the Naked cake

Picture: Pinterest

Weekends are made for tea times and bakery. It is relaxing, you feel proud of yourself afterward, and you can enjoy what you have made. So today I wanted to share with you the recipe of a kind of cake which did become pretty famous recently, the Naked Cake. His look makes it all so simple but elegant that it will be a real pleasure for your eyes before being a pleasure for your mouth! For this recipe the ganache will be all about white chocolate while the genoise will have a vanilla flavor. So this is how I do my layered naked cake, 

First of all, you need to do a genoise. Here the list of ingredients you'll need to do that:

- 250 grammes of sugar

- 250 grammes of flour

- 8 big eggs

- two tea spoons of baking powder

Let's get started.

Mix in a bowl with flour with the baking powder. 

Separate the white from the yolk of your eggs. Beat the eggs' whites with a pinch of salt. When they are firm enough add the sugar and continue to beat the mix. 

Then add the yolks and the flour with baking powder while still mixing until you have a fluid but still firm result.

To bake it, 20 minutes in the oven at 180°C!

Now time for the the white chocolate ganache!

You'll need: - 300 grammes of white baking chocolate, finely chopped in order to make it easier to be melted.

- 25 cl of heavy cream

Boil the cream in a pot and just shed it over your chopped white chocolate. Then mix them together gently until you have a smooth and creamy result. 

When the genoise is cold enough, cut it in three equal stages and start to build your cake. One genoise, some ganache, and you go on until the third stage. Then it is up to you to make it look beautiful! 

xo

Amy

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My dreamt apartment II

I wanted to share with you another studio apartment that I stumbled upon while scrolling down on Tumblr - my favorite activity as you might have guess by now - few days ago. I finally have a home in Amsterdam, since the start September, but well, it is shared, my room is pretty small and well, in a word it is not really what I was dreaming of. But fortunately I am a girl who is down to earth so I don't feel depressed when I see those marvelous apartments on Tumblr. I just save the picture and keep them in a file as reminders: if you do your things right Amy, if you work hard at uni and if you work on your smartness - is it even a word? - you will have you dreamt apartment for real. For now as you can see I don't have that much ambition concerning housing. As a student all I want is a studio, no need for several rooms and bathrooms. So let me take you around my new dreamt apartment. 

Let's start with the bedroom corner. Here the atmosphere wanted is clear: cosy and relaxing. A dream catcher on the wall, green plants and bright colors. The perfect mix to feel cosy at home and relax after a stressful day at uni.

When you are living in a studio it is important to know how to get organized and how to put your stuffs together in order to have enough space. This studio is actually quite big, so no worries about it, but at least the disposition of the rooms is also well done. And there's a balcony!

As you can see in the precedent picture a massive opening has be done in the wall to make the kitchen easily communicate with the living space. Very luminous and decorated with bright colors it is the perfect size and style for a student who likes to treat himself with pretty nice dishes time to time.

To end the visit let's have a last look at the living area, but this time from the kitchen. The massive window lets enter a lot of light which is just enough to brighten the whole flat. Then, you just need to add some cosiness with a rug, fluffy blankets and flowers. With this studio the word "lifestyle" takes all of its meaning.

xo

Amy

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Blogger style: Tuula Vintage

Fashion bloggers are here to inspire us, to show us how to wear haute couture in daily life, to expose their life on social media, to let us share their daily routine, and to let us dream with their daily outfits. One of those fashion blogger is named Jessica Stein, better known under the pseudonym of Tuula Vintage. As many fashion bloggers, I discovered her thanks to Instagram. Exotic places, close snaps of her accessories, easy going but still elegant outfits, she travels the world, eat good food and owns the prettiest closet. Jessica is from Australia, and that is maybe why her Instagram is so colorful and joyful. Pretty pictures of her home country everywhere, she makes us wish that we could just fly to this far away land and enjoy life in the Australian way. As for many other bloggers, we don't really know what she is doing, how she earns money and is able to pay all those flights, all those eat bags, but we stop caring and asking at some point. Her style matches the country she visits. Long light dresses in Mexico, cute little top and jeans in New York, shorts and shirts in Sydney... She travels and changes her style in every place she lands. Today I wanted to share with you some of my favorite photographs of her style and travels, the style of a girl we wish we could be. 

