an international Thanksgiving

On Saturday evening, a group of friends gathered in my home for a Thanksgiving celebration, to reflect on the last year, give thanks together, and indulge in one fantastic meal.

The menu: pumpkin soup, mushroom bruschetta, roasted root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, black salsify, and leek), dried fig, cranberry, and walnut stuffing, onion, celery, and dried tomato stuffing, mashed potatoes, lamb stew, pumpkin mousse, and pear, ricotta, and honey tart.

Being the only American at the table, amongst a mix of Germans and Dutch, I gave a short history of the holiday and its roots. Inspired by our common residence of the Netherlands, I also told about some of the history of the pilgrims' travels through Leiden and their Dutch neighbors that founded a colony at Manhattan. Celebrating away from home has never been sweeter.

 

Weekend Links #5

Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things that I have enjoyed, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.

A few things I experienced this week: 1. Listening to Inside the Icelandic Music Scene on KEXP 2. More planning for a (mostly) vegetarian Thanksgiving celebration (pictured above). 3. Wanting this cute owl (via Elsa May) 4. Reading about Jonathan Safran Foer's unique formatted upcoming book (pictured below via simonvanoldenbeek) 5. Wishing for the Portland Farmer's Market in my backyard when I look at these photos (via @blueeyesbren) 6. Scouring the program of the International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam, which begins on Wednesday 7. Planning for a trip to Porto, Portugal this week and Cologne, Germany this weekend

Weekend Links #4

Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things that I have enjoyed, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.

A few things I experienced this week: 1. Seeing CocoRosie at Melkweg. A beautiful performance. 2. Planning a vegetarian Thanksgiving. 3. Adding the beautiful Flora and Fauna of the Pacific Northwest calendar by Mossière to my wish list (pictured above, via unruly things). 4. Reading The Case for Obama. 5. Discovering the lovely knitwear of Louise Durgate (pictured below) and receiving a free hat as the first customer from the Netherlands. 6. Reading through Persistence, a book of photography by 12 amazing photographers including Andrea Gjestvang, Dominic Nahr and Sarah Elliott.