Vom Glück Mit Katzen zu Wohnen - A beautiful book and a giveaway!

Hello everyone, As a lot of you know, I am lucky enough to not only share my flat with my sweet daughter Ella and my great husband Mr. Love. I also live with Mr. Cheddar, the funniest and most curious cat on Earth. Living with a cat means having to make sacrifices; if you like interior design like me, you can for instance say goodbye to materials like velvet, as it is a cat hair magnet and some people like my friend Jodi from the blog Joelix have to be very careful with flowers and plants, as some cats love to eat them, even if they can be poisonous for them.
BUT... living with a cat also means a lot of joy and it can be really fun! The German editor Callwey just released a book about that topic and you can win it today on the blog!

The book, which is written in German, shows the home of several cat-loving families and proves that you can have both: a cat and style. The author Maike Grunwald is a journalist living in Hamburg with her family and her cats and the photographer Anja Hoelper is specialised in pet photography and you can really feel their love for cats through the pages of this great book. You will find a lot of inspiration about furniture that is cat-friendly and pretty.

I couldn't resist showing you a couple of pictures of my little fury friend, as it is a #catcontent blogpost anyway. So there you go, here is Mr. Chedds for you:

Here is how to join the giveaway:

• Leave a comment under this blogpost explaining why  living with your cat or dog makes a home happier.
• Like Callwey Verlag and madame-love on Facebook (if it's not already the case).
• The winner will be drawn via random.org. The winner will be informed by e-mail.
• The giveaway is open worldwide (but keep in mind that the book is written in German) and closes on Sunday, November 17th, midnight CET.

Have a great day and good luck!
Elodie

+++++++++++++++++++++++UPDATE+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Frau Süd from the blog Nord & Süd is the happy winner from this lovely book and will receive it in the next few days!
Congratulations!

my favorite French online shops for babies

Hello everyone, there you go. I have another baby related post for you. I hope you don't get bored with it, but I am only a couple of days away from the delivery and getting a little obsessed... A friend asked me the other day for online shop tips for the decoration of the nursery. I have been online a lot, searching for inspiration and I thought I would share some of my favorite French online shops with you.

1. Smallable:

Smallable is my favorite one - I purchased the baby's bed on grey (which you can see below) as well as some very cute baby's clothes and toys. Smallable is a French shop but they also deliver in many European countries and the website is also available in many languages.

1. Grey cloud Mobile by the BUTTER FLYING | 2. Mobile Mr Magique by JALL AND TOFTA |  3. Cloud carpet by PILPOIL |  4. baby bed by COMBELLE | 5. Miffy light by PAPAMARIA

2. Petit Pan

Petit Pan is not only an online shop. It's a parisian decoration and fabric shop, with a lot of asian influence, vibrant colours and beautiful bamboo accessories. Their collection for babies (accessories and clothes) is really beautiful.

1. White animal head | 2. Mobile | 3. fabric banner | 4. plaid | 5. little blue dragonfly

3. Les enfants du design:

Les enfants du desig - is a great website if you want a stylish nursery. They have a great selection of brands such as the British Donna Wilson, or the designer Seventy tree.

1. Chinese paper lamp | 2. cushion by LUCKY BOY SUNDAY | 3. white pompom | 4. Squirrel by Donna Wilson | 5.Poster by seventytree  | 6. grey cushion by NUMERO 74 | 7. pigeon lamp by Thorsten Van Elten  | 8. cushion Liberty Betsy

I wish you a great afternoon!

xxx

Elodie

Antwerp #4 – Where to sleep

Hello everyone, I think nobody likes Mondays ... I think the best cure is to plan your next holiday and think back to your last holiday. While doing it, I realised I still wanted to give a last tip about Antwerp, where I spent a fabulous break last October. After telling you what to do in Antwerp by day and showing you the city by night, where to eat in Antwerp and where to shop, here comes my ultimate tip: where to sleep in Antwerp - and the answer is a beautiful Bed & Breakfast called Home @ FEEK. It is one of the most fantastic places I have stayed at in my life - it was the night of my birthday and it was definitely special!

It is located in the old house of the harbour master and five minutes walk from the MAS (Museum aan de Stroom).

The place is run by product designer Frederik van Heereveld. Frederik is known worldwide for his collection with FEEK and new materials, which he integrates into his interior designs. All the furniture in the rooms can be bought. Even the lift is really funky.

The changing colour lamp in the bedroom was also a highlight.

Hone @ Feek Website: www.http://home.feek.be Oude Leeuwenrui 23, Antwerpen

My fake christmas tree

Hello everyone, This year my family are coming to Hamburg to celebrate Christmas and we are going to buy a proper Christmas tree on 24th December. In the meantime, I made myself my own fake Christmas tree, with some white branches and home-made ornaments.I used some German polymer clay called Fimo, with some organza ribbons. To personalise them, I used a Love stamp from the German designer bastisRIKE and the letters are from Muji. I decided to have a Christmas decoration all in black & white this year. It's very much like Coco Chanel!

Next week I am on holiday and I am so looking forward to it! I will take some time to prepare the celebration with my family and spend more time on the blog, working on future projects for 2013. So there you go, here are a couple of pictures of my fake, temporary Christmas tree. You can see more photos on my Facebook page. Next week I will be doing some more ornaments, but this time in black.

What about you? Which colours are you using for your christmas decoration? Have you got a proper tree?