Spring in New York City

Summertime in Australia

Como, Italia

On the go

Homeward bound

You can find Jessica's blog, Tuula Vintage, here!

xo

Amy

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Favorite Fall books

To read is to feed your soul. You learn a different language, a different way to speak, you forget your life in somebody else's, you let yourself dive into the pages. To escape your life, to keep your mind busy, to stay active instead of waiting in an airport and waisting your time, books are here to save us. I wanted to share with you my favorite books of the season, the one you can bring to the airport, read in your bath, read when you are sleepless, when you are sad, when you wait to an appointment, when you need to forget your problems and dive into somebody else's life. 

The first book I would like to tell you about has been written by Katherine Pancol, a fabulous writer well-known in France but now her novels have been translated in 27 languages! And to forget your life, her books are the best. Muchachas, First Part, is about women and life. How they deal with their issues, how they show their strength, how they make their path through this hard life by themselves. They "lead the dance", they make men crazy, they suffer, bleed, cry, but they stay. Sensitive, narrow-minded, famous, anonymous, in love, unhappy, those women are us. You can recognize your own face in their character, you can use the novel as a mirror. You learn from them. Katherine Pancol hasn't wrote a novel, but a life lesson. To read whenever you feel lost, sad, or just happy. This book is like life, you don't need a special occasion to live, and neither to read Muchachas. 

Murder, violence, Los Angeles and girls, the perfect mix for an intense and powerful thriller. But here the difference is that reality is at the origin of Simon Liberati's novel. Charles Manson and his sect, the girls he convinced to perpetrate the terrible murder of five innocents. Some pages will be hard to read, violent, close to reality, talking about real people, you won't get away from this book without feeling changed. California Girls tells about a true story, tells about the end of innocence. 

70's in California, golden youth craving for freedom and a different way of life. This dream has been immortalized by Bill Yates, and this fall a book gathering all of his cliché went out in libraries.  Sweetheart Roller Skating Rink. Diving in this golden age without having lived it is now possible thanks to him. A novel in pictures. 

You don't have to read a novel to escape your world. And one of the best book to do so is for sure a fashion book. Glitters, luxury, diamonds and lace, you dive in a fashion dream thanks to Vogue UK releasing a book gathering the history of the magazine and its best pictures. The title? Voice of a Century. Even in here we understand that it will be more than fashion, but also history, and the history of photography, garment, editorial, women. A beautiful book to look at on a rainy Sunday with a cup of tea and some scones. 

Novels don't have to be new to be attractive. Francis Scott Fitzgerald wrote some unforgettable books, just like Tender is the night. Nobody cared for it when it came out, but today we assume that it became a classic, and since I read again some fragments of the novel recently I decided to add it to my favorites list. People are fragile, vulnerable, lost in their life and lost in the world. More than an autobiography of the emblematic couple that is Francis Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, this novel is the story of real people. A story to escape, a story to live again and again, moving, tragic, unforgettable, a classic to read just to remember that we are too weak to fight against life. 

xo 

Amy

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Autumn bag

Fall is here, and I wanted to update my dream bag for this new season. Remember the Dionysus Gucci bag? We're still in love with it right? But let's fall in love again and have an affair with Proenza Schouler PS11. The style is completely different. Smaller, more discrete as well, but still iconic. This dream bag is made for the girl always on her way, the girl who knows what she wants and needs in her bag - only few things because of the small size of course, but this girl is also pretty organized. His style is hard to define. Classic? Not really. Punk? Two big studs are not enough to say so. Tomboy? Too feminine for that qualification.  We could just say that this bag is the bag of a stylish girl, who has a personal, particular style, who knows who she is and who can style this lovely little piece with almost every of her outfit. She has a dreamt wardrobe. A lot of jeans and sweaters, causal t-shirts but also pretty short and girly dresses. She wears Converse and slippers but can put on some stiletto whenever she wants to take some high. This girl is a 24 years old fashion blogger, student in fashion maybe, confident, the one we want to be when you're 21 and in love with her bag. 

