B-B-Barcelona !

Hi!

A couple of years ago, I started this blog. It came really easy for me to tell the worldwide web about the things I did and what I was thinking. Somewhere along the road, it started getting harder. When my Fast life became the oh-shit-hold-on life, I barely had time to write. When I did, I started thinking everything through: my subjects, every line I wrote, .. So here I go; no thinking, all writing.

Sunday morning, me and Boyfriend are leaving for Barcelona. In the three years that we've been together, we never had the time or the money to go on a trip together. You can understand that this vacation is making me feel super excited and super nervous at the same time. Boyfriend and I always had our own things to do and friends to see, which we're very proud of. This means that spending three evenings in a row together only happened a few times. I'm super excited, because Boyfriend is going to be all mine and I know it's going to be wonderful. But I have this little fear in me of having a fight because we're not used to spending all that time together, and that wouldn't be a good sign, would it? And it's not just me, Boyfriend has it too. But then there's that confidence again that we'll make it through and have a nice trip after all. And I interpret Boyfriends worries as a sign that he cares about our relationship.

Tomorrow is my last day at the office before I leave and I have to say: whew. I L.O.V.E my job, but one full year without time off is exhausting. That press release will be finished, my press room will look impeccable and all questions of customers will be answered, that at the end of the day I will be able to say:

'See you later, bitches!'

Lots of love, Tascha ♥

source: www.someecards.com

Making it happen: Fast life post graduation

Hi!

Oh yes, I did it. I graduated. I don't have the best grades of the entire class, but hey, did anyone expect that? I do have one thing that the other students of my class don't have: a job. Not a summer job or a weekend job, but the real deal. A real job with real office hours and real tasks and most of all: a real paycheck. Every month. That's right, every other 30 days.

The lovely company that I'm lucky to work for is BESTSELLER. Among fashionlovers, it's probably known best as the company behind VERO MODA, ONLY, JACK & JONES, and so on. Among Taschalovers, it's known best as the company that she can't shut up about.
I am proud to be the PR Assistant of BESTSELLER and the Sales Support for SELECTED Homme/Femme. I love being a PR Assistant, because that's what I studied and because that's what I love. My boss, the PR coordinator, is awesome. He has the same (dry) humour, he shares my passion for Antwerp and he teaches me a lot. I love being a Sales Support, because it helps me understand more about how fashion works and because it's for a beautiful brand. For those of you who don't know SELECTED Homme/Femme, it's the more exclusive and more luxurious brand in the BESTSELLER family.

And let that be the perfect word to describe this Danish, succesful company: family. It was founded in 1975 by Merete Bech Povlsen and Troels Holch Povlsen. After several expansions over the years, it is still a family-owned company and now their son, Anders Holch Povlsen is the CEO. The company culture is very different from other companies. The staff gets a lot of advantages, like cheap (disgustingly cheap) samples, tons of food during lunch, and there is an amazing atmosphere among all colleagues. BESTSELLER is no corporate nightmare, it's no businesslike, stock market listed corporation, but it's a fun, fashionable company.

So right now it's all kicking off. All that talk like: 'I'm going to make it big in fashion PR' has turned into 'I'm making it happen right now'. I'm definitely not there yet and I still fantasize about my future, but I'm taking my first steps into the professional world and it's now that it's all getting started. I'm absorbing every tiny piece of advice, I listen in on my colleagues conversations just to learn a little bit more and I'm memorizing everything carefully. Because I want to make it big and I'm making it happen. Right now.

Lots of love, Tascha ♥

A. City Life

Hi!

Today, I went to a fair called 'A. City Life'. The concept was to show the latest trends in food, fashion and interior design with a pinch of 'joie de vivre' on top. I went with Julie and her lovely mother Anita, who had invitations to the event. Yes that's right, I'm not that fancy that I get my own invitations. Freeloading works to, I guess.

