It's all in the details

It's been a relatively quiet week for us.  Lulu caught a cold over the weekend and she has been sleeping it off.  These marathon naps have given me plenty of time to explore every corner of our apartment and I've been reminded that there's something about the original detailing in an old house that makes it feel extra special.  They don't make houses like they used to ... maybe that's a good thing, but the original moldings sure are pretty to look at!

I would love to know what these houses looked like and how they were decorated when they were first built!  Here are a couple details in our current place. 

Our house has been divided, but this would have been the entrance way from the
foyer into the rest of the house ... there's one on either side

One of these in each bedroom ... if only there were chandeliers to complete the look!

I know, I know, this isn't original detailing but I still love the way it looks.

It's textured, too! 

And today is another special day because it's Uncle Niko's birthday!  We hope you have a wonderful day, Gëzuar Ditëlindjen!

Oxford vs. Cambridge

Today was the day of the Oxford vs. Cambridge boat race along the Thames.  Every year it's an intense 15 minutes of competitive rowing with the race starting at the Putney Bridge and finishing at the Chiswick Bridge.  The long standing rivalry between the two schools makes this a huge event for the British and along each side of the river emerges a sea of spectators. 

We had the best seats in the house to watch the race ... on our big comfy couch!  Lulu's dinner time coincided with the start of the race, so we weren't able to stay to watch Oxford beat Cambridge.  We did, however, take advantage of the events in Bishop's Park earlier in the afternoon with Papa, Axel and Clara. 

All the lamp posts on the Putney bridge were decorated with balloons representing each school's color ...

And there was face painting in the park.  Lulu was too little to have hers painted, but Clara transformed herself into a beautiful butterfly. 

Lulu wasn't quite sure what to think about the face paint ... 

... but Clara loved it, and so did I! 

Face lift anyone?

The last several years I have been making an effort to take care of my skin to prevent blemishes, sun damage, wrinkles, and the like.  Yesterday I indulged in my first facial in London.  It was a galvanic facial - the experience was nice and I think my skin actually looks smoother and clearer as a result.

However, since last night I have found it difficult to show full expression with my forehead.  While explaining my concern to Romain I remembered the woman at the Spa mentioned as I walked out the door that she applied a botox cream treatment ... perhaps that's why the facial was called a noninvasive face lift!!  And I guess I just got my first noninvasive dose of botox! 

On another note, little Lulu experienced her first visit to the creche yesterday and she was such a good little girl!  She's also started drinking water from her doidy cup and most of it manages to make it into her mouth. 

Em's visit to London

Miss you and love you, Em!! 

xoxoxo

Walk along the Thames

walking through Bishops Park



Sunday lunch



Auntie Em teaching Lulu how to crawl

Playing dress up in anticipation of the sunny weather

Learning how to walk !!

Snuggling in the afternoon

Sweet tooth

We have been in London for just shy of two months now and I can say pretty confidently that I have had dessert with almost every meal.  I think I need to put the brakes on my sugar intake.

Last week we enjoyed banana bread and this week Em, Romain and I indluged in lemon bars. 

Mrs. Martin's delicious lemon bar recipe has made it to London

Although Lulu cannot yet enjoy culinary sweets, she gets her sugar the natural way: bananas for breakfast and granny smith apple slices for an afternoon snack.

 

ps - Lulu's two bottom teeth made their debut last week!!  And she's not afraid to use them. 

Our BFF

Auntie Em is in town and Lulu and I couldn't be happier!

We're getting to spend a lot of quality time together ...

And Lulu is already dreading Wednesday when she has to go home.  

Dear Uncle Niko, can't Auntie Em stay just a few days longer? 

xo

Lulu

Fancy a dummy?

We had another lovely day filled with rain today.  Have you counted the number of blog posts that have stared with a similar sentence yet?  On the bright side of things, the rain today enabled us to broaden our British vocabulary and Lulu and I may have made our first mommy/baby friends at Cupcake!  As for the vocab, see below ...

Lulu, troubled by the rain, sucked on her DUMMY to help calm herself down. 

The sun came out and she was able to put down her BRELLY and lose the DUMMY to crack a smile!  

And when Lulu gets a bit older, Mommy plans to get her a pair of Hunter WELLIES for puddle jumping.

Weatherman forecasts a beautiful weekend - however, the weather wouldn't stop us from having a great weekend anyway because Auntie Em is coming to visit!!!!  Hooray!  See you soon Emiline.

St. Patty

Happy St. Patrick's day!  Lulu doesn't have anything green in her wardrobe yet, so we used her blanket from Gigi to create a nice backdrop and toys from Aunt Solenne as props for the photo.  And instead of Irish soda bread, we made another banana bread.  Not a stellar representation of our Irish heritage ... however as you can see Sienna's legs are busy practicing her Irish jig moves.  Do you think she will be a ballerina or a riverdancer? 

A taste of home

Last weekend we purchased our first tea pot.  We are in London after all where life revolves around tea time.  I recently learned that tea time is actually another term for dinner – learn something new every day!  Sshhh, just don't tell our British friends that we're drinking tea from Oakland, CA.

Lulu and I added some comfort to our afternoon tea with home made banana bread and tea in our Penelope mug - two things that remind us of home.  

And then we played a different kind of dress up ... the kind you do after a messy diaper, before a nice warm evening bath. 

And sending many happy birthday wishes to Jean (Papynou) on his birthday today!!!  

Cupcake

It's hard to believe we have only been living in Fulham for one week!  We've tried as much as possible to make it feel like home, so it seems like we've been here longer.  Our neighborhood has a quaint village-like feel to it that in some aspects reminds me of growing up in Hudson, OH. 

