Kensington

Oh, hi again - back with a few more London pictures!

After Matt finished work on Thursday night, we had three whole days to spend together in Europe! We left our hotel near Waterloo Station and traveled up to Kensington.

Kensington was really lovely. Rows and rows of pristine white rowhouses, with iron balconies and ornate carvings. We got a room at a boutique hotel in one of these neighborhoods. It was a neat experience, though it was a bit of a surprise to learn we had a 5th floor room and there was no elevator!

Hotel room in Kensington.

We decided to start the day off with touring Kensington Palace.

Kensington Palace was really beautiful. I loved the park setting, and how modest the palace seemed. It wasn't what I was expecting, but in a good way. I don't know a lot about the histories of the royal families, but what I have learned about Queen Victoria has always fascinated me so I was excited to learn more about her in the place where she spent so much of her life.

But I think I was even more excited about our next stop...

The Orangery at Kensington Palace

We enjoyed a proper, English, afternoon tea at The Orangery. It was such a beautiful building, and the food was so fun. (And of course, the tea was wonderful too!)

^ Royal Albert Hall ^

^ Watching the birds in Kensington gardens. ^

^ The magnificent Albert Memorial. ^

We also made time to go check out the Victoria and Albert museum, though their collection is just mind-bogglingly massive and after almost three hours, we felt like we had barely scratched the surface.

^ The enormous, "Ardabil Rug" at the V&A. ^

Matt at breakfast, at our Kensington hotel.

We were exhausted after all our walking, and went back to our hotel fairly early in the evening to get some sleep before the next big adventure ahead of us...

Paris!

St. Pancras Station, waiting for our Eurostar train to France!

Ketchup

It is seriously time to catch up. What is wrong with me? You won't believe it, but I do think about this blog every single day, and yet have the hardest time sitting down to work on it.

Granted, I have little time to even sit lately. (An early wake up and thus early nap time has given me an opportunity today - but the struggle between blogging and laying down to take a quick nap or read from my already over due library book before picking Olive up from school was real.) This has been a busy spring. The days just fly by. The good thing is, where as a couple of months ago the busyness felt overwhelming and awful - now it just feels normal, and pretty good. 

Where to begin... Well, last weekend I took a really fast, spontaneous trip up to Boston to visit some family there, and attend my cousin's baby shower. (She's expecting TWINS soon!)

I got to help make cupcakes the night before - aren't they cute?

Back home in Holland, things are warming up...slowly, of course. These Michigan winters know how to keep us in line, so that when March comes around, all rainy and freezing at 40F, we're just so happy about it because at least the snow is all gone and we don't have to wear 101 layers to prevent losing limbs to frostbite!

^ This was last week - all that snow is finally gone now. Hello mud! ^

^ The tulips are coming! ^

If you have been wanting a Silas update: he keeps himself busy splashing in every mud puddle he sees in spite of my screams, and has to be watched every second or else he's liable to sneak into the bathroom and throw ALL my makeup into the toilet. He also has decided that holding my hand is much too beneath him, and insists he can hold his own hand now (as seen above.) He might be getting a leash for his birthday.

And if you were wanting an Oona update, well, the news isn't much better. She has literally put several prominent gray hairs on my head, front-and-center, in the last two months. She refuses to practice walking, but is an expert climber, and enjoys scaring Matt and I to death. She is a gate-climber, stairway-tumbler, houseplant eater, toilet splasher extraordinaire! Thankfully she is also an amazingly good cuddler, and a sneaky coffee drinker (which isn't really a virtue, but it is hilarious, and I am totally framing that picture of her chugging the remnants of Matt's americano. My baby is hardcore, and I have no idea where she came from.)

Lest you think I'm forgetting my oldest, never fear - Olive is great, she just wouldn't let me get a picture of her this week. She seems so easy now, with the bulk of my day being spent chasing the "terrible two" left and right. She's doing so well in school, and we're really proud of her. She has a music program coming up, and a fun field trip, and can't talk about anything except her upcoming birthday next week. (She is hoping for a big Legos Friends set, as she reminds me 100 times a day.) I'd say she was a perfect child, except for the non-stop fights with Silas, melting down into screams and tears when I ask her to eat anything she doesn't particularly like, and her ability to lose her mittens every single morning we are running late to school. But other than those things, she really is pretty perfect. :) 

Fascinating stuff, I know. I feel very old and boring lately, but am thankfully too busy to waste much time sulking about it. 

