Abacaxi & Hortelã

Carnival!

2012-02-16T09:22:00.003+01:00

No matter if, where & how you celebrate...

I wish you an enjoyable, friendly & funny Carnival!

Have a great time!!

Venice

Rio de Janeiro

Maastricht

See you soon!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T08:50:00.001+01:00

Wishing you all a lovely day!

xoxo

And it got even prettier...

2012-02-05T18:32:00.001+01:00

After a thin layer of snow in the beginning of the week, winter really showed its best by the end of the week!

We got a pretty big quantity of snow on Friday afternoon as you can see:

The next day I was searching for my car...

And this afternoon we went out for a walk in the forest:

Temperatures remain below zero the next week (also during the day), so...

the Elfstedentocht is coming closer!

Please don't forget to keep your fingers crossed, it helped so far...

Have a great, sunny, cool week!!

Pretty winter

2012-02-02T18:28:00.001+01:00

Hello Winter!

You finally arrived!!

And how pretty you are!

We are all enjoying a bit of snow as you can see!

Freezing cold it is, but with the sunshine & blue skies during the day, it is sooo pretty!

So Winter, will you stay just a little bit longer??

It would be nice to have a Elfstedentocht again!

The last time we could enjoy this spectaculair event was in 1997,

about time, don't you think??

Will you all keep your (frozen) fingers crossed please??

New Spring colours...

2012-01-11T07:00:00.000+01:00

Be warned: totally different subject ;-)

Although it's only just January, I counldn't resist to buy some Spring colours.

When I saw the new Chanel colours (no I'm not sponsored by Chanel) I was convinced!

The new nail polish colours are April, May and June (what a coincidence...) and they are really candy colours, especially May and June. I think they will look wonderful come summer!

But April definitely can be worn as from now!

Lipstick, blusher, powder... all in such a lovely colour tones!

And so I also came home with this one:

4 Colours: peach, gold, beige and plum

Can't wait to try them out!!

And this eyeshadow quadra just matches my new ski jacket perfectly :))

So I definitely won't be the fastest, nor the best skier on the slopes,

but at least I will go down

(down as in: 'down the mountain' or as in 'down with my face in the snow'??)

in style...

And you? Do you wear make-up and/or use nail polish? (and do they match your ski jacket...?)

If so, what are your favorite colours/brands?

Wishing you all a colourful week!!

Photo credits:

getwhatkatewore.com and fashionison.com

Away...

2012-01-06T17:51:00.000+01:00

After a busy week at home, we decided to go away for a couple of days.

So we booked a hotel on Monday afternoon and left on Tuesday morning: to the Dutch North Sea Coast!

And guess what? The weather forecasts promised us lots of rain & a real storm...

We decided to drive via Belgium to the province of Zeeland (in the south-west of the Netherlands). And our first stop was the idyllic Veere. Unfortunately, it was raining cats & dogs and too windy to even think about getting out the camera :) I was happy I could get myself from the car to a little 'brasserie' without any accident!!

But even in the rain, Veere seems to be very beautiful, lots of historic buildings and nice restaurants & shops. Definitely a place to visit again in spring and/or summer.

Then we continued via several bridges belonging to the Delta Werken / Delta Works that are built to protect the land from the sea (this is where the North Sea Flood in 1953 took place). Impressive works, I have to say!

And so we got to our final destination: Rockanje. After a cup of tea the rain stopped and the sun all of a sudden appeared: time for a walk along the beach. Look what a beautiful sunset:

The next morning we went for a run on the beach, followed by a well-deserved breakfast :)

And then to the 'Maasvlakte' where we admired some big container ships arriving and where the wind mills were on full speed (because of the storm, remember?):

In the afternoon we went to Brielle, a fortified city, very charming and beautifully maintained:

By the way, the hotel was in American Lodge style:

Cosy, isn't it?

But, holidays are over, it's back to reality as from tomorrow :)

Have a great week!

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-02T14:20:00.000+01:00

First, I would like to wish you all a

Lots of love, happiness, fun, laughter,

health & unforgettable moments!

A new year full of new opportunities & challenges.

The past will always be the past, nothing can change that,

but the future is open,

clean & ready to be made by

YOU!

"I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past "

~ Thomas Jefferson ~

And then the garden...

It's winter here, but temperatures even rise to 14 degrees (Celsius) and look what I saw:

snowdrops, crocus & new rosebuds...

I wonder about winter... will there be snow this year?

What do you think?

Wishing you all a great first week of 2012!

What's next?

2011-12-27T15:54:00.000+01:00

We had a good time...

Christmas Eve: with friends in Amsterdam

Christmas Day: relaxed, quiet, some preparations for diner on Boxing Day (2nd Christmas Day it's called in the Netherlands)

Boxing Day: more diner preparations & a very nice & calm diner with my parents

This is what the table looked like:

Forgot to take pictures of the actual diner... too busy ;)

And now it's time to prepare for the New Year...

What are your plans?

For New years Eve?

For 2012?

Any resolutions??

Wishing you a nice last week of 2011!!

I wish you all a

2011-12-23T15:50:00.000+01:00

Christmas Group Hug

2011-12-19T14:19:00.002+01:00

Lynda, who writes the blog Un petit morceau de moi, did it again this year... Last year she organised a Christmas Group Hug, which was an enormous success. And this year she decided to organise it again.

I think she deserves a huge applause!!

What is the Christmas Group Hug? All participants make or buy something for someone (secretly, only Lynda knows, she makes the pairs) and make sure that the present is received before Christmas, just something nice & sweet in this time of the year...

And look what I received this week:

From Lia who writes the blog http://ifoundmyhome.blogspot.com.

What a beautiful pillow cover, handmade by Lia!

I'm soooo happy with it, thank you so much Lia, I really appreciate it :)

Have a nice week!

THE tree...

2011-12-12T16:14:00.002+01:00

It took me some time...

Our living room is not that small, but still...

I couldn't find THE spot for THE tree!

I moved chairs, sofas & tables, but put them back in the old position again

(positive about this is the fact that I finally cleaned the floor under the furniture!!)

Still not totally happy with the location of the tree, but I'm afraid there's no moving anymore,

it's completely decorated now, too dangerous!!

Red & white it is this year...

Have a nice week!!

