Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, especially in recent years, has been one of my most favorite days of the year.  My whole family (parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins) gathers together at one of my aunts' houses for a big meal and lots of fun.  I've never been so much a fan of Thanksgiving food, but I always look forward to seeing family members that I don't get to see as often as I'd like.  This year I had to miss all of that.

Life in London is so extraordinary in most respects, but it does make you realize all of the times you might have previously taken for granted.  I never in a million years would have thought that it would be me who was absent from the family fun, but this year it was.  As such, I found myself missing all of the noise and laughter of my large, loud family and even craving foods I normally would have avoided in the buffet line.

Moping around London wasn't an option so I decided to take matters into my own hands.  The Saturday before Thanksgiving I prepared my own miniature Thanksgiving feast of roast chicken, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, stuffing, and canned cranberry sauce.  I had so much fun spending the day in the kitchen cooking and creating!

Thanksgiving Dinner

After a long day in the kitchen I was prepared for the meal to be edible at best, but it actually turned out quite well; I was genuinely surprised!  Sitting down to a home cooked meal was fantastic, and I had so many leftovers that I didn't have to cook the rest of the week!

The Monday before Thanksgiving I went to see The Bank Perry live at Koko.  I have been following the trio, which consists of siblings Kimberly, Reid, and Neil Perry, since their debut single "If I Die Young" came out in 2010.  I've tried to see them on several previous occasions, but either all of their tickets have been sold out or their show was on a date that conflicted with my school schedule.  Needless to say, I was beyond excited to finally get an opportunity to see them live. 

The Band Perry at Koko
19 November 2012

Neil Perry, Kimberly Perry, and Reid Perry of The Band Perry

The Band Perry gave a very high energy, fun performance, but the acoustics at Koko were pretty terrible.  Having seen The Lumineers show at that venue the week before I was expecting that the acoustics would be good, but for some reason the sound technician seemed to be having a lot of trouble that night, especially with the volume.  At times Kimberly's voice could barely be heard over the combination of instruments being used. 

Kimberly Perry

The show was much flashier than I had anticipated.  Kimberly's voice is incredible alone and would have been much better showcased without all of the light tricks and distractingly heavy guitar and drums.  Overall, the group put on a great performance, but in the future I would be more interested in seeing one of their acoustic shows rather than a full-band show.

Back to Thanksgiving!  I work with a group of American expats so I was not alone in missing out on the Thanksgiving festivities.  Since it's not a British holiday the majority of us were scheduled to spend the day in the office.  One of our colleagues suggested that in order to bring some normalcy to the day we make our own Thanksgiving lunch.  We each volunteered to either bring a dish or throw in a few pounds to spread out the cost of producing the lunch.  I volunteered to bring a cranberry-apple casserole that my aunt always makes and that my cousin and I absolutely love.  Ann and I also volunteered to pick up the turkeys from Whole Foods.

The casserole was surprisingly easy to make; a special thanks to Aunt Bailey for sharing her recipe!  I went to the store the night before, but I forgot one key ingredient (butter) so I had to make an emergency grocery store run the next morning.  The casserole smelled absolutely incredible coming out of the oven!  I was nervous that it would cool off too much on the way to the office, but it seemed to do just fine!

Ann and I had an interesting time picking up the turkeys from Whole Foods.  First, we were under the impression that the turkeys would be warm, so we were a little confused when the Whole Foods staff kept trying to give us warming instructions.  It all made more sense when the turkeys came out cold; thankfully they were fully cooked.  Next, we were meant to take a taxi to work, but it didn't seem like we were going to be allowed to take the grocery cart out of the store, and with two huge turkeys and a casserole to carry we were a little worried about making it into a taxi without dropping anything.  We ended up being escorted by a member of the staff who waited with us as we hailed a taxi; I'm pretty sure she thought we were going to run off with the cart, never to return.  The taxi driver did not seem the least bit excited to play host to Ann, myself, and two turkeys.  He gave us the most skeptical look I have ever seen when I assured him that the turkeys would not leak in his precious van.  

