Sweet Lavender Layla

Ah, I have the sweetest neighbor. She is an elderly lady who lives by her self in the house next door. She is always bringing me fruit, herbs and newspaper articles :) Today, she brought me this beautiful hand stitched pillow with an 'L' on the front, and it was filled with fresh dried lavender from her garden. I'm to put it under my pillow in my bed and it will calm and sooth me to sleep. Along with this gorgeous and dainty pillow, she gave me a matching toiletries bag with the same 'L' stitched into it too. Sweet Layla :)

WHEW.....

Sunday July 25th

It has been quite a crazy two weeks!! LOTS of updates :)

I can't believe that July is almost gone. This summer is flying by! Geez!

I got a J-O-B! WAHOOO!!!! This past week I had just started getting a bit bored sitting at home all day, and what do you know, I get a call from one of the employment agencies I had joined offering me a temporary position while someone was on 'holiday' (vacation). It was a receptionist position working for Parexel, a pharmaceutical company that is actually an American company. Well, the way to pronounce this is 'Par' like the golf term, and 'excel' like the spread sheet....Seems simple, however, I kept saying, 'Good morning, Pyrex' (like the cookware)! YIKES! Hehe! So, anyways, mid week I get TWO phone calls from different agencies offering me more work! Super duper! So I went for two interviews at Xerox and got both jobs! So, I start my new job as a Financial Administrator on Monday. Humm... I wonder when would be a good time to mention that I'm not that great with figures. I'll just be like Scarlet...'I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow.'

So, this past week has been pretty standard, go to work, come home, eat, sleep and do it again the next day. Crazy enough, but it's nice to have a schedule, and somewhere to be in the morning.

Saturday July 24th

During the day we went to Daniel's annual birthday BBQ. Great food, great company and as always, lots of cider :) Last night we went to Amy's friends, Charlotte and Lewis' wedding. It was lovely. We had a boogie to 'You've Got the Love' (our first dance song), which bought back great memories :)

Shakespeare on a Sunday

Sunday, July 11th

Another sunny day in England. I'm really starting to get used to this! I was up and out of the house relatively early, 9:30am, hehe, early for me at least! I had been wanting to try out St. John's church which about a 5 minute walk from my house. They have a very unique service. It's called a rolling service, and it's from 8am-1pm, and they say come and go when you like. Interesting, but a bit intimidating for a first timer! They did the service in 30 intervals. 1st section, traditional service, 2nd traditional music, 3rd more contemporary music, 4th contemporary service, 5th communion...and so on. I really liked it, and everyone was really friendly... I think I must have stuck out like a sore thumb :)

After church I went to watch Neil play soccer ( football:) ). He scored twice! Whoop whoop!

Then I was off to Shakespeare in the park with Amy, Sophie, Charlotte, Angela (mother-in-law) & Carol (Sophie's mom). Suzie, one of Amy's good friends, was in the show. It was a lovely day. Very British I was told. We packed a picnic, spread out blankets on the lawn & enjoyed the play Merchant in Venice.

Saturday, July 10th

Neil was on call this weekend, so while he was at work, I went to see Baby Harry with Amy & Angela!

I was expecting a quiet night, seeing as how Neil had been working such long hours all week. However, I was pleasantly surprized when he called up on his way home suggesting we have a night out on the town! Wahoooo! So I quickly put on my most fabulous dress, some mascara and I was ready to go! We drove into the center of London & walked around Leister Square, SOHO & stopped for a drink in Covent Garden. The buzz in London this warm summer night was intoxicating. I was beaming with excitement... okay, might of had something to do with the cider, but that aside, it was one of those amazing nights that things just seemed perfect. We had a relaxed dinner & the FIND of the night....Snog! It's this frozen yogurt place that is 100% identical to Pinkberry, just called Snog! Delicious!

Take your wife to work day...

...unofficially :) Since I had already done all the laundry and washed the dishes..hehe..I decided to tag along with Neil for the day.

His first job was in Brighton. An amazing beach town about one hour drive south of London. You just can't beat mornings on the beach. It was so quiet and peaceful. It was a crisp, clear morning, around 60F. However, it quickly warmed up to about 72F and fabulous! And I have the British suntan/burn to prove it!

Brighton is well known for its pier which has carnival type rides, games for kids and gambling. I was more interested in The Lanes. Just as one would suspect, The Lanes are small streets, curving alley ways, that are filled with jewelry shops, antique stores, vintage clothing, maps and pottery stores. I was in heaven!! I bought a cute print for the house, which is dated 1836! Crazy!

Wandering around the town, I came across these buildings that resembled Indian architecture and gorgeous, lush conservation gardens. There were small pathways winding through the garden and the park. You would be admiring the flowers, and then you would see this elaborate building peeking through the greenery. It was like I was in an enchanted garden!

