Queso Lovers

I have the greatest friends! For example, meet the Tsukaharas!

They sent me a very special package this week

I wonder what it is...

....ah hah!!

Classic Tex Mex necessities for the upcoming Cinco de Mayo celebration!!

MmmmmmMMMMMmmmmmm cheesy American goodness!!

I'm so excited about my arsenal of queso supplies. The Europeans here love it so I will definitely have to host lots of Texan themed parties.

THANK YOU so much Danny and Mitzi for going through all the trouble of sending me these sticky treasures! (P.S. I saw how much it cost you guys to mail these....I am so touched that you went through all of that trouble...I am definitely buying you a NICE meal when you come to London!)

Right, I'm off on holiday to Croatia and Austria. We'll be going to Dubrovnik, Montenegro, Salzburg, Vienna, and Hallstatt. Fun blog posts await!!

Park Life II

All of this gorgeous spring weather is having a real effect on me, and I'll explain that effect later. First, let's marvel in the rare beautiful images of some of Britain's best.

The other weekend I couldn't bring myself to go to the gym when such rare gorgeous weather was making an appearance, so I made a compromise to walk to St. James's Park. That's a round trip of 5 miles!

Just think, in about a week's time this whole area will be packed with perhaps the most people it's ever been packed with for the Royal Wedding (Don't worry, I will have a Royal Wedding post soon!). Meanwhile, it was quite packed enough just to see the sunlight!

Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, this "hot" weather has sure got me craving ice cream.

However, I didn't want to come to London (capital of some of the worst food in some people's opinions) just to gain weight. Thank God I found an alternative worth substituting, and I crave it all the time now. Meet the banana soft serve. I know what you may be thinking, but believe me, it's the most simple and shocking delicious natural wonder- I don't think you will go back! See one of the original postings about this. Even Glamour has written about it!

The concept is simple. Freeze 2-3 ripe bananas. Stick in food processor (it gives better results than a blender). Let the food processor do its thing for 3-5 minutes until you get that fluffy ice cream texture. Then, enjoy. You don't even need to add sugar!

mMMMmmmm

I did jazz mine up with some natural chocolate sauce made from agave nectar and cocoa power and sprinkled coconut shavings on top! It was AMAZING, and I felt much better afterwards than if I had eaten real ice cream.

Give it a try! (At least you won't feel guilty for it!)

Cocktails Galore

On Saturday night we ended up having an extravagant night out! First, I have been having major sushi cravings for a while now. It's very next to impossible to find any remotely decent sushi in London, especially if you just want to pick some up for a night in. So, given the limited options, we scouted out Nobu in London because at least it was guaranteed to be good!

We opted for the pre-theatre menu, which is a massive Bento box only available from 6-6:45 every night for £33. It was quite impressive!

That's tempura rockfish, cod marinated in a sweet miso sauce, vegetables and rice flavoured with garlic and spices, seared tuna steak salad, and an assortment of sushis. It was fabulous!! I couldn't even finish all of it. Michael was really fond of the tempura rockfish, mainly because it reminded him of fish and chips, sigh.

After dinner we decided to find a bar to get cocktails at because I was really craving one, but refused to get one at Nobu because they all cost £13. I noticed that next door was the Four Seasons, which I believe is pretty new so I wanted to check it out. It was extremely nice (see chandelier below)! Some how we ended up seated at the bar, behind an entire wall of wine, with menus of £15 cocktails in front of us. Oops!

At least it was an adventure and we got to check out the Four Seasons.

We also stopped by another cocktail bar by my flat that I had been trying to get Michael to go to for ages, but he wouldn't because he thought all the guys standing outside of the bar smoking were tools, but I proved him wrong because he ended up liking it! The inside of the bar 86 is really nice and it's never over packed so it's perfect to be able to relax and actually hear people. We even made friends with the bartenders and got a lot of awesome drinks like Peach Blow Fizz (gin, strawberries, cream, lemon, egg whites, lemon, sugar, soda) and Southside Royale (gin, cucumber, lime, mint, sugar, champagne). At £10 a drink in this city, we can't have these nights too often!

Six Months In London!!

It's crazy for me to think that I have been living in the UK for six months. I feel like I barely know it. I thought for this occasion I would reflect on my journey thus far...

It all started with years of wanting to move to London. It was a far-off fantasy. When the time and privilege came for me to make the move, it was harder and scarier than expected, and it felt less certain in reality than in my dreams.

First, I had to say goodbye to the comfort of seeing the best friends a girl could ask for on a regular basis.....

it's not the same without having you girls around all the time!

Then I had to say goodbye to family that I also saw on a regular basis...

Basically I was saying goodbye to everything that I knew. The people I was closest to would not be easily accessible. I was voluntarily removing myself from things that I had blindly taken for granted. That was when I really started to panic. Doubts were definitely filling up my mind.

Arrive in London 10/10/10 to a lonely place I chose to make home. No phone, no address, no familiarity, and no idea what was ahead of me....this did not feel like home.

(Picture from my first night in London.)

Then slowly things started to fall into place.

I found my flat in Chelsea. Having an address and a home had a great impact on my comfort here.

I went through my first snow storm and was stranded in London for a week, missing Christmas with my family. It was definitely a character building experience.

But, Jessica and Joe were also here, and we made the most of Christmas Eve.

On top of that, I made many beloved friends who welcomed me with open arms. It was so much more than I could ask for.

I also met a wonderful guy who makes every day here even more enjoyable.

Overall, it's been quite a journey....I can't wait to see what is next over the next six months. I'm looking forward to my upcoming trip to Croatia and Austria, my mom's visit, and all of my friends' upcoming visits!

As I have mentioned before, the weather in London has been incredible in the spring. I had a free weekend, so I was able to enjoy a day at the park with dear friends. We journeyed to Hampstead Heath which is in northwest London, the suburbs of the rich and famous.

Lots of greenery and winding roads!

Absolutely gorgeous weather in London means everyone is at the parks, stripping down to get some sunlight. There is no tanning at the pool...you just layout it in the grass!

We also brought a ridiculous amount of picnic food. The only people who ended up eating it were the Americans, typical!
I ended the night with a little celebration of my six months here as well as my accomplishment of getting through this busy season!

Cheers!

Stay tuned....

Yep. This is all I got again. I've spent a lot of time by Tower Bridge lately due to work, and I took this picture last night when I went out for a dinner break. I thought it was a nice sunset!

I promise I'll start posting more fun pics very very soon!!!

Today I had a nice London day out- the boy took me to see a musical called Shoes. It was pretty clever, and we saw it on the second to last day it was out in theatres! We did have a boozy lunch beforehand, so after the show we got coffee and sat out by the river.

Now that the weather is getting nicer, we have a whole list of English things to do for the summer, so be prepared for some exciting blog posts! My expat group also has several fun things planned for the summer including a trip to the Lake District. I also have something special planned for my 6 month anniversary of living in England :) So readers, stay tuned for some hardcore blog posts!!