The last week has been an experiment in cooking with kumquats. A colleague brought me a bag full of the small, oval fruit from Spain and it was actually the first time I had ever seen or tasted them. Kumquats are delicious when eaten raw with the skin, but also bring a burst of citrus to recipes, such as kumquat bread, kumquat marmalade, and kumquat spritzer. I think kumquats would also make a nice addition to a salad or when sauteed with tofu and veggies.

The numerous bowls filled with kumquats also have added a splash of color to my home, much needed in late January.

Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things from the week, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.

A few things I enjoyed over the last week:
1. Looking at Andrew Dickinson’s photo series from Kyrgyzstan (pictured above)
2. Reading an article about the 150th birthday of Edith Wharton and the persistence of stories about social artistocracy
3. Seeing a Shanghai wedding photographed by Chris Spira (who will be shooting our day!)
4. Wishing for a sprinkling of snow
5. Spotting the art prints by Wit & Whistle – $10 of proceeds will be donated to a community development non-profit in the Central African Republic (pictured below)
6. Immersing myself in the tales of English monarchy while listening to the audio book Elizabeth I by Margaret George

Playing on the beach in Florida. A perfect mid-winter getaway to visit family and soak in the sunshine. We swam, ate Cuban food, shopped (successfully!) for my wedding dress, drank margaritas, and had a wonderful time together. I am so lucky to have a fantastic family that I love to spend time with. Sometimes I wonder why I live so far from them, but then I remember what adventures we can have when we travel to reunite.

Tomorrow morning I will wake up, pack the last items in my suitcase, and head off on a flight to Miami. I wasn’t expecting to spend the second week of 2012 in Florida, but I am going to join my mother, older sister, and two nieces at my grandmother’s house for an impromptu reunion. While I am excited at the thought of sun and sand, living abroad means that time with family is rare. I can hardly wait to spend time talking with my abuelita, swimming with my nieces, hugging my mom, and laughing with my sister, cousins, and aunt. Farewell to cold Amsterdam for the next week.

Painting by Christopher Scott (via)

Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things from the week, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.

A few things I enjoyed over the last week:
1. The beginning of a new year, hello 2012!
2. Spotting an embroidered octopus pillow. Awesome (pictured above, via)
3. Finding writing inspiration with the daily themes from Figment
4. Getting a post-Christmas music fix with the lovely music of Charlie Haden and Hank Jones
5. Seeing photographs of gold fireflies dancing in the evening light in Japan (pictured below)

One week ago, we went from 2011 to 2012. Perhaps it’s the plethora of blog posts about New Year’s resolutions, but I find myself thinking more this year about what has been and what is to come. The highlights of last year were the engagement, the trip through Turkey, and two trips to the Pacific Northwest. On a professional note, there was a new website, an iPad application, and a lot of interviews. What made the year so sweet really were the moments that tied all the major events together: meals shared, books read, sleep savored, working out, short trips (Berlin, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Cologne), and laughter with family and friends.

And what is to come over the next year? A wedding, traveling to new countries, and more time with family and friends. I have some small resolutions, but I think that as long as we can pull off the wedding with the least amount of stress and enjoy a long honeymoon in the autumn, I will consider this year a success.

Photo via

Lost in the photography of Vladimir Longauer, an Irish photographer capturing quiet scenes in medium and large-format film.

After a very peaceful Christmas, I went on a short trip to Ghent with my cousin Vanessa who was visiting for the holidays. Ghent is a small town in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, which I visited earlier in autumn while on a work trip. The city looked so quaint that I thought it would be the perfect post-Christmas destination. Vanessa and I ate waffles, drank a sufficient amount of Belgian beer, dined at a cozy restaurant, discovered a fantastic club with a live electronic band, climbed to the top of a small castle, and spent a lot of time just wandering and looking.

A torrent of rain and wind has hit Amsterdam hard the last days, but a short reprieve has come this evening. Good timing after today. While standing on the sidewalk waiting to cross the road, a car sped by and splashed a huge puddle on me. There I stood with my mostly destroyed umbrella, wearing wool tights and my favorite shoes, soaked but laughing.

Photo via olivia bee

A year of reading, with 27 books enjoyed in 2011. Here are lists of what I read from January – May and from June – September. And now, the last batch of the year: the books I read in October, November, and December.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Stout. A portrait of a woman in a small coastal town in New England told through a series of shorts stories from her perspective and through the voices of those in her community.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brönte. This classic never gets old.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. A biographer records the never-before-told personal history of a famous author at the edge of her life.

The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto. A look at the history of Manhattan Island in the hands of its first occupants: the Dutch in New Amsterdam.

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. A humorous tale of the consequences when one couple decides to forgo Christmas for one year.

The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. A story of a family who moves to a mysterious house on the coast of Spain. The children discover the dark secrets of its past inhabitants.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The first book of The Hunger Games trilogy tells the story of Katniss Everdeen, living a totalitarian society in which two children from each of the 12 districts are sent annually to compete in a game for their lives.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. The horror of the first book is on repeat when a second game is announced to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the games. Katniss finds herself back in the arena competing for her life.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. The final installment in which the capital government becomes the final opponent. I listened to trilogy as audio books and was immediately swept up in the action and lives of the characters. It was a perfect way to enjoy the dark, winter months.

I already have a small collection of books for the next month or two, but would love some recommendations. Which books did you enjoy lately?

Photo by azrasta