Makeover

What do we think of the new background?

I really just want to hear your comments.

I know it is a bit difficult to read the stuff on the side...but come on, do you honestly read that stuff?

I'll leave you with some super cool photos that were taken on a tour I took last week of "Darkest Victorian London."

Hope you enjoy!

Lovely in London

*Warning* This post contains a bunch of pictures of Jason and Cristen. If you don't like mushy stuff, stop reading now.

I know I'm behind on posts. I'll work very diligently this week on catching up so don't ditch me now.

So I figured the best way to figure out what I had left out of the story thus far was just to take a

gander at the pics on my camera...which I did...and download them...which I did. SO. Looks like ya'll missed out on all the fotographic fun (haha) of our 2nd lovely anniversary in London.

Here's a trip back down memory lane for ya. Day one: Wedding Day. This part did NOT take place in London...just fyi.

Can I get a collective "awwwww!"

Wait a sec...how'd these get in

here...oops!

Oops again!

This internet over here in London...it really has a mind of its own.

Anyway. That was how it all began. Then we were so blessed to get to go to London the next year with Ryan and Allison to visit Mike and Debi. It just conveniently fell on our anniversary. How crazy is that, I ask you!? Put your driving goggles back on, Memory Lane is on the left.

Jason arranged for us to have dinner on the top of the OXO tower on the Thames (remember that fact). Beautiful views of the river city...especially at sunset.

(there used to be a picture here of the view at sunset..but all of a sudden I can't add anymore pictures...use your imagination!)

So anyway, that was the first anniversary. AND, coincidentally, that's when we started throwing around the idea of living in London. SO. Here we are, one year after that...so if you are keeping up with the math, that makes it our 2nd anniversary. In London. And we just happened to celebrate on the river AGAIN. We played tourist and took a dinner cruise. We got a little snap happy (I think it was all the Asian folks on the boat with their massive cameras taking pictures of every other building that got us in the mood...) Enjoy!

See! OXO! Remember that building from last year???

And I think this is only our 476th picture of us in front of Parliament...but it's classic!

Greenwich...the Prime Meridian is up there somewhere...

And all of a sudden, I can't upload anymore pictures. WHA??? Is there a limit or something? Trust me. I have more...well, fine then. I guess I'll just end it there. ANYWAY, we thought we were pretty special to get to celebrate our first anniversary in London. And now our second, too? Man, we're setting the bar wayyyyy high. We will have been married 4 years before we even get the chance to celebrate back in H-town.

That's not a problem, I'm just sayin.

eh?

So, can anyone else tell that my background got deleted?? What now!?!?

Catch up

Let me start out with an apology. I'm sorry I have left you hanging for over a week. There.

We have had such a busy busy busy week, it's nuts. Here's what all has gone on:

1. Celebrated our 2nd anniversary with a cruise down the River Thames...and eating. I'll post pictures at some point. J and I have about 30 pictures of us in front of Big Ben...from just about every angle we can get. Guess what will be on our Christmas card....

2. My in-laws returned to this side of the planet. I had an acquaintance remark to me that I have hit the "in-law jackpot." I concur. 100%. So when we are all home together, I find myself out "street running" with my MIL. Tragic, isn't it?

3. I had an interview for a job...I got the job...I started the job! For those of you not on FB, see if you can figure it out: ant+throw+apology-a=???

4. I met a girl from NYC who is writing a book. How often do you meet people who are real live authors and just sit down to coffee with them? Am I the only one?

5. I ATE MEXICAN FOOD!!!! I have to admit, I miss my Lupe Tortilla once a week. I said it. Of course, I'll never be able to find anything to take its place. But, there is an alternative here in the city: Cantina Laredo. Cantina Larrrrrredo! We went this time with a group from the AWC and had a marvelous time. American women at a Mexican restaurant? We were there 3 hours. For England, this place es pretty goood.

6. Visited the charming town of Hampstead. Technically part of London, but a good 30 minute tube ride from where we live. And it is probably the closest "country" I have found in the city. If that makes any sense at all. We went on a walk with the AWC and it was cloudy, a bit drizzly...typical London weather. But even then we got a good view of the city of London. I hope to go back when the weather is more clear...that's a challenge in and of itself.

