Ho Ho Holiday Part 1

There is nothing like being home for the Holidays. I love my family so so much. Andrew and I arrived in DC late last Thursday, Dec 16th, and then went right to Roanoke, VA Saturday morning. With the move, we hadn't seen my mom's family since the wedding! 

I have a beautiful Godson, Coleman, and he has turned into such a little man! We used to roll around on the ground playing ninja turtles and going on missions, but now he's on to Ben 10 and iphone apps and other big boy games. With a little insider information, I was able to get him a Ben 10 game for wii that got a "Thank you very much Stephy!" in an almost soldier-like, snapping into a straight up and down salute! It's amazing how wonderful and loving he is since he was so little the last time I saw him and we were best friends almost instantly! 

And then there was Ben. At our wedding, Ben was barely a couple weeks old. He's a mover and a shaker! I'm convinced that I'm a bit of a baby whisperer because kids tend to like me, and really quickly. Within 10 minutes, Ben was in my arms and not wanting to go to anyone else! Granted, his mom and dad weren't there, but I choose to ignore that fact. It's so fun to see kids be their own little people. Whenever Ben got upset, if you took him outside for a few minutes - just holding him - he was revived. Amazing!

Ben and Coleman are my cousin Alissa's kids. Lissy is my long lost sister. We both have the "Goober" gene which causes us to humiliate ourselves over and over in grandiose, and often self-injuring, ways. It was so great to see her and her hubby Keith, who was a big trooper since he celebrated his 40th birthday rather enthusiastically the night before. Then Aunt Conchita came, and Natty and Matt, and Mikey and Sam! It was just like the good old days, minus Jesse. And that's a really big minus. 

Mikey and Sam brought Aunt Cris and Uncle Wayne electronic Catch Phrase. After a disgustingly huge dinner full of our favorites - black beans and rice, turkey, ham, Aunt Conchita's famous broccoli casserole, and more - we played several hours of Catch Phrase, Boys vs Girls. There were some really funny highlights including Matt's clue of wavelengths bouncing off prisms, trying to get his team to guess "color" and Jack's interesting way to get his team to guess "mixed". We girls really struggled with our timing and the boys kept winning over and over. I was really enjoying the plethora of red wines, and the vino combined with my competitiveness was not bringing out my best side. I walked away from the game with a sour taste in my mouth! 


We ended up leaving VA fairly early on Sunday morning so all the boys could get home to watch the Ravens game. I made everyone watch Elf in the car to get us into the Christmas Spirit. There's something about Will Farrel as Buddy the Elf that really completes the Christmas experience. It's definitely one of the most quotable movies out there! We stopped in Charlottesville on the way back, at a Best Buy, to pick up a cable so that Andrew could hook his computer up to our TV at home to watch the Ravens game (being from a predominantly Redskin town, we'd already found out it wasn't being shown on regualr TV) via Andrew's NFL gamepass. While in Best Buy, I found Despicable Me! I'm really lucky that my husband doesn't tell me "no" very often :) 


Jack, Andrew and I watched Despicable Me for the last leg of the trip. Hands down, one of my most favorite movies I've ever seen! It's sad when you are almost 27 years old and identify most with an animated 5 year old. The part where she sees the unicorn at the amusement park and screams "it's SO fluffy I want to die" really got me, on more than one level! I can't WAIT to watch it again! 


So our trip has started off with a bang! I can't wait to see what happens as we get closer and closer to Christmas. 


Side Note: Christmas Dinner part 1 at Aunt Cris's, we were still sat at the kids table... I'm not sure that we'll ever graduate!

Santa!! I know him!

In the spirit of the holiday season, I popped in Christmas Vacation yesterday. If Clark Griswald doesn't get you into the Christmas spirit, you are dead inside. It has inspired me to totally holiday-ify myself from this point forward by watching all the Christmas movies I own and listen to nothing but Christmas music and make Christmas cookies (again, because I totally botched the first batch but I guess thats ok because I ate half the dough before baking anyway) and finish my Christmas shopping and do all the Christmas-y things in London :) 

I have pretty much finished my Christmas shopping, but I am in the middle of the epic battle (I really like the word "epic" right now so apologies because I deliberately find ways to use it...and often) I have with myself each time I approach this holiday season... I keep finding little things for myself along the way! I know that you should not buy things for yourself around Christmas, that it's better to give than receive, but I really can't help myself sometimes and I really do feel guilty having people spend money on me... 

My good friend Vale has a really cute blog where she has been posting things she'd like Santa to bring her, so I am taking a page out of her book with this post in the hopes that talking about some of my new obsessions will get them out of my system :)

I really thought I was growing up because I am struggling to find things I can tell my family to get me for Christmas, and that the "giving" part of Christmas was all that I was thinking about. And then I walked into Warehouse today (one of my new fav stores in London) and had to walk right back out because I was falling in love with 20 different things!! In my defense, one said item IS on my teeny tiny Christmas wishlist that I sent to Andrew (since he never knows what to get me), but I know for a fact that he did not get this particular one for me. I am a terrible person and cannot help myself when it comes to surprises. I have insanely stealth and effective detective skills when needed. 

