will you help me?

Dear dear blogreaders, I have a question for you. Normally I wouldn't ask this, but I really need your help. I'm participating in this contest organized by Broke Bikes, in which I designed my own bicycle. I created a bike that's close to perfect, for me though. It's the beautiful one you can see below.

I chose a lot of white and brown, because the combination of those have a relaxing effect on me. Plus it's clean and simple, and I like that. A lot.

I'd like to ride the bike in the streets near my house, to ride on it to school and to work and just to explore: me sitting on that bike. But there I need your help. I need you to click on this link, and to click on "like" next to the picture of the beautiful bicycle I created. That's all you have to do. You don't need to register, or share it on your Facebook or Twitter. Just like that, that's all there is.

I would be so thankful if you'd do so. Unknown people and policemen have been taking away my previous bicycles (living in a city isn't always as peaceful as you think, especially not in Leuven) so now I don't have a bicycle anymore. I'd like this one so badly. Just because riding a bicycle is so lovely, and so friendly for the environment. And because this one is beautiful of course :). Will you help me? Go to this link (http://brokebik.es/designer-contest/entry/5336dba69841e8.22054341/#.Uzbu1VyaRPP) and show me your love! A jury will choose the winner of the contest out of the participants with the most likes. Yes, that's why I need your "like"!

And oh! Sharing on your own blog, twitter, Facebook, whatever, … means I'll send you even móre love.
Thank you so much!

PS: This post isn't sponsored. I'm just dreaming out loud about this beautiful bike.

full of life

Back here I already showed some pictures of my youngest sister. In summer she will become sixteen years old, and it's incredible how much she's growing and transforming into a young lady. She's so aware of her own presence. Her movements are changing, the way she uses her hands and moves her head. Her eyes can look as if she has already experienced a whole lifetime, but from one moment to another she can change in a little girl that is not yet ready for the adult world. Her heart and blood are full of life and dreams. And it's so beautiful and inspiring to look at her, to observe her and to see her  change. I love to portrait her, to make her facial impressions and movements immortal and change them into photographs. I recognize myself in her. She's eight years younger than me, but when I look at her it's like I look at a mirror an see a younger me. Curious about the world and the future. She was in the garden, looking at blooming spring and enjoying the nice smelling fresh air. I grabbed my camera, and took some pictures of her. 

Young, and wild and free.

12/52

A portrait of my love. Once a week. Every week in 2014.

Hij geeft me het gevoel alsof ik zweef, alsof ik wolken in adem en zonnestralen terug uit adem. De liefde is zo mooi.

(Meer info over mijn jaarproject vind je hier. Een verzameling van de posts over het project vind je via deze link.)

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He makes me feel as if I'm floating in the air. It feels like I inhale clouds and exhale sunbeams. Love is such a beautiful thing.

(Here you can find additive information on my project. This link collects all the posts about the project.)

beautiful present

A few weeks ago I participated in the give-away that Lisa organized on her (beautiful beautiful) blog. I love her blog so much. Her style of writing is so simple but oh so nice to read. And she makes such clean and beautiful photographs. When she announced that I won her give-away, I was filled with happiness. Winning a give-away on one of my favorite blogs is lovely. Last week I received a little envelope. A little treasure filled with a bunch of things that make me happy and fill me with luck. Thank you so much, Lisa!

light and shadow

I took some pictures of my youngest sister in which I observe light and shadow, in which I let her be a part of the contradiction between light and shadow. I love light. I love how it plays with shapes and objects. Some simple lines or curtains create the most beautiful contours and images. It is unbelievable. Like another world. When you close your eyes and open them again, the light has changed. Another color, another incidence of light. Light is a matter of seconds, of moments. And of course: what would we be without light? Nothing.
That reminds me of a book I read last week: "Op zwart" by Willem Bosch. In that book the earth suddenly stops turning around the sun, which means that it remains completely dark on one side of the world, in Europe, like night-time. On the other side of the world, in America, the sun always shines. Such a good book, also scary to think of. We need light to live, to be happy. We can't deny. And that's why I'm proud of those pictures I took of my little sister.

11/52

A portrait of my love. Once a week. Every week in 2014.

Hij had een pijntje. En dus was een pleister met veel kleuren en gekke dieren het gevolg.

(Meer info over mijn jaarproject vind je hier. Een verzameling van de posts over het project vind je via deze link.)

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He had a little pain, so an adhesive plaster with a lot of colored animals was the consequence.

(Here you can find additive information on my project. This link collects all the posts about the project.)

treasure hunt

We went to a book festival with a never ending amount of tables filled with books and books and books. And books. And books. It was a real treasure hunt after a day full of work: that's always a nice and welcome surprise. I came home with this pile of books. I've read a book by Gie Bogaert before (Luchtgezichten), but the other authors are completely new for me. It's such a delightful thought to know there are books waiting for me to be explored. 

Have you read any of these authors or books before?

10/52

A portrait of my love. Once a week. Every week in 2014.

Als hij zou kunnen kiezen, zou hij volgens mij de hele dag in bed zitten. Er zijn zo van die bed-mensen, en hij is er één van.

(Meer info over mijn jaarproject vind je hier. Een verzameling van de posts over het project vind je via deze link.)

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If he could choose, I think he would stay in bed all day long. Bed-people exist, and he's one of them.

(Here you can find additive information on my project. This link collects all the posts about the project.)

the beauty of nature

I like to be outside. To feel nature embracing me, to touch the plants and the grass. To bring my feet to places I've never been before, or places I know by heart. To breathe in the fresh air, and breathe it out again. To watch the sun playing a hard-to-get-game when he is hiding behind the clouds, but shows his smile now and then.
I love to see how nature acts. How the wind takes the seeds to other places. How other people watch the same sun as I do. How they inhale the same air, feel the same wind against their cheeks.
Nature is so wonderful.

blossoms

I saw the first butterfly of this year. He was dark brown with a big red dot on his wings. He sat on the blossoms in the plum tree. I was able to come really close. He gave me a good feeling, as if I was I welcome to greet him and look at him. When he flew away, I saw the birds, high in the sky. It looked as if they were playing with each other, happy that the sun is shining and nature is waking up from hibernation. I heard the bees humming and the birds tweeting. I smelled the grass and the trees. The sun was caressing the skin on my bare arms and the wind was playing with my morning hair. The wind wasn't warm, nor was it cold. It was just good.

I smiled and ran as fast as I could. In the garden, through the long grass and between the trees with their baby blossoms. Spring is back.

9/52

A portrait of my love. Once a week. Every week in 2014.

Voor en na het scheren. Ik weet niet goed welke ik het liefste heb. Met of zonder baard: hij blijft mijn beardo.

(Meer info over mijn jaarproject vind je hier. Een verzameling van de posts over het project vind je via deze link.)

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Before and after the shaving. I don't know which one I prefer. With or without his beard: he will always be my beardo.

(Here you can find additive information on my project. This link collects all the posts about the project.)