because friends are friends forever...

I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of two beautiful people this past weekend in Seattle! Austin and Martha were two people that I lived with in Amsterdam. Austin was my small group leader and the first person to train me at reception, but I think I got to know Martha better because she stayed a couple months longer than Austin. Anyway, they are two of the most genuine people I think I've ever met. When I am talking to either of them, I feel like they are really listening. They have huge servant's hearts and really love God, and it's evident in their interactions with each other and with other people.

I originally wasn't going to make the trek up because I thought I'd be all alone, but then I found out that several other Amsterdammers were going to be there and decided to go after all! I got to see my friend Anne who I worked with from March-August, my Dutch manager Benjamin, and his wife Terri and their new baby girl, Chloe. I met a handful of others who were there right before I arrived, and we ended up getting a group picture:

all and all it was a great trip. I got to see some of the city, I got to see good friends, and I got to get out of Orange County! woot.

on being a hair model

most of you probably know that i recently did some hair modeling for Vidal Sassoon Academy in Santa Monica. a lot of people have asked me how the whole thing came about, which is a much larger story than the day I showed up at the Academy..

when i first cut my hair asymmetrically i struggled with what to do when i came back to the States. i went to my hairdresser pre-Amsterdam and freaked her out enough that she went home to practice on a doll before she did my actual haircut. i had her cut it a couple of times but it was all too precise and calculated for me. she mentioned one time when i went there that i should visit Vidal Sassoon to get my haircut by a student because they always do a really great job and the haircuts tend to be pretty edgy and fashion forward. i took her advice and made the trek up to Santa Monica one day to get my $11 haircut.

when i arrived i was greeted by Leo, an instructor who kept looking at me funny and asked me if it was the first time i'd been there. they took me through the check in steps and as i was waiting for my student haircutter, Leo approached me and told me that i had a beautiful face and bone structure and asked if i'd be willing to model in his upcoming creative show for the academy. basically he needed 6 girls and 3 guys to do crazy creative haircuts and coloring. it's a show that takes place every 2 years to either show the academy that he is worthy to keep his job or put him up for a promotion. this was the former.

the show was on a wednesday, so the tuesday before through a 4 hour process i got my hair colored and cut. here is what i looked like before and after:

before:

after:

i went back on wednesday and got it cut and colored AGAIN so the color was more vibrant and the lines more clear cut. they did my hair and makeup and wardrobe based on a French film called La Vie En Rose.

the 9 of us had to walk out onto a stage in our "costumes" to some music and turn at the right times and whatnot. then for the next 20 minutes or so, Leo went and explained the different colors and cuts to the audience. after we were all done all the instructors and students attacked us with combs, analyzing all the different structures of our haircuts and we had to stand perfectly still while this was all going on. after all was said and done, we had to sit around while we got professional photos taken for posterity. i'm not sure where all the prints were gonna be displayed, but rest assured that my crazy looking sideways haircut will be displayed somewhere for generations to come.

now my job is to figure out how to wear a high-fashion haircut in an every day world. this has been a really high-maintenance process for me which is frustrating because i've always prided myself on my edgy but low maintenance haircuts. it took me a few days to even get used to seeing my hair so short, and it was actually really traumatic for awhile, but it's beginning to grow out and i'm getting used to it, so it's not so bad anymore. i don't know if i'll do it again because i can't stand the thought of my hair getting shorter, but i guess only time will tell...

that's why.

I WANT TO GO TO THERE

Iceland from Ken Grunberg on Vimeo.

april fools

i wrote this blog post for work today. i was pretty proud of it.

on picking up backpackers from the side of the road

i'm not a dumb girl; my parents taught me to not take candy from strangers, don't walk alone late at night in sketchy neighborhoods, smell the milk before you drink it, etc.

however, they also instilled in me a sense of adventure, which includes things such as moving to chicagoland for school and moving to amsterdam to work at a hostel in the red light district. both of these things could have been dangerous and probably were at some point, but when done correctly, end up being great stories.

i will admit, i have done some things that probably make my parents and/or friends cringe a little when they think about it. hitchhiking to antwerpen, for instance. but again, i like to think that i am a smart girl and have the ability to assess situations before i get myself into them: picking up some backpackers from the side of the road being no exception.

i was driving home from hanging out with my good friend stephanie around 9:30 on a saturday night. i live in a quiet neighborhood in the safest city in america (which is about as exciting as it sounds), so when i saw a guy and a girl standing on the side of the road with giant backpacks and looking really confused, i pulled over and asked if i could help them. not even necessarily because i thought they needed help, but because my town is boring. very, very boring. and these people were clearly not boring.

they were hesitant at first, politely declining a ride anywhere, but eventually i looked up the address they were trying to get to and convinced them to get in my car because it was literally down the street from me and they couldn't possibly walk any further with those giant bags. they piled in the back of my car and i found out the girl was from new zealand and the guy was from chicago. the guy then pointed because he saw his friend walking over to meet them, so i pulled over and yelled out the window, "hey, want a ride?" and he jumped in as well. we immediately started chatting about chicago and new zealand and my time in amsterdam and they were all so fun to talk to. we exchanged phone numbers and talked about getting together later.

later in the night i ended up biking over to their house down the street from me, and hung out into the wee hours of the morning with my 3 new friends. we talked about life and love and traveling and it made me feel like i was sitting back at the hostel in amsterdam, meeting random people with the same sense of adventure i've experienced most of my life and swapping tips for where to stay when i end up in south america.

it was awesome. and i'm not saying you should always pick up people off the side of the road because you probably shouldn't most of the time. but then there is that one time, where you pass them and then turn around because you just think you should. and it ends up being great.

ephesians 1:18-19

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.