Day out with Nicola & Baby Harry

Nicola, my sister-in-law, has been an angel! It's great timing... she just had baby, Harry, and so she has time off work. For the past two weeks she's picked me up for a weekly outing! So nice to get out of Uxbridge, and see some of the country! Two weeks ago we went to Windsor, where the Queen has one of her castles. And today we went to the historic St. Albans.

St. Albans is a beautiful historic town. It dates back to 40 BC, when Celtic tribes occupied it. It is most famous for it's cathedral, The Cathedral and Abbey Church of St. Alban. That was our first stop. It is a Church of England Cathedral, which is a christian church. Ah, the detail in the stone work was exquisite! There were remains of old frescos on the walls. It was simply breathtaking!

We walked around the quaint town for awhile, and then had a picnic in the local park. Lovely day!

Stevie Wonder is Blind...?

...Who knew? Obviously, everyone except me! Neil & I went to Hard Rock Calling music festival in Hyde Park this past Saturday. We went with fellow Americans, Stewart, Jessica & Baby Bowen Todd. It was an all day concert, featuring Stevie Wonder, James Morrison, Corinne Bailey Rae & Jamiroquai. There were two other stages in the park with smaller bands going on at the same time. One of Jessica's friends gave us VIP passes,...and once you go VIP you'll never go back! Now that is a way to experience a concert. Free drinks, food, make-up touch ups! Seriously, whatever you wanted, no problem! It was such an amazing experience. Neil & I ventured out of the tent a couple of times to walk amongst the crowds, but quickly found our way back to the indulgent VIP atmosphere :)

So anyway, getting back to my ridiculous Stevie Wonder mishap... Neil & I had tried to get as close as possible when Stevie started playing. Neil casually mentioned something about Stevie Wonder being blind. And I, being the know-it-all that I am, quickly corrected him saying, 'Ah, Neil, I think you're thinking of Ray Charles.' Neil being a patient man, and all too familiar with my stubbornness, just shook his head and said nothing. It wasn't until we were surrounded by the rest of our group and the issue came up again. Someone asked whether or not Stevie was born blind or not. I was just about to correct them too, when I paused, and realized that this was common knowledge to everyone else around me. Hum. I glance at Neil to see if he heard the discussion, and he just flashed me one of his cheeky, 'I told you so' smiles at me. Man!

After the concert finished, Neil & I wandered around Mayfair (a very ritzy area of London). We saw some unbelievable homes. There are just so many untapped treasures in London for me to explore :) How exciting!

Sunday, June 27th

Neil & I were feeling a bit delicate after the music festival, but we were up early and headed to Oxford Street. Whew, did we do some shopping!!! We almost have all the little bits and pieces for our home. It is looking soo cute! I'll have to update my home pictures soon!

Unfortunately, England & USA are out of the World Cup. Booo!

Monday, June 28th

My garden is blossoming nicely! Angela, my mother-in-law, gave us some plants, and one of which is my new favorite! Cosmos! They are the happiest white flower with a bright yellow center! Tomorrow, Neil & I will have been married for one month! Crazy!!

So, I'm writing a blog.

This idea was inspired by Jules... Although, at first, it seems quite self-indulgent, I feel it's the most logical way for everyone back home (miss y'all) to keep up with what's going on with me. If we were working with a smaller time zone gap, then communication might not be so difficult. However, it is what it is, 5 hours apart, therefore I have resulted to a blog :) Enjoy!

Our humble abode

I have been quite the busy housewife :) Decorating ,cooking, cleaning, laundry, gardening, grocery shopping, banking... you name it... I'm Mrs. Domesticity! HAHA... kinda a joke, but it has been really fun setting up our house!

Just a little catch up

Since I've been in Londontowne...

Saturday, June 5th: UK wedding reception

Met loads of Neil's family & friends! We had a DJ & danced to 'When a Man Loves a Woman' & 'You've got the Love'.

Saturday, June 12th: USA v. UK World Cup 'Football' game, (notice I'm down with the lingo). We had a fabulous BBQ at our new home :) Mojitos, ribs, burgers, sausages, it was SO fun! Not to mention the result! TIE!!! Needless to say, I was a bit more excited about the 'draw' than Neil & all his friends. When we scored, I proceeded to run around the house waving my American flag! YIKESY :) Also, before the party, I pressured washed our back patio, and left one tile dirty, and sprayed USA in the tile! Hehe... I don't think I'll ever be asked to do that again! Mission accomplished! Thank you!

Tuesday, June 15th: Neil's 31st Birthday, I felt a bit bad, his birthday was kinda a side note. With all the excitement lately, we were both in the mood for a chill night. So, I made dinner and we just chilled at the house.

Saturday, June 19th: Royal Ascot, Amy, Neil's sister, and I were off to the races in our huge hats! We went with Amy's friend Michelle and Richard. What an experience. We were lucky enough to get tickets into the Royal Enclosure, which is the real fancy section :) There was a very strict dress code. All the boys had to wear top hats and suits with tails, and the girls all had to wear hats and modest clothing. It was all very fabulous darling :) I bet on 'Star Spangled Banner' and the horse won!!! WAHOOO!!! I saw the Queen, whhat whhat whhat. We drank champagne and cider (on a big cider kick these days), and Amy and I went into Windsor, a town about 15 minutes away from Uxbridge, for dinner and drinks. A very civilized day :)