Views from Brouwersgracht

Sometimes a mundane daily occurrence, like waiting for a tram, can be surprisingly exotic. Our ten-minute wait was totes boring until a rainbow popped up and I took my first dive into voyeurism (from one floor down and across the street). It's not that weird to take a photo of a guy in his window, right?

Happy Tuesday!

xxx,
j

Beach dogs

It seems that most sunny days, I find myself wandering toward my new favorite beach. You know, the one with all the dogs.

To the Sunshine State

image c/o Stefanie Kuncman of Steffy's Pros and Cons

Because I'm on the road without access to technology (yay!), I am replacing Sunday Snippets this week with an outfit post... someone else's. I was going to take some shots of a couple new dresses I got before I left, but I just plain ran out of time. And then I saw this gorgeous new outfit post from Steffy's Pros and Cons, and I knew it had to be yours to enjoy.

xxx,

j

A photographic muse: Diane Arbus

If you're not familiar with photographer Diane Arbus, now's the time to get acquainted. Her photos are intimate and incredible; they overflow with humanity and honesty. In her journey towards understanding, Arbus captured something equally quirky, haunting, and moving in each image. Every time I look at her work, I am reminded that art is so intrinsically important to the collective compassion of a society; without it, we are lost and merely surviving.

A retrospective will be on display at foam, the photo museum in Amsterdam, from 26 October 2012 - 13 January 2013. 

xxx,

j

Double Self-Portrait with Infant Daughter, Doon (1945)

'Identical Twins, Roselle, New Jersey, 1967' 

Untitled (6) 1970–71

Child with a toy hand grenade in Central Park, N.Y.C. 1962

A young man in curlers at home on West 20th Street, N.Y.C. 1966

Lady bartender at home with a souvenir dog, New Orleans, La., 1964

Teenager with a baseball bat, 1962

All images copyright © The Estate of Diane Arbus

Small Plates: You say carrot fries, I say wortel frites

In the never-ending hunt for baby finger food ideas, I sometimes hit a goldmine. This, my friends, is one of them. Julian is digging these garlicky, oniony, baked carrot fries, proven by the lack of food on the floor. Well, most meals. If cut a bit bigger and lightly salted, they'd even be classy enough for a cocktail party.

xxx,
j

Count to diez: Feather-light, feather-bright

I love the aesthetic of a feather; it is so incredibly strong, carries creatures far up into the sky, and exists in so many different hues and shapes. 

Swan Lake, and a jaunt along the 3 line

Last Saturday I cycled into the city centre to run some errands and soak up the gorgeous weather. When I got there, I was delighted to accidentally find Festival Classique floating on the Buitenhof rectangular faux-lake, a Rolls Royce containing newlyweds, and more feathered friends than I could properly quack at. I parked myself on a bench with lunch and had a date. With myself. It was heavenly and felt like a scene straight out of a Monet.

Goodbyes: the thorn in the expat's heart of hearts

Being an expat means that you have to be prepared to say goodbye to anyone you've met, sometimes with the small luxury of knowing months in advance. Other times, moves happen very swiftly. A contract can be signed and moving plans drawn in a matter of days, which really are just too few hours piled on top of one another far too quickly.

Five x Two: Popularity contest

I heart Pinterest. It's such an easy peasy way to curate organized lists of my favorite things... in a visual way, and on a medium that won't be lost or forgotten (vs a sticky note or stray computer document). 

This week, these were my most loved pins. Links are below the picture. Happy pinning!

xxx,

j

one/two/three/four/five/six/seven/eight/nine/ten

Dad-tastic

Happy Father's Day to my mister, who's been by my side for ten and a half years and has grown into the finest man and daddy I can imagine. We've gone from kids in love to more reasonable and considerate versions of ourselves in love, together raising the best damn kid on the planet.

xxx,
j

p.s. I'm a sucker for Story Corps, and Friday's edition is nothing less than perfectly touching. Listen to it, then give a dad a hug.

Sunday snippets: the week, in retrospect

A touch more serious

This romper's a bit more muted in color and digs a little deeper into its mysterious depths than the last one, suitable for a late-night date in a blues bar... or vampire slaying.

The things we didn't know

I stumbled across this poignant article by Chelsea Fagan, a spot-on and honest account of what happens when someone chooses to move overseas and home becomes significantly harder to define. 

A mosaic of momentary fair weather and pollinators

With the canal-side blooms abuzz with flying creatures on a sunshiny day, it's easy to forget that the weather forecast past today looks a bit dreary. 

Same beach, different sand

A few months ago, I gave you a tour of the beach. Well, one of the beaches in Den Haag, but the only one I'd been to. I thought I loved Scheveningen beach most but found a stretch of sand closer to our house that is an entirely different scene.

Channeling Marilyn

Spinning around in this getup made me realize a couple things:

1. I am powerless against charming frocks.
2. I need a petticoat. I tried on a pretty, handmade one at Cavelli & Nastri in Milan, and I'm really regretting not buying it.

These tippy-toes were made for walking

More strolling, more photos telling a story of a neighborhood full of people, flora, fauna, messages on walls, locked gates. Every day, I find something interesting enough to point my camera at, too often for my poor little computer to keep up with; my hard drive is like a force-fed goose at this point.

Enjoy the free tour!

xxx,
j

p.s. You can now follow me on facebook!

Sunday snippets: the week, in retrospect

A rompin' good time

This summer, I decided that rompers would be my thing, despite my deeply-rooted disdain for shorts of any kind. Luckily, Holland's weather rarely, if ever, warrants wearing shorts over bare legs, which means it's never too warm to don a pair of leggings. My shorts dilemma = solved. 

My favorite of the lot is a short-sleeved, faux denim piece that my mom compared directly with her high school phy-ed uniform. I thought it looked more like a ladies' prison getup, but a quick google search confirmed her story.

Everyone needs more gnocchi

Although the cake got all the attention yesterday, the pre-party was a tasty plate of gnocchi in a rich cream sauce, dressed up with prosciutto, peas, herbs, and fresh parmesan.

Torture cake

There are two facts that explain the title of this post:
one: Yesterday was Tony's birthday.
two: I'm twelve days into a month of no refined sugar (mostly because I was trying to legitimize eating JUST ONE cookie every day. This addict just came out of denial. A month off does the trick for me every time, putting me back into a state of moderation.)

The littlest ones party the hardest

After shots of Julian's big day came out better than expected, I photographed the first birthday parties of two of the most dapper little fellas in town.

Lingering Italian cheer

10 things I did:

Sunday snippets: the week, in retrospect