On New Year’s Eve, Jimmy and I left New York for a two-month stay in Amsterdam. In some ways this trip has been years in the making, and it’s with warm hearts and ample gratitude that we’re here writing this from our very own canal house.

In just 48 hours in this perfect little village of a city, we’ve adopted a few rituals that will be hard to abandon once it’s time to leave…

First, there’s our local coffee shop Two For Joy. It’s just a few doors down from us and serves a sumptuous vegetarian bean chili with lime (yes, lime!).

Then there’s the shopping. Between Hotel Droog, Hay Amsterdam, Sukha, and Friday Next, I’ve literally stepped into my fever dream of modern concept stores. Amsterdam is a hotbed of young European design talent and lacking all the pretense (and hefty price tags) you often find in New York.

Last but not least, there’s our home. This might be the very best thing about Amsterdam so far. Jimmy found us the perfect little house in the main city center, on a quiet canal, just steps from dozens of restaurants and shops. We rented the place from a lovely Dutch couple who renovated the 17th century canal house into an elegant, modern retreat. The home is four floors, one for each of the primary living spaces (kitchen, living area, bedroom and office), and it boasts huge windows, heated floors and a cozy fireplace we’ve become keenly attached to. In the two days since we arrived, we’ve already gone through 4 logs!