My long lost TOMS are here!

According to my ultra hipster bro (I am probably using "ultra hipster" incorrectly as I know there is a solid definition that he's explained to me more than once yet I have clearly not retained) TOMS shoes are all the rage in Cali. They are of the simple canvas variety, but the really cool thing about the company is that for every pair they sell, they give a pair to a child in need! Finally, shopping that REALLY makes you feel good (and not just for buying something pretty for yourself...)! 

Anyway, my wonderful brother got me a pair for Christmas. They were black (the only color his Nordstroms had) and the perfect size, but for a slip-on canvas shoe, I thought I'd get a pair that was a little funkier! He confessed that he had hoped to get a more fun pair and thus didn't oppose my plans to exchange. So post Christmas, Andrew and I drove to Annapolis in search of the perfect pair. I must say that the gentleman, Chris, who helped us in a VERY busy day after Christmas madhouse was the nicest and most helpful retail associate I have ever dealt with. I fell in love with the red, gray, and camo pairs. NONE were in my size. I opted not to exchange that day. 

My mom, Aunt Mari and I went to Pentagon city the Monday after Christmas to try again. Again, NOTHING. At this point I had decided that if I had to order them online regardless, that I really wanted the camo ones. I ordered immediately when I got home but they didn't make it in time before I left for the UK again. 

 

But today, I walked in from a lovely morning of shopping to a care package from my mama and my lovely TOMS were inside!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE them! They are more of a Spring/Summer shoe, but I am going to try to find a reason before them immediately because they are honestly too cute for words. 

While posting, I went to the official TOMS site for its link and saw that there are even CUTER ones available now! Stripes and plaids - I think I may need to invest in another pair sometime soon.... I mean, it is for a really good cause right?! 

PS Please ignore my glaringly white feet. I cannot think of the last time my skin has seen direct sunlight... 

Celebratory Drinks :)

Celebratory drinks were in order last night so Valentina, Natalie and I went out to the cutest little pub called Bourne & Hollingsworth.  Natalie and I both just landed new jobs so Vale suggested this really cute little place near the Tottenham Court Road tube station. It is a basement pub that feels like someone's living room with a fire place and comfy seats, and their signature cocktails come in tea cups with little star-shaped cucumber sandwiches! They have other regular cocktails and beers, but I was starving and wanted the little cucumber sandwich so I thought I'd try something in a tea cup. 

I am not a hard liquor fan, but I do OK with a little gin so I ordered the Gardiner's tea Break (I believe that's what it's called) that was chilled gin, cucumber, green tea syrup and mint. Holy cow was that FABULOUS! Thank goodness it was a really tiny drink because I was a bit tipsy after the first one! It was just so different and refreshing. We met up around 6 pm (which is a bit early by London standards) on a Tuesday night and it's a good thing we did because the place filled up REALLY fast! I have really come to count on Vale as a good friend and I'm excited to be seeing more of Natalie. I find it really fun to hang around with other cool, married girls (well, Vale is getting married in June)! 

So about this new job I landed... I have done a complete 360 compared to the way that things have been headed for me, and applied to a posting on a job board last Tuesday. I was called on Wednesday to say that my CV had been shortlisted and was I available for an interview that evening! I prepared diligently for this phone conversation, but not even 30 seconds after the call began, it had to be rescheduled due to technical difficulties. So Thursday morning, I had my phone interview which went pretty well since I was invited in at 4:30 that same night for a face-to-face chat and then out to drinks to meet some of the team. Perhaps it's a British thing because Natalie said she was evaluated on a similar component, but I was invited out for drinks with the team because it was really important that I was a good fit with the team and got on well with everyone. I'm pretty sure I didn't get home until 9 pm that evening. Then Friday morning, around 10:30, I was called and told I had the job! What is this job you might ask? Well, I am the new personal assistant to the Director of Business Intelligence at Sony Playstation :) How cool is that?! 

The official email came on Saturday, and I won't lie, I was really sweating about getting it since I had expected in Friday afternoon! But it finally came and now I start on Monday the 24th! I'm SOOOO pumped! The office is in a fabulous part in London (near all the good shopping which will be very dangerous) and the culture is amazing and I just can't wait! I think it will really put a damper on all the amazing trips that I have been going on, but it's an opportunity that I really can't pass up. Yay for me!! 

Now the only thing I have to figure out is, what I should wear on my first day!!!

Stepping it up...Culturally.

January is flying by. I really can't believe it! With a year of some pretty heavy traveling under our belts, Andrew and I decided we need to take advantage of some more London-y things in the new year. So the weekend of the 8th, we went to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. Best part about it? It was Free!!!!

