Life in Oxford

Jun 18, 2011

Happy Birthday Dad

I hope it's as much fun as you were having in these pictures!

Love you

Win a Trip to Paris

Hi friends.

A blog I've been reading for years is hosting a little giveaway.

A trip to Paris for two!

You know how much I love Paris, so I needed to share.

And coming from someone who has won stuff a few times in my life,

I must say it's worth your 2 minutes.

Oh Happy Day is the blog, go read the details.

Leave a comment , enjoy the blog and good luck!

Jun 14, 2011

A Vespa riding girl in a Motorcycle world

I've been so busy that I haven't been able to share my recent experience at Motorcycle Class.

I really wish I had pictures to accompany this story, but you'll have to use your imagination.

CBT - is a compulsory basic training course that all motorcyclists are required to take.
It runs from 8am-5:30pm and the only free day I had was a Saturday.
I woke up bright and early to catch the 7am bus to get to Didcot, about an hour outside of Oxford.
I arrived and quickly realized that I was the only girl.
I was also the only American (no surprise there), the only Vespa driver, and the only student with a cute open face helmet whereas everyone else had full face no-joke helmets ready to take to the race course.
I also had jeans and my converse on, and all the English blokes were in full leather and boots.
These guys were looking to drive 1000+cc bikes at high speeds on motorways.
I just want to scoot around town at 30mph and grab a coffee with the wind in my hair.

To say I was a fish out of water is an understatement :)
But I embraced it.
I was figure 8ing and emergency braking.
I got out there and mastered (for a beginner) a manual motorcycle that was too big for me.
I can shift gears with one foot, break with the other, engage the clutch with one hand and signal with the other all while driving on the other side of the road.
We did a few laps around the large business park roads where the school is located.
Admittedly, there weren't many cars around to share the road with.
When 5pm rolled around and we hadn't stopped driving for so much as a sandwich, I was exhausted.
They announced "okay, now for the open road" (as in with lots of traffic)
I just felt too tired to feel confident and to concentrate properly.
So I called it a (long) day.

My friends Meg and Pete had me over for a relaxing dinner
And although it was one of the longest and most strenuous days, it really gave me a better sense of driving a motorcycle and certainly the Vespa is now a piece of cake to drive.

Jun 9, 2011

Oh to be in Sicily right now

50 degrees in June?

That's England for you.

It's nice in a way, but I would also like to feel the sun one of these days.

Of course the hot sun requires and outlet for a cool dip.

So feast your eyes on these mountainside slides in Sicily.

Yes this really exists.

Getting hot while reading on the deck?

Slide right into the Mediterranean.

Then get a little exercise walking back up, pick up your book again for a while

and then do it all over again.

Jun 6, 2011

Happy 41st Anniversary!

A very happy 41st anniversary to my parents.

Impressive, you two.
They were high school sweethearts.

Cheers to many more.

Jun 3, 2011

Outtakes

Is it really June, already?

Sorry for neglecting the blog the last few weeks.

It's been a whirlwind.

I took a trip back to Virginia for my friend Mandi's wedding.

It was stunning and made me miss Charlottesville!

Then it was back to the grind and back to reality, and June. Yikes!

I'm really looking forward to our own wedding, but I think I'm slightly in stress mode.

So I needed a few laughs and turned to our "outtakes" from our travels.
You know, the ones I never post.

There are many where these come from and they always bring a smile to my face.

Scottish ginger

Highland cow.

I have no influence on these whatsoever, I promise.

Back to the Future style- we're disappearing on the Eiffel Tower

Oh wait, we're coming back. ("Earth Angel" saved us)

Awkward. He wasn't posing with this guy, I promise. I went to snap a pic of the musician and Neil turned to look where I went.

Nakedish guy in Paris. Did I mention we ran into a completely 100% naked guy trying to get a tan about 5 minutes before we got engaged? He thought he was in a spot where nobody would see him. Oh, but we did, and we had to step over him to continue on our way. Funny stuff. Oh Paris.

This chic was not happy she was in my photo. Whoops. But I thought her moped was cool. Love those new Fiat 500s too. So cute

No more

This is what my mother looks like in a large percentage of pictures.

Neil loves Ireland so much!

Not sure about this one.
Okay, I'll be back with more soon.
Happy June.

May 20, 2011

PS- An English dinner and the stork

As we continue to progress with wedding planning,

we are getting down to the details.

For those of you that know Neil and I, then you know we love a good meal.

So we are paying extra care to the menus for the weekend.

That being said, England is no New Orleans and we have found it more difficult than expected

to create a menu that we think our guests will enjoy.

This is an email I received about one meal we are planning:

Dear Julie
Here is the chefs suggested menu:

Starter:

Chicken liver & foie gras parfait with toasted brioche

Main course:

Whole roasted plaice with lemon & oregano dressing, pea & broad bean fricassee, buttered new potatoes

Dessert:

Summer pudding with Jersey Clotted cream

I hope you like the menu, would you like to try it on Thursday 2nd June?

I look forward to hearing from you

Now, we are trying to strike a balance between local specialties with a "taste from home."

I'm not sure anyone from home would know what they were eating by just reading this menu.

So needless to say, we're still working on it.

Oh and PPS- Henry is on the way as we speak!

Remember the baby shower I blogged about.

Well, that's the little man who will be here any minute.

I don't think I've ever held a new newborn.

So I'm really looking forward to meeting him.

May 17, 2011

Brain Dump

I love reading blogs.
I have google reader set up and I'm a regular and loyal reader of about 25 blogs.

They range from food blogs to interior design and fashion blogs and travel.

Then there is my blog - about everything and nothing.

A sort of virtual brain dump, and I hope you don't mind.

So staying true to my bloggin' style. Here is the latest virtual brain dump.

Saw this, and it made me think of my mom. She's a star with laundry.

Speaking of laundry, I've gone a year with only one visit to the dry cleaners (shame).
There is only one here in town.
In New York, I went weekly. We have a washer and no dryer in Oxford, which isn't the end of the world. But take a look at this. Doesn't it make laundry look fun?

Saw this and it made me smile.

You've probably seen this already, but it made me laugh.

Saw these and immediately gained a pound (chocolate chip cookie covered oreos),
but filed it in my recipe box in the "post wedding" section of course.
You have to try everything once, right?

Saw this too, and immediately felt healthier.

Saw this wisteria growing up a building in London and I remembered how cool living in England is.

Saw this and it made me want to take my Vespa (how lucky can a girl get?) out for a drive.

(And then I thought where is her helmet, she's going pretty fast and that hat is cute and all, but not very practical)

And THEN I saw this, and thought "how welcoming does that house look?"
An English looking garden and a Vespa to boot.

Watched this, and it made me miss my own two fur balls. But really only Laser would be friends with dolphins. And he probably really would be if he had the chance.