Bulbs...

2011-12-09T16:16:00.000+01:00

I bought them weeks ago (or maybe even months ago) and finally found the time today to plant them: tulip bulbs! A little late, but I think it should do... It's not that cold yet.

And my garden definitely needs tulips, because, what is a Dutch garden without tulips in springtime?

I planted different varieties and mainly pink, fuchsia & purple colours,

and could absolutely not resist the 'black hero' and the 'queen of the night'...

Aren't they just beautiful? Let's hope they will all appear in Spring!

So fingers crossed till April/May please :)

Now that this is finally done, I'll go on to the next 'assignment':

Christmas decorations :)

Playing Christmas songs in the background and

drinking hot chocolate with melted marshmellows

or some mulled wine (depending on the time of the day).

So, what are your plans for the weekend?

Wishing you all a nice & sunny one
& have fun decorating!!

Can't wait...

2011-11-25T16:56:00.001+01:00

To be honest? I'm longing for days like these...

Exactly like these: fresh, crackling snow, beautiful blue skies & gorgeous sunshine!

And I'm sure Senna is dreaming about it too!

How 'bout you?

Are you looking forward to a snowy, cold season,

lighting the fireplace & lots of candles?

Preparing hot chocolate or mulled wine, roasting marshmellows,

making tasteful soups & stews,

reading the books you didn't have time for during the summer months,

sitting on the couch, covered up in warm blankets and plaids...

I'm curious to know what you're looking forward to!

Wishing you a lovely weekend & sweet dreams about the upcoming season!

Doen jullie mee??

2011-11-22T21:17:00.001+01:00

Spontane actie onzerzijds... jaja, zij organiseert weer...

Sinterklaas heeft onze hulp nodig!

Er is meer snoep nodig voor de VOEDSELBANK!

Laten we die kinderen in de koud staan??? Nee toch zeker?

Ik zet de dozen alvast klaar, dus kom maar op met dat Sinterklaas-snoep!!

Laat me even weten als je iets wilt doneren, hetzij via een berichtje hieronder of via e-mail: abacaxiandhortela@gmail.com

BEDANKT!!

Surprised!!

2011-11-15T14:57:00.000+01:00

Amazing... What a wonderful weather we had the last weeks. Temperatures rose to 18, 19 degrees Celsius. This is too warm for this period of the year, but I so loooooove it!

I filled some vases with violets, under the violets I planted bulbs in layers: snow drops, blue & white muscari and tulips.

To my big surprise I saw already green leaves from the muscari peeping out between the violets, isn't that amazing? In November??

Can you spot them?

By the way, this is our garden at this very moment: clean & empty, we pruned the conifers and are planning to make a kind of natural fence. I'm already planning lots of beautiful climbers there!

The real work will start again in Spring!

From a different angle:

And yet another rose decided to bloom again, already full of briers,

just one stubborn blooming bud... that's nature!

Time for some action inside the house: there is still some painting to do!

Take care & see you soon again!

By the way, have a look here (mainly for the Dutch speaking!) & join!

Our garden

2011-11-04T13:53:00.006+01:00

As some of you might remember, our garden (front & back) looked quite messy when we arrived in our house 2 months ago after being abroad for about 8 years and having renters in our house that were not always that keen on gardening (have to admit, there was one exception!!).

We didn't change that much yet, but we took advantage of the fall season to clean up a bit and prune trees, bushes and shrubs. What it looked like while we were at it, shows the above picture...
But hey, shouldn't it always get worse before it gets better?
Please tell me it does!

Luckily, there still is something pretty here!

What about this rose?

And despite the fact that no renter took care of it, it still blooms constantly...

Even in the beginning of November!

And I, surprisingly, see a new rosebud appearing!

How amazing is that?

This rose is an eyecatcher in our front garden, it has a very subtle colour, looks pretty fragile

(but, as it has proofed, it is very strong) and on top of that, it has a very delicate perfume!

Sitting on the sofa, looking outside the window, it makes for a perfect view!

Hopefully the sunny fall-weather will continue in the weekend. But looking at the weather forecasts,

it'll be a weekend that calls for lighting the fire place, candle light, hot chocolate & comfort food!

Have a good weekend!!

Outside the city: Wimbledon & Greenwich

2011-11-02T22:28:00.000+01:00

And of course, for our tennis champion Thom, we couldn't miss Wimbledon!!

Court 1

THE grass...

Remember this match in 2010?

History was made!!

Still the score of the final match this year

(Centre Court)

Seats covered...

The holy ground...

And another must-see: Greenwich!!

The beautiful Observatory on the top of the hill

Rain and sun that day, but that resulted in some nice pictures

(with rainbow, if you look closely!)

One foot in the eastern hemisphere, one in the western!

How 'cool' is that?

Some funtime too ;)

View from the Observatory: old buildings in the front

and (rather) new high risers in the back, nice contrast!

London

2011-10-31T17:36:00.003+01:00

It has been so many years... too many years actually... (1992!!)

since we've last visited London!

But finally, last week, we went back!!!

Must admit that it has been soooo long, that I sort of forgot where to go for what...

(and I lived one year in the UK as a student and visited London almost every weekend!).

Anyway, it was good to be back, for sure!!

In the past 19 (!!) years I've been back a couple of times but mainly

for business purposes so no chance to go sightseeing...

But next time will be sooner, that's for sure,

London is still beautiful!!

Let the pictures prove that:

We have a winner!!!!

2011-10-16T12:06:00.000+02:00

WE DID IT!!!!!! We randomly picked a winner!!

Hopefully...

the winner has made some space in the living room,

the winner will be happy to have the three of us on the doorstep...

the winner will let you all enjoy the unwrapping process

and see the wonderful surprises that are in the present

by publishing an

ENORMOUS blogpost

and

hopefully the winner will make a delicious apple pie for us

(but somehow, we got the feeling that this will be no problem at all)!

Watch, read, listen......... we made a huge list.... a gigantic list.....

and arranged a random number generator, closed our eyes and had Diana's daughter push the button!!

Constant contact via our mobile phones (Whats App rules...) and then finally the long expected moment...

Number 72

And number 72 belongs to a very lucky person,

Santa Claus will be coming early this year at the house of

*DRUM ROLLS*

COLINDA

Colinda....*HUG*!

