The Rijksmuseum has good information. They’ve got a free audioguide app for your phone (and free wifi in the museum for downloading it), or you can get a physical guide there if you’ve forgotten your headphones or whatever. There are also placards hanging alongside the artwork with information (not just the name or the work and artist). And then, as a third option, in case you didn’t have enough, they have large laminated sheets (like 11x17s, except whatever size is equivalent in Europe) with details about the most famous works in the room—pointing out the minutia you might otherwise miss.
So, the Winter Landscape with Ice Skaters by Hendrick Avercamp. What did the Rijksmuseum think was one of the most important aspects of this work to focus on?
Winter Landscape, zoom in #1
Winter Landscape, zoom in #2
Winter Landscape, zoom in #3
Winter Landscape, from the Rijksmuseum’s detail sheet
Yes! I found a photo I took from the “New for Now” exhibition of which I couldn’t find the original in the Rijksmuseum’s collection. This is the painted version of the Arlequine print seen here. This was on display not on the wall, but laying horizontally in a display case under glass. That is why you can see my outline as I tried to shade the image to get as little glare as possible. If only my head were wider!
I have spent many an hour “curating” my collection of fabulous, and I think I’m finished for the time being. 158 images, many of them fashion plates, but also a lot of actual physical fashion—dresses and accessories from the Rijksmuseum. Here is the link to the collection!
I especially liked this caption because “Wedding dress with extremely wide, puffed sleeves” is basically saying “Eat your heart out, Anne Shirley!” (I cropped this image because the original weirdly wrapped mannequin head was kind of off-putting.)
La Mode du Petit Journal: supplement, Nr. 9, 12e Année: Dimanche 4 Mars 1900: 1. Canotier “Le Touriste”….., Anonymous, 1905
Costumes de Cyclistes 5-6-1898, nr. 3373, Anonymous, 1898
I adore Hark! A Vagrant, and the moment I saw these I thought to myself, “You know, I haven’t bought a copy of Step Aside, Pops yet. I should rectify that.”
And finally, boatwigs.
Coiffures, Poufs, Hats and Bonnets: Eleven Coiffures and Headdresses, Anonymous, Esnauts & Rapilly, c. 1778
Coëffure à la Belle Poule en 1778., Daniel Berger, 1778
BOATS. WIGS. BOATS IN WIGS. BOATWIGS.
(The placard attached to the first image included the following information: “Ladies’ hairstyles were ingenious works of art, built around a core of cushions and horsehair. Hair was piled high in curls and twists (chignons) and adorned with feathers, ribbons, artificial flowers, tulle and jewels to create various fancifully named poufs. Because the hair was dressed using animal fat and powdered with wheat flour, these poufs attracted all manner of insects. Far from hygienic, they moreover did not last long.”)
[image: a beaded bag in the process of being knit on four needles]
One of the museums on my list to visit in Amsterdam was the Museum of Bags and Purses. No, I’m not a bag fiend—that’s my friend TeapotGirl—but I do enjoy them. I also enjoy museums that dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to something niche like this. (Also it was included in the list of museums that had free admission with a Museumkaart.) It’s located in a beautiful canal house near Rembrandtplein.
The bag at the top of this post is a half-finished antique beaded bag. Apparently in order to make these, you first had to figure out the pattern and order in which all the beads needed to be in order to get a coherent design, then string all of them onto your cord (the spool you see at the top left), and then get to knitting. It seems amazingly complicated. I really liked being able to see the process.
I learned after I had gone through the museum that we weren’t supposed to take photos. My bad. Thankfully, these photos are terrible (SHAKY HANDS) and should in no way substitute for an actual visit, should you get the chance!
I really enjoyed the historical section of the museum. Once they got into the latter half of the 20th century the informative aspect of the museum sort of dried up. I guess they figure if you’re into this stuff, you already know? But I would say that the sections regarding the history and evolution of purses were definitely worthwhile.
[image: a series of chatelains]
I thought these chatelaines were pretty damn neat. I thought to myself “these look so cool, they should totally make a comeback,” but then I realized that these days they’d just look like oversized charm bracelets. Still, I think they could be integrated successfully into some sort of steampunk costume. And then I ran a search for “chatelaines” and discovered there are someantiquesoneBay if you’ve got a few thousand bucks kicking around.
[image: a gem-encrusted diet coke can purse]
[image: peeking inside the diet coke purse]
But really, is it any wonder that this was my absolute favorite purse in the museum? 😀 (Click to embiggen, the thumbnails crop unflatteringly. Or check out the museum’s photo of it from their Facebook page, which is much better.)
