First Snow of the Season!

The view from my living room window this morning...

Now, I have to ask - would it be stupid to go for my daily run?

Baby, It's Cold Outside

It's supposed to snow tonight, and it's been much too cold to venture outside unless absolutely necessary. Stupid me, I've been persisting in running in the park every day, and I'm paying for that persistence with a frozen face and running with my nose dripping and my eyes tearing the whole time. Maybe the other runners think I'm just listening to a very sad song on my ipod as I jog. Anyway, it's so cold that the many fountains in the park have frozen over, and there's more icicles than water.

J has very sensibly decided that it's wiser to stay in than to go out, and I've been getting a wee bit antsy. So antsy that I've been baking up a storm, and now the house smells like the holidays. Needless to say, J is very excited about the recent developments and unforeseeable side effects of the cold weather. Lucky for him, they're all healthier alternatives of their evil twins. Best that he doesn't know.

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies - For J's afternoon tea

Blueberry Walnut Banana Bread w/ Flaxseed - For J's "naughty" breakfast

No Thanksgiving But Still Thankful

It's been a while since I last posted since I've been busy running in the park every day, but it looks like I may have to take a break since it's supposed to sleet today. Apparently, we're supposed to have the worst November freeze in seventeen years. Great.

I'm actually excited at the prospect of seeing snow again. It's been a while since I've had to endure the freezing winters in Michigan, and I think I may have forgotten exactly how cold it can get. I'm sure I'll get a very firm reminder this weekend since snow is predicted for Saturday. But at the same time, it feels so right to have it cold and snowy and sleety for the holidays. A sunny and warm Thanksgiving and Christmas just doesn't cut it. I'm sure I'll be singing a different tune come February, but I'm going to enjoy the cold until then.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, there is no thanksgiving here in the UK. The Brits do make some concessions to the Americans in their midst: my grocery store has been taking orders for Thanksgiving turkeys and Food Network is showing Thanksgiving cooking shows all day long. If you hunt around, you can also find some restaurants, including the huge Whole Foods in Kensington, offer Thanksgiving meals to eat in or takeaway. On the other hand, J is going to work and life goes on as normal. It's a far cry from last year's Thanksgiving, when I spent all day making a Thanksgiving feast for the first time, including a turkey and a glazed ham, and invited my family over to our new condo.

Another Thanksgiving related phenomenon that they're trying to import here is Black Friday. I'm not sure it that's something that should be imported - the crowds, the pushiness, the anxiousness of it all. In any case, it's shaping up to be an epic fail with customers getting riled up at Amazon UK since I don't think the Brits exactly grasp the concept of how quick and fleeting deals are on Black Fridays. It's all about the rush to get the advertised product and then finding out that the deal ended or sold out. But the Brits are not amused.

Even though there is no Thanksgiving here, I'm still thankful for everyone and everything that's happened in my life. J and I always tease each other about how amazing we think the other one's life is, but it's true. We both have wonderful lives, and we're living it in a wonderful and unexpected place.

A Wet and Wild Run

After months of relaxing at home and eating Cadbury chocolates and generally just getting fat, I've finally gotten my lardass in gear and went for a run in Regent Park yesterday. Let's just say, it's been a while, and I think J might still be a wee bit mad at me for picking one of the windiest, rainiest day we've had in a while to start my outdoor running regime.

My friend Caleb and I would run outdoors when I was in Ann Arbor and I loved it, but we switched over to the gym after a few months due to cold weather and shin splints. Although swimming laps in the pool was alright, I didn't really enjoy the constant smell of chlorine in my hair and splitting lanes with random middle-aged thrashers. As soon as the weather warmed up, we were back outside running again, and I joined a very posh gym once I moved back to California (word on the street was that Kobe worked out there).

I've been making excuses to not run outside up until now - it's rainy, it's windy, it's cold - you get the picture. Joining a gym seemed stupid since the nearest gym is farther away than the park, and I'd feel silly paying exorbitant monthly fees to run on a treadmill when I can run outside. So running outside seemed like the logical solution but it's been a while since I've run outdoors and never in weather this cold.

Instead of continuing to make weather excuses, I decided to man up and went to the Nike store on Oxford Street to pick up some cold weather gear.  I ended up picking up a water resistant jacket, some gloves, and a headband that covers my ears. I looked like some sort of reflective Nike billboard, but at least I was warmish.

As for the run, it was pretty miserable weather-wise with rain blowing into our faces and having to watch out for slippery leaves and mud patches, but other than that, it felt great. I forgot how good it feels to just flat out run. I won't lie, sometimes it was hard to catch my breath, but I kind of expected it after a three month hiatus from running. Anyway, we ended up running a little further than we expected, a little over 3 miles, and both of us were a bit sore this morning. Regardless, I'm headed out again today with reflective clothes and all. The worst part is actually leaving the flat and facing the cold weather kitted out in lightweight running gear, but once I'm warmed up, I feel like flying.

Turning On The Lights on Regent Street

Last night, Regent Street decided to have a big to do about turning on the Christmas lights on the curvy street of style. They shut the street down to traffic, and they held a mini-concert featuring several artists including the Jersey Boys, a barbershop quartet, and a gospel choir, along with several other artists that I didn't recognize.

And half of the people were smoking. Yuck.

It was cold enough to wear the ugliest but warmest hat I own.

