Fun & Famous

CAROLIEN’S FAST LANE LIFE

Yes, another fresh weekday diary from our Carolien. Because you know: she never sits still…

If there is one thing that evokes the most memories in me, it is scents. The scent of my grandmother's Elnett hairspray, Jon's first fragrance that he wore when I got to know him (Emporio Armani, now replaced by a more exclusive scent from Skins) and the smell of my mother's homemade Indian rice table: they all evoke something that makes my heart race. Last week at the opening of the Jo Malone store in Rotterdam, my nose was working overtime. I smelled one delicious scent after another, and each one reminded me of something: the roses from my godmother, ginger from our holiday in Thailand, and lemon basil from that little hotel in Italy. We were allowed to create our own perfume by layering two scents on top of each other. This layering creates a completely new, rich fragrance. An absolute recommendation if you are looking for a new, special fragrance. My favorite: Dark Amber & Ginger Lily.

Fortunately, Jon can talk about delicious food just as long and often as I can. There are days when we can already daydream about our lunch and dinner moments during our huge extensive breakfast with poached eggs, pancakes, and fresh fruit. So when a culinary festival takes place in Amsterdam like Taste, the chance is very high that you will find us there eating. Despite my extreme hay fever (read: puffy eyes, hardly able to breathe, and sneezing ten times in a row all day), we headed to the Rosarium for a culinary tour. After five minutes, we settled at the Peugeot X Peter Lute corner and enjoyed tuna tataki and divine picanha pitas. After our favorite gin and tonic in the Secret Hendrick’s Garden, we ended with what has now become a tradition: an oyster tasting at Zilt en Zalig with honestly the best oysters you will ever taste. Is your mouth watering yet? I am already looking forward to next year.

There was a time when I wore gel nails: preferably bright red, beautifully rounded just like my mother. I thought it was truly beautiful! Until I was in a play at drama school where I had to play bass guitar, which was impossible with those long gel nails... Since then, I find short nails even prettier, and it saves a lot of money and time every month. But one thing I never skimp on is a good pedicure: I’m not really fond of feet, to put it mildly. So my own must be well cared for and polished every month to make them presentable. My go-to place for this is the Soap Treatment Store, where I always step out feeling happy. And during their open day, I discovered that they have many more treatments than I thought: from massages to facials and even treatments with a ‘minor procedure’. For now, I’m not going to touch that, but maybe I should increase my monthly beauty budget a bit for one of those other delightful treatments...

Since Jon and I hardly see each other at home (he's non-stop on set, I'm often in Brussels), we decided to sneak away for a week in between our busy schedules. In the middle of the mountains in Italy, just over the border from France, my parents have a lovely little apartment where sun, hiking, and good food are the order of the day. When we arrived yesterday, I quickly stocked up on burrata, fresh vegetables, and cold cuts to prepare a huge lunch. My other favorite activity here is scouring local markets: from food to clothing and accessories, you can't make me happier than letting me wander around there for hours. Usually, my husband is done after half an hour, unless he sees things he likes too. So it felt like a blessing when he found a hat stall where he discovered his new favorite. And of course, I couldn't be left behind: finally found a sailor cap in my size 54...

The seaside town of Menton is the closest sandy beach where countless beach bars with delicious food line up. They speak a mix of French and Italian there, and the cuisine consists of the same mix: from seafood to parma ham with melon and delicious pasta. The only thing I take to the beach is a large cloth that serves as both a beach towel and a dress. I prefer to walk around all day wrapped in such a large cloth during a holiday. My latest acquisition is this denim blue print from Hammam34. And on the plane, I wore it as a scarf: now that's what I call multifunctional.