Where's Maurissa?

Hello my dears.

The week after Croatia, I had an amazing visit with my family. The whole gang - mom, dad and Alexander - came over and we went to Edinburgh for a few days, then they hung out in London for a few more. We went to the Palace Rooms at Buckingham, toured Edinburgh and Stirling castles, got a little hike in the Highlands, and had some great meals together (as is the Horwitz family way). It was really wonderful to see them and I loved the weekend away in Edinburgh.

Here's a slideshow:


This past week, work sent me to Toronto to meet everyone at Starz and get a jump on a housing search by touring the city and seeing some sample apartments so I could get a feel for neighborhoods and prices. Everyone at Starz was really great - so friendly and welcoming. And we got so lucky with the weather - it was a gorgeous few days there. Unfortunately Toronto is a little more expensive than I was hoping...looks like I won't be able to recover quite as much from my year in pricey London as I'd planned. Also, they're really pushing condo rentals - there are soooo many new condos still being built! - and I was hoping for a converted Victorian house. The condos do have their advantages: they all have gorgeous gyms, party rooms, decks, and I wouldn't have to worry about much stuff breaking...I just have a hard time imagining myself on the 22nd floor of some building. But I'm sure it'll all work out. At the very least I've narrowed down my neighborhood possibilities: King West, Yorkville, The Annex, St. Lawrence Market and Greektown all seem like great options. If anyone has any advice or suggestions, though, I'm definitely open!

I did meet one new friend in Canada already. I can already tell we're soulmates:


When I got back yesterday, I still had a pretty fantastic weekend ahead of me. Last night a friend of mine from the Croatia boat had a birthday party in Covent Garden. It was so cool so see everyone again (well, at least like 7 of them anyway), we had such a great group on the trip, I feel so lucky. Today I met up with Steph - Kat's best friend from growing up - at the Thames River festival. From there we met up with Helen in Hampstead Heath for a little cider and chatting. It was a gorgeous sunny day out and I was ecstatic to be out with such fabulous girls in the sunshine.

Also, in very exciting news, my dear Farrar is coming out for a visit next week! I can't wait! I'm off to the Lake District this coming weekend with the ladies from work to see Beatrix Potter country. Then, Farrar comes and we're going to Dublin together the following weekend. Woo hoo!