All Good Things...

We've had the absolute best time in Boise over these last two weeks, and SO much to tell and show you once we are back in Blighty. We've spent so much time with my wonderful parents, and seen so many great friends. And it's snowed lots!! But unfortunately, our blissful holiday home is over - for now.

Honestly, every time I go home it gets harder to leave. I find myself really wishing that Sarah could legally move here with me - and we could enjoy the next stage of our life, in the quiet country of Idaho. Our kids could be around their grandparents, and it would be wonderful. Will be wonderful. Someday soon I hope!

But of course, you know us, we are travellers - and we are not quite finished trekking around the world yet. Our next stop is New York City!!

This has already been such a great holiday and it would be so much harder to go straight home from here - instead we are getting excited about our next adventure! (which is why I am up at 12:30am, despite having to wake up at 4:00am)

We don't have too many plans, except to spend time with a few friends, meet up with Steph and Corrine from Waking Up With Her, and see EVERYTHING! We are planning to watch the ball drop at Times Square, and hoping to see Ricky Martin in Evita. Because, its Ricky Martin.

Remember this guy?

We won't have a laptop in NYC so probably not many posts, but keep an eye on our Twitter and Instagram pages for lots of familiar New York sights!!!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!!

We hope you have been having an absolutely fabulous holiday season - we've been having wonderful fun in Boise, which is why we've been less than regular on this blog!! But we can't wait to share with you all our fun adventures!

Our Christmas this year is very different from last year's day!

Tonight we will have a cold spread with Laura's family - yummy cheeses (from Whole Foods! Yum!), deli meats, and smoked salmon with french bread and mulled wine - we are getting hungry thinking about it!!

Then of course Christmas Day is tomorrow! We are having a 'no presents' Christmas this year, so we will just be exchanging small (food based in our case) things - taking Abby for a nice long walk, and having friends over for dinner! And Laura will be making her famous green bean casserole!

What are some of your Christmas traditions?

We share with you our 'getting the Christmas tree ready' video again - because its so marvelously festive!

We wish the best Christmas to all of you and your families!

Sarah's Family Christmas 2012

I LOVE history – I’m just going to put it out there! From a young age I was obsessed with learning as much as possible about the past. I would divulge Roman books and was lucky enough to live on what was an airfield in the second world war – history surrounded me. From the air raid shelter that was our ‘fort’ to the scribblings of soldiers on walls left in the area I was fascinated. It was a childhood mission to unearth the air raid shelter hidden under our bike hill (a hill that I flew off at one point and had numerous stitches- I wasn’t the girliest girl!!). Unfortunately it was flatten before my neighbour and I had dug deep enough and we never did find out the secrets we were convinced it held.

My area gave me an history interest I hold to this day – whether it was a bomb being discovered in our playing field or the fact that I was intrigued by where names came from I was always wanting to know more. When we did a geography lesson about land can give places names I stayed late to go through more. I grew up in Woodley – ‘Ley’ meaning ‘clearing’ was simple ‘clearing in a wood’! Then there was Twyford ‘ford (or low land) where you could cross two fords’! so clever.

OK so to save this becoming a history lesson I’ll get to the point – this weekend I had my family Christmas as I won’t be here for the actual day (did we mention we’ll be in Idaho :D) and part of that was to visit my Aunt and Uncle in Hawkhurst. My Dad mentioned it was a really old settlement and the date on their cottage was 1874 – HISTORY!!! My Aunt is also a history buff and we spent the afternoon looking up how the village came to be. Aside from a torrid history where smuggling was the main occupation it is a quaint village with a very farming-centric background. The name Hawkhurst being derived from ‘Hurst or Hyrst – meaning wooded land, put another way it’s woodland where hawks frequent.
 

I love having someone to share my interest and when I mentioned the possibility of Laura and I heading to ‘Nutley’ New Jersey she was so excited. Turns out my great-great-great Uncle took a trip there, opened a town hall and they had a day of celebration in his honour! Mr Jack Nutley was a local celeb way back when – wonder if I can ask for the same honour?

