Yes, another fresh weekly diary from our Carolien. Because you know: she never sits still. This week she was not only to be found in the Netherlands... Are you reading along?

In the past, the excitement would start a few days before my birthday: would I get that one gift from my wish list? Would all my friends come to my party? Now that I am experiencing this little routine for the 28th time (I know, still very young), the tension has eased a bit and the real birthday parties are behind me. But still, I always have those butterflies on the day itself. This year, I had a lovely Italian dinner with my friends at my favorite restaurant 5&33 the night before, a B-day lunch with a giant cupcake cake on the day itself, and in the evening a luxury dinner for two with my husband. When I list it like this, I did celebrate it grandly again this year: oh, secretly I remain that little girl who can't wait for her birthday party...

Two days later, I got to unwrap gifts again, but this time from Santa! Usually, I have no idea what to ask for Christmas anymore, but this time I had one very wanted item on my wishlist: the Babyliss Curl Secret Ionic. The name gives it away a bit: when I saw this ‘automatic curling iron’ with the makeup artist from Zwarte Tulp, I was sold immediately! You take a strand of hair, place it in the device, and voilà: it rolls up automatically and comes out in a perfect curl a few seconds later. You have to find your way with it, but then I curled my entire hair in a quarter of an hour. And you can't burn your fingers on the iron, which is quite a nice bonus for someone who always burns herself (like me). So don't be surprised if you see me walking around with curls more often in the future...

For weeks, Marly and I looked forward to this trip: three whole days to Disneyland Paris! A bit under the pretense of: ‘Sammy-Rose loves Disney’, but the biggest kids were of course us. The moment we arrived at the Disneyland Hotel, we could have cried at the sight of Mickey, the smell of the special fireplace scent in the lobby, and all the merchandise in the Disney stores. Half an hour later, we walked through the park with our Disney hats: what a party! Sammy thought it was fantastic, and surprisingly there were many attractions that were suitable for small children. Due to the holidays, it was incredibly busy, but long live the FastPass! A special line you can enter if you have drawn a ticket in advance for that time slot. Tears were in my eyes when we had to leave all the magic behind us. I think we should make this an annual trip! Of course for Sammy, right?! :-)

Weeks in advance, Marly and I had already contacted each other about the contents of our suitcase and we were quite in agreement: two tracksuits from Zoe Karssen, a pair of sneakers, but what is a handy handbag? I'm quite into large bags that are always stuffed with items I hardly use: hand cream, lip balm, lipstick, perfume, you name it! If I take a smaller bag, I can also throw in less ‘junk’... So we went looking for the perfect ‘Disney bag’. When we came across these backpacks from Paul's Boutique, we were sold immediately! Still completely stuffed, but luckily I had zero shoulder pain from the backpack model. I think I’ve found my perfect travel bag!

On the way back, Jon and I made a ‘day stop’ in Ghent halfway through the route. Really a recommendation! The city reminded me of Maastricht and is full of nice boutiques, cocktail bars, and culinary restaurants. Fun fact: Ghent is particularly known for its many vegetarian restaurants and specialties. We stayed at the beautiful Sandton Grand Hotel Reylof: upon arrival, we immediately dove into the spa, located in the old coach house. The restaurant at the hotel was one of the best in Ghent: we actually didn't need to go out anymore! Eventually, after a delicious dinner, we still ventured into the city for a cocktail at Jigger’s, an ideal mix of Door 74 and Bar Oldenhof in Amsterdam. Actually, a day was way too short: we absolutely need to plan a weekend in Ghent in 2016!