Never Too Far

One of the things I love most about this country is that it doesn't take very long to reach the shore. Drive long enough in any direction, and we seem to end up on a pebbled beach. For someone who loves the sea as much as I do, this is a heavenly convenience. There is no manmade object or place on this earth that can captivate me quite like the seaside. No matter the weather, you can bet I'll be sticking my toes in the surf.

Living Abroad Life Hack: Pumpkin Spice Coffee

Necessity is the mother of invention. I always took the season of "pumpkin spiced everything" for granted, until now. Apparently, it's a strictly American obsession, and I was on the verge of suffering withdrawal. Something had to be done, and quick.

I searched Pinterest diligently, but all Pumpkin Spice Latte recipes I found required one of two things: pumpkin puree (which I can't find in stores here), and pumpkin pie spice (again, doesn't really exist on this side of the Atlantic). In an act of sheer desperation, I concocted this little spiced coffee to hold me over until Amazon can fulfill my imported pumpkin-obsessed needs.

Pumpkin Spice Coffee

Ingredients:
Coffee (Instant or Brewed, 8 oz)
Milk (or non-dairy milk or creamer)
Ground Nutmeg
Ground Cinnamon
Ground Ginger
Raw Sugar (optional)

Add a dash of nutmeg (literally, one little dash), two dashes of cinnamon (sorry for the super precise measurements), and a dash of ground ginger to bottom of coffee cup. Add 1 tsp raw sugar (optional), and milk (again, optional) and stir. Add coffee, instant or brewed, and enjoy! It's that simple, and it definitely evokes those feelings of fall in a pinch. If you have McCormick pumpkin pie spice sitting around in your pantry, and you never use it except that once-a-year pie, then take a shortcut and toss that in instead of the individual spices! It's quick, easy, and does a lot less caloric damage than a commercial latte.

Enjoy!

Diary: 1 Month

I'm a few days early, I know, but it's basically been a month since we landed here in England. A lot of changes have and are taking place, and not just physically. My mental outlook on this relocation, and "going without," have been altered dramatically during the past few weeks. Needless to say, there are still a few places and routines that my creature-of-habit mentality desperately misses, but for the most part I already feel... 'changed'. Let me elaborate.

Week 1: Vacation mode. At this point, I didn't really feel like I was on anything other than a vacation. The hubs had made plans for just about every single day to reconnect with family and friends, so we had plenty to do and plenty of places to visit. Still hadn't unpacked suitcases; too busy consuming food and wine. Overall outlook: relaxed, happy, bloated; constantly mildly intoxicated (with happiness, or otherwise).

Week 2: Settling in. Still seeing lots of friends and being introduced to the general area, but the social aspect has calmed down considerably. Cooking dinners nearly every night for the whole family. Introduced everyone to "Taco Tuesday" (and they're still not sick of it yet!). Cheese & wine obsession still going strong; diet failing miserably.

Week 3: Back to business. Lots of job interviews and meetings for Steve; I'm back on the daily blog grind. Trying to get more projects running and make this hobby truly profitable. A mini road trip to the south coast has left me dreaming of a bungalow by the sea: more motivation to make both of us reach for more success, career-wise.

Week 4: Chinatown withdrawal. I know I'm only going into week 4 now, but I'm starting to miss the little things. Like "real" Chinese food. I'm not even Asian, I just can't ever remember a stretch of time this long that I hadn't had my wok or some odd looking, delicious vegetables to stir up in a spicy, fermented sauce. le Sigh.
 In the other, normal, daily aspect of things: we're on a strict budget now, since Steve has had a job offer, but hasn't started his job yet since his to-be boss is away on holiday (because month long vacations are normal in August, or something). It's made me realize how many times a day we spend 'needlessly', and packing lunches or going without frivolous shopping and daily trips to the pub won't kill us. I hope.

Overall mood, on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being lounging beside a pool in Spain) I'd say I'd give this first month a 7. Obviously there's a minute amount of stress due to the we're-not-working-yet situation, but in the broader scheme of things, I think this relocation is converting me into a relaxed person. I still have my anxious binge-working and binge-cleaning days/moments, but I see a definitive difference between the lifestyle here and what I had been accustomed to. I'm sweating the little stuff less and less, and I'm happy about it.

Rose Tinted

I still don't fully feel like I "live" here. That's not a bad thing, don't get me wrong - I simply still feel as if I am on vacation... some long, leisurely trip without an expiration date. It's nice. I'd like to think that I've worked hard enough for the past few years to deserve this kind of time off, even though it's built into my character to not award myself that sort of laziness. But for the moment, I'm going to allow it, because it's freaking wonderful. 