We somehow managed to wrangle the turkeys, my casserole, and ourselves up to the 9th floor of our building.  The turkeys and casserole were the last missing pieces of a huge Thanksgiving feast!  It was so much fun to see how excited everyone in the office was as our colleagues carved the turkeys and got the meal prepared to serve.  The buffet included: turkey, two different kinds of potatoes, several varieties of stuffing, green bean casserole, cranberry-apple casserole, bread, a Spanish omelet, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, cookies, and a whole host of other goodies.  We all spent the rest of the day complaining about how full we were and struggling to keep our eyes open!

That evening I met up with a friend from Webb who was studying abroad in Rome and spending the weekend in London.  It was so nice to go to dinner with a friend from home and be able to spend Thanksgiving with someone I knew.  We had a delicious dinner at Bistro Benito and spent the evening talking and wandering around West London.  I hadn't seen Shannon in several years so we had lots to talk about and catch up on!

When I got home that night I knew that my parents would be at our family Thanksgiving dinner so I decided to call and see how everything was going.  I was happily passed between all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins!  Getting to speak to everyone made me feel like I was part of the day and made me a lot less sad that I was missing out on all of the fun.

The older I get the more I realize how much I have to be thankful for.  This year, I am especially thankful for my family, good friends (both old and new), amazing opportunities, and good health.  I could not have made this move without the love, support, and encouragement of so many people in my life, especially my parents, and I will be forever grateful for all that they have pushed me to do and will continue to push me to do in the future.

Next up in The London Era: My fabulous trip to Paris!  Stay tuned!

Caitlin

The Delinquent Blogger

The past month has been insane.  I've been going, doing, and seeing nonstop, and it has made me one very delinquent blogger.  Actually, it's made me an anxious blogger too.  Last time this happened (about a year-and-a-half ago), I just stopped writing because I was so overwhelmed.  I didn't know how I was possibly going to share everything I'd been doing so I didn't share anything.  This time, I promise to keep writing and fill you all in as best I can.  I've decided that in order to make this process more manageable I'm going to split the last month into several blogs and just let it fall into a natural progression.   But that begs the question: Where to begin?

I'll start back in early November.  As you all know, Thanksgiving is a very American holiday; it's just as much about being thankful and surrounding yourself with family and friends as it is about kicking off the Christmas season festivities.  As the British don't celebrate Thanksgiving they don't seem to have the same Christmas timeline we have in America.  As such, I found myself at Harrods’s Christmas parade on the 3rd of November.  I'm not going to lie and say that I don't enjoy the Brit's love for all things Christmas; all the decorations make the usually grey, dreary city somehow more bright and cheery.  You almost, I stress almost, forget you're freezing to death and in a constant state of damp.

First Christmas Tree of the Holiday Season

Night View of Harrods Decorated for Christmas

Now, back to the Harrods Christmas parade.  While I was expecting something more along the lines of Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, I wasn't at all disappointed by what I got.  In true parade form, there was a marching band, elaborately dressed dancers, and a host of smiling, waving people dressed for Christmas.  Santa made his way through the parade atop a Harrods double decker bus, how very British!  There were also horse drawn carriages, Disney princesses dressed in couture, and reindeer.  I almost died when the reindeer made their way through the procession; talk about an overload of cute!

Marching Band

Horse Drawn Carriage

Reindeer

 

As the month progressed I was lucky enough to see several big shows, namely The Civil Wars, Ingrid Michaelson, and The Lumineers.  I had been looking forward to The Civil Wars show since late spring, early summer.  Their album, Barton Hollow, is one of my absolute favorites, and I keep it on heavy rotation; I listened to it a lot last year while I was studying my way through graduate school and the CPA exam.  The duo, which consists of Joy Williams and John Paul White, offers listeners a folksy, southern sound with mesmerizing harmonies; I think "haunting" is the perfect word to articulate their unique sound.  If you haven't given them a listen I would highly recommend that you do!  Hearing them live gave me goose bumps, and I was beside myself when they played my favorite song, "Dance Me to the End of Love," as their encore!  About an hour after I got home from the show, as I was getting my Internet fix before bed, I got an email saying The Civil Wars were cancelling the rest of their European tour, citing internal discord and irreconcilable differences of ambition as the cause.  They claim to be releasing new music in 2013, and while I will be keeping my fingers crossed that they can work things out and bring us new music, right now I am just thankful that I got to see them live when I did!

