Farewell London

So, we've officially crossed the Atlantic and unpacked our bags in my parents house where we'll be for the next 4 or 5 weeks before we move on to Atlanta.

I love my hometown, and  I will always have a connection to Savannah that you can only feel with a place you were born and raised but I have a little hole in my heart for London.

I mentioned before that it took me a while to get used to life in the big city, and even had the occasional 'I'm-going-home-I-hate-this-place' moments but once I found my way, I fell in love. I started as the Southern girl who smiled at everyone and always waved at my neighbors, no doubt making more than a few people think I was 'special' and ended as the hardened city slicker who politely avoided eye contact on public transportation and grumpily shouted at tourists who stood on the left side of the escalator.

London is like no other city I've been to, it is bursting with history set along side an ever expanding modern mecca. An ancient Tower, where some of the worlds most powerful rulers lead and some of them died, proudly stands across the river from a building made of glass where the Mayor of London runs the city. You can't walk down a street without hearing 10 different languages and being different is embraced, not ridiculed. Fashion is life in the coolest parts of London, and although I tried my hardest, the fashion scene left me in the dust, but it was still fun to try.

In the 4 years I was there, I never owned a car and only drove once in an ill fated trip down a country road that left Mark clinging to the door handle and screaming like a small and very scared girl. We walked everywhere, and I loved it. 

About a year ago I got the opportunity to work for a London ad agency. A very good friend we met on the beaches of Thailand helped me get my foot in the door and I couldn't be more grateful, it was an amazing experience. I worked on a major fast food brand account and learned so much about the industry, the good the bad and the ugly. We had the super swanky office in the poshest part of London and I met some life long friends. 

Of course, Mark's family lives right outside of the city so we will visit often, but there's nothing like being a Londoner.

London according to my iPhone:

High Tea for my baby shower

 

 

My going away celebration at work

 

Jubilee Oxford Street

 

View from the top of the Gherkin

 

Juls and Mark 

 

Work goodbye gifts

 

One of my favorite people in England

 

Sloane Avenue dahhling

 

Handmade pottery bunting my lovely coworker

 

The Gherkin

 

Julias drum solo in the Soho hotel

 

Mind the Gap

 

Carnaby Street

 

Working hard

 

Jade

 

Creative development at work..

 

Brick Lane curry

Now, I'm off to the beach 

SO So so Sleepy...

Wowzers..I can't believe how incredibly tiring this whole moving countries while 6 months pregnant thing is..

A little update on the past 2 weeks:

Last week M met a potential buyer for his car at our local Underground station. The guy showed up in a suit and tie, looked around the car, kicked the wheels, checked the engine, etc etc. Apparently, he was satisfied with what he saw because he snatched the keys, jumped in the drivers seat, locked the doors, and drove away. He did not pay for the car. We haven't seen the car since. So there's that....

If you see this car...the dude driving it is a filthy THIEF!

We've also been packing up our flat, which we officially finished this week when I polished up the wood floors and all of our belongings boarded a ship to the US of A.

We moved the stuff we can't live without for the next 6 weeks into my in laws house where we are now camped out until we finally leave on  Tuesday (Oct 2nd).

Add a full schedule of leaving do's and goodbye dinners and wrapping up everything at work and you've got one tired/grumpy mama to be.

The countdown to home is winding down with a measly ONE day to go. I think London is sad we're leaving because it's been miserable and rainy all week. Despite the weather, I've been walking around the city soaking in every little detail with a big sad smile on my face because I'm genuinely going to miss this place.

It took me a long time to get settled here and  get used to city life but now it feels like home. This move is the definition of bittersweet.


Anyway, I should probably be doing one of the million things on my to do list..

H x

A Sunday Stroll Down Portobello Road

In an effort to pack everything I can into our last days in London, I've decided to go see some of my favorite places before we leave. So, on a cloudy Sunday afternoon, I talked (bribed) Mark into jumping on the tube and riding into town to take a long walk down Portobello Road in Notting Hill.

Sadly, no Hugh Grant sightings (although as a side note, my boss, Jo,  did see him in his Ferrari near our office so we are on high alert). Portobello Market goes into full swing on Saturdays so we missed the main event, luckily, tons of the shops were still open  with a few market stalls hanging out for any Sunday stragglers. Like any good London tourist spot, there is a sprinkling of cheap tat shops selling every version of a red bus and black cab you can think of. But, if you're carry on you can discover some truly lovely antique and vintage shops to get lost in. Two or three of the vintage stores have some of the best known designer gear, mostly in pretty good shape. Unfortunately, most of it is still out of my budget (vintage Dior bag or a baby stroller..) so we quickly moved on to the more affordable but no less interesting shop next door with shelves upon shelves of trinkets from days long ago. I always find myself looking through these places like I do a museum, hoping that I'll spot that one piece that everyone else has missed hiding amongst the others. Each piece of jewelry holds a story, maybe a gift from a lover,  the old flask a soldier may have used when he returned from the war or the old typewriter that could have helped to write your favorite book. I'm a bit of a romantic, can you tell?

Here's some snaps from our day out..

 Mark perusing some photos

 Every type of door knob you could want

 

Pizza shop window display

 

No idea why, but we both really liked this piece, so we took it home.

 

Trying to decide what's next on the list as we only have FOURTEEN days left!!!

Hope you are all having a lovely week.

