La Douce France

Hi there,

One day late with my post but for a very good reason. I only just got of the plane from France. Every year for the past three years, for me, the end of summer is marked by one last week at the French Rivièra- La Côte d'Azur.

I usually stay at Sainte-Maxime, a rustic and Provencal village. This is mostly a relaxing vacation, some wandering around the town, lying on the beach or by the pool reading books and -my absolute favorite- watching the boats in the harbor.

The trip also has to include a day visit to Saint-Tropez. Swooning over the yachts and window shopping at Balmain, Chanel, Dior, Céline and just about any other high-fashion brand you can imagine. One thing I would like to say, never -and I really mean never- try to go to Saint-Tropez by car, I will take you for ever! A great alternative are the "Bateaux Verts", it's like a water taxi and has stops in different villages nearby Saint-Tropez or you could just take your own boat- if you happen to be so lucky.

Now since pictures say more than words....

 Our little piece of infinity

 Saint-Tropez streets

 Saint-Tropez light house

 Lunch at Dior at Saint-Tropez

 Saint-Tropez streets

 Saint-Tropez harbor

 Sainte-Maxime Harbor

 Sainte-Maxime Harbor

 Port Grimaud

 Port Grimaud

 Flower ice cream at Saint-Maxime

Sainte-Maxime harbor at night

Hope you got a bit of the holiday feeling too now, wherever you might be. Have you ever been to the French Rivièra- la Côte d'Azur or would you like to go? What marks the end of summer for you?

Be a Socialite

Going out it is easier to just talk to your friends while meeting new people can be such fun. I'll give you three tips on how to behave at a social mixer, a dinner party or just about any other event with lots of new people.

1. A Gin and Tonic Please.

The bar is thè place to be. Everyone has to get a drink at some point during the evening, so take your time when ordering your drink. However, this does not mean you have to be drinking all the time. Know your limits so that you won't make a fool of yourself. Also, remember to hold your drink in your left hand so you can shake hands with your free right hand.

2.How Many Shoes Do You Have?

Don't be afraid to ask a rather "surprising" question. Ask what the worst haircut is they ever had, what their favorite travelling destination is, or why not ask about their shoes? People will feel more special when you ask about personal experiences and it also provides you with an interesting talking topic.

3.Excuse Me, I Have To Go Freshen Up.

Can't wait to get away from a boring conversation? Excuse yourself and go to the restroom. Make sure you actually go to the restroom before talking to someone new. Otherwise, the other person might get the feeling you were just running away. Besides, waiting in line for the restroom can be a great place to talk with some other, new people.

Using these tips you'll be the person everyone wants to talk to and the one everyone will remember for the right reasons - not for spilling red whine all over the hostess's white carpet. I hope these tips can be of some use to you.

Open Happiness

Hi there,

I'm so excited to tell you more about what must be a collaboration of two of my most favorite things: Meet the Coca-Cola collection by OPI.

Coca-Cola by OPI contains nine new, limited edition nail polishes inspired by the world-famous drinks from the Coca-Cola Company. The colors go from classic Coca-Cola Red, to metallic silver for Diet Coke, black with red glitters for the Coke Zero, warm purple for Cherry Coke and a beige color for Vanilla Coke. The line also contains a glistening green color for Sprite, a fresh orange and deep purple for Fanta Orange and Fanta Grape.

OPI

My personal favorite is the classic red color, it's just such an iconic color. Apart from the fact that it is such a pretty color I'm very happy with the coverage of the nail polish, one layer suffices to get the vibrant red color and even one week later, with some touch ups of my tips, my nails look as if I just painted them. With the pictures below you can decide for yourself, is it really a Coca-Cola Red nail polish? I certainly think so.

What is your favorite color from the collection?

3 Tips to be a good TEAM

Hi there,

Today I would like to share with you my 3 golden tips to be a great team. Off course it makes perfect sense that working hard and to the best of your abilities will lead to a good result for your team, however there is a bit more to it. How to make your team a real TEAM- so that Together Everyone Achieves More?

1. Define the Task

Make sure you clearly know what the tasks of your project are. Knowing where you're going is already half of the problems' solution and it helps in asking specific questions to the person you're doing the project for (whether that is your professor or your boss).

2. Divide and Conquer

With all sub-tasks well defined it is easy to divide the work among the team members. These sub-tasks make clear goals which makes to project more approachable. Make sure that one sub-task is never so complicated that it takes more than 10 min to explain to a team member that hasn't worked on it yet. This is to avoid that when one person gets stuck no one can help him out.

3. Give feedback and Motivate

Giving feedback on each others work is one of the best ways to keep your team members motivated. It shows you've taken the time to look at their work and that gives a feeling of appreciation and recognition. It is also a way of steering each other in the right direction towards the completion of the sub-task, and in the end, the whole project.

I hope these tips are somewhat useful to you and that you can implement them next time you have to work in a team. What is the best way to be a good team according to you?

This is me

Hi there,

My name is Margot. I Live in Belgium, a small country in Western Europe. I'm a soon to be graduate in chemical engineering science with an additional interest in all things business and economically related. I love to read and learn new things.

I know this might make me seem a little geeky (and I probably am to some extend) but there is so much more to it. I love to travel, am addicted to several tv series (what's not to love about Suits, The Big Bang Theory, Game Of Thrones and -for old-times' sake- Friends) and I love shopping and make-up as much as the next girl does.

I strongly believe every one of us has the capacities to make a change in this world. With my blog I hope to inspire you to do just that. But, we don't have to be serious all the time so there will also be room to just have fun and appreciate the little things.

I hope to see you around!