I’ve started posting items over on my shopping guide blog, The Fancied, again. And I’ve started posting things from Etsy because it’s one of my favorite places to shop. (I hope no one minds having to search the shop a bit for a duplicate once the original item I link to sells.)
I got this beautiful Orla Kiely bag a few weeks ago (thanks, stimulus check). I thought it would make a good carry-on for my trips, and I was right! I used it as a carry-on for my recent trip to The Netherlands, and it worked fantastically and got a lot of compliments.
(brown dress from j.crew - and currently in their clearance section, pink flats from target a few years ago)
I’ll be 26 on July 7. This is my wishlist.
L to R: Spring Poppies Set (with pinbacks, please), Lulu Satchel in White , Mailing Stickers , Hello There Necklace , Black Heart Ring , Scalloped Silver Necklace , Airmail Stationary , Round Rose Quartz Ring , Recycled Pink Poppy Hairband Set
Also on the wishlist (but not pictured):
a not-too-small, not-too-big tablet for drawing with on my computer
dinner at Americas
white converse (true white, not unbleached; womens size 8 )
anything from my Anthropologie wishlist
bottle of Clinique Happy perfume
book: what’s a cook to do? (by james peterson)
camera film - 120 format
chick-fil-a gift card
trunk with wheels for moving (can be used if in good condition)
reusable produce bags (like these on etsy)
I tried to keep my list to things that I can easily move with me, as it would be quite sad to get a birthday gift and only be able to enjoy it for less than a month before packing it away to stay behind in Texas for a few years. And I am, of course, very open to variations of the things listed that follow the same style or idea. I love picking out gifts for people and very rarely enjoy being told exactly what to get them, but I do like a jumping off point.
My mom has promised to get me the Flip camcorder (and even give it to me early so I can take it on my trip to Washington, D.C. the week before my birthday). Yay!
So, that’s that. Ideas!
[photo courtesy of the rocketeer on flickr]
I’m home in Houston now. Awake at 4am, feeling ill and very, very thirsty. Hope it passes soon.
I’ve got a lot to do between now and the day Frank arrives to set out on our journey to our new home. We’ll be living in a town called Hoofddorp (where he works; near Amsterdam, but even more near Schiphol). We haven’t got an apartment yet, but we’re getting closer and I’m quite confident one will be waiting for me upon my arrival (and it may even have some stuff in it). Until then, I’ve got documents to obtain and get stamped all Apostille-style, and belongings to sort and decide which make the cut for the move or for storage in Texas. Oh, and I’ve got two vacations between now and then, as well! (Poor me!)
I haven’t seen the Lost finale yet, because I’m in a Lost-less land. We’ve (ahem ) acquired a copy to watch, but I have to wait until someone gets home from work. It is killllllling me. I keep seeing posts about it in my reader, and whoa, I want to look. I will likely be back with thoughts on the episode once I’ve watched. (Oh, please don’t let Desmond die!)
[photo courtesy of cuellar on flickr]
In other news, I’m moving. Like, soon. Well, soon-ish… but it’s a 5000+ mile move, so anything less than 3 months seems soon to me. Frank will come to Texas on August 1. We’ll leave my house with all of my worldly possessions (the ones I’m bringing anyway) and my beagle in tow on August 4. We will all end up in The Netherlands at our brand new (to us) apartment on August 14. What are we doing between the 4th & 14th, you ask? Um, driving to New York, taking a very fancy cruise liner to the UK, driving across England, riding a ferry to The Netherlands, and being picked up for the drive from the southern coast of The Netherlands to our apartment. Phew. Sounds busy. But exciting! And fun! I hope the beagle baby is his usual sweet self and tries not to be too grouchy about all the action!
“Older people are still people… they’re just people who think when they open a new window on the computer, the previous window has disappeared for good.” -Mark
Ah, Peep Show. Be still my heart.
I’ve spent the last week watching a bit of the HBO John Adams miniseries each day. I just finished the last part, and highly recommend it.
John Adams’ closing words (which are not an actual quote, but are certainly inspired by his life and feelings) were an especially nice touch.