I also have an ugg sickness I am fighting. I realized the other day that I have had my classic short sand colored uggs since I was 20! That's going on 7 years. They are currently gross and stained and in my mind, that warrants a replacement. This means I cannot stop thinking about the super cute short ugg Bailey Button boots, and of course, am seeing everywhere! But while looking for them, I stumbled across the Knightsbridge boot, which I am REALLY loving too... But I already have 3 pairs of uggs... replacing one pair I can justify, but buying a fourth pair... Andrew would kill me!  It doesn't help that Miranda Kerr has them and looks super cute in them!! I think I'd want them in gray. I don't have gray boots... does that make it OK?!?!

So the venting - I don't think it helped! At least I have a busy week so hopefully that will keep my mind busy and not obsessing over silly things like boots and capes! Instead, I should really be asking if anyone has a good idea as to what to get an 18 year old boy about to go off to college next fall, yet hasn't decided on the exact college currently, because I would love to hear it!! It's sad to think I was leaving for college 8 years ago!! I feel old...

Bailey Button Boot

Knightsbridge boot

The Winter Wonderland

London is gorgeous at Christmas. I feel like I'm living Love Actually! And to fully experience the London Christmas season, I have been researching fun things to do!! One such fun thing was the Winter Wonderland taking place in our very own Hyde Park! 

Hyde Park is really close to us, and I made Andrew go with me :) We bundled up and headed over, Starbucks in hand! The first thing I saw was the "Wheel of Excellence!" It was the same ferris wheel we saw in South Africa at the World Cup! Right next to the wheel was Santaland and all the games! There was an archery game that I needed to try immediately. For those who don't know, I was the archery champion of my Middle School in 6th, 7th and 8th Grade. The game was to pop four balloons arranged in a little cluster with five arrows. My first shot went in between two of the balloons. Balloons that where literally touching each other! My accuracy was pretty impressive, in my opinion, because all my arrows ended up in a tight little circle. My first attempt at the archery game, I popped two of the four balloons. I'm not going to lie, I was a little disappointed with myself. I'm pretty sure I was supposed to get a prize for popping half of the balloons, but unless it was the large giraffe that you get for popping all four, I did not want a prize. 

So then we checked out the rest of the festival, venturing into Santaland! It was fantastic and totally oriented for younger kids, so naturally I was in heaven! I suppressed the urge to yell "Santas coming!!" and "you're not Santa, you smell like beef and cheese!" as we walked through :) After that, it was off to the grown up side of things. 

The whole Wonderland was German market inspired. There was lots of mulled wine, and brats and spicy sausages and little Chalets everywhere. There were a bunch of Carnival rides too, but they were all "spinning" rides, so there was NO way I was getting on - the spinning and the fact that those rides are broken down and put back together who knows how many times... 

My phone died after Santaland so no pictures after that. I will be going back to document more because there was an ice skating rink and a blow up restaurant in the shape of an ice cube and a haunted house ride and market stalls... tons of good stuff!! We ate a brat and then tried archery again. Again, my arrows were tight, but I only popped one that time! Andrew tried this time too and popped one as well. The lady attendant gave him a glow in the dark necklace. hehe. 

I felt like a kid, it was so much fun! Apparently it's really nice at night. I'm really looking forward to going again!! The giraffe will be mine.

Cupcakes and Snow and Visits from the States!

I can't believe how close Christmas is! We are going home to the states next week so I've been a busy bee getting myself together. I also got my first job last week! I'm decorating cupcakes for/working at a bakery in Kensington. It's called Buttercup and is owned by an American lady, Donna. I'm fairly certain the only reason she chose me was because I have design experience since she kept asking me during my interview that if she hired me, would i be willing to design some stuff for her. Otherwise, why else would me - who has zero bakery experience - beat out a girl with 15 years in a bakery?? 

I've only worked a few shifts so far, but it's nice to get out of the house a bit. I get a free cupcake every shift and let me tell you, that perk is going to be a VERY bad thing. I've only given two of the cupcakes away... I've eaten all the rest! I REALLY love the banana cupcake, it's like banana bread with cream cheese frosting! And the lemon cream cheese is to die for! I had a flavor called Banoffee, which is banana cupcake with butterscotch icing and caramel curls covering it. I couldn't eat that whole cake because it was too sweet!! 

Working has helped me be busier in my down time too. Like today, I made a mini quilt for Maeby! We are teaching her to sleep in her puppy bed NEXT TO our bed instead of in our bed with us or in her crate. I feel REALLY bad making her sleep in her crate because I know she doesn't like to and she looks so pitiful every time its time for her to go in there. She's done really well with the learning, only a few problems: a)she wakes up REALLY early and I have to make her go back to bed, and b) she snores REALLY loud. If she falls asleep before we do, it's a long night. A condition of her sleeping in her own bed is that we have to cover her up. She's a burrower. I've been using my bathrobe, but I had a lot of pretty fabric so I decided to make her her own little blanky! It's the closest I've come to really completing an entire project start to finish. All that's left is sewing the edges somehow. I didn't really know how to make a quilt, but i figured it couldn't be much more than sewing a bunch of  squares together. And I used jersey material for the back so it would be nice and snuggly :) So the edges - not really sure how to finish them off, but I'm sure a quick google search will help me figure that out.
 