Our Christmas celebration was lovely though, snug in our cottage with the fire burning we were able to have our last catch up of the year before a three course roast dinner. There is something about being in the warmth in this weather that warms the heart. I can’t wait to find out the history of the cottage – if those walls could talk!

It was a nice relaxing afternoon to counter the somewhat hectic day out in London I had enjoyed with my Mum and Sister on the Saturday. My sister had kindly booked us tickets to see Cabaret, my all time favourite film (set at the start of the second world war in Berlin). I was apprehensive, Will Young (Pop Idol winner back in 2002) was playing a lead and he had to be good. The role is pivotal to making the play funny but Will did not fail me. He was brilliant! In fact I may go as far as saying this was the best production of the film I had seen. The male nudity (very unexpected and the 2^nd time I’ve seen a penis this year!!!) shocked the audience into action and there was cheers and applause throughout.

We were in the Savoy theatre, a truly beautiful theatre, and attached to the stunning Savoy hotel and it set the scene for a wonderful matinee performance. I am one truly lucky lady.

 

I spent Saturday night back in Reading at my parents new house and it’s funny, no matter how big the bed I stay on one side and my Mum even commented that I must have missed Laura as the spare pillow was well, squashed! Poor L I must really hug her tight at night.

It was a lovely weekend though and nice to spend the time with my parents, it’s been a while. For those of you who remember the trouble we have had since I’ve been with Laura you’ll understand why I treasure the good times. I can even report progress – Laura got a present from my Mum, was mentioned in cards and we even spoke about her in a positive way. May 2013 bring continued progress – I know what’s on my wish list!!

And, We're Off!!!

We are on the way to Heathrow currently, with (way too much) luggage in tow - and even though we have only had 1.5 hours sleep, we are SO EXCITED!!!

Idaho, here we come!!!

Love, Laura & Sarah xo

Winter Wonderland - Hyde Park, London, UK

For those of you who, like us, LOVE Christmas it’s amazing just how many excuses you can find me do Christmassy things! Living in London we are lucky enough to enjoy Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park on a regular basis.

When we worked together last year we were able to walk the 10 minutes to Hyde Park almost every lunch time to indulge in the array of food – bratwursts, Angus burgers, turkey & stuffing sandwiches and profitijes (how did I wait 25 years to taste them!!!) – it’s a lunch only fit for Christmas time!

This year as we don’t work together we have had less chance to go and wander round but we thought we would get in early with Sarah and Lauren. So after our Thanksmas celebration we headed to Harrods and then on to Winter Wonderland. With Willow with us and dressed to combat the ever-so-cold weather we braced ourselves for the hoards of people. This place is BUSY!! Poor Willow (or maybe lucky Willow) ended up being carried round to save her from the buggies and feet. This place is not for the faint-hearted or those who hate crowds.

Once inside the parameter you have plenty of attractions to see. The area is divided into sections; The Fairground, Food Markets Stalls, Christmas gifts stalls and the Ice Rink, oh and the Zippo Circus area and an Observation Wheel. You can wander for free but it costs to go on anything or into any of the attractions.    

There are over 100 festive rides and attractions and even Santa Land, where Santa hangs out in is his famous grotto!

Having had the experience of Winter Wonderland at a weekend we would say DON’T DO IT! If you can head up during the week otherwise the atmosphere is lost trying not to get trodden on or crushed – festive if you love the Christmas shopping crush – but not fun if you are there to enjoy the day.

That’s not to say you can’t enjoy it and our tour with Sarah, Lauren and Willow was enjoyable, from the talking tree welcoming us to sitting in a very Bavarian style wooden terrace full of food stands and bars, to the delicious food to the Christmas tunes blasting over the tannoy we all felt the Christmas spirit.

You can easily spend a couple of hours wandering round the 100 or so stands, time it right and there are live bands playing and all kinds of random entertainment. It’s not the cheapest place to find a Christmas gift but there is definitely plenty of choice. We got a personalised tree decoration there last year:

As Sarah still works 10 minutes walk away she definitely has the best deal, even if her pre-Idaho diet has been destroyed, well it would be rude not to indulge in the delicious food – right?!