Congratulations from the three of us!

ENJOY!!!!

a HUGE thank you to all the participants, sponsors & bloggers!! Thanks so much for all your enthusiasm!!

We love these kind of virtual parties, don't you?

Wishing you all a lovely, sunny Sunday!!

And more sponsors on the catwalk!

2011-10-15T22:53:00.003+02:00

We are proud to present to you, the rest of the sponsors (which brings the total to 23!!!!) on this catwalk:

http://www.juule.nl/

http://homelifestyle01.blogspot.com/

http://www.eljardindelosmuffins.com/

http://www.wonenmetlef.nl/

http://www.feestig-webwinkel.nl/

http://www.ambiente-decoraties.nl/

What an excitement, only one more night, one more sleep & we all will know who will be the lucky one to win this enormous package!

Tomorrow at noon (CET +1) the winner of the SFGA will be announced here, here and here.

Make sure to check back tomorrow!!

Who knows...

Sleep well...

...And more sponsors of the SFGA

2011-10-14T17:00:00.000+02:00

The first 8 sponsors you can see here but now it's time for the next part. Another 9 sponsors that made this Super Fall Give Away really SUPER!!

On the catwalk:

http://www.tierlantijn.net/

http://www.verrassendgoed.nl/

http://www.countryathome.nl/

http://www.pieternels.nl/

http://www.silinbrasil.nl/

http://www.dagmar-design.nl/

http://www.bellabosso.nl/

http://www.indenuylenbal.nl/

http://www.zinkenzo.nl/

Tomorrow the last part of the sponsorlist...

And don't forget, there is still time to join the SFGA,

just click here and you will read what you need to do.

Who wants to miss the fabulous surprise package??

I thought so... ;)

See you tomorrow for the rest of the sponsors!!

Have a wonderful Friday & embrace the sunny fall!

Let me introduce you to...

2011-10-14T11:21:00.000+02:00

our SPONSORS!!!!

The sponsors of the Super Fall Give Away! Without them, it wouldn't have been this SUPER you know! We (Lynda, Diana and myself) could have done what we wanted about St. Nicolas candy & Christmas decoration being too early in the shops, about the gorgeousness of the fall season, etc. it definitely wouldn't have grown to the dimensions the SFGA is now!

And that is why our sponsors all deserve their moment of 'fame'...

http://www.room17.nl/

http://www.moodz.nl/

http://www.bobutiek.nl/

http://www.witzandgrijs.nl/

http://www.harten8.com/

http://www.duifjevandrenthe.nl/

http://www.bonhofbloemen.nl/

http://www.tutze.com/

Of course there's more... which will follow in part 2!

And... you can still join the Super Fall Give Away by clicking SFGA, till tomorrow midnight, CET+1

Leave a 'fall-ish' comment or dedicate your next blog post to the Fall season,

it's still possible!!

Have a nice weekend & see you back for the 2nd overview of our sponsors!!

Early morning walk

2011-10-04T17:12:00.000+02:00

Yesterday morning I decided to go for an early morning walk in the forest near our house...

Still a bit foggy, but the sun already appearing through the trees...

Cobwebs all over the place...

Mushrooms everywhere too...

There's still some sunshine here & temperatures are still pleasant too, the forecasts however

are different... & I have the feeling that fall will really start by the end of this week!

But I'm sure we will all see the beauty of it & enjoy

the cozyness of the fall season!!

Enjoy!!

Don't forget to enter the SFGA here

Still another 11 days to go...

Eline's contribution to SFGA

2011-10-01T18:45:00.000+02:00

Eline lives in Germany, in the Frankfurt area and likes to participate in the SFGA. Unfortunately, she doesn't have a blog (yet?), so she sent me some beautiful pictures of fall in Germany.

She really captured nature at its best and I didn't want to be the only one to enjoy these pictures, so I decided to create a post with Eline's pictures, of course with her permission!!

Have a look & get caught by the beauty of Oberursel in the fall season:

The following pictures are made in Bad Homburg:

I'm sure you enjoyed this little tour through a part of Germany!

And although the weather in (Northern?) Europe is more like summer than fall,

I'm sure that soon fall will return in all its glory!

Enjoy the lovely sunny weather & you know,

you can still enter the SFGA (Super Fall Give Away)

here

Till the 15th of October, 2011

Happy!!!

2011-09-23T08:59:00.003+02:00

Happy! So happy!!

Isn't this Super Fall Give Away A.MA.ZING?

Did you see the neverending list of sponsors?? Aren't they just the best?

After the start we could add another 4 which brings

the total number of sponsors to

a stunning 22!!

It's not too late, you can still join the give away here until October 15, 2011!!

(pictures made in the forest near our house, by iPhone, hence the poor(er) quality)

Wishing you all a lovely, sunny, outdoor weekend!!

SUPER FALL GIVE-AWAY!!!!!!!!

2011-09-15T00:05:00.008+02:00

(A story about when a rebellious idea results in a Huge International Give Away in the blog world)

The recipe: take 1 rebellious idea, 3 crazy women & a whole lot of enthusiastic people

The supplies: Twitter, the blog world, e-mail, ping & whatsapp

The preparation: mix it all together et voilà, you have the Super Fall Give Away (SFGA)!!

The SFGA arose after seeing all the St. Nicolas (A Dutch & Belgian tradition in the beginning of December, like Santa Claus but focussed on the children) candy in the supermarkets, Christmas decorations for sale and even seeing the set up for an ice skate rink. What about the Fall season on the northern hemisphere? This season needs to be honoured! Is the Fall season skipped? Do we go from drinking rosé outside on a terrace to drinking glühwein in front of the fire place?… That’s too quick, isn’t it? So this year we will enjoy the Fall season and we will do so in a very special way!

So it’s a joint Give-Away, a huge one! Something that started as a little joke among Diana, Lynda (click here too) and Chantal was received with great enthusiasm by real sponsors!! Not one, two or three… no, 17 sponsors showed their interest, the ‘crème de la crème’ of the blog world and the world wide web! The news spread wide out and out of the blue (and with a little help from Lynda) even some international sponsors joined the give away.

Participation (let’s talk business now):

Everybody, from anywhere, can enter to win the extremely well filled surprise package. Unfortunately, the sponsors will be excluded from participation.

