Sunday, July 7, 2013

The Sunday Currently: #EnglishSummer

I know I keep bombarding you with the #EnglishSummer hashtag, but the weather here has been so unusually glorious for the past week that I can't help it!  We've only had one day of rain and it's supposed to go up to 29°c (84°f) today, which guarantees that, even though London has been waiting for this weather for years, every other thing you'll hear an English person say will be "It's too hot!"  We're going to a rooftop bbq shortly, but I'm sure that we'll all be popping in and out of the house as Britain's most-loved son, Andy Murray, is playing in the Wimbledon final this afternoon.  I have to catch you up on my weekend on Oxfordshire still as well as yesterday's wedding on the South Downs, but let's use this Sunday Currently to recap the past week in London, shall we?

currently...

revisiting... all of my old haunts!  I really should be better about checking out new places when I'm in London, but it's so comforting to walk down the memory-filled streets and feel like I'm back home.  Among other adventures, I've spent a morning working in the British Library, caught up with a friend in Bloomsbury, wandered Cecil Court to admire the curiosities in the rare book stores, popped into Topshop as I cruised Oxford Street, and recreated a dinner-and-a-movie date night with Jon in our old neighborhood.

eating... at delicious new restaurants and at familiar favorites!  Melissa, aka Beantown Prepster, introduced me to The Happenstance near St Paul's on Fleet Street, and it was fab.  But I love returning to standbys like Busaba Eathai and Bluebird, where Ellie threw my hen do. Plus, I may have been to Pret more than once for a quick lunch - they don't have my favorite baguette in the American branches - and Jon's promised me a curry from our local takeaway for old time's sake.  (He's also convinced me that we should go to the new Shake Shack that just opened to great fanfare in Covent Garden for lunch on Tuesday...)

smelling... the roses!  We're long past rose season in Washington, DC, but they're just peaking here in London and they're absolutely gorgeous.  Jon and I went to the theatre the other night to see Twelfth Night, and there's a pathway just outside that's lined with the most splendid rose bushes - as you walked down, you were simply enveloped with the heady scent.

meeting... new friends who feel like old friends because of the power of social media!  Jenna noticed my tweets the other day and realized I was near her office, so she ran out for a hello and a quick hug.  I had a cold glass of water and a long chat with Anne, whose memoir I reviewed here last year, and - though the circumstances were less than ideal - she radiated exactly the warmth and sass I imagined her to have in real life.  And I was thrilled when Casey's off-hand suggestion on Twitter that we meet up on Friday afternoon turned into an actual date!  We had ice cream in the courtyard at the V&A and talked work and relationships like we'd known each other for ages.  Halfway through, we were joined by the sparkling Lauren of Aspiring Kennedy and her absolutely adorable daughter Viola.  It was so fun to take these relationships off the screen!

hoping... that our marriage license appointment on Tuesday morning goes smoothly.  Everyone I've talked to each time I've called the register office with a question has given me answers that directly contradicted what I'd already been told, so I'm a little nervous that we'll arrive and they'll say something like, "Oh, didn't you know?  If you want to get married you should have walked backwards up to this building and spun around three times counterclockwise upon crossing the threshold while chanting 'God save the queen.'"

wanting... our [expletive] wedding day to be here already.  We're basically done with all the planning - now we only have the little annoying logistics left, and I just want to be [expletive] married.

feeling... nostalgic.

loving... being with my fiancé.

wishing... that I didn't have to leave in three days!  Happily, Jon's taking Tuesday off work, so we will get to spend my last full day together.






















linking up with siddathornton

28 comments:

  1. Lee and I used to meet and have lunch in the square in your first picture all the time! Ah, memories :)

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  2. Oh, and enjoy your last 3 days! Good luck on Tuesday!

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  3. Happy you're experiencing great weather, fingers are crossed for Tuesday and 'wanting' made me giggle. I'm pretty sure every bride gets to that point :-)

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  4. Beautiful pictures! I would love to be there right now!
    And good luck for your appointment!

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  5. It's been raining all across America for the last week, but you enjoy beautiful sunshine in London... Yeah, that's fair. :P It sounds like you're having a wonderful time! It makes me miss Paris. The boyfriend has hinted at us taking a trip next summer, so we'll see what happens. :)

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  6. Andy Murray: British whilst winning, Scottish when losing. :)

    And Fentimans... oh, how I miss Fentimans! Although apparently it is sold around the US. I can't imagine the cost here, though, given that it was a day-out treat for me there!

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  7. It is so freaking hot here. I just cannot deal. Sad thing is, I'm from the South where it's humid and hot.

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  8. Not going to lie, I'm a little bitter that London has decided it was time for summer just after I left! But I'm glad to see you're having a great time. Good luck with the last odds and ends, and the marriage license. Hoping everything will go smoothly for you!

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  9. oh lord, all the colors and hues in these photos are making me lust for english gardens and long london walks!

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  10. I am more than slightly geeked out that I got a mention. (and Anne too!) #BloomsburyGirls

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  11. see? told you I'm walking in your footsteps :P

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  12. WHY DIDN'T ANY OF YOU MARRIED WOMEN TELL ME? meanies!

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  13. thank you! should be fine - I'll bring so many supporting documents they'll just give us our license to avoid looking at them all :)

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  14. haha this will never ever happen again.


    and ooh la la! très romantique ;)

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  15. exactly!

    I'd never had Fentimans before... I'm usually a Belvoir girl, you know :P

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  16. hahahaha see? but you do get used to it and your internal temperature gauge resets itself - I remember in April 2011 when it reached the mid-80s in London and I wanted to die because it was just SO FOREIGN to me after 10 months in England!

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  17. haha oh no! I'm sorry :/ you'll just have to come back!

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  18. Jillian @ Mimi Nicole EventsJuly 7, 2013 at 7:03 PM

    stop it! you're seriously making me rethink our entire decision to move back to the States! Loved seeing you and Jon looking so ooey-gooey in love these past few days on instagram--too cute!:)

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  19. It looks like you have had a great time!! Everything looks so beautiful. Fingers crossed for Tuesday!

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  20. haha I know I'm rethinking our decision too! and then I remember that this weather will NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN here.

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  21. These are great pictures. I especially love the first one. I'm a total creature of habit as well so I would be re-visiting all my old haunts too. I was last in England in 2001 (man that dates me!) and I still crave a Pret sandwich once in awhile. Next time I'm in Chicago I'll be stopping by, except of course I have all my old Chicago favorites to visit as well. Such problems. :)

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  22. i have been loving all of your #englishsummer updates, as well as living vicariously through all of the beautiful scenery & nostalgic re-visits.


    and how lovely that you got to make all of those blogging friendships into real-life ones. i bet that was exciting.


    good luck at the marriage license appointment on tuesday - your day is just around the corner! YAY!

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  23. I hope your marriage license appointment goes well today... fingers crossed! x

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  24. Yes yes yes! So great to off-screen meet you, Betsy. And Jenna: drinks before I flee, for sure.

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  25. Loved meeting up with you guys!!! Let's do it again sometime!

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