No Ticking Clock

Home safe and sound

2008-08-11T11:33:00.005-05:00

I arrived back home safe and sound, but incredibly tired. I cannot even begin to describe just how jet-lagged I am. After working London hours, but staying up until midnight for US coverage it is going to be a long week, especially since I am back in the office right away.

I guess the best way to close out my journey, is too share a few tips/observations.

- The weather is completely unpredictable. When I arrived it was 80F and sunny, during that time, it dropped down to 60 and back up to 70 with spots of rain. People may laugh about how much I pack but I learned the hard way last summer to always be prepared.

- It's just damp and the water is hard = wrecks havoc on your hair. The water is brutal on hair and skin, it's good to have a lot of products with you to be prepared for anything. Each time in London, I just assume my hair will look mostly like crap. I think this explains why so many girls in London wear their hair up on clips.

- The public transport system is excellent and much more efficient than taking taxis. However, I do advise against taking the tube during rush hour. It is not air conditioned and ventilation is pretty bad. Being short runs you the risk of being at the armpit of someone who believes personal hygiene isn't important. This is where my scented sandalwood fan came in handy. They are also doing a significant amount of work on the stations so always check for closures. It's good to buy an Oyster card if you are going to be there for awhile.

- Having a map is important - even Londoners have/use them. The streets aren't on a grid system like NY or Chicago, and sometimes they change name for no clear reason and not all streets are labeled. Although in London proper, it's pretty easy to find the street - it's posted on the side of the building, not on a pole. Once you get the hang of it, it is really easy to find your way around, and it's not a bad city to get a little lost in because there are tons of charming shops and pubs in the most unassuming spots. (Just don't get lost in the bad neighborhoods).

- Black cabs. In order to drive a cab, the driver has to pass a test proving they know the streets of London. I'd often get in not knowing the exact address, or just starting with the name of the place and they'd get be there and know exactly what I am talking about. You typically tell them where you are going before you get in the cab and pay after you get out. They lock the doors while you are in the taxi and control when the doors are unlocked. I have never encountered an unfriendly driver either. It's not typical to tip, but I think it's a good idea and they always appreciate it and say thanks. Try getting that in the US.

- Oxford Street is incredibly annoying, particularly on the weekends. When in London, you have to go to TopShop, their flagship store is right at Oxford Circus. Other than that, stay far away.

- I am sorry to my English friends, but the fashion sense of girls in London - the streets of London mostly - is absolutely terrible. I like leggings and belts but it's done to a ridiculous excess here. Even W noticed this. And sheer tights/leggings with shorts and ballerina flats...never a good look. The men on the other hand, dress beautifully. The woman from my office/sig other of co-workers don't fit into this category, and my English friends agreed with my observation on this phenonmenon.

- Go to the markets or museums early or you will be in the middle of crowds and not appreciate what you are seeing. Some of the museums are open late during the week.

- Pedestrians don't seem to have any rights. It's important to look down and know which way you are supposed to look for traffic (the streets say "look left" or "look right") and cabs/cars have no concern in honking at you.

- Definitely go to a pub, but find one that is off the beaten path or gets a good reference on-line. Like a bar in the US, there are good ones and bad ones, but the good ones are wonderful and worth a visit. They have some GREAT food and visiting one with historical significance is the way to go. People go to pubs and stand around outside on the sidewalk drinking. After work, you see tons of people gathering outside until about 10 or sometimes 11. I think as long as you are in direct vicinity of the pub, you can stand outside with a drink. And get a meat pie or fish in chips - when in Rome....BTW - you can buy fish and chips for takeway - it's not wrapped in newspaper anymore because it was found that the ink from the newsprint could be poisonous.

- There aren't very many "lounges". It's either a restaurant with a bar, a club or a pub. Many of the clubs have memberships which don't necessarily mean too much other than VIP priority in line and cover charges in general are pretty steep. There are a ton of "private clubs" and I think the fee is anywhere from 2500 - 10ooo BP, depending on the stature. And the doorman at the clubs have a ton of power on whether or not you will get in - sort of like the US I suppose. They'd do well with more lounges IMO.

- I mentioned this before, but it's worth mentioning again. July/August is packed with visitors from the Middle East because they are escaping the heat. So you will see tons of expensive cars, etc. At Harrods, the majority are from the Middle East - all the mannequins have dark hair/dark eyes which is obviously meant to appeal to their core shopping audience.

- When you go to dinner, they will inform you that they will need the table back in 2 hours. This happens everywhere you go. And the service in restaurants/bars is not terribly attentive. They don't make a lot of money, grat is included in the bill at 12% and apparently the government is thinking about taking the practice of tipping away altogether. And you cannot go to London without dining in one of the many Indian restaurants - the best I have ever had an many say it's better than what you'd get in India.

- A great way to see the sites is to take a taxi on the Thames, or buy yourself a day pass and you can stop on an off a few ports. I took a water taxi last year from Greenwhich to Waterloo at night and it was beautiful - the Tower Bridge is probably one of my favorite sites. You can also do the Tate to Take water taxi (Tate Modern to Tate Britain).

- London can be pretty dead on Sundays - I guess there is a law in place about markets, etc., remaining closed on Sunday to encourage people to stay home with their families. This can be annoying if you need a sundry item.

- Edward II ruled in the early 1300s. His lover, Piers Gaveston and he were murdered allegedly in captivity by having a sword or a poker inserted where the sun didn't shine as a statement against Edward's choice of partner. Oxford University has a group called the "Piers Gaveston Society" comprised of members who engage in "debaucherous sexual acts" and is an invitation only club. It was described to me as similar to the scene from Eyes Wide Shut. Interesting.

- Tarty girls are called "Slappers", this has now become my favorite word. If you see a girl in a ho dress smoking, then she is definitely a slapper.

- There is a ton of construction going on in London, it's kind of a bummer because the cranes ruin the view when looking at Parliament and Big Ben. By the way, Big Ben is not the name of the tower or clock, but actually the bell. The tower is technically called St. Stephen's tower.

- While the architecture, museums, shows, etc., are certainly a draw, you cannot go to London without going to one of the many parks. They do a great job keeping the landscape up, hardly any garbage and very vew homeless people.

London is a wonderful place to visit once you get past how bad our dollar is (just plan on paying twice as much for everything). I am lucky to have made so many friends there and cannot wait to return very soon.

My Blair Witch Basement

2008-08-10T04:34:00.007-05:00

Some of you may recall an earlier about the murder that occured in my building . The body was found in the basement back in March. Here's proof that not only is it creepy, but it reminds me of the last scene in postthe Blair Witch Project.

Kind of a icky day but ended well

2008-08-10T03:49:00.009-05:00

For my last day in London, I wanted to accomplish a few things - 1) Portobello Market 2) British museum and 3) a walk through Hyde Park. Whenever I am here, I try and do at least one tourist thing and not repeat myself. Obviously it's hard because I work during the day so my weekends are really the only time I get to wander around and explore.

Unfortunately, it was a terrible weather day - reminded me of last year actually while I was here for the wettest summer month in history. The day started out unassuming, a little overcast but that's just how it gets in London. To get my day started, I headed over to Terre D'Oc, which has all these candles, incense, etc., that are made in Provence, France - you can't find their stuff in the US and they have the best products I have encountered (I hate cheap candles and incense, it's like burning glade candles or spraying febreeze. ) Lucky for me they were having a sale so the weak dollar didn't totally kill me.

I headed over to the tube for Portobello market, once I arrived, it started to mist. It's always best to go to the markets early to avoid the crowds, however, by the time I got there, it was 12 noon so it was packed. I wasn't too worried about it as I wasn't planning on spending a lot of time there, knew exactly what I wanted so would be done in an hour. My visit focus was a gift for W, pashmina shawls and maybe something from one of the Moroccan dealers. I scored on all three - got the greatest Moroccan slippers - I will have to take a picture of them. Then the downpour happened - and it was cold, just absolutely miserable - it's not easy to navigate through a crowd in the rain with umbrellas. I got the hell out of there and headed over to the British Museum. Not the best idea either.

Many of you know how much I hate people - and this was probably the worst two things one can do on a Saturday - it's just mobbed with tourists. In fact, I think the entire country of Japan was there with their cameras, it was hard to get around so I just focused on the things I wanted to see. Unfortunately, some wings were closed and with it being so crowded, I didn't make it to everything. I had already seen the Rosetta Stone and most of their Egyptian collection before, so I was able to skip that this time. My favorite was the Asian and Roman collections. This statue below made me laugh because it reminded me of Chloe and Ella when they beg for food like little goats.

And this lady had dark brown hair but was using a fake blonde hairpiece in her hair. I couldn't stop staring.

I walked home from the museum up Oxford Street - which is a mess in itself, but I had to return the hideous bathing suit I bought at the Gap for our trip to Bath. By the time I got home, I think I clocked in a few miles, was soaked through and through and just felt icky. The tube was disgusting - what made me really get grossed out were these people sitting on the stairs in the tube. Those of you in Chicago/NY - just imagine sitting on the stairs in the subway after rain and hundreds of people dragged mud through.

Obviously, not the best day to go through the park, not such a big deal but I was hoping to spend more time there - next time!

