Brussels: A Grande Old Dame

Brussels reminded me of a grand older lady, with fine but worn clothes and lipstick on her teeth. The type with a fantastic rent controlled apartment filled with old photographs of her in her prime atop dusty antique furniture and priceless paintings carelessly leaning against the walls. Who has fine perfume and lipstick that she uses every last drop of. Ok, I'm getting carried away with this metaphor/glimpse of my future.

Since we were only in Belgium for one day, we naturally tried to see as much of the city as we could. Or, rather, to cram as much Belgian food into our mouths as we could.... Crepes, chocolate (there is an entire street dedicated to chocolateries), fries and, most importantly, waffles.

I cannot stress this enough: the waffles are all you could dream of and more.

Aside from the waffles, three things stood out to me in Brussels.

1) There is a deep love of graphic art in all forms. There are more comic book stores than I've seen in any U.S. city, Tin Tin is a national hero, and even the graffiti is beautiful and character driven. If I'd had more time there, I would have loved to check out the Brussels underground scene. Something tells me it would be spectacular.

2) The city was nearly destroyed during WWII, and in many ways it's still recovering. There are memorials everywhere, and both the buildings and the population still feel the loss very deeply. Perhaps as a result, there is a sentimental attachment to the style and aesthetic of the 40s and it shows in cafes, hotels and even in the way people dress.

3) Their relationship to France is very complicated. On the one hand, Belgian pride runs deep and most Brussels citizens feel their city is vastly superior to Paris. On the other hand, their histories are inextricably linked, and everywhere things are advertized as being "Parisian" or "Direct from France". It's something I'd love to learn more about.

All of this comes together to create a surreal vibe throughout the city. I felt as though I walked into a graphic novel, and at any moment a man in a fedora would impart devastating information. Definitely a place I hope to return to.

Clothing Purchased: a fantastic vintage dress, bought in a store run by a woman who embodied all things Belgium.

It reminded me of the dresses from the Miu Miu and Prada resort collections, but only cost 10 Euros.

Win.

Some Awesome For Your Weekend

Here are a few things I think are just awesome:

These women.

I see a Lifetime Movie, action figures, epic folk songs. Oh, wait... no, I don't. Why the hell not, American media?

This painter.

Freud left an indelible imprint on the art world. He was also a big part of my pretentious artist phase in high school, but don't hold it against him- it's poor taste to speak ill of the dead.

This manicure (yes, I did just segue from a artistic genius to nails. It's my blog and I can do that if I want to). 

Image courtesy of This is Glamorous

These collections: resort.

From left to right: Jil Stuart, Jil Stuart, Caroline Herrera

Louis Vuitton

Antonio Berardi, aka the love of my fashion life.

Resort collections are my favorite. They're always classics: wearable but still whimsical. And I'm loving this French Riviera in the 30s vibe that keeps cropping up. It harkens back to a day when nudity was shocking and drunkenness was charming. That's a delightful combination.

These water bottles.

Eco-friendly, customizable and the company donates a portion of the provides to companies that provide communities in need with clean water.

This company.

Poop jokes are hilarious, dudes.

My hair:

Don't judge me, I got my hair did.

And you know what the most awesome thing in the entire world is? Better than cancer research and crime fighting, lifesaving lesbians*?

My new scooter.

Ok, maybe not more awesome. But so awesome. So fucking awesome I can't.

Hope you have a delightful weekend! Mine will be spent scooting as much as possible.

I'm Off!

I'm off the NH for the weekend, back on Sunday, hopefully in time for a polo match! From what I understand that involves champagne and picnics and something about a sport.

It's actually supposed to rain all bloody weekend, but I'm still going to try and look like something out of Derek Lam's resort collection.

I feel like these are the broads you see sitting in lovely beach tents looking bored and eating this:

Campari Citrus Sorbet
recipe courtesy of this is glamorous
makes 1.5 quarts

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 cups grapefruit juice
1/2 cup campari

Mix the water and sugar together in a small pan over a low heat, bringing to boil until the sugar dissolves. Allow the simple syrup to boil for exactly 4 minutes (this will give the sorbet the best consistency). Remove from heat and cool (makes a little over 1 cup).

Combine the citrus juice and Campari and add 1 cup of the cooled syrup. Adjust to taste -- want to add a tablespoon or two extra syrup if you prefer it less tart. Remember, the mixture will taste slightly sweeter in liquid form than it does when frozen.

Freeze in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s directions {if you do not have an ice cream machine, they also make perfect popsicles}. After churning, allow sorbet to set in the freezer at least two hours.