 

The National Gallery shows a bunch of Western European paintings from the 13th to 19th Century. I am a big art lover, but honestly, this was not my fav art museum I've ever been to. Many of the paintings had religious themes, which aren't really my favorite. I felt like the majority of those were of the "fire and brimstone" theme, which can get rather gruesome.  But the day was absolutely gorgeous outside (which has been extremely rare in London so far this year) with sunshine and warm temps so I'm really happy we got out and about. 

This was also the day I discovered the cafe mocha at Starbucks. I'm not sure how I have never had one of these before, but it was absolutely divine! Basically, it's hot chocolate with a lovely caffeine kick! I love a good cappuccino as much as the next person, but man, this was just glorious! It's my drink of the moment :) 

Travelzoo and Groupon are a daily staple of mine. We had a dinner and show deal that came due on Friday the 14th. We got pizzas at this really cute place called Fire & Stone in Covent Garden. The menu was pretty extensive, breaking the pizza into region themes - Europe, the Americas, Australasia, etc...  I never thought pizza could make you nostalgic, but the Texas, Acapulco, and Cape Town respective toppings made me think of the times I had been to these places! I ended up ordering the Athena - Roasted red pepper sauce, mozzarella, tomatoes, spinach, barrel-aged greek feta cheese and pine nuts, all drizzled with pesto sauce - and Andrew went with the Texas - Barbecue sauce, mozzarella, barbecued rump steak, roasted red onions, roasted field mushrooms and sun-dried tomato salsa. Any pizza in a brick oven has my seal of approval, but these were unexpectedly yummy! A few glasses of wine and a side salad later (greek for me to keep up with my theme of the evening) and then off to the Lion King!

The Lion King. My parents took me when I was probably 14 or 15 to see it in New York and I remember being blown away by the costumes and well, come on, who doesn't love the Lion King story?! But Andrew had never seen the musical so when this promotion came up, we jumped on it! From the second the curtain went up, I didn't stop smiling the entire time! After seeing the London Wicked, I was expecting great things from the Lion King. Honestly, I think we may have seen some understudy performances, especially with grown up Simba. But other than that, the costumes still wowed, the main characters were still fabulous (for the most part) and little kid Nala was the cutest thing I have ever seen. The British accents made some of the characters' speaking voices hard to understand for me, which I was expecting. Nothing kept me from singing all the songs, most likely to the annoyance to those sitting around me. It always baffles me that I can't remember what I did yesterday, but Disney songs, it doesn't matter how much time elapses, I can sing you every word. It was such a great night. Definitely made me feel like we were taking advantage of the great things London has to offer :) And let me just say, the lady who played Rafiki... phenomenal. 

Happy New Year! Highlights and Resolutions :)

Wow, I can't believe it's a new year already. 2011. Crazy! And what a year it's been! Here are my top 5 highlights:

5: Moving to London! Besides culture shock, it's been a huge adjustment within myself moving abroad. I have a vulnerability that "inspires" people to take care of me - my parents, my brothers, my husband - but moving here, I've had to stop relying on other people and take charge of things for myself. I'm a lot more independent, I've gone out of my comfort zone to meet people and get involved in things, I'm really proud of myself!  

4: Traveling! Moving to London, the rest of the world is so accessible. Seeing as much as we can is one of the goals while we're here! Since February, I've been to Mallorca & Fuerteventura Spain, France a few times, South Africa, Russia, and the US 5 times! I feel incredibly privileged to have had so many opportunities, especially in one year. Incredible.

3: Surviving my first year of Marriage! I am not going to lie, it was no picnic at times. Moving to a new country, trying to start a life together, not having a support system... it was rough! Fire and ice. But we finally found our groove and I honestly could not be happier with my lovie right now! He's pretty great :)

2: Making New Friends! You can't fully feel at home in a place without friends I've found out. It's hard following my friends back home on facebook and watching their lives, my old life, being lived without me. I know I'm onto a new chapter and I'm loving our adventure, but having friends here definitely sealed the deal for me liking it here. So thank you Bernie & Alison, Vale & Rob, and Johnny & Corinne for being part of what makes London feel like home for us, especially me :) 

1: Keeping old friends! Being abroad has made me appreciate all my family and friends back home so much more. I talk to my mom more now than I did when I lived 1.5 hours away in Baltimore. My aunts message me all the time. Steph keeps me sane. Ashley and Alex keep me laughing. Shana keeps me busy and entertained. I am so thankful that so many people still think about me and keep in touch, especially when keeping in touch isn't a strong quality of mine. You really see who your true friends are. It's nice to know that just because you aren't around, it doesn't mean you are forgotten :)

 Resolutions! I am not one to make concrete resolutions because I usually fail, and fail hard, very quickly. So instead, I'm going to outline some guidelines and goals to work towards for 2011: 

1. Work on my career path. I think I've narrowed down what my passions are, so now I just need to get there and get experience. I'm not too worried. When I put my mind to something I want, I usually get it :) I get quite determined!!

