Well, yesterday really. But what the hey.

So many changes in the past month. Physically, she’s begun to feel grow heavy and solid in my arms, less a soft floppy newborn and more a robust mini-Marlon.  Her hair has grown, covering her ears and giving her kind of a miniature mullet. It’s also starting to lie flat the longer it grows, which makes me suspect she won’t be rocking the spiky baby punk ‘do for much longer. Her skin is starting to look more like mine (fair) than Marlon’s (brown).

Her habits are changing, too. From two to three hours between boobs feeds, Tala can now go for four to five hours at a stretch. Theoretically that would give me a nice chunk of time to myself, but she’s awake longer too. No longer the newborn put to immediate sleep by milk, she stays up for about an hour after she feeds. She’ll scratch her ears or rub her eyes on my chest if I’m carrying her, then I’ll know she’s tired and needs to nap.

I feel like I know her now, and it makes my job easier in that I expend less time and effort struggling to figure things out. Most of the time I can tell if she can be soothed by a pacifier or needs cuddling; I know if she’s head-butting me or rubbing her forehead on my chest, I should put her down for a nap; I can differentiate between the cries that say tummy trouble and the ones that say hunger.

The most gratifying development I’ve seen this month is that she’s begun to respond to her environment. After mostly just crying or sleeping, to behold the beginnings of happiness, excitement and curiosity on her face is a thrill, and a deeply satisfying pleasure.

Studying herself intently in my iPhone screen

She spends most baths with her mouth open. A special bathtime kind of pleasure?

Excitement, complete with flailing arms and kicking legs

Surprised by a camera click

Best of all, my daughter now smiles when she sees me. Sometimes (not often, but it happens), she will stop fussing once she sees my face.

“Does it make you happy to see me, Tala?” I’ve asked her, in that high-pitched sing-song all parents develop. “It makes me happy to see you too.” It makes me happy in a quiet, deep-in-my-chest kind of way, and hugs, kisses and smiles can’t express it enough.

I find that as a mother, I’m growing right along with my baby. People have told me, “Don’t worry, it gets easier.” After two months, I’d say “You get used to it” would be more accurate. I knew I was starting to get the hang of things when, sometime between weeks 6 and 7, I started to crave travel again and could easily see myself traveling with Tala. (Now if only we had her passport!)

Some things do get easier, but new challenges also arise. I enjoy Tala way more now compared to a month ago; I’d even go as far as to say I’m having fun! But I’m also starting to struggle with the repetitiveness of certain tasks, like washing my pump and her bottle…. gaaaah. To think I only bottle-feed her once a day!

I suppose like anything else, you have to put in some grunt work to be able to enjoy the best bits. And this month, I think the best bits—her smile, her alert eyes, her growing body—have multiplied and become even better.

As the name suggests, Rollende Keukens is all about meals on wheels. At this yearly festival, dozens of mobile kitchens roll into Westerpark to create one giant open-air restaurant.

Of the food festivals and markets I’ve been to, I have to say this one was the most fun and full of character. That’s what you get when you have creative foodies repurposing everything from Volkswagen camper vans to Airstream trailers to surfboards and boats.

More (lots more!) pictures, and my Rollende Keukens favorites and regrets, after the cut!

The most successful mobile kitchens were those that combined a creative concept with an eye-catching vehicle and great food. My personal favorite among these was De Oesterkar. Vintage style, fresh oysters with a variety of mouthwatering sauces, and sharply dressed guys? Yes, please.

Sarap! Ng oysters, ha.

Since I’m still trying to make up for the nine months I had to put my oyster obsession on hold, I had them again from another stall. As I discovered, the Bugaboo makes an excellent tray for mobile dining.

I learned to cook by watching lots of Jamie Oliver, so I regret not getting to try his restaurant Fifteen on Wheels. Instead, Marlon and I observed his young cooks make ravioli. Those are some seriously high quality eggs—you can see how thick the yolks are even from a distance.

Rollende Keukens was mobbed, and with good reason. Not only was there a fantastic vibe, but there was also something for everyone: for carnivores like my husband, who was drawn to every single smoke, slow roast and grill…

For those with a sweet tooth, like myself—pictured here with a mojito popsicle and a Big Macaron, a sesame macaron with a chocolate patty, lemon curd “cheese” and raspberry jam “ketchup”…

For the kiddies…

And, ehem, for the ladies.

The festival was supposedly oversubscribed by 155 stalls this year, which makes me wonder how many more creative food trucks we could have enjoyed. Maybe the stalls offering tired old staples such as tostis (grilled cheese sandwiches), broodjes (more sandwiches) and chicken sate could have given way to more creative cooking. Ah, there’s always next year.

I complain about the dearth of good casual dining in Amsterdam, but apparently Rollende Keukens is the one event each year that makes up for all of that. I wish more of these mobile kitchens would set up brick-and-mortar restaurants in the city, so we could enjoy their concepts and food on a regular basis.

