London Living

I Have A Love/Hate Relationship…

~ Aub ~ Leave a comment

with Lucy finding comfort in only my arms, and not her dads. Yes, she loves George but when she’s having a meltdown or isn’t feeling well the only person she wants is me. There are many times when I find pure joy in this (she’s mine, all mine! haha) but when I’ve had to go into her bedroom 3 times in a span of 30 minutes to try to get her to fall asleep, while George gets to just chill on the couch, yea that’s when I start to not love those moments so much. In the same breath, I know this is only a phase and they’ll be lots of times when I wish she would come to me and want me to hold her so I’m trying to enjoy it as much as I can :p

One thing I do really like is oftentime, when I put her down, she’ll fall asleep and then a few minutes later start to cry. So I’ll go in, pick her up and rock her a little bit – she immediately falls back to sleep. She just wants to fall asleep in my arms opposed to in her crib. There’s something so sweet about it. Sometimes I linger a bit longer than I need to because who doesn’t love a sleeping baby in their arms 🙂

After a couple days housebound because of Lucy’s cold/ear infection, we decided to venture back out into the world and check out Portobello Road. We weren’t disappointed – so cool. I loved walking around and taking in all the commotion; Geo didn’t exactly feel the same way but he lit up when he realized there was a Banksy hidden among the craziness. I lit up when I got my cup of Parmesan and Garlic fries… 😀 haha Here are some snaps of our adventure!

Our home underground stop 🙂

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Banksy! You can’t tell but its protected by plexi glass.

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The London escalators are never.ending. And so steep!

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I spy a couple of cutie pies!

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Grateful: For taking time to go to yoga this morning. The class is intense but it felt so good for my body and mind. Note to self: do that more often.

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Another Missed Flight…

~ Aub ~ Leave a comment

this time to Vienna. After our failed attempt to get to Norway last weekend we were very excited (and VERY prepared) for our trip to Vienna. Bags were packed with plenty of time to spare, passports were OUT of the safe the night before (the reason for our Norway fail) and we headed to the airport 3+ hours ahead of our flight. However, it was on the train to Stansted Airport that Lucy started uncontrollably coughing/crying. It was bad. We were those parents that everyone was staring at wondering “who gave these two a kid?” “did they really think taking a sick baby on a train was a good idea?” “that poor baby, they should just hand her over to me” – even thinking back on it makes me cringe. Little did they know Lucy had been cleared by the doctor to travel and had been a little fussy but mostly fine until we stepped on the train. It didn’t help that I, in an attempt to calm her, tried to give her a baby cookie which she then proceeded to choke on. Another mom win…

Anyways, between lots of “omg wtf is going on” glares between Geo and I during the train ride by the time we got to the airport we knew Vienna wasn’t happening. We got to the airport, gave Lucy a bottle and some medicine and turned right back around. Silver lining of that was we didn’t end up paying for our train ride back. I guess we were both looking for a #win and got a little sneaky about it (Geo did, I just nervously followed his lead).

We got home, ordered turkey from Strut and Cluck because it was Thanksgiving, after all. A holiday our family members were blissfully celebrating while we struggled to not simultaneously have mental breakdowns (we made sure to take turns – for the safety of Lucy of course :p).

Two things I learned during this shit show of a day:

  1. When you had a kid, travel insurance is necessary. No. Brainer. Gah.
  2. A cabbage can be eaten whole and raw. I saw it with my own two eyes while feeding Lucy at the airport. It made me smile with awe and slight disgust, which is exactly what I needed in that moment.

Grateful: That even though we aren’t in Vienna right now we made the right decision to stay home because it turns out Lucy has an ear infection 😦 And we now have a weekend at home with NOTHING to do. Which is not something we’ve had in a long time.

Our Day Date in London…

~ Aub ~ Leave a comment

was the perfect remedy for a couple who had barely seen each other in two weeks and were in need of some alone time to reconnect and just, have some fun!

Last Saturday, after taking a 7 hr long flight home with an 8 month old, Geo and I spent the morning sleeping, unpacking and eagerly awaiting the arrival of our babysitter, Jenny. I had made the decision earlier in the week that having Jenny come would be a nice way for us to rest, eat out, take a breather and I was right – it allowed us to do all of the above. We had Jenny for 4 hours and spent the first hour sleeping… pure bliss. We then headed out for a mini adventure.

First stop, a photo with my two new besties:

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Next we headed to London’s South Bank in search of a good place to eat. Along the way we couldn’t help but take a few pics like this one:

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We then came across a restaurant called Bill’s, a small chain in London. It was cosy, warm and had a great menu. I ordered a Mint Iced Tea and had NO regrets (might have been the best part of the meal!). Here’s a peak of our visit there:

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I got the veggie platter and between the falafel and spicy hummus I was in heaven.

After indulging in a late lunch we headed to the highlight of the day date, the Clink Prison Museum! Dun dun dunnnn. It was spooky, grotesque and basically everything you’d expect it to be. Next date we’re heading to the National Portrait Museum, probably a little more worthwhile :p

We made a couple friends though! (the sort of friends nightmares are made of… creepy.)

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When we were finally done with the museum we headed back home feeling refreshed, reconnected and just excited to see Miss Lucy. But of course we had to stop to take in the Thames one more time. It’s amazing to me how busy it always it. I wouldn’t say it’s the most beautiful river I’ve ever seen but there’s something magical about all the commotion that seems to take place on it – always moving, always different, always with a backdrop of London. We will certainly miss it.

Geo asked me to pose, so naturally I gave the best Kardashian look I had… #Fail #HowDoIDoPoutyLips?

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Grateful: For this little pipsqueak who finds amusement, wonder and happiness in just about everything (especially my phone!). I hope she holds onto this for a long long time (the wonder, not my phone!).

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Right Around the Corner…

~ Aub ~ 1 Comment

from us is the cutest, coziest little coffee shop. Verde and Company is the perfect spot to stop in for a coffee, or in my case, a late-afternoon hot chocolate 🙂

Their hot chocolate is voted best in London for a reason – it is truly delish! Dark, creamy and sweet; just what you need after a long day with a baby who is jet-lagged :p Lucy enjoyed her teeny little baby sip so much that she wouldn’t stop grabbing at it! Like mother like daughter. #ChocolateDoesTheBodyGood

Grateful: For our construction worker friends who are always around to help me lift the stroller into our apartment complex, give us a friendly wave as we walk by and/or come chat with us during those witching hours that we so often spent sitting on our front stoop watching the people walk by 🙂