Fashion Week, a day in Florence and on the cover of Flair. We know Carolien, she never sits still...

The rehearsals and clothing fittings are in full swing for Sneekweek! To still present somewhat credible sailors, we are also busy with sailing lessons on the Loosdrechtse Plassen: something that my husband finds a treat. In ten years, we have never been on a sailboat together, while he used to go out on the water weekly. So now that I finally know what a jib, the storm circle, and a gybe mean, it's happening: on Sunday we are going out on the water together for the first time. Just need to quickly review my lessons so I can make a bit of an impression...

This week was all about lots of delicious food, sun, sea, and... even more delicious food! During our vacations, good food is high on the priority list. And now that we are in a cottage in Italy with a kitchen and all the necessities, we cook for ourselves every evening. Although you hardly have to prepare anything yourself: a super fresh burrata, cherry tomatoes, beautiful parma ham, juicy melon, and all I have to do is grab a plate and cutlery.

But I have been in the kitchen every day to prepare a new lemonade brew: green tea with ginger and citrus fruits or early grey with thyme and sage, I have come up with and tested 5 recipes.

There are very few people who understand that I would genuinely drive back and forth to Antwerp for a box of La Durée macarons. These cookies put such a huge smile on my face: they actually function as instant happiness makers!

So during our day visit to the beautiful city of Florence, I had to make a pit stop at this shop. Because it was literally 40 degrees and the cookies would melt as soon as I left the store, I just dove into their ice cream section. TIP: try the rose ice cream, it's like an angel is walking over your tongue!

This year I could unfortunately only enjoy Fashion Week for one day, and I made the most of it! For the Vodafone Fashionlab Show, I did a live report on Periscope, something that was completely new to me. I was immediately hooked: people can follow your stream live, like it, and leave comments. After the vacation, I will come up with something fun to live stream: maybe baking a gluten-free cake?

This week, the friends edition of Flair was in stores with Marly and me on the cover. I am so happy with the end result: the photos give a summery feeling and have a beautiful ‘natural look’. This black-and-white photo is my favorite from the series. Let's see if I can find an empty spot on the wall somewhere...