I will hopefully be back sooner than later with something better than this, but it's time to pick up Olive at school so my time's up for the day. Over and out!

Covent Garden

On my last day wandering around London on my own, (before Matt was free for the weekend,) I took the Tube to Covent Garden. It was a weird morning...

For one thing, when I got to the market area, I got this weird deja-vu feeling, like I had been there before - which I hadn't of course. But it looked familiar. Then it hit me! My Fair Lady was a family favorite movie when I was a kid - I probably still have the whole thing memorized. The opening scene where Eliza Doolittle meets Professor Higgins for the first time takes place right in this market square. So nerdy, but I thought it was the coolest thing ever!

There was a Shake Shack of all things in Covent Garden, and as I hadn't had breakfast that morning, I decided to eat there. I'm 100% positive the people working there knew thought I was insane eating a burger and custard at 11:30am. I was definitely the only one!

While I was eating there alone someone started singing opera in the lower court yard near my table and it started to rain outside, and as I was sitting there looking out towards St. Paul's church, I had the strangest feeling wash over me - what the heck was I doing here, thousands of miles from my kids, in a foreign country, eating Shake Shack at the scene of one of my favorite childhood movies, all by myself? 

While it felt so weird, it also felt kind of wistfully, achingly wonderful, and I'll definitely never forget that morning.

Soho Date Night

Our trip to London only happened because Matt was called over for work. Not only did he work a full week there, but there were also work dinners most nights. He did, however, happen to get one night where there were no commitments, and we took advantage of it to enjoy a date in Soho. 

It was such a bustling, busy area. A little bit like Times Square in a way, with lots of giant digital billboards, lots of restaurants and theaters and of course, lots of people.

I'm sad that the only picture we were able to get together was a horrible quality phone snap! Oh well. We ate at a tiny little restaurant called Honest Burger. Who says London can't do a good hamburger? The ones we had that night rival any of the burgers we've tried in the U.S. It was such a treat.

Finally, my evening was made perfect by spotting this little guy on the building next to Honest Burger. Ever since watching "Exit Through the Giftshop" a long time ago, I've been a little obsessed with the street art movement, so I was excited to see an Invader in person!

Doing London, Solo.

Matt had to work pretty long days the week we were in London, and that left me with so much alone time that I hardly knew what to do with myself. When you're on the mom clock 24/7, and focusing on three other people's needs at all times of the day (and night,) suddenly having alone time is quite a shock, or at least it was for me!

I knew going into the trip that I was going to either have to be brave and go out into London by myself or just stay in our tiny hotel room all week until Matt was free. I had to give myself some pep-talks and do some deep breathing, but I am really proud that I pushed myself to explore the city all by myself. I felt so empowered and confident by the end of the week! 

Ready to go, and standing by the hotel room door, getting my nerves ready to go out. 

My first couple of days alone, I did a lot of walking. Our hotel was near the Tate Modern museum, and I spent a whole day just there, wandering around the galleries.

I think I went to Paul's Patisserie at least once a day for a cappuccino and giant vanilla macaron. The bliss of being able to sit and enjoy a whole cup of hot coffee and treat without being interrupted or having to share! (Allll the other moms reading this just nodded their heads in understanding.)

Halfway through the week, I started taking the Tube by myself. It really was very easy and mostly enjoyable once I got the hang of it. It was such an exhilarating feeling, being able to access the whole city on my own so easily!

London is expensive, and while most of the museums are free, a lot of the famous sites (the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, etc) cost a pretty penny (pound, more like,) to tour. And I realized I just didn't feel excited to tour those expensive sites by myself without Matt. Opting to wait until a future trip when we could experience them together, I bought a hop-on-hop-off bus tour/boat cruise tour. 

