Thankful for iPhone Photos

Because without it, recalling 5 months in a post would be very hard!  

The Adventures of AmsterDayna took a short break at the end of last year, which was unintended, but indicative of how insane the last half of 2018 was for me. I had every intention of doing a post on Provence part 2 from early August, and a full post on our amazing trip to Poland, but the photo albums on Facebook will just have to suffice. Le sigh. 

Before I can move into the new year, I wanted to do a short roundup of all the amazing (and not-so-amazing) things that happened in the last few months: 

August

·       Provence part 2! The incredible journey I took with my good friend Emily continued as we shifted our home base from Avignon to Marseilles. Marseilles overall was a bit disappointing, but the beach was just what we needed. We made it a habit of seeking out the beach each evening and would stay until we got kicked out around 8pm just soaking up the last rays of the day. We also made it habit of frequenting the gelato stands around the city.

Highlights included: 

• A day trip to Aix-en-Provence where we explored the local market, grabbed a coffee at the famous Les Deux Garcons, toured the city by foot, and visited Cezanne’s studio. Highly, highly recommended! 

• A day trip to Arles to explore the city and check out the Les Rencontres d'Arles, the annual photography exhibits spread out around the city. 

·       Exploring Prague and then all that Poland had to offer in and around two of the main cities: Warsaw and Krakow with my mom. See Facebook albums of Prague and Poland for more :) 

September

·       A quick work trip to Milan where I had just enough time to catch a glimpse of the Duomo and taste test the local cuisine, just to make sure it was up to snuff. It was ;-)

·       Hosting one of my best friends, Amanda, in Amsterdam for a weekend!

·       Weekend trip to London with my friend Kate for some shopping, high tea and Whole Foods run!

·       Weekend trip to Paris with my friends Fien and Virginie. We caught the phenomenal Klimt exhibit at Atelier des Lumières, and had some fantastic desserts!

October

·       Trip to Slovenia with Jenna and Megan, blog post here

·       Getting the opportunity to be one of the keynotes at the Nudge Global Impact Challenge here in the Netherlands. After participating in the Challenge 3 years ago, it was incredible to be back on the stage in a different capacity, talking to feature young leaders from all over the world!

·       Getting to pop into DC for Alani’s 3^rd birthday! Winning the best aunt award over here :) 

November

·       Enjoying high tea at The Smallest House in Amsterdam. This place is GREAT! If you’re a high tea and history fan, put this on your Amsterdam to-do list. The house now serves as a tea shop on the ground floor, and has one table for 5 where you can get high tea (book in advance!). Our host is the son-in-law of the owners who told us all about the history of the house and cooked us a fresh and delicious feast of scones, tea sandwiches and scrumptious pies. Everything was delicious, the tea selection abundant, atmosphere spectacular and, of course, the company was wonderful.

·       Hosting Thanksgiving dinner for about 20 colleagues! Blog post here.

·       Getting to celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S. this year with my family and meeting one of my best friend’s baby! In loveee with baby James! Swinging through NY on the way back to Amsterdam to see all my amazing friends at brunch.

December

·       Getting my Christmas market fix with a trip to Aachen, German with my friend Caroline

·       Jetting to Aruba for one of my best friend’s 30^th birthdays! Having SO much fun in the sun with Steph, Lexi and Lisa.

·       Testing out high tea at The Dutchess in Amsterdam with Kate, and deciding after a less-than-impressive experience to start rating our high tea experiences. Maybe more on that soon…

·       Holiday cookie baking with the girls 

·       One more transatlantic trip (my 10^th this year! Not so proud of that) to babysit my niece for a few days in DC

·       A few fun days in Florida to meet Jackie’s baby (!), seeing Mary Poppins Returns with Mindy and Melanie, shopping at Sawgrass, pigging out on ice cream at Jaxson’s and enjoying that hot ball of fire called the sun that doesn’t appear much in Amsterdam these days

·       And some not-so-fun moments in Florida. Officially saying goodbye to my nana at her final resting place. It was not easy, but for her to be next to my papa, in a weird way, felt right. We also said goodbye to the home and community that served as a second home to me for 29 years. Truly emotional.

