TODAY

Today I'm going to enjoy the blue (bluish/grey) skies.  Lately, the internet has been more of a hinder than a help and today I need to kick my own ass and get some stuff d.o.n.e. 

Have a beautiful (and productive!) day and I'll see you back here tomorrow.  xx

Tuesday w/Moi

I've started a new initiative for the blog.  The idea struck me as I was cruising through Sandra Juto's blog and came across her One Photo Every Hour, Monday post.  What I love about Sandra's photography is that she captures the little things in life- a balcony, a flower, a crack in a teacup- and she has such an authentic point of view which she charmingly communicates both verbally and visually.  Reading her posts makes me wish I could join her for an eight hour-long walk through Berlin.

As I look for projects and work here in the UK, I sometimes feel as if my life isn't as interesting as it was in Boston, where I was surrounded by inspiring friends, colleagues and clients.  Of course, it's my job to make my life interesting, so I've decided to challenge myself every Tuesday to take one photo on the hour for every hour that I'm awake.  I will give myself one minute to take the photo (from the time the clock hits x:00 to x:01) and will try my best to make the most of where I am and focus my lens on something interesting.

Yesterday was my first attempt at my new challenge.  Some of the photos are okay, and a lot of them are terrible but I'm excited to train my eye and get better at this exercise as each week goes by.  Not only does it inspire me to find beauty wherever I am, it also inspires me to do things that are beautiful so you lot don't think I'm the most boring person on earth every Wednesdays when I post my photos.  So let's begin, shall we? 

Date: Tuesday, June 19

  

Le Chat gazing out the window in our bedroom.  I woke up half an hour before (I know, lazzzzzy) and was getting some work done in bed before heading into London with David.

 Literally running out the door to make it to the station in time for the 10:21, which we missed by 30 seconds due to a ticket mix-up.  Do you like our weird Garfield Hooters sign above the door? 
I don't, either.

On the train to London.  We were in a coach full of The Very Elderly.  Lots of newspapers and balled-up tissues, which I chose not to photograph.  Instead, here's a picture of one of David's stacking creations.  He likes to stack stuff in piles.  It's cute.

Enjoying a baguette and latte at Spreads on Pall Mall.  I was so hungry when I got off the train that I stumbled into the first independent-looking cafe I could find.  It was very simple but wonderful and reminded me of a NYC deli.  I like that they make crispy bacon the American way.  YUM.

Walking paste the Animals in War Memorial before heading into Hyde Park.  

Trying on clothes at Harrod's.  I had some gift cards to spend...

Walking to meet David in Green Park.  The sky clouded over and I was glad I had a jacket with me.

I literally thought I was going to pull a LiLo and have to be hospitalized for dehydration, so David and I stopped in a little cafe near the train station for some sparkling water and a snack.  And maybe a glass of wine, too...  I really like the Berger bottle.

"I want to see teeth"

I don't know?

Back on the train.  Ready for an Adventure?

In a cab home after stopping at the grocery store. Most people don't tip cabbies here, but David and I do it anyway. I can't help it, I'm just so impressed they actually know where they're going!

Trying on my outfit for Ascot, which is this Saturday.  Don't worry, I'll paint my toenails before I go...

Getting some work done & Skyping with my mother whilst drinking tea.

David and I have been watching Spooks in the evenings lately.  We're in the 3rd season now but it's just not the same without Mr. Darcy (Spoiler Alert!).

Cuddling with Le Chat before bed.  

Zzzzzz....

Yo, Mom!

Mom, if you're reading this, I want to Skype with you!

If you're not my mother, please do yourself a favor and call your mom today.  I'm sure she'd like to hear from you.  If you're like, Yeah, no, my mom definitely doesn't want to speak to me, then call someone else you love and don't talk to all the time.  I'm sure they'd like to hear from you, too.

I have exciting things to post tomorrow.  Not like OMGEXCITING!!!! but, like, I think they're fun.   See you then!

p.s. Mom, I'm being serious.  I just bought the best leather skirt ever and I really reallllly reallllllllllly want to show youuuu! 
p.p.s. It's such a bummer when your family isn't just a phone call away... or, rather, they're a phone call away that is going to cost you through-the-nose.