Speak to to you soon. xxx Elodie

Emery & Cie - incredible decoration store in Belgium

Hello everyone,I have been wanting to post this for a little while. When I was in Antwerp in October, I discovered as I was walking in the city centre, the beautiful showroom of Emery & Cie. This is the decoration shop of the great Belgian architect Agnes Emery. You can find some incredible Moroccan inspired tiles, some fabulous lighting, tableware, paint and wallpaper. I was very lucky to be able to take pictures in this enchanting showroom. If I had to renovate a bath or a kitchen, I know where I would by my tiles. I am completely in love with the cement tiles. Here are a couple of pictures to give you an idea of this very atmospheric shop:

Website: Emery & Cie Shop in Antwerp: Reynders Straat, 202000 Antwerp Shop in Brussels: 78 Quai des Charbonnages, 1080 Brussels

The Human Empire - A design studio and a shop

Hello everyone, I have another shop presentation and another spot will be soon completing my little interior design map of Hamburg. The Human Empire is originally a design studio that turned into a shop in Hamburg. The shop is very well-known for the posters with their own design and designs from other designers which can be bought online too. They also sell a selection of items from very interesting designer, such as Donna Wilson and exclusive magazines such as Kinfolk Magazine *Kinfolk is a growing community of artists with a shared interest in small gatherings* and the magazine is really great, or the beautiful books from the Japanese editor Paumes as well as casual clothes for men and women. The TIGER print from my living room, that I presented there and there also comes from Human Empire. I wish you a wonderful and stress-free day and hope that this post will inspire you bit, maybe to redecorate your home a bit with a new print or find some original x-mas presents. xxx Elodie

Japanese interior books from édition PAUMES, animal plates from Donna Wilson, tea towels from Skinny laMinx, familien Matroschka from OMM Design, postcards from Human Empire Artist Series, wooden animals from Aeraware

Human Empire Schulterblatt 132 20357 Hamburg Mo. – Fr. : 12:00 – 19:00 Sat.            : 12:00 – 18:00

Eden Living - black, white and a bit of grey

Eden Living in Eppendorf is a very classic interior shop offering almost only black, white and grey furnitures and accessories, with a touch of neon of course.It is the perfect if you have a monochromatic interior and are looking for timeless, classic and natural design with a lot of wood. I am in love with their grey and black washi-tape. As I often say: keep it simple.

Eden Living Klosterallee 67 20144 Hamburg Mo. – Fr. : 10:00 – 19:00 Sat.            : 10:00 – 16:00

Lys Vintage - A classic among the interior shops

Follow my blog with Bloglovin You can't write about the loveliest Interior design shops in Hamburg, without talking about Lys Vintage. It is not a secret anymore, but if you are visiting Hamburg, it should definitely be on your list! Lys means light in Danish. The showroom in Hamburg is like a mini-design museum with furnitures, lamps and accessories  from normann copenhagen, Ferm Living, Hay and many more. The online shop is brilliant and I really like the blog part of the website, and the section "im echten Leben" (in real life), presenting the objects in the apartments of their new owners.

Lys Vintage Blog Facebook Fanpage Eppendorfer Weg 8 20259 Hamburg Mo. – Fr. : 11:00 – 19:00 Sat.            : 11:00 – 18:00

smukkeStore in Hamburg

Good morning,My quest to find the loveliest interior shop in Hamburg continues. Last week when I was on my scooter, I stopped by at a shop on the Eppendorfer Weg  and I really loved it:

It's called smukkeStore - home & fashion. Smukke means beautiful in Danish and you will only find Scandinavian brands in the shop

HOME: You will find some of the usual suspects of course, such as house doctor, Bloomingville  from Denmark but also some less famous brands like or House of Rym from Sweden or Rie Elise Lasen & lb Laursen, also from Denmark. In the shop, you will also find some young designers from Hamburg and some old pieces of furniture that have been restored in the workshop at the back of the shop.

FASHION: Among  the fashion brands, you will find Line of Oslo from Norway and Container & Ichi from Denmark. sameThe shop opened on June 15, 2012, and you should definitely pay a visit to the charming shopkeeper Miriam.

You can also find some LOVEly clothes in the shop:

And some antique furniture refurbished by Miriam:

A LOVEly reference to Sting in the  changing room!

If you go there in the coming weeks, you will be able to shop some lovely and not kitsch at all Christmas decoration.

smukkeStore Facebook Fanpage Eppendorfer Weg 174 20253 Hamburg Mo. – Fr. : 10:30 – 19:00 Sat.            : 10:30 – 16:00

lovely still life #1

Still life photography is the depiction of inanimate subject matter, most typically a small grouping of objects. Still life photography, gives the photographer more leeway in the arrangement of design elements within a composition. This is the definition given by Wikipedia. In this series of photos, I only used ornamental apples, in a Japanese bowl I received as a gift for my engagement from my dear friend Fabienne.This is a first try, but this is the kind of photography I enjoy, I hope you like it too!

I found the little black stand at the hello handmade market  on Sunday in Hamburg. It is from the label 3PUNKTF. I visited the market with my Hamburg blogger crew: the lovely Clara from tastesheriff, Susanne from Serendipity and  Maria from villa ♥ stoff - and came without my camera, but all I was thinking about was my blog! and I found some pretty cool props for my photo shootings!