Scenes of Cambridge in Autumn

If I had to pick anywhere else in the UK to live, it would be Cambridge. When I visited a couple weeks ago, I mentioned there was punting, but the day was also spent soaking in the town's atmosphere.

Living here, I sometimes feel desensitized to cutesy, old, famous things. Cambridge, however, always manages to impress.

With the historic stone and brick houses...

The collegiate autumnal feel of campuses covered in fallen leaves...

The cute shopfronts with hand painted signs...

The winding twisting roads...

The ubiquitous push bikes with wicker baskets blocking every path... 

The road signs from 1857...

The buildings that have inspired academics for hundreds of years...

Yes, Cambridge, I really like you.

Harrods Crystal Christmas Decorations

This weekend's chilly grey weather got me thinking it was the Christmas season.
With only 7 weeks left until the day and 5 more weeks until our holiday vacation, it nearly is!

Yesterday we took a tour around London to see the best Christmas displays. Normally Fortnum & Mason is our favorite, but Harrods really impressed this year.

Every year the store picks a different theme for the decorations and window displays. This year was Crystal Christmas as the windows, which deserve a post of their own, were presented by Swarovski. 

 

Don't worry, there are plenty of traditional decorations peppered throughout the Christmas shop.

With no Thanksgiving to look forward to here, I find myself getting excited about Christmas extra early. Are you excited for the holiday season yet?

Beetle Juice! Models Own's Newest Nail Range

It was my husbands birthday yesterday but today felt like my birthday when a deliveryman brought me a package containing the item I have been coveting for a month: the all-new Beetle Juice Golden Green nail polish (or varnish, in British English).

About 30 seconds after I ripped open the ASOS box (did you know they have free shipping?) I started painting my nails, which had been stripped of color the day before in anticipation.

It took  two coats to get the opaque color. On the nail it appears a refective yellow-green, which when hits with sunlight, shimmers with gold. Also depending on the light, the Golden Green can seem like a dark blue-green, which would be a nice color all on its own.

  

The verdict? While I do like this color, and will re-wear it, I was hoping for it to be a darker deeper green gold like the Butter London's Wallis.  
(Aside: Why do they add London to their name if it is so gosh darn hard to get their products here?! )

With their facebook and media coverage, plus the countdown clock for theTuesday morning web release, Models Own had a definite smash hit opening for this range, having all the British fashonistas screaming "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetle Juice!".

Pinky Brown and their Box Set of the range have already sold out (in one day!) but you can order the other BeetleJuice colors on the Models Own website.

What do you think of this range?

Fall punting in Cambridge

Though I travel to Cambridge once a month for business, I never get the chance to be a tourist. Having a friend in town is the perfect excuse to try out all the fun things I sometimes put off.

Two weeks ago I went punting in Cambridge for the very first time!

Some of you might be wondering what exactly is punting?

It is a lot like a gondola ride, where you sit in low, flat boats and a "punter" stands and uses a long stick to push you along the river.

with our tour guide Frank

I have always thought of punting as a summer pastime, but a crisp autumn day is the perfect weather for sitting underneath a cozy blanket for a peaceful ride along the river Cam.

The river is especially nice this time of year, since there are virtually no tourists and you have the river to yourself. As a bonus the slow days can mean the punting companies will offer generous discounts on tickets.

Cam sits in between a few of the historical colleges of Cambridge, so punting offers you a unique view of St Johns, Trinity, Kings and Queens Colleges.

The bridges:

oldest bridge on the Cam

The Bridge of Sighs

The wildlife:

The scenery:

I am dissapointed that I have waited 2 years to go punting in Cambridge and after this fun experience I can not wait to do it again.

The only thing I would change? Next time, I will definitely be bringing some mulled wine for a fall punting session. Or maybe champagne in the summer!

Halloween Movie Monday: An American Werewolf in London

This weekend walking around Soho in the rain, I didn't see a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand. However, I did see witches, vampires, and zombies milling about on their way to and from Halloween festivities.

It is exciting to see today get bigger and bigger in the UK and this year there was noticeably more Halloween goodies in stores. The one truly lacking facet (besides candy corn) of the holiday is all the great Halloween themed movies on TV. 

Hocus Pocus, Halloween and It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown are all the favorites I am giving a miss this year.

Though I am not dressing up today, I decided to celebrate in expat theme by watching the horror classic An American Werewolf in London.

Watching this movie and maybe singing a few Warren Zevon verses is how I am spending my Halloween.

Tomorrow November is here and I will still be in the holiday spirit- trying to buy discounted candy corn at every expat's favorite grocery store Partridges and hopefully my hands on Model's Own new Beetlejuice collection that comes out tomorrow.

Look at that gold-green on the left!

Happy Halloween!

Proper Cup of Tea

I love tea time! And the Soho Secret Tea Room was the perfect place for a traditional cuppa.

If you want to make an excellent cup of tea, I highly suggest picking up a loose leaf. The SSTR serves some delicious blends- I went with the Earl Grey. 

After letting the leaves steep for 4 minutes, the tea should be ready to drink.

Step 1: Add sugar to your cup. I like one tea spoon, or one sugar cube if you are being fancy.

2. Add a strainer for the leaves, unless you happen to know a mystic skilled in tea leaf reading.

3. Pour brewed tea through strainer. Careful not to miss like I did! My dreams of being a geisha are now fully dashed.

4. Add milk to the strength you desire and stir! Some suggest putting the milk in first, but I find I end up over-pouring. Generally I like strong teas- either black or just a touch of milk.

5. Now sip and enjoy!

Thanks to Leila for being my model and Soho Secret Tea Room for their delicious afternoon tea!

What is your favorite way to take tea?

#Occupy London: Scenes from St Paul's

Yesterday I said I was going to write about a proper cup of tea. If you are really excited about it I would come back to see it tomorrow. 

Today with all the news coverage, and especially the comments during last night's Question Time made about #OccupyLondon at St Paul's, I decided to post some photos of what the protest looked like last week.

Out front of London's iconic church was a scene different than what the newscasters had presented. The place was actually really organized, with little rows of tents, taped off areas for news cameras, pedestrians and sightseers.

There was no litter.
No raw sewage.
The front of the church was not blocked by any protesters, tents or news crews, it was easily accessible for anyone visiting.

I have no idea why St. Paul's closed or why they are trying to remove the protesters for "health and safety reasons". The first two minutes of any given music festival has more health code violations than this group of protesters has made in over a week.

I have seen other protests. I have seen chanting, shouting and threatening police. 

This was calm, quiet, collected. People just engaging in honest conversation about the social and economic inequality in the world. 

It was actually nice.

When we have a very current history of violent protest, it is an illogical and even dangerous move to not allow a place for peaceful demonstration. So why is the government looking to push protesters from this site?

It is sad that many politicians fail to attempt understanding the motives behind this worldwide protest and I truly hope it does not create a situation like NYC and Oakland have witnessed.

And well. That's all I wanted to say about that.

On a more lighthearted note, I saw this while punting in Cambridge:

I'm pretty sure y'all ARE the 1%