Birthday n°28

Last week I celebrated my birthday by taking a day off to visit our beautiful Belgian capital: Brussels. There's a bunch of things I love to do in Brussels but I stuck with the main three: flea markets, art and design. I told my significant other that once we arrive at the market we have to put on our pokerfaces, but I failed at doing so quickly after. Some vendors had rolled out some carpets and I couldn't stop myself from joking that those were flying carpets. That kind of became a running gag throughout our visit. I'd officially lost my pokerface and any credibility I'd have when haggling was thrown out of the window. In the end it didn't matter because I didn't buy anything. One reason was the growing bedbug infestation so I didn't dare dig deep in the piles of textile. And the other reason was that almost nothing tickled my fancy. There were two things that did tickle my fancy. First, we have this cool collection of frogs I found at the flea market. 

The collection of frogs.

A very good friend of mine would have been extremely happy with this fine assemblage of amphibians. If she didn't live across the pond I would have gifted her this froggery, which would have definitely put her in a state of reverie. I, on the other hand, would've really enjoyed this nice collection of boudoir photos I found in one of the antique stores near the Place du Jeu de Balle. The reason for not purchasing this piece: the vendor was only selling them as a set with the frame; I don't need that many nudes of deceased women. It did get me wondering whether this type of - tasteful - boudoir photography still gets done. Now, why do I call these tasteful? It's simply because at the start (the 19th century) these pictures were taken for a loved one, be it a marriage or an affair. And the fact that their gazes are averted instead of them looking right at us also alludes to this softness. Any person who's had to analyze Manet's "Olympia" knows what I'm talking about (thank you, Prof. Meylaerts). I can also tell that these photos aren't from the same era. Four of them are definitely from the 1910s and the other three are from the 1920s. The two photos of the bosoms are obviously harder to date. 

The frame with photos.

After the fruitless flea market visit we went on to our next stop: Villa Empain. This is an Art Deco house in Brussels which currently gets used as a museum and a cultural centre. They currently had an exposition "exploring the ever-changing states of water." The exposition was simply called "Water", but it did definitely leave a positive impression on me and my significant other. I will leave some of my favorite pieces below. Some of them will have the title and the name of the artist while others will be left unnamed. This is simply because I forgot. 

"Etoiles de mer opalines" by Yves Chaudouët (2006)

"Chapitre 2: La Traversée" by Bao Vuong (2021) 

"La mer: la liberté" by Félicien Umbreit (2021)

"Après la mer, les chaos" by Benjamin Rossi (2016) 

"Exploration rationelle des fonds sous-marins: promenade irrationelle" by Philippe Ramette (2006)

After soaking up some water-inspired visual arts we thought it was time for a little lunch break. Unfortunately the Villa's café wasn't serving anything because the kitchen was closed for refurbishment. At least we did get to enjoy the beautiful Art Deco interior. In the pictures below you can also see my coord which included the following:

• Bonnet: Second-hand Baby The Stars Shine Bright
• Necklace: Vivienne Westwood
• Blouse: Second-hand Bodyline
• Wrist cuffs: Second-hand Metamorphose
• JSK: Second-hand Baby The Stars Shine Bright
• Bloomers: Off-brand
• UTKs: Off-brand
• Shoes: Dr. Martens
• Bag: Moi-même-Moitié
• Umbrella: Off-brand

The face of a woman knowing that her Sylvanian Families are awaiting her return.

As you could read in the description of the second picture I have a small Sylvanian Families collection now. I got three families as a gift from my significant other: the Chocolate Rabbit Family, the Persian Cat Family and the Sheep family. The urge to make unhinged family drama videos with them is very strong, but I won't because my families are wholesome (and baby uwu).  I might however take some of them with me on holidays or other adventures. They deserve to see the world.

Thank you, and take care.