Merry Christmas!

Will be updating from England for the next few weeks... I've lost my camera cord, so who knows if I'll have pictures!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I'll wave to Santa for y'all from the plane :)

*images from google*

Please excuse my absence until Monday night at 9PM...

This has taken over my life.

Pray for me.

Weekend Recap! (aka longest post EVER)

This was a crraazzyyy weekend here in BP land. On Thursday I hit up the Beacon Hill Holiday Stroll for the first time with two friends y'all just might know. We started with drinks at 75 Chestnut. It was my first time there and I was a little less than impressed. The hostess is a legit battle axe and the place was so packed that we kept getting bumped and knocked. I ordered a dirty martini and the girls both went with pomegranate martinis. They were NOT stingy with the gin! Mine was so strong that I had to dilute with ice and then only drank about 1/4th. Whewww. After we finished we headed out to the stroll... It was FREEZING and the stores were packed. While they were offering free wine to some people, we didn't get offered any! Also, some of the employees of these upscale boutiques are downright surly! All and all it was an experience that I was glad to have had. I doubt I'll be participating next year but it was fun to meet up and spend time with two of my fav ladies!

On Friday morning I picked up my International Arbitration take home exam and found out that PB was coming! He is in Austin this week for work and he decided to divert through Boston. I tried to get the majority of my exam done Friday so I could spend time with him without having to work so much, but that didn't work out so well. That exam was NO joke. I got 2 questions of the 4 roughly answered before I picked up PB at the airport. He of course was bearing biscuits from Fortum & Masons, a box of Godiva chocolates and a bag of Cadbury Caramel Chocolates. Um. Does he know I'm on Weight Watchers!?!? Technically the biscuits were for my madre, but somehow they managed to get opened and taste tested (DELISH!). 

On Saturday we got up early and went to the law school to drop off my bag and get set up for me to work on my exam. PB had some work to do since he left early on Friday to come to Boston. We then went to Weight Watchers. I was nervous because I've been so hungry this week and have been eating a lot, but I lost 3 lbs! We then stocked up on delicious treats from Starbucks and headed back to the law school. After spending the day working and discussing honeymoon locations. (I think we've decided on one! I might unveil in this week's 'Wedding Wednesday' if PB books and gives me the go-ahead.) We had dinner reservations at our favorite restaurant in Beacon Hill- TOSCANO!- at 9:30PM. We changed and headed over to Clink to get some cocktails. We had never been there and wanted to try it out. We were less than impressed and confused by the entire place. The cocktails were good but we couldn't figure out where to sit and then when we finally found a spot they put a "Spoken For" sign on our table... Which we took to mean we should leave. Also the abundance of scantily clad women of varying ages, while entertaining, is not really our scene. Might have been fun with a big group, but we'll pass when it is just the two of us. We then walked around Charles Street and stopped in for a glass of wine at the Beacon Hill Bistro. The wine we had was AMAZING. I could have had an entire bottle. After we finished our wine it was FINALLY time for dinner. They had my favorite starter and entree on the menu so I was in heaven. If you go and they have the Rossini, which is the house specialty, you MUST get. It is divine.

Sunday we had breakfast at The Paramount, which y'all know is another one of my favs. I got my standard: Spinach, tomato and feta egg white omelet, turkey sausage and fruit salad. I literally ate like a lumberjack. I honestly wonder if I have developed a hollow leg or if I have a tapeworm. I keep eating like a horse and I have no idea where it is going! PB got an omelet too and shared the fruit salad with me. After that we took a rainy stroll through the public garden to digest and then caught the 10:45AM showing of Harry Potter. I loveloveloveloveloved it. I can't rave enough about Harry Potter. And yes. I cried when Dobby died... Just as I did in the book. After the movie we walked back down Charles Street. We popped in Core du Vie to look at a Lululemon hoodie I've been eyeing. PB treated me to a new Lululemon gym bag! I really needed one and he was being sweet to this poor broke law student. I was hungry again (surprise, surprise) so we popped into Todd English's restaurant Figs for lunch. 

Figs was pretty good. They gave us a basket of focaccia and olive oil to start. I'm not going to lie. I was fighting PB for the last piece in the basket. My WW leader would be shamed. It was LITERALLY the best focaccia I've ever had. After some menu issues we decided on a pizza- Half fig & prosciutto and half roasted chicken. I LOVED the pizza. It was thin and HUGE. I literally had pizza for lunch and dinner and then had some at 6AM this morning while I was finishing up my exam. I'm pizza'd out. After that PB had to get his stuff together and head to the airport. Poor fella's plane was delayed and he missed his connection in Houston. After a very short stay in the Marriott he was on route to Austin this morning.

