Brigitte Garnier's Lifestyle

EURANTICA BRUSSELS 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Brigitte Garnier) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:37:00 +0000

We're proud to present our booth at Eurantica Artfair Brussels 2010

contemporary artphotographer 'Jean-Baptiste Huynh'

noreply@blogger.com (Brigitte Garnier) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:53:00 +0000

Living in Paris, the French photographer 'Jean-Baptiste Huynh' is one of my favorite artists.

He was born in France in 1966 to a French mother & a Vietnamese father.

Huynh's square photographs always reveal exceptional portaits & minimalist still lives. Expressive faces of people from different regions of the world.

Trough the clarity & strenght of the image composition, the photographs exude a pure, almost magical atmosphere.

Creative Blogger Award

noreply@blogger.com (Brigitte Garnier) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:29:00 +0000

7 things about myself!!!

Borjana from 'greenandstylish' charged me with this wonderfull task...write down '7 things about myself'!!

I had to think first because in my mind there's so much more then 7 things...so the essence first.

My weakness & pride, my 2 children, Géraldine my daughter, 20 this may (Jesuz, I'm getting old) & my son, Max, 18 since a few days!! THIS is what it's all about, family.

The second most important thing for me is my home. I need security & safety for my inner peace & that is what I can find at home!

Also, my very good friends (I'm very lucky) & a well filled & easy social life are very important to me. I like cooking & having friends over for diner...I love to laugh & having fun. Being surrounded by people I love.

I'm very sensitive for beauty, this can be a painting, a house , a dress, a person...I believe that if you look at good quality, well finished, elegant or refined things, it improves our own development.

Traveling!!! From Venice to Rome,Paris or NYC, Marrakech, India, Cambodia or the amazing bleu sea of the Maledives...it's a drug. Everytime I come back with lots of inspiration & energy.

My moment for myself...once in a while I like to be on my own, in silence. Also, early in bed...a good movie or a good book & some nice classical music with a cup of freshly made ginger tea.

A last, I have to tell you that since I'm blogging, I met a lot of interesting people. I learned a lot & here are 7 of my favorite blogs...which I nominate for the 'Creative blogger award',

Paulo Coelho

" Whenever we need to make a very important decision it is best to trust our instincts, because reason usually tries to remove us from our dream, saying that the time is not yet right. Reason is afraid of defeat, but intuition enjoys life and its challenges."

Elizabeth Avedon

Greenandstylish

Belgian Pearls

Thestylesaloniste

James XVI

anzulondon

Thanks to all xxx

It's a matter of style...

noreply@blogger.com (Brigitte Garnier) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 14:35:00 +0000

Fashion is part of my life. I love shopping, I love clothing & I love a certain style...nothing extravagant or flashy but elegant & sometimes a little sophisticated.

I'm convinced that a natural & raffinated look is very important of course with a lot of personality! We always remember women with great looks & a typical style, think of Jackie 'O or Grace Kelly, Lauren Hutton etc...

1950s picture by Henry Clarke

Fay Dunaway in my favorite movie 'The Crown Afaire'.
I Love her look.

As graceful as Grace & her 'kellybag' by Hermes.

As elegant as Audrey...

I love this!!

Little Hermes watch, to wear as a sautoir-type necklace.

The timeless looks of Lauren Hutton,

Ballerinas, always my favorite!!

I can't wait for the summer to come...mmm!

'Heiligendamm' a legend with a future

noreply@blogger.com (Brigitte Garnier) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:31:00 +0000

One candle can lighten a thousand other candles without shortening its own life.
Wishing you all a happy & tenderfull new year!
Brigitte - 01.01.2010.

I'd like to take you for a moment back in time, 18°-19°Century. A place of splender & elegance... nobility from troughout Europe used as a summer getaway well into the 20°Century. Only a few places on earth makes us dream of times when luxury had nothing to do with glamour or show. I think of places like Martha's Vineyard or Deauville...

Heiligendamm 'The White', a Baltique symphonie.
The absolute harmony between architecture & nature.

A soft breeze fills your lungs, charged with iodine of course...but most of all the smell of the woods, the beechtrees, elm & oaktrees growing along de seashore. You are now at the end of the world, at the border of Germany on the border of the Baltic sea...you're at Heiligendamm. The sea is of a deep bleu witch suddenly changes into an emeraude green. This exceptional pure water is now the base of a luxury selection of products proposed in the exlusive Spa of the Palais Séverin.

I had the pleasure to meet this extraordinary women, full of talent & elegance, Anna Maria Jagdfeld. Company name 'amjdesign'. She is the interior designer and inspirator of this beautifull place. We were lucky to visit together with her this projects & I'd like to share this with you because this is not a daily thing...

It took 10 years of intensive work & restoration.

