OMG!

To get all cliche & girly on this post- our wedding venue was in Seattle Metropolitan Bride & Groom! I am so jealous...and pleased. Georgetown Ballroom deserves its place as one of the best venues in Seattle. I loved it from the moment we walked in and was so happy when I looked at Ian and could tell he felt the same way. Historic, gorgeous, the area a tinsy bit threatening- these are some of the words that could describe some of my favorite places in Berlin.

To check out their story-
http://www.seattlemetbrideandgroom.com/2010/07/02/stubbs-ford-wedding/

Cats are dumb. We have cats. Watch dumb cats.

Ok- these are not our cats. 
These are our cats:

    Bellatrix

     &

                                                               STERNBERG



They love each other....

...and they love us!

Fancy

"Thanks mom" says the kid
& "thanks mum" says I, as she was the one to find this delightful pic.

Good Ole U.S.A.

My mum found this video & article. An impressive tribute to this land of liberty.

http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2010/07/this-should-be-americas-official-tourism-ad.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Adfreak+(adfreak)

What Ian Likes....

EVENT of the SUMMER

Capitol Hill Block party is today. In a few hours. Like I am leaving work at 3pm.Tick tick tick

It is one of those times where you get the feeling you are going to have the best time with your best friends and it is simply going to be epic. Little preview of the madness?

FRIDAY
MAIN STAGE

10:45PM - MGMT
9:15PM - Holy Fuck
7:15PM - Yeasayer
6:00PM - Shabazz Palaces
5:00PM - Bear In Heaven
4:00PM - Macklemore

How do you like them apples? Need more- video of Yeasayer getting wild. Yep. Gonna be a great time

http://www.capitolhillblockparty.com/index.php

BITE of Seattle

I didn't even make it to "the Bite" (as we Seattlites call it) this year, but am ridiculously jealous of those that did. Saturday featured a new event for the festival-

Jimmy John’s Freaky Fast Sandwich Making and Eating Contest. 

Behold: http://www.seattleweekly.com/slideshow/bite-of-seattle-freaky-fast-sandwich-eating-contest-30402799/6/

 

I write travel guides. No, not the fun kind

I really enjoy writing the travel guides that helped keep us in the meat section while in Berlin, and have kept our German account beefy as we are living in the states. However, there is always a conundrum when people ask what Ian & I do when abroad. Ian teaching 2-10 year olds English is pretty easy to understand (and entertaining). One of his classes to the right

Trying to explain that I write travel guides however, confusing. "Oh wow! So you get to go to all of these places?"
No, no, sadly no. These guides are simply the work of a lot of research and re-writing my friends. The company I work for now, EasyExpat.com, (plug plug) has me write behemoth guides to help the enterprising expat, like us, move abroad. This means about 50 small articles covering how to set-up electricity, shopping, and customs (plane/cultural). I have started to preface my job description with "I write travel guides...no, not the fun kind." Example: http://www.easyexpat.com/en/rio-de-janeiro.htm

BUT I really do enjoy it. Do you know the similarities between scams pulled by the Brazilian and Mexican police? How the US visa situation actually works? How to buy a metro ticket in Auckland? Ok- I don't remember any of that stuff now, but I do remember it was pretty darn interesting when i was researching.

Currently, my city is Oslo. And while it doesn't have the drug cartels and samba of Brasil (my last guide), it is kinda quietly awesome. Besides the peace prize, no crime, and lavish tax system, they have a pretty kickass film festival. I have been hearing from film critics about this unbelievable film scene and it appears the rumors are true. Even movies that should be awful- "Dead Snow" where zombie Nazis are awoken from the snow to kill again- seem pretty catchy. This picture just caught my - "Bitch Slap". All right, Norway. Maybe you aren't so ball-less after all.


To see more about the film festival:
Oslo Film Festival

Cheap Tickets = Iceland

On our quest for cheap tickets from the West coast to Europe we made a discovery thousands of people have made before us. Bankrupt Iceland = cheap airfare. For $390/each we are flying from Seattle to Reykjavik, Iceland -staying a day- then off to Amsterdam. I am unbelievably excited about all this.

It is my idea of a perfect trip to start from home (so we don't torture our poor families like last time having to take us to Vancouver), than go somewhere new I NEVER imagined going (still working on being able to spell Reykjavik w/o double checking), and then ease into familiar Amsterdam. On top of that- the hot springs of Iceland! Whhhhhhhhhhhhhat! (Check out the video below for a touristy, but truly kick-ass looking "Blue Lagoon"). And once we depart Amsterdam we will be meandering our way to Berlin, maybe visiting another city in Netherlands, seeing our friends Leann, Matthijas, & their new baby (the soon to be giant Dutchman) Tymen in Venlo, then off to meet Thomas's family in Cologne and Finally- BERLIN.

I. Can't. Wait.

Picture Picture

I love pictures. And though they say a picture is worth a thousand words, I always have so many questions. Where was it taken? What was going on? Why would anyone do that?

Here are some fun sports pics  that take you there.

Boston.com sports pics