Tessa – MAMsterdam

Personal

Goodbye September

October 6, 2014

After almost a week of October, I finally have time to sit and write about my September. It’s good to look back and think about all the things that happened last month.

The mortgage for our new apartment was finally approved (we’re moving, more about that sometime soon). The mortgage for the buyer of our current apartment was also approved so the sale is happening. We still need to do a lot but it is great to finally move into a bigger place.

Lara

It was Lara’s last month at her daycare and I was quite sad when I dropped her of on the last day. She liked it so much there and had so much fun. They made her a beautiful crown, ate cake and got her a goodbye present. I’m just very happy she already feels at home at the new daycare.

My September 2014 - Queen with her crown My September 2014 - Chocolate Sprinkles

She’s been very naughty too: climbing on chairs, trying to get things she isn’t supposed to get, throwing cornstarch and chocolate sprinkles on the floor… but I guess this is just regular activity of a toddler.

She is drawing a lot and sings all day long.

Work

Work has been super busy but also rewarding. We had one week of intense work where the whole team worked together on optimizing our sites and at the end of it we had an awesome party (with karaoke). I had some very positive news and recognition for my efforts and I’m just very proud to be working in such an awesome company.

People

I got to see my friend Luiza after 7 years. My mother got back after 2 months in Brazil. And I finally got to meet my sister’s new girlfriend. Tried to meet up with other friends but everyone is super busy, including myself.

Personal

I’ve been feeling like an old lady. Or maybe I should just come to terms that I am becoming an old lady. I have started physiotherapy for my neck pain and a high dosage of Vitamin D for my deficiency. On the positive side: I got a beautiful tattoo! As soon as it is healed I will post more about it.

My September 2014 - with my friend Luiza My September 2014 - Sister

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Art Photography

BUTCH by Meg Allen

September 23, 2014

Butch by Meg Allen Studio Couple by Meg Allen Studio

BUTCH by Meg Allen is a beautiful series of photos that portrays the butch culture in the San Francisco area. As she describes it herself:

“BUTCH is an environmental portraiture project and exploration of the butch aesthetic, identity and presentation of female masculinity as it stands in 2013-14. It is a celebration of those who dwell outside of the stringent social binary that separates the sexes and a glimpse into the private and often unseen spaces of people who exude their authentic sense of self”.

Family by Meg Allen Studio Tullius by Meg Allen Studio

Photography to me is a form of art and communication. I love it when I am inspired, surprised and amazed by portraits. And I love it even more when it opens my mind to something new. I was very touched and impressed by these women, who dare to be themselves and do not give in to what society expects a woman to look like. They are empowered and beautiful.

Meg Allen Studio - Butch Michelle by Meg Allen Studio

Please check out all these amazing images in full size, and many others at Meg Allen Studio.

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Motherhood

Lara’s Corn Starch Experiment

September 8, 2014

Lara's Corn Starch Experiment

You have probably seen some video on YouTube or Facebook of a toddler making an incredible mess with baby powder, cereals or sudocrem. And I know for sure that if you’ve seen one of these videos you laughed; I know I did. Well… Lara decided yesterday to make snow out of corn starch. Guess who wasn’t laughing so loud this time?

Lara didn’t want to nap yesterday but she stayed in her bed with a book and things got quiet. I imagined that she was just chilling and resting. After a while I started hearing things over the baby monitor and decided to go check. When I entered the room I was greeted by a powder covered toddler with a big smile on her face. “Look mami, snow!”. Yay. No Lara, it’s beginning of September no snow yet. And my little wildling put the corn starch back in it’s place, so that I wouldn’t notice a thing. Now that I am actually writing this all down I am laughing a bit.

P.S. We use corn starch as baby powder, that’s why it’s in her room.

4 Comments

Lists Music

7 Songs to Sing at Karaoke

September 5, 2014

Scarlett Johansson in Lost in Translation karaoke scene

Which song would you like to sing at a karaoke? I’m mostly dissapointed at karaoke bars because I think they almost never have good songs to chose from. In my ideal world, a karaoke bar would have many nice songs to chose from and I would pick these:

Zombie – The Cranberries

I absolutely adore this songs and it fits well with my voice. With this song I always win at SingStar, hence it’s my number once choice.

ironic – Alanis Morissette

I was a huge Alanis Morissette fan and to this day this is one of my favorite songs. Her lyrics and way of singing allow you to get rid of a lot of frustrations, and that’s always a good thing.

Don’t Speak – No Doubt

A true 90’s hit and which girl sung this after having her heart broken?

I Think I’m Paranoid – Garbage

I had to sing this one once with my back-up Garage Band and it was awesome. It was harder than I thought but what was I expecting? It’s Shirley Manson!

One of Us – Joan Osborne

I actually owned this CD and One of Us is the only song on it that I can remember. Is it just me or did women in the 90’s write awesome karaoke songs?

Mamma Mia – Abba

Another instant hit from Sing Star. This is just super fun.

Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’

I have an agreement with a friend: as soon as he comes back from Australia we will sing this at some karaoke bar. Preferably the original version or the Rock of Ages musical version.