I was supposed to grab dinner with my friend M but I couldn't get in touch with her. I decided to head over to the Villandry on my own and have dinner in the bar. The Villandry is just a few steps away from my flat and is one of my favorite places ever. It's sort of hard to describe - it's incredibly charming and loftlike - a gourmet foodshop/restaurant. On one side you can grab fresh baked breads and pastries, yogurts, juice, crackers, wine, candies, etc. In the middle is a section of long tables that can be communal where you can sit and enjoy a sandwich or cheese and some coffee. In the back is a upscale restaurant with large windows along the street. On the other side is a smaller restaurant - more casual with a bar. That's where I decided to go for dinner - it's nice and dark, with candles, incredibly comfortable. To my pleasant surprise, there was a jazz trio playing that night with a female singer. It was the perfect end to my day - I had a glass of wine, a great burger and sat and enjoyed the music. If they had a fire going in the fireplace I think I would have stayed there all night long. http://www.villandry.com/index.htm

Finally, the Kensington Roof Gardens

2008-08-08T19:35:00.008-05:00

On Friday, I focused on getting myself organized to go home. I packed in the morning and went into the office to gather up all my crap and get it home. D and I went over to Harrods in the afternoon and I purchased a special gift for the girls ... the igloo dog bed. A bit extravagant but a great reminder of London. We then shipped all of my work stuff which was a pain in the ass and incredibly expensive - but they had no boxes in the office so I had to do it all myself.

We go ready for dinner at Babylon which is just above the Kensington Roof Gardens. My other friend M, joined us and we had a great meal. It's a really cool space - the interior is fairly minimal but it's set long against an outdoor terrace - you can see all the way to the Thames, etc. After dinner, D and I went downstairs to the gardens for an after dinner drink. The Roof Gardens were the place we tried to get into last weekend but couldn't get in because of the line. After arriving, I can see why. They have multiple areas throughout the terrace and it's covered with flowers, plants, etc. In fact, there is an area with a small pond that houses flamingos - unfortunately, they weren't out that night. We sat at a little table near the champagne bar and just people watched - it was fantastic. Lots of good slapper sitings - and a lot of drunk 25-year olds. We were definitely the old people there.

Going there was a highlight for both of us - I could do without the crowd, but we got there early enough to grab a seat and left as it was getting obnoxious. If you can believe - we got hungry again and grabbed a burger from their outdoor grille. That is absolutely brilliant and I think more places should have that sort of thing. Really beats the crappy bar food you end up snarfing at 1 am. We had a late night, but a great time. We were very lucky that it was a such a great night.

Yummy Amaya and a garden party

2008-08-07T16:48:00.006-05:00

On Wednesday, D and I had dinner at Amaya with my friend M at Amaya. Amaya is truly an amazing dining experience. It is really unfortunate that there are no high end Indian restaurants like this in the US, I'd move in permanently. The concept of Amaya is that it's a grill and the food is meant to be shared. This is not your curry place - the three different grills they use are a tandoori, over coals and on a tawa - a large iron griddle. The kitchen is open so you can watch them prepare everything - it's pretty cool to watch. We started with this gigantic Madagascar prawn (they loved it) and then had the goat cheese stuffed mini peppers along with some naan and sides. The naan is the best here - it's perfectly cooked, nice and thin but fluffy in a few spots. I hate naan that is really thick and chewy, it's too filling. The condiments they give you for the naan and dishes are a plum sauce, crushed dry peanuts, crushed dried coriander and tomato. Next we had the quail - now the only meat I eat is red meat - from a cow - chicken, turkey, etc., are revolting to me - but last time I was at Amaya, one of my dining companions had the quail and I tried a bite of it and liked it - so I ordered it for our table. Don't like bird, don't like quail - but this is melt in your mouth, pass out good. I think they way they prepared it was in the tandoori oven - the secret has to be the marinade which was apricot, vanilla...and that's all I could figure out. We then had these finely diced sweet potatoes served with a tangy yogurt and tamarind sauce whisked over the top. Our final dish was an asparagus biryani with some dal..probably the only thing on the menu that you'd find in a typical Indian restaurant. So by the end of the meal, we rolled home.

On Thursday, one of my co-workers had a garden party at his home. All of the people in the London office are just fantastic - I am very lucky to have such a nice bunch to work with but also socialize with at night/weekends, etc. This includes the spouses/significant others. Usually, the last thing one wants to do is go to an after work function, but I had been looking forward to this since I arrived, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. When I think garden party, I think deck of some sort and of course I wore high heels. This was actually in a garden, in the grass so I had keep moving or my heels would sink into the grass. Apparently, this is sort of good for the grass as I was aerating it.

Being the city girl that I am, I was mesmerized by the bumble bees doing their part for the environment having a good time with some lavender. I have never seen this live before and I know that right now, my mom is up in heaven laughing her ass off at what a complete dork I am. (Mom grew up on a farm and liked to tease me at my lack of experience with nature)

Thank goodness for YouTube, you can see this for yourself.

Disturbing commercials

2008-08-05T17:49:00.002-05:00

The last couple of nights for D and I were pretty uneventful - dinner at The Villandry on Monday, dinner at home on Tuesday followed by a drink at the Browns Hotel on Tuesday. But what really is fantastic is the commericals here in the UK. Seriously very dirty...yet fun. Our favorite so far.

Bathtubs and the pigs

2008-08-04T17:14:00.008-05:00

After Stonehenge, D, M and I arrived in Bath after a journey through picturesque small towns. It actually reminded me a little bit about when I was with G and J in California driving from San Francisco to Sonoma. Very hilly and lush. We arrived to our hotel, nothing to write home about but a decent, clean place to stay for the night. I will save you the history lesson on Bath, but the city is around the Avon and a majority of the buildings are constructed of limestone. The architecture is amazing - the color of limestone resembles the color of butter to a pale grey or ivory. Against the green hills, trees and landscape, it gives off this old world feel.

We just walked around town and visited the Roman Baths. You can take the route of the official tour with a guide but we opted to walk around on our own. You obviously can't partake in the baths on premises but there is a spa around the corner that is somewhat molded on the original baths. We tried to figure out what people from Bath are called, in our slaphappy state, we stuck to "Bathtubs' although we learned from the woman in the German shop they are called "Bathites". I prefer Bathtubs.

Around town, there is an exhibit called "King Bladud's Pigs". Those of you in Chicago may recall the cows that were smattered around town a few years ago - it's sort of a similar concept. Different artists painted pigs and you'd find them in museums, on the street, in restaurants, etc. The legend is that Bath was founded back in 860 BC, when Prince Bladud, the father of King Lear, was abroad and caught leprosy. He was fearful of going back to court and not able to become king, so he went west and became a sort of pig farmer. The pigs also caught leprosy and began wallowing around in this hot mud and became cured. Bladud did the same, was cured of leprosy and later returned to court and became king. It was in this area where he founded the town of Bath. I personally think the pigs are a lot cuter than the cows. Here is the website if you'd like to learn more about them or see pictures. My favorite was the "Pig in Prada" which to me, looked like a hooker/S&M pig, apparently, I am a sick person to have such thoughts over a wholesome project. http://www.kingbladudspigs.org/pigs/index.php

We also visited the Fashion Museum - it reminded me a little bit of the V&A and their fashion section. Their exhibit was on the designer for many of the films Marilyn Monroe was in - Travilla. While some of the dresses weren't the exact dresses worn by Marilyn Monroe (some were second versions, etc.), we saw the ones that were in her films - the pink dress from Gentleman Prefer Blondes, the gold dress she wore in one of her famous pictorials and the white dress from Some Like It Hot.

Other than that, we didn't do a whole lot other than wander and explore the town. They have a lot of cute shops, most of it overpriced of course, since their biggest $$maker is via tourism. However, we did go into this shop called Hansel and Gretal, which is a Bavarian shop - they have items from Germany, Austria, etc. We all ended up buying something - the shop owner mixes her own essential oils and I could almost pretend to be Maria in The Sound of Music spinning around the hillside. I also purchased some almond honey which is absolutely delicious. Speaking of The Sound of Music, in London there is a sing-a-long show not far from my flat, and I am seriously tempted to go.

Before heading home, we stopped off at Lucknam Park for afternoon tea. Lucknam Park is an estate home that is now a hotel with about 40 rooms. There are multiple gardens, croquet, equestrian riding, etc. It was very much like walking into a Jane Austen book. M knew one of the sous chefs so we were able to tour some of the suites and walk amongst the gardens and learn more about the history of the place. This was truly a highlight for us on the trip.

And I have to admit, ever sense seeing Stonehenge, I just cannot get Spinal Tap out of my head.

Is this the road to Bath?

2008-08-03T16:30:00.004-05:00

On Saturday, D, M and I headed out to the country to Bath and decided to stop and see Stonehenge along the way. It was such a glorious day - sunny, 70 and perfect. We had such a great time laughing and telling stories - driving vs. taking the train made such a difference. When you drive to Stonehenge, you go through some pastoral country, etc., and then you can see it from the highway - sort of odd given it's historical significance. Once we arrived, we walked the circle to see it from various angles. I will save the description of what Stonehenge is, etc., but we were so lucky in that it wasn't too crowded and the day was bright and sunny. You cannot get up close to the stones, around it is a small fence so you can't get close - it would be easy to jump the fence and walk up to it but any respectful, smart person wouldn't do so...of course that didn't stop some people and a couple of children were lounging about on the grass - no security, etc., but you'd think the parent's of these brats would be responsible. I am so glad we saw it, it's really amazing but after 30 minutes, one is ready to go.

We then headed onto Bath but realized that the directions we had didn't match the roads we were on. We knew enough to head west, but the roads in England aren't marked very well. So we were driving through a bunch of small towns and every so often we'd have to stop and ask along the way if we were headed in the correct direction..hence the title of my post "is this the road to Bath". I am glad the roads we ended up taking were through the small towns as we really got a sense of the countryside and saw a lot of charming towns, farms, etc. I was really interested in seeing sheep, luckily, D's nose was in fine working order and as we were driving down one of the roads, she announced "I smell sheep" and sure enough, there they were doing what sheep do. Nothing. More on our Bath trip later...