Heiligendamm, this early 18°C resort was developed as an elegant meeting place for Royals & Aristocrats, the oldest seaside spa in Germany. An enornous project, she started (and saved) together with her husband, the renovation of this abandoned & deserted Royal Residences along the sea.

The neoclassical architecture is of a dazzeling white, everything has been restored from top to bottom. The parc & surroundings are unrecognisable,

Elegant cottages in an English landscape.

Alexandrinen-Cottage

There's no elegance without personality.

AMJagdfeld.

www.amjdesign.de

Books

noreply@blogger.com (Brigitte Garnier) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 17:01:00 +0000

Bookstores...I love to spend some time in a (any) bookstore, it makes me calm...nobody talks & everybody is with his nose in a book. Do you realise that when you're looking in books in a bookstore, your mind is free, you don't think of anything but the pictures you see or the summary you're reading. Especially this period of the year, most of us buy a book for someone and 2 or 3 books for ourselfs. That's what happens to me everytime!!So, last week I found a book in 2 volumes about the work of our famous Belgian landscape architect 'Jaques Wirtz', his gardens & parcs are known all over the world.

Wirtz international landscape architecture

Of course, there was more ... A beautifull black covered book with attractive pictures of library & bookcases with old patinated italian looks & mythical aura took my attention. 'The Secret Archives of the Vatican'! It was not an option not to buy it, even without giving it a closer look...

It's not finished!!
There was this nice book about Christian Dior. I loved the cover but I didn't buy it....yet.
I love the dress on the frontpage, this elegant 'post-war fashion look' Dior rocked the world with.

This is elegance.

A very good one
'Queen of the desert', the extraordinary life of Gertrude Bell.
Late 19°C, the first women who went to university in England.
She was an adventurer, Adviser of Kings, Ally of Laurence of Arabia...a true story.
One to read!!

Paulo Coelho's 'The Alchemist'

The alchemist picked up a book that someone in the caravan had brought. Leafing through the pages, he found a story about Narcissus.
The alchemist knew the legend of Narcissus, a younth who knelt daily beside a lake to contemplate his own beauty. He was so fascinated by himself that, one morning, he fell into the lake and drowned. At the spot where he fell, a flower was born, which was called the narcissus.
But this was not how the author of the book ended the story.
he said that when Narcissus died, the goddesses of the forest appeared and found the lake, which had been fresh water, transformed into a lake of salty tears.
“Why do you weep?” the goddesses asked.
“I weep for Narcissus,” the lake replied.
“Ah, it is no surprise that you weep for Narcissus,” they said, “for though we always pursued him in the forest, you alone could contemplate his beauty close at hand.”
“But…was Narcissus beautiful?” the lake asked.
“Who better than you to know that?” the goddesses said in wonder. “After all, it was by your banks that he knelt each day to contemplate himself!”
The lake was silent for some time. Finally, it said:
“I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected.”
“What a lovely story,” the alchemist thought.

breathtaking winterviews

noreply@blogger.com (Brigitte Garnier) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:27:00 +0000

We finaly had our winterdays...breathtaking views for our Xmas!

Look at this sunrise...

Wishing you all a merry Xmas & a warm & tenderfull 2010

This is the canal from Bruges to Damme (work of Napoleon), one of the most romantic places. In winter, when the water is frozen, we can walk or skate on the canal from Bruges to The Netherlands, trough the historical village of Damme...some students, after school, risk it to go with the bike on the ice!!

noreply@blogger.com (Brigitte Garnier) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:16:00 +0000

Cambodia, a country we fell in love with!

Since a few years we discovered this amazing country...culture, nature & extraordinary people.

The tempels of Angkor are one of the wonders of the oriental world, it's a symbol of power, greatness & immortality. Angkor Wat and the other stone temples of the ancient capital of Khmer were built by god-kings to link the human and the divine in life and to allow the two to merge in death. As such, Angkor's monuments legitimized sovereignty and served as palladia of the nation.

Man has constantly to work against nature to protect and restore Ankor.

It's located just north of the Tonle Sap (Great Lake), close to the modern Cambodian town of Siem reap.

These children have been adopted by a friend, Pieter, from an orphanage. They live in a house Pieter bought for them in Siem Reap & they go to the French college.

It's so beautifull to see that people take the initiative on their own to help children & give them a chance in life.

This is the beautifull 'hotel de la Paix' . There's a great spa!!

There's, of course, the 'Amansara' from the 'Aman resort group' . When you enter this place, you never want to go away anymore...

My house & home

noreply@blogger.com (Brigitte Garnier) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:58:00 +0000

Kitchen

Orangerie

Welcome to my blog!

noreply@blogger.com (Brigitte Garnier) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:01:00 +0000