Time travel - Copenhagen

So, go back to Jan. 2, 2009. I went to Copenhagen for one last European trip before my UK departure. I went by myself, just for 2 days, and it was perfect. A quick trip to see this cool, small city in a part of Europe I had never explored.

Nothing too magical happened, but I would love to go back someday. It's an interesting mix of cobblestone streets and ultra modern design with stores selling the most amazing housewares and furniture I've ever seen. There was a freak snowstorm for about an hour one day. Then it rained most of the next. I was super impressed with all the Danish women who managed to look sleek and elegant while riding bikes in sub-zero temperatures. I also have no idea how they manage to wear high heeled boots on those cobblestone streets. I have much to learn from them. =)

Here's a little slideshow of some of the sights...

hi ho hi ho

So, I've been asked if I've found a bunch of great restaurants and cute spots in Toronto. Sadly no - not because Toronto doesn't have them but because I really don't get out of my office much, except to grab a sandwich or very very late at night, to go home.

The best meal I've had here so far was when my parents came up for the weekend and we went to a lovely dinner at Lucien, which was recommended by two of my friends who were randomly up in Toronto when I first moved. The food was absolutely amazing. Our waitress sucked. And I mean sucked in a condescending, when-you-ask-me-about-the-tasting-menu-you're-annoying-me kind of way that just didn't stop for the whole 2-3 dining experience. But as long as I never ever have to have her as my server again, I would definitely love to go back for a special occasion.

We also had some amazing fondue and a place called Biermarkt which also does a ton of imported beers and microbrews. I'd love to go back there - special fondue menu or not, just for a nice afternoon of beer-drinkin'. The funniest part about that afternoon was that when the waitress came to our table, she was all excited about a new beer they'd just added to their list. Kronenberg 1664. Which was as standard as Peroni in England. So it amused me but also made me pretty happy to know where I can now get a Kronenberg whenever I have a hankering.

Okay back to work. I will resurface eventually...like right around March 24th. And then I'll be in LA for a week and probably coming to Indy the following long weekend. And then, one day in April, I'll actually get around to exploring TO. =)

Warmth

It was 60 degrees today in Toronto! 60!

And don't I feel foolish with my giant winter coat and scarf.

Guess I'll start reading the weather report before I leave the house.
Yay for one day of spring!!!

New country, same slacker blogger

So it turns out, I've been living in Canada for a month now. Toronto, to be exact. The Queen West 'hood to be even more exact. I've settled into my apartment, already had a great visit from my parents who made the "easy" drive (9 hours each way!), and have worked at least 6 days a week since I got here. Some things don't change.

It's crazy cold here this week. It's weird - the weekend i arrived, there was a TON of snow on the ground but there was a warm patch so it melted like crazy my first two weeks here. Now there's no snow but it's anywhere from -10 to -18 during the day (celsius, mind you) and way colder with the winds. However, I bought a proper winter coat (so warm! so quilty!) and I'm adapting...going back to that thick skin I developed in my 4 years in NH. I can feel the blood thickening already.

Here are some pics of the new pad...
Living room:















Kitchen (a full kitchen! no more mini fridge and microwave/oven combo!):














Bedroom (it's tough to get an angle on but bigger than it looks):

















and bathroom:


















Not pictured - my ensuite washer and separate dryer (!) and all the awesome closet space. Also, a super cool patio which is where the doors in the living room lead to. What's crazy is that I'm pretty sure the paint color in the bedroom and bathroom is the EXACT same color as my living room back in LA. So that's probably why it felt like home instantly.

I'm subletting from the girl who owns it, who just moved in with her boyfriend. It came furnished (including all kitchenware and TV and DVD player!) which is super rare here in Toronto. There are only 5 condos on my floor - all 1 bedrooms. The rest of the units in the fairly large building are all townhouses. There aren't many building amenities but it does have a guest suite you can reserve, which was great for my parents' visit, since I'd just gotten all my boxes delivered the day they arrived. It's only $65 (canadian dollars, mind you) a night and it's on my same floor. But when most of you come to visit you can stay on the pullout sofa for freeeeeee. Or in my bed and i'll stay on the sofa. Whatevs.

I'm in a cool neighborhood with lots of funky spots to eat, drink and be merry. And it's an easy streetcar ride to work. A little crowded maybe, but an easy commute once I make it on.

Here are some pics from my parents' visit. They just came for the weekend and were a huge help getting everything set up and cart stuff around in the car. What a novelty - a car at my disposal!




























Since then, I got my hair chopped. Really really, unintentionally, chopped. I'm still getting used to it. But here's my new Toronto look.












Ok, that's all for now. I'm coming to LA March 28-April 4th so please get in touch if you'd like to have lunch, coffee, dinner, drinks, anything. Would love to see as many people as possible!

I'll try to come up with some funny stories about mounties, hockey or the word "eh" for my next post.

Oh and here's a pic of me and Julio (who also worked on Gnomeo in London) all bundled up on the streetcar.

M/NM

I will miss knowing the name of every person in my office.
I will not miss going to parties where I only know one person.
(although this will probably not be remedied til I get back to LA)


And right now, I'm really missing some LA holiday things...
I miss my roomie and friends' white elephant exchange. I really think it was my year for Super Grover.
I miss shopping at the DW holiday bazaar and Felt Club for crafty xmas gifts. Especially Miss Farrar's holiday cards.
I miss wearing sweaters and coats and hats and scarves but not all at once because you don't really need to.
I miss wearing flip flops at least one day in December.
I miss having skin with some color in it. (as opposed to the dull grey sheen I have currently)
I miss knowing that if I threw a holiday party I could fill the room. (even though I never have gotten around to it)
I miss hearing "Christmas Wrapping" (by save ferris) and Adam Sandler's Hanukkah Songs on KROQ.

