Troy works in “The City,” a part of town where high-rises are stacked on top of other high-rises which are stacked on top of other high-rises and oh, the ancient London Wall. Banks. Investment Funds. Real Estate. Dark Suits. Pretty People. Lots and lots of smart brains. It’s intimidating. I have only visited The City … [Read more…]
The Kew Royal Botanical Gardens is one of, if not the, most famous gardens in the world and home to the largest collection of plants in existence. If that’s not enough, add in the generations of royal George’s living on the grounds, and it makes for quite a story! It’s been on our list of … [Read more…]
April, much like August it seems, is a very quiet month in London. Schools close down for 2-3 weeks for an extended Easter holiday, and many toddler activities, playgroups and nurseries follow suit. Therefore, E has been on a bit of a forced Spring Break these last few weeks, and we have had so. much. … [Read more…]
Meet Kinga and Manuela. They are my UK dose of mom-sanity, fun and family (and German speaking!). You’ve likely seen or heard of them on the blog before as their little girls, O and M, respectively, have taken E into their special circle and introduced her to the greatest toddler mind and body exhaustion program … [Read more…]
What would life be without moving?! Certainly less stressful, but probably also far less exciting. It’s a local move this time – though I’m not sure that actually offers much relief. If only we’d known this time last year that the building across the street would be approved for tear-down… Oh well, we are thankful … [Read more…]
Though it feels like we are still playing catch up from our trip to the US, we’ve been home for a few weeks, and I’ve been feeling a bit claustrophobic in our lovely little neighborhood. SO! Troy, E and I spent Sunday afternoon wandering…literally – I don’t know the last time I back tracked that … [Read more…]
The start of the Christmas season has been creeping up day by day and week by week for years now – and across the world at that. I remember feeling like it began strictly the day after Thanksgiving, but we all know stores now sell ornaments and stockings right alongside Halloween costumes and the latest … [Read more…]
Every August and September, the Queen of England kindly heads out of town and opens the doors of Buckingham Palace to the thousands of commoners from around the world eager to get a glimpse into royal life behind the gates. Wanting to make the most of the activity (and feeding all of our royal curiosities), … [Read more…]
As you know, this isn’t my first time living in London. Many, many, years ago, I ran around this town with a lovely little British accent of my own. There’s plenty of proof in the form of VHS and tape recordings which will remain locked up for many more years to come…the accent was cute. … [Read more…]
Troy and I have happily made every effort to explore London with baby in tow, but there is something refreshing about sitting in a restaurant without a pile of breadcrumbs at your feet or little hands grabbing the cucumbers off your plate and an evening of entertainment that involves no pitiful “Mawah”s or sweet whimpers … [Read more…]
There are far more difficult places for an American to move than London. Of course, there’s no car, making errands more inconvenient at times, the time zone factor is far greater than when we were in the US, and there are new friends to meet. On the other hand, the language is the same (or at least … [Read more…]
July has been a month filled with its fair share of heat, sleep deprivation, handymen, baby classes, birthday parties, travel, and adventuring, but most of all it’s been overflowing with FAMILY! One of the drawbacks of an overseas assignment can be the move away from close ones. Troy and I are missing friends and family … [Read more…]
Have you ever had one of those days when you look back and think “How on earth did we get here?” Troy, E and I recently set out to spend an afternoon relaxing in London’s Hyde Park and wound up discovering so much more. It was a gorgeous Sunday in London Town and a little picnic … [Read more…]
After months of conversations, negotiations, research and paperwork, my husband, 6-month old daughter, E, and I finally made the move from Charleston, South Carolina to London, England in March! We had been mentally prepared for this move for some time and were very excited to receive the official “go-ahead” when all of the necessary components … [Read more…]