As a gadget girl buying clothes usually is not my main priority. That doesn’t mean however that I don’t like clothes or that I’m totally uninterested in fashion & styling. I just don’t blog about it much. I noticed I’ve been kind of slacking when it comes to maintaining & upgrading my wardrobe. I’ve been going more for the comfortable & practical look rather than wearing the items that reflect my personal taste. This has to change! Lately I have been taking steps to upgrade my wardrobe & really pick out items that I truly love to wear.

After storing my winter boots I was in need of some cool sneakers. At fist I wanted to get some classic Converse, but I couldn’t find ones I really liked. That’s when I found these über awesome snake print sneakers by Bullboxer. I seriously laughed out loud when I first laid eyes on them because Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is actually one of my most favorite videogame titles ever! Hehe I guess only a real fangirl would think of her favorite videogame while shopping for shoes ;)

After walking on them for about a month I can say the sneakers are quite comfortable. They definitely grab the attention of fellow snake print fans, I have received positive comments of family, friends & co-workers! I’m really glad I picked them up. I haven’t seen others wearing similar sneakers – yet. Maybe the snake print is a bit too much for some :P I must say that watching all those EXO teaser trailers & EXO-M‘s History music video really inspired me to step away from the practical & casual style.

Because I want to continue to be inspired and upgrade my wardrobe I plan on writing more fashion posts here on elocutio .nu – stay tuned!

The Hirsch Building is quite beautiful and has a lot of history. The building originally opened it’s doors back in 1882 when it was part of the Hirsch & Cie fashion house! I pass the building on my way to work, but to be honest I’ve never set foot in the building before and only remember it to be a location of the ABN-Amro bank.

I really love the interior of the Store, it’s very spacious! To create the open feel they actually removed a large part of the top floor! I like the clean & slick feel, in a way it mimics using an Apple product. The glass stairway close to the main entrance is definitely an eye catcher. The Store is a great place for customers to really try out & feel the Apple products. I took a look at the new iPad which really has a super lovely screen, played around with Apple TV which I might even buy someday, and took a look at the accessories department.

The Apple Store is not just another place to sell Apple products, it also offers free workshops for children and adults on using Apple hardware & software. There are also events, for example Golden Earring (not really my kind of music, but hey) will promote their album on May 11th, 2012 for 250 Apple Store visitors. Even if you’re not a fan of Apple products you should really check out the Store when you’re in Amsterdam!

Can’t visit Amsterdam right now, but still want to check out the Apple Store? I’ve added a video of the grand opening above, it gives a pretty good overview of the Store with customers & staff inside.

Photos copyright © 2012 Apple Inc . Video copyright © 2012 HDmediaGroup

I originally purchased my PlayStation 3 back in 2008 when Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots was released. It was the classic piano black model with a 40gb HD without backwards compatibility. Even though the hard disk drive is rather small I never ran into any problems when playing videogames. Until my list of PlayStation 3 games grew longer and I noticed I didn’t have much free space left! I have looked into replacing the HD inside of my PlayStation 3, but I didn’t want to mess things up while opening it *gulp* In the end I decided to upgrade and purchase a PlayStation 3 Slim.

At first I was a little weary of the Slim model since I heard there were quite some troubles with the new model when it was just released. The Slim model was released back in 2009 and I thought it was long enough on the market to make the jump. I went for a sweet 320gb HD standalone model, so I didn’t get games with it for only € 240,- at BartSmit.com back in January during a special online only deal! After 2.5 months of heavy gaming it’s time for a review.

Even though I love the design of the classic PlayStation 3, I’ve actually warmed up to the non shiny charcoal black Slim model. It’s definitely a whole lot lighter than the old model, I almost can’t believe they were able to strip the old model and replace it with such lighter and smaller parts. The Slim isn’t just much smaller and lighter, it’s also much quieter. Even though it’s more energy sufficient than the old model, I do miss the power switch on the back. This means it’s always on stand-by unless you unplug the electric cord which saves some extra energy.

I definitely feel the Slim is loading faster, but new firmware can also have a positive influence on loading speeds. Since I hooked up my PlayStation 3 Slim to my Sony Bravia TV which is a perfect combination, games & movies look awesome! I must say I still need to get used to the dualshock controller, my old PlayStation 3 came with a standard SIXAXIS controller. It’s great to have the dualshock back with vibration and all, but it still feels quite light in your hands. Compared to the old dualshock controller or the Xbox 360 controller which I purchased to play Deus Ex Human Revolution. The Xbox 360 controller feels more sturdy, if you could say that hahaha ~

I you’re also thinking about upgrading your old PlayStation 3 or thought about finally purchasing a PlayStation 3 now it’s definitely a good time to do so! The prices are dropping and you can already pick up a lot of great titles as budget buys. Did I mention PlayStation 3 supports Blu-ray 3D and 3D gaming? Right out of the box. Erm, yeah ok you do need a 3D TV for that to work, but I think it’s pretty cool. If you’re on a budget a PlayStation 3 is a great buy to start your own home entertainment setup. It not only does games, it does movies, it does everything!

