It seems only fitting that the first post on my newly purchased, bank-breaking laptop is about the self-confessed "showbiz party of one" that is Amy Poehler. Together with Tina Fey, Poehler hosted the Golden Globes for the third and final time earlier this week, so there's been a big buzz about queens of comedy. Much like (read: nothing like) Seth Meyers, growing up I had several interactions with Amy Poehler without knowing it. Attending an all-girls secondary school meant Mean Girls was not only a true reflection of my life, but also the film we were subjected to whenever the term was about to end and work was way off the agenda. Poehler starred in that. Jump forwards a few years to my second year at uni, where a friend introduced me to Parks and Recreations. She'd been watching it for ages and whenever I visited her I caught the odd episode. Oddly only a small part really resonated with me at the time. Three little words that even outdo Chuck Bass. "Treat Yo' Self". Here Poehler was the lead role but I was too busy consuming whole pouches of minstrels to notice. My bad.
And then, quite by mistake, I stumbled across a few SNL skits on YouTube. It was a well I willingly fell down into, and I fell hard. I watched so many Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader and Amy Poehler skits that I started using quotes from them to name my alarms because I need all the help I can get with early mornings. (If it was clear before, it's blaringly obvious now. I am queen of the uncool, a coveted role that only the most socially awkward can ever hope to achieve). Anyway, shortly after my descent into late night comedy I heard that Amy Poehler was bringing out a book. Long story short, it hopped onto my Christmas list and early Christmas morning, it was the present I was most eager to open.
In case there was any doubt, the book was brilliant. I mean, apart from talking about smoking a lot more than I had anticipated. But I loved it (the book, not the smoking). I tried so very hard to break my habit of reading an entire book in one sugar-induced sitting and managed to elongate my reading of it to cover three consecutive afternoons. Of course the sections about Amy's time on SNL were wonderful to read about; everything I've heard about that show just cements my love for all things wordy, creative and humorous. But I also I liked how honest she was. I liked all the old photos too but mostly I liked all the chapter titles. 'Gimme That Pudding' and 'Treat Your Career Like a Bad Boyfriend' were personal faves but the whole book was just brilliant. It's full of fun facts, all-you-can-eat advice and throwbacks to eras I can only ever read about. And the fact that she openly admits how hard writing is? Amen to that.
Let me know if you've read Yes Please" too!
Jade x
Oh, and the zebras part? I bought a new zebra phone case and shamelessly played on the polar bear pun. I regret nothing.
Last week I was lucky enough to travel to Amsterdam for the first time since I was a baby. I lived out there for a couple of months when I was little but sadly (and unsurprisingly) cannot remember a thing about it! I am so glad I got to visit the city again though, it is one of the prettiest cities I think I've ever visited! Despite only being there for approximately 48 hours, we managed to cram so much in! We took bikes around the centre of Amsterdam; took obligatory photos on the 'Iamsterdam' sign; visited Anne Frank's house; went to a club; saw the Red Light District; visited the Red Lights Secrets museum and finished the trip with a pretty intense bar crawl! I also finally bought a beautiful little crystal pendant necklace after blogging
here about how much I wanted one! I also bought a souvenir from Anne Frank's house, which was an experience I am so glad I got to do. We realised as we walked through that we were visiting on the exact day of one of Anne Frank's diary entries, the 11th April, making it 70 years to the day.
The only downside? The coach journey was a bit tedious at times - sleeping sitting upright will never be easy! - but all in all, a great few days! Another country I can tick off my travel list, and one I would definitely go back and visit again. Now for the rest of Europe!
