Love Story*

The * represents each time I successfully and/or cleverly reference TSwift songs - I imagine you hearing a high pitched "ping" in your head like VH1's pop culture bubbles

We are never, ever, ever*… coming back to America! Just kidding! Maybe…

As most of you know, because I've been ranting about how excited I've been for the last 100 days, we went to London last weekend.  It was my first visit so of course there was site seeing to be done, but we also happened to have tickets to British Summer Time Festival in Hyde Park with headliner Taylor Swift.  All I can say, people, is that it was the best day.* Just kidding again, I have plenty more to say than that.  It was really the perfect weekend getaway and I feel this is the beginning of a beautiful love story* between London and myself.  The city is incredibly enchanting* and like no other city in the world.  Don't get me wrong, I don't regret our choice to live in Brum.  London is insanely expensive and quite touristy, and I think part of it's charm for me is its accessibility from where I am now.  I can opt in and out when I want - the perfect relationship, right?

Saturday started with an early morning train to London.  It's an easy 1hr 20min ride costing us about £20 for each round trip ticket thanks to booking in advance.  We arrived around 9:30, caught the tube to our hotel, checked our bags and went to check out the scene at the concert entrance.  I'd go into detail here about how well laid out and easy the tube is to manage, but I think it has a fairly well-known reputation that doesn't need further touting.  We found the entrance to the concert and were surprised at how few people were lined up, so we decided to do some walking around, stopping to snack on our packed lunch and enjoy the park.  Around 1 we walked back by the entrance and the crowd had thickened so we jumped in the queue.  With a sold out show of 65,000 concert goers, we were ok waiting 2 hours in the sun (enjoying the most glorious UK weather) to be able to enter calmly and collectedly.  Kudos to the event organizers - that was one tightly run ship.

Chilling in the queue

Taking up a large portion of Hyde Park, the festival had 3 stages, numerous food and beverage stations and entertainment for kids and adults.  We rarely had to wait in line for refreshments or the bathrooms.  Call me crazy, but I could totally be a festival goer if they're all like this. I'm sure 22*  year old Jordan is rolling her eyes at me now while 19 year old Adam (in the Bonnaroo shirt I met him in) is grinning over how his plan to convert me is working out so brilliantly.

There were 9 other artists leading up to Taylor starting at 3:30.  We chose to stick to the main stage where 4 of them played to warm us up and got to hear some very talented rising British artists, all of whom you may recognize via one or two of their songs.  Ellie Goulding, a worthy opener, is someone I'd have paid to see on her own, so I was pretty excited when she came bouncing across the stage... literally.  See videos below courtesy of Youtube; you can find our home videos later in the blog.

Rae Morris

Vance Joy

John Newman

Ellie Goulding

We found a nice spot to park our blanket for a while, but when John Newman started, we had to get up.  That guy is a performer, so we quickly made our way towards the front, or as close as we could get.  Ellie was all that I'd hoped for - I have a serious girl crush here. However, not to be shadowed by anything or anyone, Taylor came out swinging and put on one heck of a show.  I haven't been to a concert like this since NSYNC in 1998, and even Lance Bass agrees that they had nothing on Taylor.

Photo courtesy of Jen Cornett

Dressed to the nines in leather and sequins (proving neither of these fashion trends will ever go out of style*), she was fearless* and flawless.  It was tough to see her at times as the crowd was insanely thick, but she performed for 2 straight hours and even Adam was impressed.  After the surprising guest appearances of celebs like Karlie Kloss, Kendall Jenner, Serena Williams, Cara Delevingne and Gigi Hadid, she wrapped up the show and we crashed.

Photo courtesy of Leslie Petro

We spent almost 10 hours in the sun and were exhausted so we took it easy Saturday night saving our sight seeing of London for Sunday.  Depending on the lineup next year, we'd definitely consider going back.  I'd also see any of those artist in concert again.  Taylor Swift is an incredible performer.  Just ask Emma Watson or Gwyneth Paltrow who were also amongst the Swifties.

As if Saturday hadn't been glorious enough, I still had all of London to see. We grabbed a quick bite and tube passes and made our way across the city successfully cramming in several sites - The London Eye (disclaimer: we didn't wait to go up, maybe next time), 10 Downing Street (where I'm pretty sure we saw PM David Cameron leaving, though I can't be sure as the windows are tinted and you aren't allowed down the street), Big Ben & Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey (where we had the chance to sit in on an Evensong service), The Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral and Buckingham Palace.  After all that site seeing, I took advantage of the need for rest and a caffeine deficiency to finally have high tea, legitimizing my blog title!  Big day people, big day.

High Tea at Caffe Concerto

I'm fairly certain the crowd wouldn't have cleared Kate's security detail, so I didn't see her.  I'd say there's a shot next weekend when we venture to Wimbledon, but she has Charlotte's christening, which is quite the reasonable excuse, so no bad blood* here.  You heard me right, though - we're going back to London next weekend, because why not?  It could go without saying, but this is a blog so I'll say it anyway - London, I love you, forever and always.* See you soon.

