I have had a busy Friday. First thing is the morning after dropping my kids at daycare and school: an intake interview in Amsterdam. Actually, it was more an update. Or sort of.Then I rushed to the hairdresser. I think I have been into a Dutch hairdresser only once in ten years. No, it was not a good experience. I have mixed (curlied/straight), dry, thick and volumous hair, Mediterranean style. In one word: complicated. Luckily I have back in 2000 heard of Renato, a Brazilian hairdresser who had just arrived in the NL and opened a salon in Oud-West. Bingo!! I have never been disappointed in one decade. Renato and Charlton: best brushing in the world. (And they make me feel another person. A better one. A woman that is put together. And carrying on. Or sort of. )
This is the "after". I will spare you from the "before" hair.
Oh boy ! Why didn't I schedule that interview for an after brushing ???
At the salon there is always good music, the boys are always with good humour, they do not push you products, you do not have to wait that long and they do understand what you wish. Also very sincere. I mean, if you wish very much something that will not suit you, they will tell you: "ok, I can do that my dear. But you are going to be HORRIBLE. People will laugh at you and it is going to be very difficult style maintanance. You will need serious professional therapy at the end". The clientele is mixed: ladies & gents, young & mature, Dutch & non Dutch. People come also from villages, Purmerend, Almere... just to have their services. Charlton (above) & Renato (below): obrigada rapazes !! In case you do not believe me and wish to experience it yourself: Bilderdijkstraat 145, Oud-West, A'dam. 020 618 5695 Oh, and they do speak English + Dutch. By appointment only.
Always on the run, I arrived at Kalverstraat to check the sales at Zara's kids section. Three shirts for less than 10euros ? Deal ! Then it's time to go to Savon. How many times have you seen a salesperson actually enjoying the products LIVE ? Thanks to Bambos' tips, I have purchased a mud mask....
And the afternoon was not over. Time to prepare desserts for a dinner tomorrow.
Oh boy ! Why didn't I schedule that interview for an after brushing ???
At the salon there is always good music, the boys are always with good humour, they do not push you products, you do not have to wait that long and they do understand what you wish. Also very sincere. I mean, if you wish very much something that will not suit you, they will tell you: "ok, I can do that my dear. But you are going to be HORRIBLE. People will laugh at you and it is going to be very difficult style maintanance. You will need serious professional therapy at the end". The clientele is mixed: ladies & gents, young & mature, Dutch & non Dutch. People come also from villages, Purmerend, Almere... just to have their services. Charlton (above) & Renato (below): obrigada rapazes !! In case you do not believe me and wish to experience it yourself: Bilderdijkstraat 145, Oud-West, A'dam. 020 618 5695 Oh, and they do speak English + Dutch. By appointment only.
Always on the run, I arrived at Kalverstraat to check the sales at Zara's kids section. Three shirts for less than 10euros ? Deal ! Then it's time to go to Savon. How many times have you seen a salesperson actually enjoying the products LIVE ? Thanks to Bambos' tips, I have purchased a mud mask....And the afternoon was not over. Time to prepare desserts for a dinner tomorrow. Car to the garage for repair: tick
Intake interview: tick
Saturday evening I was invited together with other bloggers (Pat & Steph, Amanda, Pamela and John) for a potluck dinner at Andy's place. Partners/significant other/half orange/twin soul or deksel van de pan were also invited. I decided to go with good friend S. and sleep in Amsterdam at her place. Unfortunately blogger Pamela couldn't show up. And what has Pam missed ? On the menu: Quiche Lorraine and a delicate cheese pie...
Fish, Bahia style: cilantro, tomato sauce, coconut milk and shrimps.
A mushroom casserole, a chickpeas curry and in the black pan (left) a boef bourguignon - because our host has watched Julie & Julia recently.
Haircut & brushing: tick
Photos and interview with blogger Suzanne: tick, tick
Zara & Savon: tick, tick
La creme brullee: tick !
Saturday evening I was invited together with other bloggers (Pat & Steph, Amanda, Pamela and John) for a potluck dinner at Andy's place. Partners/significant other/half orange/twin soul or deksel van de pan were also invited. I decided to go with good friend S. and sleep in Amsterdam at her place. Unfortunately blogger Pamela couldn't show up. And what has Pam missed ? On the menu: Quiche Lorraine and a delicate cheese pie... Fish, Bahia style: cilantro, tomato sauce, coconut milk and shrimps. A mushroom casserole, a chickpeas curry and in the black pan (left) a boef bourguignon - because our host has watched Julie & Julia recently. 
It was snowing a lot and the views from Andy & Fred's place was beautiful. Amsterdam was so silent... Well, afterwards and before the desserts: time for a guessing game. It is called Celebrity. The teams play against each other to guess as many celebrity names as possible before time runs out.Each person had to write in 6 pieces of paper six different names of famous people. We threw them into a bowl. And then, divided into two teams, each of us had to describe something about the person in order to make people of your team guessing the right name. The second round gets more difficult: you can use only two adjectives to describe the person. The last round was only about gestures and mimic. Great fun !
Dancer ? Singer ? Vogue ? Madonna !! (Ok, this was an easy one. But how the hell can you mimic Berlusconi ? Fidel Castro ? Angela Merkel ? Michelle Obama ? Pfff... You do not wanna know how we did it !). Het was heel gezellig jongens !
Andy & Fred: we enjoyed it a lot. The strawberry triffle was also great, btw. Bedankt jongens ! (That's how I' ve presented the facts. It may or may not has happened as I told you. You can read about Andy's version of the story here. )
And I wish a nice week to all of you.
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