The Civil Wars at the Roundhouse
6 November 2012

Several days later I went to see Ingrid Michaelson.  When Ann started talking about the show I wasn't at all convinced that I wanted to go; unlike most celebrities and musical acts, I couldn't exactly pinpoint Ingrid Michaelson.  She wasn't at all on my radar, but I began listening to some of her music at work and realized I was more familiar with her than I had known.  She has several popular songs that I recognized, including: "You and I," "Parachute," "The Way I Am," and "Be OK."  Ultimately, I decided to go to the show, and I was not disappointed.  The venue, Union chapel, is an old church that is still very much an active place of worship, but which also houses shows throughout the year.  Union Chapel's acoustics perfectly showcased Michaelson's voice and made for an incredible concert experience; I can't wait to go to more shows there in the future!  I also can't wait to hear more from Ingrid Michaelson!

Ingrid Michaelson at Union Chapel
8 November 2012

Next up was The Lumineers.  I've been listening to this group a lot at work the past few months; their debut, self-titled album is the definition of catchy.  The group falls into the indie folk-rock category; think The Civil Wars, Old Crow Medicine Show, etc.  They seemed to be having so much fun onstage, which could be a product of their new found success; they still seem genuinely surprised that their shows are getting sold out, and they don't seem like they've let success go to their heads yet.  I loved that midway through the show they asked everyone to put their cameras and smart phones down and just be present and enjoy the music in the moment.  They played all of their own songs and did several covers.  "Ho Hey," which is one of my favorite songs on the album, is so much fun to hear live; lots of stomping, "Hoing," and "Heying!"  They're coming back to London in a few months, but unfortunately their dates are scheduled in the heart of busy season so it's unlikely I'll get to go.

The Lumineers at KoKo
12 November 2012

Wesley Schultz of The Lumineers

This seems like a pretty logical stopping point for the moment.  My next post will feature Thanksgiving in London and The Band Perry!  If you have any questions about life in London, the music scene, etc. please feel free to comment; I'm always taking post ideas!

Caitlin

All Caught Up

To get you completely caught up on my time here in London we'll need to rewind a couple of weeks.  Let's go back to the weekend where Danny proceeded to work some highlight magic on my hair.  Did I mention how amazing he was?  I still can't get over how much better life is as a blonde.  My Aunt Bailey taught me early in life that it's better to err on the side of too blonde than not blonde enough, and boy have I taken that sentiment to heart, especially after being stuck in the dregs of almost blonde the last few months.  Make all the blonde jokes you want, I'll just keep on smiling and having more fun.  As Dolly Parton said, "I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb, and I also know I'm not blonde."  I personally like to contest that last little bit, but I digress. 

  

You'd think starting the week on such a high note might lead to a tad bit of disappointment, but I can happily report that things only continued to get better here in West Kensington.  Ann and I got a new washing machine, our Internet was FINALLY connected, we had a lazy Saturday morning shopping session, and we had a fun girls' night out, which I'll tell y'all all about later.  Oh, and I celebrated my one-month anniversary of moving to London.  Sounds like a pretty successful week to me.

While I did spend the majority of the week at work (what can I say, life isn't all roses), I did get to enjoy spending time outside the office with some of my coworkers and friends.  Since we don't get to spend the day gabbing, it's sometimes nice to get everyone together after work for a quick drink to catch-up and decompress a little.  We have several pubs around our office that we like to frequent.  There is Ye Olde Chesire Cheese, affectionately known as The Cheese, which, besides being in close proximity to the office, also happens to be one of the oldest pubs in London.  Opened in 1538, The Cheese managed to survive the Great Fire, allowing it to play host to literary greats such as Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Lord Alfred Tennyson, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, to name a few.  We also make regular visits to several other local pubs, but none quite as famous or as interesting as The Cheese.

Besides having a drink or two with friends at the pub after work, I also try to make time to run and stay active.  I get so fidgety and restless after being stuck at my desk all day that not much sounds better than taking a nice, long run after getting home from work.  Running has given me the opportunity to explore more of our neighborhood and several nearby parks the last couple of weeks.  I'm not looking forward to the weather getting colder; I'll have to join a gym and find other ways to channel all of my extra energy.  Cooped up Caitlin is not the most magical being one can encounter.

