Back to Dallas, July 29, 2014

It is going to be a few really difficult weeks for me. Josh is going back to Dallas for his Texas client. He will be gone for quite awhile. I did send him with an empty suitcase and a list of Texas necessities! His company got him a Business Class ticket but he just texted me that he got upgraded! How exciting! They are giving him all kinds of goodies including pajamas, a toothbrush/toothpaste, ear plugs, eye mask, Dermalogica face wash and some cozy socks! He lands at 3am my time and I'm sure I won't be able to sleep until I hear from him. Thinking of Josh and a safe, enjoyable flight.

First Class Goodies

One Month, July 28, 2014

Wow! We Left Dallas one month ago! I just felt like I have to document this one month milestone. Something exciting for today...our couch arrived! Yay, finally! Our landlord provided a temporary couch until this one was ready, but I was excited to see what she picked out and what color it was going to be (our temporary one was white...not what I would have picked for a family with 2 dogs). The couch is HUGE and I do love the color. Its a dark blue/gray and will be perfect for our family.

The new couch arrived

July 25, 26, 27, 2014

Friday-
Our delivery came from the States today! I am so excited to see all of our things. The first box I plan to open is the one labeled "pillow". I have been missing our pillows so much, I had no idea how much I loved them until they were gone. The reception area (living room) is cluttered with all the boxes as I start to unpack. Oh man, where will all of this go?
Josh is coming home pretty late for a Friday. It's so different, in Texas Friday was usually the earliest day he would get home during the week. He has a call from his client in Texas so I am just unpacking while he works.

Saturday-
We were up late due to unpacking and Josh's phone call so we slept in pretty late. The sun comes up so early it makes it difficult to sleep in, but we managed!
We are going to get out to take our baby announcement picture. I found a London phone booth and a London onesie. Here are some of our pictures:

Baby Kinsell due December 25, 2014

Some people from Josh's work are getting together in Hyde Park later today so we plan to head that way and check it out! We get ready and decide to get some lunch. We walk around but need something quick so we decide on KFC. I know, not very adventurous but everything here takes so long. The menu at KFC is pretty large compared to Texas. Of course it was yummy and not too expensive. We walk to Hyde park. Wow, its so beautiful and HUGE! We find out we are on the other side of the park from where they are meeting. Looking at our phones it will take us over 30 minutes to walk there. There are so many people here since its such a beautiful day. We decide to rent bikes and ride to the meeting spot. It was fun meeting some of the people Josh works with. They are all from America so it was really enjoyable having some "American time".

After the park we plan to meet up with Danielle and Matt and venture to our "old hood" Aldgate for our Jack the Ripper Tour. I am very excited! We didn't know that our first living quarters in London were so close to Jack's hunting ground. The tour is really interesting and we get to see the spots that the bodies were found, and landmarks that are still around like bars where the prostitutes or Jack were thought to be regulars. Our tour guide gave us a great description of how London and Whitechapel looked in 1888. We also learn that most of the people were unemployed, and Whitechapel was a very dangerous place to live. Most of the women had to turn to prostitution to earn 3 pence. The killings only lasted 6 months, I had always thought it was longer than that.

Jack the Ripper Tour

Tour Bus

Pub that Jack's victims frequented

How the streets looked in Victorian times

The group outside another popular Jack bar

After the tour we ventured into a "Mexican" restaurant in the area called Lupita. It was pretty good, just different than what we are used to, like not getting chips and salsa, but the table side guacamole was delicious!

Sunday-
 I have been wanting pancakes for days now. I tried to make my own but I don't have a bowl and its an ordeal (I know you're thinking just go buy one, but not how it works here)...also they don't sell pancake mix until Easter time, and the 1 type of syrup they have cost $9.00. The Stones told us about a yummy breakfast place that we could bring the dogs to called, No. 11. We decided not to bring the pups but the restaurant is so cute! I love the atmosphere. I order my blueberry pancakes and they hit the spot! Again different than I am used to but just what I was wanting! At breakfast Josh reminds me that I have yet to get him his birthday gift and he has decided what he would like. Josh's birthday was May 21 right in the middle of our moving chaos. We went out and celebrated but I told him I would get him a gift once we got here. Josh loves electronics and I figured that would be best to get once we arrived. He has decided on a Nespresso machine! We walk to my favoirte store, John Lewis to get him one. Some interesting things...this store opens at 11:30, but 11:30-noon are for browsing only. You can't make purchases due to their market until noon. We also go to a cute store called Habitat and got some things for the house. I found some lucky bamboo, that I hope I can keep alive longer than things lasted in Dallas. 