I spent the evening finishing my exam and turned it in this morning. It was a lot harder than I expected and I'm unsure if I will do very well. Now, I'm going to run some errands, have lunch with THIS pretty lady and then finish up my Tax outline. I'm also going to my new favorite workout class tonight- ZUMBA! Have y'all tried Zumba? I absolutely loveeeee it. I need to work off all the delicious food I ate this weekend.

How was your weekend? 

Was it as chaotic and FUN as mine?

November Goals

I decided that I need a clean slate month. I need to re-energize my real-job hunt, my weight loss, my house-decorating, my blogging... My general outlook on life. So... I've come up with 10 (hopefully realistic) goals! I'll check in each Wednesday to hold myself accountable. 

Soooo... without further adieu: 

NOVEMBER GOALS 

1: Go to the gym- EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. 

(I mean... It's only 30 days. I can find at least 45 minutes every day to go, right!?)

2: Only eat out 2x a week- 1 lunch out (Hi, Subway!) and 1 dinner or breakfast. 

(I'm already fairly good at this, but when PB is home we have a tendency to have coffee out, then lunch, then dinner and it adds up.)

3: Lose 10 pounds. 

(This goes hand & hand with my first two. I've officially cancelled Weight Watchers but I've created a chart to keep at home. Weigh in days are now Friday mornings!) 

4: Create a house cleaning schedule. 

(I usually try to clean the entire house on Fridays but I think it would work better to have a schedule where I do certain things on certain days. I'm creating a spreadsheet for this as we speak!)

5: Get the Entrance way/stairwell repainted with the white gloss.

(This is on the agenda for this weekend! Turns out matt = dirt magnet.)

6: Purchase bed & linens for our 2nd bedroom.

(Mama's coming in December so we need to get on this! I see an Ikea trip in our immediate future!)

7: Order drapes for the living room & a curtain for the kitchen window.

(Oh hi, Pottery Barn.)

8: Get Normie groomed. 

(We learned our lesson trying to wash & dry him ourselves this weekend!)

9: Get in my 5 servings of fruit & veggies every SINGLE day.

(This is going on a little chart that I can check off when I have each one!)

10: Literally blanket ALL law firms in the UK with my resume. 

(This includes having someone help me write a stellar cover letter. I'm currently doing this now, but I think I need to revamp the cover letter and to try to meet more lawyers. NETWORKING is going to become my middle name!)

Now, YOU tell me- What are your November goals?

Bar 1086 at The Four Seasons, Hampshire

True Story: I LOVE HAMBURGERS.

Also true story: I only have them once a month... if that. 

(Moderation is my middle name.)

So when I found out I passed the bar I gave PB two choices for a celebratory dinner: Fish & chips (mainly for the chips) or a burger (since I hadn't had one in a month.) He picked the burger option. My favorite burger in Boston is found at The Four Seasons. They have simply the *BEST* burgers on the entire planet. After checking online to be sure they did in fact, have a burger on the menu, PB picked Bar 1086 at The Four Seasons Hampshire thinking that if the ones in Boston were good, since it's the same chain, the one here had to be good.

*FS was all decked out for Halloween*

*Broke out the red Chanel lipstick for the night!*

We didn't make reservations but decided to just sit in the actual Bar instead of getting a ressie for the Bistro restaurant. They still allowed us to order off of the menu for the Bistro, which was great. I am SO glad that we did because the ambiance and staff in the bar were exactly what we wanted!

We started off with cocktails and nibbles. If you know me in person then you know that I have never met an olive I didn't love! I managed to restrain myself and only had about 5 (ok, maybe 7) before ordering dinner. Although I went in planning on ordering the burger, I almost switched to the gnocchi with stilton when I saw the menu. However, when I asked the server her opinion she said burger hands down. 

*Blackberry mojito was the cocktail of the night.*

NOTE TO SELF: ALWAYS LISTEN TO THE SERVER!

The burger was the best burger I have had in England! Juicy, perfect pickles & onions on it. The only bad part was that it was absolutely massive and I had a really hard time eating it. I mean. It was like 6 inches high! The did NOT skimp on the salad bits (as they say here.)

*This is where the picture would be... but for some reason both the picture I took of the burger with my phone AND the picture taken with my camera are gone. A Bloggers WORST nightmare!*

After dinner we were so full that we just enjoyed our high backed chairs and one last cocktail before heading home to pop the bubbly!

*PB loved the chairs! I see a pair in our future. Apparently he wants to put them in our bedroom by the fireplace. Not that he's thought about it... or anything.* 

It was a perfect evening and I'm SO glad I let him pick for once. 