I wish to also share something with you close friend, in terms of sensible insight on ways to manage shitty and also unfavorable people.
I get a ton of spam comments. I have to clear out bunches from my filter each day. But this, this is the pinnacle of spam. I almost want to let it through.
Please, share with me! Aren’t we close friends? Please! Tell me your sensible insights on ways to manage shitty and also unfavorable people. That seems like it could be good advice.
(I haven’t been skiing since 1993, but obviously this is what I’ll be wearing on the slopes next time.)
The Rijksmuseum’s website has this neat feature where you can create an account and save really high-res images of their collection. Well, I say it’s neat, but I’ve spent a few hours this afternoon trying to recreate the gallery I made yesterday (and since there were 6500 images in the main tag I had been using—”fashion plate”—it’s taken a while). I think what happened is that I duplicated a few images going through the first time, and then when I tried delete one of the images, it deleted both? I’m not sure. It’s damn annoying, is what it is.
Anyway, it’s pretty much made redundant a lot of photos I took on my trip. But it’s for the better, since my Shaky Hands ™ did not take as clear images as theirs.
In addition to being able to save albums full of cool things, they also encourage you to use their images to make stuff. I doubt I’ll be doing that, but it’s a nice feature.
You can see my collections here! So far I’ve just got two, one for fabulous fashion, the other for works of art featuring saints and their attributes (because I am me, and that is the sort of thing I love). I’m still working on them, because as I mentioned earlier… 6500 images, and that’s before I get start searching for more saint stuff.
It’s October, shouldn’t my plants be winding down by now? Apparently not in California! To be fair, it’s still supposed to be in the 80s this week, I can understand why my plants are a little confused.
My cherry tomato plant has been putting out ridiculous new growth. There are still a few tomatoes from the original crop that are finally starting to ripen, but the plant itself has decided it’s time for more flowering and more fruit. I’m looking forward to the first round being over so I can cut the damn plant back a bunch. It really grew all over the place.
I’m also getting more flowers and nascent fruit on my bell pepper plant, which I thought had been eaten to death by bugs (it has very sad, chewed up leaves).
The chile pepper plant is well into its second round of fruit. I’ve been getting so many chile peppers I’ve just started chucking them into the freezer. When I get enough (I think they’ll be like 50 per ounce, they are so small) I’ll make hot sauce or some very, very fiery pepper jelly.
I think the Indigo Rose tomato plant is nearing its end, although I’ve seen some new growth on it, too. But no new flowers. YET.
Both eggplants are putting out a lot of flowers, as well as a decent number of fruits. They’re on the small side—maybe because there are so many?
Bugs attacked the basil, but I think I’ve course-corrected there. The thyme is still ridiculous. Is it odd that I like to run my fingers through it? It’s sort of like brushing a doll’s hair. I like to work out the tangles. It’s oddly soothing. And you smell like thyme afterward!
Really, the only major disappointment has been the kabocha squashes. They’ve been growing well, but I haven’t gotten any female flowers yet. Just male. So no squashes. I’ve been calling it a “kabocha sausage party,” which SHOULD be delicious, and yet it’s just depressing. I’m going to keep trying, though.
When I was in Amsterdam, I invested in a Museumkaart, and therefore visited Rijksmuseum to my heart’s content (probably five or six times). One of the temporary exhibits I saw (which has since closed) was called “New for Now: The Origin of Fashion Magazines”. It was really, really cool to look at all the artwork from these early magazines.
This flipbook animation was the opening exhibit. I tried to keep as steady as possible, but good ol’ Shaky Hands Sarah strikes again. I found a few more videos on YouTube of the animation (here, here, and here.
Also, here is the weird promo the Rijksmuseum made for the exhibit.
[image: self-frosting spice cookies cooling on a rack]
I found this recipe while researching traditional Dutch and German cookies. These are called Anise Platzchen or Self-Frosting Anise Drops, and traditionally they’re made with anise (er, obviously). I found this spice variation along with a vanilla one on Gin’s Kitchen. I found the concept SO WEIRD that I had to try it. But while the recipe worked (which honestly I was really not expecting), I didn’t actually like the taste? But I brought them to a party today, and my friends seemed to enjoy them, so here is the recipe.
Self-Frosting Spice Cookies
recipe adapted from Gin’s Kitchen
3 large eggs
1 1/8 cup white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 3/4 cup AP flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
Using a stand mixer (or electric hand mixer—trust me, you will not want to do this by hand), beat the eggs together until they have lightened in color. Slowly add the sugar. Once the sugar is in, beat the mixture on medium speed for 20 minutes.
While the mixer is running, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients.