Chris Bloch is in Europe at the moment. He stayed last Wednesday and Thursday with us and then he was off to Germany for this week. He's back on Friday and will be quite happy that the heat in the room where he's staying is working again! It was literally like sleeping outside but I found out today per the plumber that the valve was jammed. So all fixed! Doesn't help that he was with no heat when all the snow came...

London winters are supposed to be fairly mild. London weather is supposed to avoid the extremes. Well, last week we got six inches of snow! London is really pretty in the snow, even if the trains get all messed up and traffic comes to a complete halt. It was pretty to watch through the windows at the bakery while I was being trained! But the snow had perfect timing, it felt really festive! I even tried to make some sugar cookies to really get into the holiday season, but it was an epic failure.... never use "i can't believe it's not butter." The cookies turn out all puffy and more like scones than cookies! I put some raspberry jam on top and all was not lost! They were actually pretty good. Not quite the Santas and Gingerbread men I was hoping for though...
 
And then it rained on Friday. The snow was gone. It's just incredibly COLD now. *sigh* At least we'll be going home in a little over a week! Can't wait! 

Thanksgiving is HARD!!

Last year, Andrew and I missed Thanksgiving because we were on our honeymoon! This year, my mom made a great Thanksgiving dinner while we were home in October, BUT I didn't want the day to go by here without participating! Since Bernie and Alison hosted us for Halloween, I thought it would be a good idea to invite them over for Thanksgiving dinner. Bernie is one of our extremely few American friends (well, friends in general) so we wanted him to come. The Aussies Johnny and Corinne came and Andrew's co-worker Kenna, and her partner Neal also came. 

I cooked the ham and chocolate cake the day before because I was worried about having enough time to cook everything else on my massive list. I just wanted everything to be like my Thanksgiving at home! I would also like to remind the readers, that our teeny tiny kitchen here has  a teeny tiny oven so logistics were a must. 

The day of Thanksgiving, we put the Turkey in bright and early and then it was prep prep prep. My menu consisted of Apps - veggies and hummus, and Johnny said he was bringing Tzatziki so Andrew wanted to grill and cube chicken to go with that as well (because my veggies weren't good enough) and added BBQ and Buffalo sauce to the trio; Mains - turkey, ham, stuffing, pineapple casserole, mac & cheese, asparagus, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce; and the Dessert - brown sugar and coconut cookies, homemade chocolate cake and raspberry icing with raspberry toppers, and some cakes and Christmas pudding that Bernie and Alison brought. 

It literally took me ALL day to cook everything, right up until an hour before I was planning to serve dinner (which was at 7 pm!). I was "knackered" (as Johnny called it). The turkey came out GREAT! I was a little disappointed that with my one small oven, everything else was a little bit on the cool side when we served, but people went back from seconds so I think that was a good sign!! 

The best part was, that everyone in the group got along so so well!! There are a lot of big and great personalities in that group, and for the few hours everyone was here our living room was full of laughing and stories. It was great! Bernie and Alison, and Kenna and Neal left around 10 pm and Johnny and Corinne stayed and chatted until almost 11. 

I was really happy with our Thanksgiving! Not too bad for my first shot. The stuffing came out particularly well :) Andrew and I ate leftovers all day Friday. I was exhausted all day Friday as well. I have learned that Thanksgiving is a collaborative holiday and that next year, I am DEFINITELY delegating!

B is for Black Tie and Birthday!

Andrew and I got a late invite to a black tie affair last week. Luckily, Andrew had his tux from the wedding and my dress sickness (a minor complication from denim disease) has afforded me a plethora of options for such an event! So off we went on Friday the 19th to the New Ways Advent Ball to support the efforts to feed children in Africa. I would like to note that this was the opening night for the new Harry Potter movie, to which we had tickets, but I put those desires aside as this was a great opportunity for Andrew to network with work people and for me to get really dolled up! I spent the day trying to decide between my green ruffle dress and my older, more boring black dress. I ended up going with the safe bet black one since this was my first black tie event in London. 

The champagne cocktail party started at 7pm. We met Andrew #1 and his wife Vicky. Soon after, Kenna and Neil. And finally Andrew #2 and his wife, and Helen. We chatted and then made our way to the table. Dinner consisted of a caprese salad, chicken and veggies and potatoes, and mandarin cheesecake. Delightful! As this was a charity event, there were fun Heads & Tails raffles for magnums of Champagne and then an auction. It was good fun! And then, the best part started - the dancing!! This was the first time since we'd been in London wear they played music that I actually knew!! I'm pretty sure we danced from 9 until 1 in the morning! A great thing about London, is none of the men are afraid to get on the dance floor so our group danced the entire time! I honestly haven't had that much fun since we've been in London. Hands down! 

After the great night, Andrew #2 (his real name is Andrew Marks, we just had 3 Andrews at our table so it amused me!) invited us to another event the following weekend! So tomorrow night, we will be attending A Night with the Stars to support a Children's charity Andrew's company sponsors. Supposedly, Kevin Spacey and Sir Ian McKellen are on the list of performers! Should be a good time! Unfortunately, I have no pictures from the event because Andrew said it wasn't like other nights out where I take a million pictures, sometimes with random people, and forbid me bring my camera!

