Marvelous Marylebone

We decided to check at Marylebone today. It is a central neighborhood off the Jubilee line that we had heard wonderful things about. We totally fell in love and it's the neighborhood next to St Johns Wood...now we definitely know that we want to live in that area! 

We ironically stop at Bond Street to get to the neighborhood. 

I actually liked this area the most out of everywhere we went. Lots of brick roads and when walking through alleys, you see tons of quaint establishments. On every street corner was a different wine and cheese shop, or boutique, or pub. 

Once we were done looking through all of the shops, we walked on the main street and found Regents Park. Out of the 4 parks we've been to so far in London, Regents Park was by far the most gorgeous. People were paddle boating in the lake, sunbathing on the lawn, and feeding ducks. It was a huge park with several different trails to run on. It would be perfect for rollerblading! 

I'd been wanting to buy some dish towels, and I think we found the perfect ones at a boutique in Marylebone! I love the antique looking fabric. I also got a tube pass holder- kind of frivolous, but it was on sale so why not? 

We got back around 2 and I totally crashed- I think the fast pace of London has already caught up to me!

It feels like we have been on vacation, but Daniel starts work tomorrow so I think that things will be slowing down for me a bit. 

I hope everyone has a great week. Thanks for reading!

Hot in Hackney

I always ask Daniel to give me a title that describes our day...he said that my title was cheesy, but I went with it because, hey, it's my blog! 

We got to a late start today. We weren't able to go to bed until 1 am last night (that would be only 7 pm Houston time...still not quite over the time difference) so we woke up around 9 am this morning. 

We woke up to a note under our door from the apartment staff letting us know how to stay cool on a hot ( 80 degrees F) day in London :-p There is no AC in London for the most part, so it really does get warm indoors if you don't open windows. However, it feels amazing with all the windows open and fans blowing- I actually get cold at night! Anyways, I digress...

We didn't quite know what we were doing today. We had several options...maybe see a play, possibly do something touristy, and we had mentioned hanging out with our good friend from the states, Damion.

Around noon, Damion contacted us and we decided to go on a picnic with other friends that we hadn't met yet. When it's warm out, the streets are crowded and people flock to outdoor pubs and parks because A. It is cooler outside than inside and B. these beautiful days are so infrequent, people want to make the most of them.

We met Damion and his little dog Cricket on the tube and then took a bus to Hackney. I loved Hackney and now we are possibly adding it to our list of neighborhoods to live in. Hackney reminded me a lot of east Austin...very eclectic and artsy, but turn the wrong way on a street and you are in a shady part of town. 

It used to be full of governmental housing, but has become more hip and happening this past decade. I loved all of the flowers and old brick buildings! Plus, your money goes a long way here. 

We met new friends, Megan and Arthur, at their very cute and large flat. They were such a sweet couple. Megan is from Tronoto, works for Total, and is getting her phd in London. Her boyfriend, Arthur, is French and also works for Total. Their house is a few blocks from Victoria park, so we walked there for a picnic (along with half of the population of eastern London) 

This picture doesn't show it, but there were a ton of people there. Again, I loved the area- families were bbqing, couples were tight roping, children were playing catch...such a cute area. 

We went to an organic meat market and bought some cured Spanish meats and traditional English snacks...one was a Scotch egg (although it wasn't from scotland and didn't contain scotch) in the middle of sausage and then bread- delicious! We also had some yummy northern English Brie and French wine- 5 pounds a bottle! 

After our time at the park ( I got sunburnt!), we walked along the thames to go to a bar. Many people live in house boats in London because it's cheaper than buying a flat. I loved walking on the thames in Hackney- instead of food trucks, they had food boats. It was a wonderful (yet hot) stroll that allowed us to really get a feel for Hackney. 

(from left) Megan, Damion, Daniel, me, Arthur

We made it to a bar that was in a renovated bread factory. Beers were cheap, but seating was limited- all of the tables were packed with Londoners soaking up the sun! The bar actually closes in the winter and stores coffee for a nearby coffee shop. 

Today was a great day. I'm glad we were able to connect with an old friend, make new friends, and enjoy London with people that have become locals.  

Tour of the Jubilee

This morning Daniel and I woke up extremely early because the sun rose so much earlier than we are used to- at about 4:30! Thankfully we were able to eventually fall back asleep and awoke around 8. 

After having coffee and toast, we decided to go on a little adventure. We meet with our realtor on Tuesday to find our full time housing, and before today we really had no clue where to live. We heard several recommendations, but needed to see the neighborhoods ourself before narrowing down the areas we wanted to see with the realtor. 

