Littlest brother

This is the same kid who convinced me to climb atop a suburban mailbox by saying "come on, I've never seen a girl do anything cool."

Peep show

are...you guys implying that this is the way you would now like to be fed? What's next? Oh, I prefer that MEEEDIUM rare...

Ladies night

Ladies night

Monica's freshest ink courtesy of her hubby Jake. And ja, that's her kitty, Ruca.

Mightiest Market Yet

Apparently there will also be quality knitted goods courtesy of Karolyn Lawson, mother of Shola! I have one of her cowls and wear it CONSTANTLY. Come kick it with us and check out the newest wares. I'm stoked to offer a few summer surprise pieces...

Musical Monday #15: The Weeknd

R&B + trip hop = fresh. Click it. Download it.

Musical Monday #14: Chemical Brothers

Wisely, Rachel and I decided to see Hanna at Cinemagic where the chairs rock. This proved useful for bumping to the Chemical Brothers soundtrack. Enjoy.

Musical Monday #13: Ke$ha

That was pretty nice of all the Enterprise guys to help Ke$ha out with her vid.

Four eyes

So my roommate Kristin works for a tile company, the owner of which also has an eyewear company, Amy Sacks. Of course, right? Kristin, however, was apparently given the task of photographing a bunch of glasses though and had the genius idea of inviting friends and acquaintances and pets to model in exchange for some frames (and snacks...) This building in SW also houses the tile company below and the eyewear/makeup ladies were given access to the second floor for the photos! Hannah and I got on board (hope I got you some good ones Colleen!) with plenty of time to get our ping pong on.

Only he knows (Thursdays are for thinking)

Something about Kobe Bryant has always fascinated me. I read about him in some facts about major NBA players book that someone had left in our kitchen months and months ago and only became more fascinated. The singular focus? The weird underlying intensity? The Italian? Dressing up as Voldemort for Halloween? The defiant, uncompromising agenda to be his bad self despite criticism? I don't know. I was just watching him fly around the court in the final minutes of the Blazer game last night like a raven of rage and death and had to wonder. Who IS this guy? Anyway, my bf Nicolas Batum kind of summed it up for me on Blazersedge.

"He is very good, sometimes, yeah, he is unstoppable, sometimes. You can crowd him, get on him, he's going to find a way to score. I don't know how. Only he knows."

Musical Monday #7: Iggy Pop

Not much to say except hanging out with your bff David Bowie in West Berlin of the late 70's fighting a heroin addiction and recording great albums must have been the real deal. Also purportedly the first artist to "stage dive" (wikipedia), Iggy is classic and so is this record.

Xmas 2010

A Hannah and Alex Xmas III

Every year, married maniacs Hannah and Alex put together a Christmas film of sorts for our enjoyment...and theirs. They show it at the Living Room theaters on the big screen. It's fo' real. This one was an especially great little noir murder mystery romance featuring husband, wife, friends...and a musical number! I have no idea how they plan to top it next year, it just keeps getting more legit. And to top it off, Hannah doled out some scarf samples from her Ola Collection (more on that soon...) Thanks for a fantastic evening, friends!!!

'Merica!

Pretty much the only thing I wanted to do when I woke up today was bake an American flag made entirely of mini cupcakes. So I called Shola. We made it happen. It was a big hit at the BBQ. 'Merica!

May 8th: See you at de Bosbaan

Today was a Saturday, and it was all about the Bosbaan. Matthias had his very first crew race, and it was sort of a practice round, like pre-season. But it was a race nonetheless. He had to get up at like, 7 am, so Konrad and I did too in a show of solidarity. (Einar was staying with his Swedish friend because...well, we made his bed for him and everything but, we were asleep before he called to be let in. Sorry Nar.) Anyway, Matthias used to make me breakfast all the time when I had to get up early for dance performances in Berlin and it was awesome. So I tried to return the favor. I knew I should have hopped on a bike to scurry for breadrolls but there didn't seem to be enough time. So while he was packing his bags I made him the only breakfast we had: half a bowl of mueslix, three celery sticks with peanut butter, coffee and OJ. It was pretty miserable, but he figured there would be food there, I did too.

Konrad and I had agreed to join him at the race for the second round in the early afternoon, since he would be biking there and we would have slowed him down for the morning time. Due to the breakfast shortage, I sent Konrad forth into the world with a 20 Euro bill with the instruction "breakfast." He was a great success in the breadroll department, but somehow ended up with Mediterranean flavored low fat cheese slices called "Slankie" instead of actual cheese. Whatev. He was discombobulated. This IS the Netherlands after all, and as Dutch is decipherable for those of us who speak English and German, it's not always easy or straightforward. We realized though, that we would really have to choke that Slankie down if we were to arrive in time for Matthias' race (only goal of the day). Konrad had to ride me on the handlebars of the bike at top speed to the bus station (shrieking with laughter), but we made it.