It might not look like such a practical bag, but what's more important? The practical aspect or the pretenses? Let's agree with the latter. Only few pockets, but a big space in the central part when you can put all of your mess, but stay reasonable, it is not that huge. The long strap doesn't able us to wear it at so many different lengths, however it feels like the designer found the perfect one for us. Even if this bag can look pretty basic, the front can'y help but make us change our mind. The details and the undefinable style it will give you make all the difference. Easy to still with every pice of your wardrobe, you can carry it from day to night. A bag to dream about. 

xo

Amy

Picture n°1: Credit TuulaVintage

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Sunday Brunch

Better know as "the best meal of the week". This late lunch mixing sugary treats with salty dishes is originally from the US, before being introduced in Great Britain in the 19th century. We all love brunch and its idealistic concept. No need to be a great cook, no need of a lot of time to get it ready, gourmand but also healthy, it is for sure the best way to spend your Sunday afternoon with family and friends. As the lazy girl that I am, I have to say that it is really easy to get a table ready for brunch, even if you are waiting for a lot of guests. Brunch is about "diy", do it yourself. Several plates on the table, butter in a cup, bagels in a plate, salmon in another one, bacon at the other side of the table, whatever you want to it on your bagel, you do it yourself. This is maybe the nicest thing about brunch. It is not a static dinner, you move, you ask your neighbor for the jam, the person sat across you beg you to give him some fruit salad, you never stop. But when you are the host and hen you had to get it ready it was so damn easy. Everything in a plate, orange juice in a jar, and just a little bit of cuisine to show that even if it might look easy to host a brunch, you're still awesome and you cooked some delicious dishes anyway. Before giving you one or two recipes typical of the Sunday brunch, we need to list all of the elements that you MUST have on your brunch table. 

* Pastries, or viennoiseries. It is the most important thing of a brunch, a meal that hesitates between sugary breakfast and salty lunch. Choose the ones you prefer - in a cute little basket like Brie Van Der Kamp would do -, croissants, pains au chocolat, cinnamon rolls...

* Toasts, with butter, jam, apple sirup...

* Pancakes or waffles, to eat either in a sugary or a salty way. 

* Meat. Cold chicken or bacon, it is a must even at 3pm. 

* Smoked fish, salmon, or harengs. 

* EGGS! Do not forget them or you will be categorized as a dumb brunch person. Sorry. You can choose any way to cook them, poached, in an omelette, as you want but never leave them on the side!

* Concerning the drinks, in Europe we prefer hot ones, latte, hot chocolate, cappuccino, tea... But on the other side of the ocean they are not afraid to drink alcool, wether champagne or belinis. 

Those are the must of the brunch, but you also have to stick to the trend, and for the past few years it has been all about avocado toasts. Boring? Not yet. Avocado is still trendy. So, it might sound so freaking simple and dumb, but do some avocado toasts please, be trendy. Choose a really nice bread, brown one with 7 seeds is a good choice, then mash an avocado with salt, pepper and the juice of a lemon. Add some smoked salmon, nuts and then you've got your fancy dish. 

Another one? Poached eggs. Not that complicated, but will impress. Just a tip, try it several times for yourself before doing some for your guests. It is easy when you are used to do it, but a real hell when you're learning. 

Last but not least, pancakes! You'll find all you need to know about it here! 

Have a nice Sunday brunch!

xo

Amy

Credit second image: Charly Chox, Style the Natives

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Thoughts on sex

Today I wanted to talk about something that is way too much overrated. Sex. Being honest, I don't have that much experience,  but I think I have enough to talk about it in a way that has nothing to do with "how to do it right", or "what's the best position", I want to talk about sex cause it feels like our society doesn't really know how to handle it. Sex is taboo, sex is bad, sex is dirty. And growing up in this way of thinking can be pretty hard for a teenage girl, and also a teenage boy even if it may be a little bit different. Anyway, sex is presented has disgusting, painful, and most of all, a reeky big deal. We all know that it can be pretty hard to talk about it with your mother, or any family member, and so finding answers to all of the questions you might ask yourself can be pretty hard. But God invented Internet and Tumblr, and here you go guys, asking the most embarrassing question anonymously. Because let's say it, sex is important. I know it might be the thing we dont want to talk about, the embarrassing part of your growing up, but at some point it will happen, and to be ready for that is not really an easy task. People tend to minimize sex. But I do think that it is a really important part of our life. Sexuality is not only about having a good time in bed, it is also about learning about yourself, about your body, learning how to be vulnerable with someone you love in a different way, it is just about life. 

