Fashion Exhibit

Last time Amy was in London we had a "girl's day out," starting with a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum to this exhibit I'd been dying to see. It was all about Fashion and the History of Gowns, with a special portion for iconic ballgowns from the 50's onward. I love history and when you combine it with fashion... It was a dream come true.  

I think Amy was a bit dubious about it, but my enthusiasm must have been catching.  At one point she turned to look at me a bit dazed and said "I had no idea you knew so much about all of this" after I'd been prattling on about the evolution of corsets, the correct glove lengths for each occasion and how the different materials in each gown reflected the social climate of each decade. 

British Glamour- Ballgowns since the 1950's

Princess Di's Dress

We grabbed a cup of coffee after before heading to Covent Garden for dinner on the piazza.

We're laughing cause instead of 2% or Whole Milk they labeled it "Fatty Milk"

Guess that's us! 

Portugal and Spain with Amy

These pictures are about FIVE months old now. Oops! The really good pictures are on the good camera, but the way things are going these days it's either my iphone pix or nothing...

We went to Portugal and Spain with our dear friend Amy when she came out for a course at Oxford in April.  We flew into Faro (southern Portugal) drove to Tavira, made our way to Sevilla, Spain, then spent the last few days in Lagos, a beach town back in Portugal.  Bliss!

Our rental car.  We miss driving!

Tavira- a gorgeous little fishing village

Soooo much seafood :-)

Our darling hotel room

These were awesome 

Tapas in Spain!!!

Enjoying the beautiful sunshine in Sevilla

Yes, we are ashamed to admit it but we had 

churro's and chocolate for breakfast. 

Back to Portugal- this time Lagos (looks just like Laguna!) 

My new friend

From the balcony of the best seafood restaurant.  Soooo good.

Thanks for the fun Amy!

Epic Catch-Up Post

I apologize for the lapse in posting.
Normally if I don't blog it's cause not much has happened.

This time it's simply because too much has been going on.

Biggest pieces of news... Tony and I both have full-time jobs.  I've just finished my first term teaching music at a darling little primary school in Southwest London and have
six weeks off before we begin again in September.

My music room

Our end of the year Production- A Midsummer Night's Dream

The pretty flowers a special Kiwi brought me 

on the final night of our production

Tony, after spending nearly two months free-lancing (thank you Lord for overtime pay), began a new job in Richmond, just a short bus ride away from my school.  We both are overwhelmed with God's goodness in providing jobs so quickly! 

The Olympic Torch passing Tony's office

We moved in the beginning of June to the cutest flat ever.  I LOVE it here.  It's super quiet and safe, and though it's slightly smaller than our place in Long Beach, I think we both like it better here.

We're close to several friends from church and have just a short walk to both a major bus line and the train station.  Again, it was truly a blessing from God that the first place we looked at turned into our new home.  

My favorite part- a real garden!

 This beautiful rose was blooming when we moved in

Clancy the fox who likes to take naps
 under the tree in the back of the garden

We have been having so much fun checking out different parts of London.  Our church doesn't start til 4pm on Sunday afternoons so we will often use Sunday morning's as a time to explore the city.

Picnic under the roses at a park near church

 At a Kiwi cafe called 'AllPress' in Shoreditch- 
one of our fav places in the city.  
Totally feels like we're back in So Cal

Flea Markets at Brick Lane

 We spent one Saturday in Hampton Court (I forgot my phone so I'll post Tony's pix later).  We visited the Palace where Henry VIII lived and went 'antiquing' in the many shops around town.  We came home with these beautiful art deco vases and promptly filled them with the peonies that were growing like crazy in our garden. 

Watch for more pix and posts to come!

Coppelia

I went to see the ballet Coppelia with a friend from church.  I've always loved the music but I've never actually seen the ballet itself, so it was a real treat. 

New Job!

I have a new job!  I'll be teaching classroom music (ages 3-11) at Grove Park Primary School beginning April 16th.  I can't wait to begin :-) 

Thank you Lord for your blessings!

Now- if I can only remember to call them crotchet, minum and semi-breve instead of quarter note, half note and whole note.  

I thought we all spoke English here...

Paris? Mais oui!

A few weekends ago Tony's rugby team went to Paris for two days to play a game.  He fell in love with the city and took me back the next weekend.  It was incredible!  I thought it would be nice, but it blew my expectations out of the water.  If you like art, food, beautiful architecture, flowers, wonderful people then Paris is the place for you :-)

We took the EuroStar- quick, comfy, easy way to travel.  

Debated for a moment whether to go to Paris or Disneyland.  

We stayed in the Montmarte District- The Artist Quarters during the turn of the last century, right down the street from the Moulin Rouge.

The cafe where we had lunch was where the movie Amelie was conceived.

The Eiffel Tower- I cannot describe what it's like to see it in person.  It's so much bigger and better than you could possibly imagine.  What a joy to see so many of these amazing places with my hubby!

Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Elysees

Place de la Concorde 

We found Laduree! 

The Paris Opera House- watch out Phantom! 

Tuileries Garden and the Louvre

Notre Dame- celebrating it's 850th birthday next year!

 We wondered around one night to find a darling little creperie off in a little alley away from all the tourist places.  No one there spoke English, but my French worked (almost) perfectly. It was nearly empty when we first arrived, but was packed full of people by the time we left.
Always a good sign.

Our hotel- we stayed on the top floor- third from the left.  

Dessert and Espresso- a common occurrence 

(this was not all the same day!)

Sacre Couer

My favorite view in Paris!

Inside the Musee D'Orsay

The sign in the window said (in loosely translated French) "Winner of the Best Baguette in the Paris 2012 Competition."  So Tony went inside and bought some fresh hot bread and we ate it as we walked along the streets.  Magical!