I went to fairs at Antwerp Expo before, but this one was different from the very beginning. The hall was filled with water containers, illuminated in different bright colours. As we entered the first exhibition hall, we got a first look at the various stands. From a stand with wooden dinner tables to a stand with a demonstration of the latest pineapple slicer, it was all there. They weren't theatrically fancy, but yet the fair sent out a fashionable and cosy vibe. With their invitations, Julie and Anita picked up two glasses of bubbles, and I was back on my freeloading game.


Some highlights of 'A. City Life':

♥The Vascobelo Barista Bar & other stands for tasting fine foods and drinks;

One of the first stands that caught my intention was the Vascobelo Barista Bar. The stand of this wonderful Belgian coffee blend offered espresso, cappuccino, caffe latte, and more. As a caffeine lover, this stand called for me. Actually shouted. Unfortunately, my companions weren't as excited as me and there was not one seat left in the whole bar. But if you are planning to going to this fair and you love coffee, make sure you stop by!

♥Styling advice by Emma;

If you live in Belgium and you love fashion, you probably know Emma Gelaude. If you don't know her, I knew this blog would do good one day. Emma is a former model, she lives in Ghent and she kept a fashion blog for a few years now.

With her styling company 'EMMA', she had a stand at 'A. City Life'. You could choose a bag with a quote on it and get your picture taken. This picture is part of a competition to win a styling day for two. So if you are in town, go and take your shot! Aside from this competition, everyone at the fair was able to get a styling by Emma, for a discount price.

♥Little pieces of art;

Put fashion, lifestyle and interior design together at a fair and what do you get? Stands with pieces of art. I'm not a fan of art at all times, but I can appreciate it once in a while. At A. City Life, there were multiple pieces that caught my eye. However, the pieces that I loved most weren't artisctic, but fun. The shoes on these little paintings are funny and can bring that one special detail to brighten up a room.

Now I'm home, looking for something fun to do. And it's possible that I will keep looking until it's an acceptable time to go to sleep. My parents aren't even home, and I'm sitting here. Is it me or is that a little fucked up? I hope you're Saturday evening is looking brighter. I'll do something that makes you jealous next week.

Enjoy your fast life!
Lots of love, Tascha ♥

Three weeks left.

Hi!

It's been three weeks and this trimester is coming to an end. I don't know how to feel, happy or full of panic. On the one hand, I only have three weeks of stress left. But on the other hand, I only have three weeks to finish my assignments! I plan to dive into this last weeks and just go for it.

I will be so happy when the 21st of December arrives. No, I don't look forward to 'the last day of the earth as we know it'. I don't believe in that gibberish. I'm sorry if I'm being rude to any of you believers, but it's not because the Maya didn't count further than the 21st of December that we're doomed. It just means that those people lived a very long time ago and that they were tired of counting ahead for thousands of years. So as I was saying, I will be happy when that day comes.

Because that Friday, I have my last presentation. Then, freedom is mine! And Antwerp will know.. Sounds a little like a tagline for a B-movie, but I actually do have a complete scenario for the night:

- 19h00: Diner with my high school friends
- 21h00: Christmas fair
- 22h00: Cocktails @ Appelmans
- 00h00: Glamrush @ Roxy

I wasn’t kidding now, was I? I’m especially looking forward to the jenever stands at the Christmas fair. Every year around Christmas, Antwerp turns into this cosy city, with cheesy Christmas songs, ‘glühwein’ and jenever. I become a little child, wandering between the stands and sniffing up that great smell of holiday happiness.

After that, I’m going to leave for more mature events: cocktails and a good club.
And getting back home? As I said to my good friend Julie: The ambulance will take care of that. Just kidding, my best friend Moriah is there for me. She always was, but now she has a drivers license. And oh so conveniently, she never drinks, so no worries about drinking and driving!

Now I’m going to tackle the vocabulary for my English test and I will be looking forward to the 21st for three more weeks. I wish you all a big chunk of courage for those final weeks!

Lots of love, Tascha ♥

Letting go of great ideas

Today, I made some time to design my bookshelf. Google provided me with some images of extraordinary examples, I printed them out and put them up against my wall. Et voila, a miniature mood board!