By recommendation of Hilary, we recently joined a club in Parson's Green for babies and moms called Cupcake Mums.  They offer a wide range of classes for parents and children and we attended our first Buddha babies and baby massage classes yesterday and today.  Buddha babies is a mommy/baby yoga class so Lulu and I both got a bit of a workout and lucky Lulu got a full body massage this morning - massage oil and all!  Hopefully we will have the opportunity to make some friends at Cupcake before the end of the week.

I wonder if the name cupcake was inspired by the obsession of cupcakes in NYC several years ago ... the founder of Cupcake Mums is American after all.  If that's the case, all you NYers will have to keep me in the loop on the latest trends so maybe Lulu and I can start up our own business on this side of the pond. 

Lunch at the Chelsea Farmers Market

Lulu practicing her Buddha Babies yoga moves

The Munsters

Our new casa on Munster Road is great!  The style and feel of it is much more in line with our taste than where we were previously on Hogarth.  Sienna’s room finally looks like a nursery (yet doubles as a guest room for anyone thinking of paying us a visit) and is nicely decorated with visually stimulating objects for her.  Our bedroom is still a work in progress, but slowly getting there (btw, there is a working fireplace).  We have an open kitchen that is now equipped with all the essentials so we can cook and have proper meals.  And there’s a mini basement for storage that also has a washing machine AND a dryer – woo hoo!!

Our bedroom

 

More photos to come later!

One man and a van

We made one heck of an efficient team moving our things on Monday.  Though Romain gets most of the credit … he drove a huge van (on the wrong side of the street – correct side in the UK) without a working GPS from Earl’s Court to Fulham and then up to our storage unit with all of our belongings from NYC outside NE London.  He hadn’t driven in London in 12+ years and made everything look easy (good thing Romain’s UK license has a 50+ year validity).  I would have side swiped several cars and taken out a few pedestrians.  And I surely would’ve driven on the wrong side of the road 90% of the time. 

Needless to say, we are settling into our new flat and like it very much. 

Tammy

If you look closely, you can tell from the photo below that Tammy exists in London too ... and she most definitely shops at Sainsburys.  Lucky for her, travel-sized hair straighteners are on sale this week!   

***



Although it feels wrong to include a photo of Lulu on a post mentioning Tammy, I had to share a photo of her modeling her new sun hat.  We're one step closer to getting ready for the sunny Marseille weather this summer!  Happy six month birthday today, Lulu.

Lulu the brave

Little Lulu braved her 6 month shots (aka jabs) today NHS style.  She was such a good girl and barely cried.  I was expecting her to cry herself to sleep like she's done in the past, giving me the opportunity to pack up our belongings, but as you can see from the photo below she doesn't seem bothered by them and only wants to stay awake and play!  Packing may have to wait ... 

self service height/weight station says Lulu is 90% for height, 25-50% for weight
 ... and still trending like Auntie Em with 5-10% for head circumference

Things are shaping up

Yesterday turned out to be the best day Lulu and I have had in a long while.  We started packing up our suitcases in preparation for next week's move, had a tea/play date in the afternoon, and received emails from two friends letting us know they're coming to London next month!!  Hip, hip, horray! 

Lulu's first real play date was a success.  Her new friend, Lawrence, is only 4 days older than she is, and they had a great time playing together while his mom Zsofi and I enjoyed afternoon tea.  It was impressive to see how well 6 month olds can play and share.



Lulu & Lawrence playing



I'm beginning to like the idea of afternoon tea (good thing because we are in the land of tea time, afterall!).  There's something about London water that makes tea (and coffee) taste extra delicious here - maybe it's the limescale?   Whatever it is, it really brings out the flavor. 



happiness after a fun-filled day

Things are starting to shape up ... and can only get better in the weeks to come!!

Top 10 differences, NYC vs. London

We've been in London for three weeks now, and I have compiled a list of the most noticeable differences between London and NYC (note: when reading, keep in mind that I am leading the life of a stay at home mom in London, whereas I was working among many in midtown Manhattan for seven years prior to the move ... my daily routine is quite different, to say the least):

10.  It's okay, and almost considered normal, to breastfeed in public.

9.  Chivalry hasn't died (not sure if that's 100% true yet, or if Lulu's stroller enables us the right to courtesy from men).

8.  Passersby smile - it was strange when people smiled at me because you just don't do that in NYC, but then I remembered it is simple common courtesy to smile and acknowledge other people on the sidewalk!  And no, they're not creepy people stalking you. 

7.  You can hear birds chirping in the morning in the middle of the city. 

6.  Fruits and vegetables have flavor, and they don't grow moldy within a day of purchasing them.  And much to my surprise, groceries are cheaper in London! 

5.  When it's lightly drizzling outside, Londoners consider it poaring.  I'd hate to see what a NYC downpoar would do to London!

4.  Late winter weather here has been quite mild.  Those may be my famous last words -- I better wait to experience my first full winter before commenting any further. 

3.  London caters to children ... for example, there is a reserved space on the bus for prams (max 2 per bus).  In NYC the reserved spots are for wheelchairs only.  Oh, and you can wheel your stroller into a taxi!  You don't even have to take the child out or collapse it.  If only London taxis accepted credit cards ...

2.   You can refill your public transit card (Oyster card) online!  Time to get on the bandwagon, NYC, with those Metrocards!

1.  Doctors are phantoms.  I haven't seen one yet, and I have only heard talk about nurses and midwives.  From my experiences so far, this is what I can tell you: an NHS check-up/physical entails a nurse (I think) taking your blood pressure (with an electric cuff) and testing your urine for sugar and protein levels.  I do not know the frequency of check ups, however they are free.  A NYC annual physical consists of a doctor taking your blood pressure (with a legit blood pressure cuff and stethescope), listening to your heart and lungs, checking your eyes, ears, and throat, a breast exam, blood work, and sometimes an echocardiogram.  Not free.