Then Saturday, we packed up Maeby and an overnight bag and headed to Cambridge for Alison's birthday!! We got there a little early and I had been bugging Andrew for a Cambridge sweatshirt ever since he was accepted so we walked around the town to find one! Cambridge is absolutely beautiful and this time of year, was starting to look REALLY Christmasy! It was cold, and we were all bundled up and it just felt so holiday-y! I loved it! We found my sweatshirt and some goodies for Andrew and then made our way back to the hotel. We were able to find a dog friendly hotel next to the train station so it was easy to bring the pup along! 

Alison's birthday started with dinner at The Vaults. We had our own little private room! It was really nice. The menu option was either to pick a main course, or tapas style. I ordered tapas, obviously. I had delish green curry, some mushroom caps, and beef carpaccio. And that was me showing self control. I also had my first taste of warm toffee pudding compliments of Monty and Andrew (yes, another Andrew) and it...was...glorious! Amazing! 

After that, we hit our first club! We has a table by the DJ booth which was perfectly set up for people watching! I do NOT miss the single scene. I saw trashy dressed women straddling men at other tables giving them lap dances and making out. Apparently Cambridge peeps aren't very inhibited! We stayed there a bit and then another club before home. And no night out like that is complete without pizza! It was the first time I had dominoes in ages! 

 The tattoo sleeves from Halloween made an appearance again. It was an exhausting weekend! I hardly ever go out like that anymore...

We made it a Year!

Wow does time fly! And the older I get the faster it goes (obviously) but I still can't believe Sunday that 14th was my one year wedding Anniversary! Life has changed so much in this last year - I stopped working at T. Rowe, got a Graphic Design degree, moved to London, traveled to at least six different countries, and became a wife! There is nothing like a transatlantic move to test your marriage, but I think Andrew and I have finally gotten the hang of things :) 

To celebrate, we went to Fuerteventura - one of the Canary Islands. We flew the lovely, and my ever so favorite, Ryanair. The flight was just under four hours in the tiny seats that don't recline. We also had a departure time of 6:30 AM which meant we were up at 3:30 AM, getting in our hired car at 4 AM and arriving at Standstead (because Ryanair doesn't fly from Heathrow) at 5:30 AM. EXHAUSTING! I tried to sleep on the way there, but it's really hard when you can't recline the seats...


But we arrived safe and sound and then had to find the rental car. This was an amazingly inexpensive holiday so we were pretty pumped! And because Orlando rent a car was practically 11 euro a day to rent, it was the biggest POS you've ever seen. The lady says "the car is on empty so bring it back empty." Never encountered a policy like that. The guy in front of us got "the car is full, bring it back full" - I'm pretty sure they don't monitor it.. There were all kinds of dents and dings and part of the front of the car was falling off, but the lady sent us on our way without blinking an eye! There was no radio, the car was basically bare bones. We did make it to the gas station so at least that was a good thing since the car was literally running on fumes! Then it was off to the northern city of Corralejo to our flat.

Fuereteventura was not at all what I pictured! I had no idea how volcanic it was going to be. There were stretches of absolutely nothing but rocks and desert-like terrain and then, out of no where, it turned into sand dunes. It was really barren too, with small concentrations of built up areas that I guess were considered towns? And the weirdest part is that even during the barren desert stretches, you'd see the random motor home van way out in the middle of it that had set up shop. Didn't seem like a very homey environment to me! 

I was REALLY happy with our Corralejo choice because it actually felt like a honest town.  There were so many hotels in the middle of nowhere. We were able to stock up at the grocery stores for breakfast and lunch and get all the Haribo candy I could eat! London doesn't have the same candy as back in the States - no candy I have ever heard of really. So when I saw the gummy bears, pink and yellow peaches, and the sour gummy belts, I went nuts! It was GLORIOUS :) 

In Corralejo, we stayed in a beautiful flat on the beach. There was nothing but clear blue water and sand. Being a part of Spain, we were privy to a lot of topless and nude sunbathing... apparently the group this appeals to most is the over 60's who are overweight! I have some images that will certainly haunt my memory for quite some time... they are burned in there! 

One of the goals of this vacation was to do some kiteboarding since Fuerteventura literally means "Strong Adventure" in Spanish. I enrolled for a two day course that started on Tuesday. Alex was my instructor and including me, there were 3 guys and 3 girls involved. Alex did not like me one bit. I laugh in inappropriate situations - when things are hard, when things hurt, when I'm uncomfortable...it's my automatic response to many things. So I guess I must have been laughing during my kite work on the beach because he kept yelling at me to take it seriously and it wasn't a joke. I will say, I took everything very seriously because on wrong move of the kite and I was yanked halfway across the beach. An hour into the session (girls taking turns on one kite, the guys on the other) I have mastered the feel of the kite. I know how to launch it pretty much on my own and adjust accordingly so I can stay still and run the drills necessary to prepare me for the water work. Because I was so good with the kite, I got to preform my skills and then Alex made me switch so the other girls could practice. They were not as good with the kite and therefore needed more time out of it. So in the five hours of day 1, I think I touched the kite for less than an hour and a half. Pitiful. And because the other girls were so bad, Alex spent most of the time with the boy group. I was so pissed, I walked the 45 minutes home in the cold wind, absolutely fuming. Probably a good move since I felt much better once I finally made it back. 
 