The last few weeks I've also gotten to play in a couple of indoor softball games.  Two friends from work helped form a team before I arrived in London and invited me to play with them.  It's been a great opportunity to get back into team sports and meet some new people. 

Now, back to that girls' night I mentioned earlier.  After spending Saturday morning decompressing, Ann and I were able to get out and have a little fun!  We went to Bistro Benito, the great little Italian place I told you about last blog, for dinner.  We met two Australian women, a mother and daughter, who we happened to be seated next to.  They overheard us talking, and curious about our accents and food choices, they struck up a conversation.  As it happens our southern accents tricked them into thinking we might be Australian too.  They didn't think we were from the US because we didn't have the nasally accent of those people from up north!  I, for one, was flattered, especially since I usually get asked if I'm Canadian.  If the British assume you're from anywhere in North America they guess that you're Canadian first because apparently the Canadians get offended if you accuse them of being American.  I typically laugh rather than get offended when they ask if I'm Canadian, so clearly their little guessing game is working.  

Anyway, after we finished eating our delicious dinner and chatting with our new friends, we rushed off to our next destination: the Kelly Clarkson concert!  I've always loved singing along to Kelly Clarkson's songs, but I've never really considered myself to be a big Kelly Clarkson fan.  She wasn't someone I ever thought of paying to see, but when Ann asked if I'd like to go it sounded like a fun night out.  I'm so glad I bought a ticket because it just so happens that she puts on one hell of a show.  She has this incredibly raw talent that doesn't require constant auto-tune or a huge production.  Instead of keeping the audience interested in her show by constantly changing sets and costumes, she kept us interested by belting out all of her biggest hits.  It was great getting to enjoy all of our favorite songs and spend the night singing and dancing along!  I forgot just how long she has been in the music business (she won American Idol ten years ago!) and how many great songs she has released over the years!

This past weekend was a little less interesting.  My immune system decided it wanted to play games this week so I ended up spending most of the weekend in bed trying to recuperate.  I blame public transportation, constant human contact, and an immune system that seems to enjoy keeping me in bed for my illness, but thanks to a lot of OJ, a warm, cozy bed, and a round of antibiotics I'm already on my way to feeling better.  There is too much fun to be had and places to be explored for me to spend any more time than is absolutely necessary sick in bed!

Just a quick aside before I wrap this up.  If you're looking for a good movie to see I highly recommend The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  I fell in love with the book in high school and was excited/nervous to see it translated to the big screen.   Sometimes books you love have a habit of becoming films you hate, but in this instance that was decidedly not the case.  The author of the book, Stephen Chbosky, wrote the screenplay and directed the film, so I felt pretty assured that I was in good hands, and he did not disappoint!  The story was just as touching on screen and possibly more impactful than the novel I first read almost ten years ago (I can't believe I'm old enough to date stuff like that now).  Along that same vein, if you have any film or book suggestions please send them my way.  And, if you're looking for a good book I recently finished The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, which I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend, and I am currently reading A Game of Thrones, the first book in the A Song of Fire and Ice series by George R. R. Martin, which has been a great addition to my morning and evening commute.

I think that about covers all of the big events leading up to now.  They say the older you get the faster time moves, but this is just getting ridiculous.  Time must be moving at warp speed because I feel like I've been here for a week or two at the most.  If I didn't have a lot of fun to show for the last five or six weeks I might be pretty upset, but luckily for myself, and all of you, I've been pretty busy since I got to town.  I have a pretty busy concert/travel schedule for the next little bit, so I hope to have more subject matter to delve into over the next few weeks!  Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings; I hope you enjoy reading about my adventures as much as I enjoy writing about them!

Caitlin

Fall in London

The past few weeks have been a blur of fun and work.  I haven't quite known which pieces of fun to begin with or how to go about telling you what I've been up to recently so I've done exactly what you'd expect me to do; I've been procrastinating.  I've started drafting lines here and there, but nothing sounded quite right so I'd delete what I'd written and tell myself I'd start over tomorrow.  That first tomorrow was roughly three weeks ago.  As time lapses you can see how this problem might multiply.  It's actually gotten a little out-of-control, so I just decided to rip the band-aid off and see what I can accomplish tonight.

