Iceland – Kex Hostel

Adorable kid in a traditional Icelandic wool sweater.

Why would I want to go to a country that just suffered a major financial collapse, whose weather ranges from “it could be worse” to “HOW DO PEOPLE LIVE HERE”, and whose staple foods are red meat, herring, and potatoes (I love all foods, but I also love not having gout)? Because of this, this, and this!

The pictures I have look nothing like these, but trust me, Iceland is picturesque and quaint and totally worth the trip – and I say this despite the blizzard and rain and cloudy skies we had through our whole trip.

My travel buddy, Christina, and I arrived in Iceland at around 6am and took the very convenient FlyBus which drops you off right in front of your hotel. We didn’t rent a car because Reykjavik is totally walkable and you can get to all the sights via guided tours. Also neither of us drive stick and, as we later found out, it’s probably better to put your lives in the hands of an experienced driver when it’s blizzarding on the very narrow, unpaved rocky roads leading to the country.

Cappu-chinos and Graham Slackers

The National Panthem
- Insert flag pole joke here -

I'm sure I've heard of the Bonobos brand before, but never really noticed them until my cousin sent me a link to their cute pants page. It's like a teen movie where the cool guy knows of the nerdy girl, but doesn't notice her until she tutors him and they fall in love just before she dies of cancer...but with pants....and no cancer.

Mother Nature is Fascinating

I keep forgetting to water my basil plant, and it keeps getting all droopy and sad. But nature is amazing. Look what happens! 

I know it's not right to torture the poor thing, but I love watching it come back to life. I AM A GOD!

Happy Memorial Monday

Happy Memorial Day? That doesn't really sound right when you think about it, does it?
Since most people talk about the beach, huge sales, and BBQs, often the real purpose of today becomes a second or 5th thought.

Pause - If you can't make it to a memorial or a cemetery because you're at work, at a BBQ, or laying on the beach, you can still observe the day. In 2000, the National Moment of Remembrance was passed asking all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps" at 3pm local time. 

Learn - Why do veterans wear red poppies? The gist - in response to Flander's Field, Moina Michael's penned her won poem which also included the mention of poppies. She hoped to use it as a symbol for remembrance, but then had the better idea of using the production and sale of silk poppies to help disabled veterans. Almost 90 years later, silk poppies are still made by disabled and needy veterans.

"...We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies..."

Picture via Mashable; other info from US Memorial Day.

Eat: Goat cheese & fig crostini

I was at Gottino - Gastroteca the other day for some dinner and drinks. Okay, mostly drinks. N.B., I tried to find out what a Gastroteca is exactly, but I think it's ogooglebar! (I always find a way to Fun Fact!)

Everything was delicious, but the goat cheese, fig, honey, almond crostini was amazing and is totally doable even by cooking noobs like me. Just put all that stuff on a slice of Italian bread and viola, you have a delicious fancy pants snack.

Picture is not mine. It is from the internetz.

Happy Watch Your Back It's April Fools Monday!

Eat - I had the salted butterscotch caramel. I'm not all about the cupcake trend at all, so know I really mean it when I say it was AMAZEBALLS.

Speak - Bêtes noire. French for black beast, but it means someone or something everyone hates and avoids. So, fruits in place of real desserts would be a betes noire....right? It should be. No one really wants cantaloupe for dessert. Stop doing that.

Laugh - Funny story that happened in my building. This woman was cooking and she had a roll of paper towels next to the stove. It caught on fire, and when she tried to throw it in the sink, it fell onto the kitchen run in front of the sink. Instead of extending the faucet or throwing water on it or trying to smother it, she picks it up runs down the hall and throws it down the garbage shoot, setting the garbage in the dumpster on fire. I'm sure it was terrifying for her, but how is it anyone's first instinct to pick up a ball of fire???? Also, note to self - by a fire extinguisher. 

Go - AKA the PIT. It's pretty cheap in general ($5), but if you are more-so, it's free on Wednesdays! The first set I saw was better than the second, but I walked out of there admiring all of them for not just being funny, but also very brave, and quick. Muchos kudos to them!

Pic via PostSecret (updated every Sunday)

Happy It's Supposed to Be Spring, Why Is It Snowing Monday!

Laugh - Unabashedly crude and completely hilarious as always. I will admit, I am totally guilty of it myself. These ladies are amazing. Fade Away, by Garfunkle and Oates.

Listen - It may be because the procrastinator in my relates so well, but I'm loving the video. So Watch it too. :) Ne Me Quitte Pas, Regina Spektor.

Learn - Ever wonder what the differences between jam, jelly, and preserves are? Jelly is made from fruit juices, jam is made from crushed fruit, and preserves have fruit chunks in juice or jam. Marmalade is actually a preserve made from a citrus fruit. Please promise you won't use this information to pretentiously correct someone if they call one the other.

Eat - Avocado toast. Easy, healthy, and filling. And you can put anything you want on it. Avocado is so bland it's a perfect base for any sort of topping. Do it so I can love you long time. Get your head out of the gutter - I meant in the sense that I love you and want you to be around for a long time.

Pic: Fancy chrysanthemum from the Botanical Gardens Japanese c-mum show last year.