Andrew kiteboarded that same day, but there wasn't a lot of wind so he said it wasn't that great. I'm sad it wasn't that great for him because the wind never really picked up enough for him to try again the rest of the trip. He's a big boy and requires a lot of wind to play! I opted out of day two (although I REALLY like the kite stuff) A) because I couldn't imagine another day of being yelled at by Alex, and B) the body drag portion was further out in the water because of the rocky coastline and if I was going to do a lot of observing, I really didn't want to be in a little dingy on the waves. In the last few years, even though I love love love boats, I get horribly seasick... even snorkeling in wavy waters makes me yack. Lovely right? 

So we spent the rest of the holiday in the sun and eating our faces off! Seriously, the food was fantastic! My favorite tapas place was called Tapa.itas and was Italian inspired tapas. We had lots of croquettas (my absolute FAV) - the fish ones were the best, and meat and shrimp and bruschetta, and stuffed peppers, and fried goat cheese. There are a lot of goats on Fuerteventura so we had some of the best, freshest goat cheese I've ever tasted! The very best part of this little Italian tapas place, though, was their Tiramisu. Served in a giant glass, it was so creamy and delish and perfectly light. I had this twice while there. The other nights, we walked to the other end of Main Street to the Crepe man for dulce de leche and coconut crepes, or at least that was my combo :) There was also a Tony Romas on Main Street. We ate there just because. NOT amazing! 

One of the final things we did was take a 2-hour dune buggy tour. Andrew drove and I rode in the passenger seat. There were two other buggies in the tour. Unfortunately, this was the coldest day of our trip so I was covered in towels the entire time, which worked out quite well since everyone got absolutely covered in dust! Not two minutes into the tour, we had to stop because our buggy would not go up the hills! So we were brought another one. It was really rugged terrain and a unique experience.

So it was a perfect holiday and very reminiscent of our honeymoon. I have a fabulous hubby that I love very much! Can't wait for the many more anniversaries to come! 

I love America...in October

We made it home to the US of A again a week and a half ago. We got in Friday the 15th and were immediately greeted by my very lovely parents at Regi's! I didn't get to eat at Regi's during my last visit so I was super pumped! I ignored the fact that it would be at least my fifth meal for the day. My parents were a little more lovely dovey and smiley than usual and it turns out, they had been bar hopping across the harbor since 4PM. It was no 8:30PM. I love them! And my mom looked so cute in a sweater dress and Uggs! Love it! 
 
Saturday the 16th, Andrew and I awoke jet lagged bright and early. It was Baltimore Marathon day so we went for a nice little walk over towards Fells. I was craving Blue Moon (anyone up at the crack of dawn on a weekend, treat yourself to breakfast here!! There tends to be a looong wait after 8 AM). Sitting in the window of Blue Moon we were able to see the Marathon front runners glide by at mile 15/16-ish, running a pace faster than I can run one mile! They seriously looked like gazelles! There was a HUGE gap between these pack leaders and the next set of runners. At least 5-10 minutes (I'm a horrible time estimator). 

After breakfast, I wanted to see the runners to see if we knew anyone, so we walked the route back to the Hyatt. I saw Andrew Chanko, a couple former gym buddies, Cyriac - my former co-worker, and Jon Truhan - my high school boyfriend! Craziness! I don't know how people run marathons. Everyone looked absolutely miserable. MISERABLE. 

By the time we got back to the hotel, I had a message in the room from Ashley Biggs telling me to come see her before she became Mrs. Greg Sileo later that day! I picked her up at Neal's hair salon. I myself will never go back there after the bangs butchering of 2009, but Ashely and her girls looked absolutely beautiful. She's a really pretty girl. The wedding Reception was going to be at the Peabody Library, so she had the Presidential Suite at the Peabody Court Hotel to get ready in. It had an old, antiquey vibe and so much space to get ready in! Ashley was actually steaming bridesmaid dresses mere hours before her wedding until I realized what she was doing and took over. No bride should be doing ANYTHING where they could break a sweat on their wedding day. I wanted her to be the princess that she is :) I tried to do a good job of documenting the getting ready process before her actual photographer got there. I tried to think of things that I wished I had thought of on my wedding day. Steph was the best MOH ever though, so I couldn't really think of much! 

I went back to get ready and then Andrew and I were off to the wedding! It was so surreal. Andrew and I hadn't been back to Loyola Chapel in almost a year. Last time we were there, he and I got married! The wedding was beautiful, Ashley looked beautiful, Greg and Ashley's parents look fabulous, it was great. I held it together during the ceremony which really surprised me! Some of my Loyola peeps were mentioning that Loyola had undergone major renovations so I made Andrew wander around campus with me before the reception. I was AMAZED with the changes. The technology classrooms in the Sellinger School of Business had two flat screens per desk instead of the gross, bulky monitor in the desk it had when I was there! The student center was absolutely gorgeous with a Starbucks and a smoothie bar (replacing some no-name crappy wanna be coffee joint and a salsaritas). And Boulder Gardens Cafe was all shiny and new with glorious food choices! And the book store, it's now a Barnes and Nobles. At least all the money we paid (pay) to go there is going to good use! 
 
