home sweet nyc

a few observations about nyc after five months in the uk:

new york smells bad.

new york is so loud.

paris metro > london tube > nyc subway 

(did i do that right? i remember the mouth eats the bigger/better thing....i think)

(ok just in case: new york is the worst. i'm no urban planner or whatever it's called but seriously, let's get it together, mta.)

people, myself included, have no shame in public: i witnessed so many angry/tearful/crazy/funny cell phone conversations in our first 24 hours and i was like "wow. people in london DID NOT broadcast their private lives like that." at first i was a little surprised and then i remembered the time i missed the megabus to go home to see my dad sing and i was in literal hysterics on the corner of 34th st and 8th ave on the phone with my mother...wish i could say it's the only time it's happened but that would be a lie.

and

new york is my home and i love it so.

(photo from here...someone please buy me everything in this shop)

old to new

we left our home in nyc for the uk on july 16. 

on november 29, we left our new home in the premier inns all across the uk (seriously...50+ different hotels over the last few months) for my childhood home in massachusetts.

there. is. nothing. better. than:

.

there is nothing better than your mom picking you up at the international arrivals gate.

there is nothing better than pretending to ignore your dad when he comes home, which only works until he says "what's up, mah bitches?!"

there is nothing better than sleeping the deep, deep sleep of the jet-lagged. 

there is nothing better than doing literally 90 pounds of laundry.

there is nothing better than seeing american money and for a split second, honestly not knowing what it is.

there is nothing better than constantly looking the wrong way when crossing the street/driving (except remembering that it's the wrong way and not getting killed).

there is nothing better than my dog.

there is nothing better than my dad's baked goods. i have eaten no fewer than 5 magic bars/day.

there is nothing better than going to bikram yoga with your parents and witnessing firsthand where your lack of flexibility orginated.

there is just nothing better.

(except maaaaaybe going to our own apartment early next week...cannot. flipping. wait.)

(except i'm also sort of nervous and overwhelmed at the thought of basically moving back in...oy.)

(how many ellipses could i use in one post? i wonder....)

(i'm lame.)

26th Birthday

(hi new friends visiting from suzy krause! thanks for hopping over- i hope you stay! isn't her design genius?!)

i was born on thanksgiving day, 1985, in an emergency c-section. the umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck, i couldn't breathe, and i was literally the color of an eggplant when i was born.

today, 26 years later, i'm in london with my husband on the last day of our 4.5 month uk tour. wow!

i'm thankful for lots of things on my birthday, and especially grateful that the last year has looked like this:

25th birthday with my beautiful fam the day we got back from paris / 25th birthday with beautiful friends at home in nyc / christmas in our apt

(key west / funniest photo of the year / grand cayman / on board the disney magic / with minnie in castaway cay in the bahamas / market in cozumel, mexico / disneyworld!

fam & friends in maine & massachusetts for the 4th of july/our second anniversary

stonehenge / edinburgh festival fringe / greek islands x 3 / athens

london / celebrating at bohemia on the island of jersey off the coast of france

i am so grateful to have been in all these places this year (9 countries, 7+ states), and even more so to have been  in them with so many wonderful people.

now off to wander london for the last time before our final show in dunstable tonight.

tomorrow, we are going home.

27, i am coming for you. watch your back, son!

quickie!

whoa! i disappeared under a mountain of thanksgiving in london, billy elliot, guacamole, flying to the island of jersey, celebrating my birthday at my first michelin-starred restaurant, and playing wardrobe consultant to rich in topman. more coming soon, but here is a photo that best sums up the last several days:

also!

i turn 26 tomorrow!

also ALSO!

we are going HOME on tuesday. aka the day after tomorrow. how it's possible that 4.5 months have gone by remains a mystery.

also also ALSO!

the word "also" looks like a fake word if you type it often enough.

be back soon!

date nights

confession: being in the uk is amahzing and all, but dayyyyyum is it expensive. the usd to gbp exchange rate is tragic. because we're trying to save tons of moolah while here so we may lead temporary lives of leisure when we get back home to nyc, we have become cheapskates.

there is no easy way to say it.

oh, we still do tons of fun stuff like see the new musical matilda in the west end (fabulous and magical):

and dress up in harrods:

but more often than not, on our nights off, we have a hobo date.

yes, a hobo date.

what is a hobo date, you ask?

a hobo date is when we buy beer or hard cider and gross snacks from the newsagent on the corner, and then we rent a movie on itunes (this requires preparation as it always takes 10000 hours to download). then we sprawl out in our hotel room and eat things like prawn cocktail flavored pringles (yes, for real) while watching a movie on our laptop.

claaaaaaaaaaassy.

sorry for the terrible photo...RIP stolen iPhone. i miss you every day.

also, rich thinks it's important i mention we got discounted tickets for matilda by flashing our student IDs....you know....the ones from our first day of college....in 2004. 

we just don't look anyone in the eye.

and now a huge bag of haribo gummy candy + melancholia (you know, a delightful film about the apocalypse) are calling my name.

night night lovelies!