Which karaoke songs would you chose?

The subject of this post was suggested by Rotaroots, a Brazilian group of bloggers that long for the good old days when blogging was personal.

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Listas

Blog Day 2014 – Indicações

September 1, 2014

Ontem foi Blog Day. O dia (31 de Agosto) foi criado para os blogueiros indicarem outros blogs interessantes e assim expandir sua lista. O Rotaroots resolveu resgatar esse dia e pediu para os blogs que fossem participar, indicarem 15 blogs, divididos em 3 categorias. Eu deixei pra última hora e perdi o prazo, mas resolvi participar mesmo assim porque o que vale é indicar bom conteúdo para pessoas que buscam coisas novas.

blogs que não saem do meu feed

blog day 1

Paula Abrahão | Blog

Conheci a Paula faz uns 10 anos através do LiveJournal. Desde então sempre fomos amigas virtuais até ela vir pra Amsterdam, tornando essa cidade ainda mais colorida. As fotos que ela tira são lindas e ela escreve sobre um monte de coisas que eu gosto: gatos, Game of Thrones, música da Escandinávia…

Mais 20 Minutos

Conheci a Letícia através do Mão Feita e desde então venho acompanhando seu Twitter, suas páginas no Facebook e o blog. Super bom gosto e ótimos posts sobre cultura pop, tatuagens, homens barbudos…

A Girl Without Borders

Minha amiga linda e mestra em Sociologia escreve muito bem e traz a sociologia para nós mortais, tratando de assuntos como política, feminismo e identidade cultural. (Em inglês).

Hello Lolla

A Lolla é outra que eu acompanho faz séculos. Adoro seu sarcasmo e suas fotos lindas.

Entre Curta e saia longa

Minha querida amiga Aline é escritora, autora e cineasta.

blogs que descobri através do rotaroots

blog day 2

Pale September

Já conhecia do tempo do LiveJournal e redescobri no Rotaroots.

Nýr Dagur

Fotos lindas tiradas na Irlanda.

Sernaiotto

Ótimas dicas para quem quer começar um blog.

Teoria Criativa

Tattoos, viagens, fotografia, design lindo…

Mulher Vitrola

Mãe, ruiva, adora cultura pop… é das minhas.

Blogs pra sair da rotina

blog day 3

The Feminist Breeder

Mãe, feminista, rockeira e doula. Infelizmente o blog agora é pago, mas vale a pena seguir ela no Facebook também.

How To Be A Dad

Os caras são muito engraçados e é bem legal ler o ponto de vista dos pais.

Buzz in the Kitchen

Blog de receitas da minha colega de trabalho. Ela tem receitas deliciosas, já fiz algumas e outras ela traz pro trabalho pra gente provar (Cina Rolls!). O blog é em holandês mas agora ela também está postando em inglês.

The Road is Home

Muita gente já conhece mas o blog dessa menina/poeta/fotógrafa/mãe é um sonho. Ela tem o dom da escrita e da fotografia, as vezes fica difícil conter as lágrimas.

The Good Men Project

The Good Men Project reúne textos de vários blogs, em sua maioria escritos por homens interessados em mostrar o outro lado dos homens. Como “ser homem” sem ter que cair nas clichês do patriarcado. Tem muita coisa interessante.

9 Comments

Lists TV Series

5 TV Shows That Affected My Life

August 30, 2014

One of the themes suggested in the collective blogging group I am a part of was “5 TV Shows That Affected My Life”. I thought this was going to be an easy one since I’m a TV series junkie. Guess what? It’s not! I watch way too many series to pick just 5… but I’ll give it a try:

Jem and the holograms

Jem and the Holograms

Awesome chicks with colored hair playing rock songs and saving the world? What’s not to love? If you grew up in the 80’s you’ll remember this cartoon. My sister and I also had the dolls and they came with cassette tapes, with songs from the shows (including karaoke versions).

The X-Files

The X Files

This was the first TV series I started following seriously. I had a big crush on Mulder/David Duchovny and wanted to be Scully. Five years ago, Tom gave me the entire series for my birthday and we rewatched all nine seasons (even the bad ones!).

Friends

I remember staying in just to watch Friends with my sister. If it’s on TV I will still watch it even tough I know most episodes by heart. My favorite characters are Chandler and Rachel and I still want to get the box with all seasons.

Six Feet Under

There are no words to describe this show other than perfect. The final scene will always get me and I cry like a baby. It’s beautiful.

Sex & the City

This series made me realize having friends, female friends, is extremely important. I watched the whole series with Tom (he gave me the shoe box and sat with me through all 6 seasons) and later one with my mom and my sisters. I still can’t forgive Carrie for not picking Aidan

Honorable Mention 1: Grey’s Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy

I still watch it and now the quality has gone down a lot. I miss Burke, George and Addison. It was while I was watching season two and listening to the song Chasing Cars in one of the episodes that I realized I was in love with Tom. So there’s that…

Honorable Mention 2: Law & Order – Special Victims Unit

Law and Order SVU

I love detective series, I love courtroom series, I love controversial themes… mix them together and you get Special Victims Unit. I still miss Stabler (who doesn’t?).