As I mentioned before, the reception was at the Peabody Library. I had never been there before and it was honestly stunning. It looked like something out of Harry Potter with it's open foyer and story after story of book shelves! I found a long lost bff in John Simonetti's girlfriend Blair. It was all just fabulous. And I really enjoyed myself until it was time for the father daughter dance. Ashley's dad passed away a few years ago and she put together this slide show in it's place of pictures of her and her dad/family. I lost it. To my defense, there wasn't a dry eye in the room, but I took it especially hard. After that, it was hard for me to pick my mood back up. 


It was a gorgeous wedding. Very Ashley and Greg. I love them.


After that, the rest of the weekend, we watched the Raven's game and Andrew got ready for his big week at the office. As usual, we had jammed packed plans. Lunch Monday, Andrew and I took Steve Heilbronner to the Cheesecake Factory. Steve is an institutional writer and T. Rowe and I used to work with him when I worked there. He also edited Andrew's Cambridge application so we wanted to thank him for the time he put into that. He's a really great guy and could sympathize and understand what Andrew and I were going through as he and his wife lived in Italy for a number of years. It's amazing the parallels we have with other couples who have had overseas living experiences. That night, we went to Magerks with Magno, Jamie Gray, and Jason Dowell. It was a lot of football talk, so I was happy when Alex Park showed up as well! I love that kid. Nothing like Magerks cheesesteaks :)


Tuesday I had lunch with my former GCIR boys and then went home to see Jacky play his last soccer game at home! It was senior night and he wrote a little note thanking my parents for their support. Unfortunately, it wasn't the best game but I got to see just how exceptional of a keeper Jack is! Amazing! Cousin Mikey came to watch too. It's always great catching up with him :) The Wednesday it was back to Baltimore to have dinner with Emily and Elliot. It was a blast as always! We really miss those guys. I'm pretty sure I drank a bottle of wine on my own that night and I was blindly drunk by the time I got back to the hotel. Totally not what the plan was! That was the night that made me miss Baltimore and our old hood, Fed Hill, the most.


The Thursday we went to see Josh, Andrew's BFF. We went with Josh to pick the boys up at their school. I can't believe have big they've gotten! Carter was crawling the last time I saw him so it was amazing to see him walking around and the happy-go-lucky personality he's developed! And Travis is a little man now! Josh has started teaching him early to be a ladies man, because in the car, he was petting my leg and playing with my hair. He was too cute for words! We played with the boys and had some dinner and it was just like old times. Andrew and I both really miss having the good friends that we had back home... Travis is a little monkey too! I got some good pics of him with his godfather, Uncle Andrew :) 


Then Friday, Jesse came in! Andrew and I killed a little time at Arundel Mills while waiting for his plane to land at BWI. We ended up playing in Dave and Busters and had a BLAST! Between basketball, football throwing, claw machines and skee ball, we had a fabulous time! I can't wait to go back and have a day like that again - hopefully over Christmas because I really enjoyed myself! I even won an Orioles basketball in the claw machine on my first try!


Jess got in and home we went. My mom, as usual, had an amazing dinner waiting for us. My best times in the whole world are when I'm with my whole family - Jess, Jack, Mom, Dad and Andrew. Best times. Hands down. Saturday we got up and went kayaking on the Potomac. My mom is an AWESOME kayaker. I was totally impressed. I did alright, but I think my technique was all off because I felt like I was putting out more effort than everyone else, but wasn't going anywhere! I would've had pictures of the adventure, but Jess the photographer managed to tip his Kayak over withing 45 seconds of being on the water... ruining his iphone that he was taking pictures with. Poor guy. But really, how do you flip a kayak on still water?! We ended the kayaking adventure with a Flavor Ice... perfect experience! 

The rest of Saturday, my mom prepared fake Thanksgiving. It was the last time our family would be together until probably Christmas, so she held Thanksgiving... it was GLORIOUS! She really outdid herself. There was turkey and ham and pineapple casserole and broccoli casserole and mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie...everything. I got some good ideas what to do for actual Thanksgiving, which I am going to host in our flat!! My mom is amazing. i hope I'm as good a mom as her one day... Then that night, Jackie had his new love interest, Hannah, over and an old flame yet still bff Britney. We played pool and ping pong and the ever so fun Catch Phrase! You know it's a great night when high schoolers would rather stay in and play at our house than go to a party! 

Sunday we got up and went to Baltimore. Andrew. my mom and I drove separately because the other boys were tailgating with my dad's friends bright and early. We aren't even out of Waldorf when Andrew gets a speeding ticket. I felt so bad for him. It was a road where we always speed and there is never anyone one it. And if that wasn't bad enough, 45 seconds after that, we hear a pop and air gushing and it turns out we get a flat tire. So poor Andrew pulls over in the Colony South, strips down to a wife beater, and puts the spare on. We FINALLY make it to Baltimore, park and go to the tailgate. We went to the Ravens v. Bills. It should've been an easy win for the Ravens but they scored ahead of us because our defense stunk it up and then we took the lead by a large gap and then it was tied for the end of regulation play. Thank GOODNESS we won in overtime, but it was the most stressful game ever. We had our old seats which was really nice and the cheerleaders wore their Halloween costumes for the second half which i thought was incredibly cute! It was a gorgeous day so all in all, perfect. Afterward, we went to Regi's for an early dinner before Andrew and I had to leave to make our flight. So the trip came full circle. It's always so so hard to leave. I miss my family. I can't wait to go home at Christmas!