Sunday Lunch @The Hare

Yesterday, David and I laced up our walking shoes and strolled a couple miles down the road to The Hare where we enjoyed a beautiful Sunday lunch.  After our meal, we sat in the garden for a drink and dessert (rhubarb crumble with custard, yummmm) and all around us were families with children.  Many of these children took it upon themselves to find entertainment amongst each other, and they played in the field beside the garden- games of tag and cricket and whatever else English children do- and sometimes an adult would saunter over, beer in hand, and kick a ball around, too.  But usually the adults sat together in the garden, enjoying conversation and a drink in the sun with a few children leaning their heads on their arms, quietly listening in.  

The attitude toward child-rearing is far more relaxed here than in the States and parents seem to have a more harmonious balance between their own social priorities and the activities of their children.  Once a couple has children, their children do not seem to replace their social life, and I think it's great to see families together at pubs, groups of parents engaged in conversation as their children run off on their own.  At first I found the presence of so many youngsters to be tiresome and irritating, but the more I see it, the more I realize their inclusion in the 'adult world' is actually healthy and quite liberating.  Instead of sequestering their children at home with a sitter, they allow them to experience and observe the real world, and allow them to behave like children at the same time.  It's just one of those English things- like Sunday lunch and beer gardens- that I find sweet and charming.

How was your weekend, dear reader?  Did you do anything exciting/inspiring/relaxing?

I'm Never Serious Except for Right Now, Seriously

The sun has emerged and people are smiling more.  Couples walk hand-in-hand, no longer huddled under soggy umbrellas and though the wind that blows is cold, they do not button their jackets. 

Yesterday, I had the worst migraine of my life and I've spent much of the last 30 hours restlessly sleeping.  What is wrong with me? I wearily asked David.  He thinks I'm stressed and lonely, and you know what, he's right.  But I also woke myself up laughing yesterday- my optimism never tires. 

I've tried writing this post a couple times already, but I haven't been able to get the tone right.  You see, I don't want anyone to think I'm throwing confetti around at my pity-party-of-one, but I also have a commitment to myself to be honest in this space and share the things that go on behind the scenes.  Life isn't all cocktail parties and sequins dresses, after all...

I was talking to my dad on Skype last week.  He's in Australia right now, working on a project that has been keeping him there for months on end.  He's always traveled a lot for work and he understands what it's like to be lonely, to feel displaced.  As we were talking, he said something that didn't sit well with me, he said, I knew you were making your life so much more difficult by moving to England.  And yes, an international move is difficult.  Trading a great job and an amazing support system for a suburb where I know nobody and work from home is difficult.  Having to make room in my life for the care and needs of David's two sons has been difficult.  But who's to say difficult is a bad thing? 

Things are difficult, yes.  Some days I feel really sad and I weep at everything that reminds me of home, but most days I'm energized by this adventure and see these difficulties as a hurtle that I'm going to be proud of jumping.  If life weren't difficult, I don't think it would be worth living and though I'm sometimes scared by the uncertainties that lie before me, I'm fully prepared to enjoy the process of getting to the place I end up being.

And where will I end up?  Will I end up freelancing forever, will I finish my book and become a successful writer, will I find a great branding agency where I can lend my voice and develop my skills?  Maybe I'll end up doing something else completely.  Who knows?  Certainly not me!  And if I'm quite honest, sometimes it makes me feel like throwing up, but that's the fun of it, right?  This uncertainty.  It's like that moment before you walk on stage for an audition and all your nerves are buzzing at once but once you start to say your lines you feel a sense of complete and total clarity.  Then you walk off stage and your body turns to jelly.  Right now, my life is just like that, and it's kind of difficult, but it's also quite exciting.

Just a Note

I love walking along the canal in East London.  I love that the Redcoat wears pink stripey socks.  I love blossoming flowers and graffiti that reminds us to appreciate the good things in life.  I do not love that the weather still calls for a heavy jacket in June.  I mean, WHAT'S UP WITH THAT, ENGLAND?