Below are some videos and pictures from our collection.  Enjoy.

Festivaler

Festivaler

Taylor on the big screen

Parliament and Big Ben

London Eye

Trafalgar Square

A Lovely Day in the Neighbourhood

Cheers friends! It's sunny and 20 degrees here in Brum today making spirits bright! Before you start feeling sorry for me, remember that the Brits monitor temps in Celsius, meaning it's a warm and pleasant 68 F today.  June is expected to be the hottest in Birmingham's history with highs reaching a whopping 82 F later in the month... I say bring it on.  Speaking of things the Brits do differently, here's a link I shared on FB recently with some "common" British phrases.  To be honest, I haven't heard most of these, but I sure hope to soon, and hope even more to be able to use them to weird my friends out when visiting home.

In other news, we've been settling in nicely, making important purchases like a vacuum and a crock pot and are feeling especially domestic after we got some plants to brighten up the flat.  The weekend before last we made another trip to Wales for a hike (I mentioned the Black Country in a previous blog and was incorrect).  In case you missed the pictures on social media, below are a few.  These do not even begin to do the views justice.  I huffed and puffed the entire 8 miles up (feeling very out of shape after two months away from Pure Barre) as Adam basically sang his happy song the whole way, but it was worth it. If you ever come over this way, a trip to Wales is worth it... maybe even a hike in Brecon Beacons up Pen Y Fan.

Last weekend we did some much needed lazy lounging around the flat, but we also got to know our neighbourhood a little better! Per request, I'll take the time now to share a little more about the friendly community we live in known as the Jewellery Quarter. 

We're an easy 15 minute walk from City Centre and the Business District.  Much like Birmingham, AL, Birmingham, England has neighborhoods (some sort of suburb-ish) that make up the area.  One significant difference is that things here are much closer proximity wise than back home.  Brum has a little over 1 million residents, but unlike a comparably sized city in the US like Dallas, you can walk from one end of the city to the other in 40 min.  That seems far to natives, but feels easy and convenient to us.  

The Jewellery Quarter is known for exactly what it's named - Jewellery (British sp.).  40% of jewellery made in the UK comes from our neighborhood.  There are dozens of stores and shops across the quarter.  You can't walk 5 feet without passing one.  We're also blessed with dozens of restaurants, pubs, and culture all at our fingertips, some of which we made point to experience last weekend.

Saturday morning we lounged as we watched the annual Trooping the Colour. This tradition accompanies the Queen's birthday celebration, and even more exciting, it marked baby George's first public appearance! We then made a trip outside of the neighborhood to Edgbaston Golf Club for a tour.  Those of you who know us know that Adam loves golf.  This is a course smack in the middle of the city, which seems weird, but it's beautiful.  It looks like we're going to ship Adam's clubs and join.  I'll be taking some lessons and reaping the benefits of a "social membership" which I hope is just as classy as it sounds.  No worries, I packed my pearls.

Saturday night we tried a restaurant we've been eying that was recommended by a trusted source.  The Church has a classic English pub vibe while serving "traditional soul food" and oh do they serve amazing soul food.  I had the fried chicken and Adam had ribs - both some of the best we've ever had.  Just across the street was the Blue Orange Theatre.  It's a small theatre, boasting 90 or so seats.  We saw a musical manned by 8-10 actors and no props or set called The Coalition Kings.  The actors seemed about college age, and were enthusiastic.  I'll leave my review there as I'm no critic, but we'll be giving it another shot when Sweeney Todd premiers in the Fall.  Regardless of the caliber, it's a fun way to spend a Saturday night.

Sunday we visited St. Paul's evening Eucharist service, which we loved.  It's not our denomination, but it was a lovely service and the timing is nice because we can still make it after a weekend trip out of town.  Afterwards we went to the local chinese buffet and called it a night.

No big plans as of yet for this weekend, but next weekend is Taylor Swift at Hyde Park!!!! To say I'm excited is an understatement.  I'm almost certain this is where I'll spot Kate - I mean, it doesn't seem like an event she'd miss, especially now that she's out and about post the birth of Princess Charlotte.  I'll have my camera ready.  

The more we do, the more we love Brum.  I'm thankful daily for Adam. I know a lot of people who've braved moves like this alone, but as Mr. Rogers says - "It always helps to have people we love beside us when we have to do difficult things in life."  

Feels Like Home

One of the most common questions Adam and I get, both from people we meet here and friends back home, is "Why? Why Birmingham? Why the UK? Why move at all?"  We're able to answer these questions fairly definitively and with confidence.  We have no doubts or regrets, but hearing these questions while wading through some of the struggles of setting in can be, well, a little unsettling.  Last night we added a few personal touches to our flat, bringing some much needed warm and fuzzy feelings to us both, so I figured now a good time to explain why we left behind our happy life in Mississippi and share some back story behind our big move, and pics from the flat of course.