Stupid long queue

2008-08-02T17:46:00.004-05:00

D arrived on Friday afternoon and she and W tooled around the city for a little bit while waiting for me to get off work. I think her flight was late so they got to a late start but did make it over to Fortnum and Mason so W could buy some parting gifts for his family. That night, we headed out to E&O for dinner in Notting Hill with a couple of my London friends. We had a great dinner - dim sum, etc., and shared our dishes. It was absolutely delicious, however, the one thing about dining in London that is so annoying is that your table booking is only for a certain time - you have to give up your table after about 2 hours. While that seems like a long time for dinner, when you are with a group of friends you like to linger and have post dinner drinks and catch up. They had us go to the bar at 10 which didn't offer us a ton of time to finish up and head over to the Kensington Roof Gardens before 11. The KRG are located in Kensington, owned by Richard Branson and are above a restaurant called Babylon. Apparently, they are quite beautiful and popular and having secured us on the guest list, I figured it was easy enough to get in. Wrong. When we arrived at 10:30, there were a bunch of people waiting. Like any club in the US, all you need to do is approach the very authoritative, self-important person holding a clipboard and give your name, wait for a sneer and then go in. Not the case here. Apparently, being on the guest list means squat as there was a huge line of people all on the guest list. Being the old people we are, we said "fuck that" and left.

D, W and I proceeded home and had a bottle of champagne, some wine, some cheese and took a bunch of ridiculous photos. In the end, a much better choice then spending a bunch of money on drinks for the privilege of sitting outside I suppose. Hope to get to the KRF before I leave but won't lose any sleep if I miss it. Frankly, do I really want to go somewhere with a stupid long queue?

Sketch

2008-08-01T02:29:00.006-05:00

While I am working, W has toured around London on his own. I tought him how to ride the tube, he got himself and Oyster card and he's been fine to navigate around on his own. I think his favorite thing so far has been the Imperial War Rooms which I still haven't seen - and I came across a gallery that has a show featuring photographs of Johnny Cash which he also checked out. That will be on my list for sure.

In any case, last night we had drinks with my friends at Sketch and then had dinner. Sketch is really one of my favorite places - not for the food but for the decor - which is impossible to really describe eloquently. The first thing that hits me to describe it is Alice in Wonderland. In the room we were in, The Glade, the wallpapers has little fairies on it and then there are these lights that rotate around the room with what appear to be red laser dots. Of course the bathrooms are a must visit and this time, each pod had a different soundtrack element inside - one greeted me with a cheering crowd, one was laughing - no porn background this time around. The main dining room - the gallery - is kept pretty dark and along the top half of the room along the wall is a large screen that wraps around the restaurant projecting different images. During the day, it's a regular art gallery and then they switch to the restaurant at night. Their artist rotation is fairly frequent so you never know what you are going to see when you sit for dinner. I was facing the wall so that W could appreciate the full view of the restaurant so I didn't see much. The dinner was good - insanely expensive - they even charged us for bread and butter - that's not normal in the UK - and it was 4.50 BP - about 10USD. Oh, and I am pretty sure we sat next to a guy on a "date" with a professional. But here is my question - why buy her dinner?

Take a moment to look at their website, it has a lot of pictures and it's a good read. http://www.sketch.uk.com/

The Cod

2008-07-31T10:12:00.006-05:00

On Tuesday, W and I headed out the The Admiral Codrington in Chelsea (aka “The Cod) which was named after a Edward Codrington the captain of the HMS Orion at the Battle of Trafalgar – a very pivotal event in European History. When you enter, there is the original pub and then there is an outdoor area on the side with tables and then, towards the back of the bar, is a refurbished dining room. All along the center ceiling retractable glass contraption that opens when it’s nice out. I picked it because I drove past it on my way to dinner at Daphne’s last week and liked the looks of it and, when I looked into it, the food was reviewed well and looked pretty traditional so I thought W would like it.

It’s also popular with the “Sloane Rangers” which is a term applied to young, upper class men and woman living in West London. The word came about by combining Sloane Square – a very fashionable/wealthy area in London and then the Lone Ranger (how this was combined, I will never understand, but so be it). There was actually a book written in 1982 and Princess Diana was on the cover as an example of what a Sloane Ranger would be. Basically, the equivalent of a Yuppie/Preppy in the US. (Remember the Preppy Handbook?)

The pub had a mix of people, but I definitely saw some of the wealthier inhabitants of Chelsea in there along with a few regular types. W and I headed over there with a few friends of mine from work for some drinks and ate dinner in the restaurant. W went all the way with fois gras and fish and chips which he said were delicious. Mine was good too but entirely to rich. And there were some very young boys in there drinking a pint – I am talking 15 years old if they were a day. And they reminded me of the boys I went to Hinsdale Central with freshman year at the height of turned up collars and lavender.

Last night, W and I headed over to Harrods for a couple of reasons a) because they have a new Pet Emporium which is HUGE and b) to check out the historic food halls. They also sell pets – they had some very cute Papillon puppies, kittens and bunnies there and they were incredibly expensive – I am talking £1500. Their screening process for adoption is pretty elaborate – someone had inquired and was getting grilled about his background.

The department is much larger than the one I visited last year and I guess the reasoning behind expanding it is because of the “..huge demand for pet fashion.” You would see the requisite Puppia and Juicy stuff but they also had some Swarovski crystal collars that ran upwards £300.I walked away with a wind-up hamster in a ball to torture the girls along with a couple of leashes – wouldn’t really make much sense to buy them stuff I can get in the US for half the price. I liked the Harrods small igloo dog bed, and the price isn’t too far off the US. And they event have pet fitting rooms. I am the first person to admit that I spoil my dogs but fitting rooms are beyond my scope…along with dog prams.

Harrods itself can be a bit of a nightmare – it’s packed, not completely horrible but it’s not really worth shopping for clothes if you are from the US. However the multiple departments are really worth a look if you have the time. There just isn’t anything like it in the US. The toy department is really cute and you can find toys very unique to London without breaking the bank. The Diana/Dodi memorial bronze statue is pretty big and kind of sad – but the strangest thing there is the wax figure of Mohamed Al Fayed in the store. Seeing that put me off a visit to Madam Tussdaud’s – it’s just a little too “Twilight Zone” for me.

The Harrods food halls are absolutely amazing and a must see for anyone visiting London. They are huge, opulent and contain just about everything you could ever need. For example, one large hall has sections of prepared foods for takeaway that can be reheated at home – everything from chicken tikka to sandwiches to lamp kebabs. Huge selection of cheese, wines and then there is the meat/poulty/fish area – not only can you buy pigeon but you can also sit at the oyster bar and have a meal. We picked up some snacks to take over to Hyde Park and sat along the Serpentine and enjoyed a bottle of wine and some great people watching. There really is something to be said for some of the various cultures and the trends in fashion, just inexplicable.

Regents Park, Camden Market and Afternoon Tea

2008-07-28T15:22:00.005-05:00

On Sunday, W and I walked up through Regents Park with intention of going to the zoo. Wonderful sunny day, quite hot but a nice long walk. I just can't get over how beautiful the parks are here, they are kept impeccably and no garbage like you see in NY or Chicago. I wish we had something similar. Once we got to the zoo, it was 17quid which equates to about $35, as much as I love animals, it just didn't seem worth it.

Instead, we walked up to Camden and hit the market. Probably not something I need to do again but am very glad we went through it. Mostly clothes, some tourist crap but I did come across a small booth selling music and I bought a couple of CDs - one of which was a Chicago hometown DJ - Mark Farina and something else by Miguel Migs - Coast2Coast. It's from the nightclub Fabric here in London and they have their own music label. http://www.fabriclondon.com/label/home.php

We then headed over to The Mandarin Oriental for afternoon tea on their terrace - such a perfect day, right in this small garden along Hyde Park. My friend M came to join us and we sat outside for a few hours. I just love the clotted cream here - you just cannot replicate those cows in the US. I was able to get a snapshot of the terrace below.

The one thing about this time of year in London that is interesting, is the number of people here from the Middle East. Apparently, it's very common for them to holiday hear during July/August because it's so hot at home, so they come here to escape it. The gobs of beautiful cars, women decked out it the most amazing fabrics, bags, etc., is incredible. I was at Harvey Nichols and was definitely in the minority of these wealthy people...sigh.

Big Poppa

2008-07-27T14:25:00.005-05:00

W arrive Saturday morning safe and sound and we had breakfast at The Villandry and set out on our day along with N. We took the tube to my favorite market – Borough Market at London Bridge. Bought some gorgeous fruit and had my favorite falafel. The queue (can't say line here) for the falafel guy is always long but it moves fast and of course after your first bite it is totally worth it. We went to the Tate Modern and I was very happy to see one of my favorite video installations – Meat Joy – was there. I seriously don’t know why I like it so much – it’s quite disturbing but pretty funny. The context of it being created in 1964 and so…well, judge for yourself as I was happy to find it on YouTube.

I was a little disappointed some of the other pieces I enjoyed so much weren’t there as they rotate their collection pretty frequently. By the way, those of you in NY should go to MoMA and check out the current Dali and Film exhibit and Quarta-Feira de Cinzas/Epilogue – a video installation. Last year when I was at the Tate Modern I really loved seeing these and strongly recommend a visit.

However, a few that stuck out were Susan Hiller’s “Psi Girls” and Paul McCarthy’s “Projection Room”. The article below describes the “Psi Girls” piece better than I could ever hope to and the McCarthy piece….well, he is an interesting fella. It was a video installation on multiple screens – one image was him in a monkey mask, naked, jumping up and down, the other was him in a filthy tub – naked. But I have to tell you, it was pretty fascinating, I was glued to the screen for a bit, kind of grossed out but appreciated the creativity.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1248/is_12_89/ai_80747850

My other favorite piece was called “Inflammatory Essays: by Jenny Holzer. Basically, on one side of the wall in a gallery, there are all of these perfect squares in varying colors. Each square has a different essay, I believe there were about 8 different essays, but it was hard to stay and read all of them. I recommend checking it out and it's easy to read each of the essays from the Tate Modern’s website:

http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ArtistWorks?cgroupid=999999961&artistid=1307&page=1

"The essays present a range of provocative statements which were inspired by the texts of political theorists, religious fanatics and impassioned “folk” literature. Since childhood, Holzer has been interested in ‘rapturous writing’ and wanted to write ‘ecstasy, fantastic things’. Each essay has exactly 100 words in twenty lines and Holzer uses this rigid format to explore a range of extreme ideas. She questions the viewer’s response by setting fanatical statements against the certainties of common opinion. The Essays were fly posted across NYC. "

After N left, we wound down our day and went and had dinner at one of my favorite places, Rasa Sumudra. Indian food in London is so delicious and I wish I could clone Rasa and bring it to Chicago. We had a superb feast and then headed over to the Charlotte Hotel for a nightcap. I was very impressed that W was able to stay up until midnight.