    

    I grew up pretty afraid of sex. The first time hurts so much, you'll bleed as hell, guys are pigs, you know, all of those statements that girls know and make them say "I'll stay a virgin forever" at least once in their life. I've been in this situation, and sex did really scare me, but after my first time - which was not that glorious, let say that - I did realize that maybe made too much of a big deal of it. Maybe it wasn't so nice, maybe it did hurt a little, maybe we felt uncomfortable because we didn't really know what we were doing, but in the end the it was done I didn't feel different. I was still the same girl, I just had sex. All of this fairytale about "your little flower", "your virginity which is such a precious thing" disappeared in my head right after we were done. Even the expression "loosing your virginity" is so negative! I don't think I loose anything, I actually gain something. But let's be honest sex can be pretty stressful. And if I can give you one advice if you're nervous for your first time or for whenever it feels like it isn't working, lube. Might become your best friend at some point. What can also be pretty stressful about sex is the fear to create a little human. Gosh, sounds weird. Anyway. Contraceptive is really important, and just start with condoms. There are many other solutions, but this is for sure the best one to start. And relax, it is not that easy to make a baby! If you protect yourself you'll be fine, no baby for you now!

   

    Sex is awesome could be my conclusion. I must say that in a relationship it is really important, not only to "keep the sparkle", but also because it is a special moment that inly the two of you share. You learn to know him or her better, in a different way, you're vulnerable, and you just experience different feelings and sensation that are seriously worse the stress of the "first time". But sex is also really important for your relationship with yourself. You'll learn to know your body better, to know yourself better, and it might just help you to change into someone more confident, feeling sexier, prettier. Sex might not be life, but it is a really important part of it. Missing this part of your love life will be quite a shame.

xo 

Amy

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Travel diary: Venezia

Two years ago I went to Venezia with with my Art History uni class for four days, and I just fell in love with this city. This is not a myth Venezia is the city of love. Everywhere is a romantic place, the exact right one to kiss your lover. If we avoid the tourists of course. But well, what will be Venezia without its tourists? A nice Italian village with mesmerizing buildings. Anyway, Venezia is much more than romance, it is also art, culture, architecture, evening walks and delicious food. And so in this blogpost I would like to share with you my favorite spots in the city, but Venezia is not really about secret places, it is mainly about touristic areas, so I'll give you some advices to avoid the crowd for a moment and just have the city for yourself. 

The first place I would like to tell you about is the Palacio del Dogo, a traditional place to visit just to learn about the history of the city, the politics, and also to discover one of the most beautiful building of Venezia, decorated in the old style, gold everywhere and furnitures over the top. Of course it will be crowded, but reserve your tickets online and go in the early morning. And if I can give you my point of view, go when it is raining. Nothing will compare the beautiful spectacle of the inside court in the pouring rain and you walking around under the arcades. A beautiful way to learn about the history of Venezia. 

Then to go on with the real tourists places to visit, you must visit Santa Maria della Salute church. It is impressive, beautiful, a real piece of art. Look up and admire the paintings, the sculptures. Take your time, there are so many details to see...

Another iconic place that you have to see is the Ca' D'oro and Palacio Giusti. Maybe a little less touristic as well, heaven in golden house. Everywhere around you, medieval and modern art pieces, but also contemporary art exposed in one of the most beautiful building of the city. And don't be afraid to go outside, on the balconies, to check the incredible view over the canal and be part for a moment of this decor out of a fairytale. 

