There is something magic about the new place. Despite the fact that it needs some repairs, it feels like home. I am guessing that part of it has something to do with having a lovely landlord that has encouraged us to get comfy.

Maybe it helps to have a little paint on a formerly wonky wall.

And maybe it has something to do with these lovely dishes filling the cabinets.

Just look at this sweet thing…

There’s a drawer for baking stuff. I can’t ask for much more.

Except maybe another drawer for baking stuff.

I’m kidding. It’s not all for baking.

www.drewandjengotolondon.com

Drew and Jen woke me up at the crack of dawn on Sunday; the new place (where I have my own bedroom) is nice, but I was not excited about moving at that unheard of hour. Our friend Ade helped us – and by “helped us” I mean that he masterminded the work, wouldn’t let me lift a thing, drove our well loved stuff from one place to the other, and kept us entertained with stories about his kids. He is so cute. And spoken for. But I do think he was flirting with me; he called me doll.

As a celebration, and because we don’t need an excuse to enjoy lunch with good-looking people, we had lunch with Ade and Mel at The Red Lion when the move was complete. The nut roast will make you fall right out of your chair and the strawberry mess might be made of heaven. I ain’t kiddin’. BTW, it turns out that Mel is pretty dang stunning, so Ade may not be asking me out. More power to them, really. Besides, I think I have got a thing for this guy that Sarah introduced me to.

I think Aleksandr is more my type. Just look at him. He is so well spoken and very polite. He has a hot tub. But I don’t spill all the details of my dates. For that, you might want to rely on Nicole.

Photos don’t always display correctly on facebook – you may want to visit the website.

…which brings me to the next item for bid. For those of you keeping up blogs, or starting them, I thank you. It means a lot to “hear your voice”. Don’t leave me hanging too long. And I will try to return the favor. Starting now.

Last weekend Drew was in Barcelona on business. I am sure it was great and all that, but I went to Auntie Sarah’s. She’s a colleague of mine who reminds me a little of my own Auntie Jean and little of my sister – but she is actually “Auntie Sarah” to three gorgeous children who actually call her that. It’s so stinkin’ cool that I couldn’t resist trying it out myself. It stuck.

Sarah is married to (athletics coach, business man, and cocktail specialist) Jeremy. Jeremy WILL NOT be taking Drew to Las Vegas, despite their brief success at the Roulette table on the night of the company Christmas party.

Anywho, Sarah took me took to Windsor for cream tea!

We walked almost right up to the castle.

We waved.

And took a right across from the entrance. Sarah did some research and found this beautiful restaurant which specialises in cream tea.

Although the meaning of “cream tea” is still not solid in my brain, I think it means this:

It seems to be a paring of tea and scones – in which the scones are lathered with clotted cream and topped with jam (weirdos do it the other way ’round).

If there ever was a reason to take in organic, farm fresh milk, from a cow whose name you know, this is it. Please come and have one. Auntie Sarah might just agree to join us.

Though the queen was unable to accept our invitation due a to a last minute engagement, we still had a spiffing good time. And then we cleaned up for a party…

Sarah and Jeremy know some very nice people. I was really glad to meet them, although I may have accidentally introduced them to an American word they would rather not have known, all in the last ten minutes I was there. I almost made it through the entire night without looking silly. Oops.

Just when you thought that was the end, there’s more. Sarah’s sweet parents left her in charge of the bits and bobs which didn’t make the cut during their last move. She thought I might be interested in having a poke around since I’ll be having a kitchen to stock very soon. I had no idea how many precious things might be boxed up in her garage.

Look at these sweet egg cups!

Aren’t they darling?!

Though they will probably be used as pinch bowls for coarse salt and such, you are certainly welcome to have a soft boiled egg in one when you stay with us. You’ll not guess what else I will be using soon… Stay tuned – I can’t wait to show you what else is coming to live in our pantry! That reminds me; I have Thank You cards to write. And when you see more photos, you might want to write one, too.

Oh yeah, Gina had a really good time as well. But that’s another story.

Facebook doesn’t always display all the photos, so feel free to pop by the website.

my heart is far away.

You can keep it for a while.

Recently we had the pleasure of Canadian company again. There was Jenga.

And all was well in the world for several good long moments.

The table was cleared for the tower.

And then the moments grew heavy as the pieces began to shift.

That piece had it out for me.

There may have nail biting and bets being taken at other tables.