Not the best view of the lights, but I'm short. Sue me.

I never thought that I'd be dancing to American 50's rock in the middle of the Regent Street, but that's exactly what happened last night. I think J and I were among the few that actually knew all of the songs that the Jersey Boys were singing, but everyone was bopping along to the music anyway while fake snow was blasted from the rooftops. It was pretty freaking cold, and we took off to Guerilla Burger for some hot dogs and sweet potato fries right after the lights were switched on. All in all, a very American night for Christmas in London!

Brrr...

Dude, it is cold. The temperature is going to be in the single digits (Celsius) all week, and it's going to hit freezing at night. I'm this close to buying a faux fur coat.

I may look stupid, but at least I'm warm.

The Incredible Growing Woman

I'm planning my escape from the flat, and it turns out I need some non-loungewear clothes to avoid the bag lady comparisons so I'm doing some furious online window shopping. The sizing is completely different here, so it's throwing me for a loop.

It turns out in the UK, I'm like an elephant on bound feet. My normally size 5.5/6 feet are a size 4, and I've gone from a size 0/00 to a size 6 in one fell swoop.

The British do not believe in vanity sizing. Wow, hurts a little.

Accents

When we first arrived, I tried to keep pretty quiet and not talk too much in public since I didn't want people to notice me and my accent. The problem wasn't the American accent, but that people would notice me, which give me the willies. Let's not play "Which of these things don't belong?" I much prefer to blend in rather than stick out, and the fact that I'm slightly larger than a good-sized guinea pig usually works to my advantage in that regard. But I figured an accent would make people's ears perk up even though there are scads of Americans in my neck of the woods so I became an avid fan of the much maligned mumble.

Anyway, I gave up on the not talking in public thing pretty quick because anyone who knows me knows that I can't keep quiet to save my life. I decided to compromise by talking as much as I'd like, but trying to keep the volume down. So far it's worked like a charm - no one has noticed, yay!

Turns out, I need not have worried. The phone engineer showed up at our flat yesterday to install our phone line, and we had a nice chat while he was doing his thing. After he finished, I sighed and said, "Damn, now I have to learn how to use my new phone." That earned me a strange look, and I quickly explained that it was my first UK phone, but that earned me an even stranger look. He asked me where I was from, and I told him that I was from the States, and then he asked me where I lived before the States. I'm from the States, end of story. Then he asked me where my parents were from. Um, from somewhere else.

After all these questions, he explained that he was surprised that I wasn't from the UK and he wouldn't have known that I wasn't from around here until I said so. I accused him of "yanking my chain" (because that's how I talk to all my service providers), but he was completely earnest. Needless to say, I was astonished, and I tried to explain about my Valley accent (which becomes much more pronounced when I get excited) and pointed out my frequent use of "like." I'm the girl that had a boss sit her down and tell her that she can't call him "dude" any more.

Instead of agreeing with me, he got into this whole explanation of how Americans sound to the British ear. It was pretty fascinating to hear about how we sound to the natives. Apparently, he had come across a lot of Americans in London, and Americans have a bit of a twang in their speech. He assured me that I didn't sound "posh" but that my speech was much more clear and therefore, local. Wow, what a relief that I don't sound posh. ;)

I don't know exactly how to take this. J and I had a good laugh about it, and we figure it's because we're from California, the land of no accents. Did you know that people from California get the most media jobs across the US because of that fact? They must not get a lot of Californians here... that's about the best I can figure, because I'm not one of those freaks that adopt a British accent after living here for a few months. Who does that, by the way, and why? It's not like you're fooling anyone, and probably pissing someone off instead. And I'd hate to come across a pissed off Brit. Just imagine the indignant sniffing you're in for.

London Fashion

Just popping into Waitrose for some pork chops.

I haven't really had much reason to change out of my oversized shirts and leggings I've taken to wearing around the house, but that doesn't mean I haven't tried to figure out what the Brits consider fashionable. Back in LA, I wore a daily uniform of t-shirt, cut-off shorts, and a sweatshirt if it was chilly, but I'm getting the feeling that I might stick out a bit if I didn't figure out what to wear to blend in a bit more. All the women here seem to dress just to do the weekly shop - I've yet to encounter anyone in sweats or anything that you could sleep in comfortably out and about. Tights, boots and a funky scarf seem to be de rigeur.


The English are supposedly known for being eccentric dressers, and I suppose the evidence is walking down the streets of Covent Garden, Oxford Street, and the new mall they just opened in the City by St. Paul's Cathedral (weird location, I know). I kind of expected that what's considered fashionable varies from place to place, but it's becoming much more common to see the same things across country borders with the advent of the internet. But is it really, I wonder.

Some of the UK trends I've observed in person and in magazines:

• Snoods
• Tapered pants
• Capes
• Brogues
• Shorts layered over tights
• Camel coats
• Quiffs
• Gilets
• And for the fellas - Pants rolled up over the ankles

You can skin one yourself. Or buy it at Asos. Depends on how Daniel Boone you feel.

I wonder what's going on back home? It's starting to get pretty cool, and this LA girl needs to stock her wardrobe with shirts that actually have sleeves and jumpers (sweaters). I'm making it a policy to only buy UK brands such as TopShop and Reiss, because the US brands that have a presence here charge the same prices as in the States, except with a pound sign in front of the price! Ever hear of the exchange rate, assholes?!