Dinner under the evening sun

One of the things my family and I enjoy, is having dinner in our garden. As soon as the temperatures rise and sun is expected, dinner appointments are made.

At pentecost weekend we did not only have my family for dinner, but friends as well. Luckily for me I did not have to do very much on saturday, because a friend of mine did all the cooking. She is specialised in Medditeranean dishes and used The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi for inspiration. The delicious looking salads on the pictures were made by her. The only thing I had to do that day was to decorate the table......:-)

Wish you all a sunny new week!

Lieve groet, Madelief

Mestreech

Last week my mother and I went to Maastricht for a few days. We were very lucky with the weather. It was dry and sunny, whereas the days preceding our visit were wet and cold.

Maastricht is an old city in Limburg, a province in the south of our country. In dialect it is called 'Mestreech'. The city is situated along the river Meuse and is one of the oldest in The Netherlands. It dates back to Roman times. It has some beautiful old churches, like the 'Onze lieve vrouwe kerk' and the 'St. Servaaskerk', and a great museum, the Bonnefantenmuseum. It is also known for its big square in the city centre, called 'De Vrijthof", which is full of restaurants and terraces. It's a great place to sit and enjoy the people walking past.
 
Maastricht is very special to me. I spent part of my childhood there, staying with my grandmother and my uncles and aunts. Lots of happy memories :-)! This time my mother and I stayed in a beautiful hotel, called Boticelli, which I can recommend to you. The rooms are lovely and clean, the staff very friendly, the breakfast delicious and the court yard garden simply breathtaking! We walked a lot, visited several churches, lighted a candle and had a great dinner in Italian restaurant Gio's (top)! I hope my photo's show you how beautiful the city is.

Lieve groet, Madelief

 

 

 

The Vrijthof before dinner,

 

the Vrijthof after dinner.

 

Suzie, from Suzie's vintage attic, spent a part of her youth in Maastricht as well. Suzie, I asked my mum about Duchateau. She new it very well. She told me we have spent many a happy hour in this lunchroom as well, so Suzy, we could easily have met :-)!!

 

 

 

 

Tea in the garden

Dear blogfriends, I would like to thank you all for leaving such sweet comments. I have said it before, but I appreciate them very much!! I consider myself fortunate to have met you and share my passions with women from all over the world. The garden bouquets are for you!

Last friday I had the garden to my own. Although I love to share it with family and friends, I cherish the moments when I am alone in our garden to work and enjoy. My favourite place to sit, read a book or magazine and enjoy my tea, is the veranda. I always try to make it look beautiful by picking flowers, making bouquets and using my embroidered tablecloths. At the moment there are a lot of flowers in bloom; bluebells, wild geraniums, salomons seal, cowslip, galium odoratum, syringas and aquileas.... The vegetables and fruit in my greenhouse and vegetable plot are growing fine too. I will show you some pictures soon! 

You may remember that there is a fleamarket on saturday mornings in our town. A week ago I found the lovely pink teacup by Royal Albert. Although the ear was broken and glued on again, I still liked it very much. It's so beautiful to look at :-)! The little cup with the roses was given to me by a dear friend, who sings in my choir. She found it for me at the fleamarket on queens day. So sweet!!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend?!

Wish you a happy new week! Lieve groet, Madelief

I am joining House in the roses in 'show off your cottage monday'

A hidden gem

Nearby Nijmegen, in the nature reserve 'de Millingerwaard', lies a hidden gem. It is called the 'Millinger theetuin'. You can only reach it on foot or bicycle, by following a two kilometer long track. On the way you meet Galloway cows and Konik horses.

I have seen lots of gardens, but this one touched not only my heart, but that of my family as well. Even my little nephew, who is nine years old, enjoyed the atmoshpere of the place. We had to fight who could use my camera :-)!

It is like walking in Andalusia or Morocco; the plants, the garden house, the tiles, the flowers, the birdsong.... There is so much to see! The owners have spent much love in creating this piece of heaven, and it shows! We spent a lovely two hours in the garden, drinking tea, eating pie, just relaxing and looking at all the beauty around us... I came home filled with ideas and new energy! If you want to see more pictures of the garden or visit. Please have a look at their website.

On our way back from the garden through the nature reserve, Konik horses crossed out path. One even had a young! It looked so sweet. We finished the day in a old café near the river Waal. Days like this make me realise what beautiful country I live in.

Wish you all a happy sunny weekend!

Lieve groet, Madelief