It was a dark and stormy night…so the expression goes, but that was my first thought upon pulling up past this sign in pitch dark, with the wind howling outside the car:
Monster, eh? Seemed fitting enough (and yes, I took that photo the next day when the storm clouds blew over), but a few meters later it’s Ter Heijde that I’ve reached for my final destination:
A sleepy beach resort in the province of South Holland of around 700 strong (mostly retired people it seems), it has a smaller population than my high school graduating class. I can’t wait to explore it in the morning, but for now, I just want to get to my room, unpack, and see if I can’t get something to drink downstairs. But except for the marine-themed sculptures all around the hotel…
there’s not much happening so I take my clutch back upstairs and run my bath.
Just after sunrise, I manage to catch the early lights above the roofs…
and head down to breakfast. This hotel, a bit in the middle of nowhere, is supposedly run by a top chef, so I can’t wait for the gastronomic dinner planned for tonight. I have a long day ahead of me so I’m going to have a breakfast of champions this morning:
Indulge me, but I love taking pictures of presentations…almost as much as sitting down to a fresh squeezed glass of orange juice…
and funky blends of tea…
So after my big breakfast I head for the beach; thank goodness for the parka because I can feel the windchill factor shooting through my core while trying to stay vertical in the strong gusts of winds:
The dunes here are unobstructed by any shoreline construction (thank goodness!),
and the beach is lined instead by fishermen enjoying the morning sun–er, partial sun…
Walking in the sand in my clunky winter boots against a tough wind for about half an hour feels like a decent workout for my heart this morning, so now it’s back to the car to head out to The Hague. More on that in the next post, but here are a few final shots of what’s all around Ter Heijde…lots and lots of dunes and greenhouses. I really should try to come back to the Netherlands in the spring when the flower markets are in full bloom…
Tags: Monster, Ter Heijde, the Netherlands
This time last year my Belgian host family celebrated an American Thanksgiving by going to bed at 9pm so that we could be out the door by 3:30am for Black Friday shopping. After that experience I grumbled to myself that my favorite holiday had become too commercialized and that perhaps real traditions were going the way of dinosaurs. Fast forward one year later and I am packing for a 2.5 hours ride to the Netherlands, all the while homesick for just a taste of that Thanksgiving spirit. Perhaps it’s all the emails from work with people wishing me a happy Thanksgiving that’s making me a bit wistful. And perhaps the devilish shopaholic in me is wondering what great sales I’m missing at home!
Most of all, I miss preparing a big dinner (what a delightful excuse for indulging in food). But I can’t really complain too much about food either–see last post. In fact, a few days ago I was gifted these stone crab claws…
which I whipped up into a batch of crab eggrolls, even if the crabs were already delicious on their own:
Anyway, back to packing. It’s cold enough here now for me to test drive this very heavy Paris Byzance cardigan-coat…
but depending on the weather forecast I’ll see if it’s the brown 2.55 bag…
or the red timeless clutch that will accompany me on this trip:
The flash makes the bag look so garish, but you can see it matches much better in real life, even from this terribly fuzzy non-flash photo:
So I’ll be back in a few days with hopefully some great photos from a very desolate place; fingers crossed it won’t rain the entire time.
As you all sit down to dinner tonight and take a few minutes to think about the people who can’t make it home for the holiday because they’re serving their country, I’d like to rekindle the real tradition of treating every day as if it were Thanksgiving Day. Happy turkey feasting and let the sale season begin 
!
Tags: 2.55 bag, Black Friday, Thanksgiving, the Netherlands, timeless clutch
My trip to Europe is dwindling down to the final 3 weeks, and while I haven’t done nearly as much sightseeing this time due to work, I’ve had a chance to experience a lot more unusual food than I’ve done in the past on the road. In fact, I feel like I’ve just been lapsing from one food coma to the next since being here. I’m starting to believe, regardless of one’s culture or background, food is humanity’s common denominator. When we’re not eating, we’re talking about eating. And that’s usually about planning our next meal.
Last week I was invited to dinner and we ate stingray wings, very simply broiled then seasoned with a typically Belgian butter sauce with capers. Frites and haricot de mer (pickled seaweed) made the perfect accompaniments. I really wish I had remembered to bring my camera on this one outing because just the way you lift the bones was an experience to remember.
But I do have pictures of a few other regional meals, including this salmon and scallop tartare…
and an apple pastry called the rombosse:
But of course whenever I’m in this part of the world, I’m plenty happy with the moules frites:
So, what’s up with that first photo? It was taken during one of my lucid moments between the food comas at a bowling alley. Now as you can see from that score card, I’ve only bowled maybe once or twice in my life and the last time was probably nearly 20 years ago. So obviously there’s zero technique in my game…
but in my defense, I only dropped the ball backwards once toward another player this time. The ball missed his toe, so no harm, no foul. But hey, I did pick up another curse word in French!
Tags: bowling, Europe, haricot de mer, moules frites, stingray, tartare
As a mentor once told me, it’s always free to ask. What’s not always free is the answer. Luckily for me, from my last SOS post I got help, directly from Paris. Or maybe I should get help, once you see the rest of my photos. But let’s face it, where there’s a kitschy Karl Lagerfeld anything, I’m sure to be on it like bees to honey. So here’s my KL for Sephora poupée:
He’s not as substantial as my Tokidoki KL doll, but his white yarn hair just kills me!
As it turns out, the snowglobe is as charming in person as it looked in the press photos:
Ahh, I love it when travel coincides with a fun fashion collaboration!
Tags: collaboration, Karl Lagerfeld for Sephora, Paris, poupée, snowglobe
I was thinking about a comment a friend of mine made to me about how lucky I was to live in the US (most of the time). She lives in Asia and had to import an iPhone from Australia for around $1000. When my contract expires, I should be able to upgrade my phone to the same one for about $200. iPhones here in Europe are not much cheaper than what my friend had paid for hers. In spite of its economic meltdown, there’s probably still no bigger consumer paradise than the US. And I’m writing this while thinking about the upcoming Versace for H&M and Harajuku Mini for Target collaborations, both of which I’ll unfortunately miss while still overseas…though it may all be for the best since I’m still recovering from the last bout with Missoni for Target, not to mention the flashbacks I’m still suffering from the Lanvin/H&M debacle!
But the thing about shopping is that there’s always something else around the corner. Which brings me to the crux of today’s post. I need help. Karl Lagerfeld and Sephora are releasing a collection this week just in Europe (though they won’t specify where exactly) and Singapore. The collab consists of a few makeup items, the snowglobe, and the KL doll. I’ve called quite a few Sephoras in Europe, hit a few language snags, and so far no luck. Either the store will not be getting the merchandise at all or they’ve never even heard of Karl. I know, say it ain’t so, but the world actually does not revolve around all things KL to my dismay.
So if you live in Europe or Singapore and have come across the two items in my pics today, please let me know which store exactly. Don’t think the idea of hitting every single Sephora on this continent didn’t cross my mind, but alas, I don’t have that kind of time luxury !
And yes, I know a woman of my age has no business buying another doll, but it makes a nice companion to my Tokidoki KL doll. As for the snowglobe? Well, I think his quote pretty much sums it up for me (rough translation: my great luxury is not having to justify myself to anyone). I couldn’t have said it better.
Tags: Asia, collaboration, Europe, iPhone, Karl Lagerfeld, Singapore