Can you say you blame them?

You know what’s coming. It’s always pretty much the same.

The saving grace? Our lovely, sweet neighbor Maria brought us cupcakes.

Maybe these two things don’t have anything to do with each other. Maybe I just wanted to tell you about Maria’s cupcakes because I am going to miss her something fierce when we move to our new flat. Maybe Jenga inspired me to ask myself some really deep questions about the path of my life. Or that could have been the beer.

Either way, Jenga, hello? Anyone?

Drew and Jen are officially still in London.

I haven’t been able to keep up. With anything. I am in way over my head. This is in no way a sign that 2010 is trying to kill me, mind you. There is a chance, however, that I will need a real vacation this year – a vacation that involves trash novels and sunshine.

It’s been so long since we’ve had one of our little heart-to-hearts that I don’t know where to begin… 2009 was a hot mess, Christmas in the states was stressful and busy, January began the flat viewing frenzy, Kraft declared a hostile takeover of Cadbury, and I got a non-promotion. Oh! That’s where the latest adventure begins…

My title hasn’t changed and I wasn’t given a raise, but I have graduated from clinical administration to something more like an in-house clinical research associate role. My outstanding contribution to the company has been recognized with these extraordinary gifts.

Cool little things from Japan really do make a girl feel special. Even if it had nothing to do with my new responsibilities. (Thank goodness my colleague translated the packaging on the Hand Warmers; otherwise I would have wasted them trying to figure out what they were!)

The long and short of the story is that I have been struggling to carry on my old responsibilities and take on new ones until I could pass on the tasks that won’t be mine anymore. At the same time, we’ve been arranging to move and playing Jenga. Now you know.

I am exhausted. But there are far fewer crumbs in the toaster tonight and flowers on the table. My landlord should be pleased.

Pop on over to the website to catch the word of the day.

How about a poem? Yes, I thought you would like that. [Ahem]
Alarm clock. Tears. A plea for five more minutes of snuggling. Feet on floor, shivers, shuffle. Tea. Ahhh…

There are two things I like to enjoy in my morning “me” time; it’s a real joy to get a cracking good laugh and a dose of centering. Two ladies consistently deliver on these things.

The Pioneer Woman really makes me want to be myself. She might be telling me all about herself and what she’s doing, but I feel quite inspired to wiggle around in my shoes when I read her blog. I think she’d want it that way.

But, Jen… Jen makes me fall out of my chair with laughter some days with her Cake Wrecks blog. Most days I am in dire need of a giggle fit; most days it’s that funny.   I do search for badly done cakes to submit, but it’s harder to do in London than it was in the states.  (There’s very different attitude about desserts in this strange city.)

I know you are ready for me to get to the point.  Sorry.  ”I’m on the internet!!”

[You may not get that little inside joke, but it was worth it for the few of you that might.]

Well, Drew and I have a bakery in our neighborhood that is pretty near legendary in these parts.  They are renowned for their pastries, cakes, and lovely lunches.  Unfortunately, I just didn’t think the cake in the window did any credit to the bakery at all.  So I snapped a photo and sent it on over to Jen.

I have officially made it!  My name (and photo) appeared on Cake Wrecks!  I know you are going to start asking for autographs soon, but please remember I’d rather have you come visit.

Seriously, everything’s better on the website.

It’s ladies+random conversation+anything they want to do. Maybe I had a glass of wine and maybe I didn’t. Maybe I had some of that organic hummus Jen will not quit raving about at The Duke of Cambridge. Maybe I had Apple Crumble for dinner with or without another glass of wine. Or maybe I had a coke and called it a glass of wine. You don’t know.

Ok, well, there IS overwhelming evidence that I had the Apple Crumble. But you don’t know that it was dinner.

That’s how Ladies’ Night works. I do what I want and I don’t feel the least bit guilty about it; I don’t have to explain myself. We aren’t hurting anyone-we are just solving the troubles of the world over a bit of Apple Crumble and cider. They should hire us to be President of the World. Or not.

Ok, well, it was Ladies’ Night because Drew worked too late to join us. On a Friday night… He ain’t playin’ about this new gig. That’s alright. I might end up in Barcelona for a weekend because I fit in a suitcase. Yeah, I said it. Jen knows. My skirt might be short, but we got an understanding – he’s not my type. I go more for the poly/cotton blend.

The website post is somehow better than the facebook version. I can’t explain it.