Thank God It’s Friday: May

Because this has always been my favorite column to read and, to be honest, because I am also under a lot of pressure to fill our site with all kinds of fun content for Easter, I thought: who can I quickly and efficiently ask and then I ended up with... myself.

LDear May, how are you?
Well, actually pretty good. I recently texted with an ‘ally’, a woman who also has a special child and we talked about how we always incorporate the word ‘actually’ when things are going well. Because we apparently always remain a bit on alert since everything in our lives can suddenly go wrong. But at this moment, things are going pretty well. My oldest daughter has a rare syndrome with all sorts of consequences. Since September, she no longer lives at home and that was a heavy ride, but she lives in the most wonderful house imaginable and is coming home for a visit on Sunday for the second time. So should I just cautiously say that things are going well?

The summer collections are staring at us and calling: buy me, buy me. What are you dreaming about?
I have already scored a great jacket at Pauw Amsterdam and their branch in Heemstede that I will definitely be wearing this spring. And I just saw a rare cool denim bag on the CHANEL site. Not that I need it, I have plenty of bags. Having bags is like drinking salt water: you think your thirst is quenched, but you just want more. What I seriously want are the loafers from Hermès. They are also made of denim, I sense a theme.

Your daughters are also a bit older now. Are they already raiding your closet?
Not just my closet, the Dyson is also working overtime. This morning, four friends were in her room to test the Dyson Airstrait. It worked. Flo has her own style and Igoné is still a bit too small for my clothes (although she did manage to grab my Lululemon shorts recently), but Belize is really going all out. It's Golden Goose on the left, Isabel Marant on the right, and recently she even wore my CHANEL shirt to school. Oh, it looks great on her and when I buy something, I mentally divide the amount by two and then it feels less expensive.

Now, let's move on to this column. It's Friday at 5:00 PM. Where are you, with whom, what is playing through the speakers, and what is on the table?
Well, at 5:00 PM I'm still on a reformer Pilates with Olga-Isabelle. My favorite hour of the week. That class from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM is the perfect ending to a busy work week and the command for ‘at ease.’ After that, I might bike past Jasmijn Bloembinders for a few nice branches and then I’ll speed home. There, I’ll have my first glass of wine of the week with Stella, who has been taking care of our children for almost eleven years. We go over the week and the weekend plans, and then the weekend really begins. I light the fireplace (we recently got a built-in fireplace with less emissions and more heat output, so win-win) and snuggle up with the girls and the dog on the couch.

What does an average May weekend look like?
On Saturdays, I always take a barre class with Olga. I used to dance a lot, so I always have that blissful feeling from back then in her class. She has the talent to make everyone in her class feel like dancers, even if they are there for the first time. My beloved also always pops into the gym at this time, so I don't have to feel guilty. After that, the day is usually all about hockey. Bel and Iggy both play hockey, and since I now have more time because Flo lives elsewhere, I stand along the sidelines as much as possible. After that, we often have drinks at the bar in our kitchen with friends or each other, but on Saturday we are going to eat at Leoni, an Italian restaurant in Haarlem. We reserved months in advance, so expectations are high. If it works out, I’ll squeeze in a class at CRUSH Reformer Studios on Sunday morning. Marco from Tintelen gives a high-intensity reformer workout and aside from the fact that his classes are amazing and effective, it’s really a magnet for fun women. Just like with Olga, by the way. I’ve met so many nice people there. After the workout, we go to Flo. We always do that as a group of four and Monti, the dog, can come along. Flo always wants to take a ride, go for a walk, and then I give her a thorough bath. Washing hair, trimming nails, and then watching a movie in the shared living room. Then I really feel like I’ve fulfilled my Flo need and we happily drive home.

Assuming earthly matters like time difference, flight shame, money, and travel time don’t exist for a moment. What does your ideal weekend look like?
Then let’s immediately sit down at Miramare da Michele on Friday, my favorite restaurant in the world. In Puglia, my favorite spot on earth. At the table, I’d like my whole family, my parents, and of course Gino, the little dog that my parents bought for Flo when our Italian cat passed away. On Saturday morning, I would like to spend time in New York. Walking with my love through Greenwich with a latte to go in hand, then eating an omelet at Balthazar. In the afternoon, I would love to drink an Aperol Spritz on the terrace of Le Sirenuse in Amalfi with my beloved, listening to trendy music while the rest of the surroundings are wonderfully classical. I wouldn’t mind staying there overnight, as long as I can wake up in Rome the next morning. I would love to ride on the back of the Vespa with my love to Gianicolò, to cry tears of joy there, and then I would like to end up on the beach of Wijk aan Zee, where we that is getting a restyling, so actually the Amayzine editorial team has really dived into the home vibes. We are quite busy with it. Besides, everyone is coming to me at the counter, because it seems that I can arrange such a meta for a bargain and have. There I would lie under a blanket next to my husband, looking at the sun sinking into the sea and the silhouette of our three girls on the huge trampoline. Something like that?

What do you like to read and listen to on the weekend?
I really enjoy introducing Bel and Iggy to different music styles. Because Flo lives quite far away, we have four hours of singing time in the car each week. We often take turns picking a song, they are really open to our input. So we go from Meat Loaf to Dolly Parton to Tears for Fears’ Head Over Heels. On Sunday mornings, I might play some classical music, but I’ll keep it easy like Satie’s Gymnopédie or that beautiful Abel Korzeniowski, who composed the music for A Single Man, that at least equally beautiful film by Tom Ford.

Does Sunday feel different than Saturday?
A little bit, although total idleness isn’t really happening anymore since we always go to Flo now, but I would give a thousand percent for that. On Sundays, the ‘the-weekend-is-almost-over feeling’ sometimes dominates, so I love that we can add another day to this Easter weekend.

What’s on your list of restaurants you must and want to go to?
I heard about Trees on the Zeedijk, which is also a restaurant by Géza Weisz; I think his Gertrude is one of the nicest restaurants in Amsterdam. Furthermore, I want to go to Bij de C by Ron Blaauw, which is now located near us in Bloemendaal. In Wijk aan Zee, you have Puur Zee (with a slight nod to Pure C by Sergio Herman) and I’ve wanted to go there for a long time. But usually, I can’t be dragged out of our own beach house with ten horses and we eat something easy there.

And then Monday. What time does it start again and what are you going to do?
The fun thing about having AMAYZINE, Franska.co.uk, Italiamo.nl, FavorFlav.com and all the other beautiful sites we have is that I always find Monday a party again. That’s the day when really everyone is in the office, so we can go full throttle and also catch up and eat the tastiest chili eggs that Lysanne always makes for us.

Is this Monday Easter, are you doing something special?
So I have, oh, I am really a sports enthusiast, booked a class with Marco for Monday morning. I think I’ll take a long walk with Monti afterward. In the afternoon, we are going to Raalte, where we hold our annual cousins and siblings day. My love’s parents have both passed away, so we don’t see his family very often and it’s extra nice to see everyone like this once a year.