Too Soon for a Countdown?

I'd say not ... 2 weeks down, 50 more to go!

As you've gathered from my previous posts, I'm liking it here.  I actually am.  I'd even go as far as saying that I'm happy (woah!!).  I'm trying my best to stay busy throughout the day.  I've never been a good self-motivator, though.  So, I've given myself two mandatory jobs each day:

1. Get out of bed

2. Go to the gym 

Once those two are complete, I feel quite accomplished!  If I do laundry, go food shopping, or cook, I'm extremely proud of myself!!  Doesn't take much ; )

On nice days, I've been walking down the Kings Road and stopping to sit outside at Duke of York Square.  One can only sit outside by themselves for so long.  I'm finding that it's not always fun being alone (I know all of you moms are rolling your eyes and telling me to enjoy it while I can).  Pretty safe to say that I could use a friend, though....or cable!  I'd take cable over a friend most days of the week.  Two weeks and counting.  Not sure how I've survived without it for this long.

Off to Belgium on Friday.  D has Monday off.  We're staying in Brugge for two nights and Brussels for one.  Gotta love UK Bank Holidays.

I'll keep you posted.  Depending on how our first travel experience goes, I may not mind being here for 349 days and 12 hours.  Fingers crossed.

Duke of York Square

Adorable flower shop on Pimlico

Gotta Have Faith

I must say that I have been adjusting surprisingly well to life here in London.  But, I'm human, and a girl, so it's hard not to wonder about what our future may hold.

Will we only be in London for a year?  Could we manage having a child away from family and friends?  What if we end up loving it here? (I don't want to love it TOO much) 

I know we can't plan or predict the future. I know that we will be happy wherever we are. And I know that our friends and family will be waiting for us with open arms whenever we move home. 

We just have to have faith that it will all work out how it is meant to be.

The UK is NOT the US

There is still a lot to learn here in London.  Each day that passes, D and I have learned something new about this foreign place that we now call home.  As we said our goodbyes, our friends and family wished us well and consoled us with the reminder that London is an English speaking country. "At least you aren't going to (insert random country) or China," they'd say, as if language is everything. It's important, sure, but I got around perfectly well in Italy without knowing a lick of Italian.
My point is, just because a form of English is spoken here in London, it does not mean that being in the UK is the same as being in the US. Soo much is different...even Starbucks!!!!!!!

D and I went to the 'bucks for breakfast (never again).  My go-to in NYC is a skim latte with an egg white and turkey bacon sandwich on a multi-grain english muffin.  What I received was a whole milk latte with egg salad, mushroom, and (essentially raw) bacon on ciabatta bread.  Call me naive, but I honestly thought that Starbucks would be my safe haven in this daunting move to the UK. The only thing US-like about this Starbucks is the free wifi, which I guess still counts for something, right?

Who doesn't want a 'loin of (raw) bacon'?!?! If all breakfast options are this blah I'd rather not 'have it three times a day'.  Thanks for the free wifi, Starbucks.  My apologies, but the appreciation ends there. 

I saw a quote a couple of days ago on a bag at Peter Jones department store and it struck a chord.  I really have been finding myself smiling when someone says something I don't understand, or smiling when handing my not-so-egg-breakfast sandwich to the barista for a warm-up, or when I look the wrong way crossing a street and almost get hit by a car...oops!

And I for sure smiled and acted as if I meant to order this "grilled cheese."  Apparently it's literal here. Grilled. Cheese. No bread?!? No bueno!

No, the UK is not the US, but slowly we will learn to "fit in" and to understand the "London Way." In the meantime, I'll live by the words that I saw on this bag .... and I'll SMILE!

And one can only hope that my smile will stick even once I figure this place out :) 

Lovely, Just Lovely

We had such a wonderful first weekend here in London.  The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. 

We walked to an amazing farmers market for lunch (which is just a block away from our flat).

 

 

 

We went for a scenic stroll around London with our friend/tour guide for the day, MH, and saw Buckingham Palace & Big Ben.

We took the tube to Brixton and we had our first beer (I opted for the trusty Blue Moon) and we ate the very best burger we have ever eaten in our lives...ever!

I'm hopeful that we'll have many more weekends like this one. Can't wait.

Little by Little...

we're making this place our home.

We received our air shipment today and I have never seen a bigger pile of clothes on our bed in my life.  It was a good wake-up call and a nice reminder of how incredibly blessed we are.  I've never been good at getting rid of things, clearly.  I've convinced myself a thousand times that, even though I haven't worn or used certain items in well over a year, I still need to hang on to them JUST IN CASE.

"Of course I need these out-of-style red pumps that I purchased three years ago and have only worn once.  What if I go to an 80s party?!?!"  Those thoughts and rationalizations then lead to this.  See picture below.

I have decided that I am going to turn our move to London into an opportunity to purge!!!!  Starting right...NOW! Haven't worn it in forever? Have only used it once? Don't need it? IT'S GONE.  Val, who cares if you might need a camouflage army dress from Forever21 in ten years so you can match your (not yet conceived) son on Halloween. Get rid of it!!!  Scary thing is, I've actually had thoughts like those before.
I can do it...I hope. It will take some practice, but I think I can do it. Wish me luck.

 

I took a mid-morning break to FaceTime with my sister and my niece.  Over 3,000 miles away and we are still able to make each other smile!  Thank you, God, for Steve Jobs!

...And I'm done!!!

Now we'll just wait for the 30 other boxes that are due off the boat in a few weeks. 

Don't worry, none of them are clothes ;)

Ello! Ello!

We passed Harrods on our way home from a yummy Indian dinner - 4/17

We're here!

It's been two days since our arrival to Chelsea, London and I must say it has been a smooth transition thus far. (((Are you impressed with my positivity, Mom?)))
We have been super successful in checking things off of our (main priority) to-do list.

** super important/do right away/high priority

I'm sure it comes as no surprise that we slept a solid 11 hours our first night.
Jet lag is a bitch!

Off to browse the internet a bit more before I force myself out of our apartment, er... flat!
D has his first day of work today... let's see how well I do home alone.  Details to follow!

Laters Mate! 

Pictures from the last couple of days ... 

Beautiful London Sky

D carrying my bag like a true gentleman

"Bananas go like hot-cakes around here"

Our new gym - nothing like an LA Fitness in London

Our new home

Until next time ... :)

Goodbyeee my loveeee

Saying goodbye to family and friends wasn't easy ... and neither was driving away from the city that we love and call Home !

 On our way to Newark airport (photo credit to D)

As a way to commemorate our time together in New York City, we spent our last day walking slowly around our neighborhood (almost an impossibility for us well-practiced-NYC-speed-walkers), being sure to take it all in, and eating lunch at one of our favorite Italian restaurants. We talked about our wonderful experiences in New York City and cheers'd to our new adventure!

Washington Square Park

Wine, salad, and pizza at OTTO! My most perfect meal :)

Bye 222!

London Bound

The time has finally come! D and I are heading to London in 3 days!! We have been talking about this for nearly seven months and although we are sad, scared, and just all around emotional, we're packed and ready to go!

Hope you enjoy reading about our journey!