it was the middle of last week when I realized I was watching way too many hours of netflix. it didn't quite hit me until I realized that I was maneuvering from room to room, cleaning the house, hauling my laptop along with me, never breaking pace. as if it was a fifth appendage or something. after this realization, I went through the five stages of acceptance like any normal person and finally came to the conclusion that I needed (at least) a couple of days away from netflix, hulu, movies, and the like. not only did I get all of that life laundry (and actual laundry) in order, I was able to spend an entire day out of the apartment--walking amongst the herbs and the blooms at probably the biggest garden center on the island; perusing dutch cheeses with friends (and putting a smallish dent in my pocketbook because I couldn't leave all that cheese there, now could I?); lunching outdoors with a beautiful apple and turkey salad; and painting some high- and low-lights into the hair of my latest painting. there were a few more humdrum moments this weekend, too. moments like finding a new cd I can't live without and writing a few blogposts for later this week and reading a chunk of the book I've been reading. all in all, it was a very successful, netflix-free weekend.
^^ grass shoes. totally en vogue. ^^
something I've missed since being on this island is the feel of farm-fresh wide open spaces. that feeling of being outside and watching things grow instills this sense of awe and wonder in me and I've missed that because there isn't a ton of that here. however, during this past weekend, a couple of friends and I headed way down to the other side of the island to get some fresh air and to maybe stock up on a few herbs that our own balcony gardens had been missing. in the end, I actually refrained from buying anything after realizing I wouldn't be here long enough to see them meet their full potential. crazy, isn't it? I wish I had found this place a little sooner seeing as my parsley is being stubborn and they have pregrown parsley plants.
^^ the cheese tasting guy was very kind to us and we left with a bit of a cheese buzz, if that's possible. ^^
I didn't know how much I loved cheese until we left the garden center and headed to this specialty cheese store nearby. I never much cared for soft cheeses like brie and camembert, which I realize makes me enemy number one to most of you, so it's a good thing this particular cheese store specializes in gouda. so much gouda. gouda with red peppers in it. truffle gouda. gouda with black pepper, which was my absolute favorite (the manchego, which is not gouda coming in at a very close second). I don't think I've ever spent that much on cheese all by itself, but I also don't know how I'll ever be able to go back to the prepackaged cheese you buy at the grocery store, either. I think that's one of those growing-up-taste-buds-maturing things that are never good for your bank account.
and then all of that cheese tasting made us hungry. and because we'd just eaten about a pound of cheese (I'm exaggerating for effect here) and because I had those fancy donuts that I talked on and on about for breakfast, we headed to our favorite salad place because vegetables are important if cheese is going to be the main staple of your diet.
^^ just a random, pretty staircase I loved. ^^
the rest of my weekend consisted of getting nine-tenths of the way done on my latest painting, as well as making a heaping batch of buns that I had forgotten to half the recipe until I was most of the way through. and even though there were those definitive moments where I thought a rerun of gilmore girls would go nicely for background noise, this netflix-free weekend was so productive and, dare I say, fun that I didn't really miss it that much. that's not to say I won't be watching the bachelorette this week, though. that girl has certainly been making a mess of things, hasn't she?
love, arielle
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