Wordless Wednesday

Living overseas means travel. Lots and lots of travel. Over the years I have found some things that I can't live without. Here is my list of must haves for a weekend trip.

Good walking shoes - mine are Chacos but look a lot like theses

Extra phone battery - mine only lasts 5 hours or so

Clinique acne solution - must have if you have skin like mine

My LL Bean rain coat - because you never know when it's gonna rain

My planner, to keep everything organized

Splenda can be hard to find so these tables save my life when I'm traveling

Perfect pink polish, easy to give myself a quick mani on the go

My clarisonic - can't live without it 

Longchamp luggage, light weight, perfect carry on size. Fits Steve & my clothes for a weekend trip

My overnight Kate Spade tote - its perfect carry on size & looks enough like a purse that the airlines call it a personal item. 

My IKEA backpack, perfect for day trips and it folds into nothing

Kate Spade cross body - big enough for the basics & not too heavy when its full

Bath & Bodywork's lip gloss, I stocked up before we left

Costa sun glasses, no matter where I am they are perfect and if they ever break they will replace them

Cant live with out my Younique mascara, perfect for day eyes & dramatic night eyes

My DSLR. I rarely leave home without it - have to document my travels for my blog

My chaco sandals - perfect for day trips in the warmer weather

Those are my must haves for travel - what can you not live without when you travel? 

When in Rome...

No, we're not going to Italy, not yet at least. Though I wish we were - I could use some sunshine!

Now that we live in England there are a few things I feel like I need to catch up on, or in this case return to. A few days ago I decided I needed to to up to date on Doctor Who.

 I watched 3 or 4 seasons a while back, before we moved. Not sure why I didn't watch all of the episodes on netflix but I didn't, but since now all I have is time on my hands I figured why not go ahead and watch all of them. I'll still be a season behind but I should be able to get it on DVD when it comes out here.

Right now I'm with this gorgeous man:

Gotta love a Doctor in glasses. 

The other thing that I need to do is finish a very important & famous English series. Maybe you've heard of it? 

Yes, I am one of the last people my age (mid 20s) who hasn't finished this series. I was a super fan in the early years and a purest - I only read the English prints, not the American ones. Unfortunately by the time the last book came out I was in college & I was so overwhelmed with transferring schools & making friends etc I just didn't get around to reading it. About a year ago I decided I would re-read the series and I found out Steve had never read it so I made him read it along with me. Guess who finished the series and guess who got too busy with changing jobs? I didn't finish again yet Steve did. So this week I am headed to some local used bookstores to try and find the books yet again. 

Bank Holiday Weekend

So Plymouth didn't happen. Steve & I woke up in terrible moods Saturday morning because we we're both dreading going to Plymouth, with bad weather and not much to do we decided not to go. We cancelled our reservation & got a refund on our train tickets. Instead we decided we would head down to South Hampton.

If you're a new reader, you might not know but we recently moved to the UK. We brought a few suitcases with us on the flight but the majority of our stuff we shipped. It takes 5-8 weeks for our pallets to arrive. Guess what is now in the same country as us? OUR STUFF! Steve got the email last Friday that our stuff has landed, in South Hampton! Unfortunately we couldn't get it or even see it as it has to go through customs etc but it was nice knowing we were in the same city even just for the day.

The biggest reason we went to SH is this:

Although we do live in a furnished apartment, making it feel like home is hard. We bought a TV and a small desk for Steve but that's about it as far as big items. With our stuff arriving soon once we unpack it we have no where to put anything. No bookshelves, no china cabinet, no banquets, no kitchen island. And that all adds up to one thing, we needed to hit up IKEA. The biggest thing we didn't want to do was buy a bunch of stuff that would only fit this apartment as we don't plan to be here too long (no parking, 1 bathroom etc). Without a car IKEA can be a bit of a daunting task so we just took a bunch of photos of tags and are going to go with the home delivery option. Although it means another day of sitting about waiting on a delivery but once it comes I'll get to build it all. 

After IKEA and breakfast (and a beer at 10am - don't judge, it was actually pretty good) we decided to walk around the city for a bit. Being so near the coast I figured it would be a bit more like Brighton, touristy, lots of historical significance, big things to see. Unfortunately it wasn't quite so grand. 

Rain Rain Rain... So Much Rain

**note: I am not being paid or compensated for this post**

As I'm sure everyone knows that England is a wet place. So far we have been really lucky and haven't had a lot of rain, but even on days that the weather channel says its not going to rain it comes down in buckets in the afternoon. Living here the one thing I knew I had to have was a rain coat, but one of those Columbia outdoorsy rain coats just wasn't going to cut it. Mind you, I own a rain pullover that's the typical rain jacket. I knew I needed something more class, more sophisticated, that I could wear to dinner as well as on a walk in the country.