“Well, posterity, you will never know what it cost us to preserve your freedom. I only hope that you will make a good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in heaven that I ever took half the pains to preserve it.”
A reminder of where we are and how we got there is nice sometimes. It’s hard to imagine there was a time in which the United States didn’t exist and a group of extraordinary people fought to make it so.
I also enjoyed the bits with Thomas Jefferson, especially in the last section where his friendship with Adams was renewed. It is pretty amazing that they both died within hours of each other on July 4, 1826, the 50 anniversary of the day they, along with the other founding fathers, declared independence from Britain.
And just because it’s one of my most favorite quotes on the general topic:
“I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House - with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”
-John F. Kennedy, in 1962 to 49 Nobel Prize winners gathered in the White House
1. Shetland Lace Tee , 2. Night-Blooming Cereus Cardigan , 3. Petit Fours Bralette + Hipsters , 4. Sunroof Ring , 5. Trade-Up Tank
Frank and I went out for a bit of wandering around in Amsterdam on Saturday. First, we caught an early showing of the new Indiana Jones movie. (Highlight the next bit for my not particularly complete or even spoilery thoughts: The conclusion involves aliens, which was weird to me, but even weirder is that they are not a part of the film for most of it, so I was able to keep them from making me hate the whole thing. Some things I particularly enjoyed about the film - Cate Blanchett being Russian, and Shia LeBeouf combing his hair a lot all 50s-greaser-style; Some things I did not particularly enjoy - watching Harrison Ford run around like a rickety ‘ole action hero–dude has seen younger days, for sure, and the fact that Shia LeBeouf’s character willingly nicknamed himself “Mutt”–so that if the possibility of him carrying on the franchise as Indy’s son comes true, the movies would be called… Mutt Jones & the blah blah blah? Seriously?; Things I could have done without: Aliens. It was like Stargate meets The Mummy, and while it’s common knowledge that I love me some cheesy alien interaction a la SG-1 when the right mood strikes, I don’t really look forward to such a thing when I’m getting my action-adventure-archeology on. My most favorite memory of anything Indiana Jones related is the time I went to Universal Studios and got to run from the giant boulder on a set that was identical to the movie in which the exact same thing happened. It was AWESOME and remains my favorite IJ-related thing, even including the aliens, because NO DUH.) Phew. I had more to say about that than I originally anticipated.
After the movie, we strolled around the city snapping photos and went jacket shopping for Franky-pants. He ended up getting a nice grey springtime jacket to replace the nice grey springtime jacket that has a zipper that keeps putting tiny holes in all of his shirts.
I spotted this yellow bicycle when we were turning to walk the other way, but couldn’t pass up the chance to snap a photo of it. The bicycle and the traditional front stoop of a house in Amsterdam are two things that stand out in my mind when I think of the city.
Then I saw this super tall Dutch guy with sweet dimples and took a photo of him too. (Except I totally didn’t just spot him somewhere because he’s Frank and he was with me the whole day anyway. He is super tall and Dutch though. And he does have sweet dimples.)
That’s me playing it cool on a bus on the way out of Amsterdam. Heading to Frank’s brother’s house to grill and eat outside for dinner.
Once there,
I chopped garlic,
and cooked things.
The photo above was taken on the same evening walk as the photo in the previous post. And it has nothing to do with what I’m about to write about, but I liked the very blue sky.
I just got a plane ticket to Washington, D.C. for $5! All of those miles earned flying back and forth to The Netherlands have finally added up to an actual reward (other than, you know, BEING in The NL)! And I’m staying at a friend’s apartment while I’m there, so the 4-day weekend trip is shaping up to be quite affordable! I’m a huge political science geek and history nerd, and I’ve never been, so I’m super excited. My list of things to do and see is loooooonnnnng and I’m still on the lookout for more. My plan is to do as much as humanly possible in the time I’m there and collapse when I get home.
In other news, Frank and I are attempting to make a chocolate chip cookie cake tonight for his Mom’s birthday tomorrow. I love that he has developed a fondness for spending hours in the kitchen baking up sweet treats by my side.