H x

Oh Pinterest, You and Your Sweet Temptations

I'm no Martha Stewart, this isn't news to those who know me, but I do occasionally break out the old apron and make a mess in my kitchen. Most of the time I end up with something edible, sometimes something even palatable, and if I get really lucky something delicious. To be fair, I'm getting better with time and when I was between jobs I actually really enjoyed cooking with more than my microwave. Now, I'm lucky to get home from work before it's dark outside so we generally opt for something quick and easy, but days like today, a lazy Saturday afternoon, I decided to try one of the recipes I saw on Pinterest that had my mouth watering.

I'd like to say I chose one of the gazillion healthy recipes I've pinned, but I'm pregnant, and I'll bake cookies if I want to, OK? You may have pinned the same one, it links to the Ambitious Kitchen blog that I'm super excited I've found as Monique, the lovely lady behind the blog, has posted some really good recipes I can't wait to try. (click here to check it out)

Here's the recipe, for anyone who might have a sweet tooth. This is exactly as seen on Ambitious Kitchen so all credit, of course, goes to Monique.

Ingredients

• 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• ¾ cup peanut butter at room temperature (I used all natural creamy, unsalted)
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt
• 1½ cups chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips

  Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, cinnamon, and the salt. Set aside.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam. Make sure you whisk consistently during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan. Continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
3. With an electric mixer, mix the brown butter and peanut butter together until thoroughly blended. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Next beat in the egg, vanilla, and yogurt until combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined. Gently stir in the chocolate chips. Chill dough in refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (about 180 degrees C).
5. Once ready to bake, scoop tablespoon balls of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets or baking sheets lined with parchment paper leaving extra room (1-2 inches) between cookies as they will spread when baked. Use a fork to lightly (very lightly!) indent dough with a criss-cross pattern. Sprinkle cookies generously with sea salt.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies begin to turn golden brown and crisp up around the edges. Do not overbake! Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet for 3-5 minutes, then remove and place on cooling rack.

 Enjoy!!

H x

Rockaby Baby

 

One of the biggest things that attracted Mark and I when we first met was our love for music. He introduced me to a world of tunes I may never have discovered on my own and in return I've given him an education in Country music and Hip Hop-good trade off? You decide..

We've been playing some of our favorites for our little bundle of joy so he can have an early start in good music, everything from the Beatles to Kasabian to Classical medleys. I know kids love that mind numbing, repetitive stuff most parents play on repeat for a bit of peace but we're secretly hoping our little guy will inherit our love for an eclectic array of our favorites.

So, we've decided to make playlists for the boy, the first on the list are the Lullaby's. I got out a pen and paper on our last road trip and we started what is sure to be a continuous work in progress.

Here's what will be lulling the little man to sleep (even though rumor has it they don't do that as often as we'd like)

The Beatles: Blackbird

Damien Rice: Aimee

Elbow: Build a Rocket Boys

Laura Marling: Goodbye England

Parachute: She Is Love

Kings of Leon: Use Somebody

Adele: Lovesong, Crazy for You

Ben Howard: His latest album is pretty much a lullaby

Bon Iver: Skinny Love

The Civil Wars: Most of songs on their albums

Coldplay:Amsterdam

Fink: If Only

James Morrison: The Last Goodbye

Oasis: Champagne Supernova 

Frank Sinatra: Fly Me to the Moon

Dave Matthews Band: Typical Situation

Angus & Julia Stone: You're the One That I Want

Bob Marley: Redemption Song

 

It was hard to stop writing the list for the purposes of this blog, 'just one more..'. M and I have turned off our tv and are working our way through our iTunes library, this could take a while...

Any suggestions?

H x

And a very Happy Birthday to you!

I would be a very bad wife if I didn't use this opportunity to wish my husband a very Happy Birthday. The big 3-5 this year! The year you will leave your home to move to the United States, sacrificing your coveted Arsenal season ticket. The year you will become a father to a little boy who already loves you so much he bounces around like crazy when he hears your voice. The year we will celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary and start a life as three instead of two.

Happy Birthday xxx

 

We celebrated with some very good friends at a nice little Italian restaurant off of Oxford Street. Very good friends that we will be very sad to leave.


H x

Mommy Wars

So, let me just start this post by saying childbirth was not something I have dreamed of all my life. I was actually planning on a childless existence filled with tons of traveling and a high powered career in a corner office with an assistant to bring me a Soy Vanilla Latte, two sugars, not too hot, not too cold, etc etc. Life has a way of changing your plans and when I met Mark and we fell in love (cue the sappy background music...) I could actually picture a life with as a mom that didn't scare the hell out of me. And now here we are....

To be honest, I didn't start preparing for the future baby C until we'd actually conceived. I've bought a few books and browsed TONS of baby blogs, and, of course, downloaded a handful of iPhone apps, but I still feel absolutely clueless. The one thing that I have consistently found across my research is the 'Mommy Wars', the mother clubs who devote the time they aren't spending raising the perfect child, writing their My-Way-or-You're-a-terrible-mother blogs about how to raise the perfect child.

Now, don't get me wrong, I often solicit advice and it's very much appreciated, BUT these women are not giving advice. They are telling you that if you do not do what they do you should not be a mother. From Breast feeding to potty training these ladies are nothing short of bullies really.

I was sitting in the salon the other day when a woman came in with her baby, clearly distraught. She was running from a crowd of angry mothers who cornered her in a coffee shop because she was feeding her baby...wait for it...FORMULA (gasppppp!) The woman, actually couldn't breast feed, but even if she could, IT'S HER DECISION. To each their own, I say. As long as you're raising a healthy and happy child, then carry on.

Stepping off my soap box now, I just encourage everyone to be a little less judgmental and a little more supportive, Lord knows, we all need it.

*End of rant*

H x