If you would like to participate in this Super Fall Give Away we ask only for your Fall contribution. Under this blog post, which is published simultaneously on the blogs of Diana, Lynda (and this one too) and here you can share a beautiful fall experience, add a link to an article about the fall season on your own blog (if you have a blog yourself) or submit fall pictures. The theme is the Fall season and what your own Fall feeling is.

Contributions are accepted from September 15, 2011 till October 15, 2011 and the lucky winner of this Super Fall Give Away will be chosen via a random number generator on October 16, 2011. You can only submit ONE contribution (on either of the 3 blogs).

It’s very important that you submit your contribution on October 15, 2011 (midnight GMT +1) at the latest.

It will take about a week to send the huge surprise package due to some personalized (!!!) contributions of some sponsors!!

What is the content of the Super Fall Give Away Surprise Package? Well, that remains a big surprise, otherwise it wouldn’t be a SFGA – Surprise – package anymore…

Of course we love to introduce the sponsors to you.

You can recognize our sponsors by the following link on either their blog or website:

And if you like, you can include this link to your own blog as being a participant. In that way the news will be widely spread, Fall will earn back its place between summer and winter! Let’s all embrace the Fall season!

Obviously, the content of the surprise package will be shown after the winner has been selected!

Thanks a million to all the sponsors who reacted so enthusiastically and spontaneously, you all surpassed our expectations. We were flabbergasted by all that was sent as a contribution to the SFGA Surprise Package!!

Have a look hereunder for all the sponsors and the links to their weblogs or websites, in random order:

Hart&8 by Tricia

Tuttemerull by Ilse

Feestig by Jaime

Duifje van Drenthe by Alma

Room 17 by Hennie

Country@Home by Sonja

BoButiek by Dannay

In den Uylenbal by Lejo & Christy

Pieternel's by Pieternel

Bella Bosso by Colinda & Jeroen

Home and Lifestyle by Ingrid

El Jardin de los Muffins by Catherine from Spain!

Juule by Eeflien

Bonhof Bloemen en Bon Nature by Ria

Tierlantijn by Ilona

Sil in Brasil by Silvia from Brasil!

Zink & Zo by Karin
Moodz by Tamara

WitZandGrijs by Ingeborg
DD Brocante by Dagmar
Verrassend goed! by Marianne
Ambiente decoraties by Dorine

Make sure you’ll have a look at these websites, if not out of curiosity of what can be won, then maybe it shows you some ‘decorating for fall’ ideas!

Happy Fall!

Happy Super Fall Give Away!

Only 1...!!

2011-09-14T09:25:00.000+02:00

YESSSSSS!!!

We're almost there...

Only

more night till the

BIG REVEAL!!!

I'm pretty sure that you will be here tomorrow... won't you?

So see you tomorrow!

Just 2 days left...!!

2011-09-13T08:58:00.001+02:00

It's only

days left until the

BIG REVEAL!!

More curious now?

Good!

Just a little bit longer...

Only 3 days left...

2011-09-12T14:54:00.001+02:00

Only

days left till the

BIG REVEAL!

So when will I see you again?

In 3 days I hope!

Have patience!!

Surprise-Surpise!!

2011-09-09T09:23:00.000+02:00

Getting curious already???

Sorry but you just have to wait a bit longer, till next week!

A little hint?

Make sure you then visit the blogs of Lynda and Diana as well as this blog.

We have a little surprise planned for you, worldwide!!

Impatient?

That's what we need... just triggering you today ;))

Have a lovely weekend & enjoy the promised sun!!

The garden...

2011-09-02T16:26:00.002+02:00

After showing you some glimpses of the interior of our house, it's now time to show you our garden. But mind you, just a tiny little part of it. The rest of the garden I decided to call 'the jungle' for now

Guess why???!!

However, in this 'jungle', I discovered a tiny, delicate flower (which I never planted so, most probably, one of the renters did):

Does anyone know the name of this little gem?? Would love to hear!!

It's time to attack 'the jungle' so that I can show you soon other parts of our garden too!

Wishing you all a lovely sunny weekend!!

Back home...

2011-08-28T12:55:00.001+02:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks: clearing out the house, donating lots of stuff, packing boxes & cleaning.

The movers arrived on Monday afternoon, August 22, in Versailles and the trucks were packed on Tuesday 5pm. Unloading in the south of The Netherlands started on Wednesday 9am and was done by 5pm again.

What a difference it makes when you don't need to pack or unpack everything as sea freight:))

So you can imagine what the last couple of days looked like: yes, unpacking & finding a place for everything (which seems to be a mission impossible!!).

But, in about a weeks time, we went from this:

To this:

Thanks to some well-appreciated, colourful bunches of flowers from friends & family

Time for some more unpacking now!

See you later this week!!

On the move...

2011-08-24T07:00:00.000+02:00

We're moving...

Packing, cleaning, unpacking, etc.

Hope to see you at our next destination!

Bisous from Versailles (for the last time...)!

P.S. No, no it's not Australia... just liked this 'move' clip...

Something prettier...

2011-08-20T07:00:00.018+02:00

I decided to show you something prettier before leaving France... Something more beautiful than a house full of mess & boxes ;)

And what's prettier than the City of Lights...

Paris, je t'aime!

Bisous,

Mess...

2011-08-18T20:04:00.000+02:00

What do you think of our new interior decoration?

Luckily it's just temporary ;-)

Enjoy you weekend!!

Bisous,

Summer holidays {part 5}

2011-08-15T21:23:00.000+02:00

Already 3 weeks 'on the road' and still not bored of the holidays, we drove from Marbella through the beautiful landscape of Andalusia via Madrid to Pamplona to stay a couple of days and get a chance to take part in the festivities of San Fermin (click for an explanation).

We were in the city at 7am already as the bull run starts at 8 am. But you could see that a lot of people had been there the whole night, partying & drinking. The atmosphere was still very friendly and everybody was looking forward to the race!

But you really need to be alert... the race starts at 8 and before you'll notice it's over... in less than 5 minutes they ran from the starting point to the bull ring... In the blink of an eye ;)

Some impressions:

Time for hot chocolate (thick melted chocolate) and churros,

apparently the traditional drink after the race!