But then, perhaps, what would be the fun in that?

I woke up to breakfast in bed: chocolate chip pancakes with maple syrup (a hard-to-find commodity in the Netherlands) and bacon. No pictures, sorry—I demolished everything before I remembered the camera!

Then it was off to a top-secret location for my Mother’s Day surprise. He put me on the wrong tram and took me the long way around the block to throw me off, but eventually we reached it: The Conservatorium Hotel on Museumplein, and in its basement, the Akasha Spa.

Obviously I couldn’t take pictures of people in a spa state of undress, so all spa images are via The Conservatorium.

He deposited me at the spa, took the baby, and disappeared for the next five hours. Left to my own devices, what was I supposed to do?

Image via The Conservatorium

Nothing. That was the plan, apparently: for me to do absolutely nothing. To do nothing in the steaming marble hammam, or the Finnish sauna, or the pool, for five blissful hours.

Image via The Conservatorium

Oh, right, I had an Ayurveda massage. But I didn’t have to do anything there either, just lay there like a blob while hot sesame oil was slathered all over me. I hate hard massages, so this soft and gentle treatment was perfect for me. My husband, he knows me well.

I’m not a spa addict, but after the beating my body took from pregnancy, birth and caring for a newborn, this was like being reborn. After gorging myself on idleness, I emerged from this sleek and gleaming paradise of pampering to meet Marlon and Tala upstairs in the hotel. I had been here only once before, and this time I got to take a closer look… and take pictures, of course!

Built in 1900, the former Sweelinck Conservatory of Music became the newest five-star hotel in Amsterdam when The Conservatorium opened in 2011.

It’s a stunning juxtaposition of old and new, with a glass- and steel-enclosed courtyard attached to the original brick building. Floor-to-ceiling windows and a glass roof make the lobby feel luxuriously expansive.

Marlon had reserved a table at the Conservatorium Brasserie…

… where I ended my first Mother’s Day with a glass of wine, dessert (Baba au Rhum, yum!) and (slightly fussy) cuddles from my baby girl.

And I get to expect this every year? I think this just became my favorite holiday.

How did you celebrate Mother’s Day?

We received quite a few cards from friends when my baby was born (ah, what graciousness can be enabled by a postal system that actually works). I used to have them taped up to the wall next to her changing mat, and noticed that Tala really liked looking at them during diaper changers.

After reading that babies like faces, I decided to replace the cards with something a little more useful to her at this stage of development. The thought of real people’s faces pasted on my wall creeped me out, so I figured art and illustration was the way to go.

An online art project called Feed Your Soul helped me curate this mini art gallery of faces for Tala. This site features a free downloadable art print every month, from artists and illustrators invited to contribute by Jen Wallace of the blog Indie Fixx.

I first found this online art project after Googling Rinske Dekker, an illustrator and Etsy seller I discovered at Dutch Design Week. Rinske’s free art print from is on the right, next to the flower-crowned girl by Croatian illustrator Irena Sophia.

and the dreamy colors of this girl with her head in the clouds, by Laura Amiss. I don’t know why I gravitate more towards female figures… all our figurative paintings at home are of women, too.

With some of my favorite cards from friends, plus our friendly felt unicorn, Tala’s little art gallery is complete. She loves looking at it, and she’s even started trying to touch some of the prints. It will be fun to update it every now and then with fresh finds.

Though the project ended in 2011, the Feed Your Soul page has lots more free downloadable art prints to choose from (not all of them are this girly). So you can download and print your own mini art gallery, too!

I’ve been looking for ways to help Tala develop her visual acuity, so one of my recent projects was a DIY mobile to hang over her changing mat, for her to look at during nappy changes. After window shopping for baby mobiles online, I realized that many of them are made for adults to look at—that is, pretty from the side but not from below, which is the baby’s perspective.

Luckily, one of my baby shower gifts was a pack of pop-out paper ornaments by Dutch designer Jurianne Matter. Putting together a DIY mobile with these was super easy. I simply popped out the ornaments, folded them as per instructions on the package, and strung them with varying lengths of embroidery thread from a wooden embroidery hoop, which I then wrapped with washi tape.

Not only are the ornaments cute, colorful (love the touches of neon!) and graphic, but they also fold out into 3D shapes, making them interesting to look at from the underside—not just for mommy, but for baby too.

The ornaments are still pretty thin and low-contrast for Tala at this stage, but she’s started looking at them more and more. I blow gently at the top of the mobile to get the circles moving and draw her interest. I love seeing her try to focus on the shapes, knowing that they are getting clearer as her vision develops.

I have a few other projects in the works, so more nursery details to come!

The difference in what-could-be really strikes me on weekends like the ones we’ve had recently. I thought I would miss shopping malls when I moved to Europe, but I don’t. Not when we have this.

