Click on the image to view larger.

The European cappuccino is a force to be reckoned with. I think it’s the simplicity of it. There aren’t a million customizations creating double-shot-extra-hot-no-foam-no-whip-skim-mochas, so you don’t have to spend more than 5 seconds thinking about your morning caffeine fix. And they are far less likely to screw up a process that they’ve already perfected. No worrying you’re getting whole milk instead of soy! And their sugar packets are all long and slender and usually have pretty designs on them. So much better than our Pepto Bismal colored packets containing aspartame infused fake shit. Plus, they always put a cookie on your saucer. Sounds kind of dirty, doesn’t it?

While clicking through Shine from Yahoo!, I came across this article and what immediately caught my eye was the source link. I didn’t actually believe that Yahoo! would credit Perez Hilton, but oh was I wrong. It led straight to this article. I guess I should look on the bright side: if someone as insanely petty and crude as P. Hilton can get his 15 minutes of fame and respect from a powerhouse like Yahoo!, then I suppose there is hope for us all.

I’ve kind of been in a funky mood the last few days, mostly due to the fact that I’ve been ridiculously clumsy lately leading to some serious scrapes and bruises on various parts of my body. Ouch. What I think is bothering me, though, is that I don’t really believe it was accidental, because I think that whatever happens to you - good or bad - you’ve somehow attracted to yourself (go watch The Secret if you don’t know what I’m talking about. It’s hokey, but it works.) On that note and upon further inspection, I think I have been expecting to get hurt, just not physically. I totally manifested pain into my life, though it’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’m going to think of it as a Wake Up Call so that I can make an effort to knock it off.

What do the flower blossoms have to do with any of this? They are relaxing. I need to relax.

1. All caps. Is that really necessary?
2. Just because I live in little Puerto Rico and the sign out my bedroom window says ‘Boriquen Plaza’ does not mean I’m looking for some ‘Boricua Love.’
3. What the fuck is a MUUUAKSS?
4. Punctuation, please.
5. Grammar. There is a difference between ‘than’ and ‘then.’ And that’s just the beginning.
6. The only one that should be ‘holla back’-ing is Gwen Stefani.
7. Who in their right mind would respond to this? Gotta getta betta game, Papi!

Click the image to view larger.

And it only took crossing over about 10 bridges before I figured that one out. Smart cookie, aren’t I? At my rate, I’ll be speaking Dutch fluently in ohhhh, maybe a couple of centuries. If that. Fortunately for me, basically everyone from the Netherlands speaks English fluently. So fluently that you could mistake them for Americans. Or rather, Americans that speak clearly. None of those regional accents that make you wonder if Bostonians ever learned the letter R or if Southerners are just talking like that to piss you off. Seriously, the bar could stand to be raised for English teachers.

I spent a lot of this day relaxing in Vondel Park. I even met a little family of ducks that were quite friendly and swam up to me to say hello. Because it rains almost every day, the colors get really vibrant when the sun comes out. Oh, Amsterdam, how I love you.

Click the image to view larger.

I was about to call it day and put the camera away when I came across this pond full of swans. Whoever designed the gardens at Kaukenhof definitely had a photographic perspective. The entire day felt like it was a professionally styled shoot that made it very easy to take a whole lot of really good photos. You Dutch just get it right every time, don’t you?

Click the image to view larger.

Don’t you want to just climb in there and take a nap? So beautiful.

Peeves:

1. Labels and love are the reasons to come to New York?  FUCK.  THAT.  Had I known that - had I been looking for that - I never would have come. As far as I’m concerned, this is the most difficult place in the world to have a lasting relationship. And most of the people I know can barely afford to eat in order to pay their rent, much less splurge on thousand dollar handbags.
2. Some of the cheese just got to be too much. The “love” keychain made me roll my eyes quite a few times. Especially when it turned out to be the password to get to Big. Yuck.
3. P.S. ~ Miss Louise found her love in St. Louis and moved back to the Midwest. If you’re confused as to why this is a peeve, see #1.
4. There’s a Metrocard in Carrie’s bag when she is returning books to the library. In the entirety of all six seasons, Carrie has only taken the subway once: when she was stuck in traffic and needed to get downtown to ring the bell at the stock market (episode To Market, To Market). Why on earth would she start taking the train now when she is A. more successful and B. has Big’s driver at her disposal?
5. With said Metrocard, she could’ve gotten to Miranda’s apartment much faster on New Year’s Eve when the streets were clogged with cabs. But instead she ran 100 blocks on icy sidewalks in pajamas and heels. Cute, yes, but completely unnecessary. Though I do understand that sometimes you need those hundred blocks to clear your head and put yourself in a better place than when you walked out the door, I’m not sure this was the case here.