7. Visited a castle! Went to Arundel Castle on Saturday, the 4 of us. I'm sure Debi will be posting about it soon on her blog...(no pressure Debi!)...but until then, just pop over and see what else she has written about. Arundel is actually still used by the Duke of Norfolk and his family, so it is a real live working home that they open to the public for more than half of the year. If you have seen the movie The Young Victoria, they use Arundel Castle as Windsor Castle...so the King's birthday scene is there as well as a few others. Check out their website. Beautiful, quaint, English country town. Loved it.

8-10. WE GOT OUR STUFF!!! We've been here a whole month now, but our stuff JUST got here yesterday. So guess what I'm typing on!?!?!?! MAC'S BACK! Yay! So we spent the day yesterday unpacking and organizing. I think we'll stay awhile :)

And all along the way I've met all kinds of fun women of alllllll ages and backgrounds..."ex-pat wives" I guess you could call them, right Mike? We're all in this together! And we're all making the most of it...and loving every minute of it!!!

Meet Chelsea Kensington

I have met so many wonderful women living here in London. Either through the AWC, just by chance, or through a friend of a friend...you know how that goes. One of the most peculiar people I've met is a gal named Chelsea Kensington. She is a working gal and she looooves to travel, even if she's on her own. She says sometimes she feels like she is here "by herself," whatever that means...But what has me curious is her desire to put herself out there and do things that most people wouldn't really care to do alone. You know, like that Friends episode where Rachel does dinner by herself?? (If I knew how to upload a video, I would put that right here, so go google it for me....k!?) Anywho, I've always wanted to be able to do that!
She absolutely loves living in this city. I've told her I would be writing about her and her solo adventures so that we could all take a peek into her brave world. Maybe have her as a guest author on the blog? What do ya'll think? I'm sure she'll be all about it. She'll try anything once. So anyway, stay tuned for I'm sure many future installments of the solo adventures of Ms. Kensington.
She went stag to the Legally Blonde musical on Friday night and I'm just dying to know what my new friend thought!

French Riviera

Imagine with me that you are Grace Kelly in the Hitchcock movie "To Catch a Thief." If you can't, check out the photos...






Swimming, eating, driving a car, romancing Cary Grant. Anything she did was beautiful. I just want her clothes.






and maybe her jewelry, too...


That's the Riviera behind her. Isn't it grand? It is still a playground for royalty and celebrities. So we decided we had to travel in style, as well. We hired a private jet (last row on British Airways), booked a car (Citroen, Mike did a brilliant job with a standard!), and stayed at an all inclusive resort (the only thing it included was the private beach...which meant all you had to do was pay to be there...see how "inclusive" it was). Grace Kelly herself would have been envious, I'm sure.


While we didn't star in any movies (that we know of), we did travel around some very picturesque locations...

Might as well just photoshop Princess Grace right on in there, huh? We were driving to the medieval city of Eze, so this is looking back on Nice. Beautiful.




This is the Rothschild Villa on Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. The picture doesn't even begin to do it justice. This villa has over 7 acres of gardens, all themed. Spanish, Exotic (which was a bunch of cactus), Japanese, Florentine, French, etc. The location is what is killer spectacular. We walked all around the gardens and here's what all it overlooks...
Jason and I picked out our yachts. Yup, plural.





And then I asked him if I could have a Spanish Garden. He said sure. He's great like that.



Then it was on to Monaco. Home of Princess Grace herself. This is the Monte Carlo Casino where Jason lost 5 Euros. This was the inspiration for the casino in Ian Fleming's Casino Royal and hosted Pierce Brosnan in the movie "Goldeneye." The website makes me drool. You've got to check this out. Dress codes, invitation policies, restrictions, etc. I might as well spend all of next summer there. Care to join?





Then we decided to sell our old yachts and pick out new ones. This is what we saw while standing in front of the Palace at Monaco. There is another harbor on the other side, in case this isn't enough boats. Like I said, royalty and celebrities. And people who like to drool over them.

Nice is Nice

Just a bit of a glance at our trip to the Cote d'Azur last week...more to come, I PROMISE. But now, its back to cleaning.

OK, I tried...