Afgelopen vrijdag openden Bruna en Doppio Espresso een wel heel bijzondere vestiging in Assen. Hoewel het concept in het buitenland niet onbekend is, is de combinatie van boekenwinkel en espressobar in Nederland redelijk nieuw. Het was Java Bookshop in Amsterdam die al in maart 2010 een gouden combinatie zag tussen een lekkere kop koffie en een goed boek. Niet eerder besloten twee grote franchises samen te werken.

Ruim 1,5 jaar geleden begonnen de gesprekken tussen Bruna en Doppio Espresso. Jacques en Josje Hartog zijn al sinds 1975 franchiseondernemer bij Bruna en waren vanaf het begin enthousiast over een samenwerking. Ook Jonathan Teoh en Peter van Eijl eigenaren van Doppio Espresso zagen een samenwerking met Bruna zitten.

De afgelopen maanden werd het team klaargestoomd voor de opening op 23 maart 2012. De eerste Doppio Espresso shop-in-shop en de eerste Bruna met een koffietheater zijn een feit!

Thoughts

Zondag nam ik een kijkje bij de nieuwe Bruna & Doppio Espresso vestiging. Ik ben een grote fan van boeken, magazines & koffie! De nieuwe vestiging was voor mij een totale verassing, ik had nog niks gelezen of gehoord over de samenwerking. Natuurlijk moest ik even naar binnen en een bestelling doen! De bediening is erg scherp en enthousiast, ik hoefde dan ook niet lang te wachten om mijn bestelling door te geven: een Caramel Macchiato, een Tonijn Sandwich en een Bosvruchten Smoothie als afsluiter. Helaas geen foto’s, maar mijn bestelling zag er niet alleen lekker uit het smaakte ook goed!

Het is duidelijk dat het publiek nog even moet wennen aan de combinatie van espressobar en boekenwinkel. Mensen die alleen maar kwamen rondneuzen in de boekenwinkel liepen vaak door het zitgedeelte van de espressobar. Een medewerker van Doppio Espresso vertelde mij dat het team nog nadenkt over een manier om hun gasten rustiger te laten genieten van hun bakje koffie. Ik moet zeggen dat het inderdaad lichtelijk irritant was dat sommige Bruna klanten nieuwsgierig naar het smakelijke broodje op mijn bord keken, maar vervolgens niet zelf één bestelden.

Uiteindelijk was ik iets meer dan € 20,- kwijt aan twee macchiato’s, twee sandwiches, één Spa Blauw en een Bosvruchten Smoothie. Alleen klanten die HEMA prijzen gewend zijn zullen dat aan de dure kant vinden. Persoonlijk vind ik de prijs/kwaliteit-verhouding prima! Ik heb zeer genoten van mijn eerste bezoek aan deze Bruna & Doppio Espresso vestiging en zal zeker vaker langskomen.

Bezoek voor meer informatie www.dopio-espresso.nl en lees ook meer over de vestiging in Assen !

Editor’s Note

This blogpost is about an interesting new concept store set up by bookstore Bruna and espressobar Doppio Espresso in my hometown. It’s one of the first stores in The Netherlands that feature the combination of a bookstore & espressobar! Since it’s mostly relevant for visitors residing in The Netherlands I have chosen to write this article in Dutch. Other Dutch articles are tagged with NL and will always contain a short summary in English for all my international visitors.

Dit moet natuurlijk groots gevierd worden. Zo is er op 21 maart een speciaal launch event in de Bijenkorf in Amsterdam waar die-hard fans de collector’s edition van het allereerste nummer kunnen kopen. Op dezelfde dag zal de collector’s edition ook in 11 andere Bijenkorf vestigingen te koop zijn, waaronder de vestigingen in Groningen, Den Haag, Utrecht en Maastricht.

Meer informatie over het speciale launch event op 21 maart, de collector’s edition of een abonnement vind je op www.vogue.nl !

Editor’s Note

This blogpost is about the launch of VOGUE magazine in The Netherlands. Since it’s mostly relevant for visitors residing in The Netherlands I have chosen to write this article in Dutch. Other Dutch articles are tagged with NL and will always contain a short summary in English for all my international visitors.