Happy Birthday Joshie

We get home to rest, and take the dogs to the dog park. They are loving going to the park everyday! Then we are meeting up with the Stones for a fun after hours tour of Hampton Court Palace. We take a 40 minute train ride to zone 6, wow, its way out there compared to how we have been traveling. The tour is called Salacious Gossip, Sex, Celebrity and Scandal at Court. The palace was closed to the public and only 20ish people were on the tour so we got to see areas usually off limits to the public. I also like seeing the palace while hearing all these behind the scenes scandal! The palace was a favorite of King Henry VIII. The palace was beautiful with a fun maze in the garden that we will have to go back and try.

Hampton Court Palace

Our Tour Guide

Palace Garden

Outside Palace Gates

Kinda dark but a beautiful bed

After the tour it's about 9:30 and we are all starving. We go across the street to the cute little town and find an Italian restaurant called Zizzi. It is delicious!!! Josh of course gets the lasagna and it came in a cute cast iron pan, hot but delicious! Then we head home. Its a work night for all of them but what a fun weekend we had!

Lasagna at Zizi

Josh Goes Shopping, July 20, 2014

We started the day going to the grocery store for some new food items. Then we decide to go to Slone Square and walk around. There are many different stores and restaurants in this area. We stopped at the department store I was telling you about, John Lewis. I wanted Josh to see the greatness! We got some items for the house like a shower storage, frying pan, and a laundry basket. We discovered that the store has 6 floors. We went to the restaurant on the 6th floor. It was ok food, and we sat by the window so the view was great. We left and walked around the area. We decided to take the bus to get home...oops we got on the bus going in the opposite direction. So we get off and realize there are some more stores we want to go into. We get on the right bus and head home. What a busy weekend! Josh decided to take a nap and I took the dogs to the dog park. It's really not far from our house and I have been taking them everyday. For dinner we ordered Dominoes Pizza.

We got a peperoni pizza that cost 19.99 pounds, that converts to about $34.00, yikes! It tasted different but we still enjoyed it. They put 4 peperoni slices on each slice of pizza, and not all over like in the States but mostly where the crust meets the cheese...interesting but made me think of home. I should have taken a picture according to Meghan Derrick, but I will be sure to next time!

Tower of London, July 19, 2014

I promise I'm going to get better at planning our weekend day adventures in advance but for now we are flying by the seat of our pants. It was a rainy morning so I thought we should go see the Tower of London, maybe it won't be so crowded and there are some inside parts if it gets bad. We took the tube and arrived at the tower. Now I am not a huge history person so I really know nothing about the Tower of London, but today is my day to learn.

The number 1 recommendation in my tourist book is to arrive early since there is a ton to see and it gets very busy. Wow they were right! If we went any later it would have been nothing but lines. We get our tickets and stand in line to enter. We are in a huge group and get a tour by the Beefeater. They wear an interesting uniform but are very dedicated to this job. They live on the premises away from their family and know everything about the history of the towers.

Outside the Tower

Tower of London

Where the private executions were done

Guard protecting the jewels

The Crown Jewels

A Knight in the tower

Outside the tower

River Thames

Tower Bridge

Kinsells at the Tower Bridge

My forbidden mac and cheese

   

An armored horse

After our Beefeater tour we went right in to see the Crown Jewels. Turned out to be a great idea because the line was super long the rest of the time we were there. The jewels were really cool to see. I definitely recommend if you come to London. After the jewels we went for a lunch break. It was set up by different stations. You put what you like on your tray and pay at the end. The food in London is not my "cup of tea" haha, they love sausage and lunch meat. Both of which I am not a fan. So I got a salad and went to get the mac and cheese. The lady told me the mac and cheese was only for kids under 12. Ummmmmmm my taste buds are those of a child. There was absolutely nothing else I would eat so I said, "Great, I'll take it", she again tells me its only for under 12, I say "yes, I'll have 1 please". Its not like I was trying to get a kids meal with a toy and a drink! I paid the $8 for the mac and cheese, and it was by far the best I have had in London, probably because it was forbidden! After lunch we kept walking around. We saw the torture devices and the cells. It was a great informational day. We hit up the gift shop, and got an ornament for out tree. We went to a few tourist type stores on the way home, then jumped on the tube and we were off to Pimlico.