But now let's slip away from the crowd and walk around the city in quieter places. Start from piazza San Marco and take the direction of Castello by going behind the basilic and crossing the Ponte dei Sospiri. Walk for a couple of minutes and get lost in those tiny streets. Not much tourists anymore, but locals, having a drink at 11 in a little café. Venezia is also about that, just getting lost and forget the map for a minute. 

After your wandering you might need to get a little bit refreshed, and the better place to do so is for sure Grom. To sum it up, the best ice creams in Venezia, and according to some locals, the best in whole Italy, and maybe even the whole world. Stracciatella and chocolate are my faves!

End up your day with a nice dinner on Piazza San Marco and go take a walk around at night. Everything changes. No more tourists, everything is quite. Just get lost again, cross the bridges, see the beautiful buildings in an other light, and just enjoy the city for yourself.

Bacioni, 

Amy

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A day in poetry V - Lana

Everything is gone now,
Let's the leaves fall away.
All our thoughts made up now,
All our words are said.
No one cares for us, no,
Just be whoever you may,
Go away with me now,
Let the rain wash away.

It never was about the friends or the foes,
For us there's only luck, for us there's only luck.
It never was about the kisses or the plays,
For us there's only love.

Everything is calm now, 
Let's the clouds settle down.
All our love made up now, 
All our prays are played.
No one can relate, no,
Let them far away,
We are no more here now,
Let the voices die away.

It never was about, the parties or the games,
For us there's only luck, for us there's only luck.
It never was about, the death or the gods,
For us there's only love.

Cause we are religion.

Based on Lana del Rey, "Religion".

xo

Amy

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Mill at Limetz, Monet

Today I wanted to share with you an art piece by one of my favorite artist of all time, Claude Monet. Curiously, even if I've spent three years studying Art History at university, I never saw this painting. I actually stumbled upon it while scrolling down on Tumblr. Isn't it funny? Studying for years and finding your favorite painting of one of the artist you admire the most on Tumblr? Sometimes events surprise me, and since it feels like I wasn't meant to study this canvas, that it wasn't my destiny to have a teacher telling me everything about it, I decided to tell you about "Mill at Limetz" with an eye different of the one of the art historian that I am. It will just be the eye of a girl who stumbled upon a painting that just pleased her, captivated her, and finally moved her. So I'm not going to do what we call in a barbarous way an "eksphrasis", here I just want to declare my love to this painting, and to tell you all of its reasons, but by keeping quite the historian in my head to let talk the mesmerized girl in my heart. 

    I was back at home, sitting in the living room, trying to find inspiration for my next article on Tumblr when I saw the picture of this painting. Of course I did recognize Monet, my eyes have been trained for that kind of job, but I had never saw this canvas before. And so in a second I became obsessed with it. I needed to find the title, to find other pictures, details, I needed to learn more about it. Useless to say that I spent my whole evening on Google trying to find this one in an ocean of Monet paintings. But finally, when I started to desperate of finding it one day, it appeared on the screen. "Moulin de Limetz", as his original title. Oil on canvas, 92 x 73 cm, 1888. But who really cares about that except from the art historians? When you face a master piece sometimes you don't want to know too much about it, too afraid that something will kill the magic, kill the feelings, and so it will just be one more paintings in your memory, but not anymore that special one. I guess it is the colors. Green, purple and pink, this audacious but mesmerizing mix between the shades that just lead to one of the most beautiful painting of this period of time. We are not sure of what we see, there are so many color stains, the tree hides the landscape, but we can catch sight of the watermill, in a quite place, surely located in the French country side, around Paris. I just watched that canvas and stop myself for asking all of the questions coming to my mouth. It is just beautiful, poetry on a canvas. We can almost feel the wind in the leaves, hear the water falling of the mill, the river's sound, be blinded by this Summer sun. Monet is poetry, we sure know that, but this painting seems different. It has to stay untouched, uncommented, it has just to be watched, and we just have to cry or to smile while watching it, because isn't it the goal of art? Making us feel the beauty? So stay quite, stare and feel. This is certainly what Monet would have want us to do, as every poet does. 

xo

Amy

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Capture your style, Aimee Song