I guess the best place to start would be my second week of work.  I won't bore you with the details of office life, but I'll fill you in on my extracurriculars.  First, I saw Fun. and Walk the Moon at the 02 Shepherd's Bush Empire.

I hadn't been a big fan of Fun. before the show and, to be perfectly frank, I'd never heard of Walk the Moon, but one of my close friends, Karen, absolutely LOVES Fun. and I knew she'd die if I had the opportunity to go and didn't...so I went.  

Walk the Moon

I went with my roommate and another girl from the office, and I had the best time!  Both bands had high-energy front men and upbeat music that you couldn't help but dance to.  Also, the venue was incredible; it was small and cozy so you could get fairly close to the stage without being in the thick of the overly excited fans (who always insist on being front and center).

Fun.

Nate Reuss, Lead Singer of Fun.

I later read that the Shepherd's Bush Empire was built in the early 1900s and originally used as a theatre.  While the building has changed hands and uses over the last century, much of the original interior remains for the public to enjoy.  The intricate details along the balconies and ceiling were incredible and worth seeing a show in order to enjoy.

I spent the next few weekends trying to furnish and decorate my flat.  I was surprised by how excited I was to decorate my space.  I really enjoyed picking out my bedding and dishware and storage containers; I became much more fixated on detail than I ever could have imagined.  I now have most everything that I need, but unfortunately I'm still lacking in the maid/house-elf department.  If anyone has a spare that they would like to donate I would be only too happy to take them off of your hands.  I'm afraid if I don't get one soon y'all will never get pictures of my flat.  My messy ways are way too embarrassing to have permanently embedded on the Internet.  You never know when Al Gore might pull those pictures out of his lockbox if they were to get posted.

The weekend of October 6th, one of my work friends had a tailgate party for the Ole Miss and Texas A&M game!  It was weird seeing the game on TV and a little sad knowing how much fun the Rebels were having in the Grove, but it was really great getting to enjoy my first tailgate experience in London in such great company.  Southern food, a glass of wine, and an Ole Miss win would have made for the perfect weekend, but unfortunately the Rebels didn't come through for me that game.  As they say, "You win some, you lose some."  Until recently, Ole Miss seemed to be losing more than their fair share.  Hopefully our team has said farewell to those days thanks to new leadership on the field and within the athletic department.

Somewhere in the blur that has been the last month I also celebrated my 24th birthday.  I have to say 24 isn't what you'd think of as the most exciting year, but I think it has the potential to be one of my very best!  My parents and I celebrated my birthday before I left for London.  They surprised me with a nice dinner, a Becker's cake, and a new camera!  I don't think it could have been more perfect if I'd planned it myself.  That being said, I didn't do too much in the way of celebrating when my actual birthday came around in London.  Unfortunately, my birthday fell on a Monday, and I had to work.  Boo!  That night, however, Ann and I went to this great little Italian place, Bistro Benito, down the road from our flat.  The food was beyond delicious and the people were friendly and hospitable.  We definitely plan on Bistro Benito becoming one of our regular destinations!

The weekend after my birthday I decided that I should do what I do best and give myself a little something to celebrate.  The little something I had been wanting most was a head full of blonder hair.  I found a salon near our flat with a good reputation and a great discount, and I made myself an appointment.  All I have to say about that experience is that Danny at Rush in Kensington is a magician.  I'm not sure I've ever walked out of a salon as happy as I was with my hair!  I can get pretty worked up over my hair so it's a pretty big deal if I can leave the salon with a smile on my face.  Needless to say I made my next appointment before I was even out the door.

Later in the day I decided to explore Kensington Palace, which is just a short walk from my flat.

Adult ticket prices be damned...I still have my student ID, and I plan on using that thing to my advantage until I can't pass for a student any longer.  I figure my parents paid enough for my education to give it a few extra years validity, right?  Yeah, that's what I thought too.