Also do this while the mixer is running: line 5 baking sheets* with parchment paper (or prepare 5 pieces of parchment to go into baking sheets if you have fewer than 5 sheets) (I read a couple recipes that said you can’t use parchment for this, but I didn’t have any problem with sticking). If you don’t have parchment, prepare the pans with butter and flour or Baker’s Joy spray.
Once the 20 minutes is up, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet. Continue beating for another 3 minutes.
Use two teaspoons and scoop about a teaspoon of dough at a time. Use the other spoon to shove the dough off the first spoon onto the parchment. It’s very sticky. Try to get the dollops as circular as you can. Space them about 1.5 inches apart.
Let the cookies sit out overnight. Yes. Do that.
[image: before baking, how the self-frosting spice cookies look on the pan]
The next morning, heat your oven to 325. Bake each sheet for 10 minutes, rotating halfway through. Let cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, and then move to a cooling rack. If your cookies stick, let them cool a bit more before removing them. I didn’t need a spatula, just a little twist and they released from the parchment. I recommend baking one sheet at a time, if you can. I couldn’t get both sheets to get to the same level of doneness when I baked two at once.
As the cookies bake, they will lift up from the bottom slightly, as shown in the top picture. Voila, self-frosting cookies!
* I fit 12 cookies onto a sheet, and the recipe provides dough for 60 cookies. If you can fit more than 12 cookies onto a sheet, good for you. Make your calculations for how many sheets you’ll need. 12:5, 15:4, 20:3 or whatever.
Where I live, we’ve been moved off plastic shopping bags onto reusables. I think this is pretty great, because I have cool bags.
The two large bags in the background I got at Comic-Con. Anchor Bay Entertainment has bucked the trend of SUPER GIANT BAG giveaways in favor of shopping bags that you can use all year. Which means you advertise for them all year. Which is a genius idea on their part. I’m not a fan of the giant bags, honestly. I know they’re a Comic-Con tradition, but they’re just too big and unwieldy. They’re impossible to use in a practical sense. So yes, reusable bags! The Spartacus/Walking Dead season 2 bag is from 2012, and the Black Sails/Walking Dead season 5 bag is from this year. They’ve changed the handle from fabric to… whatever the rest of the bag is made out of. Whatever it is, it’s more uncomfortable to hold than the fabric. But it probably holds up better? I have to assume there’s a reason they changed it.
The two bags in front are ones I keep in my purse, since they collapse into adorable cuteness. The bunny bag was a gift from my friend Jeff, who got it in Japan like ten years ago. I enjoy the fact that it’s pink and says “GREEN BAG.” The strawberry bag I picked up recently at a dollar store in Amsterdam. cute cute cute!
(Yeah, it’s kind of annoying not to have plastic bags around to line my bathroom trash cans anymore, but whatever, I’m over it.)
[image: product photo of Lupicia’s Handy Cooler (Half) in Yellow]
My friend TeapotGirl gave me Lupicia’s Handy Cooler as a gift last year. I have been using the hell out of it to make cold-brew iced tea. It’s great. I can drink so much of that stuff.
[image: tea being brewed in Lupicia’s Handy Cooler]
[image: iced tea]
Here is the cooler in action. It’s got a fine-mesh insert that you put loose tea leaves in. You can also use bags without the mesh insert, if you prefer. Fill the cooler with cold water and place in the fridge overnight. Drink up, yum.
Making iced tea with cold water takes a bit longer, but the taste is really delicate and completely lacking in any bitterness.
I visit Lupicia’s physical stores a few times a year. Two of my favorite loose teas from them right now are La Belle Epoque and Peach. Both make excellent iced tea. For bagged tea, I have a particular fondness for Triple Leaf’s Ginger Tea, which is basically just a bag of dried ginger. It’s lovely on a hot day.
![[image: a beaded bag in the process of being knit]](https://i0.wp.com/www.braisinhussy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/tassen1.jpg?ssl=1)
![[image: a series of chatelains]](https://i0.wp.com/www.braisinhussy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/tassen2.jpg?ssl=1)
![[image: new growth on my cherry tomato plant]](https://i0.wp.com/www.braisinhussy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/tomatoupdate.jpg?ssl=1)
![[image: self-frosting spice cookies cooling on a rack]](https://i0.wp.com/www.braisinhussy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/cookies.jpg?ssl=1)
![[image: before baking, how the self-frosting spice cookies look on the pan]](https://i0.wp.com/www.braisinhussy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/precookies.jpg?ssl=1)
![[image: product photo of Lupicia's Handy Cooler (Half) in Yellow]](https://i0.wp.com/www.braisinhussy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/41000611.jpg?ssl=1)