Hallo Kitty

2008-07-26T03:05:00.006-05:00

Last night, my friend N drove in from Windsor to have dinner. N has been over here for the past few months on a work assignment and doesn't get into London very much. It was good to catch up with her and I look forward to her being back in Chicago soon. We walked over to Roka (yes, I walked a whole half mile in my big shoes and didn't trip once) which is over on Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia. It's a great little area, there are a bunch of restaurants and pubs, quite lively. I've been there before to the Charlotte Hotel and to Rasa Sumudra, so it wasa nice to try something else. Roka is a very cool place, very tough to get into but I was able to secure us a spot in the lounge - Shochu - which is beneath the restaurant. It's Japanese so we had the obligatory edamame, tempura, maki, etc., and we both tried their specialty, obviously, Shochu. N had one with rhubarb, sparkling water, lemon and shochu and I had one called the "Hallo Kitty" (spelling is correct btw) which is raspberry, lemon, rose petals and shochu. The 8-year old in me loved the bottle and they were kind enough to give it to me as a keepsake.

The girls are now staying with D and seem to be settling in well. I miss them so much but know they will be loved and taken care of. Of course they immediately got in bed, Ella jumped on the pillows so she was higher than the other dogs (little alpha) and Chloe and Idgy hung out on the end. I am certain D won't get much sleep with the constant wrestling of Idgy and Chloe.

Strange Days

2008-07-24T15:16:00.001-05:00

Well, today has been a very interesting day indeed. Since my last post, I’ve been lying low trying to manage my jet lag with working US and London hours. On Tuesday, I had dinner at Daphne’s with Tiggy and had a great time – no Pierce Brosnan sitings this time, unfortunately, but they gave us the best table in the restaurant and it was the perfect night. The weather here has been great, so much better than last year.

This morning, my front buzzer rang and it was a policeman. After I made him show is badge on the video monitor, I let him in. Surprisingly, he rang my doorbell. Of course having done nothing wrong, I immediately felt guilty – as if watching Weeds last night automatically made me a drug dealer or something So, I answered and he asked for a someone else. I explained that I was a new renter and that he should contact the lettings office.. Being curious, and a bit scared, I asked him what the reason why was. Apparently, there had been a crime in the building and they had collected DNA/fingerprints from all the tenants at the time. The person in my flat before me didn’t leave a clear fingerprint and they needed a different one. He added I had nothing to worry about and apologized for disturbing me.

Before I left, I had to take out the trash. Normally, you leave your garbage on the street. In this building, you have to bring your items down to the basement. When I went down to the basement, I was instantly creeped out and the trash bin area reminded me of the final scene in The Blair Witch Project. No way I was going down there again.

I then called my building to inquire about what had happened and was told that there had been a “serious crime” committed in the basement and that the police were still investigating the situation. The person in question had fled to Yemen so they were still working on the case and “don’t worry”.

At lunch today, I mentioned it to my friend, A, and he mentioned a recent case in my area involving a Danish socialite getting murder and the suspect was from Yemen. After a quick Google search, I learned that indeed that a Norwegian woman had been murdered and found in the basement of my building under a pile of rocks. The main suspect was a man living here from Yemen, he fled the UK the day after the murder and, because his father is a very wealthy man and the UK has no extradition arrangement with Yemen, they can’t interview him, file official charges etc.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article3570999.ece

Later this evening, I was with a friend for drinks and I received a call from my dad. As many of you know, I am not very close to my dad nor do I see him very often – but he is still my dad and I love him. My father was calling to tell me that he had been going through chemo for the past two months for esophageal cancer… but that it was all gone now. Why he didn’t call to tell me is a mystery, but he referenced what I had gone through with my mom and didn’t want to bother me. Frankly, I am still in shock and don’t know what to think…but he’s such a strange man, I can’t say that it totally surprises me that he wouldn’t mention it. At least it is gone and his health is good.

London Arrival!

2008-07-21T14:50:00.003-05:00

So I have landed safe and sound in London and had a pretty good flight. Somehow, I managed to sleep most of it but still woke up groggy. My flat is good, not as charming as the one I had last year but it’s in Marylebone and a few steps away from a tube stop, has a gym in the building and plenty of space. The only downside is that it is a little quiet around here. I didn’t have any hot water and the bedsheets were horrendous but that’s all been taken care of.

My first course of action for the day was to get my place stocked with the necessities such as soap, food, wine, etc., so I headed out to take care of everything. I just love the Whole Foods here, if I was interested in actually cooking meals from scratch the various ethnic ingredients they carry here are amazing. I ended up running into someone I knew believe it or not so that was nice.

My day would not have been complete without a visit to my favorite place – La Fromagerie. The thing I love about it is that it’s all locals – perhaps a smattering of visiting Europeans but it is way off the the tourist radar. So imagine my surprise when I was seated next to two American woman who looked straight out of Walmart in Nebraska. Since it’s communal seating, I couldn’t help but overhear their conversation – the cadence of their voices and the things they talked about reminded me of something – and then it hit me, they sounded JUST like Anna Gaysteyer and Molly Shannon’s skit with Alec Baldwin “Schwetty Balls”. If you haven’t seen it before, you definitely should watch it because it is hilarious.

Mother and child reunion July 31, 2007

2007-07-31T19:17:00.000-05:00

so this morning, i left my little flat in london to head home. it was a bittersweet departure as i really loved my little place and my neighborhood, and of course the damn weather is finally improving in london. the flight was great - virgin has this wonderful offer for upper class passengers - you get a complimentary car service to and from the airport - on the way to the airport, you literally drive up to the terminal and they take your bags from the car and check you in right then and there. then you fast track through security and the virgin clubhouse is huge and very nice. the flight wasn't sold out so it was quiet and i got some sleep in, and watched blades of glory, such a funny movie. when i came home, there was mass hysteria in the backyard and i was attacked by both girls and they couldn't stop kissing me and jumping on my lap. i cannot tell you how happy i was to see their little faces. we then had a nice family bonding moment on the bed and caught up on entourage - i had a puppy on either side of me. ella kept rolling over onto her back when i would pass by her so i could rub her belly - the ultimate in puppy trust. i am incredibly tired, but glad to be home. i am going to have a think on my favorite parts of my trip and make a list tomorrow as i have no brain to do so tonight.

Last night in London July 20, 2007 part two

2007-07-30T16:13:00.000-05:00

for my last day in london, i spent most of the day packing and getting items shipped off. thankfully, the gentleman at the shipping place were really nice and helpful. tonight i had drinks finally at my local pub, the iron duke, with a couple of co-workers and really enjoyed it, i am disappointed that i hadn't gone there sooner as it was really charming and i loved the people in it - a good mix. afterwards, we went to mews on mayfair for dinner outside and had a great time talking and just hanging out. before dinner, i went and took some pics of "spread eagle" which is really the name of a pub near me. i know i have a twisted mind as when i discovered it i giggled and the people around me looked at me quite odd but i knew no one would believe me if i told them such a place existed. i think i amused the patrons when i took my photos this afternoon. i really had a good night tonight and while i will miss this amazing city, i look forward to heading home.

Countdown to puppy time! July 30th, part 1

2007-07-30T12:27:00.001-05:00

i'll be home very soon and cannot wait to see everyone - particularly to get some puppy snuggle time in...wayne has been a very good single parent and can use the break - i sent him very detailed instruction for bathing the girls and he did a good job.

Last day as a tourist and pierce brosnan is following me July 29th, 2007

2007-07-29T18:48:00.000-05:00

today was my last day touring around, i went to the dali universe exhibit at the gallery - i've hit three different exhibits that happened to feature dali, one of my favorite artists so i feel very lucky on this trip. i then went to tate britain and spent a couple of hours there and am glad that i made it as i didn't think i would have the time to visit. tonight, i had dinner with tiggy at daphne's which is known for it "posh" atmosphere and celebrity sitings. after about 30 minutes, i noticed that pierce brosnan and his wife were sitting by us - i just saw him at barbra streisand so i am convinced he is following me. (:-) ) he is quite handsome in person and i love the fact that his wife is a normal looking woman - she's beautiful but not a stick figure. afterwards, i met my friend tulin at claridges for a drink and a catch up. there was a crazy drunk man there that was entertaining for a bit but when he said he thought i was wearing a wig i decided it was time to move . we got seated at a table and noticed him bothering another person at the bar who also ending up escaping. our new friend ended up joining us (safety in numbers) and we had great discussion about the crazy man and travel in general...and he was quite generous and bought us our two glasses of wine. (i think he had a huge crush on my friend who is just beautiful and has an australian accent to top it all of) all in all, it was a great day to explore london and spend time with friends. my feet are KILLING me and i am definitely ready to come home, i love it here but i need to just sit still, lay in bed with the girls and watch a movie.

