Operation Replant Daffodils

It's hard to get around to blogging some weeks, but I suppose that's a good thing. For me it normally means I'm busy enjoying life. That was certainly the case this past weekend.

I worked Saturday but then enjoyed a huge home cooked meal and game night with friends. Sunday I had the day off and after church Kurt and I made lunch, took a nap and then went for a walk up to the Wimbledon Common and Cannizaro Park. We were on a little mission to replant some mini daffodils I'd been given that had outgrown their pot. I felt like such a hippy sneaking through the Common with Kurt trying to find the perfect place to make their home.

Yes we used a ladle!

Home at last

So many sweet things happened last week too, as I mentioned, my best friend had her baby. And Friday morning I found out that my sweet former roommate Kaitlyn in college got engaged (check out her blog and awesome ring)! I was a melty-mess on Friday. I cherish the deep friendships I have with girls like these. I was flooded with so much joy for their new life seasons and also with sadness for not being able to celebrate with them. It's hard when life situations and friendships change, but it also makes you appreciate them more. 

Before I go, here's a question for the married ladies in the house: what have you done with your dress? Are you going to hang onto it forever? Pass it on to your future daughters? Or sell it? Initially I thought I'd keep mine until I have kids - it'd be cool if they wanted to wear it again, but no pressure. But this weekend I've been reconsidering. I mean, I could make some bucks off this thing!

Michaela Rae

Happy February

Flowers in Wimbledon Village

I love February. It whispers sweet memories of California tulips waiting on my Florida bed, letters in my mailbox and phone calls late into the night. It's the month that Kurt and my relationship first began to bloom. New love does crazy things to people, and we were no exception. I love thinking on those times, even if I do get a good laugh out of myself. 

More recently, February also brings memories of my grandfather, tall and quiet. A man I never knew as much as I wish I had. I do know he loved his yard, raking or shoveling it into piles. He loved the lake in back. He often took me on boat rides or fishing from the dock. He liked familiarity - dinner at 6pm, reading the newspaper in his red leather chair and ice cream as often as possible, even from McDonald's (I, of course, didn't mind those stops). But most importantly, I know he loved his wife and his family. It was always evident. And he was one of the most generous men I've ever known.

Today Kurt and I kicked the month off with a late morning in and then took a walk to Wimbledon Village for a bit of thifting. I've been pleasantly surprised by thrift stores here. There are so many and unlike Goodwill, they actually sell quality stuff for cheap. Kurt found a couple ties and I a pair of jeans. The weather is so cold today though so we cut the trip short and went back to the flat for some hot chocolate instead. 

Tonight I made stew tonight and it totally hit the spot. Incase you're looking for a winter pick-me-up, here it is:

Easy Veggie Beef Stew

4 cups water

1/2 pound ground beef 

1/2 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes 

1/2 onion, chopped

2 potatoes, cubed

1/2 cup frozen corn

1/2 (16oz) bag of mixed frozen veggies

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 cubes beef stock

Brown the beef in a frying pan; drain.

Then in a large pot over medium heat, combine all the ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes (and other veggies) are tender - approximately 40 minutes. We enjoyed ours with a fresh baguette. :-)

What are your favorite February memories?

Michaela Rae

Embracing Wimbledon

I've accepted that there's no way I'll know London like the back of my hand before our time's up. So instead, I've made it my goal to at least know Wimbledon. Perhaps with kiddos in tow someday, I'll point out all the places we sipped coffee, ate dinner and bought groceries. I love the idea of coming back and revisiting all of my favorite places.

We've experienced fish and chips at the family owned diner around the corner, breakfast at Mica Cafe, explored enormous stacks of books at Copperfield's Secondhand Book Shop, bought fruit and veggies at the stand by the Library, had coffee dates at Costa and Caffe Nero, tried all the teas at Pret a Manger and felt sick after eating curry at Ahmed Tandoori.