On one of our weekend walks in Westerpark, we explored an idyllic footpath that brought us you closer to nature. I still have a hard time believing that this is literally minutes from my house, and I live so close to the center of Amsterdam. 

There’s even a windmill, which makes me feel as if I’ve left the city entirely.

For now, Tala is confined to her stroller on these long walks…

but I’m already looking forward to taking her to this petting zoo (ooh, pony rides!) when she’s older.

Further west on this path is a miniature village of urban gardens. Since not everyone has space for a garden at home, the city sold these small pockets of land to residents who want to do some gardening. Many of the owners build small structures that they use as garden sheds, picnic houses, even little studios… a mini escape within the city.

On the east end of the park, closer to Centraal Station and along the train tracks, is a Waternatuurtuin, or “water nature garden.” This piece of marshy land has been kept amazingly unspoilt since before Amsterdam was founded. Today it’s a bird sanctuary and nature reserve, with a little bit of public art thrown in for good measure.

Closer to civilization, we found a little slope that overlooks the brick buildings of the Westergasfabriek…

… plus a wading pool, and an open field with no trees or buildings to block the sun.

One Sunday afternoon, we spread out a picnic blanket on the grass and stayed until sundown. Tala nursed and napped while we enjoyed the sun.

When I was growing up, Sunday was always family day. Now I have my own family days, and I love them.

How do you spend Sundays with your family?

That said, to join the Queen’s Day flea market with the goal of making money is to miss the point entirely. The point is to have a good time! The Dutch sense of fun and humor comes out in blazing orange on Queen’s Day, and there are as many silly gimmicks to enjoy as there are bargains to be found.

My favorite gimmick was this wedding package, including a trousseau, ceremony, contract, rings and photo for €5. So silly, so fun, and so very high school fair!

Another funny, but kind of brilliant moneymaking scheme: pay toilets. Lots of residents without anything to sell offer the use of their (presumably clean) toilets for a small fee.

Most people do end up selling something tangible. It’s a chance to nab vintage finds as people, especially older residents, empty their attics out on the sidewalk. Not that I think trolls are a great example of a vintage treasure, but people do trot out a lot of throwback tchotchkes.

Not into old stuff? Score Queen’s Day merchandise—everything from inflatable crowns to wigs to shirts to feather boas, all in the color of the day. We overheard one seller telling a TV reporter that she sold at least 200 items per hour. Wow!

Tired from shopping? Recharge with a cornucopia of homemade food and drink. Granted, there’s much reselling of canned soup, but there is also a lot of good baking and creative naming—like these cupcakes styled after the ex-queen Beatrix and new queen Maxima.

There’s one sector of society that takes the flea market really seriously… children! Like all holidays, Queen’s Day is a huge deal for kids, who take to the streets and put their business hats on.

This makes the Queen’s Day flea market ideal for buying second-hand children’s clothing and toys. The kids themselves get to choose what toys to sell, handle sales, and keep the profits. I think it’s a great idea and I’d love to teach Tala the same when she’s older.

Even more serious than the little business people are the pint-sized performers. Whether they’re putting their violin lessons to good use or banging on pots and pans, you know these little performers been preparing for their big moment for weeks. So adorable, you don’t care what they sound like.

I wasn’t in the market for much this year, but we ended up scoring some yummy cupcakes, brand new organic cotton baby clothes, a hammock seat for our balcony… and this kitschy Queen’s Day themed Polaroid family photo.

The photobomber came free of charge!

Maybe we should join the flea market next year… and use our daughter’s cuteness to our advantage, haha. I wonder what we should sell?

Starting next year, Queen’s Day becomes King’s Day, and will move from the 30th to the 26th of April. Though the dates might change, the festivities never will. If you ever find yourself in Amsterdam on Queen’s—er, King’s Day, here’s how to celebrate it like a local.

1) Score a bargain.

Love pawing through strangers’ rubbish? You’ll love Queen’s Day. Amsterdam becomes one big flea market, with residents cleaning out attics and staking out places on the pavement days in advance. Find the biggest square or most central thoroughfare in your neighborhood—for us, it was Haarlemmerdijk, which was mobbed—and pack a shopping bag.

Most of the sellers are little kids, so be warned: they will use the cute factor to their advantage. But don’t be afraid to haggle! Even if you don’t score any deals, walking around and exploring the city-wide flea market is the best way to soak up the party atmosphere.

2) Sell something.

Not in a shopping mood? Sit yourself down on the sidewalk and make a few Euros. From homemade sweets to last winter’s boots, Queen’s Day gives everyone the license to sell (almost) anything and everything…

… even nothing. We passed this guy shouting “One Euro! One Euro!” and waving his sign.

We asked: “What is one Euro?”

“Nothing!” he replied, laughing. He attempted to collect when I took this photo of him, but I ran away. Hey, the sign didn’t say Photo for 1 Euro.

