Bookworm

 

I think I'm a little behind the masses, but I finally sat down and read this book and I can't get over how great it is.  I heard that it was going to be a great read from so many - radio, friends, reviews... but I always have doubts until I read it myself.  I devoured it in a day and a half, and was both sad and happy when it ended.  Happy because it ends well and sad to turn the last page because it's been too long since I've enjoyed a non-fiction this much!

In brief (and for those who haven't heard about it yet), the story is about Susannah Cahalan, who is a successful journalist at 24.  She starts acting strange - paranoia, stress, breakdowns, numbness, and after seeing a few doctors and doing multiple tests she's told nothings wrong.  Her symptoms continue quickly until she starts having seizures and is put into the epilepsy unit of a NY hospital - I won't say too much of what comes next so I don't spoil, but she continues to get worse and has no recollection of the next month.  She used her interviewing skills and hospital cameras to put together this story of her illness and how she recovered.  It truly inspiring and scary at the same time - check it out if you haven't already!

Weekend Goodness

I hope your weekend was full of goodness!

Mine started off a little weak - with a 4.5 hour drive back from Seattle.  That drive should really only take 3 hours, and when you have to do it twice a week it's rather irritating when it's anything longer.  Far fetched thought, but it would be awesome if the US had lots of speed trains. 

The weekend went up from there though!  K and I got to nibble on some sweet and chubby baby thighs, watch a friend and K's fellow band mate play at a wine bar while drinking ridiculously expensive port (he's amazing, and you can check his stuff out here), have lazy mornings with good coffee and puppy snuggles and an overall awesome BBQ with some friends and family while 3 crazy kids ran around chasing the said puppy.   Sweet goodness.

Oh, and I have officially learned one entire song on the Mandi - my fingers are raw and it sounds horrible, but a good start to learning the instrument.  :)

Seriously Lacking

I have been seriously lacking on the blog front...for the last 10 months.  And I'm not going to kid myself, I wasn't too good in the first place.  But, I made myself a New Years resolution (yes, I realize New Years was 6 months ago), to continue to make this blog better and better and I think I may be in a place to finally start doing just that. 

It's been a crazy few months!  I recently received a promotion at work which brings additional travel including one very exciting trip to the Baltic this summer, our nephew was born (which is a whole story in itself, but you can see sweet pics of him here), K & I bought a house AND a puppy in the same weekend, and every day life just tends to make things busy. 

I'm excited to get this thing going again, because I have some awesome pics, recipes, music and travel coming up to share!  Let's just see how long it lasts. 

In the mean-time, check out our new pooch & our new house! 

Dancing Madness

Have any of you heard of Pina Bausch? 

If you haven't, you should. 

Go and look her up...NOW. 

She's amazing. 

And as more than a few journalists have put it, "Pina has done for dance what Shakespeare has done for English".

Which obviously means she's amazing. 

I heard this movie was coming out back in March, and I was upset to learn that it wasn't happening in the US. 

But I've been told by multiple websites that it will eventually be out this Fall, and in 3D. 

I.MUST.SEE.IT.

AND.SO.SHOULD.YOU.

Istanbul

Have I mentioned that Istanbul was amazing? 

I probably have, but I'm going to say it again to make a point of how amazing it was. 

ISTANBUL.WAS.AMAZING.

Okay...I can move on now... 

We were only in Istanbul for a little over a day, but we managed to get in almost ALL of the major sights, plus stay in the most beautiful hotel. 

Our hotel was the Pera Palace, and back in the day it was the last stop on the Orient Express.  This brought in a huge amount of celebrities and other amazing people.  It was also the first building in Istanbul to have electricity, the first building with running hot water in the bathrooms and it also had the first electric elevator (the first in Istanbul, the second in the world to the Eiffel Tower). 

The Pera Palace has stood through World War I, the Occupation of Istanbul, the Turkish War of Independence, the Founding of the Turkish Republic & World War II.  

It was a sight to be seen in and of itself. 

Oh, and the most famous people who slept in the rooms were Ernest Hemingway, Greta Garbo, Agatha Christie, King Edward VIII, Queen Elizabeth II, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Sarah Bernhardt, Alfred Hitchcock and many, many more.  

The sights we saw were also amazing.

We visited the Blue Mosque, which was completed in 1616, and has a colorful 260 windows to bring in the sunlight, and has blue Iznik tiles covering the walls. 

Second was St. Sophia, the Church of the Divine Wisdom and it was built during the reign of Emperor Justinian (AD 537) and remained the greatedst church in Christendom until the conquest of Constantinople in 1453.  Sultan Mehmet II ordered the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a Mosque.   All of the domes were covered in gold mosaics, which many are still there today. 

Topkapi Palace, which was the residence of the sultans for almost three centuries.  They had jewels and cloths belonging to the sultan's on display, which were unbelievable.  This is also the place where they have been reading the Koran for over 500 years without stopping.  As soon as one man's done, another takes over. 

The Underground Cistern is about 210 feet wide and 420 feet long, with a capacity of 80,00 meters of water.  They were able to salvage the beautiful columns that support the cistern, and two of the columns are carved with the head and hair of Medusa.  :)

And finally, we visited the Grand Bazaar!  Plenty of shopping was done here.

Sail Away

Here's a little glimpse of K&I sailing out of Istanbul. 

Please Note: This video contains cheese-tastic music, loud wind & shaky hands.  

Otherwise, feel free to give it a look - Istanbul is AMAZING.

Farm Crushing

OMG, Swoon...

I never thought I would swoon over a giant pig, but he looks so sweet and darling. 

My friend introduced me to this sweet blog about a couple farmers who move around from place to place, and it has created this urge in me to be a farmer! 

I don't think that will be happening anytime soon, but I can live through their sweet pictures and stories for now.