In front of the bull ring, were the bulls just had entered!

Pamplona seems an interesting city with quite some history, however, with the San Fermin going on that week, it was difficult to visit something else than a San fermin festivity.

Luckily our hotel had a golf course so we decided to play a round of golf!

After some days in the Navarra region, it was time to continue to the next (and last) stop. The first rainy morning of the holiday we drove through the Pyrenees (where we had the coldest temperature of the whole holiday) to Pau.

We had chosen to stay here because of the Tour de France. They were on their way to the Pyrenees.

When we arrived in the hotel, the owner asked us if we had a favorite team. Of course, Thom said, we're Dutch so Rabobank is our favorite one. The hotel owner smiled and told Thom that he was a lucky guy... it appeared that both Rababank and HTC were staying in 'our' hotel. What a coincidence!

But before it'll be all about cycling, first some pictures of beautiful Pau:

The following day we decided to go to the 'Col de Tourmalet' where the runners would have to climb to the top.

Of course it was pretty busy so we parked our car somewhere and walked up as far as we could & would, somewhere close to Sainte Marie de Campan.

After hours of waiting, the publicity caravan past by:

An hour later followed by the runners in several groups:

It was a great experience and we loved every bit of it (last year we watched them arrive in Paris at the Avenue des Champs Elysées, but in the mountains is a whole different story!

Back in the hotel we had to wait for the runners coming back. Thom was excited to collect autographs!

The start of the next etape was the next morning in Pau, just opposite our hotel... it couldn't be more convenient!!

After the runners left Pau, we left too...

And made our way back to Versailles!

It has been a lovely, long holiday, full of different cities, places, nature & activities.

So now we're getting prepared for another activity: moving!

Summer holidays {part 4}

2011-08-10T15:03:00.000+02:00

Another quick drive, only 250 km, and we arrived at our next stop:

Sevilla... and 41 degrees Celsius!!

Time for a dive in the hotel's rooftop pool!

Sevilla is definitely worth a visit,

full of history, rich in culture

delicious tapas & wines!

Some snapshots:

Impressive doors

Beautiful tiles everywhere

Can you imagine it's easy to get lost in Sevilla?

Historic buildings everywhere!

After 4 days in Sevilla it was time for again for the beach & some relaxing time.

So we continued our way via Ronda where we stopped for lunch...

And had to see the famous bridge and the stunning landscape of Andalusia!

We hit the road again and arrived in Marbella for some beach, pool & book time!

Marbella by night

Pool time!

Roses...

Fun time

Puerto Banus

Next time we'll continue our trip & go to Pamplona for the San Fermin!

You're coming along??

Wishing you all a happy & sunny week!

Bisous,

Summer holidays {part 3}

2011-07-31T09:34:00.001+02:00

And after a short ride (less than 300 km) we arrived in the Algarve, Vilamoura to be more precise.

We stayed at the Hilton Golf & Spa resort, recently built. After 2 stops of busy cities, culture & history, it was time to relax. And so we did!

(which means that there are not so many pictures to show you, too busy relaxing!)

Views from the hotel's beach:

We went to Cabo São Vicente, the most south-western part of the European mainland.

I can imagine that people in the early days thought the world stopped there.

We spent the week in the Algarve with friends and together we had a small picknick at Cabo the São Vicente

Our little family

All the boys enjoying the sun!

Friends!

And of course we visitid Portimão & Albufeira, played tennis and golf, admired the beautiful nature and enjoyed lovely lunches and delicious diners! But most of all: we enjoyed the sun, the beach, the swimming pool, the time to read a book, the time to spend with friends!!

For our next stop we'll be heading to Spain again, exchanging the 'obrigada' for the 'gracias' :-)

Are you coming with me?

Até mais!

(see you later)

Bisous,

2011-07-25T15:09:00.001+02:00

Busy, busy... next holiday post is coming up,

but for now,

a beautiful 'lavatera'

to wish you all a happy, sunny week!

Flowers are the music of the ground

From earth's lips spoken without sound

Edwin Curran

Bisous,

Summer holidays {part 2}

2011-07-22T07:00:00.002+02:00

So after 2 days in Spain, we had to change from Spanish into Portuguese. With 6 years of living in Brazil, this was peanuts ;-)

We left Bilbao early morning and arrived in Lisbon late afternoon, checked in into our hotel, had a swim, a shower & went out for some Japanese food (needed something light after sitting in the car for about 1800 km!).

The next day we went down town by metro for a breakfast (which was around lunch time... we're on holiday!!) and ended up with this view:

With the stomachs full, we went for an open bustour through the city, it was 37 degrees Celsius so that was a comfortable but still very hot way to explore the city :)) I must admit that I don't like the real tourist things too much, but a bustour gives you an overview of a city, shows you the points of interest so that you can go back afterwards. And usually it's 'hop on - hop off', so you decide yourself when it's enough!!

Not that many pictures made... too hot to lift the camera :)

At night, we went for diner in a very cosy restaurant called Tagide.

It's situated in the heart of Chiado and has a stunning view:

Inside it's nice too:

The next day, after a quick breakfast at the 'padaria' (bakery), we visited part of the Water Museum

But first some pictures from outside, nothing to do with the water but I love the blue Agapanthus:

Summer holidays {part 1}

2011-07-20T18:46:00.000+02:00

We're back from our summer holidays!! We've been travelling through Portugal & Spain (and a couple of days in the French Pyrenees) for almost 4 weeks! We left Versailles on a rainy morning and after 900 km and 9 hours of driving we arrived in Bilbao, in the Basque Country, in the north of Spain. It was a sunny afternoon and the city really surprised us. We had been to San Sebastian and Santander about 16 years ago, but so far never made it to Bilbao.

From our hotel we walked down the (newer) shopping streets to the historic centre which is beautiful and full of little shops, nice squares & narrow alleys.

Of course we had to stop somewhere for the first tapas of the holidays.

It was a nice place to sit & relax and it had a lovely view:

There was a lot more to see & explore:

Old & new are very well mixed in Bilbao:

The next day, it rained a little bit and after a late breakfast in a local 'pasteleria', we headed to the Guggenheim. For sure the Guggenheim museum that opened for the public in 1997 gave the city a boost in terms of tourism.

