Yesterday was a perfect 'first days of spring' day. Warm in the sun, cool in the shade. Huddled with a book on a terrace wearing a thick scarf and sunglasses. You could almost see the flowers and plants stretching towards the sun. North America already has turned back its clocks, but Europe waits for two more weeks. Fourteen more days of waking up to the half-light of a spring morning.
Photo by marrren
Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things from the week, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.
A few things I enjoyed over the last week: 1. Listening to a mix by Mira while sitting on a sunny balcony with a Sunday morning coffee 2. Watching the story behind the famous 'Keep Calm and Carry On' poster 3. Seeing an illustration of the bird eggs of Australia by Amy Borrell (pictured above, via) 4. Watching Susan's Cain TED talk on The Power of Introverts (via) 4. Seeing x-rays of flowers by Brendan Fitzpatrick (via) 5. Browsing the Voyager issue of Edits Quarterly, short narratives in film and photography (via) 6.Wanting to eat the Pantone Sweets by Emilie Griottes (pictured below, via)
In one month, I will marry my best friend. In one month and one day, he and I will board a plane to Rome. I can't wait to show Marcus the Eternal City, where I once had an apartment in Trastevere and spent my mornings visiting museums with my art history class and afternoons watching Italian films. Now I will be going with my husband, on our honeymoon. Excited? Yes.
After two days in Rome, we will head out on a road trip to the Amalfi Coast. National Geographic calls it the drive of a lifetime. I just hope it isn't too terrifying. Taking the infamously curvy road is the only way to reach the hillside villas tucked along the coastline. Well, then. We shall begin with an adventure!
Photo 1 by marin, photo 2 by julia
I'm experiencing a renewed appreciation for the work of Japanese graphic designer Ikko Tanaka after discovering a brochure from the 2007 'Printed in Japan' exhibition at the temporary Stedelijk Museum.
Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things from the week, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.
A few things I enjoyed over the last week: 1. Seeing flowers everywhere - spring is coming! (pictured above, via you are my fave) 2. Looking forward to Steve McQueen's Blues Before Sunrise installation, on view in Vondelpark from 07 March 3. Listening to the Robert Glasper Experiment's Black Radio on NPR 4.Coveting the book La Tartine Gourmande: Recipes for an Inspired Life by Béatrice Peltre (pictured and video embedded below) 5. Browsing through the NY Times photo archive blog The Lively Morgue 6. Wishing for my own forest for foraging 7. Reading 25 great Calvin & Hobbes strips
[vimeo vimeo.com/33755066 w=500&h=400]
Re-turned birds by Norwegian designer Lars Beller Fjetland. These little creatures are created out of leftover or unused pieces of woods, giving them a new shot at life.
"I saw dumpsters on every street corner and started to wonder how much quality materials I could find on a single raid plundering these urban sawmills. A short trip gathering wood provided me with enough material to build at least 20 birds. This really opened my eyes to the fact that trash really is a misplaced resource."
Read the full interview with Lars Beller Fjetland on It's Nice That.
"A dog can detect a teaspoon sugar diluted in a million gallons of water: two Olympic-sized pools full."
Currently reading Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know by Alexandra Horowitz. A bit tortuous when the family pup is half a world away, but nonetheless enlightening about dogs and their awe-inspiring talents.
Photo via Jdenredden
Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things from the week, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.
A few things I enjoyed over the last week: 1. Seeing Ingrid Nelson's pavement series (pictured above) 2. Discovering a new neighborhood spot, Café Kostverloren 3. Looking forward to two film festivals in March: Movies that Matter and Food Film Festival 4. Reading the new online magazines Wayfare and sisterMag 5. Remembering 29 ways to stay creative 6. Exploring Seaview, an underwater version of Street View (pictured below)
If you have read small sight for a while, you probably know that I love baking. The best part being the eating of baked goods, naturally. Since I first started experimenting with baking, I have been successful with many recipes and failed with many others - learning a thing or two in the process.
I learned that melting butter does not make anything easier. I learned that baking soda and baking powder produce two distinct results and mistaking one for the other only creates disaster. And I learned to trust my instincts when it comes to measurements.
Given my love for baking, I have decided to bake our wedding cake. With about 1.5 months until the big day, I plan to try several cakes over the next weeks and, with the help of my unsuspecting colleagues, determine a winner. Vanilla bean cake? Buttercream frosting? Chocolate raspberry filling? What is your favorite type of cake?
Photo sources: cake buffet, cake 1, cake 2, cake 3, cake 4, cake 5
Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things from the week, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.
A few things I enjoyed over the last week: 1. Watching Treeless Mountain, a Korean film directed by So Yong Kim with two seriously cute girls (pictured above) 2. Sharing a Valentine's Day meal at one of my favorite restaurants in the city 3. Baking some yummy half-wheat chocolate chip cookies 4. Reading The Year in Food (via anthology) 5. Cooking with celery root and making a tasty soup 6. Finishing Jonathan Franzen's Freedom and loving it 7. Viewing the Elderly Animal Project by photographer Isa Leshko (pictured below, via natsumi)
"Diligence is the mother of good luck." - Benjamin Franklin
Lately I have been thinking about good fortune, hard work, and daring deeds. About taking risks and emerging on the other side, not only unscathed, but also on solid ground. Or sometimes not. I think what I love most about this quote is that, tucked within luck, there is a reminder that we must strive for it.
