Smitten

Everyone here knows that I'm completely smitten with Amsterdam. I've been happy reading this week that uber-hip fashion blogger Garance Dore is also: Check her out here, here, and here. She's such an amazing street photographer.

Goin' Down South

Post 100 coming to you from MEMPHIS. We made it! For the life of me I can't find one thing in the chaos we now call home, including the usb cord to my camera. Pictures of the house/etc. to come soon. As for this post, I found some pictures Darling's sister posted online (via Blackberry) of our journey down here.

Evening settling in on Beale Street.

The King. Everything in this town is Elvis. You'd think with so much rich history and big names including Johnny Cash, Otis Redding, and B.B. King (to name a few) getting their starts here the spotlight would shed a bit of light elsewhere. no. Elvis. is. King.

I was born a coal miner's daughter

In Kentucky I stepped out of the car at a gas station and received 9 mosquito bites in approximately 3 minutes.

Look at that thing--What a beast!


We drove North East through Wyoming, cut down into Colorado through Denver, into and across Kansas, south again through Wichita and into Oklahoma (for those of you who have not been through Oklahoma it is truly hell on earth. I have never EVER felt heat like in Oklahoma), stopped for dinner with darling's aunt and cousins and took a necessary dip in their pool near Oklahoma City, cut East across Arkansas, through Little Rock and across the Mississippi River into Memphis. 4 days in a 22' truck + cab + hitch + car trailer. I managed to eat more BBQ and fast food last week alone, than I have in the last 3 years combined. There is some really really amazing food here but I'm ready to go back to cooking my own meals and going to a few of the Farmer's Markets in the area. As soon as our driving companions left I made an incredible salad of roasted asparagus, cherry tomatoes, yellow pepper, red onion, goat cheese, baby greens and a super light vinaigrette (heaven). I'm keeping house, trying to make sense of the madness that we've created, and looking for a job. More posts to come, hope ya'll are doing well.

Oh the things I would do

... to make this sweater mine.

I don't know if I'll be posting much this week as it's my last week to pack and get everything done before we move. It's incredible the way the to-do list grows every. single. day. My 4th of July was less eventful than anyone I know but here's a magical little story from the weekend to share:

A friend of mine and I were hanging out last night, and, quite late, as we were leaving the apartment we had been at, we started chatting on the street before hopping into the car to leave. In [his] true fashion, my friend pulled out his tap shoes from the trunk of his car and started doing a little number on the sidewalk. A forty-something man walking near by muttered, "oh my god" and rushed toward us. His quick run/walk steps turned into fast falaps. "What size shoe do you wear man?" My friend immediately took the shoes off of his feet and gave them to the man, "here sir, it's all yours." "Oh my god," he said again. He told us he used to tap as a kid, "from 8-21, and I was a bad mother f****r back in my days in Detroit." He had not put on a pair of tap shoes in over 20 years. It was magic. Really. Truly. Magic. The way he lit up, energy pouring out of him as he walked us through the first step he had ever learned (falap), the second step he ever learned (falap toe heel), and so on. He kept tripping out over it, it totally blew his mind, over and over he kept repeating, "I'm 46 years old and I have not had a pair of tap shoes on my feet in over 20 years, oh my god."

It was one of those moments, astounding, grounding, inspiring.

Wish me luck folks!

(p.s. Post 99! Yikes)

List Today

1. We must choose what stuff to keep wisely: 26 small boxes of books + 10 larger boxes 1/2 filled with books + random books around the house = too many books, especially for 2 people still in their twenties and vagabonds by nature. Now add all of the vinyl, Darling's gigantic cd collection (that I can't seem to figure out why he has packed it so far through life when he also has everything in digital format), all of the dvds--essentially, stuff. Now, I personally enjoy the books and vinyl, but I think slimming down can be done in every department.

2. Hiring movers may be the best decision we have made concerning the move thus far. We live on the 3rd floor of a historic building (no elevator) and, although there are great friends that have helped me get through the last two weeks, it is still difficult to round up people to help pack/move despite their best intentions and offerings to help--I'm just saying, I haven't seen it happen yet. I feel really good about calling a small local company to send 2 guys over for $89 per hour (2 hrs.) who will get all of the big stuff down all of the stairs (55 steps to be exact) because lord knows I can't do it myself.

3. Despite my small comments in number 2, I have some amazing friends that are amazing cooks that have kept me fed which I appreciate immensely. Whether it was a southern meal finished with bbq peaches drizzled with balsamic vinegar, homemade honey, lavender, nutmeg, cinnamon and served over mango/blackberry sorbet; or cabbage salad topped with flash fried brie, sweet peppers, and pomegranate balsamic dressing; or Boca burgers with grilled veggies, portabello, micro greens, and pesto... not only have I not had to worry about food but, like i said, I have eaten some incredible meals.

4. I am a strong, intelligent, hard-working, talented person. I can figure out whatever I need to figure out. I wanted to write that down. I told darling last week that I think he and I have made our way to the sixth ring (circle) of Dante's Inferno and back, every inch, in the relatively short time we've been together. That said, I could not do (or have done) it with anyone other than darling. I would have lost myself, given up, game overed, bailed, whatever you want to call it. We have never, circumstantially, had an easy relationship; however, it has always been so easy to be together. I am so grateful.

5. I still have *a lot* to do in the next week.

6. Miss you little brother.