I really don't know how people enjoy blogging. I'm not smart enough for all this HTML lingo. And I didn't think the majority of the human race was either. So I've decided that someone is holding out on me. There has to be an easier way to change fonts and colors and layouts and stuff. The best website I've been able to find is http://www.kevinandamanda.com/. (Thanks Sara!) She is super helpful. But as you can see, I only was able to change the font for individual blog posts and the date. What is this thing over here on the right called? Has the followers and blogs I follow...I want to change that font, too. AND the one for my blasted main heading. I keep googling stuff about headings in blogger, but they all say to just design something and save it to photoshop (need...mac...) and then they walk you through step by step from there as to how to upload it. Which seems helpful enough. Does anyone have a website that will actually help with the design piece??

Enough ranting and raving. I'm in London. Sigh.

The weather has been aaaaamazing. Yesterday and today started off very cloudy, but not a drop of rain has fallen since we've been here, which is rather unusual. Here's the view from the roof the other night. Yup, dinner on the roof. Again. We're working dilligently on the plants. They don't know how to survive in this heat! Unfortunately, I'm afraid my "green thumb" might not be very much help.

We were here 2 weeks (they wouldn't let us in the country any sooner!) before Jason had to start work this past week. I feel like I've told everyone this, but my mindset now that I know I'm living here is completely different than when I've vacationed here. I'm not in a hurry to see a bunch of stuff, take tours, etc. I have other things I have to tend to: bank accounts, cell phones, grocery store, cleaning, laundry, watering the plants, etc. BUT, don't get me wrong, we have taken in some of the sights...

We took a tour of Parliament last week. It is open on Saturdays during the summer for tours. We saw the Queen's Robing room, House of Commons, House of Lords. You can see where we get a fair amount of our American lawmaking processes. Many similarities. This picture of it was taken while we were on the London Eye. Another first for us. I might recommend it if you have nothing better to do, or if the visability is very clear. We did it once. Won't do it again...the scenery doesn't change...! Here's a few more pics from our 30 minute "flight" around the eye...

Can you see St. Paul's Cathedral there on the right? With the accents these folks have, it comes out sounding like "sen poles" rather than "saint pauls." But they all say it that way. I love it. I'm so terribly sorry that I don't know the names of all the buildings along the Thames (pronounced "timms"). I've only been here 2 weeks, give me some more time.

Buckingham Palace right there in the middle...the Queen is in the window waving to you, I promise! She has ever so kindly extended me an invitation to see the inside of the palace this summer........her gracious royal highness. Me and everyone else in the world. Seriously, she goes to her home in Scotland for 2 months over the summer and they open the rooms for tourists. I wish I was that special.

Jason's new work home. Not the PWC office, but one of his main clients. So yeah, he gets to look out on the river and the London Eye all day long. Not a bad view, I'd say.

This is the little pod you ride in while "in flight." It's actually a pretty neat little engineering idea...the pods are never upside down, there are wheels that go all the way around it at the same rate the Eye is turning. And of course, clear on all sides so you can see the awesome views of London.

See, nothing but a big, fancy, overpriced Ferris Wheel...

...but we wish you were here!

Round two

Jason informed me last night that I have a lot of catching up to do once I get this blog up and running. PS thank you everyone for your suggestions. We googled stuff last night until our googler was googed. And I was crosseyed. I'm hoping I just learn and pick up on things as I go. So feel free to leave ideas/comments as often as you can.
SO. Pictures. Here goes nothing...

This whole ordeal started with the shipment. That was the beginning of June...it is now July 7th...we aren't supposed to get this stuff for another 2 weeks. 25 boxes of stuff. For some reason, I felt compelled to take pictures of all our stuff before it was boxed up. And now, looking back through some of the pictures, I'm not sure what I was thinking...BUT one thing I do miss dearly...
ahhhhhhhhhh. Music is playing from the heavens. Yup, I'm a mac. I was a PC up until December. Jason drug me kicking and screaming into the Apple store. Sorry bout that honey. No hard feelings. Anyway, lets just say I'm ready for my stuff to get here already!

Something we didn't get to bring with us. Sad. We don't have a car at all. Public transportation here is unreal. However, if there is a signal failure at Edgware Road, you better believe you'll be sitting underground for a spell. Or just pop back up to the street and hail a cab. Or wait for the bus. Or just hoof it. Who needs a car anyway!?



Haha, you just thought you were going to get to see pictures of London...haha!

Test Drive

For all my blogging friends out there...help a sister out! Here's a few questions to start:
-how do I change my font/color in the heading?
-how in the WORLD do I add pictures to this thing?
There are many more, but this might get me started...