Portobello Market (again) and Blenheim Palace July 28th

2007-07-28T17:53:00.001-05:00

this afternoon, i headed back over to portobello market as i wanted to explore notting hill a little bit more. when i was there at the beginning of my trip, i came across a shop that had these beautiful handmade masks from italy - i instantly though of my mom and her love for mardi gras and since i have been thinking about them for the past month, i decided to go buy one as i know she'd love it. the one i fell in love with was gorgeous with feathers but a tad pricey so i skipped it, i am happy with the one i got. to describe the market is sort of hard - but as a comparison point from just a crowd perspective, imagine the old town art fair and how there are booths/stalls on both sides of the street and people either walk down the street or along the sidewalk in between the stalls and the stores....my point is, there are a lot of people. so i was trying to get around these really slow people when i noticed a few people around a door pointing - when i looked, i saw this little cat just hanging out the pet door checking out the scene. i have to say it was the funniest thing i have seen in awhile - he didn't make a move to get out in the street which surprised me - unfortunately, i didn't get a shot of him siting like this, just peeking his head out - but you get the picture. i then explored notting hill a bit more and am really glad i did so, it's such a great area, lots of shops and boutiques, i could have stayed forever but needed to get home as i had plans with marina for the evening. the family left early from london and they had tickets to go see the battle proms and concert at blenheim palace. it was pre-booked, so the tickets would have gone to waste and i figured that since we didn't make it out to the cotswolds, this would be a great experience. it is located about an hour or so outside of london, near oxford. it's a a beautiful palace - sir winston churchill was born there. it was a gift to the first duke of marlborough by queen anned because of a great military victory. the battle proms includes a concert (tchaikovsky's 1813 overture, beethoven's battle symphony, etc.) with military reenactments, live cannon fires and ends with fireworks. we didn't get there early enough to really explore the grounds, which was disappointing, but made it in time for the start of the music, canons and then fireworks. let me remind everyone that i know zilch about the country, particularly the english countryside. i assumed that a sundress, sweater, shawl and FLAT sandles would be fine and brought along leggings too (we were going to be in a hospitality suite, not in the grass in the rain) i forgot my umbrella which i didn't think would be a big dea, and then i realized we are IN THE COUNTRY, thick grass, mossy things, rocks...the whole shebang but i managed to get through the grass without incident. once you arrive, a bunch of people are sitting in chairs eating, etc., enjoying the event. imagine ravinia, and then drop the temp down to 60 and add the dampness, rain and mosquitoes, and it's not as quiet and civilized. so we get to our tent and it's set for 7 people, and that includes the food as it was all preordered a (i had hoped other people would make it, but it just ended up being marina and i.) we couldn't stop laughing at the scene and i particularly liked playing with the lobster. the food certainly didn't go to waste, we ate and took most of it home -(a lot of it was meat unfortunately). we felt like such divas- people kept walking by our tent and gawked at us because i am sure we looked ridiculous - there were only 3 other hospitality tent so we did stand out - but there is no way in hell we could have enjoyed ourselves on the lawn - i regret not grabbing a flag - during the orchestra, people waved their british flags and sang along... they set up 6 canons and set them off, couldn't really see them but the resulting light show was gorgeous and i am glad i got a good shot. the fireworks were alright, not great but it was funny to see them go off in front of the palace. i kept waiting for the star spangled banner to start playing and then i realized i wasn't in the us (duh) it was truly a british country experience. and next time, i will remember to bring wellies and dress more sensibly.

Dancing queen July 27, 2007

2007-07-28T06:09:00.000-05:00

last night, i had dinner with some former colleagues from my eloy days in notting hill. we had a great time catching up and just laughing - we went to a wine bar afterwards and had a bottle of champagne and wrapped up around 11. i then headed out to pangea to meet up with some other friends for a night of dancing. i think it's been years since i have danced this much - it's been a good time and i forgot how much i enjoyed doing it - and it's great exercise to boot. i am not a big club person anymore (ah, shelter at 20...) but i do love to dance and i must do more of it back home. we had a great time - about 10 of us were out - and danced until the place closed at 4 am. definitely tired today and a bit sore from wearing heels but feel refreshed if you can believe it. took tons of pictures - i love it when people act silly in pictures - you know i love to make the grouper face.... only 3 more days here and then i am home! wayne and i talk at least twice a day and ella and chloe about 10 times a day - they like to call a lot - so it's nice to stay connected. i do miss everyone a lot - i have been very blessed to have friends here who are making sure i am well taken care of but i do miss the nights sitting out on the deck back home....

Sleeping Beauty at the Royal Opera House July 25, 2007

2007-07-26T17:13:00.000-05:00

before you go thinking i got some great snaps...sorry, my camera decided to act like a bastard tonight so i had to get the pictures from the internet to share. in any case, tonight, i was treated to a night at the royal opera house to see a performance of the la scala company's sleeping beauty. wow. i had a 10th row center seat and, while there really isn't a bad seat in the house, i felt like i was on stage. watching the ballet was as if a painting of versailles came alive - the dancers were like tiny feathers and the men could leap feet into the air - as if they were flying. it was my second verklempt moment of the week. the dancer who portrayed aurora was so pretty - she looked like kate bush (shout out to the kb fans out there) and the crowd was so enthusiastic about each performance, lots of bravos and bravas throughout the evening. inbetween the sets, you can zip off to one of the "cafes" in the theatre - you can pre order food and have a table waiting for you with your name on it and your food all ready - i ordered some veggies and hummus and cheese - that's the best vegetarian you can get. in the us (and i am sorry to be so negative), you could never do that - you know someone who steal your table and eat your food. this was really the best london experience i have had - to be in such a historical building and witness something so beautiful up close was something i was blessed to be a part of. i really missed mom tonight, she would have enjoyed the performance as well, that's something i regret that we never did together as i got older - see a ballet. but i felt her with me the whole time, truly in my heart, loving every moment with me. and so i don't end the post tonight on a sad note, a wise man once said, you are as sexy as one person should be allowed to be- just remember that folks as you go about your day...and try to understand what the hell it means.

The Queen's house and big birds, July 25, 2007

2007-07-25T15:11:00.000-05:00

on sunday, we wandered around quite a bit - cut through st. james park to see buckingham palace and the onto see big ben, westminster abbey and the london eye. sunday was a beautiful day and we had some time to relax in the grass for a bit and listen to the orchestra play. the water fowl in st. james park is interesting - and darn those birds are BIG. our favorite was the black sway - he/she was so beautiful with it's red beak diving underneath the water to grab food. i think that is one of my favorite things - i love when ducks flip over with their rear ends and feet in the air while they look for food in the water...so cute. we didn't go into big ben, westminster, etc., as the crowds were a bit annoying and it was getting late (this is around the time we learned we had tickets for miss barbra). miss g had this thing about getting a photo in a london telephone booth and we never found the right time for a photo. on monday night, we decided the booth by my flat in front of the calvin klein store would be perfect. you can't see it in the picture, but most of the telephone booths have flyers in them for porn - either phone number for "chat" lines or for "escort" services. frankly, i would be scared to touch those phones given the advertisements inside. this evening, i had dinner at amaya again - i wish we had such a restaurant in chicago - i cannot even describe the indian food here...it's just amazing. i cannot believe i just have a week left - the time has flown by, for the past few days i have really been hurting for the girls, even though they are in great hands, i cannot help but feel terrible for leaving them as they must think i have left them for good. once i get back, they will each gain 20 pounds because they will get a lot of treats and spaghetti in honor of ella's 3rd birthday.

The lost weekend and Babs July 23rd

2007-07-23T18:52:00.001-05:00

so how do i begin to describe the weekend that miss g and i had...? on saturday, we got stuck in the rain again and wandered up marylebone high street and ended up in this store owned by a very friendly russian woman. any label you want can be sewn into the attire - you want chloe? no problem. and then she pulls out the fake bags - you come back monday, i have more bags, she says. pretty decent copies but still expensive - copies bug me, what's the point if you can't have the real thing? we had afternoon tea at the parlour at sketch while it rained a bit more - i am sure many of you have heard about the flooding taking place in england, it's been a nightmare. saturday night, we went out late to the artisan bar at the langham hotel and actually got charged for sitting there 7 bp each (?). i asked a group of distinguished gentleman to take our photo and we got to chatting with them. turns out they are in the band for barbra streisand who was in town that weekend. the one that we spoke with the most - neal - was very kind and said he'd get us tickets if he could. we left and went to meet up with some friends of mine in town at a club called the cuckoo nest. good lord we got cuckoo - dancing all night and met some characters. our favorite was jose who wore a t-shirt that said "i'd trade my girlfriend for a coke" with a blazer and wore a red headband. we ended up having a crazy bongo playing session in the wee hours of the morning. on sunday, we woke up and had a nice long leisurely lunch outside in marylebone and enjoyed the sunny day. we then walked through st. james park and over to big ben and westminster abbey. i will post those photos tomorrow as they turned out lovely. at 5 pm we got the call from our new friend that we had tickets for the concert!!!! so, a very expensive cab ride later, we arrived - i'd like to point out at this moment that gina made me wear my gold lame mini-dress in honor of babs and i wore my leopard coat, this will be a good visual for later - in any case, we had wonderful seats just off the stage. we sang, cried, danced and hooted...she was really wonderful and it was a very special moment. i couldn't help but think of my mom. ..and from time to time, different audience members would shout something out to her - our favorite was the woman with the thick scottish accent that said "sing it proud barbra" before she performed "papa can you hear me".... after the show, our musician friends (MF) had a hard time getting us backstage so we left as we were tired anyway. transport home was looking impossible - tubes lines were long as were cabs. we ended going back to the theatre as it's a huge venue with shops and restaurants and were told by MF that we should meet them at the after party. we returned and informed the security guards why we were there - they turned us away. so when our MF arrived with our badges - taken from other band members - the gig was up. they literally tore the badges from our heads - have you seen me and miss g? hardly intimidating, right? i yelled at the guard to watch the earrings, i was really irritated - i guess they don't get a lot of excitement in their jobs... it all got sorted out and we went it - it was just the crew and musicians, babs and her friends weren't there (um...pierce brosnan, donna karan, nic cage were in the audience) - so we didn't really understand why they were so lame at the door. one of our other MF came up to introduce us to the drummer who promptly asked how we all met. apparently, meeting in a hotel bar leads this idiot to joke that at least they didn' thave to call a 900 number to meet us. after miss g informed me of his crassness, we were horrified and escaped - ummm - ladies of the evening? is that what they thought? and that was when i pointed out to miss g what i was wearing...gold lame, in england? we missed the last tube, buses were done, taxi line still long...so the only way to get home is via the boat along the thames - which took a good 45 minutes....once we docked, we had to cross over the bridge to try and find a cab....and finally got home very late, the entire time laughing at what our weekend had turned into. this the the abbreviated version of our weekend but know it was a great time....we had fun on monday night too but i will post up those pictures tomorrow!

