Wonderful evening with a sweet colleague, Yvette! Timo made this ridiculously delicious pea and mint soup from a recipe on Jamie Oliver’s ipad app. It’s fresh and easy and especially good with the feta and ciabatta croutons on the top. Yay! He also made some pizza with emmentaler, red onions, mushrooms, and ricotta. I need to do some extra exercise this weekend….
It started out a bit sunny, plenty of clouds, but also a gorgeous reflection on the canals. As I continued my 15 minute bike ride, the sky got progressively darker. 3 minutes before the office, the wind picked up and you could hear thunder. And then it was dark enough to see some really spectacular lightning. Everyone visibly sped up on their bikes to reach the office before the rain! Just as I was locking up and running to the front door, the rain really started.
Now I’m sitting at my desk in a big glass tower and staring out over the IJ River, watching the magestic lightning and rain. Sure, this might get old, but for now, I’m absolutely loving this Dutch weather. The crazy storm outside just seems to calm me down. To take a moment and appreciate the magnificent storm.
The New Yorker profile on Sheryl Sandberg, from a July issue that Leesie gave to me to take on the plane (and I’ve only now gotten around to reading…) is just ridiculously inspiring. I kind of wish it was less focused on the fact that she is a female and more focused on the fact that she’s a very powerful leader and should be an inspiration to any young person in tech or business, male or female. Her leadership skills and style just fit so well in a dynamic and fast moving environment, filled with passionate and ambitious people. Lots to learn!
A quote from her graduation speech at Barnard: “Don’t let your fears overwhelm your desire. Let the barriers you face—and there will be barriers—be external, not internal. Fortune does favor the bold. I promise that you will never know what capable of unless you try. You’re going to walk off this stage today and you’re going to start your adult life. Start out by aiming high. . . . Go home tonight and ask yourselves, What would I do if I weren’t afraid? And then go do it!”
Not bad inspiration for the day!
and maybe some salt, pepper, basil, and good parmesan cheese.
Really trying to understand the very many debt crises that have taken place over the last couple years (and probably will continue globally for some time) can be intimidating and very difficult. Enter Michael Lewis, author of The Big Short, who does such an incredible job of explaining the subprime mortgage crisis from point A to point B, with a tremendous attention to the lives of the people involved and the social causes and implications. Just a thrilling and incredibly educational read.
One of his latest articles in Vanity Fair is also a page turner and of specific interest to me now that I’m living in Europe. It focuses on the current European economic crisis, in particular, Germany’s role in supporting the failing economies in the EU. It touches on some pretty controversial but also fascinating German cultural phenomena, which just seems more relevant now that Germany is my neighbor, and trying to understand the German sensibilities (because keep in mind, I also want to sell them electric shavers…) is a priority for me. But for any this article is just all around totally fascinating, read it now!
Made this the other night when we had people over for some wine and snacks. Completed with “meal” with hummus and homemade pita chips, tomato basil bruschetta, zucchini fritters with cumin sour cream, salad, and fruit for dessert.
So I kind of made this one up and will just describe the process a bit…first, salt slices of eggplant with kosher salt and let it drain for about an hour. Then brush off the salt and drizzle them with some olive oil and vinegar, and crushed black pepper. Broil for 7 minutes or until golden brown under the broiler, flip them over and repeat.
Remove from the oven, let cool. Top with super high quality fresh mozzarella, balsamic glaze (balsamic vinegar reduced over the stove), pepper, and plenty of torn basil. DEVOUR by them selves or with crusty bread!
The time, it has flown by so so fast. I can’t believe how busy things have been…lots of work, plus entertaining at our new place, exploring the city, enjoying the weather, some yoga etc. etc. But I WILL get back into the blogging habit, because it is just so darn fun!!
So this past weekend was super special because two of my great friends from college came to visit for totally separate reasons and coincidentally at the same time! Kyle was on the continent doing some research in Paris and took a quick jaunt to Amsterdam Friday, and Omar was coming through town on business Saturday. Pretty darn great for me and Timo! The weather was great – we’ve been really unlucky with the summer weather so far, but Saturday turned out to be sunny and hot…perfect for a very long, relaxed boatride. A great way to share the city with tourists (I’m still kind of one of those too…)
Passing the Rijksmuseum
On the Ij!
So relaxing…
Windswept!
A pretty crazy one, as it was Gay Pride and a lot of the festivities were right around our apartment. Started Friday evening with wine and cheese sitting on the side of the Prinsengracht (a canal right near our place), then enjoyed exploring the city. A few of the major streets in our neighborhood and the Rembrandtplein were closed down and DJs and outdoor bars were set up for everyone to enjoy! Plenty of fabulous drag queens and ridiculously danceable music – quite a night. I definitely recommend visiting Amsterdam during one of these wild celebrations, this city knows how to have a great time. The other major one is Queen’s Day on April 30 (my birthday too!). Everyone has the day off of work and many congregate in a big party downtown, not to be missed.
Besides that, did a lot of work getting the apartment in ship shape (many trips to the hardware store, Hema (NL’s Target), etc.. Timo’s family came for dinner on Saturday and we got all of the produce at the Albert Cuyp market close to our house. Super fresh and local vegetables available at an outdoor market every day at a fraction of the price of the supermarket. Really a treat.
Sunday was more housework and cleaning but also a surprise afternoon boat ride during which we passed by Artis zoo and were greeted by some friendly giraffes! Then finished the evening with pizza and beer sitting on a bench outside of La Perla, the best pizza in Amsterdam. Then a long walk along the canals home and I’m exhausted!
This first week has been absolutely insane – I can’t even process it. Really really ready for bed.
Aka – bedroom! Here it is so far – kept it very simple and clean, but it’s light box when the sun comes up in the morning (at 5am), which has taken some getting used to. Going to do a little project with the bedframe (it’s cheap Ikea and came with the place) to make it more attractive. Will post when I’m finished!