My Cupcake Day! Crumbs & Doilies

Those familiar with me may know that I have many passionate, yet often fleeting, interests. The latest - making cupcakes. While in NJ on my girls' weekend, I had the "what am I doing with my life" conversation with Steph for the 18, 234, 675, 971st time and somehow decide that working in a bakery decorating cupcakes was for me. I blame wine and inner fat kid enthusiasm mostly, but I also made and decorated my own wedding cake and have been baking for the kids in my building. So, when I got back to London, I put out some feelers to different bakeries close by to see what opportunities there were for a potential untrained cupcake/cake decorators. Crumbs & Doilies was the only one of the five bakeries I reached out to that got back to me, was hiring, liked my cupcake pictures, and offered me a chance to come in for a trial shift! So the following Wednesday, October 6, I made my baking debut.

The day did not start off so well. I walked the ten minutes to Kensington High Street from our flat to catch the direct bus to Wandsworth. As soon as I hop on the bus, it starts to pour. According to the bus map PDF, this bus ride should only take 20 minutes. I allowed an hour to account for rush hour and so that I could get coffee before I started. Well, I was supposed to be there at 9 AM. At 8:55, I am only at the West Kensington tube station which isn't even halfway to where I need to be. I contacted the bakery and they told me they still wanted me to come, to just get there as soon as I could. It took over 20 minutes to get through one stinkin' light. The bus was taking so long, that it changed it's destination from Wandsworth, where I needed to go, to Fulham Broadway station where I had to catch another bus and go the last 15 minutes. I burst into the bakery at 9:30. I hate being late to anything, especially a job interview! 

I think I was expecting little old ladies working at this bakery, but nothing prepared me for bakery owner Jemma - this tiny girl probably in her late 20's with tattoos all over her arms! She takes me in, I get my denim apron and crocs and immediately jump into the baking. The bakery is a huge warehouse style room with industrial sized mixers and stainless steel tables and the ovens are blazing! I help Jemma mix a batch of cakes, their Earl Grey flavor, put them in the cake papers and stick them in the oven. I try her technique and I got all frazzled because there was an exact right amount that needed to be there for each cake and I was struggling. Then I get to try the mojito icing they are making for their flavor of the month. I learn about the organic ingredients and the best butter used for baking. I do tons of dishes, box the fresh cupcakes for decoration later, and re-line the cupcake tins with papers for the next rounds. 


Around 11, I am given a few boxes of cupcakes from the day before to practice my decorating. One of the other girls who works there, Sally, sets me up with my spatula and icing and teaches me the proper technique, and then she shows me what in the two 12 foot, double doored, white wardrobes along the wall which contained nothing but sprinkles! I'm talking shelves and shelves of any kind of sprinkles you could imagine, three tubs high on each shelf. *heaven*


So I start decorating. The icing technique I was shown does not feel very natural so I switch to my own technique. I decorate a dozen or so - mostly Ravens combos of purple and black and then I go back to the closet to try some more. Apparently i decorate too close to the edge of the cake and that's bad because when you store them, they "kiss" each other and transfer icing and such. Jemma says she really likes my sprinkle combinations. While I'm decorating, the other girls are cleaning up from the morning's baking. We break for lunch at noon. 


The area in Wandsworth where the baking studio is located is super cute. There is a main street with little supermarket shops and restaurants. I go to the recommended restaurant for lunch and was torn between the quiche and lentil salad, but ended up with the lentil salad. 


After lunch, the girls start decorating. Man did they decorate hardcore. They spent 3 solid hours on the cupcakes. I was not allowed to decorate any that would go to actual clients, so I did more dishes, put them away, and then glued glued glued! Because this is a small business, it was interesting to see how they made it work. The boxes, tissue paper, flier cards, doilies and stickers where all purchased separately. The boxes where plain standard issue. I learned where to glue the flier, where to put the stickers, how to fold the tissue paper and which sized doily to use. The end product was very professional and aesthetically pleasing! I was very impressed! 


The bakery was really well organized and had a very efficient system down! I was thoroughly impressed! A little high from the glue fumes, but impressed none the less. I was also EXHAUSTED by 4:30 when we started wrapping things up. My back was killing me from being on my feet all day. I felt like I was being such a baby, but I was honestly in horrible pain! I got to take home the two dozen mini cupcakes I decorated and the dozen big cupcakes too and my payment for the day. They were absolutely delicious. The icing was special - I'm not an icing person, but it was exceptional. 


I ate 2 big ones and at least 6 minis before I was able to pry myself away and make Andrew promise to take the rest into work the following day so I wouldn't be left alone with the remaining temptations that I would undoubtedly devour. Apparently the T. Rowe peeps LOVED them! 