Que desperately googling a week before we left the US. I checked all the usual sites - North Face, Columbia, Eddie Bauer, Target & Lane Bryant. Of course I couldn't find anything, being it was April and everything out was for summer. In a panic I called my mom & asked her where she used to buy her rain gear back when we lived here before. Of course she suggested Barbour but that's way out of my price range, so she suggested LL Bean.

Presenting the Easy Care Mackintosh:

I have it in blue, though the yellow is super cute, and I can tell you that this is one of the best coats I've ever owned. It's perfect for spring & early fall. It is lined, so its not all sticky and yucky on the inside. It looks nice, like I could wear is to Ascot or a show in London in the evening & it wouldn't look out of place. 

Now the big coat here in England in the Barbour jacket - super stylish and waterproof & warm but they're out of my budget & they're only made up to a ladies XL.

So instead I am going with this lovely coat from LL Bean. Its not exactly the same but it has the same sort of "British" look and for a much more reasonable price. 

What's your go to coat for different seasons? Have I missed anything? 

One Month In

Today marks 1 month since we arrived in the UK & what a month it's been. Here is a list of things we have done since we've arrived:

1) settled into our apartment... sort of. Still waiting on our stuff to arrive.
2) figured out the oven - a real winning moment since chicken back is one of my favorite meals to make.
3) using the washing machine, mind you I still hold my breath when I "turn it on" because sometimes it doesn't work.
4) Visited London - one day for museums & one sightseeing
5) Hosted overnight guests - Jessica & Seneca
6) Had friends over for tea & games (yes - I played a board game!)
7) Made friends - Michelle & Kluen
8) Found "our pub"- The Back of Beyond
9) Got Internet... kind of, it only works sometimes but its Internet
10) learned UK phone numbers... well Steve has. I still have no idea what mine is.

In the spirit of moving to the UK, and everywhere else booking up and flights doubling in price before we could book our trip, we are headed to Plymouth. It's the city where the Mayflower departed from all those years ago. We figured it would be a good place to visit considering we just moved here from the US. Essentially we are going to give the finger to all those brave souls who left British to go to the new land and live out their religious freedoms. Fortunately neither Steve or my families went over on the Mayflower or one of the early boats. My family came over from Ireland because of the potato famine. Steve is Native American so he's always been from the US.

Tea on a Boat

Its starting to look like summer... well that's what I hear. Its still in the 60s here & this Atlanta girl is not cool with it. I'm ready for shorts & flip flops and mid 80s - but unless we get a heat wave we won't get weather like that until we head south - France, Spain, Italy etc.

I know its Travel Tuesday but I did that yesterday & its my blog so I make the rules.

Since it's still chilly outside, a cup of tea is always my cup of tea (yes I went there). So why not enjoy that cup of tea on a boat? Here in Reading there is a Tea Barge - Whittington's. Its an actual barge, like a house boat which has been turned into a restaurant with a kitchen in the back and 8 tables inside. They also have 4-5 tables out on shore which will be nice if it ever warms up here!

We ordered the cream tea, which consisted of a large pot of tea & a scone with clotted cream and jam. Unfortunately the scones were so yummy I didn't get a photo of them. They had plain & fruit scones. 

Clotted cream & jam on the scone tray

They also have a full menu of delicious British food - bangers n mash, English breakfast & sandwiches. I'm sure they have more but that's all I saw when we were there. 

I love how they mix and match their cups and saucers. 

I would highly recommend this restaurant for a ladies lunch or a different venue for a cup of tea. 

Our First Visitors

This past weekend we had our first visitors here in the UK! My friend and sorority sister, her husband and their 9 month old daughter came to visit us for the weekend. Seneca is in Barcelona, Spain for 3 weeks for work and Jessica has always wanted to visit London.

They arrived late Friday, after BA failed miserably and losing their stroller and car seat... yes, on a flight that was less then 2 hours they managed to lose a stroller and a car seat! Ugh! Lets just say we are not big fans of BA right now. Thankfully they had a ergo carrier so we were still able to get some sightseeing in.

Saturday morning we headed into London for the day. We started off by taking a double decker bus tour of London - good way to get all the sights in within a few hours. We opted to not take the boat portion of the tour, which I would recommend. We took the boat portion of the tour in February and it takes longer to get to the boat, wait for it, get on & then off it then your actually on the water. Plus since its all enclosed the photos aren't very good.

Jessica, Samantha & Seneca are Canadian 

Big Ben!