Bright Ideas

I've never really had the option or responsibility of choosing where I will call home, until now. It's always been sort of pre-determined: I grew up where my parents lived, I moved to a city where my college was, and then to New York City, where my career is based.

Now this new chapter, this up-in-the-air relocation across the pond, presents a new challenge: Where will we settle down and try to start our new life? There have been a variety of options, regions, towns and cities considered, but I think Steve and I have finally come to agreement on our ideal future home location.

First, I want to start by listing out my personal home-picking criteria, which played a big factor in coming to our little plan.

1. City versus town atmosphere - I've lived in NYC for the past 3 years, and Philadelphia for 4 years before that. Although I grew up in a small town, and it's lovely, I have a natural fast-paced city attention span, and I like to be in a busy environment with plenty to do and see. I love the multi-cultural melting pot atmosphere that can be found in cities, as well as accessibility and proximity to public transportation.

2. Proximity to a port - As a self-proclaimed foodie, I've gotten very used to the availability of a wide variety of super-fresh vegetables, meats, and fish, and it's just not as possible to access great food when one is land locked. Cities will also (usually) be closer to airports for international travel opportunity. Not to mention, I'm a beach junkie (I love living about 20 minutes from several great beaches here in NYC) so I would like to be within a short walk or drive to the shore.

3. Jobs - Well, let's be honest, there are more jobs in larger populated areas. Although Steve can do his job just about anywhere, I need to be in a bigger town or city, and his job will definitely have a higher earning potential in a city as well.

4. Family & friends - While my family will be about 3,000 miles away, it's great to have all of my husband's relatives and friends within arms reach. I mean, they're my fam now too, so I don't want to be hours and hours away.

So, our conclusion: Brighton.
I love Brighton Beach here in Brooklyn. In fact, my old roommate & best friend just got a new apartment down there, and we've already been dropping in uninvited a few times. It just seems funny to me that we might end up in Brighton across the pond, too!
We agreed that we both want to live somewhere where there is plenty to do & see, a great multicultural grocery scene for me to explore, and beautiful scenery. It's about an hour and a half drive from the in-laws, so it's close enough for a visit, but not close enough for an unexpected one (wink wink). I think that Brighton is going to be absolutely perfect, so here's to crossing our fingers and making the next step!

All found images

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

Ladies and gentlemen, I have a big announcement - and it's not about my excitement over the newest batch of photos from our wedding, but I've included a few of them anyway because I want to share two things at once.

Decisions have been decided, things have been taken into consideration, sacrifices have been made, tears have been cried, plans have been put into action, and flights have been booked.
Steve and I are moving to England at the end of July.

It wasn't an easy decision, and it certainly isn't an easy process, but we finally bit the bullet and need to do what is best for the two of us - both now and in our future. As hard as it is going to be to pack up and leave, this is also the most exciting journey of our lives, and I am so so so thankful that we can be embarking on it together. We know that some people will be shocked, and some will be upset, and some will be sad, but right now we need the support of our close family & friends more than ever. Trust me, this is hard. But not going would be harder for us, both in the short and long run. We're going to do our best to see as much of our family & friends as possible before we leave, so please don't hesitate to call/text/email if we can squeeze in a visit before the end of next month.

And once we get our own place across the pond, eventually, one and all will be welcome.



Other notable mentions: I am excited to announce that in August I will be launching a new blog. I'm using this opportunity to really pursue my love of writing and cooking, and the official announcement will follow once the website itself is somewhat finished/up & running.

Notable mention number 2: Did someone say SALE?? I'm going to be having a massive moving clearance in the shop, to minimize the amount of inventory that I will have to move. On top of that, I'll be having a closet sale! I'm not sure if it'll be on eBay or some other site yet, but I'm going to be cleaning out closets and getting rid of a lot! So stay tuned for that, because I have loads of cute stuff (mostly XS/size 0 things that I don't fit into anymore but couldn't bear to part with) that will be up for grabs. Fo CHEAP, yo.

Notable mention number 3: It is with the saddest of sad faces that I am looking for a new forever home for sweet little old Buggy. My dear kitty is not in good enough health to fly with us to our new home, and she would do best in a single-cat household. If anyone has or knows of a wonderful, calm, quiet, loving environment she could be a part of, please let me know! I want the absolute best for her, and my heart is breaking over the thought of saying goodbye to my sweet girl.

More updates to follow as the story develops. That's all for now, folks!

Photography by Naomi Huober