2. Develop a solid hobby. I am a bit of a free spirit and move on to whatever has my attention at that particular moment. Therefore I start MANY projects yet finish few, if any. Perhaps I should narrow it down to 2 or 3 things and just focus on those! Not too sure what those are going to be though... 

3. The return of my natural hair color. You would think having very dark hair would limit your choices for a makeover, however, there are highlights, dyes, glazes, glosses, and much more that you can do to it! Again, I am a free spirit and inspired to "change my look" quite often and then back again. Well, "going back" doesn't really last for me since my hair is so damaged (I think), it doesn't hold color for very long and I end up with reddish tinges and a flat look. I also "shed" more than most domesticated house animals so I am vowing to do my best to NOT touch my hair this year and let my real color grow in. That and I don't want to be bald when I'm 30, which sadly, isn't that far off... 

4. Do some good. I would like to find an organization or group to dedicate a little time to. There are so many worthy causes out there. I used to do it back home, I think it would be another way to meet people and do some good while I'm here!

5. Dominate my MOH Duties. I am going to be Matron of Honor in my Bestie Steph's wedding in August! I have some projects to complete for her prior to that, a bachelorette to plan, and a shower to hopefully at least help plan and attend. I don't want to let her down! Especially since I'm an ocean away... I don't want her to feel like she chose poorly! 

Well, these probably aren't the best resolutions, but I think it's a good start for me...I have a really hard time committing to things long term like this!!

Happy New Year everyone. May it be filled with love, happiness, and success :) And remember what our good friend Ghandi says, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

Ho Ho Holiday Part 2

After Roanoke, we spent the rest of our Holidays in So Mar at my parents house. Monday, after we got back, Andrew's mom came in from Houston to spend Christmas with us :) 

Now that I'm a big girl,  I try to help my mom out with the cooking and picking up after the boys etc. I made tuna avocado salad and some bruschetta and spinach & cheese puffs and a chocolate tart with Raspberries and a couple batches of guacamole. Not going to lie, I make a  mean guac. I'm really into avocados right now, especially with tuna and a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. 

A little side note, in my path to career self discovery, I have decided that I may really like to go into Physical Therapy or a Physician Assistant role. So Tuesday,  I spent the good part of a day with our family friend Molly who is a Physical Therapist! We saw the cutest little old men recovering in the hospital after surgery and an accident and were teaching them (well, I was just washing as I am not qualified in any way to work with people in this way) how to get mobile again. And then I went down to the Outpatient area and hung out with Ivan for awhile, another PT. With him, I got to see a guy with two broken heels! It's an amazing thing, being a PT. You really improve the quality of life for these people. I felt very inspired after my PT day :) I'm actually thinking about applying to a program while I'm here in London! We shall see... 


Back to Christmas! Wednesday, we went to Baltimore for dinner to see Greg and Ashley! It was the first time I got to see their house in Silo Point. It was gorgeous! It's kind of cool to have townhouses on the 10th floor of a building! We had dinner in the Mexican Restaurant, Miguel;s, in the building and I felt like I was watching an episode of Man v. Food when Andrew ordered the burrito because it was the size of a baby. It was delish and Andrew cleared his plate! Andrew is currently the lightest he's been in years... I have no idea how he does it when he eats like that! I'm a bit jealous... 


The rest of the week was pretty lax until Jesse came super late on Christmas Eve Friday! We spent the evening at the Simpson household with TONS of fabulous food. Of course I ate my face off, again. Little Riley was keeping us all updated via the internet Santa Tracker as to where Santa was in his route to her house. Updates were every five minutes. Then we all packed up for home around 10 pm since it was time to get Jess! I was too sleepy to wait up, but what a fabulous Christmas present, waking up to him being home! And home wearing the ugliest sweater I have ever seen. Somewhere, there is a little old lady without a proper holiday sweater. He also wore this sweater, or so i hear, all the way home from Cali. 


Christmas was great and then Marianne and her boys came in! There was more eating and family time. My chocolate raspberry tart was an epic fail. I had made this once before, but when recipes call for semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, I found that 100% cacao bittersweet chocolate does NOT work. It was totally NOT edible. Gross. And the worst part was, I didn't try it before I set it out for consumption, and some people actually tried to eat it. Sorry Emma and Mom-mom Mar! 


The rest of the time spent with family and shopping and just hanging out. I love being home, but it also makes me really miss living close to home. I have the best family in the whole world...