Amsterdam Xmas

Hallo! I decided I'm going to learn to speak Dutch (because my vocab is a sad mix of crappy Italian and ever diminishing English, & I need to add more confusion to my life). Anyway, this Christmas was really...silly! And fun. 

Check It.

The first of the delicious fried food: fried apples!

Award: Best Xmas Eve sighting

This is exactly what you think it is: A (really high) old man covered in lights, singing X-mas songs in a decorated boat, using a fishing pole to collect money from the crowd. 

Greta, the Xmas Cactus

The present pile!!!

Just wanted to cut in and say that these next photos...YUM. Frankie and I made some awesome bolognese sauce (with pasta), and zucchini with parmesan cheese. So good. 

Come to think of it

I think this is my last post in 2012. Have a great new year!

Torino Trip... Finally!

Sorry this took me FOREVER, but it's been a busy week. THE LONG AWAITED PHOTOS OF (drumroll, please)... La Venaria Reale (the Palace) & the Moda in Italia exhibit (150 Anni di Eleganza) in Torino! The Palace is so amazing, I doubt I could capture it. The only thing that could've been better is they just re- did ALL of the gardens (acres and acres), so all the plants are young. In 10 years, it's going to be the most beautiful place in the entire world. 

 Started out reaaaal creepy

 Boom.

 Happy Holidays! Yeah, that's gelato.

An amazing landscape even so far.  (The gardens)

Sweet tree. Thanks to Yoshie for pointing this out!

Torino durante la sera- che bello!

Museum Behavior

Went to Torino on a class trip Tuesday.. didn't sort through all the pictures yet, but Isadora sent me a couple gems. More soon.

check it

Jackii Kong in "Museum Behavior"

"I did make friends in Italy."

Too much downtime?

This week is super busy. Not the busiest, but it's up there. I just found a small stash of photos from Amsterdam that may prove I wasted some precious time last week. I'm totally ok with it.

Check it

$ & J

 Like this faceball? 

Well you shouldn't. That's MY faceball.

Now I like to cook. So, what?

Weirder things have happened, I'm sure. But really, I never saw this coming. Turns out, I like cooking. Frankie and I made this bomb meal yesterday- stuffed mushrooms, garlic roasted mashed potatoes, and burnt broccoli- I'll let it speak for itself. 

Check it.

Yeeeah, son.

"That's the difference between me and the rest of the world! Happiness isn't good enough for me! I demand euphoria!"

In Amsterdam again! Ok, so Frankie and I made the most AMAZING dinner tonight, BUT I totally didn't post any other pictures from this trip yet. So, these are some other pictures, mostly of delicious food, and I'll post about dinner tomorrow! 

Controleer het.

X-mas pic. CREDIT: F$ Capito

Apparently I eat steak tartare, now.

 Kaassoufle- this is filled with cheese AND came out of a vending machine. I love Amsterdam. 

The classics: Kaastengels & Bitterballen with a beer

It's cold out, man!

Fondazione Antonio Ratti Library

Last Friday, the whole crew and I took a class trip out to Como. We went to the Fondazione Antonio Ratti Library, which is a textile library. It was amazing- really beautiful fabrics. I saw a textile that is 1 of 2 ever made (from the late 1800s)! Thank goodness I didn't miss the train!

...Check it

"Meandering" (The S shaped silver lines)

 The chair cushion (I couldn't help myself)

 Credit: Kaiya

 "Perverted": Taking a picture of the wrong side of the fabric

This picture does not do justice! So intricate; this is 1 fabric of 2 that have ever been produced in this design.

If this interests you at all, you can check out the website- the entire collection is available:

http://www.fondazioneratti.org/page/34/Museo-del-tessuto

I'll take a kilo of onions, please.

So, there are these really great markets every weekend in Milan, and one of them is a vegetable market. You already know that I'm not exactly a cook, so I can't say I have any idea what to buy when I go to a supermarket- let alone a fresh fruit/veggie market. In a foreign country. Needless to say, I went home with a 1/2 kilo of onions last weekend. (I know, I didn't think that sounded like a lot, either!) It is absolutely way too many frickin' onions, and I still am eating them. So! To continue my pancake craze, I decided to

make onion pancakes. Surprisingly, they were delicious! 

 ...Check it

Ohh, baby. Look at that steam.

I'm pretty sure this is the 1st bottle of wine I've ever opened

Ok, so I didn't cook these because I don't like mushrooms. But, don't these look amazing?! They're so fresh, they're still stuck together! (And covered in dirt! Yum!)

Teach me how to knit, teach me teach me how to knit

I attended my first ever Knit Night yesterday, which happens to be (conveniently) at my house! Beer, pizza, cookies, tea, knitting. And a little bit of DJ Kaiya. So, against my better judgement, I've learned how to knit... as if I needed another hobby. I also have a very tight schedule this week, as we are learning a coordinated dance to (Korea's best boy band) 2PM's "Hands Up". Check it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgrB2KBZws4&ob=av2e