London Eye

Tour Bridge

After the bus tour Jessica wanted to the M&M world store, so that's what we did. It was a mad house, mind you it was a beautiful Saturday so everyone in London was out and about, and a good third of them were at the M&M store.

M&M store 

By then it was 4pm and we were STARVING! Steve was craving cheese burgers and the best burgers we know is Shake Shack, so we took a quick cab ride over to Convet Garden. For the record I hailed  the can with one swift movement in 2 seconds. This never happens so I figured it was worth noting.

Piccadilly Circus

From Covent Garden we took a quick walk down to the river where we took a water taxi over to the Globe to walk the South Bank.

London Eye

The Globe

After a few quick photos & a stop at Starbucks for tea and recharging phones we strolled down the South Bank. We had a quick drink at a pub with some friends before we stopped for dinner just below the London Eye. 

It was a long day, we didn't get home till after midnight but it was a great day showing friends from home around our new city. 

Semi - Wordless Wednesday

Today marks our 3rd week here in Reading. It doesn't really feel like we've been here for this long but its true. Steve's settling into his new position nicely. He really likes his coworkers & is doing well adjusting to life in the UK. He's starting to get into a new kind of geeky game, not sure what its called but if it makes him happy, I'm happy. As for me, I'm doing ok. Not walking/working out like I should - just doesn't feel like the motivation is there. Consequently the wedding diet isn't exactly a focus right now.

Our stuff is still on its way, this Friday it will have been out a month, but it takes 5-8 weeks for delivery which is essentially forever. Its not that we don't have things, we have a furnished apartment, but its little things, like a measuring cup, I don't want to go & buy one because I know we packed ours. Or at least I hope we did.

I realize this is Wednesday and its suppose to be a wordless post but I figured someone might like a quick update.

Moving on to the wordless part - one of my favorite things in the whole world is tea. Hot, milk & sugar. Biscuit on the side. Mom & I used to travel into London for a day of shopping and we always ended it with afternoon tea at Peter Jones - a department store in Richmond. Mom drank hers with a splash of milk (and more and she would gag) no sugar, I took mine with lots of milk and too much sugar. Not much has changed - mom & I still take our tea the same way. Steve drinks his plain, no milk, no sugar. Odd man. So in honor of mom & my old tradition of tea and this last Sunday being Mother's day, here is my wordless post:

So many tea cups

Traditional afternoon tea

Champagne tea

Tea at Great Fosters

Cream tea

How I take my tea (not fancy but still wonderful)

Update!

Sorry Ive been quiet the last couple of days, my computer has decided it didn't want to connect to the internet so Ive been without for a few days. Thankfully I have built in tech support - AKA Steve. Not sure what he did but I think it worked (fingers crossed).

So here's a quick update on whats been going on.

Saturday: Steve and I took a quick trip over to visit the town of Windsor  - lots of shopping & of course a castle. We took an open bus tour (cause we love them and we're lazy and its an easy way to see the city). Here are a few photos from our tour:

Windsor Castle

Queen Victoria

Old car driving by the castle

Thames River

View of the castle from across the park

This is the famous crooked house - its not open anymore, it used to be a restaurant I think. Its super close to the castle so an easy photo opportunity.

Later in the afternoon we took a river tour up the Thames. It was a nice way to end our day in Windsor but we sat behind a couple with the most obnoxious kids! They were crawling all over the seats and kept jabbering on. Don't get me wrong, I love kids but I love the well behaved ones. Picky, I know. In spite of them I got some pretty good photos. 

Sunday was our lazy day. I didn't get out of bed till about noon. Yes, I know thats terrible but with this stupid head cold I haven't been sleeping all that well. I stay up way too late, like tonight, its midnight and Im here on the couch blogging while Steve is snoring in the other room. Of course Ive gotten myself hooked onto another TV show - Dead Like Me. Anyone ever watch it? Its pretty good. Of course there are only two season on Netflix, which means Ill be done with the show in about a week. Anyone have a suggestion on what to watch next? Remember I only have access to UK Netflix. 

Tonight we had dinner.... wait for it... with friends! Yes we have actual friends here in Reading. Its kind of amazing to be able to chat with someone in the same time zone as us. Plus she's america, from Tennessee (aka she gets Southern stuff, not just american stuff). We went to this Sushi place called Yo Sushi... I think thats whats its called. On Monday every plate is $2.70 (pounds not dollars but I don't know how to make the pound symbol. It was cool, the sushi goes around the restautant on this conveyor belt and you just pick the plates up you want. Very cool and the sushi was pretty good too, more expensive then we're used to, but still good. 

Our blue plates

Beer in a wine glass - pretty good.