Advice on London

Image by Keri Bevan

I really like this unconventional but more relevant advice on How to Move to London by Jessica Stanley. Many of her points would work for moving to Amsterdam.

My favorites:

- Everyone you meet will ask you “so how do you like London,” so prepare an answer or avoid all gatherings for approx nine months after arriving.

- No matter how excited you are, don’t move any earlier in the year than March. Surviving a new city is hard enough without battling the arctic tundra. 

-You will, on and off, be horribly homesick. Moving somewhere is not the same as travelling; you do not feel “free.” You have to learn the basics all over again: customs, supermarket brands, navigating, where to buy affordable opaque tights. Be prepared.

Hibernation

The rumors are true! Spring is in full swing here in Amsterdam. The boats are floating through the canals, the sun is up past 8 O’clock and the windmill brewery next door is packed with Vitamin D deficient drinkers on the terrace. I painted this right before I left for Texas when I was still wearing tights underneath my jeans and headphones disguised as ear muffs. It’s a depiction of my main winter pastime besides eating mashed potatoes. I’m glad this phase is over.

Submarine

If you like the sentiment of Truffaut’s The 400 Blows, the aesthetic of Wes Anderson, and the dark humor in Harold and Maude, you will love Submarine. I can’t believe this is Richard Ayoade’s first feature film!

Homesick Texan

This is not a post about the food blog  (though I love her recipes), this is a dramatic post about my aching heart as it is forced to say goodbye to my friends, family, and Tex-Mex. My annual visit back home has come to an end and I’m about to board the plane back to good ol’ Amsterdam. Texas, I love you. Amsterdam, I hear you have good weather waiting for me. The plus side of spring.

Vertical Gardens

I guess you can have a snooze fest painting on your wall or INSTEAD have a whole garden hanging sideways as a work of art. Really fond of these vertical gardens by Flora Grubb. They even offer  DIY succulent garden panels and faux fern staghorns.   ( via wolfeyebrows )

Baby Run!

Spent the afternoon with my lovely friend Shayla and her awesome kids Ruby and Jesse. We played dress up and attempted a photo shoot in front of this mosaic. Jesse (aka Jungleman) recently discovered how to use his legs to flee to greener pastures so the shoot ended up mostly capturing his newly developed skill. So cute!

Texas is Delicious

I’m currently too busy eating in Texas to be bothered with hanging out on the world wide web. It’s just too darn delicious in this state.

Hungry Planet: What the World Eats

After writing about the upcoming Food Film Festival, I remembered they had the most amazing photo exhibition called Hungry Planet at last year’s event. In this book, the husband and wife team, Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio visits 30 families in 24 different countries and captures how globalization, migration,  and affluent lifestyles have changed the way people eat around the world. They study the habits of they way people eat but also photographs a weeks worth of what is consumed with each family. The above family is from Japan. It’s so interesting to see how packaged and processed everything is compared to the basic fruits, vegetabls, and grains of the Guatemalan family. Its also fascinating to see exactly how much people spend on what they eat and how little you actually need to survive. I would be curious to see my  own food consumption portrait. To learn more about the project, listen to this interview on NPR.

Guatemala, spends $75. 70

Chad, spends $1.23 a week

U.S., $341.98 a week

Food Film Festival

Here are the films I would watch if I wasn’t in Texas next week during the Food Film Festival. It’s one of my favorite festivals in Amsterdam, check it out if you’re in the city from March 16-18.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi, about the most passionate sushi chef.

LoveMEATender, Why do we eat meat everyday and what are the consequences of that?

Tampopo, This is a ramen Western.

Illustrated Missed Connections

I love these missed connection illustrations by Sophie Blackhall. Every time I read through the missed connections on Craigslist, I create a mental scenario of these fleeting interactions and  wonder if these people will ever find each other. These one liners are like sad but beautiful poetry. It’s cool to see someone make these  stories come to life. To learn more about the artist, check out the etsy documentary below.

Handmade Portraits: Sophie Blackall from Etsy on Vimeo.