The staff, food, ambiance and drinks were all simply outstanding. I just can't wait until we go back! Maybe next time we'll be lucky enough to get the coveted seats by the fire.

The Four Seasons, Hampshire is located on Chalky Lane, in Hook. 

Bar Passage CELEBRATION!

PB arrived home on Friday night with a fancy bottle of champers. 

We cracked it open after our celebratory dinner on Saturday night... I took a video to commemorate the special occasion. PB extolls on the proper way to open a bottle of champagne... He's obviously a champagne pro!

Don't you think that a fancy bottle of champagne is simply the ONLY way to celebrate the BIG milestones in life?!

Stay tuned tomorrow for the full recap of the weekend-o'-celebration!

Weekend in NUMBERS!

10: Number of hours of sleep I got Saturday night... Apparently Mama was tired!

9: Number of tons of pickled onion Monster Munch that was devoured by the members of this household this weekend. (Weird, yet oddly addicting.)

8: Number of times I was hit in the face by the frisbee on Sunday. (Note to self: YOU SUCK AT FRISBEE. Invest in a soccer ball instead ASAP.)

7: Number of stores scoured looking for a damn kitten tail to go with my sequined pink & black kitten ears for Halloween. (Number procured? 0.)

6: Number of Halloween themed cupcakes I sent home with the step-daughter to save myself from eating them. (Dear Madre, my butt does NOT thank you!)

5: Number of times the step daughter fell off my stability ball in any given 3 minute window... PB is glad  that they didn't name her Grace. (Get it?!)

4: Number of times that I was hobbled by an ailment on any given day this weekend... I swear. I'm 28 going on 89.

3: Number of pumpkins successfully carved on Saturday... (We may or may not have one that is supposed to be a kitten but is somewhat indiscernible.)

2: Number of mani/pedi's given to the step-daughter this weekend... (Purple sparkles was the color on tap this weekend.) (That's how we roll around these parts.)

1: Number of games of Scrabble in which I bet both the hubs & child! (I'm liiiiikkkeeee soooo good.) (Ok. well maybe not really... but lets pretend!)

How was YOUR weekend?

I interrupt Wedding Wednesday to ask...

Are you wearing Purple today?

Upon reviewing my entire wardrobe, it has come to my attention that I own NOTHING purple, however I'm definitely wearing it in spirit. 

Here is why I am wearing purple: 

On October 20th, 2010, those who wish to honor the seven young men whom have taken their own lives recently and/or to support homosexuality must wear purple. Tyler Clementi, Asher Brown, Seth Walsh, Justin Aaberg, Raymond Chase, Billy Lucas and Cody J. Barker all had two things in common - they were homosexual and turned to suicide as a solution to their homophobic abuse at home and school. Purple represents Spirit onthe LGBTQ flag and that's exactly what everyone should have: spirit! Though you don't have to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or even questioning your sexuality, you may still wear purple in support of those who are. Please wear purple on October 20th to help raise awareness

Pink Diamonds & Pink Champagne

I'm heading into London for a day o' fun today! I'm meeting a bunch of the Barristers I worked for last summer at their Chambers today to chat & catch up and perhaps grab a spot of lunch. Then I'm off to do what any self-respecting girl in the city does... Go shop, shop, shop! I'm also planning on a spot of Pinkberry at Selfridge's at some point today. There is only so long a BP can go without some FROYO!

Then tonight I'm attending American Girl in Chelsea's Pink Diamonds & Pink Champagne event to support breast cancer with one of my Boston buddies. I can't wait to try on all the fancy diamonds and sip some much needed champers before indulging in a mini-pink cupcake (or 12.) Not to mention how excited I am to finally get to meet Betsy, who is also attending!

My outfit of the day is consisting of some American favorites:

Teddie Dress

Tory Burch Leopard Calf-hair Flats

And the THICKEST pair of black tights I could find... because it is DEFINITELY fall outside! (And by fall I mean, freezing.)

It's not pink, but I thought it might be a bit much to wear pink to an event with "pink" in the title. I mean, I'm ridiculous, but not that ridiculous! 

(Ummm...READ: I don't own a cold weather pink frock.)

Do y'all have any fun Thursday plans?!

I'm BACKKKKKK!

I had the BEST time with BLC & Mamatella... I got back late last night and had to rush straight into work bright and early at 5AM this morning. Suffice to say I am tuckered out and taking it easy today. I'll have a full recap of the trip up tomorrow but for now... a picture of one of the most important bits of the trip.

Greek Salad.

IN.

GREECE.

Y'all, they don't use lettuce.

And I *L.O.V.E.* it... It was literally had by us all at every stinkin' meal because it was THAT good.

