{Made by Mama}

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you probably already know that my Mom is a talented designer. I'm lucky that her favorite clients happen to be my sisters and me. She has designed and made me countless things throughout my life - including almost every single one of my high school dance dresses and the most important dress of all, my wedding dress! I've never taken the time to showcase the things she's made me in one place before, but today while reminiscing on some photos I felt compelled to do just that. This is a tiny fraction of the things she's crafted for me. I look at these photos and feel so much pride for my talented Mama. She is so creative, inspiring and gracious. I miss her so much every day and getting to wear her creations certainly makes me feel closer to her when I'm so far from home!

I hope you enjoy this peek at a few of the beautiful clothes she's made me in recent years!

{My Wedding Dress!!!}

{My Other Wedding Dress - yeah, she made me two - LUCKY!}

{Leather Jacket}

{Dress}

{Striped Skirt}

 {Color Block Dress}

 {Polka Dot Dress}

{Yellow Bridesmaid Dress}

{Jacket/Blazer}

{Maxi Skirt}

I LOVE MY MAMA! 

{P.S. She made her entire outfit except her scarf in the photo below :) }

{Sister Time in Manhattan Beach}

After our two-year anniversary, I flew out to Portland the next day. I couldn’t go back to the U.S. without a visit to LA to see my sisters, so that’s exactly what I did for one weekend! I finally got to see Manhattan Beach, the adorable beach town my sister Anna lives in, and even got some pool and beach time, which is pure luxury for an Amsterdammer. One night in Manhattan Beach we saw the most beautiful sunset – it absolutely rivaled the ones I saw in Greece! It really did look like the sky was painted with watercolors. My sisters literally had to pull me away from taking photos because we were about to lose our dinner reservation! It was just so stunning. Lucky for me I just booked a trip back to see them again in May, so I’m hoping I see another amazing sunset or two!

  {Photos ©  Liz Denfeld}

{Our Two Year Wedding Anniversary}

Happy Monday everyone! How are you all doing? It’s been snowing buckets in Amsterdam and it’s been causing all sorts of chaos – with trains and planes – and worst of all.. with me! I guess biking in 23-degree weather was a bit ambitious for me, because this weekend I came down with a nasty bug that has me bed-ridden today. Husband is taking great care of me and it’s not so bad having a beautiful snowy view out the window. I just wish I could go outside and enjoy the wintery white weather!

Speaking of the huz… Corey and I are creeping up on two and a half years of marriage! Now, I know that’s not a super long time, but what I will say is boy does time fly!! I feel like we just celebrated our two-year anniversary, which I realized I never blogged about!

While I wish we could’ve done something extravagant and luxurious to celebrate our wedding anniversary, I was flying out to Portland the next day and work was crazy busy at the time, so we settled on a romantic dinner at a gorgeous restaurant. We got dressed up and headed to De Kas. This place is so awesome. It sits on the edge of a lush city park in Amsterdam and is probably the coolest looking restaurant we’ve ever eaten in. It also happens to be one of those super fancy restaurants that doesn’t really have a menu. Each day the chef has a three-course dinner planned that consists of three small starters, a main course and dessert. The best part is everything is made with local, fresh ingredients grown in the restaurant’s very own nursery.  We decided to fancy things up even more and get the wine pairings with dinner. The whole things was a fun and special experience and the perfect way to celebrate two years of wedded bliss. Here are a few photos from the occasion.

And P.S. Yes, our wedding anniversary was in August and yes I am wearing tights and a blazer... Why? Because there is no summer in Amsterdam. Yeah, I guess you could say I’m bitter about it :)

 {Photos ©  Liz Denfeld}

{Fancy Up Date Night!}

Corey and I love dinner and a movie as much as the next couple, but we're always looking for fun ways to change up date nights. A couple weekends ago we decided to buy tickets for a beautiful cello show that was playing at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam - it's a stunning venue known for it's great acoustics. We thought it'd be a fun excuse to get dressed up and do something different. We had a delicious dinner and shared a bottle of red at this cute italian place just blocks from the concert hall. Once arriving for the show, we realized a free glass of wine came with our tickets - score! The fun continued! We finally sat down to enjoy the beautiful music of Amber Doctors on the cello. It was a night to remember! Here are a couple tips for classin' up your next date night - enjoy!

 {Photos ©  Liz Denfeld}

{Weekend Snaps!}

After last weekend's debacle I was really looking forward to a chilled out weekend at home in Amsterdam.

And that's exactly what I got - complete with the most gorgeous, crisp fall days and bright blue skies. I was a happy girl.

This weekend included lots of long walks with the huz and pup.

Exploring different neighborhoods and discovering new places.

Lots of fresh mint tea.

A  coffee date in Vondelpark with this lady.

A trip to the Pure Market for fun trinkets and delicious treats with these two.

All in all it was just the weekend I needed!

{Coat: TopShop, Scarf: H&M (old), Jeans: J Brand, Booties: Sam Edelman, Sunglasses: D&G}

 {Photos ©  Liz Denfeld}