Tuesday With Moi

Tuesday, August 14

I know I complain about my Hobbit town a lot, but it really isn't super terrible.  I mean, there are some treasures to be found amongst the chain stores and blah boutiques.  One such treasure is a patisserie called La Roche.  The space itself is bright and elegant, with a long marble counter and a beautiful crystal chandelier.  While the pastries are delicious, my real weakness is their beautiful rye bread.  I'm obsessed.

I bought this book on a trip to London last year and, after arriving stateside, completely forgot about it.  I've recently picked it up again and am really enjoying Davis' short sketches and stories.
They're crisp and unexpected, which I like a lot.

Okay- I've been meaning to post this for ages: You guys, when I was unpacking boxes after the move I found this top.  I did not purchase this top and had never seen it before pulling it out of a box.  It's from ASOS, is a size large, and appears to be warn loved.  Is this top your top?  Do you want it back? How did I end up with it? SO MYSTERIOUS!

David and I ran some errands in town and walked up a street I'd never noticed before.
It was cute, I guess.

We stopped for cappuccino and a sandwich at an Italian deli on the High Street.  We sat at a cafe table on the sidewalk and watched all the geriatrics walk by.  I really like old people and there are a lot of them in my town.  Old people on bikes, old people walking slower than snails, old people having lunch, old people holding hands, old people waiting for the bus... They're everywhere! 

I like to buy my flowers from a little stand next to the train station. They only take cash, so David and I dug deep in our pockets and were pleased to find we had enough for these pretty gladiolus.
They remind me of storks and I think they're elegant.

Le Chat is in love with this exhibitionist black cat who gyrates below our window.  Le Chat would very much like the chance to go outside and play with this black cat but I forbid it, which makes her whine incessantly and give me desperate looks like this one.

I made some stationery.

Then I started a letter.

But my letter writing was interrupted by a Skype marathon with one of my dearest friends and then with my mother.  Letters are great, but I'm still super thankful for Skype.

Ladies, do yourself a favor and marry a guy who can cook.
Unless you really like cooking, in which case, do yourself a favor and marry a guy who likes to do dishes.

Don't let the long sleeves fool you, yesterday was actually kinda warm.
To celebrate, we drank a dry rosé.
(There's always something to celebrate...)

The Redcoat and I used to play Scrabble all the time.  We'd play at bars, on picnics, on planes, at home, etc.  When he got an iPhone, he started playing Words With Friends with everyone he's ever met and stopped playing real Scrabble with me.
Last night, he suggested we play a real game of Scrabble.
It was so fun!

Until I lost and became grumpy.

But I'm never mad for long and in the end I forgave him for beating me winning.
We finished our wine and went to sleep, or whatever.

THE END.
As always, thank you for reading!
xox

So Fresh & So Green Green

Let's be real- the closest I will ever come to having a baby is having my mint plant.  I mean, I have a cat, which I suppose is more like a baby than a plant is considering it's a living, breathing organism that pukes a lot and always needs to be fed, but the cat is more David's than it is mine so the cat is his baby.  The mint plant, however, is mine all mine, and she is GINORMOUS these days!  (I'm an excellent mother, what can I say?)

Over the weekend, I decided my plant- who from this point forward will be referred to as Bernadette- needed a new home to stretch and grow her roots, so I turned an old paint can into a planter and adorned it with ribbon (many thanks to Brent for the pretty chevron ribbon!).  I can already tell that she loves her new home and both of us are super happy.

Other than painting my bathroom, replanting Bernadette, crying, and cleaning, all I did this weekend was watch the Olympics.  While the Olympics are obviously super inspiring, they also make me feel fat, old, and really under-motivated.  Like, there are people with blades for limbs who are running 400m sprints in way less than a minute while I have two perfectly normal legs and complain when I have to walk up stairs while carrying groceries.  Not hot.  So, last night as I stuffed myself with chips and salsa whilst watching the Athletics, I decided that I'm going to start making a couple changes in my life.  Changes that will help my posture, healthily allow me to release some stress, and become a little more of a superhuman.  I mean, nobody's going to give me a gold medal for anything I do, but if I do it right, maybe I'll be able to buy myself some diamonds or a car, or something.  Though I definitely don't want a car in this country unless I have a full-time driver, too.  Driving on the left hand side of the road scares the shit out of me.... for realz.

Anyway, I hope you find it within you to become a better superhuman, too.  Together, let's rule the world!  xoxoxo

Day Off[line]

I'm taking today off[line] for a day of inspiration and writing in London.  It's going to be rainy and grey, but beautiful and I'm looking forward to it enormously!  Have a beautiful weekend!

Ready, set, HELP!

 One thing I've never been good at is asking for help.  Way back in my wee days when I was home-schooled (only for a hot sec, THANK GOD) I rebelliously developed this aversion to asking for help because I didn't want to ask my 'teachers' (uh, parents) to help me because my parents were my parents and I didn't want their help [insert foot stomping and door slamming here].  After my poor mumsy and faja lost all faith in teaching me themselves, they flung me into the corruptive public school system and, though I was only in the second grade, the habit was stuck and I still saw asking for help as a terrible weakness.  (Did I mention that my brain wasn't fully formed at this point and most of my childhood decisions were completely irrational?)   As you know, old habits die hard and I still have to remind myself that asking for help is not a sign of weakness- on the contrary, asking for help allows people to be open with each other and often draws people closer.  Asking for help allows us to learn from one another and feel value in the goodness of humanity.  Asking for help is awesome!