miss d leaves...miss g arrives July 19, 2007

2007-07-20T17:48:00.000-05:00

sorry, no pics today...miss d left at 11 am and miss g arrived at 12 noon. upon arrival, we were consumed by a horrible rainstorm and couldn't leave the house for fear of being swept away by the monsoon. after it cleared, we hopped on the tube and went down to london bridge for the borough market and wandered around the thames and hand lunch at oxo tower. we then headed back for dinner at amaya with tiggy. we had an amazing meal and i have a new indian boyfriend. the dinner was perfect - the food, the company, it was really lovely and a great start for miss g's visit. and, by the way, the earlier pics of kate moss in the topshop window are real - that is not a wax figure.

V&A, Kew and Sketch aka Mork from Ork July 19, 2007

2007-07-19T18:33:00.001-05:00

today and tomorrow, i am taking the day off. today, miss d and i found a dry cleaner, after vomiting over how expensive it is, we headed to the victoria and albert museum which blew our minds. they are having this amazing show on surrealism.... i cannot go into detail about the show as it would take a long time, but my initial thoughts on it are i didn't realize that dali and magritte did covers for vogue back in the 30s nor did i realize how much elsa shiaprelli was influenced by the surrealist, i fell utterly in love with these cabinets by leonora carrington and a tea set designed by dali for the royal crown derby, the medieval artifacts were astounding - there was an entire room not on display that we were able to sneak a glimpse at from the balcony. i will be heading back there again because we just didn't have enough time to really go through it. we then went to kew gardens and started with a light picnic and then explored nature - probably the closest i will ever get to hiking and camping. it was so pretty and one cannot cover the entire property in one day. my favorite was the lily garden as it is very close to my heart, and my tattoo - the lily pads were HUGE..we got to see a mama duck with her baby, i got a great photo without her hissing at me. the rose and lavender garden was lovely and the air was so fragrant with the trees, flowers...etc. for anyone visiting london, i strongly recommend a visit as it is such a short tube ride away. afterwards, we went to the original maids of honour for tea - allegedly, "the original maid of honour" is a pastry that henry VIII was a huge fan of at the time he was courting anne boylen, i helped a woman gather her packages at the restaurant and she blessed me so i think good kharma is coming our way. after we got home, we were very tired and wanted to cancel our dinner plans...until we realized that we would be charged for a no show. so we went to sketch and were so amazed with the restaurant and the food. please visit the website to learn more about it as i cannot eloquently describe it. ummm.... the bathroom is a combo if you took mork from ork, 2001 space and willy wonka and created a bathroom. each stall is an egg pod and in the background you can hear footage from a porn - like live action - and the mirror resembles a fun house mirror hence the picture. we are very happy that we went and i hope to go again before i leave. it was a very good day.

miss d has more fun, i work and then dinner....July 18, 2007

2007-07-18T17:49:00.000-05:00

today, miss d went and took some great photos of westminster abbey and the palace and happened upon the changing of the guard. apparently, some of the guards play instruments which is quite impressive given the large fuzzy hats and the humidty. having been in parades as youths, playing the flute, we can appreciate the hardship. when i was 7, i twirled the baton in the lagrange pet parade and it was really hot so i feel a kinship to these fellows (you can clearly see the comparison via the pics).... after work, we had a glass of wine on the terrace and thought about dinner, we ended up at this great little italian place on marylebone high street. after dinner, we headed back and decided to take a pic in front of my favorite place, la fromagerie, and then lush which is near my place in honor of seymour and the boys.... good skincare. tomorrow we are off to victoria and albert museum and kew which will be a lot of fun...and afternoon tea.

Topshop and darn good Indian food July 17,2007

2007-07-17T16:31:00.001-05:00

today, miss d had a nice day - checked out buckingham palace, st james park and westminster abbey. she saw the queen's gallery and the queen's mews and hurt her feet but recovered well when she picked me up at work today. we went to topshop on oxford street - it's a great store, like h&m on acid - trendy stuff for not a lot...we both did well and didn't spend a lot so i am very proud of us. kate moss designed a line of clothing for topshop which came out a couple of months ago and cause a big mob scene in london as she is known for her fashion sense and lack of judgement regarding men. for the opening, she posed in the windows on oxford street that really amused me and ali, so i posted one of the pictures just for ali to giggle at. we had dinner at rasa - rasa is a "chain" of southern indian restaurants and one of them is two blocks away from my place. this was miss d's first foray into southern indian food and, thankfully, unlike my other guest, she had a great experience. we sat next to two gentleman from the us that ... how do i say this nicely... helped define the term "silly american". they were very confused about what to order and had a hard time understanding the waiter, poor things, i think they enjoyed their meal but got very irritated when he couldn't split their check. they were open minded about trying things which was very sweet but they were a little scared of their food when it arrived. i had to hold myself back from intervening and explaining their food and how to eat it. that's the annoying planner in me i suppose. my spots seymour, et al, are on their way out the door, and i think they were only visiting becuase of my upcoming "ladies holiday" ... my yoga friends will get what i am saying.

Seymour and the boys...Miss D has fun July 16, 2007

2007-07-16T14:36:00.000-05:00

while i was at work, miss d had a fun day touring around - she went to tate modern, st. pauls cathedral (see pic), checked out big ben (see pic) and parliament ( see pic). she was blessed with good weather and walked a lot today so tonight we had dinner at home again and i cooked with my rudimentary utensils and pans. as for seymour and the boys - well, i have always been a lucky broad in terms of my skin - i rarely break out. apparently, the lack of sleep, weird eating and weather have sprung some new spots on my otherwise flawless face. so today we went and i decided to suck it up and get some skincare to save my face. as i get spots rarely, i am prone to naming them and seymour is always my favorite name for the really angry ones. lou is a little smaller and going away and ted and william are trying to come out but i refuse to allow them to interfere with our good times and pictures. i refuse to have photos of me with these horrible men.

Puppies, Harrods and Hyde Park is pretty July 15, 2007

2007-07-15T15:21:00.000-05:00

today, miss d and i wandered around a lot - we went to covent garden, chelsea, got stuck in the rain which was good because we wouldn't have discovered this amazing french bistro. we had yummy soup and salad and watched the downpour from our table. we then headed over to harrods, which is interesting, bought some great wine and champagne, snabbed a few sale items (soaps, gels...that sort of thing) and visited the pet department to buy treats for our girls and were delighted to see the pet room was open and we got to see the very cute shitzu puppies frolic, trip over their own feet and wrestle. definitely got our puppy fix. we decided to cut through hyde park and were very inspired to take many pictures. danielle looks quite lovely and all the pictures of me resembled a troll doll. so we scrapped most of them it's quite humid here so my hair has it's own mind. in any case, we are enjoying the terrace, drinking rose champagne, had a tasty dinner of salad and CHEESE and the humidity has subsided and we are quite happy. miss d is going to tour around on her own for the next few days while i work, and her itinerary is looking great. we will be having more fun this week...i am taking a couple of days off to spend it with her and miss gg when she arrives on friday...so more pictures will appear and hopefully, i won't resemble a troll doll.

Miss D arrives July 14, 2007

2007-07-14T18:09:00.000-05:00

in preparation for miss d., i hit the borough market and london bridge and about passed out...the produce, the pastries, the bread..good lord. i had the best falafel sandwich of my life...and prepared for my VIP guest. she arrived at about 1, very bright eyed and ready for the day..we wondered around mayfair and marylebone, dover market was too insane for us but beautiful if we were really really rich. i took her to my favorite place, la fromagerie, the waitress hated us but we had fun regardless... then we hit some shoe stores, it's nice to pretend that 25BP is 25US but alas,not the case. we saw the best mullet we have ever seen and vowed to take pictures of bad hair in the future. we were around shepard's market when we saw the most polite construction sign in our lives... so we had to take a picture. and when people walked by us in the process. we explained we were tourists. tonight we went to mews on mayfair for dinner and loved it, the wallpaper has embroidered butterflies, very cute. good times and we decided to finish the night on the deck with a bottle of wine. tomorrow we will hit some museums and i will show her how to use the tube so she can get out and enjoy the sites while i am at work...

a star is born July 13, 2007

2007-07-13T17:44:00.000-05:00

so happy to announce that emmett james landt was born yesterday weighing around 6 pounds - he is joining his brother riley in what jerry and i hope to be a lucrative modeling career. mike and nancy wouldn't let us take riley for his headshots but now that their attention will be diverted, we can steal one of them away i am certain. today i went to fortnum & mason, it's been around for 300 years and is a lovely store - very british, i was overwhelmed by the choices of tea, cheese, perfumes, etc. i was very tempted to by a parasol because i really should have one but i resisted my urge. i would like to buy a picnic basket to bring home http://www.fortnumandmason.com/ , not really sure when and where i would use it but i just like it. i am very much looking forward to the next week - D arrives tomorrow and GG arrives next saturday - i have fun things planned for their visit and will get a couple days off. be prepare for more pictures...

