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It has been 5 months since Myrthe Spiteri, the co-owner and CEO of publishing company Blossom Books in Utrecht, spoke each other first about producing a book. I can hardly believe it, but today is the day I can finally come out and say: I’m writing a book! Not only that, it’s being published next year! Here in Holland and in Belgium. This has been a dream of mine I never really dared to talk about and now it’s happening.
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Book deal signed!
I can’t tell you much more at this point. Probably doesn’t come as a surprise the book is about houseplants 😉 Everyone around me knows that I love sharing my big and tiny pleasures. I do that in my tea garden, on my Instagram page and of course on my blog. People ask my advice all the time when it comes to houseplant care. That way I found out lots of people want to create their own urban jungle at home, but they don’t know where to start, let alone know how to keep their green friends alive. With my book I hope to help you grow green fingers and inspire you to add some green to your interior!
♡ EXPERT BY EXPERIENCE ♡
I have always been fascinated by plants and nature in general. The last couple of years I read and learned a lot about botany. I’m definitely not a biologist or a scientist, but I am what you call an ‘expert by experience’, eager to learn more. I’ve seen around about 200 different plant species come and go in our apartment. My notebooks are full of my findings. In my book I will share what I’ve learned.
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HQ of my publisher Blossom Books in Utrecht. Very cool people work on very cool books and projects here! And let’s not forget Koosje the office dog, who is always busy doing important stuff too 😉
♡ WRITING ♡
My love for writing is definitely back and my career in Journalism has been revived. What feels like a lifetime ago I wrote for magazines like Libelle and my photos were published in newspapers. Writing a book is a whole new ballgame. It’s exciting and a bit scary at the same time. I’m so glad I got the opportunity to do this, though. It’s a fantastic project! I’m not only writing the book, most photos in it will be mine as well. So it’s without a doubt a great combination of a few of my passions: writing, photography, plants and interior styling!
♡ BEHIND THE SCENES ♡
The coming months I will keep you posted on my blog about new developments when it comes to the book. The making-of so to speak 😉 I hope to get you guys excited about it. When I announced the news on my Instagram yesterday, I was overwhelmed with your lovely comments! Shops that wanted to pre-order the book already, enthousiasts who offered to help and very kind messages from friends and family who wanted to congratulate me. Thanks so much, you guys!
♡ CHAMPAGNE! ♡
To celebrate this happy occasion I went to the old botanical garden of Utrecht with my friend Monique after signing the contract. The ‘Oude Hortus’ is a fantastic green spot, hidden away right in the middle of Utrecht. I’ll write a blog post on this place soon 😉 Monique surprised me with a big bottle of champagne! I ended the day in style as well, as in: in another fitting green spot back home in Enschede. Me and my boyfriend dined al fresco in the garden of Light of India, the Indian restaurant at Ecocentre Emma. Green since there are loads of plants surrounding you and green because their food is eco-friendly. This was a great day!
Love,
Mandy ♡
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Me and my friend Monique at the old botanical garden of Utrecht: De Oude Hortus, hidden away in the city centre.
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Al fresco dining at another cool green space: Light of India at Ecocentre Emma in Enschede.