I love Isabel Marant's Fall Winter 2011 Collection - Such a great designer!

( pictures from stuart and wright in Brooklyn )

Skins is a sleek and very tempting looking shop full of never seen cosmetic products, all of them in lovely packaging. Hard to resist for any girl.

Skins Cosmetics offers a unique collection of exclusive and authentic fragrances, distinctive skin care ranges, hair care products and home fragrance accessories, hair dressers and beauty treatments.

Skins Cosmetics
Runstraat 11
De Negen Straatjes
Amsterdam 1016 GJ
www.skins.nl/

Buffet van de Odette is the place where you would go sunday mornings  to read the newspaper if you would live in amsterdam.
It's a cosy and friendly place offering some really lovely organic food.
For example Sandwiches with goats cheese walnuts, honey and thyme or Flemish meatloaf with capers and mustard mayonnaise. The soup of the day was lovely too.
But you just can't leave without trying the sticky toffee cake - it comes straight from heaven.

Located in the middle of Jordans busy shopping streets is a perfect place to stop and relax.

Herrengracht 309
1016 AV Amsterdam
Tel 020 4236034
www.buffet-amsterdam.nl

Monday, Wednesday till Friday 8.30 - 16.30
Tuesday closed
Saturday Sunday 10 - 17.30

Lock Stock and Barrel is a nice ladies ans me fashion shop stocking a nice mix of some of the most interesting brands around.
Humanoid, Yucca, Baum und Pferdegarten, Ivana Helsinki, and others. There's also small selection of fashion accessories and jewelry.
It's not a cheap shop but if you are feed-up with all the chain stores offering universal fashion I suggest to have a look at this shop.

Opening Hours: Tues - Sat 11.00 to 18.00 with late opening Thurs until 21.00 , Sun -Mon 12.00 to 18.00
LockStock & Barrel, Hartenstraat 26, 1016 CC Amsterdam, The Netherlands, NL
tel: +31(0)20-421 33 48
lockyourstock.nl/

Wella Warenhaus is quite a special shop. First I was not sure if its a vintage store but then I realized it's not. It's just very fifties inspired.

It's a shopping mall. on 2.700 square feet meters of art, fashion and interior objects. A ‘house’ for young designers.
Clothes, furniture, shoes, dog outfits, bags, paintings and mirrors: what is unusual about these handmade items is that they are all mostly one-offs.

Das Wella Warenhaus
Keizersgracht 300
(Corner Berenstraat)

Monday till sunday 13.00 – 18.30
Thuesday 13.00 – 20.00

www.wellawarenhaus.nl

I suppose there are many vintage shops in amsterdam but I have not  been to one like laura dols before, a very nice shop indeed. The type you might find in New York but with less high fashion and more inspiration. When I was there they had a fantastic shop window with everything in red.

I must admit I fell in love with all the vintage dutch fabrics they had pilled very nicely in the back of the shop.
Laura dols has two shops in the same street just opposite each other. One is more everyday fashion with a very nice kids selection and the before mentioned fabrics corner. The other one is more the ball gown type of cloth.

Wolvenstraat 6 en 7
1016 EM Amsterdam

Monday 13:00 - 18:00
Tuesday Wednesday 11.00 - 18.00
Thuesday and frieday 11:00 - 19.00
Saturday 11:00 - 18:00
Sunday 13.00-18.00

These are the places I love, authentic, full of nice food and and run by people with a passion.
De kaaskamer is one of the most amazing cheese shops I have ever seen  quite small but jam-packed with cheeses of all shapes and sizes, 200 different brands altogether , I read , including a few European rarities found by the owners as well as lots and lots of Dutch cheeses. Difficult not to go mental for cheese lovers like me.
The shop is not far away from the Pâtisserie Pompadour so my suggestion: go there buy lot's nice cheese the do to Pompadour buy some nice brad and some sweets and sit down by the grachten or go to the wester park and have a nice pick-nick. Don't ask me where to buy the wine , this I don't know.

Runstraat 7

Transport Tram 1, 2, 5

Open noon-6pm Mon; 9am-6pm Tue-Fri; 9am-5pm Sat; noon-5pm Sun.

A fabulous bonbonnerie and tearoom - with an 18th-century interior imported from Antwerp.
A great place to stop by when strolling through jordan. Drinks some tea eat some delicious chocolate somethings or lovely sandwiches.
Would probably also by nice a a rainy day with a good book.
Somewhere I read that they have the best croissants in town.

Open 10am-6pm Mon-Fri; 10am-5pm Sat.

Huidenstraat 12
1016 ES AMSTERDAM
020-6239554

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There is only one reason to go to the flower market, buying bulbs and seeds.
The place is nothing special and very crowded with tourists. Still if you want to get some special seeds or bulbs this is an easy option. There are certainly better shops but  this is a fast and central option.

I don't think I know a more relaxed city than amsterdam. The small alleys , the grachten , the house boats, people sitting outside and flowers everywhere. So maybe one does not need to go to a park to relax. Still a recommend a walk through Westpark. It was saturday when we were there and everywhere in the park people were having parties. Every few meter was a small gathering of people. Some were having a barbecue, others were having a birthday party with balloons and some came just for a picnic. A very special atmosphere I have to say.
I recommend walking to the west part of the park, after the main park you come into sort of a brown field - very beautiful.
There you also find the Cuulturpark Westergasfabriek and several restaurants and bars.

Air ‘kunstENhuis’ is located in a former brown field, nowadays transformed to a vibrant cultural park, named ‘Cultuurpark Westergasfabriek’, close to the city centre.