The bus tour was totally worth the price for me. I think with it being the middle of the work week, every bus I road was practically empty. I had front seat views from the top of the double decker buses for two days! It was relaxing, fun and just the right pace for me. 

Westminster Abbey

Crossing Tower Bridge!

The Tower of London. Can't wait to tour the inside one day (hopefully!)

I snapped a sneaky picture of these cute school girls, because - sooo much cute!

The river cruise tour. 

By the time 3pm rolled around each day, I was exhausted, and it was like a dream to be able to go back to the hotel, grab a coffee in the lobby and go relax in a clean hotel room until Matt got back. 

Yes, that's a slice of pizza being eaten in bed on a white blanket! Because, I mean...

YOLO.

Beauty Favorites / February

I cannot lie. Winter 2015 has been no friend of mine (other than that crazy, dreamlike week abroad that seems like it happened ten years ago already.) I was all set to write a long post detailing all the things that have made January and February miserable, but then decided last minute to write a post about a few of the things that have made these months more bearable - because negativity won't make spring come any faster, can I get an amen? 

I have spent the majority of the last two months in pajamas, stuck in the house wiping my babies' noses and bottoms. I think I have been out of my house maybe three times since getting back from our trip? So there isn't too much to write about this month in this department...

When I have considered the vain topic of beauty-related-things this month (and it has not been often enough, sorry to anyone unfortunate enough to have seen me out and about at Meijer in my unshowered, zombie like state,) it has been mostly to think about keeping my skin feeling hydrated and healthy. 

Coconut oil - organic, EV coconut oil is my by-all, save-all, fixes all, magic potion product. (All the hype is legit guys - don't knock it until you've tried it! It's really not as scary and greasy as it may sound!) I have started washing my face at night with coconut oil instead of my usual Cetaphil/moisturizer combo. I was scared to death I was going to be in for a bout of acne, but so far so great! The coconut oil is so good for taking off makeup, and after rinsed with warm water it leaves my face feeling so soft. When I wake up in the morning it still looks hydrated. I may never use soap again!

I've also started using the coconut oil in the shower on my legs, knees, elbows and shoulders as a moisturizer (this is my normal summer routine, but I'm starting early this year because...why not?) Not only does it leave my skin feeling baby soft, but the oil smells like summer and it's just a nice way to remember that winter won't last forever.

Rose Water - In the mornings, I'm using 100% Moroccan rose water as a toner. It smells SO GOOD! It's like splashing perfume on your face, except it makes your skin feel clean and refreshed and just really great. Speaking of perfume...

Perfume! - Sometimes, even if you look and feel like crap, a little perfume can remind you that you are actually still a 28 year old woman. This will be something I shall write in my future "20 Life Lessons I Learned in My 20s" post. (Kidding!) I picked up this tiny bottle from Anthropologie months ago and the love affair is still going strong. (Royal Apothecary's "Noble Carnation.")

Maybelline Brow Drama Brow Mascara in Soft Brown - My obsessive concern over eyebrows continues, and I've moved into the scary world of eyebrow mascaras (seriously, who ever heard of such a thing?) It's actually not as scary as I hoped thought, and this is a much easier can't-mess-up ways of defining and taming eyebrows than the pencil route in my opinion.

Honorable mentions: I decided to give up alllll the sugar for 40 days, and I'm proud to say it's been a week now and I'm still alive. This is my fifth time I think going on an extended sugar fast, and while it's definitely never easy, there seems to be less drama around it each time I do it, which is nice to realize. Don't believe for a second that there haven't been a looot of feelings this month that I would have loved to drown in Ben and Jerry's and Reeses Pieces. The struggle has been real. The loss of bloating and headaches have (kiiind of) made it worth while so far, though.

Also, I've been trying the lemon-water-every-morning thing that seems so popular right now, and while I haven't noticed anything life changing as of yet, I have wondered if it's helped with the sugar cravings that are usually so bad the first week of giving up sugar. And it's a rather pleasant way to start the day, so I'll keep it up.

Anybody reading this have any winter-redeeming, life-changing health/beauty products that they've discovered recently? Is so, let me know!