I got an e-mail this past Monday that the other trial shifts had concluded and that they could not offer me a position at this time. I wasn't too surprised. Anyone with the least bit of baking experience would have a leg up on me. So I will not be a professional cupcake decorator at this point in time!

My Best Friend Weekend

September 23rd I flew to New York to see my bestie, Steph Delia! She got engaged over the summer to a wonderful guy Paul and I wanted some girl time to celebrate her news and start my Matron of Honor duties! I was PUMPED for this trip!! I feel like I am turning into my mother (in a good way, mom) because I made a bunch of new friends along the way... I seriously talk to everyone now, I can't help myself!

I flew Virgin Atlantic for the first time. The plane was really cool with purple lights and a bar in the middle where people can go and hang out! I found my seat and this adorable Italian guy throws his stuff in the seat next to me and says "hi, I am your neighbor!" I am horrible with names, so I'm going to call him Ethan (but I'm pretty sure that's NOT it), and he seriously talked to me for at least 4 of the 7 hour flight. lol. He was also going to see friends in NYC. 
There are fabulous chocolate/dessert products in the UK call Gu (with two little dots over the "u") that I absolutely love, and apparently they have a relationship with Virgin, because they were served with dinner (well, not mine because silly me ordered the low fat meal!) and as snacks throughout the journey! My friendship with Ethan ended when I got the enormous, glorious Gu brownie at the end of the flight and opened it with a gigantic smile on my face ready to take a big bite and enjoy its heavenliness when he says "That's terrible. So full of fat and sugar" (but picture it being said with the stereotypical Italian accent on his English). I took two bites and threw the rest away because I didn't want to look like a complete fatty but secretly, I wish I'd eaten the entire thing...Good thing I didn't because after I told my whole life story to the customs agent, Steph took me to the yummy Zack's restaurant in her neighborhood where we had champagne and a lentil and goat cheese salad. 

It was so great seeing Steph! That very next morning, we were up bright and early and on our way to bridal appointments! I seriously had to control myself because I seriously wanted to cry every time she came out in a new dress. Of course, she looked absolutely stunning in everything but it was really cute because you could see in her face which dresses she really liked, so I able to know which ones I was allowed to get excited and make a big deal about! For those of us who have been a bride, it's a really stressful and wonderful experience finding your dress!! The more you try on, the less you know what you want... there are SO many gorgeous dresses out there. We went to two salons that day, and she tried on some REALLY gorgeous dresses. That seemed to only further confuse Steph about what she wanted in her wedding dress, so to deliberate over the possibilities, we got some Meglio's pizza and brownies and went to her parents' house. Meglio's is her dad's italian restaurant and her mom, who spent the day with us too, reminds me a lot of my mom - maybe that's why she and I are so alike, we had a very similar upbringing :) 

Then Saturday, Steph and I walked ALL over Hoboken and shopped and ate and enjoyed ourselves! I picked up some really nice stuff including a pretty new bag that I absolutely love!! To thank me for coming, Steph took me to a nice dinner out that night where, again, we ate and enjoyed ourselves! 


The best part of the whole weekend was Sunday. We got the biggest pancakes I've ever seen for a late breakfast with a carton of blueberries on top. And then we walked around for a bit and decided we were really tired and went back to Steph's since I was flying out that night. We ordered take out for lunch and there was half a bottle of wine leftover from the night before and Steph says to me "don't judge me, but I'm going to have a glass with lunch" and I look at her and say "I was thinking the same thing." So we spent from 1 PM on Sunday to almost 5PM, sitting on the couch drinking wine (we went out and got another bottle) and watched the Jersey shore Marathon that was on. And then some Keeping up with the Kardashians. It was honestly the best afternoon I've had in a VERY long time just laughing and watching mindless TV that Andrew refuses to watch with me and hanging out with my bestie. Weekends with Steph always revitalize me! 

(Pictures to be posted when I'm back in London!!)

Masterchef JVM style

Back in Baltimore, eating out once or twice a week was one of Andrew and my favorite things to do on date night. Eating out in London is actually a very pricey experience, but buying food at the supermarket, however, is extremely reasonable! With me not working yet, and the both of us liking to cook, we pretty much make dinner every night together! I noticed I had several of these homemade delights on my phone and thought they deserved a post.

Since the food is so different here, we make a lot of things inspired by meals and places we liked back home. We have a "baba's" dish with seasoned grilled chicken, rice, hummus and a side salad inspired from the little Mediterranean place we used to frequent in Locust Point, and calzones that really were just a product of the whole wheat crust recipe Andrew found online that we used to make all the time back home. They are filled with spinach and ricotta and mushrooms and grilled chicken. I like to cover mine with buffalo sauce :)

Few people know this, but back when Andrew and I first started dating, I invited him over for dinner to make him fall in love with me via my chicken fajita pie. This was the very first time I ever invited him to dinner at my house, and he shows up with a bouquet of flowers and a homemade apple pie he made from scratch - egg white washed and all. He didn't even know that was my favorite dessert! So last week, we were reminiscing about this first homemade dinner date and recreated his infamous apple pie. I really love that we can cook together so often :)