Stay tuned for more delicious & fun pictures!

How was your weekend?

Weekend in NUMBERS!

Sorry this is a day late... SOMEONE (me) started a new JOB (Starbuck's) yesterday! It's perfect because it's only 20 hours a week and is mostly 5:30AM-9:30AM which allows for PLENTY of "real-job" hunting. And gets me out of the house. (Which is good... lest I turn into a crazy cat lady.)

10: Number of hours spent doing laundry (DEAR LORD THE WASHER/DRYER IS SLOW!)

9: Miles biked on Saturday! (Gel pad is a butt-savior.) (Would have been a lot more but we had to contend with rain and a sick child.)

8: Number of times on Saturday night I said I fancied Gary Barlow while watching the X-Factor. (Hooootttt.) (I stopped before #9 in fear of having to sleep on the couch.)

7: Number of times the white fuzz ball attacked my hair thinking it was a toy. (It. is.  in fact, NOT.)

6: Number of pounds of sprinkles my step-daughter put on our cupcakes friday night... OVERZEALOUS SPRINKLER!

5: Number of times I almost wet my pants watching Mock the Week Friday night... Hugh Dennis = HILARIOUS.

4: Number of minutes PB lasted ironing before throwing in the towel... literally.

3: Number of trashy British rag-mags read this weekend... (And yes, I didn't know half of the people/stories in it.) (And yes. I STILL loved it!)

2: Number of krispy kreme donuts SHARED this weekend... (I blame Tesco.) (At least I shared.) (sorta.)

(1.5: Number of pounds GAINED at WW this week. WHY, BODY? WHY?! Oh right, candy corn. And pizza. Oh, and breadsticks. Right.)

1: WEEK UNTIL GREECE WITH BLC!!!!

Weekend in NUMBERS!

10: Approximate number of times PB hit the tennis ball over the fence at the tennis courts. (Clearly he does not know how to return a ball to save his life.)

9: Number of time PB had to re-hang one picture before I was convinced it was evenly spaced & straight. (You can't say I don't have an impeccable attention to detail.)

8: Number of pictures I took of my fuzzy babies on Saturday (multiply by 300.)

7: Number of different types of jeans I tried on on Sunday. (I HATE YOU DENIM.)

6: Number of slices of pizza I inhaled Saturday night. (PB is a BAD, BAD, BAD influence.)

5: Number of cheesy breadsticks eaten with said pizza. (Weight Watcher gods are rolling in their graves.)

4: Number of positions I applied to at The Four Seasons London & The Four Seasons Hampshire. (I'm fixin to start me a twitter campaign for them to hire me! HIRE ME! I LOVE YOU! HIRE ME!) (Um. I mean... I kind of would like to work at both/either/both.)

3: Number of Dr. Pepper Zeros imbibed on Sunday night (Hater's don't hate! That stuff is like CRACK.) (Not that I've tried crack.) (Cause I haven't.) (Four Seasons Recruiters, I promise. I haven't.) (HIREME!)

2: Number of time I cursed Whole Foods London for NOT carrying Kashi. (Multiply by 24023942)

1: Number of episodes of the NEW SEASON of Downton Abbey watched! (Y'all may have... well, like everything over there in the US, but we? WE have Downton Abbey.) (And I'm going to rub it in a few more times.) (And it was fantastic.) (And yes, you should be jealous.)

What did YOUR weekend look like?

Wordless Wednesday: Kitten Edition

So we finally have our babies.

Please reference pictures for wordless recap of weekend kitten shenanigans. 

I had a cute playtime video but it wouldn't EFFING upload.
Tried 6 times. 6 times and waited 2 hours.
TWO. EFFING. HOURS.

Happy Grandparents Day!

I have the best Nannie in the entire world... and even though he isn't here now, I STILL have the best Pa a girl could ever ask for. I LOVE YOU BIGGER THAN THE SKY NANNIE!!!!!

(PS- Not to bring attention to it... But can you tell I've lost weight? Holy FATTY!)

An evening in Notting Hill...

When PB and I venture into the city we tend to be creatures of habit. There are 2 fantastic restaurants in Mayfair that we love and a little hidden gem in Chinatown that we frequent. I decided to get us out of our comfort zone and venture over into Notting Hill for dinner.

In keeping with our "out of comfort zone" theme for the evening, I donned this very uncharacterically slim fitting dress! It is a Ted Baker number and I absolutely *LOVE* it. I swooned over the hot pink stripe and even though it's snug, I think I'll be wearing for many a date night! (Even if I felt a little bit like a Kardashian, which isn't really what I normally go for.)

