Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

I hope you can find some time to relax during this weekend...

preferrably on a couch like this, full of ruffled pillows, don't you just love them?

Photo credit: Miki Duisterhof for Country Living

Bed & Breakfast 'Chez Uildriks'?

Olive trees in Opio... ohhh the light there...!

Did we open our own Bed & Breakfast?
Seeing the guest list for the next 14 days makes you think so!
But no, no Bed & Breakfast facilities here, just a lot of friends & family taking advantage of the spring holidays in the Netherlands to come over for a visit. We love that!

So pretty busy as you can imagine...

We celebrated Roel's birthday Sunday, but which one?

A sunny & rainy day, even some hail, but when possible we enjoyed the sunshine:

And now off to some serious ironing & after that starting the preparations for International Day at Thom's school coming Saturday!

Wishing you a lovely & fresh start of the week! 

Chantal

Enjoying Opio-en-Provence

GeoTagged, [N43.65096, W6.99744]

After a rainy first day, we're now enjoying the sunshine, the pool side & refreshing drinks.
Some lazy days of relaxing, reading & spending time with friends.
This afternoon we finally planned some activity: 9 holes on the golf course. A good start & soon to be followed by 18 holes at one of the most beautiful golf courses in southern France. Can't wait!
But for now some more reading...
Wishing you all a sunny Saturday!


P.S. Photo taken with my iPhone, so sorry about the quality!!

My favorite!

My all time favorite... tomato, mozzarella & basil salad. Goes with almost any type of food, full of vitamins and always looking great!
I'm curious, what's your favorite dish??
Wishing you a tasty day!!
Bisous, Chantal

They all had a ball!!

The party turned out great, the weather was gorgeous (so only outside playing!!) & the birthday boy was completely exhausted by the end of the day (and so were his parents!!). But they definitely all had a ball!

Nerf fights (that was not what I had in mind, as you can imagine!) & bowling! Competition among the 10 boys was pretty strong. But they all had a good time together!

And now on to the next chapter, just a couple of days and spring break will start, 2 weeks without school, without early bed times and even earlier wake up calls, no school bus, no homework, just relaxing, playing & travelling.

Yes, next weekend we'll drive to the Netherlands for a short stay (family party) and next week we've booked a holiday in the Provence/Cote d'Azur. Looking forward to some relaxing time, some tennis, some golf, some walks in the mountains, good food, good wine, just enjoying time with our little family!

image credit

Have a good week!

Bisous, Chantal

Two weeks ago was Thom's 11th birthday, we celebrated this with his grandparents (my parents) and my aunt & uncle. A small party, too many presents, tasteful patisserie...


But tomorrow is the party for his friends, so preparations are in full swing.



Thanks to Frederica of the blog Sweet as a candy (it sure is!) for the lovely idea (http://sweet-as-a-candy.blogspot.com/2010/02/party-planning.html). As you can see, there's a big difference between hers and mine. But hey... it's a boys party after all!


So I better get into the baking and cooking mode now, to make sure everything will be ready for ten boys (and their parents) tomorrow. It promises to be a lovely sunny day here in Versailles!


Have a wonderful weekend!!
Bisous, Chantal

Some busy weekend days and sun outside... not so much time to sit behind the computer & update this blog...


But here are some images to show our week(s):




We visited the stables of the Chateau de Versailles and watched a training performance of the Lusitano horses.

Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures inside... If you're interested, have a look at http://www.acadequestre.fr/.
And of course, still real Dutchies, we went by bike!

Furthermore, we had some unexpected guests in our garden:



The black and white cats were pretty friendly, the reddish one quite unfriendly and Senna (in her own garden) got scared and took off!

At home, we had some guests as well and because of the springy weather, it needed to feel like spring at the table too:

Outside it was still too pale, so I added some colour (but there's still a lot to be done!!):




Apart from all this, the guest room has been painted, curtains are up there, so are the lamps on the wall (now just need to clean & decorate the room), big lamps are hanging above the dining table, as are the lamps in the hall way and the living room, etc. Quite productive, don't you think?

Have a lovely week!!


P.S. Wanna see some nice jewelry and have a chance to win some too? Have a look at http://sweet-as-a-candy.blogspot.com/. Good luck!!

This & that

Finally I got back to exercising; jazzercise that is. Feeling sore already... Nice combination of dancing, aerobics & toning. I feel muscles that I didn't even remember having them.
Hope it'll be better soon as I have planned to start painting the guest room because our first guests are expected end of this month already, my parents. Looking forward to that!

When that is done I have to finish some curtain projects, buy some lamps (for the dining area is getting crucial now, too dark there!), cleaning out the basement and hopefully the weather will then be nice enough to start working in the garden. Really need to as it looks like a wilderness now (apparently the previous tenants were not so keen on maintaining the garden).
We, on the contrary, love to be outside, surrounded by beautiful plants & flowers. So don't worry that I'm getting bored here in Versailles! No time for that!!

And do you see the flowers? Aren't they just gorgeous? Got them this morning from a friend, for our new home. I feel so spoilt (thanks so much Manuela!).

I made a to-do list last night, so let's see where to start...
Have a lovely Wednesday!

Spring is definitely in the air!

After a stormy & rainy Sunday, the week started with a beautiful sunny Monday! It's still pretty chilly during the night, but the days are already getting longer, sunnier & warmer! Love that!

Let's hope it will continue... let it be spring soon!

As you can see, the garden is ready for it too!!

Enjoy this sunny Tuesday!

Chantal

Abacaxi & Hortelã goes French...

(picture from www.linternaute.com)

Yep! Going French!

Not bad at all, don't you think?

After a lovely 6 years in Brazil, we are now making our new home in France for a couple of years (that's the life of an expat...).
Closer to our home country of the Netherlands, so expecting quite a lot of visitors year round... although we couldn't complain 'bout that in Brazil either. Living in historical Versailles, with Paris just around the corner. Now that will definitely attract a lot of family & friends!

Still busy with the house these days, still need to do some painting and other bits & pieces need to be taken care of! It always takes more time than you anticipate, doesn't it?

So off I am! Running errands!
Have a great Thursday!
XX Chantal