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art, designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry. It is built alongside the Nervion river, which runs through the city of Bilbao, to the Atlantic coast. The Guggenheil is one of several museum belonging to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. The museum features permanent and visiting exhibitions by Spanish and international artists.

No pictures from inside (left the camera in the locker as we thought it was not allowed to take pictures...), but some from outside (it's difficult to capture the beauty of the building in one picture... so I had to grab in from someone else!!):

(picture from here)

After the visit, the weather changed so we had a lunch outside & I did some shopping :))

The next morning we woke up early again and entered Lisbon in our GPS system... another 850 km to go.

Are you ready for our next stop??

See you later with our stay in Lisbon!!

Bisous,

Summer time...

2011-07-12T12:33:00.002+02:00

A life without love is like a year without summer.

-- Swedish Proverb

Bisous,

Sad...

2011-06-17T09:39:00.001+02:00

It's the last day of school...

No words, just tears... I guess...

...there will always be sweet memories!

Wishing you a sweet weekend!

Bisous,

Tour de Montmartre

2011-06-14T11:40:00.000+02:00

The last tour of the (school) year... Montmartre... on a cloudy morning...

The Sacre Coeur still is impressive

Unfortunately we couldn't visit the Sacre Coeur inside

as it still is a place for worship and not for noisy tourists...

But very close to the Sacre Coeur is the 'Eglise St. Pierre', a sweet little church:

From Montmartre you have a beautiful view over the city, but as I said already: bit grey this morning...

Still you could see many famous buildings like the Centre Georges Pompidou:

Walking around Montmartre you can find nice buildings:

No way that this can be missed:

Cozy square:

And look at these gorgeous houses, full of green:

Flowers everywhere in Montmartre too:

Cute indications of street names:

Dalida was there too:

Nice coloured door:

Hope you liked the tour & I wish you a nice, sunny & warm week!

Bisous,

This & that & colours!

2011-06-08T21:30:00.000+02:00

I've been pretty busy lately...

It's almost the end of the school year so a lot of 'last times'.

I hosted our book club yesterday and today I organised a lunch with a Brazilian touch.

Good times with good friends... again :)

The main dish was 'moqueca de camarão' a typical Brazilian dish with shrimps.

Therefor I chose to use my fishy tablecloth!

And furthermore, the plants need attention. The Ipomea that I sowed some time ago is starting to bloom.

I love the fresh purple colour! And I'm also proud of my Oleander, it's in full bloom now and the colours are dark pink.

And today I received this bouquet of roses, they almost look like ranunculus, don't you think?

By the way... they smell heavenly!

And in case you wonder if my garden is only in pink and purple? Let me show you some pictures of the front of our house:

RED!

I'm still looking for some flashy red plants to combine with all the pink and purple I have in the back yard. Any suggestions??

Tomorrow there's another 'last time': my museum tour group.

I've shown you some tours we did here, here and here.

And tomorrow we'll be visiting Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur. Last

time I visited the Sacre Coeur was like... ehh... 20 years ago... :))

So you can imagine that I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's tour!

Hope you're all having a fun week too!!

Bisous,

Back to Giverny...

2011-06-04T09:19:00.000+02:00

Last year I was there in October, and loved what I saw (Monet in Giverny)! If the gardens are that beautiful in fall, I could only imagine what they would look like in spring :)

So yesterday we went back to 'Les jardins de Monet' in Giverny!

Bright sunny it was so the pictures don't do it that justice, but beautiful it was, again!

Avoiding the queue...

If you're planning to go there this summer, please take this advice: order your entry tickets via Internet,

click here!!

I did it, by coincidence, because I looked at their website for the exact address and saw

that I could buy my tickets online, so I did... Luckily.

When we arrived there, the line was at least 250 people and

when we left, the queue was even longer (there's only one counter to pay)...

By buying tickets in advance, you can go via the group entrance which saves you,

on a busy day, several hours!

And now, be prepared for (too?) many pictures...

Well, what can I say? I like gardens, colours, flowers!!

Today no gardens on the program... we'll be heading to Roland Garros (again) to watch the ladies final :))

Looking very much foward to that!!

Will Francesca Schiavone win the title again or will Na Li become the first Chinese champion of a Grand Slam?

Who are you cheering for?

Have a wonderful day & a beautiful weekend!!

Bisous,

Atelier des Chefs & more...

2011-05-28T21:38:00.002+02:00

Last Wednesday we gathered 8 ladies together for a nice day in Paris.

We started with coffee, macarons & a beautiful view on the rooftop terrace of 'un des grands magasins':

Le Printemps in the 9th arrondissement.

And once your in Printemps, you definitely should go to their restrooms: Point WC!

It's not the cheapest restroom in Paris but it's a clean & fancy one!

For 2 euros you can make use of the Japanese toilet, you can adapt the temperature of the toilet seat as well as the water temperature.

I'm sure there are more gadgets on this toilet, but I couldn't figure that out quickly enough...

Go and try it yourself!

The Japanese toilet together with a very modern & colourful design,

make it almost a pleasure to go to the loo...

After this experience we headed to the Atelier des Chefs, where we had lunch...

But first we had to work!

In about an hour time, we prepared our own lunch, guided by a Chef.

Funny enough, the Chef that lead our 'workshop/lunch' last Wednesday was a guy that

participated in Top Chef 2011, a succesfull TV program that I followed as much as I could.

Hereunder an impression of the day:

And yes, I made pictures, but worked too... Here's the proof of it!!

Thanks Ann, Anette, Anette, Claudie, Corry, Eline & Maud for this lovely day...

It's definitely one that I will cherish!

Bisous,

Tennis fever

2011-05-24T19:29:00.000+02:00

It's that time of the year again...

Time of THE tennis event in France...

The French Open started again last Sunday...

And yes, again, we'll be heading there to see some matches :)

Of course we follow on TV too... watching tennis & having diner at the same time... only during

So if you miss me here... you'll know what I'll be doing...

Oh & by the way... it's only four weeks till school's out!! Counting...

10 Weeks of holidays to look forward to!

Wishing you all a sporty week!

Bisous,

Preparations in full swing!

2011-05-20T07:00:00.002+02:00

Tomorrow is the day; International Day... lots of cooking has been done already!