Who shot JR? July, 12, 2007

2007-07-12T13:22:00.001-05:00

although i have satellite television, the options are pretty slim. i can count on lots of re-runs like dallas, frasier, becker, melrose place, friends, and, thankfully, csi. i like watching bbc in the morning and i guess it's good that i am out a lot and don't have to worry about allison and billy getting into a fight or amanda scheming. gina was in paris recently and shared some of her pictures with me. i have to share one of my favorite pictures of miss lila in france, my regret is that i didn't find a beret for her before she left.

July 11, 2007

2007-07-11T17:26:00.000-05:00

this evening, i was going to retire early and take a nice looooonnng bath but was invited to join my colleagues for a dinner at home house. it's a private club, and when i showed up to meet everyone (late as usual), i was grilled on who i was joining..was i joining rufus wrainwright? i should have said yes. in any place, it was a gorgeous place and madonna herself is a member. http://www.homehouse.co.uk/home.php i didn't bring my camera so you have to go to the website to see it. had a great evening and wonderful conversation. a big topic was how much i was looking forward to 2008 when george finally leaves office. side track..but i was talking about how much i was going to research the candidates running for president, more than i ever have before. i, along with many, look forward to the election, but who is really suitable? moving on, i thought i'd address a couple of questions that i have received about my blog 1) why are you in london? i am here because my employer is here for a month and am working out of our london office. my hours are long - i am in the office during the day but once the u.s. offices are open, i tend to follow up on emails, etc. until midnight 2) why no ticking clock? as a 35 year old woman, i am expected to want to settle down and have babies. i have no desire to do so, love my puppies and my friends' children (riley, maddie, kendall, nina, zack, alex, rhiannon...) so my "biological clock" is off..hence, no ticking clock!

London Fashion July 10, 2007

2007-07-10T13:20:00.001-05:00

what is nice about london is the diverse fashion it offers given the number of people and backgrounds not to mention the incredibly wealthy vistors from the east. i am staying in mayfair which is incredibly posh (to use a favorite english phrase). on my way to work, i pass by jimmy choo, lucie campbell, burburry, D&G, louis vuitton, mulberry...just to name a few. today i took a walk around the block by work and passed by tiffany, graff, chanel, alexander mcqueen, cartier...the list goes on. the other day, i stopped in a shoe store by my place and there were these 2 young girls with their mother. while their mother was dressed in a black robe and and a beautiful chanel suit, these two girls - teenagers, were each wearing incredibly expensive vuitton bags - the one shown here is about $5000 and the older one was actually wearing the anniversary patchwork bag which is $45,000. yes, that is not a typo. it's not just the woman who look great, the men in europe just look so put together regardless of background - cashmere sweaters, suits from saville row - it's a very "suit"like town. by my place is a pub called the "iron duke" and there are a bunch of men milling about drinking their pints in their gorgeous suits. makes me wish more men in the u.s. dressed this way from time to time - and many of my girlfriends would agree with me - something about a man in a nice suit...sigh... but the general population dresses in a mix-match of pieces - inexpensive items from topshop or H&M blended with gucci or a great pair of designer jeans. it's ridiculous to shop for clothes here that i could buy in the at home. i came across one of my favorite brands - t-bags - and they are at least twice what they would cost in the u.s.! even the sales don't compete with our prices - a sale pair of prada shoes is about the same full price at home. so, i have been sure to tell my colleagues to try and get their shopping on in chicago next time they are in town. much like the old days when you could go to italy and buy a gucci bag for half the price in the u.s....i remember those good old days when i could give someone $300 and they'd come back with a great bag or two that was in season. in general, what i like about this city is that the girls aren't cookie cutters of each other - of what is uber trendy. the only exception i'd say is the abundance of leggings and ballerina flats - that's big here as is the empire waist. frankly, i think i speak for a lot of girls when i say i hope the empire waist doesn't go out of fashion anytime soon...it hides that extra piece of cheese you ate the night before.

Tate Modern and Tea at Claridges July 9th, 2007

2007-07-09T15:23:00.000-05:00

so yesterday i took the tube down to tate modern and saw the dali and film exhibit. what a wonderful museum! so many favorites - a couple of them are shown here - but i saw magritte, miro, matisse, klee, pollack, picasso, koons, warhol, duchamp's fountain..just to name a few. the installation picture is by jannis kounellis - untitled - and literally it is stuffed birds and then drawings in charcoal. the painting is by francis picabla - otaiti and he was inspired by the pin-ups of the 50s - i look forward to learning more about him. there was a film that was on small tvs throughout one of the galleries - it was inspired by a time the artist was walking with a gallery curator and a dog suddenly ran in front of him and tripped him. on each tv, a different view was shown of the incident recreated - one had a camera on top of the dog's head so you could see his ears, hear his panting and see the world at his level. another one showed the view from up the street so you could see the dog run in front of the man and then he trips. as he gets up and walks towards the camera, there are other dogs hanging around when suddenly, one mounts the other one and they start having dog love - it made me laugh out loud. another film was by rivan neuenscwander and cao guimares and shot just after brazilian carnival - it shows a bunch of ants carrying pieces of confetti back to their anthills and in the background there is a clicking noise that is created by dropping matchsticks on the floor. it was beautiful. i was fascinated by "meat joy" which features a performance artist film from the 60s that shows a bunch of people writhing around and then chicken meat gets dropped on them and they put it in their mouths and the song in the background is "lollipop" - definitely look it up. as for the dali exhibit - it had a few of his works and each gallery was organized by each period in his life - when you got to the gallery about his film work with luis bunel, they showed two films they made together - l'age d'or and un chien andalo - they are mezmerizing! i had to buy the dvd and will have a showing at home upon my return. well worth the 25 BP. i took pictures of the millenium bridge which is a pedestrian bridge across the thames - you can see st. paul cathedral in the background. last night a co-worker arrived from chicago so we went and had indian food - her first time. unfortunately, she wasn't wild about it but i loved my meal, as usual (i could live on indian food but i think my stomach would disagree). today, i went for afternoon tea (5:30) at claridges to meet with TB - she's the woman who owns the other house here - and had the best time. she is so interesting as many european woman are, and so completely charming and fun - we are going to have dinner some night which i am very much looking foward to. and i might add that you haven't lived until you've had actual devonshire clotted cream - it's utterly divine! it's a good thing that i walk so much and get exercise or i might return ten times larger.

My feet hurt July 8, 2007

2007-07-08T04:15:00.000-05:00

so yesterday, i had a long day of walking. i first took the tube - which is quite organized and fast - to notting hill for the portabello market. it was fun and interesting - really busy and crammed with people. it starts out first with antiques - including some vintage jewelry and bags - and then turns into produce, then clothes, etc. the best part was the antiques and the produce. i scored a few good things - jewelry of course (leyla, i found something for you) and took pictures of some of my favorites. upon entry, we came across this woman with 4 pomeranians - three of them were in a baby buggy and then the other one was on the shelf. he was so cute and reminded me of pablo, adrian's dog, that i got a picture snapped. we came across a whisky dispenser that was displayed with a bottle of wine. given how much wine we consume at home, that would be PERFECT for us. it was 80BP though so i am keeping my eye out for something a little less inflated. there was a section of watches - pocket watches, wristwatches, you name it - and in front of one of the shops was this odd looking mechanical old man that was supposed to demonstrate watch repair. it was charming and fit the area. we also came across this booth that was making paella - chicken and seafood, they cooked it in these gigantic skillets - i tried to get a good picture to show it - and, apparently, they were quite delicious. that's one of the great things about outdoor markets - the produce is inexpensive and locally grown and there is a lot of option to try unique and very flavorful food. after that, i headed back towards mayfair and then walked up marylebone high street into regent park. (one must avoid hyde park this weekend because the tour de france is messing up traffic big time). the park is unbelievable- so lush and perfectly manicured. and the birds/ducks/geese are gigantic. you can rent paddle and row boats which looked like a lot of fun. i will try that next time when i have a companion in the park...nothing would be sadder looking that me paddling along solo. today i think i am going to hit some museums, it's a beautiful day and i want to take advantage of the good walking weather. gina and jennifer would be proud as i actually purchased another pair of semi-flat shoes, they still hurt but i think are better for me.

Good times July 6, 2007

2007-07-06T19:00:00.000-05:00

so, the pictures that include other people are from my night out with my coworkers, we had a lot of fun. don't ask me why i am doing the lilo peace sign but it felt right at the moment. i did realize after looking at the photos that my shirt made me look preggers but what can you do...that's the style right now. the picture solo is from my wonderful dinner tonight. let me preface it with the fact that i have had three hours of sleep because i cannot sleep for some reason this week. getting out was a miracle but it was worth it. a friend of mine is in town until sunday so we had a wonderful dinner at a place called occo. they have a belly dancer and the bartenders do this crazy thing with liquour and fire and i regret not taking pictures of it as it was quite the show. they had hookah pipes which we were too tired to partake it but it's on my list of things to do while i am here. there was no rain today, which was a miracle, and we had a very nice long walk home. i think it's impressive that i hoofed it in my CL's without any tripping incidents. on my way out, i passed my neighborhood pub and got some nice catcalls as i walked up the street, i guess i have officially arrived in london. tomorrow i am going to portabello market and tea with the most glamorous woman i have ever met and am very excited. the city is going to be crazy tomorrow as the tour de france starts in london - hyde park, which i am very close too. i am really loving being here and cannot wait to discover more of the city. it seems that around every corner is a very quaint, charming street with no cars filled with great shops. one could go very broke here. and i have been very, very good about not buying anything. at first you see something and see a price tag of 5o BP and then you realize that it is 100 USD, not a bargain.....