Neil and I met for lunch, and then he was back to work. I decided to go back down to the beach until he finished. The beach scene was a bit different than earlier, it was packed with sunbathers! Brighton is a stone beach, which is surprisingly really comfortable to lay on. It's like a mini massage. I laid there for about an hour, basking in the sun, with no regard for anything or anyone, including my cell phone! Yikesy! Neil had been trying to reach me for over 30 minutes. He had finished the job ahead of schedule, and I was nowhere to be found! Oops! :)

After leaving Brighton, I hopped in the drivers seat, literally! I drove us to the next town for Neil's next job. Whew, those round-abouts, stick shift, driving a freakin' transit van on the left hand side of the road... geez... hehe!!!

4th of July weekend!

Friday, July 2nd

I worked at a Guy Fox History Project workshop during the day, and hurried home to get the house ready for our guests, Bethany & Sam Webster! They came up from Southwest England to celebrate the 4th! We chilled tonight, ordered a curry ;) my favorite, and just relaxed!

Saturday, July 3rd

This was our big celebration day! Amy planned and organized every little detail! Had maps printed out, the whole works:) It was spectacular!

We got the train into town to our first stop, Dollar Bills, Grills & Martinis! It is a restaurant that has an American inspired menu, and martinis... What more could an American girl in London ask for?? Naturally, we all started with Martinis...Neil had an apple martini in honor of my Daddy-O! I chose the real thing, Grey Goose martini, straight up with olives...yummy! We ate amazing burgers & drank fancy cocktails, and it was on to our next stop. We decided to do a bit of a bar crawl. Pop-up Pirates was our next natural stop. It had the feel of an 80's bar mixed with art. It was wild. Come to find out, the bar invites artists to create installations inside! Sooo cool! And, they did have a wicked play list! Warren-G, Regulators, California Love (which Dana Chiulli & I do have a choreographed dance to) CR-AA-ZZY jams:) Hehe! From there, we stopped in a bar featuring an American Beer Festival! They were serving Sierra Nevada, Flying Dog, Dixie (some beer from New Orleans)! I felt at home:)

So, we were trying to be responsible, and get the last train home. We left it in PLENTY of time, so we stopped for some previsions for the train (more cider & chocolate), stopped for a rest room break...you get the picture, we were dallying...and yes, you guessed it, we missed the last train home. Blasted! We decided to get as close to Uxbridge as possible...Heathrow airport. Now, that is one place I would never have guessed the night ending up. 7 miles later & a £26 taxi ride, we were home! Whew!

Sunday, July 4th!!!!! Independence DAY!!!

Sam & Bethany left around noon, and Neil & I were feeling a bit adventurous. We hopped in the car and headed South! It was a gorgeous day in London, about 80F, so we assumed, beautiful weather at the beach. We ended up in a tiny, locals beach town called Avon Beach. There were tons of wind surfers, kite surfers. It was a bit chillier than London, probably only 60F, but it was lovely. We had a nice stroll along the beach :) Very spontaneous. We looked on the map for cities near by, and we picked Chirstchurch. Driving into the little village was breathtaking. Seriously, the whole day I had my mouth wide open like a little kid at Disney World :) Randomly, the town was having a festival today! HA! Lucky us! It was in the local park, and they had food & drink stalls, bouncy castles, live bands & a Yankee American Pancake stand! Hehehe! It was sooo cool! We stayed for awhile, had some eats & enjoyed to live music! What a wonderful 4th!

I knew this day would come...

...however, I had not anticipated it coming this soon. It's official, 30 days in to my move to London, and I'm OUT of peanut butter and Nilla Wafers!!! AHH!!! In all actuality, I'm surprised they lasted this long.

Today I'm off to the big city to assist Guy Fox History Project Limited in a workshop! Then tonight our friends Sam & Bethany are coming up to visit for the weekend! Bethany is from Texas, so it will be nice to have a fellow American during this wonderful holiday weekend!!

Wednesday, June 30th

Neil were off to Hyde Park again to see the Kings of Leon!!! AMAZING!! The Whigs & The Black Keyes opened for them! Neil & I pushed our way to the front, which is better known as the mosh pit. The venue is similar to Lakewood, minus the seats...so it's just a stage set up in a big park! So, once you get to the front it's a free for all! It was very crowded, but very worth it! They played my favorite,... the song that sounds like they are saying 'Ashley LeFevre' :)

After the concert we walked around trying to find a spot to grab a bite. We stumbled upon this lavish Indian restaurant. It was so ornate! Two story white & black marble striped water feature was the center piece of the room. The whole restaurant was dripping in heavy, rich colored fabric. It was like we were in a huge tent with chandeliers. Little did we know how famous this restaurant was, until I visited the bathroom and saw pictures of Goldie Hawn & Morgan Freeman & tons of other stars! What a great find! I loved the food, but of course, Neil insisted that our local Indian restaurant was ten times better. :)