Anyway, back to Kensington Palace.  I've seen a lot of castles and a lot of palaces, but I was still able to find my tour surprisingly interesting.  I love hearing the histories of the rooms and the people who inhabited them, and I enjoy filling my imagination with what it must have been like to be present when the space was being utilized at its peak.   Kensington Palace was home to Queen Victoria before she inherited Buckingham Palace, and it was the official residence of Lady Diana and the Queen's sister, Princess Margaret.  Most recently, Prince William and Duchess Catherine have decided to make the space their official royal residence.

While the interior of the Palace is in itself exquisite, it is the gardens that provide the most breathtaking views.  I was able to enjoy them much more thoroughly later in the day when I took a long run through Kensington Gardens and the adjoining Hyde Park.  I cannot even begin to imagine how lovely the flowers, trees, and ponds will be in the spring and summer.

That gets us mostly caught up into mid-October.  I'll try to hone my creative juices this week and hopefully finish October out properly.  Until then, I hope everyone is getting into the Halloween spirit!

                    

                                                                                         Caitlin

The London Era Begins

A year-and-a-half later and I'm back in London, this time on a more permanent basis!  Last year I was so consumed with finishing the Masters of Tax program at Ole Miss and passing the CPA exam that it barely registered with me how much I was missing being in the city.  I am beside myself that I am getting such a wonderful opportunity.  I know that the coming years will provide endless adventures, which I hope to share with all of you through my blog.

Getting settled into life in the city has been a little more strenuous this go-round.  Last time I was in London I was here on a three-month internship, and I was living in corporate housing for the duration of my stay.  This time I am living in my very own flat!  My roommate, Ann, who is both a co-worker and an Ole Miss Rebel (Hotty Toddy!), arrived in London three weeks before I did and was able to find us a wonderful two bedroom flat in the stylish and sophisticated area of West Kensington.  Since arriving in London last month I have spent most of my spare time running around the city looking for just the right things with which to furnish our new space.  So far I've been able to purchase most of life's basic necessities, but I'm still in search of several nonessential items.

When people talk about finding the perfect location I imagine they must have been talking about West Kensington because location, location, location is exactly what we've got!  We live within walking distance of several of London's most popular attractions (Kensington Palace/Gardens, Hyde Park, Royal Albert Hall, and Notting Hill's Portobello Road).  We also have the largest Whole Foods in London just a few minutes walk down the street, as well as two other large supermarkets and an unlimited wealth of shopping opportunities (please don't tell my parents that part).

Below is a picture of the outside of our building.  

I am in love with the bright red door!  The style of our building is very much indicative of the style of buildings in our area.

Through our various furnishing efforts our flat is already starting to feel like a home.  As I'm still in the midst of unpacking I've been unable to include pictures of my flat's interior, but hopefully I'll have everything set up within the next few weeks and will then be able to share photos of my bedroom, the kitchen, lounge, and bathroom so that those of you who are interested can get a better picture of where I'm currently living.

Apart from trying to get settled in London, I've also started work.  My first week was mainly spent training and completing various administrative tasks.  I managed to arrive after the summer busy season so the office is in a little bit of a lull right now; I'm going to enjoy it while I can because I know that it won't last!

My second weekend in London was both peaceful and productive.  I spent some quality time at the Portobello Road market with my roommate and several other friends from work.  

This market is one of my favorites in London, and I always have the best time exploring the various stalls and shops.  I was able to find a beautiful raincoat and a warm blanket for my bed at a Scottish shop, which specializes in wool and cashmere accessories.  Now I'm actually looking forward to the rain so that I can wear my new coat!  After leaving Portobello Road we headed over to Oxford Street and Regent Street to eat lunch and do some more shopping.  Ann and I came home loaded down with home goods!

I also took my first run since moving to London.  The weather this weekend was perfect and provided just the catalyst I needed to push me outdoors.  This was decidedly the most breathtaking run (no pun intended) I've ever been on.  I ran down several streets in our neighborhood and into a park not too far from our flat.  The park had a bike trail that I took lined with trees changing color for the fall.  I also was able to run through a beautiful garden filled with flowers and expertly manicured topiaries.  As I was leaving I was already looking forward to my next run!

Thanks for stopping by to see what I've been up to while here in London.  I'm going to go now and do a little more unpacking and get some sleep before the workweek starts tomorrow.  Hopefully I'll have more London adventures for you soon.                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                            Caitlin