Our First Week in the Flat, July 12-18, 2014

We are so excited to be out of the temporary living and finally in our flat. On Saturday we went back to get the rest of our bags and brought them to Pimlico. We unpacked, and went to the store to get some items. They have a store here called Argos. Its actually really conveniently located by our closest station. Its like a Wal-Mart of items but the style of Service Merchandise, for those that remember that store. They have jewelry, sheets, pot/pans, fans, toys, tvs...basically anything you could need. They have a huge catalog next to a monitor. You look up your item and get the numbers to take to another computer to order and buy. They then call your name and you pick up you items (to carry home!). We bought some bedding for the only bed that is currently in the flat. It's going to be a guest room for our visitors. Josh wanted to make it "London like" so we got a funny duvet and sheet set. Its a map of the Underground with all the stops.

Underground Bedding for visitors

We have been staying in this room because our bed has not been delivered yet. It was supposed to be here Friday. So here is my horrible customer service story very much condensed.

Saturday- company says bed should arrive between 1-5pm, nothing
Sunday- we did some more shopping and got groceries
Monday- Bed should be here! Can't give me a time, so just be at the house from 9am-8pm, nothing!
Tuesday- Bed should be here! Can't give me a time, so just be at the house from 9am-8pm, nothing!
ok, I'm getting REALLY annoyed at this point. I call the company and they are no help. Keep telling me its coming...I keep calling the company, our landlord (who ordered this bed) and the estate agent (realtor). No one can give me an answer!!! AHHHH
Wednesday- Bed should be here! Can't give me a time, so just be at the house from 9am-8pm. They tell our landlord they called me, but I had stepped out! I HAVE NOT LEFT THE HOUSE IN DAYS!!! Our landlord asked me why they would lie about that. IDK but they have been for days! MANY ANGRY calls to the company, the estate agent calls and yells at them. They PROMISE it will be here today. Can't give me a time, so just be at the house from 9am-8pm. It's 5pm and no bed, I call and they say its in route. I call again at 7pm still on its way, call at 8pm "oops, it never made it on the truck, won't be there today" ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? So they PROMISE it will be on a truck in the morning, and it will be the first delivery. They start delivering at 9am.
Thursday- I need to set the scene for this...Its 7:30am, Josh is leaving for work and says "I have a really busy day, and I won't be home until after 8pm". I am excited for the day! The bed AND our tv guy will be here. I'm finally getting the bed and tv, yay! Josh leaves. I'm laying in bed with the pups checking my email on my phone. It's now 8am. Our buzzer rings! This is the first time I have messed with this. On the street they hit the button for us, it rings and we pick up the phone, they say who they are and we buzz them in. Simple right? So it buzzes and I jump out of the bed and pick up the phone. No one is there? I buzz them in anyways because I am not missing the bed delivery! I shut the dogs in the guest room, run to put a jacket on since I'm still in my pjs and run down to our living room where our front door is. I don't hear anyone. I go out our front door to look downstairs and don't see anyone. What happened? Where are they? I turn to go back in the apartment and SLAM! The door to the apartment shuts and locks me out.

Oh my god, oh my god I got locked out of the flat! My mind is racing what am I going to do? No one has a key! I have no shoes, no phone and no key. Do I know Josh's mobile? nope. What am I going to do? I am panicking! I pace up and down the hallway stairs. I can hear the dogs barking because I left them in such a tizzy. Turns out the buzz was from the postman (mailman). He delivered a box. If only it had an extra key in it! Its our modem for our Internet. No help to me.