Time for the decorations now!

Are you also going to try typical dishes from all over the world this weekend?

I'm sure I will:

Spain, France, Argentina, Lebanon, Azerbaijan, Israel, USA, Sweden, Germany,

Brazil, Switserland, Italy, UK, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, India...

Not sure if I will manage to get a taste of all of them, but I promise you I'll do my best :)

(diet & sports will have to wait till Monday!!)

Have a delicious weekend!

Bisous,

Colourful!

2011-05-17T19:18:00.000+02:00

Just a quick post to let you know that I'm busy this week... busy with the organisation of the International Day at school... an yearly event, full of fun, food & friendship.

That's why I leave you today with some pictures of my terrace (I just can't get enough of the it... it's still such a wonderful weather in Versailles so we do enjoy our garden/terrace to the fullest!).

These little flowers (dorotheanthus bellidiformis) are so adorable, they love the sun and they open every day and close again at night time.

Just take away the old flowers from time to time and you can enjoy them all summer long!

Have a look in your garden center, they are such a happy flower!!

I wish you all a happy & colourful week!

Bisous,

A day in Chartres

2011-05-13T07:00:00.000+02:00

A trip to Chartres has been on the calendar for what seems like ages!

It's rather difficult to set a date with a group of about 20 busy ladies, but we managed...

On the 5th of May we met in front of the gorgeous & famous Chartres Cathedral, which is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site.

Chartres itself is a cozy, nicely maintained, typical French city, so if you ever have a chance, I can highly recommend a visit, maybe when you're on your way to the Loire valley?

I made so many pictures that day and I find it extremely difficult which ones to show you, so I made a huge selection, hope you don't mind??

I wish you all a lovely weekend!

Bisous,

And the winner is...

2011-05-10T23:09:00.000+02:00

We've had some busy weeks with an almost 2 weeks holiday (in The Netherlands and in Greece) followed by lots of house guests. But now it's, more or less, getting back to normal, at least for the coming 3 weeks :)

I love having people around, like to prepare their breakfasts, plan cozy diners or show them around our 'home abroad'. As you can imagine, it's pretty difficult to keep up with the daily routine... So that's why I haven't been here on a regular basis... but will try to make it up in the coming weeks!

First of all I have a winner to announce: it's Elly of Elly's kleine Idylle. Congratulations Elly! I can recommend you to visit her blog, it is, as the name says, a 'small idyll', beautiful pictures & serenity. Have a look!!
Elly, if you can email me your address at abacaxiandhortela@gmail.com, I will send your presents as soon as possible!!

A bunch of pictures to follow, just from the last 2 weeks:

Some entertainment at home

An afternoon at the races... Hippodrôme de Saint Cloud

We celebrated a birthday...

Just a tablesetting

Notre Dame... from the back side

Notre Dame... from the side

The boys on one of the bridges, watching all the 'bateaux mouches' full of tourists passing by

One of the 'bouquinistes' along the Seine

Arc de triomphe on a Saturday morning

8 May

View over the Champs Elysées and Place de la Concorde

Montmartre & the Sacre Coeur, view from the Arc de Triomphe

On the other side: La Défense

Great weather... :)

Wishing you all a great week!

Bisous,

Old & New!

2011-05-02T17:30:00.001+02:00

Almost two weeks gone on holiday and the garden has died... well, that's a bit exaggerated, but all the plants in the vases had died, just the Astilbe and some Violets survived the 2 weeks without water, without rain I have to say, which is very uncommon here...

It looked very depressing, like in the picture above :(

The good thing is that I could go to the garden center again and buy all new!

Hot pink Geraniums, soft grey Lavender, the Butterfly Lavender and some dark pink Oleander.

Can't wait for it all to start blooming!

Still not finished, still work to do.

So I leave you now & wish you all a sunny week!

Bisous,

P.S. There's still time to join my give-away:

the 'Marie Claire Idées' 20th birthday issue AND some French goodies to win!

#211

2011-04-29T18:20:00.000+02:00

Yes, this is post #211. And I promised you something for my 200th post...

Can you believe I just completely forgot that? Maybe too busy holiday-ing?

Marie Claire Idées celebrates it's 20th Birthday and there's a special issue published just now.

So for my 211th post (let's just pretend it's #200), you can win this special issue.

I'll make sure to add some nice French goodies too!

What to do?

- Please leave a comment on this post and

- Become a follower of my blog

- If you're already a follower, then just leave a comment

- For an extra chance to win, add the button to your blog & leave me an extra comment

The winner will be announced on May 6, 2011

Have a wonderful weekend!

Bisous,

P.S. I ship worldwide!!

A trip to the market in Athens

2011-04-26T07:00:00.001+02:00

Of course I had to visit the big market in Athens, full of fish, meat & nuts!

As it was getting close to Easter, and roasted lamb is THE food served at Easter,

the lambs were all over the place...

And there was much more to see...

Salted cod

Dried fruits &

delicious nuts...

Of course we left with a bag full!!

And now it's back to reality again...

We came home last Friday from our combined Athens & the Netherlands trip.

The same day friends arrived to stay for a few days, family is arriving the upcoming weekend,

so that means cleaning, laundry & organizing the coming days..

And hopefully there'll be some time left to enjoy the sun!

Have a wonderful week!

Bisous,

Chantal

Flower Power

2011-04-22T07:00:00.002+02:00

Apart from ruins, stones & rocks there's more to see in Athens;

beautiful flowers in great colours for example

Gorgeous red poppies, a splash of colour on a cloudy day

Oranges... plenty!

Even a simple dandelion can be beautiful

Dandelions & poppies bring sunshine!

Light purple Lavatera all over Acropolis Hill

More poppies, couldn't get enough of them!

The streets are all covered with colourful trees... Spring in Athens is beautiful!

And what a gorgeous weather we have in Europe, it's still spring but temperatures rise

easily to a summery 25 degrees Celsius. Please let it be like this till December??

Time to enjoy the sun again.

I wish you all a wonderful Easter, enjoy the weather & the (chocolate) eggs!

Bisous,

Chantal

On a trip to...

2011-04-18T17:33:00.000+02:00

Yes, you guessed it right: we're enjoying a trip to Greece,

to Athens to be more precise!

