Weekend Recap!

What a delightful long weekend Scott and I had! When you live abroad there is always a long build up in time until your guests arrive and I would say that is very true with our guests this weekend. It has been 2 years and 1.5 months since I have moved to London and this is the first time my brother has made his way over. There have been very valid reasons for it (i.e. him changing jobs, Scott and I getting married my first year over here, trips to the US for all holidays, etc.), but nonetheless the day finally came.

It all started on Thursday morning when my brother Chris and his girlfriend Leigh Ann arrived! We spent Thursday laying low and letting them get accustomed to the time (taking a nap), we went to get some lunch and then had a WONDERFUL Valentine's Dinner! It was so nice to catch up with the two of them in person rather that on a phone or email.

On Friday, we let them sleep in a little while and we headed out to see the sights of London. Chris and Scott headed to the Imperial War Museum and Leigh Ann and I went our shopping on Oxford Street, New Bond Street, Regent Street and the Chiswick High Road.

Some Pictures from the Imperial War Museam:

After walking around on Friday, we went to one of our favorite Thai Restaurants in the city and then proceeded to the pubs on the Chiswick High Street.






















Above: Me and Leigh Ann having a pint

Left: Scott and Chris having a pint














Saturday we ventured out to Churchill's Cabinet War Rooms which was very interesting to see then walked through St. James's Park to Buckingham Palace through Hyde Park Corner to Harrod's then the tube home . We had Mexican Night on Saturday at the house and made fajitas with Spanish Rice, Margaritas and played "Catch Phrase" with our friends Jenn and Conrad. It was guys vs. gals and to set the record straight the gals one 3-2 (p.s. Conrad what is a Gnome?). It was a late evening or shall I say early morning playing Catch Phrase till 2:30am! We had a wonderful time though.



Sunday, Chris and Leigh Ann headed to Tower Bridge to do some more sightseeing and Scott and I stayed home to get caught up on some items before having to head back to work Monday. We met Chris and Leigh Ann at The Devonshire (one of Gordon Ramsey's restaurants) in Chiswick and had an exquisite meal!


So as I am sitting here typing this blog, Chris is about 2 hours into his flight home and Leigh Ann is about 2.5 hours into her flight home. I said to Scott last night it is weird to think that we don't have a date for any more visitors now :-( Sad to think but we know more will be coming sometime.

Thank you Chris and Leigh Ann for a fantastic weekend and it was great spending lots of time with you two!

Spring Time in London?

If I am not mistaken it is still January (granite not for much longer) and it should be the rainy/cool season in London, correct?

Well, I think we are all mistaken, at least for the time being, since it was a gorgeous weekend here!

Friday we stayed in and I recovered from a cold and we watched Shooter with Mark Wahlburg in it which was pretty good considering it is a shoot 'em up movie (not really my type).

Saturday- Scott worked and I laid low still trying to recover from my cold. Took Bailey out for a walk after her spa day on Friday! Went to Harrods for the last day of the Holiday Sale and came up shorthanded :-( Met some friends out for dinner and we went to Sale e Pepe http://www.saleepepe.co.uk/ in Knightsbridge for a nice Italian dinner but that waitservice was horrible.

Sunday- we played double tennis against some friends and then had a nice Sunday Roast on the Chiswick High Street. Picked up some books for our next few months of travels and set off for a relaxing afternoon at home!

Are you ready for some Football????

Sunday night football??? I am!

You guessed it, Green Bay beat the Seattle Seahawks (sorry Conrad) and the NY Giants beat the Dallas Cowgirls (yes that is what they are now) which equals GB Packers vs. NY Giants in Lambeau Field on Sunday night!!!

::back to the regular program::

Our weekend was really nice! Friday night we spent the night relaxing after the first full week back to work after the Holidays :-( Saturday we met up with some friends for lunch and then split off guys and gals. Jenn and I did some shopping in Sloane Square and I managed to buy a pair of Manolo Blahnik's (below).

(Needed to buy something unique if I were going to own a pair)

Saturday night started off by playing some cards with Conrad and Jenn, then cooking a Turkey dinner then off course as already stated watching the Packers/Seahawks game.





Sunday was a relaxing day to catch up on laundry and getting bank statements from 2003 to 2006 in order to complete the http://www.ccfsettlement.com/ paperwork to claim some money back for being overcharged in fees by the banks. I like the posibility of getting some money back!

Chelsea vs Everton

Yesterday Scott and I went to the Chelsea game with our friends Jenn and Conrad. The night did not start off that well since I left work at 5:45pm to meet Scott at Hammersmith Tube Station. As I am walking in they shut the station down due to a person caught under a train at the next stop. What does that mean.....CHAOS. Piccadilly/District/Circle lines were shutdown east and west bound for an indefinite period of time. So I call Scott to see where he is and he is on the District Line waiting to pull into Hammersmith station. Well they can't move since there are too many trains and no where to go. I waited for him to give me an update from their driver and about 20min. later he texts to say they are moving. Good sign! So they open hammersmith station back up and down to the train I go. We meet and off we go to Fulham Broadway, not so much :-( Earl's Court now is majorly backed up due to the incident so there are like no Wimbledon trains so all of the fans start walking to Fulham Broadway. Scott and I waited to see if they would make an announcement for a Wimbledon train and they diverted a train there....well that was packed like a can of sardines so a no go for us. We finally get to the Stadium and Scott goes to meet the couple and I go to get our tickets at the Box Office.
WHAT A NIGHTMARE. The line was coming down the street from the far stadium gate to the tube station. UNREAL to say the least. They all meet me in line still 20min. later. We get into the stadium at 7:45 (just in time for kick-off).

All in all they won which was the important part since it was the Semi-Final for the Carling Cup.

Lesson Learned: Pick up your tickets prior to the game at the Box Office.