Wednesday, May 29, 2013

A Few of My Favorite Things

Four months in Belgium has given me more than just insight about life. Thanks to my love of shopping, I have acquired many material items as well.

The vintage market in Brussels has been one of my favorites since the beginning! The first time I went was only six days after my arrival! It is held the first Sunday of every month and I have been to three out of the four markets held while I've been in Belgium and I have lots to show for it.

My favorite purchase is my vintage leather Longchamp bag. I was able to bargain with the vendor and therefore did not have to pay an outrageous price! After cleaning it up once I got it home, it now looks as good as new and has served me well!


When I was packing for Belgium, I did not want to waste the space on bringing a winter coat, so I brought just a rain jacket and convinced myself that with enough layers and scarves that I would be able to survive winter without a real coat. Wrong. Winter in Brussels was some kind of sick and twisted hell filled with freezing temperatures, snow, rain, wind--and I got to spend way to much time enjoying it. Even now, it is May and I am still wearing my stupid rain coat and sweaters every day. Needless to say, after spending all of Februrary literally freezing without a winter coat, I broke down and purchased one. It took some serious shopping around and lots of help from my friends before I found one I liked, but as soon as I did the weather started warming up. Just my luck.

I also stumbled upon a pair of black leather gloves with little bows on them at the vintage market and I just had to have them. I am a sucker for all things bows and everyone needs a nice leather glove!

Coat and gloves
Besides the vintage market, my other favorite place to shop is the W shopping center in my own neighborhood! I like it because you don't have to leave the metro station to get in, which makes it the perfect place to go on a rainy day (so everyday in Brussels) and also because they sell the best waffles on the planet. The stuff chocolate bars inside instead of covering it with chocolate sauce, just like they do in Liege, and it is heavenly.

At the W, I made my last two favorite purchases of the semester. First there is my black ankle booties, essential for fitting in with the Belgian crowd. They are so comfortable and now I can't imagine what my life was like before I owned them.

Ankle booties
But comfortable takes on a new form in gypsy pants. Yes, gypsy pants is not the technical or politically correct term, but I am not sure how to pronounce the correct word, Sarouel, and gypsy pants sounds so much more fun. My roommate Claire came home raving about how comfortable they were and so a shopping trip with friends led to us all coming home with a pair! They are more comfortable than sweats, maybe more comfortable than no pants at all, and they are acceptable to wear in public! It's revolutionary!

Gypsy pants
My bags for the U.S. will also be filled with a few smaller items that were obtained after lots of Belgian beers. I have a larger than life Beyonce poster, a beer poster, a few beer glasses, a shot glass, the little absinthe spoon and a menu from Delirium. I'll blame the combination of the horrible weather and strong alcohol which led my friends and I to resort to finding fun through obtaining these items, but it has left me with lots of great memories and some great new stuff as well!

Absinthe spoon
Delirium menu that is now ours...


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