Holiday Weekend Kickoff

What a joy it was to have four full days to relax and enjoy London together!  Jeri came home Thursday evening from work with the most beautiful white lilies for me as a surprise... what an amazing way to start the holiday.

We enjoyed a luxurious Friday morning, with plenty of amazing cappuccinos (they are delivered piping hot every morning by my sweet!!!) and breakfast in bed.  It was so nice to read and relax.  We went in search of theatre tickets Friday afternoon, and ended up huddled under the umbrella for the duration of our walk.  I could not believe when Jeri decided to get the best tickets available for the Saturday matinee of Wicked.  It is one of her absolute favorites, so I have been very anxious to see it.  I could barely contain my excitement when I knew we were going to be seated in the tenth row!!!!  Wow.  It seemed only fitting that I should treat her to something equally as lavish in return.  So, I decided to take her to the Pilates Studio across the street from our house and spoil her with my best effort at a challenging advanced workout.  Here is the studio where I will work...

Of course, Jeri succeeded in performing the entire advanced workout with grace, precision, and strength.  I hate to admit it, but after a few repetitions of an exercise, I would take a break and Jeri would continue, doubling up on just about every exercise.  It was a blast to see her enjoy it... and I finally think I have convinced her  to include Pilates in her regular workout routine.


We ended the evening by purchasing a few prawns from the local fish stand on Chelsea Green.  Jeri cleaned them, seasoned them, and cooked them to perfection!  What a good Friday dinner we shared:) 

We curled up after dinner (sans couch) and were able to watch a movie, thanks to Jeri's technical prowess.  It had been almost a month without TV, so this felt like a perfect way to enjoy the cold and rainy London night.


With love,
Amy

Happy Easter

We are on the first day of our 4 day "bank holiday" - so cool!  It is great to have a 4 day weekend for Easter.  We are sticking around London, which seems to be a good choice as it's pretty quite.  We started the weekend with breakfast in bed.  I think Amy was feeling like she should make breakfast since I bring her coffee every morning (little does she know that no matter how you slice it I get the better end of the deal - bringing her coffee every morning is the least I can do).  We had bagels with lox, capers, onions, cream cheese, tomatoes - my favorite!  She dutifully informed me that it put us over our grocery bill for the day so it may be a while before we get it again.  She's handling our budget so things are much more "well managed".  No shopping on the horizon for as long as I can see.  A small price to pay.... :)

We're going to try to see a show or two and get some good workouts in this weekend.  Also, we plan on visiting a couple museums, and are very excited about venturing over to the Boroughs Market under London Bridge - it's a foodies paradise by the sounds of it - this will be the highlight of the weekend for me.

The weather here has been a lot like what we're used to at home.  Overcast with some sun breaks, rain now and then, etc.  I do know Amy has gotten stuck in a few torrential downpours... her sopping wet jeans were hung up to dry when I got in from work last night.

Work has been busy, there's a lot to be done here.  Having two 4 day work weeks back to back is fantastic!  We're heading to Amsterdam next Friday for a conference the following Monday and Tuesday.  We are very much looking forward to checking it out over the weekend.  The original tulip festival will be in full bloom when we're there and I'm looking forward to seeing the museums as well as Anne Frank's house.  When I was in Germany I couldn't help but be constantly reminded of what happened there during WWII.  It was a very strange sensation.  The German writing everywhere, the aggressive tone of the language, the intense industrialization everywhere, the focus on precision (ie watches, pens, cars, etc).  It was an eery feeling, I can't really explain it.  I've read a lot about WWII and have always been intrigued by the Holocaust and other genocides in terms of the atrocities that people are willing to commit under the guise of nationalism, religion, etc.  It's beyond comprehension to me that people become lemmings and forgo their own moral compass in such a huge way at times.  I guess we all do that to some degree or else we would get involved in things that are happening around the world right now... Sorry, that's a tangential dialogue for some other day...back to this weekend. :)

We're going to a friends house (Jamie and Brad's) for Easter dinner on Sunday - they're from Tacoma and I worked closely with Jamie at Russell for two years until she decided to come over to London as an expat 3 years ago.  We will be missing all our friends and family from home and thinking of you as you gather together this weekend.

With love,

Jeri Jo

Sunday in the (Hyde) Park with Jeri

This past Sunday, Jeri took me on a tour of her running route through Hyde Park.  On all my outings, I had yet to venture through here (probably because I am not in search of a running path:).  Little did I know what a spectacular piece of nature we have just down the road from our home in Chelsea!  It was absolutely beautiful.  We walked along the water, hand in hand, and enjoyed the afternoon just lolling about.  We made friends with a few dogs, stood quietly in front of the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, and watched little black ducklings trail behind a swan.  I cannot wait until this coming weekend, as it is a holiday and we plan on enjoying a few picnics in the park.  Here are some pictures from our outing.  Note the horrifying animal bits we saw on our way-- 

                                      

The Hair, as requested:)

The Park

The Lovers

Portobello Road, Notting Hill

Saturday we ventured up to Notting Hill for a morning of antique shopping at the world famous Portobello Road Market.  The trip on the tube was a bit chaotic, as a few subway lines were under construction.  This means that we had to switch trains 4 times instead of a nonstop ride.  Jeri was like a pro weaving in and out of the crowds of people in the busy stations; I was searching for hand sanitizer.

