Top 5 shops in Cartagena de Indias

Cartagena de Indias is literally a shopping walhalla. This colonial city in Colombia has so many cute stores, you won't believe it! Aqua Rose is one of them. It's the place to be for trendy "mochila" bags. Instead of the traditional Wayuu patterns, Aqua Rose sells bags with fruit prints, skulls, flowers, as well as images of Frida Kahlo, Marilyn Monroe and Colombian writer Gabriel Garciá Márquez. Besides mochila bags, Aqua Rose sells clutches, panama hats, earrings and bikinis.

For more information, please read my previous blog on Aqua Rose:

http://tarasdolcevita.blogspot.com/2018/02/aqua-rose-cartagena.html

Another great store is Casa Chiqui. Here you will find everything to decorate your home (or yourself)! Casa Chiqui sells tableware, furniture, pillows, jewelry, hats, loafers, kaftans, you name it. And the beauty of it? The items come from all over the world: Bali, Morocco, other South American countries, making it feel like a grand bazaar. I literally couldn't believe my eyes when I walked into the store.

For more information: http://casachiqui.com

A true Colombian concept store is St.Dom Cartagena. This amazing boutique of 700 square meters gives European and American concept stores a run for their money! All I could think when I visited St.Dom for the first time was... WOW!!! It's big, it's luxurious, it's fresh, it's modern and it's all Colombian. Whether you're looking for a new bikini, sexy summer dress, pretty sandals, a bejeweled panama hat or new tableware... St.Dom has it.

For more information: http://www.stdom.co

A Colombian brand that has become very big lately is Mercedes Salazar. (Part of the collection is sold through net-a-porter.com). This Colombian jewelry designer pays homage to her home country, by depicting the exotic nature and history in her designs. I especially love her parrot earrings and her latest collection called "Shamanic Flight". Her handmade bags are also "to die for". Mercedes Salazar has a monobrand store in Cartagena and is also sold at St.Dom.

For more information: https://int.mercedessalazar.com

Last but not least, if you're looking for a new summer dress, or sexy outfit for your "date night", go to Glory Ang Atelier. Her flower print dresses are typical Colombian and will make you stand out in the crowd. Perfect for a destination wedding. And therefore perfect for Cartagena de Indias.

For more information: https://www.instagram.com/gloryangatelier 

Well, these are my 5 favourite fashion stores in Cartagena. But to be honest, there are many more amazing shops in the walled city. For example Silvia Tcherassi (dresses), Johanna Ortiz (fashion), Cano (gold jewelry), etc. etc. This is truly a city where you can shop till you drop!

Read more about Cartagena de Indias here:

https://tarasdolcevita.blogspot.com/2018/01/cartagena-de-indias-colombia.html 

What to wear on King's Day?

Orange is definitely not an easy color to wear, but in The Netherlands there's no escape... on King's Night, King's Day (previously Queen's Day) and Liberation Day, everybody dresses up in orange.

The fact that the weather is often cold (rainy and windy) in april and may doesn't help either... So what to wear on King's Day? Here's some "outfit inspiration".

It's really about finding the right shade of orange and dressing it up or down according to the occasion. I think white is a very flattering color to combine with orange, especially white jeans. That's just what I might wear on April 27th.

Happy King's Day Dutchies!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from my family to yours! I hope you'll have a wonderful day.

I always love to decorate the house and especially the dinner table for Easter. This year I used white and yellow flowers in combination with ceramics from Vietri (South Italy), by Solimene.

While we celebrate, others suffer.... my thoughts go out to all the victims of the terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka. 

Easter preparations 2019

Easter is almost here... I love decorating the house for this special celebration. Although I have lots and lots of Easter decorations, I usually do some Easter shopping at my favourite garden centre, TC De Bosrand. Check out those wonderful Easter wreaths. Don't you just love them? I do....

For more information, please visit:
www.tcdebosrand.nl

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day my friends! What better way than to celebrate with flowers and champagne?! I wish you all a very happy day in the presence of those you love.