What are your favorite shows?

This post was inspired by Rotaroots, a Brazilian group of bloggers that long for the good old days.

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Music People

MNDR – Feed Me Diamonds featuring Raven

August 29, 2014

My favorite queen from RuPaul’s Drag Race season 2 is Raven. She’s dark, dramatic, beautiful… a true diva. I was happily surprised to discover she’s in the video clip for MNDR’s Feed Me Diamonds. The remix version of this song plays a lot at work, so I decided to check out who sang it and Google gave me the video as one of the search results. Needless to say I immediately had to check it out.

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Food

Maria’s Place – Portuguese Specialties

August 24, 2014

A couple of weeks ago I was at a friends house and she served some delicious Portuguese dish for dinner: Bacalhau com Nata (Cod with Cream). Even though I have eaten plenty of Portuguese dishes this was new to me and I really enjoyed it. My friend did not make it, she had ordered it from Maria’s Place. They sell Portuguese specialties in Amsterdam at the Lindengracht Markt or by order.

Bacalhau com Nata - Maria's Place

This Saturday I went to the market to pick up my order and we had a lovely meal that afternoon. Besides the Bacalhau com Natas, I also ordered Bolinhos de Bacalhau (and even Lara ate them) and for dessert typical Portuguese sweets: Pasteis de Nata. Delicious!

Pasteis de Nata - Maria's Place

3 Comments

Lists Places

6 Places I Want to Visit

August 22, 2014

There are many, many places I want to travel to in this vast world of ours, so making a short list wasn’t an easy task. These places have been on my wish list for quite a while now and hopefully I’ll visit them someday.

Ireland

I first fell in love with Ireland when I was 11. We did a school project and each class got a different country. During one month we learned about Ireland’s culture and history. Since then I have always been fascinated by the green mountains, the cliffs and the magical atmosphere of this country. What I’d really like to do there is rent a car and travel to all corners of Ireland.

japan

I must have inherited my dad’s love for Japan. He loves samurais, karate, Zen Buddhism and Japanese scrolls. I started eating sushi when I was 1 year old. I’ve always found the clash of the traditional with modern Japan fascinating.

italy

Tuscany - Italy

It’s probably my Italian blood but I can’t wait to go to Italy (and I really can’t believe I still haven’t been there). Rome, Tuscany, Positano, Umbria, Florence… I want to go everywhere. And, also very important, is the delicious Italian food. If I can believe my Italian colleague (and I do, especially based on the amazing products she’s brought from Naples), Italy has the best food in the world.

scandinavia

Don’t ask me where exactly I want to go because I want to visit the whole region: Norway, Sweden, Denmark… I want to visit the capitals but also the raw nature. Preferably listening to Storm, Ulver and Otyg.

South africa

I have a feeling that, in many ways, South Africa will remind me of Brazil. I have seen beautiful photos, I have read many things and I have heard amazing stories.

bali

The Dutch are fascinated by Bali. Most people I know here in the Netherlands have been to Bali at least once and they all say the same: go visit Bali! Since doing a project about Bali in college and little fire has been lit and I really want to see those rice fields.

And where would you like to go? Which destinations are on your wish list?

This post was inspired by Rotaroots, a Brazilian group of bloggers that long for the good old days.

1 Comment

Lists Places

Six Places I Want to Visit

August 22, 2014

There are many, many places I want to visit in this vast world of ours so making a list is a bit tricky. These places have been on my list for years and hopefully I get to visit them sometime.

Ireland

My love for Ireland started when I was 11 years old. We did a project in school: every class got one country and during one month we immersed ourselves in the culture and history of Ireland. Since then I have always been fascinated by the green hills, cliffs and magical feeling this country gives. I would really like to rent a car there and travel around.

japan

I must have inherited my dad’s love for Japan. He’s into samurais, karate, Zen Buddhism and japanese scrolls. I started eating sushi when I was 1 year old. The clash of the traditional with one of the most modern countries fascinates me.

italy

Tuscany - Italy

It might be my Italian blood but I can’t wait to go to Italy (and frankly I can’t believe I still haven’t been). Rome, Tuscany, Positano, Umbria, Florence… I want to visit them all. And of course, another important point is the delicious Italian food. If I can believe my Italian colleague (and based on what she’s brought for us from Napoli, I can!) Italy has the best food in the world.

scandinavia

Don’t ask me exactly where I want to go because I want to see it all: Norway, Sweden, Denmark… I want to visit the big cities and I want to visit and see the raw nature. Preferably listening to Storm, Ulver and Otyg.

South Africa

I don’t know why but I have a feeling that, in many aspects, South Africa will remind me of Brazil. I’ve seen beautifil pictures, read many thing and heard many amazing stories.

bali

Dutch people have a fascination with Bali. Most people I know here in the Netherlands have been at least once to Bali and all of them will tell you the same: go to Bali! In college we did a project about Bali and it lit a little fire…

And where would you like to go to? What destinations are on your list?

This post was inspired by Rotaroots, a group of Brazilians bloggers than miss the good old days of personal blogs.

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