Dangerous shoes, July 5, 2007

2007-07-06T04:45:00.003-05:00

i have always prided myself on my ability to walk around in giant shoes. london streets don't bode well with wedge shoes i am afraid. yesterday, i almost wiped out at leat 10 times, i had a real doozy and was saved by a very nice gentleman who spare me a broken nose and ankle. i will have to retire these shoes while i am here which makes me a little sad because i am quite fond of them. we all went out last night and had a great time - went to hush and then a club called coccoon. typical club stuff - needless to say i am a little tired and haven't gotten any sleep - i haven't been very successful at sleeping since i've been here and hope that changes soon. i have mentioned before how nice everyone is in the office and i think getting the group out helped in getting to know everyone better - i've been given so many ideas of things to do while i am here, my head is spinning with options. the thing that i am so envious of here is the ability people have to travel to amazing places - france, spain, morocco...wisconsin and florida just don't have the same exotic appeal. on another note, i've received a new washer/dryer so i can wash and dry to my heart's content - thank god. and i will try my uncle's tip of unscrewing the lightbulb so my food doesn't get warm in the fridge. as for the questions about what happens here on july 4th. absolutely nothing....

Appliances are different July 4th, 2007

2007-07-04T17:26:00.000-05:00

i love this picture of the girls - this is how they are in bed before we go to sleep. chloe has a thing for licking the blanket and they roll over on their backs to get a good tummy rub in before we settle in. wayne got the video camera hooked up so we were able to talk - the girls got a little freaked out hearing my voice but not able to see me - they are in good hands but i sure do miss them! as for my london place, my washer/dryer hasn't been fixed yet and it's driving me nuts - i am trying to be calm but it's irritating. oh well. tonight i attempted to make dinner on my weird little stove and realized that a key thing to making pasta is having some form of a strainer - so that didn't quite work out and for the life of me, i cannot figure out the oven - online research proved unsuccessful. quite comical really. so my dinner was a handful of figs and some INCREDIBLE barata cheese. i also have to be careful of where i place things in my fridge as the light actually acts as a little heater and my yoghurt got a bit funky - i threw it out to be safe. television in the uk is funny, even with satellite. frasier and scrubs is always on and if i am lucky, i can grab csi or sex and the city. i just learned that bravo in the us is quite different than it is here. i flipped it on and they were running a show called "porn week". and they actually showed the filming of a porn movie. it was a little creepy, even for me. the girls next door is on but it's called "the girls of the playboy mansion", not sure why there is a title change. the weather is still spotty - rain here and there but it's not horrible. ihave learned that near my place, there are a few really cool bars - i went over to mayfair mews for a drink with a friend from work and they had put green astroturf on the main floor and all the servers are dressed as tennis players in honor of wimbledon. very cute. they just instituted "no smoking" in london so it's very crowded outdoors with smokers - it seems that everyone smokes here so it was surprising to me that they had done that. every chemist has giant advertisements for smoking cessation products, etc. i don't recall seeing anything like that in chicago or new york when that happened. tomorrow, all of us from the office are going out to hush which will be a lot of fun, and i have dinner planned with folks on friday night and on saturday i am doing tea. i hope to make it to portabello market and a museum or two this weekend, assuming the weather cooperates somewhat. good times....

Whole Foods RULES! July 3, 2007

2007-07-03T16:05:00.001-05:00

i love this picture - it's in the entryway to my flat. it's very disco - very different from the layout of my place. it's a sign, as i have been telling wayne that our next dog must be a chinese crested hound - they are very weird looking but rather charming at the same time and they look great in sequin harnesses (i saw one at henri bendel and fell in love)

on another note, i went to the brand new whole foods in kensington and WOW. it's huge - three levels and blows every whole foods out of the water. i will go back and take pictures - it was that amazing. the selections were vast - and today, i tried this amazing cheese - a mozzarella -and learned that i had just been flown in from italy that day. that's the difference between the us and europe, we just don't have the same options. i met some of the staff and they happened to be in from the US getting everything set up, they told me the next place they were going to update was chicago and i just about made them pinky promise that there would be a "make your own muesli bar" available when i got back. more on this whole foods passion later.

tonight i had dinner with my old boss and friend liz at a wonderful southern indian restaurant called rasa samudra. we had a wonderful dinner, better than last night, and got a chance to chat with the owner for awhile - he is more passionate about food than anyone, save vanessa. it was so much fun and we might take one of his cooking classes before i return home. i also learned today that it hasn't been this rainy in london for a straight period of time in the summer since the beginning of the 20th century. interesting.

Cheese RULES! July 1, 2007

2007-07-02T16:53:00.000-05:00

yesterday we finally got a bit of sun and the traffic and chaos from the parade and the bomb scare was a bit easier.

my trip to la fromagerie proved fruitful beyond what i should be spending on cheese. imagine a room that is temperature controlled with people that are there just to help you select the perfect cheese. unpasteurized, goat, sheep, cow - you name it, they have it - from 3BP a kg to 100 bp a kg - the ranges are extraordinary. i was incredibly overwhelmed yet chose well. fresh baked bread, produce that is locally grown...let's just say i had fun - and remembered one should never shop hungry. my first day in the office was great - everyone is so nice and helpful, i got a bit lost on my way there but it's very close to my place. the shopping in mayfair is INSANE - don't worry, beyond my wallet - but i pass by D&G, Lora Pianni, Jimmy Choo, Thomas Pink...and many more on my way in. the people who walk the streets are incredibly fashionable and diverse, it's the best people watching i've ever experienced. it reminds me a lot of new york - but much more diverse and unique. tonight i went to a place called chor bizarre for some indian food and had a great meal - so full but happy. i love being a vegetarian in an indian restaurant - it's so much easier to pick and choose dishes and there are so many options. they are fixing my washer/dryer tomorrow and will be getting me the utensils/appliances that i need for the month so that's some great news. i hope to have a rainless night soon to enjoy my terrace - and to all of you who have commented on how huge it is - yes, it is much bigger than my living space.

Landed! July, 1, 2007

2007-07-01T10:18:00.000-05:00

i finally made it in yesterday - flight was great, love the beds on virgin atlantic, they cannot be beat. they still need to sort out some kinks though as the agent forgot to give me a voucher for fast track through immigration and i ended up waiting almost 2 hours. i know, boo hoo but it was quite painful. it's been raining here, yesterday was nuts - between the 2nd bomb discovery and the gay pride parade, it was hell getting around. my flat is nice - as you can see - it's small and i swear the terrace is bigger than the whole place! some things that aren't great are the fact that there are no towels and hardly any utensils/dishes, etc., so i spent yesterday in the rain getting everything i need. i love the concept of a washer/dryer unit combo in the kitchen and wonder why we don't have something similar in the us. had my very first english afternoon tea at the mandarin oriental with marina and ian, overlooking hyde park. it was really lovely. the other group made it in this morning and i got them all settled and took care of some items for them so am pretty wiped out. trying to take it easy, so i will be exploring marylebone today, which i fell in love with last time i was there - and will make trip to la fromagerie today - probably the equivalent of heaven for cheese lovers.

Ella and Chloe try to smuggle in 062907

2007-06-29T17:06:00.001-05:00

ella and chloe tried to sneak into my suitcase while i was packing...they both fit perfectly.

leaving them was so very hard for me today. to the non-pet owners, it doesn't make sense but for those of you who have animals - i know you get it. ella was an incredible source of comfort to me while my mom was sick and after she passed away, she was also very sweet and loving to my mom and would crawl in her bed and snuggle with her - it was very touching. animals are a source of unconditional love that you can't get from a human, they are so special to me. it's easy for me to call home, call friends, etc., and stay connected and not feel weird being gone from them for a month, but i can't do that with the girls. although wayne was brilliant and got a video camera for his computer at home (i have one on my laptop). yes, laugh...go ahead, he wouldn't have done it if i hadn't talked about it so much!

in any case, sitting in the JAL lounge as Virgin doesn't have it's own yet - and i will tell you that british airways is much nicer, let's hope they can compete with that when they finally build their own. the security line was nuts and some people have no sense of personal space, these two women behind me kept pushing me and i was ready to smack them. i'll be boarding soon, so excited about the month ahead!

June 25, 2007 - Hugh Hefner movie

2007-06-25T21:41:00.000-05:00

it was announced that there is going to be a biopic about hugh hefner and i started wondering who would be cast as hugh...some discussion tonight brought up some names - Eric Bana, Christian Bale, Johnny Depp, Sasha Baron Cohen...who else could play hugh hefner?????? i am incredibly excited about this movie.

Ciao Chicago!

2007-06-24T17:53:00.001-05:00

was a great night last night - some friends gathered at Vice to say bon voyage as i head out of town for a month. lots of amazing food and wine...and champagne - and of course good friends. the link to my flickr pictures has photos from the night - enjoy and thank you!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/notickingclock/

June 24, 2007 - Obsessing

2007-06-24T14:30:00.000-05:00

lately, i've been obessing about losing weight and how i look in general. it seems that all the woman i talk to are going through this right now. after looking at some recent photos, and trying on clothes the other day, i need to make a change as soon as possible as i am completely disgusted. it's getting started that is hard and intimidating. i look at photos from when i was practicing 6 days a week and i looked so healthy, happy, clear - just looked alive if that makes any sense. when i started yoga, it was a fluke that it was ashtanga, and i fell in love with it. totally transformed my life in a positive way. i stopped being consistent when my mom got sick and never got back into it even after she died. i don't understand why it's so dificult for me to go back to something that was so healing....so my goal is to get back into it while i am in london, new environment, less distractions (really hard to be in downward facing dog when an actual dog is jumping on you and kissing you)

June 21, 2007

2007-06-21T21:43:00.001-05:00

sorry, the next few posts will be testing and adding pictures to see how they turn out. enjoy this picture of chloe while she was a baby.

Welcome!

2007-06-21T21:40:00.000-05:00

so it begins...leaving for london in a week, so much to do and so little time to get organized. totally freaking out about leaving chloe and ella - they will be in good hands but i cannot imagine an entire month without them.