The first day we found a nice restaurant, with a cosy terrace & good food!

We decided to do the Greek salad test during our stay, and this was the first one we ate:

It tasted really very good & the view even made it tastier...

A view on the Acopolis Hill & the Parthenon!

Will soon be back with more pictures from our trip!

Enjoy the week!

Bisous,

Chantal

The gardens of Chateau Versailles in spring time!

2011-04-15T07:00:00.006+02:00

This time we tour around the gardens and the parc of Chateau Versailles.

Every time I walk here, I'm amazed by the way the parc and the gardens are maintained...

As it is still early spring, there are not so many flowers yet, so I guess I'll have

to do another tour later this spring again?

It was another extremlely sunny day and my camera is still not working that well;

so you'll have to do it with these pictures...

So next time you'll be in Paris, take a trip to Versailles (easy accessible via de RER C) and see it for yourself. It's definitely worth the trip (about 30 minutes from Champs de Mars/la Tour Eiffel).

Have a great weekend!!

Bisous,

A market day in Versailles

2011-04-12T07:00:00.007+02:00

A quick tour around the Versailles market... loads of sunshine, a broken camera...

Not the best recipe for great pictures...

But I just liked to give you a glimpse of the market in town, every Tuesday, Friday & Sunday

It's absolutely great for fresh vegetables, fruits, chicken, cheese, nuts, flowers, etc.

And of course a visit to the market isn't complete without a café crème & a macaron...

This one was a real calorie-bomb with a thick layer of crème noissette in the middle...

so delicious!

Have a great week!

Bisous,

Spring arrived!

2011-04-06T17:07:00.000+02:00

Around the blog-o-sphere I see pictures of magnolias in full bloom. Ours finally decided to follow!

It took a while...

The pink/purple flowers add much needed colour to our front yard.

The background of today's lovely blue sky gives the colour some extra depth.

Only one flower... isn't it a beauty?

And last weekend I needed something greenish for the lunch table... no time to go to the market for flowers. So I ended up with this little garden bouquet: violets, forget-me-not, parsley, rosemary and... some soft pink weeds! So you see, there is a reason to keep the weeds ;)

The end result was perfect for a springish tablesetting for a simple & cosy lunch with dear friends!

Hope you all have a sun-filled week & for us... spring break is around the corner... HAPPY!

Bisous,

Karl goes diet...

2011-04-04T07:00:00.002+02:00

Wishing you all a fashionable healthy week!

Bisous,

Splash of colour!

2011-04-01T14:17:00.001+02:00

Couldn't resist to buy this one:

Forget-me-not (Myosotis) in a flashy pink vase!

And just one doesn't do it.. does it?

So here they are together:

Combined with some very soft pink astilbe in the background.

And looking from the other side you can see them in combination

with the pink primulas in the back.

Hope your weekend is also filled with splashes of colour & sunshine!

Enjoy it!

Bisous,

Birthday boy!

2011-03-30T09:56:00.001+02:00

(I apologize for the bad quality of the pictures... early morning, no natural light...)

Always nice to have something to celebrate...

Today is Thom's 12th birthday and although the party (karting & pizza...) will only be coming Friday, of course he had to take something to school to treat his class mates!

And there were presents...

Colourful sports outfits amongst them...

And for everybody who celebrates his or her birthday today too, this one is for you:

I wish you all a nice day, full of sunshine, flowers & fun!

Bisous,

View from my kitchen window

2011-03-29T07:00:00.004+02:00

I must admit that it's no punishment at all to spend time in my kitchen.

The view is always nice and in spring time it's pretty yellow!

I like to add some violet touches on the windowsill,

the yellow and the violet make a nice combination.

Wishing you all a colourful day!

Bisous,

A cake kit... Lynda style!

2011-03-27T16:45:00.001+02:00

It's been a while, too busy being outside, enjoying the wonderful sunny spring days ;)

After my last post, the weather changed completely, someone must be reading my blog too!

So I played tennis... in the sun, played golf... in the sun, walked the dog... in the sun, had coffee with friends... in the sun! And didn't take the time to blog because I wanted to be... in the sun!

And over the weekend, my parents came to visit us so we were busy entertaining them!!

What I did do inside last week? Baking! Why? Because I won a give-away at Lynda's blog and received a little package... a do-it-yourself cake kit, Lynda style!

So this is what I received

(there was ready-to-go dough, cacao powder for the bavarois,

custard powder, shaved white chocolate, finishing jelly):

And this is what I made of it

(I added whipped cream and raspberries):

The cake was delicious, I served it while having coffee, cake, and more...

with a group of Dutch and Belgian friends:

Wishing you all a nice week!

Bisous,

Gloomy outside but the sun is shining here!

2011-03-17T20:54:00.000+01:00

After days of sunshine, nice temperatures & blue skies, it's pretty hard to wake up to a grey sky... What a pity, I already got so used to this weather...

So let's keep it sunny here with some pictures of last year's holidays in several regions in France:

Bergerac

Cap d'Antibes

Opio-en-Provence

Let Gets

Our back yard ;)

It's almost weekend, let's hope the sun will be back soon!!

Bisous,

Bad blogger... but happy ;-)

2011-03-12T17:34:00.002+01:00

Some time ago I received 2 awards... a Blog Liking Award from Mariëtte at Mariëtte's back to basics

and a Stylish Blogger Award from Hilde at Door het oog van.

I feel really honoured and would like to thank you both for these awards & I need to apologize as well for taking more than a month to react... SORRY!

But I must admit, I find it extremely difficult to pass these awards on... there are just too many beautiful, touching, creative, funny & inspiring people around in the blog-o-sphere, I feel it wouldn't be fair to just choose a few.

So these awards are for you, yes you, as a reader of my blog. I'm sure you have a blog too, so you all deserve these awards too!

Can't wait...

Happy weekend!

Bisous,

Happy colours!

2011-03-10T18:00:00.001+01:00

Just can't help myself...

A few rays of sun & I'm off to the garden center again!

Love these pink buttercups!

Some soft pink will do too (astilbe)!

And so will these purple/lila violets!

I heart spring!

(but i guess that's already clear to you?!)

Have a happy weekend!!

Bisous!

P.S. This is blogpost 197

Something special for no. 200!