Lasts

My favorite mug that I drink my coffee out of every morning. 

The sun has been shining brightly for about 18 hours of the day. It sure is hard to leave London when the weather is this perfect and the city seems to be so infectiously alive. 

It's funny comparing this time last year to this time now. The year has flown by, and we are both so thankful we made the choice to move here, even if it did end up being only for a year. All of the sacrifices (moving is very stressful, not to mention I quit a job I loved and we had to be apart from family and friends) that we had to make to spend a year in London were definitely worth it, and the idea of us saying "no" when the question to move here first arose makes me sad to think about.

What keeps coming to my mind is how everything just seems to fall into place- there is no need to worry or bust your butt to force things to happen. Last year we were so stressed out about moving- would we find renters for our house? What would it be like losing my income? Will we hate London? I see how having those worries didn't help anything and made for some unneeded anxiety. Remembering this is keeping me sane while preparing to move back to Houston, knowing that what needs to get done will get done and everything will just work out. 

So, that's where my mind has been recently. Reminiscing on this past year and legitimately excited to find out what will happen in this next chapter of our life! Also, I don't tend to be a sentimental person, but I find myself lately being one of those people that starts every activity with "This is the last time I'll ____". 

This weekend was my last weekend to be alone with Daniel in London, as his family arrives tomorrow!!! And my brother comes in a couple of weeks!!!

We were blessed with sunny 80 degree days, so on Saturday we went up to Hampstead and enjoyed some beer gardens. 

Unfortunately I forgot how to smile, and look derpy in ever single picture. We also went to a new burger place that just opened and followed that with dessert from Louis, a Hungarian Confectionery. So good! 

On Sunday, Daniel went to see a movie with a friend while I did some chores around the flat. Then, we did one of my favorite things- walked along the canal to Regent's Park. The Queen's Rose garden in Regent's is blooming in full force and has been something I have been wanting to walk through for awhile. It is only blooming a few months out of the year, so I'm happy we got to walk through there one more time. 

   

Speaking of blooming flowers, the Hydrangeas in our front garden are beginning to bloom! So exciting to see that some beauty has come from the past 8 months of cold, dark and rainy days. The parks are so lusciously green and it's like the streets are lined with different flowers.

 This week has been my last week to nanny for my little loves, too. I am pretty sad about that one. I have bought them each their own stationary set, complete with gel pens in every color and stickers. I also went ahead and stamped/ addressed some envelopes to myself to ensure that they'll write me!

On a lighter night, I am also counting down the days until I can say "This is my LAST TIME to have to hand wash dishes!" Cannot wait to have a dishwasher again, along with my large kitchen and oven. Because my kitchen is an overwhelmingly disaster of grimy dishes every night that I cook.