Packing two suitcases and moving to the Netherlands was a big risk, one in which I have turned out to be fortunate, for the most part. On a much smaller note, I used to be cynical about blog giveaways. No one ever wins do they? At least not me. But recently, I heard about a girl who won over $1000 worth of goods from giveaways and I thought it was time I try my hand. And, I won one! It's silly, but the small stroke of luck that came - once I actually made an effort - made my day. Big or small, what have you had luck with?
Image via Eye Poetry
Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things from the week, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.
A few things I enjoyed over the last week: 1. Receiving a package of sweet and simple invitations from Follow Studios (pictured above) 2. Sipping fresh mint tea with Margot at Beter&Leuk 3. Seeing more from Eugenia Maximova's photo series Kitchen Stories from the Balkans 4. Finding a free download of the audiobook The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim 5. Wishing for a week in Montana after watching the footage from Preston Kanak (pictured and embedded below)
[vimeo vimeo.com/35769757 w=500&h=400]
After almost two weeks with temperatures below freezing, the warm will return next week, thawing the canals and melting away the last drifts of snow. The wintery weather has hit Europe and North Africa (!) hard. In Amsterdam, the frozen canals have everyone bringing out their skates and throwing parties on the ice. Although I conquered my fear of biking on the snow and ice several years ago, I spent the first few days of freeze walking around the city in my trusty Oregon hiking boots, enjoying the quiet of the city and the crunch of the snow beneath my feet.
This morning, I headed to the Amsterdam City Hall for the announcement of the winners of the annual World Press Photo contest. The past two weeks have been a blur of interviews, website preparations, and, of course, looking at tens of thousands of photographs. Tonight I will celebrate, not think about photography, and get some much needed sleep.
Now it is time for everyone else to enjoy this fantastic collections of images. The jury awarded 350 images by 57 photographers. Some of the singles that impressed me include the photos by Samuel Aranda, Damir Sagolj, Denis Rouvre, Vincent Boisot, and Jenny E. Ross. And for the photo stories:
Never Let You Go by Alejandro Kirchuk
Interrogation Room by Donald Weber
Rhino Wars by Brent Stirton
Pastoral by Alexander Gronsky
Child Brides by Stephanie Sinclair
Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things from the week, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.
A few things I enjoyed over the last week: 1. Hearing about the levitating self-portraits of Natsumi Hayashi (pictured above, via SG1) 2. Reading the Freunde von Freunden interview with Colette Olaf, the first of the Amsterdam series 3. Watching the herding of reindeer in Norway 4. Listening to Ana Tijoux's new album, which rocks, of course 5. Spotting the Decadent Pigeon Project, an artsy apology of the sometimes shameless bird 6. Purchasing teardrop vases from the newly-opened Mignon Kitchen Company (pictured below) 7. Entering the fantastic giveaway on Honey Kennedy
The temperature finally dipped below freezing here in Amsterdam. After a taste of Florida's warmth and sunshine, I am dialing up the coziness for the rest of Amsterdam's winter with wool socks, fleece sheets, and furry blankets. Here are a few essential ingredients for a successful hibernation.
Faux fur blankets, mug cosy, and a warm drink.
Woolen hot water bottle, cable knit slippers, and a good book.
Or maybe just a giant scarf. Here's to staying warm!
Top photo via
The last week has been an experiment in cooking with kumquats. A colleague brought me a bag full of the small, oval fruit from Spain and it was actually the first time I had ever seen or tasted them. Kumquats are delicious when eaten raw with the skin, but also bring a burst of citrus to recipes, such as kumquat bread, kumquat marmalade, and kumquat spritzer. I think kumquats would also make a nice addition to a salad or when sauteed with tofu and veggies.
The numerous bowls filled with kumquats also have added a splash of color to my home, much needed in late January.
Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things from the week, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.
A few things I enjoyed over the last week: 1. Looking at Andrew Dickinson's photo series from Kyrgyzstan (pictured above) 2. Reading an article about the 150th birthday of Edith Wharton and the persistence of stories about social artistocracy 3. Seeing a Shanghai wedding photographed by Chris Spira (who will be shooting our day!) 4. Wishing for a sprinkling of snow 5. Spotting the art prints by Wit & Whistle - $10 of proceeds will be donated to a community development non-profit in the Central African Republic (pictured below) 6. Immersing myself in the tales of English monarchy while listening to the audio book Elizabeth I by Margaret George
Playing on the beach in Florida. A perfect mid-winter getaway to visit family and soak in the sunshine. We swam, ate Cuban food, shopped (successfully!) for my wedding dress, drank margaritas, and had a wonderful time together. I am so lucky to have a fantastic family that I love to spend time with. Sometimes I wonder why I live so far from them, but then I remember what adventures we can have when we travel to reunite.
Tomorrow morning I will wake up, pack the last items in my suitcase, and head off on a flight to Miami. I wasn't expecting to spend the second week of 2012 in Florida, but I am going to join my mother, older sister, and two nieces at my grandmother's house for an impromptu reunion. While I am excited at the thought of sun and sand, living abroad means that time with family is rare. I can hardly wait to spend time talking with my abuelita, swimming with my nieces, hugging my mom, and laughing with my sister, cousins, and aunt. Farewell to cold Amsterdam for the next week.
Painting by Christopher Scott (via)