And there's still so much to see and do. We have yet to catch a show at the Wimbledon Theatre and have Thai at a restaurant I've been eyeing. Today though, I decided to just walk the streets and take it all in - the smells, red roofs and chimneys and city sounds. This is home for me right now and I want to embrace it. I "popped in"(my new British expression) a few stores, bought flowers and sat at my new favorite cafe, Kaldi Coffee. From their cozy upstairs seating I could look across the street at Starbucks. I liked it. Not giving Starbucks business puts a grin on my face. Starbucks is like Fox Books; I prefer the Shop Around the Corner. (You've Got Mail lovers will understand that analogy.)

Wherever we end up, I hope I make as much of an effort to embrace it as I have here. I'm sure it'll become more challenging as life goes on, with work, kids, functions and everything else, but I think it's important. Living like this has made such a difference in how I view time spent. I'm reminded that it's limited and there's much to enjoy and people worth loving, everywhere. It's not just about how many destinations I get to, it's about enjoying what God's put before me.

Michaela Rae

St. Mary's

Kurt and I have been wondering for weeks now about the steeple we can see from our living room windows. So today we took advantage of my day off and the beautiful crisp and clear weather to find the church. We set off in the general direction and decided to try finding it without the help of a map. We found the church, St. Mary's, in no time and met the kind old man who works on its premises. We chatted for some time while he gave us a thorough history of it (and England, haha). From the hill the church is built on you can see an awesome view of greater London. We spied the Wimbledon Tennis courts below and decided to walk down to them.

When the sun had set, our faces were numb and noses running, we headed back feeling oh so jolly. It's incredible what a little cold fresh air, change of scenery and time with the hubby can do!

Steeple from our window

I hope a tree grows out of my grave

The white blob is the Wimbledon tennis court

Wimbledon Village

What fun things did you do this weekend?

Michaela Rae

Mica Café

When we decided on our little flat in Wimbledon, Mica Cafe quickly caught my eye. The name brought back fond memories from my time spent in Argentina for an internship. Friends I made there gave me the nickname Mica (mee-cuh) and I loved being called by it. Today I finally visited the cafe for brunch with Kurt; it was the perfect day to sit outside and enjoy the fall air and some good food. And boy was it good! I think I might just become a regular.

Afterward we peeked in the second hand bookstore next store. I love that place. It's so jam-packed with books it's ridiculous. They've run out of space on the shelves so books are stacked wherever there's room on the floor. I feel like I could get lost in that tiny store every time I go in.

Michaela Rae

P.S. I figured out how to use digital washi tape in photoshop. If you couldn't tell, I'm having fun with it. :-)

Link up your Thursday adventure to my sister's blog.

Flat 3

Today I want to give you a virtual tour of our flat! It's been crazy trying to settle and we don't have internet in our flat yet - it's made blogging difficult, so I'm really excited to show you these photos. I also have many future blog posts in mind, I can't wait to fill you all in on everything.

Our living/dining room area before and after we moved in. 

Excuse my painting supplies on the right...hehe.

Our itty bitty kitchen. On the left we have our sink and fridge, right our washing machine (funny, huh?), stove and oven. 

Our bedroom. Yes, that's a pink bedspread, haha. Kurt was ok with it because it was the only one we could find for 12 pounds. 

The guest room before we put all our empty luggage in it & stood the bed up on itself and put it against the wall so we could put a desk in for Kurt. Don't worry, when you come to visit we'll make it all pretty & cozy for you.  =D

And that's about it! I don't have pictures of the bathroom yet, haha...but you're not missing much. I love having a little home; this is really the first time we've settled since being married. I must say though, homemaking is more work than I expected. Did I mention our flat is on the 4th floor? At least I don't have to worry about fitting in a daily work out. We've only been here a week and I can tell I'm "getting in shape"...it's great!

On our first night in the flat we invited Kurt's friend, Daniel, over for dinner. Kurt met him 3 years ago on a bus when he was visiting London and they've kept in contact since (a very Kurt like thing to do). Daniel brought us several little house warming gives: bread pudding, a bottle of chardonnay and a really delicious smoothie drink called Innocent Smoothie. It was fun to have a visitor and in a strange way it made us feel home. I'm praying we have many more visitors to our flat. ;)

Here are a few other pictures from the week. 

We don't have a dryer, so hang drying it is!

Central London

Flat view

Flat warming gift

Cath Kidson shop in Wimbledon Village

My two new favorite things

Michaela Rae