·       Ringing in the New Year at my friend Claudia’s party in London!

So there you have it, all of the fun things I kept myself busy with over the last 5 months. Here’s to another exciting year in 2019, which I hope will be just as filled with more good times with friends/family, and plenty AmsterDayna Adventures.

Happy 2019!

The Season of Thanks

The Season of Thanks

The holiday season is hands-down my favorite time of year - this coming from someone who detests cold weather and lack of daylight. For a six week period the cold and darkness don't matter when the streets become aglow with twinkling festive lights, and people stop to think and reflect on the year they are about to leave behind. 

For Americans, the season kicks off with giving thanks. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Who doesn't love a holiday dedicated to black Friday shopping deals family/friends, food and thankfulness. It's a non-religious holiday that everyone gets to participate it. Something amazing happens when you're gathered around a table with people who you love and you stop to think about what it is that you are grateful for. 

This year I get to have my cake and eat it too. Last night I held my 2nd (annual) Thanksgiving for my colleagues, and this week I head to the US to celebrate with my family and see my friends. I had 20 colleagues this year, making it the most elaborate dinner party I've held in my 30 years.

I battled Tom the turkey during the day, and am pleased to report the second turkey I've cooked in my life was a succss, which I consider a huge feat considering the size of my tiny Dutch oven...

It was an amazing night, thanks to the help and support of the group. One of my weaknesses is that I don't always ask for help. Well, actually, I never ask for help. I don't want to burden anyone with my problems when people have so many of their own. But the older I get, the more I realize there is no shame is asking for it. (I can see people who have been telling me that for years rolling their eyes as they read this!)

Anyway, I'm truly thankful for finally coming to that conclusion, because there's no way I could have pulled off last night alone! From lending tables and chairs, to cooking a second turkey, and many amazing other sides to helping clean up, I have nothing but gratitude for this amazing group of colleagues. We all made last night happen! 

We counted there were 9 nationalities at the table: French, Italian, Dutch, American, Turkish, Mexican, Latvian, Belgian, South African. How amazing is that? Like last year, I instituted the traditional Thanksgiving game of "say what you're thankful for," to which I was again met with looks of skepticism and horror. I'm pleased to share that by the end of dinner, everyone had [happily?] shared :-) It's one of those moments living abroad where cultural differences really shine through. 

The menu was plentiful, the stories hilarious (what comes out at the Thanksgiving table, stays at the Thanksgiving table!), and the company fantastic. 

And this sweet bunch even got me a few amazing gifts as a thank you for hosting:

So, what am I thankful for this year? Besides my new Thanksgiving TOMS? 

There's a play I saw a few years ago in NY called "Love, Loss and What I wore," based on the book by the same title. Over the course of 90 minutes four ladies of all different ages recall the highlights and lowlights of their lives up until the current moment, and of course, what they were wearing at the time.

Why mention this? Because I feel like I could write my own version of the play based on this year alone. The truth is, this year was really tough - deaths in the family that will forever leave a void, extremely challenging moments at work, failed relationships, and all the crazy effects stress has on the body. 

But this year was also amazing at the same time. I celebrated my 30th birthday (about 5 times in 4 different countries), deepend friendships here in Amsterdam with people who I would now consider family, traveled to - I can't even count how many - new countries/cities, got to go the US 8 times in 12 months to see family and friends (a little nuts on that one!), received so many of my wonderful friends here in Amsterdam, got to celebrate the weddings of close friends and the births of friends' children, and - did I mention - I am still living the amazing city of Amsterdam!!! 

You might still be asking...what is it that you're thankful for? I guess when I really think about, it's all of the above. The good and the bad. The bad makes us stronger, the good makes us smile as we work hard to overcome the bad.

While I wouldn't wish any of the bad things I've experienced this year on anyone, I do hope this holiday season people take time to do a little reflection of their own. Only then do you realize what it is you are grateful for. 

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful holiday season!