Why? Why move at all? When Adam accepted his job 3 years ago, it was in large part because of the many opportunities an international firm could offer his career, and our life.  We've both never lived anywhere but the south and we saw an opportunity to see the world and expand our cultural horizons.  You're only twenty-something once (well, for 9 years), so our question back to people is "why not?" This wasn't a guaranteed thing, so we bought a house back in August (that we loved, and thankfully someone else did and bought it 9 short months later), but when the opportunity did come, we knew a house, kids and all that fun would be there when we were ready.  Right now, we're ready for this - living in a flat, in a big city, in a foreign country, experiencing all of the challenges and fun that we sort of skipped at 22.  Did I mention we're just a hop, skip and jump (or 45 min flight) from Paris?

Why Birmingham? Why the UK? These are a little easier to answer.  Because of Adam's line of work he needed to be able to speak the native language so the UK quickly became our first choice.  A lot of people ask why we aren't in London (or assume that we are), but what they don't realize is that London is one of the most expensive cities in the world.  Birmingham is the second biggest city in the country, providing us with ample professional opportunities and even more English culture.

How, literally, did we make it all happen? Adam's firm was extremely supportive through the process, both with guidance and financial support.  As I mentioned earlier, we got lucky and sold the home fairly easily.  We also decided to sell most of our furniture.  We aren't sure what our next home will look like, so storing it didn't seem practical.  As my Facebook friends know, I also emptied my closet.  The whole process was quite liberating, honestly.  We packed 6 checked bags and 2 carry on suitcases of clothes and flew over with only that.  We found a furnished flat, bought the essentials (TV and kitchen ware) and had a few trinkets from home shipped over, bringing me to how we've made the flat feel like home.  Here's a video from the nesting last night and some pictures with some back story on what we deemed worth the trip.

This was a personal wedding gift from a talented and lovely artist, Michelle Allee

Another favorite wedding gift courtesy the thoughtful Brittany Cain and Caroline Meyers soon to be Iverson - no Coastie's home is complete without a little Walter Anderson!

On the shelf - a Wolfe Bird (the only kind of birds I like); our Bibles and devotional; The Southerner's Handbook (thoughtful birthday present from Erika Berry); a few good reads borrowed from the Haywood's library; some educational books courtesy our relocation specialists; flattened champagne bottle from our wedding (the green oblong thing); art by Adam's maternal grandmother; notepads and a boxful of stationary (I have an addiction to stationary); our electronics

On the nightstand: handmade bookmark from Adam's paternal grandmother; the cutest picture of Adam and his grandfather; rock from the Grand Canyon (to remind us how big the earth is, how small we are, and all that philosophical jazz)

Art by the talented Lacey Cain (shop her Etsy page here)

Shipping isn't cheap or easy, so we did our best to choose items that would remind us of home, add some charm to the flat (whose white walls mock us daily), and weren't breakable.  I'd like to give another shout out to my mother in law for adding the peanut butter, Crest and photos to our last package.  We also got a fun care package from Grandma Haywood today with fixings for a cheese ball!  I love to entertain, and will definitely be making all things Southern and American anytime we have guests over.  

Tonight I'm attempting Shrimp and Grits (recipe via Skinny Taste cookbook).  Grocery shopping is a bit of a challenge for some of my American recipes, so I'll let you know how it goes.  If I'm successful, maybe news of my cooking talents will make their way to Kensington and Will and Kate will join us for the GoT finale next week.  Fingers crossed.

"Boldness be my friend"

It was only a matter of time before this English major made her way to the home of Shakespeare.  It was the perfect day trip! Stratford Upon Avon is an easy hour train ride from our neighborhood station.  In addition to being the home of Shakespeare and Avery Shannon for a post grad year (which makes it pretty awesome in my book) it's quite the charming little town.  Shops, restaurants and museums have been built alongside Shakespeare's family homes and historical buildings, while in my opinion, preserving the charm of an old English town.  Full of inspiration and a chocolate crepe, I came home refreshed and with a renewed motivation to pick up a book.

After two crazy windy days, sunshine made it's way to Brum and it's been a beautiful couple of days, giving us the itch to be active and get some fresh air, so this weekend we're heading back to Wales for the day tomorrow to hike some trails through Black Country.  As for other upcoming trips and plans, we've booked London for June 27th (cough cough, the best birthday present ever), Edinburgh, Scotland in July, potentially Paris in August, and Istanbul with the Harters in October! 

Today I'm headed out to Solihull for some shopping, then back to job hunting! Some promising leads came in this week, so prayers that something pans out soon are appreciated! Adam had a bit of a commute this week, but on the bright side got to spend the night at a charming little hotel (see video below).  We can't make this stuff up.  We aren't out seeking the most quaint little spots, this is totally normal here.  

Still accepting requests for blog topics and suggestions on how I can meet Kate! We love hearing from everyone via Facebook and What's App - private message me for our UK phone numbers! Much love from across the pond - A&J