aer lingus sounds dirty.

back again from another wonderful weekend in amsterdam. it was james' birthday on thursday, so on friday lauren and i headed there for some celebratin'. best of all- his dad was there! and we have heard so many stories about this man, so it was an epic visit, really. we got to see a video of highlights of hilarious and adorable james as a kid, had some awesome conversation, and of course, lived the high life.

on friday, we went out to a bar for a drink with some of his friends, who were super easy to talk to and it was just lovely. then we went home, made some guacamole, uncorked some wine, and had an easy night. on saturday, we went out to lunch (at the 404, of course, where else for the best lunch in a'dam?), and ended up home for more cooking. we made a caprese salad, pesto pasta, elephant beans in some delicious herbs and spices, and then BAKLAVA. see the pic. oh man. delicious.

and after that fantastic weekend of conversation, walking around amsterdam, and cooking up feasts that don't end until the sun is almost rising... i'm back to week 2 of being a kept woman. i just went to the store and made some raw vegan tabouleh for dinner tonight- i hope it goes over well. it's something my mom has made before and i love it! it's basically cauliflower, parsley, cucumber, tomato, garlic, green onion, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. i think i changed it up a bit but i think it's really, really good!

we're doing a light dinner tonight because i think we're going over for a bikram yoga class... the really, really, hot/awesome classes. it should be really great, as long as i don't pass out! i haven't done a hot yoga class since high school, so i'm going to be pretty rusty. on the up side, i ran six miles yesterday (or so we estimate with our park-laps), and i'm feelin' pretty great.


also... my flight home hath been booked. this wonderful adventure is indeed coming to an end on july 21st... but really, it's just the start of another one, i'm sure. i'm feeling so good about my life choices, which i literally never thought i'd say! but i am. not that it won't be terribly, terribly awful to leave holland, and lauren, and james, and our love nest, and the stroopwafels and the bikes and the tulips and... yeah. but it's going to be great.

so, if you're home when i'm home, we're hanging out. f'sho.

day four as a kept woman

well, lauren started her job on monday (which is awesome, badass, etc.), which means my days are severely different. kind of. i'm basically doin' my thang from 8:30am to 6pm, most of which has been my attempt at manageable goals/productivity. i've done some deep-cleaning, some organizing, bust mostly- cooking! oh yes. i say this in hopes that what i put on the table is delicious: i'm having a huge amount of fun making dinner while she's at work. no homo.

i'm pretty simple, i think i've made guacamole, a healthy spinach artichoke dip with carrots that turned into just a vegetable dip, and then tonight i made a corn, spinach, carmelized onions, avacado, roasted red pepper, and garlic salad (a recipe i took from my mom and molded into something to use the rest of our vegetables), and bruschetta and multi-grain crostini. um, yum. so now that it's done, i'm relaxing with a book and a glass of wine... resisting hard the temptation to go eat it before she gets home! whoa.

tonight we're going out with the interns lauren works with. which means several things. 1) we're finally "going out" in the hague! 2) must stabilize myself for influx of dutch hotties. 3) awesome.

the adventure, alas, is finally coming to an end. it's become apparent that i need to accept the lack of jobs here- not that i didn't try. hard. i think i tapped every market i could think of... oh well. maybe i should have learned the language and/or gotten some working papers or something. instead, i'm coming home on the most expensive flight known to man- $850 one way! shit. and then i return, broke, humbled, and stronger. different. deeper? happier? more bold, to be sure.

number one (debatably) perk of going home: fully equiped kitchen and people to cook for. tightttt.

i made a mix last night of my dutch adventure- check it out:

the decemberists- the crane wife 3
ezra furman and the harpoons- the world is alive
fall out boy- bang the doldrums
the maine- i wanna love you
the mountain goats- heretic pride
queen- don't stop me now
the tallest man on earth- this wind
counting crows- accidentally in love
joe pug- number 14 on donnelly's mix
noah and the whale- sun, sun, sun (5 years time)
cold war kids- hospital beds
rufus wainwright- hallelujah
owen- places to go
norah jones- somewhere over the rainbow
peter bjorn and john- amsterdam
the format- tie the rope
the new pornographers- sing me spanish techno
cat power- naked if i want to
jason mraz- i'm yours
motion city soundrack- even if it kills me
rusted root- send me on my way
rilo kiley- more adventurous

consider it.

well, it's that hour.

if you're not familiar, lose yourself in the world of food porn (thanks to donnelly for this): www.tastespotting.com

... doin' it for the story!

come, children, let me tell you the tale of the most fantastic trip to london that ended in the most awful/hilarious way.

so, lauren and i went to london on july 1st to stay with her friend kelly from home until the 5th. let me go right ahead and say- kelly and jon are the shit. i was a little nervous when lauren said we were staying with her youth minister from camp back in new canaan, but it was nothing like that at all. kelly is 30ish and six months pregnant with her first child, and in a doctorate program at king's college at waterloo to get her PhD in some kind of theology. and she's so open and loving when she speaks about faith that i was absolutely floored. i'm really impressed by the way that she manages faith with the rest of her life, making it wholly a part of it but in no way oppressive or even really defined. anyway, so she and jon moved to london and opened their flat to us, and it was fantastic!

