The day before yesterday we all met at T.'s sister's place and had a wonderful barbeque dinner ending with the annual croquet tournament in their garden. All eleven of us played and some of us played well, but I'm sad to say that T. won. His prize was the most hideous trophy ever and it is said that it has to be placed far too visibly some place at home. Forever (since T. won for the third time). Well, well... I'll probably survive. Maybe.

Apart from that T. and I are looking forward to going to Holland and Belgium. Right now, however, we're enjoying the really nice summer weather at home, catching up on some light work and expecting to help out when it comes to building a guest house later this week. The bottom line is that we're enjoying summer, enjoying the time spent outside and the food and the wine. I'll be back in a while, but until then: Enjoy summer, everyone!

This is something I truly love about summer: wild strawberries. They are delicious to eat from a straw, to have with vanilla icecream (which I seldom eat otherwise and it has to be a really good vanilla icecream in this case), or to just pick and eat directly. My oldest son really loves them. This is his favourite kind of berry and he looks forward to spending time at his grandparents where they have tons of them. And they tend to spread like wildfire. At the moment we only have these small plants (taken from the garden of T.'s parents, where they also have a lot of them) on our balcony, but I can assure you that they taste wonderfully!

I've finished one of my larger tasks at work today and now it's time to let someone else take over. It has been an interesting and rewarding year in this leadership capacity. It has taught me a lot, but there have also been times when it has felt as if I've taken on too much and as if everything has been resting on my shoulders. I know my successor will do a good job and hopefully he will have more time to spare than I have had, juggling this, my other work and my family the way I did.

I will still be there as an advisor and join in on some of the things we have scheduled for the autumn, but my time in charge of it all has ended. It is somewhat bittersweet but also a relief...

...but I simply haven't had time to buy summer shoes yet. When I began to look around I actually saw a few I really liked and that would work in all types of situations. I need a) shoes for rainy days (and I think these black ones from South would work pretty well), b) flat, comfortable shoes such as these white ballerina shoes (also from South) to replace the trainers I've been using on an everyday basis for the last few months, and c) some nice high-heeled (but comfortable) shoes such as these grey ones from Redoute Création for more formal occasions. And, since there is a sale right now, why not order this beautiful leather handbag as well?

Images from Haléns and La Redoute.

I just got back from a work-related journey and when I'm at airports I often take the time to check out newly-released scents and other essentials. (I bought a bottle of Bunnahabhain whisky — Islay Single Malt — for T. which he hadn't tasted before, so he was happy.) I tend to like light, green, not particularily sweet, perfumes and they also work well for me since I sometimes get an allergic reaction to heavier scents. I bought Bvlgari's older Au Thé Blanc when I was in New York a few years ago (I miss it!) and now I thought I'd try their new Omnia Green Jade. It actually had a similar note, which I liked a lot, and even though I didn't buy it now I realised that I will eventually.

The Green Jade scent lingers a bit longer and for me it would probably be perfect both as a party perfume and for everyday use. Tommy Hilfiger's Dreaming and Dreaming Pearl I use on an everyday basis. They are extremely light, giving only a subtle hint of perfume which lasts a working day at the most, and I often find that quite enough. A long-time favourite of mine is otherwise Carolina Herrera's amazing 212. This light scent lingers longer as well and seems to work perfectly with my own basic body scent. I never seem to get tired of it.

We've had some amazing weather in the last few days, and although I know it will be a turn for the worse tomorrow already (they say it will be raining and the temperature will fall) I know summer is here. We have been quite busy lately, both with the balcony and with work, but we still take some time to take a break, watch the birds, and just relax.