3) Wear orange.

Orange is the national color, after the ruling house of Oranje-Nassau. The challenge of Queen’s Day is wear as much orange clothing as possible, in as ridiculous a combination as your wardrobe allows.

It’s not the time to be fashionable or tasteful. Though Tala and I attempted our orangest outfits, the tameness of our getups was a clear indication of our foreignness. We had nothing on the Amsterdammers.

If you have a tiger suit stuffed in the back of your closet, Queen’s Day is the perfect time to dust it off.

If you can combine orange with some kind of royalty-inspired gear, even better. On Queen’s Day, everyone—even your pet—gets to be king or queen for a day.

4) Party on a boat.

I think I will feel really, really local when I finally get invited to a boat on Queen’s Day.

Amsterdam’s famous canals are clogged with boats, bringing them almost to a crawl. This enables the boating population to feel very cool and make “oh yeah, oh yeah” faces at the poor sods stuck on land. Blasting bad music right at them is the equivalent of rubbing salt on the wound.

I can’t wait to do this someday. I’m practicing my “oh yeah, oh yeah” face as I type.

5) Party on the streets.

Boatless? Friendless? Take it to the streets. Queen’s Day is when the party takes over the entire city, and chances are you’ll be pounding pavement with a few hundred thousand landlubbers just like you.

Oh, and if you’re doing this with a baby, as we did, using a wrap or carrier is the way to go.

Tala experienced her first Queen’s Day from the comfort and safety of our trusty sling. She may have slept through all the fun, but she was a big hit.

It sounds sadder than it actually is, but our first Queen’s Day as a family was also our last.

Bring on King’s Day!

After a long winter, spring is finally kicking in and everything is in bloom.

During my first spring in Amsterdam, I was surprised by how quickly the flowers came and went. Now I make sure to take photos before they’re gone.

Walking past all the trees in bloom, we reached the Westergasterras, a restaurant housed in one of the old brick factory buildings beside the Gashouder, a gas tank that dates back to the 1900s.

The Gashouder looms large over the restaurant’s biggest draw: a large, spacious terrace that is perfect for sunny days. Westergasterras also has a cool industrial interior, with a big brick fireplace and metal pipes everywhere, but in spring it’s all about this terrace.

We stopped for a light lunch and coffee, plus one of the best sticky toffee cakes I’ve had in a while. I find casual dining in Amsterdam to be hit and miss, so it’s always nice to come across a place with good food.

I love discovering places like Westergasterras: so cool yet so laid-back, unpretentious, and most importantly, kid-friendly. There was a high hipster-to-stroller ratio, and all around the restaurant were toddlers wheeling around on loopfiets (balance bikes) or kids drawing on the ground with chalk.

A decent lunch, a cool new discovery, and another reason to love our neighborhood. Not bad for a laid-back Sunday. How was your weekend?

One of them is Antwerp, where Marlon and I went last year for a half-day trip. That just wasn’t enough to fully explore this beautiful, design-savvy city, and I’d love to return. When I do, I’ll make it a point to stop by this month’s brunch place, recommended by guest blogger Noortje Emmerink of Peppermint, who has lived and worked in Antwerp as a fashion designer and stylist.

Although I only met Noortje very briefly at the Meet the Blogger last year, it’s easy to keep in touch with someone in blogland. I’ve kept up with Noortje’s blog because of her eye for design, cool and colorful style and fun, light feel.

True to her style, she’s chosen a place that’s as cool, colorful, fun and light as her blog. Find out what it is, after the jump!

Whether you want to have breakfast, lunch or a really good piece of pie – Jam has it all! This small, cozy eatery is situated in the Historical Centre of Antwerp, only five minutes from the Groenplaats on foot.

About one year ago, this restaurant changed owners. The interior was made over, but the food stayed more or less the same. They are featured in the UK book “Where Chefs Eat”, which really says it all—no nonsense, fresh food, served in a vintage setting by really friendly people. To me, this place is typical Antwerp: the atmosphere, the design, the food ánd the drinks.

I met up with a friend for brunch at Jam. We both ordered a sandwich with cheese and homemade mayo-mustard, with homemade ice tea on the side. We kept it simple this time to save room for a piece of pie, but we are definitely going back to try other dishes, like the sandwich with feta and hummus. Their food makes you wonder: if they can make something this simple taste this good, just how good will their other dishes taste?!

From the moment I walked in, I kept lurking at the pies on the counter. So, for dessert we shared a nut pie and a cheesecake and they did not disappoint!

Both pies tasted homemade, but they are actually from a bakery called Les Tartes de Francoise. The bread pudding is homemade though, and is very yummy too! We left with a full and satisfied belly.

Jam
Wolstraat 47
2000 Antwerp
Belgium
Open Thursday to Monday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.