We had resevations at E&O Restaurant. We hopped a cab and 10 minutes later we were at our restaurant. At first I was a tad self conscious because most of the people in the bar were hipsters and we were CLEARLY not scene-y enough. However, once we were seated in the restaurant we felt a little more at ease.

I let PB pick the starter and he picked the pork belly. Turns out pork belly is NOT for me. Too fatty... I may or may not have spit my piece out in my napkin. (Rude!) PB loved it though, so if you're into that sort of thing... Eat up!

(Sorry for the blurry picture... was using iPhone as to be more sly!)

I ordered a side of egg fried BROWN rice! It was SO nice to be able to indulge a little while still being somewhat healthy. PB refused to try it, he went with the standard white rice version and left me to eat ALL of my glorious brown fried rice all on my own.

I did not complain. 

For my main, I went with the spicy tuna roll. I was highly disappointed. In fact, I'm not sure if they gave me a plain tuna roll because there was not one bit of heat or spicy sauce in the roll. 

Would not order this one again!

For dessert we tried the banoffee pie. 

DELICIOUS!

If you aren't familiar, banoffee pie is sort of like the british version of banana pudding, but it has a caramel/toffee layer under the bananas. If you are coming to England and see banoffee pie on the menu, definitely give it a try! It's great.

Since we were so full from our big dinner we decided to walk back to the hotel instead of taking a cab. We strolled up Notting Hill and I was in awe of how gorgeous the neighborhood was! It was also interesting watching many stores boarding up their store fronts for the Notting Hill Carnival. I can't remember ever seeing stores board up before fun neighborhood events in the US. We also almost got roped into a preview of the carnival going on in a local community center but we begged off citing lateness... we didn't tell them it was lateness for cocktails!

On our route back we trekked over to The Connaught to grab a drink at one of our favorites, The Coburg Bar. Jazz music playing, dark luxurious seating... It was perfect. I ordered a grapefruit cocktail that was gorgeous. We also loved the homemade salt & vinegar crisps. We may or may not have eaten 3 bowlfuls. (Annnd it is now clear why I gained 1lb at Weight Watchers after this trip!)

We then stumbled (read: NOT USED TO WEARING HEELS ANYMORE!) back to the Intercontinental, collapsed in a food/happiness coma and watched the late night news before passing out in our luxurious gigantic bed. All in all it was a fantastic date night and a great ending to a fun-filled stay-cation. 

What is the best "date night" you've been on lately?

High Tea at The Connaught

As evidenced from my blogs and tweets, I'm a tea fanatic. PB and I spent the summer trying out quaint tea rooms all over southwest England. While we absolutely LOVE those, we also love going to a fancy high tea. According to the Tea Guild of England, Brown's Hotel and The Connaught vie for the title of Best Tea each year. If you recall PB and I tried out Brown's at Valentine's Day and were impressed with them. I couldn't leave England this time around without trying the rival to see which was better.

*We arrived early and got a drink at the Coburg bar... PB went with a gin & tonic*

(Also, not that I'm biased or anything... but isn't he like SOOOO handsome?! I still swoon.)

*I love the Coburg bar. I went last year with a friend who was in town when I was there, and it was ok, but nothing beats going with your special someone!*

*I went with a bellini! YUM.*

*PB was clearly excited about his G&T.*

*The sandwiches were AMAZING. They had ham & piccalilli, chicken salad, cream cheese and chive, and smoked salmon. My fav was the chicken salad & cream cheese and chive.*

*We splurged on champagne for my last weekend in England. SO worth it!*

*The scones were PERFECT. Warm, tasty and fresh. They gave us a bunch of jams to try. I really like the strawberry and the pineapple.*

*Some of the yummy treats. The red & pink think was the best out of all of them. It was strawberry mousse in a pastry*

*These were all to DIE for.*

*The clotted cream for the scones. They did NOT skimp. Even PB couldn't finish it off and we know how much he loves clotted cream*

*All the goodies put together... And my adorable PB.*

* Me and my tea... I wore my sparkly headband again. It's now a tradition that whenever we go into London for fancy tea, I wear my swarovski headband.*

*PB and I both went with the Connaught's special blend. It was delicious. We really loved it! I have to admit that I like this tea better than the tea I picked at Brown's. It was really good. Like a hyped up, more flavorful English breakfast.*

*Awwwwwww.*

*Like Brown's they gave us little sachets of tea to take with us.*

*I loved the hydrangeas in the entrance to the Tea so much that I asked the manager to snap our picture.*

All in all it was amazing and worth every pricey penny. If you are in London anytime soon I strongly encourage you to try ether Brown's Hotel for tea, or The Connaught's tea. You will NOT regret it!