Bloggers. They are everywhere; just see, here I am, writing a new article. Blogs. All over the web, about fashion, about lifestyle, interior, food, makeup, beauty, everything. Wait, I said on the web? Not anymore guys. Now, blogs come to life. Garance Doré set the trend, and now she is followed by many others, Kristina Bazan from Kayture for instance. And so in this post I would like to tell you about another blogger that you for sure know that I love by now, Aimee Song from Song of Style. Her book came out last 20th of September, and obviously since I'm in love with her blog and her Instagram I rushed into Waterstones bookshop to get my very own copy. Let's resume my feels: I love this book. But wait, this is not an usual "blogger publication". Aimee, instead of focusing on her life path (much more like Kristina Bazan look) or to put on pages her blog (like Garance Doré did last year), decided to focus on what she knows best: Instagram. With over 4 millions followers she dedicated her book to this new social platform and so gives us her best advices to help us succeed like she did. Capture your Style is so in some kind of ways "Instagram handbook", a manual to succeed on this competitive social media, how to take the perfect pictures, how to edit them, how to promote them; but it is more than that. Capture your Style is also about fashion, about photographs and about carrier, with foreword by Diane van Furstenberg. Aimee shows her perfect style, outfits, make up, bags, and let us dream about that perfect famous blogger life. Well, Capture your Style is her Instagram grid in a book, all about prettiness but also edition. Let me introduce you to Aimee's book. 

Aimee puts a lot of effort in the edition of the book, trying to make it look like her blog but also taking some distances from it. And her we are, the prettiness of the pictures I was talking about.

This book is not only about how to have the perfect Instagram, it is also about how to take the perfect picture. On this page the blogger gives us a tutorial for the perfect selfie. 

If you ever took a look at her Instagram account, you might know that Aimee is the queen of flat lays. So of course she gives us all of her tips and advices to capture the perfect one.

Once you have the perfect picture, the perfect flat lay or selfie, you need to edit it the right way. Apps, filters, you'll learn every secret of her flawless pictures. 

If you follow Aimee on Snapchat or Insta Stories you might know that she loves to share what she is eating, and so does she on her Instagram grid. So in this chapter she explains us how to perfectly capture our lunch/brunch/breakfast/coffee break. Yummy!

As you might know, Aimee started her blog by posting interior pictures, since she actually wanted to become an interior designer. It is still part of her life, and so of her Instagram as shows this beautiful grid.

Here's the link to get yours!

xo

Amy

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Paris Fashion week: street styles

Finally, fashion week is over, and like every time after it has ended, we still have a lot of things to look at, since a short week wasn't enough to lurk at every single little thing. Of course we have seen the shows, from romanticism at Chloé to internet at Chanel, but did you take time to take a look at Paris Fashion Week awesome street styles? Now fashion is no more about the runway, it is about the sidewalk. And if we go to fashion weeks to discover what is going to be "in" next season, of course we check the street styles to see what is trendy at the moment. To do so I took a look at the most important street style blogs but nobody has a fashionable eye such as Sandra Semburg, street style photographer for Vogue.com. So let's stop turning to the future for a second and just focus on the present. Because it is here, in the street.

Pumpkin and falling leaves, the perfect colors fort Autumn

Once again we go back to those basic Autumn shades, with large scarf and Converse just so to stay casual, which seems to be one of the word to define Autumn 16 street style

 Romanticism is still a thing like this shirt tends to tell us, but those metal pieces make it a little more grungy, all about mixing styles

Elegant and sassy at the same time, this darker look is perfect to awake the rebel inside of you while keeping it classy

Autumn at the top, still Summer at the bottom. Mixing seasons in one look

Remember the Song Sisters from New York Fashion Week? Here they are in Paris, heading to the Dior show, with style, as always

Before the Chloé show, all in the details and the delicacy

Sometimes all you need is a simple monochrome look and the perfect oversized Dior bag

Childish and classy at the same time, Paris fashion week style plays

Colorful automnal palette in here, with velvet and wool, layering and leather, we are slowly slipping into the colder season

Finally, the perfect combination: jeans, leather jacket, a Céline bag and a man. Just Paris Fashion Week

xo

Amy

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