Konrad politely confirmed with the bus driver that he was going our direction, and we requested day tickets. "Oh, hm, I'm all out of those," he told us "you'll just have to find a seat." He winked as he pointed backward with his thumb. We both looked at each other, wide-eyed in disbelief. Dutch bus tickets are EX-PEN-SIVE! And this magical gem of a man was offering us a free ride. High five. He instructed us to change buses about half an hour into the trip, we thanked him as he waved at the driver of our next ride. Again, Konrad politely confirmed that he was going our way and we asked him for day tickets. "Hm, how did you ride the other bus if you don't have a ticket?" He asked. "Oh, uh, he just told us to have a seat?" Konrad sheepishly announced. "Hm," thought the other bus driver. "Then I say that too." He pointed backward with his thumb and smiled. We couldn't believe our luck. Two free rides AND we were going to make it there in the nick of time.

As Konrad and I arrived joyously to discover the race had been postponed, so we had plenty of time, we found Matthias in a deteriorating state. "Did you guys bring food?" He asked. "Oh, uh, no. Were we supposed to?" He had sent us a text, but I'd already fried my power converter and phone was out of commission for the rest of the trip. Matthias was hungry, and was only halfway done with his racing. Trouble a'brewin'.

I've only experienced it once before in our entire time together, but when Matthias gets REALLY hungry, things go downhill fast. He turns into a shadow of a man, only goal: survival. Nothing will stop him. And it puts him in a TERRIBLE mood, which permeates all situations surrounding him. Again, I've only experienced this emergency once before, but it was BAAAAD. I had a premonition Konrad and I were in for emergency number 2, and I was scared. But I was glad I was not alone. We had a pack of Stroopwaffel in my purse (Dutch cookie treat, two crispy thin waffles with caramel between) and we offered him some. I knew it would only buy us about a half an hour though.

The race happened, Konrad and I biked alongside the river and yelled encouragement in German as Bootje 2 frantically paddled a very close race to an unfortunate last place finish. Matthias and team cleaned up their stuff and we headed out. The slippery slope began. Matthias was frowning, moving quickly, withdrawn. We found a french fry stand near a grocery store, this would buy us another half an hour or so. "I think I'm going barf if I eat these," were the only words out of his mouth. He ate them anyway. We hit the grocery store, purchased everything we needed for veggie burger dinner. A free sample of non-alcoholic beer bought us another ten minutes. His shoulders were slumping. We boarded the train back with his bike and grocery bags. Konrad and I took his bag. He leaned his bike up against the center pole, walked to the next compartment as the train jolted forward and the bike toppled, Konrad and I juggling grocery bags trying to right it. Matthias leaned his back against the wall and slid downward, collapsing onto the floor of the train. Konrad and I made eye contact through the grocery burden and sighed. The situation was looking grim. So at the train change, we continued on and he grabbed his bike with a gruff "see you back there." And bolted.

We found Matthias in his bed with earphones on as we arrived at the flat. So we unpacked the groceries and left him alone. I went to the common room to read, Konrad played Zombie killer on the computer. Apparently, Matthias eventually rose and opened a can of beans. He had his back to the door and his bare hand in the can when Einar walked in cheerfully oblivious to the workings of the day. "Hey Matthias! How's it goin'?" Matthias froze, hand full of beans. "I....just...need a minute." He said without turning. Einar immediately relocated to the common room where I got him up to speed and we remained until Matthias announced that burgers were ready. Things turned around from there :)

P.S. This last photo kind of breaks my heart every time I see it. It's at the french fry place, and pretty much sums this whole story up. Matthias' furrowed brow, the distant gaze, the pouting lip, Konrad waiting in the background, trying to put on a happy face. If the kids ever look like this, I will probably turn into a complete pussy and get them whatever they want.

May 3rd: It was a Monday and it was raining

So we skipped the once weekly flea market we'd planned on visiting and ate Patatjes instead. I'll be honest, I had french fries with mayonnaise almost EVERY SINGLE DAY during my trip. One, I like them. Two, I feel comfortable ordering them in Dutch. Three, they're everywhere. Four, they're filling. Five, they're cheap. Is that enough for you?

Anyway, we toured Matthias' university and concluded with a severe case of hunger. As we approached this little imbiss, Matthias paused. "This definitely looks like a place you do NOT want to eat Patatjes at. We're doing it." So we parked the Tandem and strode inside. Matthias ordered a large. I ordered a medium. They were both over crispy and the only discernible difference was that my mayo came on the side and his came...all over the top. Hahahaha.

Also of note, I drank my first Vla of the trip on this day. For those of you who know what I mean.

{Sasquatch Interlude}

Apologies for my abrupt curtailment of the Netherlands: Day by Day, but I absolutely must acknowledge the Sassy times had over Memorial Day Weekend. Can you say "SASQUATCH!"? Otherwise known as the P-N-Dub's most gloriously scenic wind-powered carbon-neutral music festival at the Gorge. There are many an amusing anecdote I might share, but I will simply start by summing up the experience in nine photos from which you may draw your own conclusions.

Also, my top five performances in descending order:
#1 the XX
#2 Dirty Projectors
#3 Vampire Weekend
#4 Tune-Yards
#5 Kid Cudi