Our first choice would be to live somewhere of the Jubilee tube (subway) line. There is a stop literally next door to Daniel's office. We could always live by a line that connects to the Jubilee, but it obviously couldn't be as convenient. 

Here are the stops that we took and our thoughts on the area.

Bermondsey

Rating: 4/10

Bermondsey was pretty dead...we couldn't find any restaurants or shops. The complexes looked mediocre. It is only 2 stops away from Daniel's office, but was a little too boring to call home. 

London Bridge

Rating: 6.5

London Bridge is also very close to Daniel's work. When people try to picture London, this area probably comes to mind. Old pubs and quaint buildings line the busy roads. It is overflowing with tourists though. 

Greens Park

Rating: 6.5

Greens park was gorgeous. It is not only the home to (obviously) a beautiful park, but also to Buckingham palace. It is incredibly posh- stores such as Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney are across from D&G. We founded flats we could afford online, but what's the point of living in an area when the shopping and restaurants are past your budget? 

St. John's Wood

Rating: 8.5

St. John's Wood was a little far- a 20 minute tube ride away from Daniel's office. But wow, we totally fell in love with the area. Streets upon streets are filled with little cafes and boutiques. It had the perfect amount of activity- not the hustle and bustle of London Bridge and Greens park, but more lively than Bermondsey. It reminded me a lot of Notting Hill, if you've seen the movie or been there. We even went in to the local yoga studio, which was in a restored very old art club. The windows were stained glass and it was just a beautiful location. Another plus is that the American school is there- if they would ever answer my emails about being a substitute teacher! 

After our journey, my feet are already blistered! I'm so thankful for today though- it really made us excited to live in London and confident with picking an area to live in! It didn't hurt that it was a beautiful sunny day around 77 degrees! Word on the street is that we need to take advantage of the infrequently warm weather!

Savoring Texas

This past month or so, we have been trying to experience as much of Texas as possible. That involved...

- Floating the Comal River



- Eating way too much queso and BBQ

- Sweating our asses off at FPSF (because right now it is a high of 68 degrees in London. In the summer.)

- Visiting the small towns of Bourne, Gruene, Rockport, and Livingston


- Drinking way too many Shiners, Lone Stars, and Margaritas

-Trying our luck at Texas bingo ( AND I WON!!!)

-Laying out by the pool (because in London it is never sunny. Don't ask me why I have packed 5 bathing suits. I will probably never wear them)

- Seeing all of our family and friends for the last time for a while  :-(




We are all kind of packed and kind of ready to go. Today is our last full day here in Texas. It's very bittersweet. We will miss Texas. We will miss everything and everyone that are in it. We love you all very much!

What a Day

Hello and happy Sunday! Today was quite an eventful day...really, these past few days have been!

We are pretty much all packed up. Daniel's mom, dad, sis, 2 brothers, and sister in law were sweet enough to come and pack up their trailer this morning with almost all of our furniture and boxes! We have a mattress in our room to sleep on for these next few days, but other than that, our house would be a major disappointment to a burglar!

I also bit the bullet and hired a cleaning service to come and thoroughly clean our home before we leave. I really thought I would be able to do it myself, but I just don't have time. This takes off a ton of stress!

I really wanted to write this post to let you know that I sold my car! I tried to do a lot of research before selling it, and I really couldn't find a ton of information about the best way to sell my car. Hopefully this post will help you out if you are looking to sell your car, too!

I had a 2011 4runner. It was in fairly good condition, other than a few scratches and dings. I knew that I wouldn't have a problem selling my car, I just wanted to make sure that I got the best price! I was also concerned because I wasn't done paying it off yet (although I knew I would be able to sell it for more than I owe) and therefore didn't have a title. Here was my experience with the places I went...

Toyota Dealership: First of all, their customer service was outstanding. The salesman was very professional and friendly. However, he told me that the process would take 2 weeks since I didn't have the title. I'm going to be out of the country in less than 2 weeks- I needed to have this taken care of ASAP! He offered me an ok price...better than Carmax, but about $500 less than the other competitors. I knew it wasn't going to work for me though because I needed to be paid for my car before moving!

Carmax: They were also very friendly, yet maybe a little unprofessional. Since it is right next to TDA, they bashed them a lot. They offered me WAY less than TDA...when I told them that, they assured me that TDA gave me an estimate, not a quote and wouldn't end up paying me that much. In the end, Carmax just did not offer a fair price- had to scratch them off my list of options!

Texas Direct Auto: I have to say, I had an awful feeling when I went into TDA. First of all, the workers are all VERY young and seem a little inexperienced. Second of all, there were a TON of people there. I ended up waiting a while to get a quote for my car. They were not very friendly or personable. HOWEVER, I will say that they offered me more than the dealership and Carmax. I was hesitant going with them though after what Carmax said. I called TDA later and they assured me that they would honor the quote that they gave me. I had plans to go with them, but did not trust them, ESPECIALLY after reading so many negative reviews about them.