I've had to ask for help a lot a lot a lot since moving here.  From train schedules to ear piercing, I've sought out guidance from strangers and have been so touched by how generously people offer their advice, knowledge, and assistance.  I hope I'll be able to return the favor often.

Here's a shortlist of some things I need help finding right now.  If you have a solution* for me, by all means... 

• I want to find a cool salon/boutique in London to get my left ear double pierced.  I do not want a chain shop and I also do not want to contract hepatitis C, so please keep your recommendations to places that will offer a great experience, a good service, and a clean environment. 
• To harken back to my aforementioned rebellious streak... I'm going to Ascot on the 23rd of June and have just read the dress code for the Royal Enclosure.  While I'm super excited to be going to such an amazing event, something about all the rules makes me want to push some boundaries, and instead of wearing a bridesmaidy dress and giant hat, I want to find a menswear inspired vintage suit and I want to adorn my own hat, probably with quail feathers.  Ergo, I am looking for the best of the best** vintage shopping in London.  And perhaps a good milliner, too.
• What are these flowers on this shrubby tree thing in the above photo called? (Mom, you've gotta be all over this one...)  I saw them along the canal in London yesterday and was struck by how blue they are.
• Cute London-based home goods boutiques?  I need some solid, well-made kitchen and bath things to make my English Gentleman's old bachelor pad a more welcoming place to live.  Besides, who doesn't love a great boutique full of homey things**? 
• Once my yoga mat arrives  later this week (along with all my heels & books, YAY!!!), I will once again be in the market for a good yoga studio.  I prefer to practice Forrest yoga, but I don't mind Vinyasa or some of the hybrid classes that keep you flexible and moving.  I prefer not to attend a studio that asks me to chant things or try to sell me on some kind of spirituality... unless it promises me a Diane Kruger bod after just one class, in which case I might reconsider. 

*Advising me to 'just Google it' is not a solution.  I'm looking for legit word-of-mouth recommendations here, folks!
**In my book, 'best of the best vintage' = ohmygosh!-worthy deals & truly quality pieces. 
*** If you're in Boston and are looking for a wonderful home goods boutique, I cannot recommend Pod in Brookline Village enough!  From petite Spanish tumblers (which I am at this moment using as mini wine glasses) to eco-friendly shower curtains, linen scarves and glorious bath salts, Pod will have you covered!

Inane Drivel & Pretty Pictures of Wisteria

I've lived in the UK for an entire week without managing to get hit by a car, offend someone, or start crying in public. So far, pretty damn good! Here are some notes on week number one.

-Writing from the iPad today because David and I foolishly packed only one adapter in our luggage coming over here and it's being used to power our iMac, which he is currently using. My laptop is dead and I'm too lazy to walk to Boots for another adapter so... This is a stupid story and a hugely idiotic way of saying that the formatting might be weird in this post. Also an absurdly long-winded way of advising you to always pack multiple adapters!

- Someone left me a voicemail the other day and even after 15 listenings, I still can't figure out what the hell they're saying. Seeing as only 5 people in this entire country have my number, I very much doubt the call was intended for me, but regardless it makes me feel very insecure about my British telecommunication skills. 'Ello..?

- I'm lonely. I miss my books, I miss my friends, and I miss knowing things- like where to go shopping or what bar has Bollinger by the glass, etc. I had to ask someone which coin was 10 pence the other day and because I was soaked with rain I couldn't even pull the Cute American shtick. Embarrassing!

- Eggs here taste better than eggs in the States. Eggland, indeed! Most of the other grocery food taste better, too. Especially ginger biscuits!!

- I've had two urban fox sitings in the past week! This is very exciting because foxes are my spirit animal. My honorary spirit animal is Tilda Swinton who, now that I think about it, is quite fox-like herself.

- The train makes me very sleepy and I know for a fact that I will pass out one day coming back from London and will get robbed or something [touch wood!]. I need to find something to help me stay awake for the hour long journey... Tequila shots, perhaps? Weird Al polka music at high volumes? Recommendations are welcome...

- David has a whole bunch of vintage African art this his mother bought when they lived in Africa. I must remember to take a picture and share it with you.

I guess that's everything worth noting. Yes, I realize most of my notes (i.e. all of them) were not at all interesting, except maybe the Swinton-Fox parallel... and I must look into that further!

Until tomorrow, xox!

Something Pretty

It's been a weekend of farewells and hugs, flowers and love.  We're excited and exhausted and can't believe we leave in only two days!  There is still much to do and many people to squeeze.  I hope I can fit in all in over the next two days!  So off I go to my next adventure (a birthday dinner for a wonderful friend) but in the meantime I will leave you to stare at these stunning flowers my friend brought to a party (a going away party... sad) yesterday.  They make my heart sing! 

xox