Across the Pond

"What was your favorite part of London?"

I can't even tell you how many times I've been asked some variation of that question this week.  And I have yet to come up with a good answer.  Embarrassing, right?  Because the truth is, I loved it all.  Damian, Jen and Cassidy were fantastic hosts and Michael and I had so much fun hanging out with them and exploring England.

A few of the many highlights:

• Getting a giant hug from Cassidy when we picked her up from school after arriving from the airport.
• Getting to know the Tube.  I loved how easy it was to get around the city.  I'm going to miss riding the District Line back to Wimbledon ("where this train terminates") at the end of every day.
• Dinner with the London Hoffmans every night.  We were spoiled with the meals...delicious salmon, Jen's amazing homemade meat pie (pictured below), Damian's famous marinated steak (I told you it was good, Michael!).  But even better than the food was spending time with my family, and recounting our days/listening to Damian discuss Star Wars over a meal and a glass of wine.  Something I've missed being able to do since they moved to London a year and a half ago.
• Getting to spend 10 days straight with Michael.  Our schedules are so busy at home that we only get to see each other on weekends, so that was a nice change of pace, however brief.
• Flying over the Arctic Circle/Northern Canada on the way home from our stopover in Iceland.  Breathtaking.  I took pictures but they didn't capture the awesomeness.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip.  I took over a thousand, so narrowing it down has been a daunting yet enjoyable task.

Damian and Jen's adorable flat in Wimbledon.

Skype with Nate, Jess and Eavan :)

Outside the very first Twinings store on the Strand.

The graffiti wall outside Abbey Road Studios.

At the top of St. Paul's Cathedral.

Sailsbury Cathedral.

MUJI!  My new favorite store.

Portobello Road.

View from the plane as we landed in Iceland.

Hope you enjoyed the glimpse of our trip!  And I apologize about the kissing picture.  I know those are tacky, but I just kind of love it, so too bad. :)

10 on 10: March

Happy 10 on 10!

Cupcake Craze!

In two weeks, I have made four different kinds of cupcakes. Overkill? Nah. Well, maybe to my waistline. I've just been feeling festive and there have been so many reasons to celebrate. I mean Valentine's Day screams heart shaped cupcakes, right? And from what I hear, two kinds of cupcakes are required at game nights. And a birthday? Yeah, that may be my only legitimate reason to make cupcakes.

• Top left: Reece's cupcakes. White cake with chopped up Reece's Peanut Butter Cups (or just buy the mini ones) with white frosting mixed with a couple tablespoons of Creamy JIF.
• Top right: Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. Chocolate cake with chocolate chips in the batter with chocolate frosting, rolled in a bowl of mini chocolate chips.
• Bottom left: Cookies and cream. Chocolate cake with a Double Stuff Oreo in the middle. Then crumbled Oreos mixed with white frosting. The trick with these is to put a little bit of batter in the bottom of the cup, add an Oreo and then cover it with more batter. The Oreo softens a little during baking but adds a nice bit of crunch to the cupcake experience.
• Bottom right:  Lemon.  Lemon cake with lemon frosting and yellow sugar sprinkles*.

*The sprinkles and kit used to frost the lemon cupcakes were bought here. Home Cake is amazing. About a month ago I was looking for a flour sifter and the owner of the Seattle Restaurant Store recommended checking out Home Cake if I was getting into baking. I think he said something along the lines of "it's a bit chaotic, but totally worth it." And it is. I am a novice baker and I hate messy (which it is), but I love it there. It's a one woman show. She like a baking Wonder Woman. Both times I've been there the store has been packed but she managed to magically ring everyone up, answer the phone, dispense sage advice and upsell everyone. But she was right, those disposable pastry bags have already come in handy.  But seriously, you should go there.

Ok, I've gotta go do some sit-ups...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Having never been the biggest fan of Valentine's Day, and somewhat cynical in nature, I'm not at all surprised that I haven't taken very many pictures of hearts this year.  But as much as I am cynical, I am equally a romantic softie.  (Sorry Michael, you sure do have your hands full) :)  Here are some of my favorite heart/love shots from the year.  And in all seriousness, I hope you have a love filled day.

10 on 10: February

And one bonus shot:

Happy 10 on 10!  Oh, and don't knock the 7-Eleven hot chocolate.  It's delicious.  And somehow even more delicious when your boyfriend surprises you with it at work at 3am.