in other news

1. had my first experience in a legit public city pool last night. dang, germany does those right: this one was more four seasons resort than a scene from the sandlot. [when i think of public pools, it's all about wendy preffercorn. this vision was subsequently dashed last night - but in a good way.]

2. speaking of swimming, had my second experience swimming in a bona fide lake this weekend. [first experience was with toni last year at the lago maggiore - i grew up next to the pacific ocean! i couldn't help it - forever lakes just seemed like waveless, green, puddles to me. this has also been categorically dashed.] toni and i went to wannsee, a super short trip out of central berlin to a gorgeous, huge lake with all the sailboats and mansions and former-genocide-planning-sites that you could ever want. [wannsee conference. in between eating plum cake and scoping out a beach location, toni and i did stop by the historic site. in case i had forgotten i was in germany, and they happened to be the instigators of WWII.]

3. i have many mixed feelings about nicholas kristof, but i am a HUGE fan of this article. it is basically a summary of everything fave byu professor and former employer dr. valerie hudson ever taught me. everyone should read it. it renews my vigor to want to work with women in africa forever.

4. tomorrow toni and i head to visit his cousin in the swiss alps for a week, where there are absolutely no computers. HUZZAH!!! so i'll be hiking and eating cheese in remote locations but not checking email. i do have a german cell phone that i will have on me that if anyone wants the number to, you have but to ask :)

5. love everyone so much. realizing that germany is even farther away from dear fam and friends than new york. alas.

famous!

mom just rang me on my little german cell phone with the thrilling news that me and toni (well more toni) made the cover of august's anthropologie catalog! i had to post immediately.

check it out yourself.

thanks to matthew/katie for spotting us! :) it's absolutely dead on of toni. hahaha!

berlin! berlin!

today is beyond gorgeous in berlin. i mean look at those clouds!

too bad that even though the whole ruse of "flying to europe" would make one think one was on holiday, one is in fact still tied to an actual kinda-hectic-at-the-moment fulltime job at unicef back in new york. [thus lack of communication. oh that and the fact that i'm with toni again. sorry. ok, maybe not really THAT sorry :)]

good news: toni's apartment is the breeziest, sunniest, most wondrous place to call my office. [photo above taken from his kitchen window. I KNOW.] i don't mind being trapped here to my laptop on a day like this. i mean look at my new desk:


yup.

and in case any one was wondering, i would recommend visiting berlin in summertime - though my january stint was nice, HOLY HEAVENS the city is so transformed with some sunshine! it's pleasant and beautiful and inviting. so hurrah!!! :)

and an adorable side note: when uploading these pictures to my computer this one popped up from my camera too:
































:) :) :)

[i do miss alaska lots btw.]