Casa Y Vida

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back to normal in spanje

Casa Y Vida

Back to normal in Spain: what I learned from a summer where even the nights hit 30 degrees

Some summers stay with you because of beautiful memories. This one will stay with me because my bedroom could have officially qualified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site — warmest place in which a human has ever attempted to sleep. Even the olive tree in my garden looked defeated. At night, the temperature refused to drop below 30 degrees, and by day, the sun seemed determined to personally test my […]

today08/27/2025

Nazomer op je terras in Spanje

Casa Y Vida

Late summer on your Spanish terrace: how your outdoor space can last for weeks (and get better with time)

In England (just like in the Netherlands, actually), August is often the time when you quietly start saying goodbye to summer. The days grow shorter, the evenings cooler, and before you know it, you’re back in the garden wearing a coat. Here, things are different. In Spain, late summer on your terrace can last for weeks — sometimes well into October. All you need to do is give it a […]

today08/20/2025

Zomers Schoonmaken In Spanje

Casa Y Vida

Summer cleaning in Spain comes too soon: why your home can live with sand, sweat and sunscreen a little longer

In August, it feels like a national ritual: the mass summer clean-up. As if summer were a temporary guest who’s had enough to drink and urgently needs to be shown the door. But summer cleaning in Spain? That’s like walking off the pitch halfway through the match because you’re worried your shoes might get dirty. The best months are still ahead. I look around my living room. There’s sand on […]

today08/13/2025

Olijfboom Levensles

Casa Y Vida

Life lessons from an olive tree (why I keep finding inspiration in such a grumpy-looking tree)

I’m not exactly sure when it started, but I suspect I’ve developed a soft spot for olive trees. And not the kind of soft spot you have for puppies or freshly baked focaccia. No — this is a different kind of admiration. One that comes with a touch of irritation and a whole lot of respect. Because let’s be honest: an olive tree doesn’t do a thing to win you […]

today07/23/2025

siësta-proof wonen

Casa Y Vida

The art of siesta-proof living (and why air conditioning isn’t the hero)

There was a time I believed air conditioning was the holy grail. One press of a button and your house becomes a cool cocoon. Until I realised that cocoon doesn’t just drain your electricity bill — it dulls your senses too. Everything goes quiet, dry, and vaguely unnatural. Worse still: you lose the rhythm. Regular readers of this column will know I gave up on air conditioning a while ago. […]

today07/16/2025

kunst van nietsdoen in de tuin

Casa Y Vida

The art of doing nothing (and why your garden should learn it too)

Sometimes I think my garden has more ambition than I do. While I sit in a plastic chair with a book, trying to pretend I’m doing nothing, the weeds are multiplying, the grapevines are making a run for the neighbours, and the lemon tree clearly has no grasp of the word “pruning.” And yet — or perhaps because of it — this chaos is my favourite place. If there’s one […]

today07/10/2025

leven met zomerhitte spanje

Casa Y Vida

Back from the abyss – life with the Spanish summer heat

After three weeks away, you return with a head full of impressions, a suitcase full of laundry, and… a house that clearly hasn’t been waiting up for you. My finca just outside Marbella seemed mostly relieved I was back — as if walls, doors and pot plants are also entitled to emotional closure. And truth be told: life with the Spanish summer heat isn’t just about air-con and siestas. It’s […]

today07/02/2025

moestuin hitte

Casa Y Vida

Heatwave stress: how to keep your kitchen garden alive at 40°C

It started with a drop of sweat. Not on my forehead — on a basil leaf. That’s when I knew: we were heading for trouble. How do you help your kitchen garden survive the heat? In my previous story, I shared how my first balcony harvest taught me to slow down, observe, and marvel. It was a meditative experience, crowned with a plate of pasta fresca. But while I was […]

today06/11/2025

eerste oogst van balkon

Casa Y Vida

From balcony to table: my first harvest (and what happened next)

June has something magical about it. Everything grows, blooms, bursts with life. Except my courgettes. But we’ll get to that. Back in March, I wrote—full of hope—about my microhuerto on the balcony of my finca. A few pots, some bags of organic soil, and seeds I wasn’t entirely convinced would become more than decorative optimism. The Spanish sun gave it her all, the rain did next to nothing, and I… […]

today06/04/2025

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