Mom has been good

Lowlands 2018 is over again and it was a big party. Now mom has been very good and has lived on water all weekend (well, we still had to perform ourselves), but it has taken quite a toll... An average of five hours of sleep per night, running from tent to tent to catch all the shows plus the adrenaline and excitement for our own performance were all in all a good recipe to come home completely burned out last night. The absolute highlight was the performance of one of the best ballet dancers in the world: Sergei Polunin. You had to stand in line for an hour to secure a spot for the show at two o'clock in the morning (!), but it was more than worth it. Already looking forward to next year!

You have people who have been wearing the same perfume for years that has now become their signature scent. I'm not that loyal and prefer to try something new every time. I had a period where I wanted to test everything with roses in it. Now I'm in my ‘wood period’, or rather heavier perfumes and you often find amber, sage, and sandalwood in them. Finding a summer scent with woody notes wasn't that easy, but I have found my favorite: Eau des Merveilles Bleue by Hermès has the best of both worlds and has just been launched in a handy 30 ml bottle: ideal for your carry-on or beach bag.

Last week, Otis got four teeth at once and it was no fun. Now he happily eats huge portions and has built up a little reserve, but after day three of hardly eating (even a banana – his favorite – wouldn't go down), I started to worry. That's why I stocked up on all the remedies for tooth pain (including a necklace made of amber that really seems to work) and hoped it would ease the pain a bit. By now, he is quite proud of his row of front teeth and finds nothing more fun than taking a big bite out of a peach.

Since the vacation, Jon and I have a new hobby: stargazing. Under the beautiful starry sky in Italy, Jon's best friend Diederik (Jekel) told the most wonderful stories about the origin of the universe that we became quite fascinated. With the app Sky Guide, you can find all the constellations in the sky and even spot the International Space Station (ISS)! It looks like you see a star flying by at breakneck speed, really bizarre. It orbits the earth sixteen times a day, so plenty of chances to catch it.