Ok, I have an idea! I will walk barefoot to our estate agents office. Yes, it will be gross and I will look like a homeless person but they should have Josh's mobile on file right? What time is it? They probably don't open until 9am or after. If I leave the building I will get locked out on the street. Ok, maybe that will be plan B. I will knock on neighbors doors, see if I can borrow their phone. I pray they have a smart phone because I have to email Josh. I go upstairs, no answer, I go downstairs, no answer. AHHH!!! What do I do now? At this point I know the bed people will be here and I have no way to let them in. Ok, I'll open the front door to the building and ask to borrow someones phone. No luck. Finally, the downstairs apartment opens. I introduce myself and explain the situation and ask to use her phone. There is a communication barrier due to her lack of English. I email Josh's personal email and his new work email...of course I can't remember it exactly and I'm shaking at this point. Email sent. "I locked myself out, can you come home" the subject is "Emergency". She shuts her door and I sit on the steps and pray! All I can think of is Josh saying he is busy today. Will he be checking his email? Does he even check his personal email at work? Did I type the address correctly? What if he is in a meeting all day? I'll be sitting here until 8pm.

It feels like maybe 30 minutes goes by, and Josh walks in the door! YAY! I run up to him crying, I can't even talk to tell him what happened! He gets me in the apartment, sits me in front of the fan and I drink a huge glass of water. He checks and the delivery people have not come yet. He hugs me says everything is fine, but he has to go back. I feel like I just ran a marathon. Catch my breath and keep my key in my hand all day! The dogs are happy to see me. Now we just wait for the bed. It should be here any minute!

Okay...its now 9:30am and no bed. Time for my friendly phone call to the company. Another ordeal I'll cut short...It didn't get put on the truck.

I finally get connected with someone at the delivery company who can actually do something. She seems to care, unlike all the others I have spoke with.She says she is very sorry and is getting a van to pick it up and it will be there today. Of course she doesn't know what time.

8:30pm the bed arrives! Oh sorry, they don't put it together. Guess I'll wait for Josh to get home from his busy day. I'll also add that the delivery men were complaining the whole time that the ticket said 1st floor but the had to go up a flight of stairs. I kindly said I didn't order this or fill out the paper and after all I have been through for this bed please keep your complaints to yourself. So, I know you are asking yourself after all that what did the company do for you? A free bed? Money off your next purchase? No, nothing. Not even an apology. If you ever find yourself in London and need to buy a bed I encourage you to steer clear of Bed World.

Remy checking out the bed

Random thought about this picture...look how bright it is at 8:30pm. In the summer it doesn't get dark until very late. The sun comes up early too so it isn't dark very long. I hear the winter is much different.

After all this drama, I am so glad to have a comfy bed to sleep in! On Friday I went to a big department store here called John Lewis. I LOVED it! Walking in to the large building and seeing all the items I felt like I was in a Macy's (ahhh feels like home, until you look at the prices). It makes me happy to be here, I could just walk around forever. They were having their big annual sale so I made myself find a duvet cover in the sale bin. I like it, its a light turquoise with light and dark brown geometric designs. I got the fitted sheet to be the same light turquoise. They didn't have a huge selection of colors but I think Josh will like it just fine. I also bought 3 decorative pillows...shhh Josh HATES extra pillows. After my week this was a treat for myself. I will take a picture once our other pillows arrive from Texas arrive and it looks all set up!  We also need to get some type of night stands for our alarm clock and phones.

Josh got home from work and liked the bedding. He said its a little girlie, but if I like it its fine. (He has no clue the other option was flowers, real girlie)
The other couple from Dallas, Matt and Danielle asked if we wanted to get dinner with them at Nando's. Funny because we were just talking about Nando's. Its been really hot these past few days and we were wondering if they had AC. Remember Nando's...the bottomless sodas with ice! Yes! So we went for dinner at Nando's. Guess what...it was so hot their ice machine was broken. But we had a great time and great conversations. I love hearing their similar stories so I don't feel like its only us having difficulty. Tomorrow we plan to go to The Tower of London! Going to sleep in my new bed with sheets! Goodnight!

Moving Day, July 11, 2014

Yay! Its finally here! We get to leave our temporary housing and move to our flat (apartment) in Pimlico. Pimlico is a cute little town right by The House of Parliament, Westminster Abby, and Buckingham Palace. It has lots of little shops and restaurants and hotels/B&B for all the tourists. We liked this area a lot because of all the parks and we even have a dog park close by!

