Nooit een saai moment in huis Spoor. Waarvan wederom akte.

I secretly always feel a bit sad when big foreign brands come to the Netherlands: the exclusivity and uniqueness fade a little. I used to run to Starbucks every morning in New York for a chai tea, wandered for hours through Topshop in London, and couldn't wait to go to a Victoria’s Secret store to stock up on grand lingerie. I still remember well when I was in Copenhagen for the first time and discovered the coolest store in the city: & Other Stories. Beautiful Scandinavian designs at great prices and no one knew it yet in the Netherlands. That has changed now... But luckily this store still feels just as fun and special now that I can bike there! Last weekend during our trip to Antwerp, we had to take a look in their store. We came for the party collection and immediately felt excited about all the Christmas parties and New Year's Eve drinks. My girlfriends scored well with a pair of party pumps and I couldn't resist this killer dress. And purchased across the border, which made the feeling just a bit more exclusive...

The winter months are always marked by the most fantastic sample sales. In the past few weeks, I could indulge my fashion heart at the sales of Zoe Karssen, PINC, By Malene Birger, and Avelon. But when I discovered that there was a site where you can shop sales all year round, my wallet immediately went into panic mode. By now I have scored vente-exclusive.com a whole set of pans, lingerie from Marlies Dekkers, and my favorite 7 For All Mankind jeans. For the holidays, Vente, together with Addy van den Krommenacker, has exclusively designed four party dresses that will be available online from November 30 to December 3. As one of the ‘lucky few’, I got to choose a beautiful creation in advance and couldn't help but pull this dress out of the closet yesterday. The result: completely overdressed at friends' home at the table.

You can't make me happier than taking me out for dinner with friends after a long day of filming. Last week, after five reschedules, we finally sat down at the table with Claire from Iconic Studios and her husband Wichard. They took us to Bar Breitner: a lovely, new restaurant for us near Westerpark. Upon seeing the menu, we unanimously agreed: oysters and steak tartare as a starter and cheese fondue as the main course, what a feast! And for dessert, all the desserts on the menu... I went completely crazy for the Tarte Citron: I must and will eat that on my birthday!

Jon and I have been sleeping in full tracksuits for two weeks now... In our bedroom, we have some glazing, so the icicles hang from my nose when I wake up. So a long, warm morning shower is essential for me to wake up and start the day. Now we always go to bed and wake up with music, but that sound just doesn't make it to the bathroom. So when I read about this waterproof Boombox, I went completely crazy! This morning I was a bit hesitant when I took this device into the shower, but the music kept playing while it was fully submerged in water. My morning ritual has now become a bit more musical.

My dream is to someday design my own clothing line. Not necessarily to produce on a large scale, but rather to create items that make me happy and that I would love to wear. I have been looking for the perfect over-the-knee boots for years. Either the heel is too high, or the shaft is too low. Last week I got the chance to design my perfect pair ‘Rebootz’! The name says it all: this brand often works with ‘used’ leather (for example, from a motorcycle suit, how cool!) to create a unique pair of boots. I already had the shape completely in my head, but I found it quite difficult to choose the colors. In the end, it became nude with mint: I am so curious about the final result! Maybe this is the beginning of a real “Carolien Fashion-Line”. To be continued...