I do not want a bookshelf with symmetric compartments, but I want it to be more like a puzzle. So while I was putting it all together, I lost track of time. All of a sudden, Boyfriend showed up and I hadn't even showered yet. I dragged him into my room and started babbling about my bookshelf and all the other closets. After he slowed me down and I turned my Chinese into understandable sentences, we continued discussing all of my options.

Conclusion of the day: I have to give up a lot of great ideas, simply because of a lack of space. It's painful to realize that some ideas are not realistic and that they are not suitable for your room. So now I still have a lot of work to do, but the final draft is coming closer.

The next step is drawing a plan of my room and drawing each piece of furniture that Boyfriend has to build, into detail. Then I have to make up a list of the materials and look up some prices. I look forward to the third step: shopping. Picking paint, a floor and a headboard will be the fun part. But even the drills, the screws and the sanding paper call for a shopping trip where I discover the entire hardware store. Because life's simply more fun when you show an interest in as many things as possible!

As you can see, designing a room sounds fun but is actually a lot of work. But it is the type of work that I don't mind doing!

Type to you soon,

Lots of love, Tascha ♥

Designing my bedroom.

After 20 years of sharing a room with my sister, I have my own room. My sister moved out and somehow, more clutter moved in. I filled her closet space with my things, which made me wonder how I ever lived with less space. Aside from that, everything stayed the same. My clothes are in the same closet, the desk never changed and worst of all, I still sleep in the bunkbeds. Now that's all about to change!

The last few months, me and Boyfriend have been obsessively planning the renovation of my bedroom. Since my parents told us we could change it in a few months, we discussed flooring, a new ceiling and the design of my furniture. Although I'm no topdesigner, I'm designing my own bed and closets. Boyfriend is going to build them for me and I'm going to have an amazing room.

In March, I'm spending two weeks in Turkey for a school project - I'll tell you more later, so excited! While I'm gone, Boyfriend will be building the room. So when I come back, their will be an entire new room waiting for me! This is so perfect for me, because I don't have to sleep in a room with a lungkilling paint smell, I don't have to stress and I don't have to move my lazy ass. One point of attention; I have to draw each piece of furniture into detail to make sure that Boyfriend knows what to build. Difficult to find time, but I'm supposed to do something for my new room.

I'm full of great ideas, but I have to make sure that everything fits together and most of all, that it fits into my 4-by-3-meter bedroom. I could show you a 'before' picture but I'm to ashamed. Plus, all the clutter doesn't fit the frame. So I'll keep you posted  about some of my ideas and I'll show you the before when it's been replaced by an 'after'.

Type to you soon!

Lots of love, Tascha ♥

So relaxed

Hi!

Last week, I handed in all of my tasks and all the stress is gone! Now I have to study for my exams, but I prefer studying on my own tempo over working on 10 tasks at the same time.

Today, me and my dad prepaired the garden for summer. I love this time of the year, when all the neighbours are getting ready for the sun. The lovely sound and smell of people mowing their lawns and the sight of that old lady around the corner, sweeping the last leafs, I just love it!

We also ate in the garden for the first time this year. It's an effort, carrying all the plates and pots downstairs, but it's worth it. My dad made sangria - I mean he bought sangria and threw in some oranges and apples - and it was very good. Only one glass for me, I don't want to get tipsy in front of mom and dad, but all together, it completed that summer feeling. I'm ready for some sun!

Only one downer: Boyfriend isn't here :(. He's in Monaco with three of his closest friends. They also went last year, for a week, but this year they are away for ten days. 7 days I can handle, but 10 ? I sound awfully cheesy, but I'll miss him (I already do).

There's a good side to every story, so with this one it's no different; I can focus on studying. And I'll start tomorrow, I think. I've been delaying it for a few days now, telling myself I deserved it. But I don't want to tell myself the same when I don't pass, because I will have deserved it to then. So tomorrow it's time to get nerdy!

And with my last sip of white wine, I wish all of you who study a big amount of courage. And to those of you who don't, enjoy the arrival of summer!

Lots of love,
Tascha ♥