Josh leaves for work and I start packing everything up. It wasn't too difficult since we couldn't really unpack much. When he gets home we go out for pizza at our favorite spot, Union Pizza. Originally we had talked about bringing a few bags over tonight but spending the night at our temporary housing one last night. The new flat doesn't have our bed yet but there is a couch and a small bed. But we decide it might be the best time (Friday evening) to bring as much as we could and both dogs on the tube (underground train). So we bring 2 large rolling suitcases, 2 carry on type bags, 2 nervous dogs, 2 crates, and us! We looked like the silliest people trudging down the street to the underground. We made it on, and the dogs thought it was very interesting. Remy was scared to death and Cricket loved the people watching. It was a perfect time to do this, not very busy and not too hot.

Pups on the underground

Our flat

3 Years! July 9, 2014

We got married 3 years ago today! It seems every year we go on a trip around this time to celebrate. This is why we got married in the summer, it was the least bustiest time for both of our jobs.

1st year we went to Boston. We had a few days in the city and then met up with family.

1st Anniversary in Boston

2nd year we went on a cruise with family to Cozumel, Belize, and Honduras (we got to see monkeys!)

3rd year we just moved to London! Josh surprised me after he got home from work, and we went out to an Argentine Steakhouse called Gaucho. It was super yummy! So funny story...I ended up getting the strip steak but was very tempted to get the cheeseburger. I know, I know but the description sounded soooo delicious. In the description it came topped with a homemade ketchup. I was curious so when my chips (fries) came with my meal I asked for this homemade ketchup...turns out it was just pureed tomatoes. haha it was just like salsa with no seasoning.

3rd Anniversary in London

First Day of Work, July 7, 2014

Today is Josh's FIRST day of work in London. He made a plan of what trains he will take, and he is dressed very sharply! The men dress so fancy here. Today was my first official day as a housewife/dog mom. I was not dressed as nicely, so no pics of me. But I did take the pups for some walks, brushed their teeth, tidied up the house, and did laundry, oh that reminds me! I haven't told you about the washer/dryers here! Well, they are one machine, so you put clothes in and set it. It runs for what seems like 5+ hours then comes out washed and "dried". Most of the time it's damp and wrinkled. Americans, hug your washer and dryers next time you do laundry!

Ready for work

Found this gem on my walk, I'll have to try it one day

Tonight for dinner I made tacos! A friend from work gave me some taco seasoning packets to bring, and I bought minced (ground) beef, shells (they were old El Paso brand but seemed greasy), and cheese. I think they were pretty yummy! Our temp housing didn't have a skillet so I improvised with a wok.

Tacos for dinner

Its been 1 week, July 6, 2014

Wow! We arrived last Sunday, I can't believe it has already been one week of London living! After our busy tourist day and over 20,500 steps recorded on Josh's Fit Bit we slept in. We ate left over pizza from a yummy spot by our temp housing called Union Pizza. We noticed the bizarre was going on again on our street so we decided to explore. It reminds me of Harwin on a street, mixed with $1 store. There were some cute clothes but after our packing for London I don't need ANY clothes!

We decided to head towards our new neighborhood, Pimlico and do some exploring. We got off the tube and looked around some of the shops on Regent Street. On Sundays they close the streets and it's like a festival. So many people! We are on the hunt for a rain coat. We did stop at Apple to get a charger for my phone. I think the converter isn't charging it as well. Just the plug cost 15 pounds=$23.88

Shopping

Resting on the fake grass

Next up for Josh was an afternoon snack! All this walking makes us hungry. He was given a recommendation about a chain restaurant called Nando's from a co-worker in Dallas. It's a chicken place with dishes from Portugal. It was yummy and seemed semi-healthy. The bonuses included...1. real bathrooms!, 2. bottomless soda, 3. self-serve ICE!, 4. they were super friendly. We will be back!

Grilled Chicken, chips, and mushy peas

Cute little bottle of sauce to pour on hummus

We got back on the tube and finally made it to Pimlico. Being Sunday it was pretty quiet. We decided to rent bikes and give ourselves a mini tour of the area. Josh and I have been in a few bike races so we are not new to bike riding, but oh man, riding on the "wrong" side of the street was really throwing me off! We found a farmers market, a salon, and a nail place! I can't wait to move in and explore with my pups. Now it's off to the city because Josh starts work tomorrow!

Bikes in Pimlico