Made me smile

Apparently this is an impromptu recital by Fran and Marlo Cowan after they noticed the piano in the lobby of the Mayo Clinic on their way to (or from) a doctor appointment. He turned 90 earlier this year and they have been married for 62 years.



via (A Cup of Jo)

the theory of fun

I so would have been taken the stairs had this experiment been going on while I was in Stockholm. Sadly, it wasn't. The Fun Theory has been tested in a few other ways. Check them out here:



(via swissmiss)

A plug for a friend

My friend Melinda, is an all around cool woman. Not only does she make delicious desserts and divine jewelry, but she plays on my soccer team and does triathlons and raises three funny kids with her husband, but she now has started an etsy page for tote bags. I gotta say, I love these, even if she wasn't the one making them.


















Yesterday, she gave me one of her new business cards for the site and they are also super duper cute. But then, the back color is that kinda apple green and my favorite pale blue.

Wanna play?

I've rediscovered my love of Tag. I mean, try and play without laughing. It's hard to do. At least for me. I like laughing. Seriously. I busted out laughing this week carrying laundry. You know when you have that really large load and you have to carry it without a basket or bag into a different room. You have to get into a sumo wrestler pose and then bend over the load and try and contain it all so that you don't lose a sock to the great unknown along the way? Yeah, now, imagine doing this and turning the corner to unexpectedly find someone catching you in the act.



(Thanks swissmiss)

A taste of things to come

I told several people that the Sweden and Norway pictures would be shared more quickly than the Amsterdam ones. I am still curating the photos (yeah, because they are THAT good! hahaha) as I took an insane number of them. But for a little taste of Norway, here is a sampler. This is at the Lysebotn turn off from highway 45 a few hours east of Sandnes that we unexpectedly found ourselves at for about an hour. Can you guess what had us rooted to the spot?

Amsterdam at night

Amsterdam at night is pretty amazing. All the canals with lights reflecting off of the water. The solitude and quiet the night brings with the occasional pedestrian's feet walking on the cobblestones and the soft rickety sounds of the bikes taking their riders wherever they want to go. At least that is what I heard when I was walking in and around the Jordaan district.

I stayed in the Jordaan district at a great hotel, Hotel Van Onna. It is sparse and not big on frills, but it is well situated and really inexpensive compared to the rest of the area. Plus the breakfasts were filling. Music to my ears. The below photos were all taken within 10 blocks or so of my hotel.

Either along the Keizersgracht or the Prinsengracht:







On the Raadhuisstraat:



The westerkerk:
from the corner of Raadhuisstraat and Prinsengracht



both of these are from Bloemstraat and Prinsengracht


from Bloemgracht less than a block from my hotel.

When will I get a personal helper monkey?

Apparently Conde Nast employees need to start doing their own dishes instead of just letting them pile up for the interns.

An intern's note announcing this change is what you see below. I have no idea why I find this so funny, but I do.