And as a complete aside, I wish I had gotten my brother's clubbing gene. Maybe I wouldn't have this feeling of dread every time an event arises where I'm going dancing with a bunch of strangers. Why can't there just be a nice pub with 80s music all the time that people want to go to?

On the upside, tomorrow morning I'm going to a vintage costume sale of pieces from the BBC collection. So that's pretty awesome. Juliet and I are forming our plan of attack right now. We're expecting it to be just as cutthroat as the Filene's Basement wedding dress sale.

The Holiday Spirit

I'm not quite in it yet. I'm working on it, but mostly I'd like more sleep. I think I'm going through caffeine withdrawal a bit, since my intake spiked dramatically at work the past couple weeks. So since Matt left, I've been pretty sluggish. But I have a day off today so I'm going to get out there and shop til I drop (and possibly get a massage - I know, could I be more girly right now?). All the holiday lights everywhere are helping my holiday cheer and a good week of solid sleep should work its magic by the weekend.

I had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend here in London after getting through all the work nonsense Friday evening. It was so wonderful to have Matt here and he was very understanding about me barely getting to see him the first two days of his five day visit. But then as of 6pm Friday we got to be together non-stop. I cooked my first Thanksgiving dinner, which turned out brilliantly, if I may say. We went to my friend Kat's awesome musical-theater-themed fancy dress birthday party on Saturday night which was super fun. I was so happy Matt got to meet my London friends. We dressed as the puppeteers from Avenue Q. Simple, comfortable, yet appropriate. It also helps when your artist boyfriend is able to draw amazing replications of the puppets for props. =) We had drinks with HLord on Sunday night. Also had time to go to a bunch of museums in South Ken - the V&A, the Science Museum, Natural History - Leicester Square, Covent Garden, Knightsbridge, Chinatown, Piccadilly Circus. Saw a pretty awesome street performer who climbed a freestanding ladder in a kilt, and juggled knives at the top. And we went to see "Four Christmases" - which is way better than I expected. Anyway, so we did lots and it was a great weekend. The best part is that I know I get to see him again in just 3 weeks for Christmas with his family. No more of this 7 months between visits, that's for sure.

Anyway, just recapping that weekend has perked me up and motivated me to get out there in London while I can, so I'll post pictures later. Bye for now, kids.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hi everyone! Happy Thanksgiving! As it turns out, much like Fourth of July, (and in my opinion Halloween), the Brits shockingly do not celebrate Thanksgiving. And even though all the top people on my project are Americans, I will be working about 80 hours this Thanksgiving week. Oh well, maybe we'll get to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving next year.

However, I do have a wonderful visitor coming to spend the weekend here, so I'm pretty excited about that. Matt's making the long flight and coming over from today til Monday. We haven't seen each other since April (aside from skype-view) so it's really wonderful that he's coming over for a visit.

Many thanks on this turkey day (in my case, it'll probably be rotisserie-chicken day) to my very supportive family and friends back home, who I miss terribly but and for whom I am eternally grateful. Also a whole slew of thanks for the amazing friends I've met this year...it would have been a cold, wet, grey year in England without all of you brightening up my life. I'm a lucky girl and I'm thankful for all of it.

xoxo

p.s. I am actually trying to cook a thanksgiving meal - sans turkey - will let you know how it goes. I've got two dishes cooking right now at 7am before I go to work.

Official

I have my "official" moving date - I'll be flying to start another new life, in Toronto this time, on January 31st. Should be nice to catch it in the middle of winter - really get the worst of it out of the way.

So if any of you were thinking of visiting London, that's your last call.

As one of my nearest and dearest pointed out, that date could still change a million times. But as of now, they'll have to put me up somewhere if they push it back because I have to give my flat manager 2 months notice next week.

In miss/not news...

I'll miss lunch with my two buddies, especially the one who always checks in with me even when I'm clearly not goin' anywhere.

I will not miss lunch at my desk in my little office.

Don't get me wrong, I think there will be many more desk lunches in the next year and a half, but at least it'll have a different view.

Miss & Not so Much, day 2

I will miss random cheesy English dramas (Brittania High, The Palace) I easily get addicted to.
I will not miss 24 hours-a-day of CSI, Numbers and House.

I will miss Orange Wednesdays and meal offers from lastminute.com, TimeOut and TopTable.
I will not miss not getting to take advantage of any of them because I'm working late or don't have anyone to go with. (wah wah poor me, i know)

I will miss my Oyster card.
I will not miss coins that are worth each worth $4 American (but now only $3, thanks to the "credit crunch").


Also, I will try to stop ending so many sentences with prepositions.

Miss & Not so Much

Since I clearly can't be counted on to write regularly and significantly, let alone with photographic evidence, I'm going to try just for the first one.

And so begins my series of Things I Will Miss & Things I Will Not when I leave Londontown...

I will miss walking to work, or at worst, taking a double-decker bus
I will not miss walking through the Hammersmith Bus Station on my way there (not dangerous just ridiculously crowded and chaotic)

I will miss Sundrica's soups
I will not miss M&S mini chicken fillets (at least for the first 3 months)

I will miss ichatting with my work friends
I will not miss fretting that others are ichatting about me (paranoid much?)

I will miss Tuesday Tipple.
I will not miss Wednesday headache.
(Although I really hope that we will bring Tuesday Tipple with us to Toronto)

more to follow...