When we arrived in Notting Hill we recognized how lucky we are to be in Chelsea.  It was fun but very crowded.  I can't imagine what it will be like during tourist season!

The market was just like you would imagine, busy, packed with stuff, tons of fruits and veggies, amazing cheese... but, there was no furniture.  We were hoping to run across some old Parisian chairs as we have been sitting on the floor for 3 weeks and counting.  Here are some shots of our favorite things... Jeri at the olde butcher shop, then ordering cheese, and me with my favorite sweets table.

Jeri did happen to find an awesome Mexican restaurant, so we ducked in from the rain and enjoyed a beer and a plate of nachos.  Isn't this the second time we have had nachos since we have been here?  

We ended the day by purchasing an awesome little sound system for our "reception" room.  Jeri  hooked up the whole thing, like a pro, in less than ten minutes!  It is amazing... we finally have music in the house.  We have been living in silence, so this is such a treat.  We listened to music all evening, cooked an amazing cannelini bean and carrot soup with fresh thyme and coriander (thanks Aim and Col for the recipe!), and we read travel magazines, researching for our upcoming trips.  It was pure bliss.

To conclude, we leave you with our favorite find of the day:

More to come...

Amy

Calendar

We just added a master calendar to our blog!

Let us know the potential dates of your visit, and we will add them here.  We want to be sure your guest suite is prepared...

Happy Birthday Sean!

Yesterday was Sean's 25th birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!  It seems like yesterday that we were celebrating your 21st in Las Vegas!  Now the clock begins to speed up, I know it's hard to imagine, but trust me. When I got home last night Amy reminded me that it was her Uncle Jeff's birthday as well.  He was her Mother's brother and they were all very close.  He died when he was 40 but they all have very fond memories of him.  I thought it was pretty cool that Sean and Uncle Jeff share a special bday - both very special men.

Off to Portobello Road! :)

Week Three- At Home

March 26, 2010

It is Friday afternoon and I am waiting patiently for Jeri to return home from Germany.  She had her first official business trip as Regional Director of the European, Middle East and South African territories.  She left for Frankfurt on Wednesday, attended a conference all day Thursday (after getting no sleep on a twin bed that was hard as a rock), and made calls to clients this morning.  She is working harder than ever, and I know this was a busy, exhausting trip.  I am so glad she will be back home tonight-- an extended foot rub is in her future.

While she was away, I was able to accomplish quite a few tasks on our to-do list. In fact, I am currently observing a contractor work on repairing a couple windows that would not open in our house.  It seems that each day we have someone new coming to look at windows, deliver a television, turn on our phone, install a dish on our roof, deliver dry-cleaning, repair a gate, replace the stovetop (‘hob’ as they call it here), inspect our clothes for an insurance claim, etc. etc.

To make it fun, I set a personal goal of what I wanted to accomplish while she was away, and if I checked everything off, I would reward myself with a treat.  (Surprisingly enough, the reward was not a bag of candy).  Rather, I got a haircut this morning.  It was great to check so many things off of our list so that we can enjoy our weekend together, and the new ‘do’ will be a fun surprise for Jeri when she returns home:)  It is quite a bit different… a funky, European-like bob.  I also was able to participate in another indulgent treat and do a Pilates workout on Thursday with the owner of the Pilates studio down the street.  It felt great to be on the reformer again!  It is practically like having the equipment in our house…

As Jeri mentioned in her post, our air shipment arrived soaking wet, so at this point we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our clothes in order to assess the damage.  I was busy re-folding clothes all week, and organizing our closets and drawers.  I also passed the time by vacuuming, twice.  Jeri bought me an awesome gift:  the pet-hair dyson!  I am smitten.  I have included some fun photos of our special delivery for your viewing pleasure...

Here we have a damp box, a dry spot, and a few bags of laundry...

I am looking forward to going to the antique market in Notting Hill this weekend.   Also, Jeri surprised me with a trip to Amsterdam in 2 weeks.  We are leaving on Friday April 9^th, and will be there for 5 nights.  I am so excited!  We are staying in an exquisite hotel that happens to be in the book “1,000 Places to See Before You Die.”  It is such a treat!

Truly, this journey with Jeri is such a treat.

Amy

Happy Birthday, Uncle Jeff!