so, our first full day there, we went to burrough market (see the pic)! it was right under tower bridge, and by far one of the best markets i've ever been to. it also helped that i kept spending my meager pounds on sangria to sip while we perused the stalls, and i was a little giggly by the end. so we picked up some fresh bread, cheese, and artichoke hearts, and ate some vegetarian noodle/bean/cous cous concoctions, as well as fish and chips, and then left kelly to go to the tate modern.

the tate is one of my favorite museums by far! it's got a boom-bangin' collection, and is also very manageable in size. their collection is really diverse too, and they're not afraid to take a chance on some really kooky things. lauren ran into someone from her high school class there (holy random happenstance) and we recuperated with espresso on the balcony overlooking the thames, and to st. paul's cathedral. it. was. lovely.

then we walked over to st. paul's, and ended up right when evensong was starting. so, we got to go to the front of the church where the clergy sits, and listen to a choral performance/service. it was really beautiful, and it was a nice addition to this whole being-in-my-head thinking about what i really think, re-evaluating kind of state of mind that's been a theme in this whole adventure.

we walked up to where i used to live, and then over to tottenham court road, and took the tube back to kelly's. we had a quiet evening in with apples to apples, wine, and cheese... literally my perfect night.

on saturday, we woke up and went to leicester square to get tickets for a show. we got tickets for cheap to see avenue q, which was super exciting! i saw it once in high school, but i was so pumped to get to see it again. then we ate a delicious brunch at a place called the breakfast club, and went our separate way from kelly. we went and did a crash tour of london- the british museum to see the elgin marbles, the rosetta stone, and some other... shit, then the lovely walk to the national museum to take in our art quota for the day. it was awesome to be with lauren because she's totally okay with skipping the madonna-and-child/altarpiece era, which i think i'm so over i can't even stand it! we focused on the modern art, which is a really nicely rounded out collection. oh yeah.

then we walked through st. james' park, saw big ben, parliament, westminster abbey, buckingham palace, etc., and then went home. THEN we got dressed and went to the most delicious mexican restaurant, all super fresh and light food, that was ranked number one on london cheap eats! and it was SO. GOOD. i had a cactus-nacho that was out of this world! also a hibiscus margarita... yum. and instead of matches, they give out little chili pepper seeds. awesome.

avenue q was hilarious. seriously. 'nuff said. except for maybe, also, it was hitting so close to home- single, unemployed, and almost 23- sound familiar? haha. but seriously, it made me feel really good about being that way at this time in my life, and that i really can't take myself too seriously.

on sunday, 4th of july of course!, we went to battersea park for an "american" barbeque with kelly and jon. we acquired the most awkward and socially weird man named andy for most of the day, and it was hilarious/really annoying. we also drank a considerable amount of wine and pimm's, got a paddle boat out on the lake, and OH YEAH i definitely danced with a man who couldn't have been younger than 75. turns out, everyone stopped to watch us... yes, i got a standing O from people. if not standing, at least much applause from like... 200 people. amazing? hilarious? yes. all of the above. pictures to follow.

THEN.
Oh.
then.

sunday morning, we got up at 4 am for an 8 am flight out of luton, on the other side of the city. had to take a bus, and a train, and wait, etc., so whatever, we get there at like 7:10. turns out... it was the wrong airport. we came into luton, but left from stanstead. so, of course, we're shit out of luck. we bought new tickets, a bus ticket to stanstead, and waited for four hours. finally, we check in, and go through security, and i set off the metal detector. so i get groped, legitimately needed a cigarette after that kind of intimacy. so then my bag comes through and sets off the machine. lovely. this guy with a spiky ass mohawk is going through my shit, and finds the pepper spray my sister got me for my birthday that looks like lipstick. and he looks at me, and goes...

"you know this is an illegal weapon in the UK."
"whut."
"uh huh. i'm sorry, i'm going to have to get the cops... and they're going to have to take you into custody."

ahaahahahhahahahahaha. i mean, really. after this whole shenanigans, i get taken into custody for pepper spray. thankfully, the cops were super super cool, and we laughed and joked and then i got interviewed, fingerprinted, DNA-swabbed, and photographed mug-shot style with my stats. oh, and i'm blacklisted at all UK airports for five years.

for being armed and dangerous.

i just... i don't even have any more to say about that. hilarious. also, my dad is playing my custody numbers in the lottery next weekend. cross your fingers!

today was lauren's first day of work, so i had to play kept woman for the first time. i power-cleaned our third-floor walk-up love nest, went grocery shopping, made guacamole, did laundry, and went for a run. i also got to catch up with a lot of people, which was really great. i was getting a little lonely after being with donnelly for literally 23 hours of every day for the last six weeks. at which point, i need to point out the strength of this friendship. it's still working so well! i'm beyond lucky to have her in my life, especially to make this move with.

and now, it's 10 pm and still bright as day. lauren's trying to sleep for work tomorrow, but i can't pass out before it's dark out two nights in a row. thus, i blog. it's all for you.