Loves (and these will far outnumber the bothers):

1. Theme numero 1: Happiness. I loved when Charlotte said that yes, she was in fact happy in her life every single day. It seems like so many people are content with being happy most of the time, or even some of the time. It should be every single day. Otherwise you are settling. Don’t settle.
2. Theme numero 2: Forgiveness. Carrie says to Miranda, “You’re asking me to forgive you after 3 days and you won’t forgive Steve after 6 months?” Miranda replies, “It’s not the same thing.” Carrie says, “It’s forgiveness.” Thank you, Carrie! Forgive and forget and move on with your life. You’re only hurting yourself by holding onto anger. This also means that you can never again use it against the person. Otherwise you haven’t really forgiven, have you?
3. Theme numero 3: Friendship. Obviously the whole movie revolves around this one, but it’s important. When you’re having a tough time in life, sometimes you need someone to show up with a bottle of vodka. Or make you eat when you have no appetite. Or make you get up and get dressed and get out of the house when you really don’t want to. Sometimes your friends do know what’s best for you.
4. Theme numero 4: Love. The biggest one of all (no pun intended, really). Through most of this movie I sat there thinking that I never want to get married, never even want to get involved with anyone ever again. The heartache can be so overwhelming when things go awry. The thing is, though, that you always surface from it. It takes time, but the sadness and loneliness dissipate and then you learn something. In this case, Miranda and Steve learned they couldn’t let their lives get in the way of their marriage. Carrie and Big learned they didn’t need to put on a show for everyone else when all they wanted was each other. Samantha learned she wasn’t meant for relationships regardless of how much she loved someone. And Charlotte, well I think she had love figured out a long time ago.
5. Carrie’s pink sparkly cell phone was duct taped together.
6. The whole Saint Louise thing was cute. Especially when Carrie had to turn off the movie Meet Me in St. Louis because of Judy Garland’s love song. A little bit of cynicism can go a long way in a movie about love.
7. The product placement made me laugh. All of the norms were there (ahem, Manolo Blahnik), but the Vitamin Waters on the chairs at the fashion show? Hi-larious.
8. The Vogue photo shoot. My wet dream realized.
9. The fact that Carrie wants to write about found love and how to keep it. Sequel anyone??
10. Standford Blatch and Anthony Marentino are friends. ‘Nough said.
11. The closet Big builds for Carrie. I would have sex with it if I could. It breaks my heart that she doesn’t get to use it.
12. Carrie’s redecorated apartment. Especially when she’s shopping for desks (”If you have the right desk, the words will come.”)
13. Samantha’s humping puppy. So appropriate.
14. Sushi.
15. The Cinderella thread. Carrie tells Charlotte’s daughter that things don’t always work out like that. In the end Big slips her foot into her gorgeous blue Manolos. We’ll call it Cheese Well Done.
16. The movie ended zooming out from the center of the Meatpacking District - my favorite neighborhood in this most glorious city - catching glimpses of Soho House and Hotel Gansevoort. Two of my favorite places because, in addition to other reasons, I’ve had some very awesome incidents there as of late.

I’m sure I could go on, but this is already a rather long list. There was a good portion of the movie that I sat there thinking, “I don’t like this. It’s making me too sad.” But then they made Charlotte shit her pants. I came away from it smiling. I think they did great justice to the show. Just like Carrie’s first book dedication, it’s for hopeful women everywhere.

I can see why so many high schools and colleges use these as their school colors. Look pretty damn good together, don’t they?

On another note, how stock-y is this image? It’s got the whole “stand out from the crowd” theme going on. Getty, Corbis, can you hear me?? STOCK FLOWER PHOTOS! RIGHT HERE!!