Austin Auto Group: I ended up selling my car to AAG, and I am so thankful that I did! They bought my car for the same price that TDA offered, but I knew I could trust them. AAG is a small dealership in Austin that specializes in selling used cars. They came to my house in Houston and picked up my car. It was no issue at all that I didn't have the title yet- they just wrote me a check for the difference between what I owed and what they were going to pay me. They took care of paying the rest of my car off and getting the title. It was a no brainer doing business with AAG- they offered me the best price, actually came to ME to buy my car, and took care of the title switchover and payoff. So easy!

I'm sad that I no longer have my car, but so thankful that this is one less thing that we need to worry about! Please let me know if you have any questions at all about selling your car.

Half a Decade

Hello Readers! Hope you are all doing well. My moving updates for today are pretty boring...we've just been packing from dawn to dusk. I had no clue how expensive bubble wrap and boxes were! I am done hanging up clothes- after I wash them, I just pack them. Really, I am just done putting things away in general. If I am not going to use it in the next week, it's going in a box! Our house is a WRECK, which I hate...but it is impossible to clean when your floors are littered with boxes, suitcases, and random trinkets that need a box to live in for the next year(s).

The real reason why I am updating today is to share with y'all that today is our anniversary...our 5th one! Altogether we have been a couple for 11 years. We often joke that we have no choice but to make this work- who else will put up with our grossness, craziness  and annoying habits? But really, I am thankful to have a husband who knows me inside and out and yet still loves me unconditionally, and visa versa.

When people ask what we are going to do to celebrate, I reply "Move to London". Because really, what else do we have time to do? Last night, we did make time to go to Uchi for an early anniversary dinner. If you have never been, definitely go there for your next fancy date or girls' night! It's a sushi restaurant that will change your opinion of sushi (I say this because I'm not in love with sushi, but I am in love with Uchi). Go for their happy hour from 5-6:30 to save some money. Make sure you arrive right at 5 though, or you will not find a seat! We had a great time last night and will miss it while we are in London!

Anyways, I saw this on a friend's blog and it made me laugh! Our wedding vows mean so much to me, but it is the little, everyday things that you do to make your marriage thrive. On our anniversary, I knew I wanted to write about what we SHOULD have included in our vows.

Along with having and holding for better or for worse, I vow to...
-make sure that we never run out of toilet paper
-always cook nutritious meals that don't include mushrooms, bell peppers, or squash (or at least cut them so small that you won't notice them).
-drop what I'm doing to spot you at the gym
-never make (too much)  fun of your video games

Along with loving me in sickness and in health, Daniel should have also vowed to...
-always fill my car with gasoline
- make me laugh when I'm grumpy
- take my fear of lizards seriously and always dispose of them humanely after they sneak into our home (along with bugs and the occasional bird that the cat bring in)
-never make (too much) fun of the trash television I watch

But seriously, it's the little, everyday choices that bring joy to a relationship. I am thankful that we learned this early on! Have a good weekend everyone :-)

Lots of checks of the list

I'm sorry I have been so MIA lately....things have been wild! After the school year ended, my days were spent constantly cleaning and having to leave my house for it to be shown to prospective renters. No fun! Then, our house got struck by lightning and we didn't have internet for a few days (thank God that's all that happened). On top of that, I have been out of town a lot, soaking up the last few weeks of Texas! So, I have a lot of things to share with the internet world! 

1. We found renters! Everything is signed and now we are just waiting for them to move in! We are so excited- I think we found the PERFECT couple. They are very responsible and know how to take care of an old home. And they could not be any sweeter...she even dropped off boxes and bubble wrap for us to pack with! We are so thankful that we decided to hire a realtor and find renters. Now on to packing!

2. Our flights have been booked! 2 Business class, one way direct flights to London, leaving on July 3rd (a Wednesday, and we will land on Thursday, July 4). 

3. Our temporary housing has been booked! I'm happy that it is one bedroom (vs studio), there's a dishwasher, AND there is a cleaning service! It is in Canary Wharf, the area that Daniel will be working. We definitely don't want to live there long term because it is a very industrial part of town, but it will be convenient for the first few weeks! 

Although this is pretty normal for Texas, this is actually VERY spacious and nice for London. I'm thankful that we know exactly where we will go once we land! During our 3 week stay here, we will be very busy trying to find somewhere to live full time! 

OK, I think that does it for now. Will give more updates soon!