Welcome to my blogosphere!
I know I need another blog like a hole in the head but... what can I say, I'm addicted.
photoblog:
www.yffoto.com
Photos taken with a real camera.
moblog:
www.yffoto.posterous.com
iPhone photos taken only with the ShakeitPhoto app
ramblings:
http://yf.yffoto.com
this replaces my old Vox blog.
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amsterdam
yffoto.com | green house
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More photos from Amsterdam... we had the most beautiful day for an open air museum and that produced photos with really amazing color. Super pleased with how these turned out!
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yffoto.com | netherlands
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I spent the whole day on Saturday in front of the computer, determined to get through editing all of my photos from Amsterdam. I managed to finish and am pretty happy with the results. I'll be posting more in the coming weeks. I don't want to overload anyone on windmills. :)
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yffoto.com
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I am slowly making my way thru my shots from Amsterdam - I don't know why it's taking me so long since there aren't that many shots. I like this one, but would love it if the trees weren't in front of all the houses. Next time I go over I will seek out a vista without trees. : )
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slight obsession
Two years ago I visited Amsterdam and found the most perfect canisters for my kitchen in this little store called Lifestyle Amsterdam. It's on the P.C. Hooftstraat - amazing street for shopping designer goods! I bought three, packaged them with the only packing supplies I could find and shipped them home. Well, sadly, only one survived the trip and I've been obsessed with finding them ever since with no luck.
During my most recent trip, I popped in to see if they still had the canisters and to my surprise, they did! After much discussion about the goods in their store, I find out that they are designed & manufactured for the stores and are not sold anywhere else. No wonder I couldn't find them anywhere on the internet! And, they only have stores in the Netherlands and Brussels. So, I managed to warm up the clerk (not easy) and talk her into shipping another set to me - in their original packaging! I left her with all of my contact information, FedEX number and anything I could think she might possibly need to complete the transaction.
One month after my return home, I finally got an email with the details of the transaction. The price for all the canisters is great, but shipping is ridiculous - 30 euro more than the cost of the merchandise - Ugh! I've been pondering if it's all really worth it, and it's probably not... but after two years of thinking about a stupid ceramic canister, I'd kick myself if I didn't give this a try. I could spend all this money and they could all arrive in bits and pieces just like last time... keep your fingers crossed for me.
The one hitch in the plan is how to get the money to the retailer. Serious lack of customer service!! They will ONLY accept a wire transfer - which is another ridiculous amount on top of the mountain of money I'm already putting out. I asked about PayPal or ACH transfer or credit card? No go. What I don't understand is the no credit card thing. If this transaction were to happen here, say at a store on Michigan Ave in Chicago. I'd tell the clerk what merch I want, where I want it shipped, pay for merch and shipping and be on my merry little way. If I were to have bought the merch while I was there, in the store, I could have paid via credit card, but now that I've had to make the arrangements via email, it's not acceptable form of payment... huh?
So, as a last ditch effort, I've tapped E to help me. I sent her money via PayPal so she can go into the store and pay cash or with her PIN card in person. I really hope this works. If not, I will have to give up. I'm just not willing to pay for the wire transfer - it's almost as much as the merch!
Why does everything have to be so difficult?
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amsterdam : day three : dhe amsterdam
Our final day of vacation we packed in a good mix of touristy and local fun. Started our day in museumplain taking photos on the I Am Amsterdam sign along with a good number of other folks. Shopped on the pc hooftstraat - a fantastic street for the high end fare. I hit the jackpot at the Lifestyle Home store and found the canisters from two years ago!!! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. At first the sales girl was totally stand offish and didn't want to help me, but after talking to her for a bit she warmed and has offered to order direct from the factory and ship in those boxes via DHL. We'll hope that they make it to the US in one piece without being a million bucks. SO happy I found them!! It's actually a miracle they still have them two years later.
Stopped for lunch at a cute little place on the corner of one of the canals then off to the bloemenmarkt. I was a little disappointed because it was all bulbs and touristy trinkets, no actual flowers. We were thinking it was all going to be bouquets of beautiful flowers, but apparently that is only the case in the Spring when they are in season. Ahh well. Fun to wander through anyway. We bought wooden shoes, magnets and took photos. That's all you need I guess.
Erika came to wander with us and we hit the most amazing chocolate shop called Puccini. The chocolates are made on site in the shop and are wonderful combinations - huge truffles! I bought 30€ worth of chocolate to eat and share with everyone - insane, I know, but it is so good. I will savor every single piece!
More shopping in the streets bordering Dam square - I found an amazing pair of Audley shoes. Karen was jealous because she was only able to find one pair of shoes on the trip and they aren't anywhere near as cool as the pair I bought. : ) Hers were 1/10 the price, so she's on the winning end I'd say.
A quick stop by the grocery store for dinner ingredients - homemade pizza! Played with the girls, watched the Simpson's with Dutch subtitles and now to packing. Will need to be up early tomorrow for our flights.
We've had a great trip - will need some serious time to recoup since we've not been sleeping properly and I've come close to completely wrecking my right knee. Even with all the wear and tear, it's totally been worth it. I've had a blast! I'm happy Karen put up with my photo taking and hope to get some serious editing done over the next few weeks. I will really need to sit down and see what I got - over 1500 photos taken on the 40D and 265 iPhone shakeitphotos. Oy!
Thanks too to Erika, Chris and the girls for being such wonderful hosts and cooking us some delicious meals!
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amsterdam : day two : windmill walk
We got a very late start today - didn't get out of the house till Noon. Our bodies are so tired and achy, but we're pushing through. While on the train into Amsterdam yesterday we asked the ticket checker guy if we were going to pass any windmills, after all isn't that what the Netherlands are known for? He said only one, but that there is a great open air museum just north of Amsterdam that has several that are still working and that we should check it out. So, we did.
We arrived about 15 min early for our train so we grabbed a little lunch for our train ride. Karen bought fried cheese from the hot vending type machine (Erika and Chris thought this was hysterical, as they have and would never). It was actually pretty good. We hopped onto the train (15 min ride max) took the five minute walk or so into a little town called Zaanse Schans. From the minute we rounded the corner into town we were greeted by windmills and the wonderful smell of chocolate. Apparently there's a factory there, but sadly you cannot visit or buy the chocolate there. That's just cruel I think.
This little town is so cute we could hardly stand it. We wandered the little walkways snapping photos, petting sheep, listening to frogs and roosters and tasting 18 different types of gouda in the little cheese shop. It was so much fun and we only scratched the surface of all they have to offer there. I would totally recommend this to anyone who visits Amsterdam - just soooooo cute. We had a picture perfect day for it, sunny and warm with lots of people out on boats and bikes. We could have spent the whole day there easy.
Popped back into the city to meet Erika and Zoe in Dam square for some birthday shopping. Zoe turns seven today and auntie Y had a present to buy for her. We wandered about some of the shops off the square - will go back there tomorrow to do some more shopping for sure! Stopped in McDonald's and waited in the worlds longest line! Got a little snack before heading back to the house.
Chris was whipping up some homemade pasta alfredo, Zoe's birthday meal request, upon our arrival back at the house. It's her favorite and works perfectly for me. It was amazing and we topped it off with cake and singing happy birthday in English and Dutch! Soooo cute! We rounded out the night with some good conversation ranging form high school memories to politics and healthcare reform. Love it.
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