she calls it the happiness wheel)and more:(this is fake blood)Sometimes they get along and they share:

April memories

May 18, 2016

April memories. It seemed to me it was quite calm when I looked at it from a distance and in fact it was more like roller coaster...Emotionally too. This video is not summing it all but as I do a lot of week-end memories too it's hard to make a longer video without being repetitive (click "read more" to watch :))There was Amsterdam, Paris and Stockholm. Not always with the kids, who enjoyed being in France while chaos was happening in Brussels. Visits to friends we miss so much. Meeting friends we love so much. Some quiet times, some routine times, some laughter even. We ate some dim sums, bought flowers and went to drawing class every Wednesday. And then Spring finally sprung:Quite a hectic and busy month in the end. See you in May :)

52 project: A portrait of my children every week 19/52

May 17, 2016

London week-endL: cannot stop moving (and has some kind of attitude)E: wore his Harry Potter scarf the whole week-end (despite nice weather)19th week of the 52 project! We spent the week-end in London which great and busy so all the pictures are about this week-end that the kids loved. The days before that I didn't take any pictures as I was swallowed by my April video (coming up soon!) and other projects. You can check my week-end video on my vimeo account to see more images in particular short films I did on Saturday and Sunday. And here is some more outtakes: Loving the red phone boxes:And imitating mum: Rocking the British museum:She can't stay still, proof below:or there: and rocking the William Morris town (Walthamstow) and wallpaper:

52 project: a portrait of my children every week 18/52

May 8, 2016

E: New haircut (FINALLY!)L: Often dreaming (and role playing)Long week-end, so welcomed! and with that wonderful weather, what else? So of course lots of activities even though we took it easy and spent a lot of time in our garden...lots of picture for the 52 project:Bubble playResto with amazing rooftop (pinpon) Garden playLily has even raised and nourished a few snails:And we went to the bluebell forest, part of the Sonian forest, magic disney style wonderland right at the outskirt of Brussels:I hope you had the luxury to enjoy this nice weather too and have a very good week!

Dam sum in Brussels

May 3, 2016

Dam sum is by far the best dim sum restaurant in Brussels. Those who know me, know that I have this crazy adoration for dim sums. I love them, I crave them. I even went to Beijing for our honey moon more or less to be able to have a feast of them. It was never a thing I could find in Brussels. Some restaurants had it, sometimes better than others but if I really wanted to fulfil my need, I would go to London (I could list my favourite dim sum restaurants there on the blog maybe one day). Then Dam Sum opened, and that my friends, was a life changer!They have really nice bbq buns and classic har gao among other choices. Their shrimp gyozas are amazing. Their overall menu isn't so big but it's fresh, they don't add glutamate and if you are lucky you can even see them making some of the dim sums in front of you. The cherry on the cake is their speciality: the xiao long bao, which is a steamed bun that includes a little soup you suck before eating the ravioli. Simply delicious! Right now they have one with some truffle taste, you have to go try it.Here is a little movie I made, again with my not so great camera, but you get the idea:They don't take reservation, so you have to go a little early or expect some waiting time, but the turn over is ok . They even have a Sunday brunch now. Go there and let me know what you think!DAM SUM11 place de la Trinité, 1050 Bruxelles02 538 08 10

52 project: a portrait of my children every week 17/52

May 1, 2016

E+L: Enjoying the coming back of sunshine and light (and so do we)!