Coming out of Hibernation

What did I do in February and March? Worked, worked, and then worked some more. I just wrapped up the start of a big project and I'm embracing Spring by getting back on track...cleaning house, cleaning up personal emails, and hoping to get back to the blog.

We did find time to escape for a three-day weekend in mid-February. Hello Chamonix, France! We had three days of sunshine and blue skies, and unfortunately, temperatures approaching 50.

Don't kid yourself though...we were really in it for the fondue. I boycotted bread and cheese for over a month after the trip. Three days of skiing barely burned the amount of pure, heavenly, cheesy fat consumed.

The temperatures meant less than ideal conditions of slush and ice. So signs like this took on a whole new meaning.

We still had a great time though and can't wait for the 2012 ski season. Until next year Alps!

Adios January

I'm not feeling very inspired lately. The world warned me that January was a tough month here. My response was, "Oh, January in New York City is terrible. It can't be that bad!" Well, it is. The month wouldn't end. We start traveling again in a few weeks, so hopefully that will bring some inspiration. And some sunshine wouldn't hurt either because we enjoyed our time in the park yesterday with Vella.

Sunday Style

I posted months ago about our flat desperately needing some TLC in the form of colour (and blogger is now correcting all of my US English to UK English, how lovely!). I bought this Jonathan Adler duvet on eBay over Christmas and it finally arrived yesterday.

Photo courtesy of Decorpad.com.

Yes, brown is my idea of colour these days. Since a certain black and tan puppy likes to sleep with us, and lounge on the bed during the day, our days of all white bedding are over. I did find some white Euro shams and a white valence (aka bed skirt in the good 'ole USA) on sale, so those are checked off the list. The orange accents won't work for us. I plan to spend some of this afternoon on Etsy hunting for pillows.

Happy lazy Sunday and football watching to all of you back home.

Ice Skating at Somerset House

I pulled myself together on Saturday night and we headed to Somerset House for ice skating. We kept seeing signs for the rink when we were out and about over Christmas, so we bought tickets and spent our evening on the ice. The one and only time I've ever been ice skating was in 2002 when my younger sister came to NYC for a visit. I think I fell every 10 feet. I'm happy to report that there were no disastrous falls or broken bones on Saturday. We can check this one off the list for the Winter.

Since we think we're ready for the Winter Olympics, our next adventure is skiing in Chamonix, France in early February. God help the people operating the lifts. Watch out slopes (and breakfast buffet), here come the Rosedales.

Put me out of my Misery

Stomach flu. Bad. I don't think I've been this sick since I was in elementary school. Seriously, someone just shoot me and put me out of my misery right now. On today's menu - ginger ale, cinnamon toast and vitamin water. And daytime TV here totally sucks.

Need a dose of cuteness today?

It's cold and rainy here tonight, so I'm curled up on the couch with this gorgeous girl. This picture is part of my husband's Project 365. Feel free to check it out here on Flickr.

Travel Credits 2010

Living in London means that travel options are endless. It still amazes me that we can leave work on a Friday evening, hop on the train to Heathrow or Gatwick, and be somewhere in Europe about two hours later. Throw in low cost airlines, and you'd be a fool not to take advantage of booking weekends away each month. Not to mention the fact that long-haul travel also seems so much easier from Europe!

Before I moved in May, I said my goodbyes with weekends in Columbus, Ohio, Round Hill, VA, and Aliso Viejo, CA. Here's where we had the pleasure of traveling during my seven months here:

Marbella, Spain
Bordeaux, France
Shannon, Ireland
Ibiza, Spain
Praslin, Republic of Seychelles
Munich, Germany

Sultanate of Oman

My list pales in comparison to other expats here, but hopefully we'll play catch up in 2011.

Thank You 2010

Happy New Year! We had a quiet night with friends in Waterloo, which included a yummy lasagna dinner courtesy of the Millers. I originally wasn't too thrilled about staying to watch the fireworks, but I'm glad we battled the crowds. The photo is courtesy of my husband. He finally figured out the settings on our camera!

2010 was an exciting year for us. The first six months are a blur for me - a quick trip to London to find a flat, the husband moving 6 weeks later, shipping our lives in a sea crate, moving to my MIL's house for 5 weeks, finding a new job at my company, and finally renting our house in WH. I think the dog had it the worst as the innocent bystander in all of this. We wouldn't change a thing though. It was worth every minute of stress.

Jumping to December

One word for November - work. So let's fast forward to December. We got away for some sun a few weeks ago and spent 8 days in Oman. Amazing. The countryside, the coast, the people, the food...it was all amazing. We also officially kicked off a month of eating too much, but well worth it when I look at that bread and hummus.

Let's Start with October

We're healthy and happy here in London! Just getting back in the swing of things after guests and trips. The past few months went by so quickly, so let's back up to October.

In early October, we flew home for a long weekend to watch Matt's sister walk down the aisle. It was an incredibly stressful trip for me. Our renters agreed to stay in NYC for the weekend and let us use the house. This seemed like a great idea because the wedding was on Eastern Long Island and the stay would give us a chance to check on the house. Wrong. I won't get in to the details, but it was not a relaxing weekend in my house. The renters are only there on the weekends, but they've definitely made themselves at home in more ways than I would like!

A few weeks later, my parents made a weekend stop in London on their way to Germany. We celebrated my Mom's 60th birthday a few weeks early and enjoyed exploring London. One of the highlights was an afternoon at the Imperial War Museum. If you're ever in London, I recommend adding this to your itinerary.

And, to round out the month, Matt and spent Halloween weekend in Munich. The weather was gorgeous (bright blue skies and just a little chill in the air), which always makes a new place that much better. Munich is a beautiful city with great people and scenery. The beer and abundance of pork were also Rosedale favorites. Some pictures from the Hofbrauhaus (note the giant pretzel) and Glockenspiel:

On to November and December soon, and then I promise more regular updates.