Open from late November to early January there are plenty of weekdays to head over and with Hyde Park Corner tube station right outside (although often closed as it gets overwhelmed) and Green Park or Victoria Station just 10 minutes walk away it’s definitely well-located.

If you are in London on a weekday make sure and pop in, it's well worth a look around!

An L&S Experiment: Love Languages

Earlier this week I was catching up on the blogs we follow, when I came across a very interesting post from Jena at Recently Roached about something I’d never heard of before – Love Languages.

Jena said in her post that it was something she was taught in her Christian sorority - that there are five different ways of showing love to your significant other, and each person values these ways differently. I had never come across it before, but I thought it was a great idea!

Sarah and I have been together (almost) 4 years now, and we think we know each other well, but I decided we were going to do an experiment. We took the five languages and ordered them according to what we thought the other valued most to least (so I did Sarah’s, and she did mine) – we recorded those findings.

Then, we each took the 30 question test (changing the word ‘husband’ to ‘girlfriend’, of course), and recorded our own results.

Comparing what our partner thought we found most important to what we actually found most important (and so on) was eye opening.

While we both got the two most valued languages to the other one correct, in the middle is where we could learn the most –

Sarah learned that while she thinks I value her ‘acts of service’ quite a bit, I’d much rather if she showed me she loved me by physically touching me or telling me. We can always do the acts of service together and turn them into quality time!

And I learned that though I would think acts of service was higher on Sarah’s list because she is always nagging me to do my part ;D in fact whats important to her is that we both do the work to get it done so we can spend more quality time together – and that I can never tell her that I love her too many times.

Finally, we both learned that we value similar things – is this how we've gotten on so well thus far, with a ‘treat others as you’d like them to treat you’ attitude? Well now we will continue to do the same, but with more awareness of what would make each other feel even better than they do now!

It’s only been four days, but the Love Languages test has already made a difference in our relationship - click HERE to try it out with your partner!

Oh and PS:

(EEEEEEE!!!!!!!)

Laura's Bad News

Hi everyone, hope you are having a better week than us!

There we were, minding our own Christmasy business, and the completely unexpected happened - Laura was made redundant.

It happened Monday morning, her entire department is getting cut, and it has nothing to do with her or her work, just unfortunately due to the economy - but we are still floored. It was a permanent job! She was really good at it and loved it! How did this happen? AND RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS??!

So now, with only 7 working days until our holiday, we're back on the job hunt. But this time, we are looking to improve our quality of life - no 8:30 - 18:00 jobs, only normal amounts of hours, and in Victoria or around, so we can still have lunch together every day.

Laura definitely isn't as upset by this job loss as she was the last, probably partially because she's been through it before earlier in the year, and this time she isn't losing working with Sarah, and finally because she knows (unfortunately) others who are in the same position as her. It just seems so unfair, what a horrible time of the year for this to happen!

Luckily, we've got a secret weapon - Sarah has been sending through jobs for Laura to apply for from 1 hour after we found out. We're applying, hopefully getting some interviews before we go home, but while we are in Idaho/NYC we are NOT thinking about this. Only good and positive thoughts from 14th December!!

So if anyone in the West/SW London area knows of any roles going in Office Management, training, HR, admin, PA, etc areas, Laura's your girl!

We'll get through this together, it won't be as bad as last time, and we'll stay positive no matter what. Hopefully.

The one and only JASON MRAZ rocked our world!

Jason Mraz was AMAZING! If you read our last post you will know that Laura has had a long standing love affair with Jason after seeing him many a year ago back in Boise. However Sarah had never seen him live and only had his albums to go by.

Admittedly neither of us had really had the chance to listen to his new album too much but had listened through it a couple of times and from what we had heard it sounded just as good as his older songs! But we were worried if the show was all new songs we could have missed out with singing along.

However, we did not have to worry. From start to finish this show was crammed with tune after tune, song after song that got not only us, but the whole crowd on their feet singing every word! The atmosphere was incredible. It wasn't just us that thought so:

The O2 is a BIG arena and having seen the productions that Britney Spears and other artists had put on there made us a little apprehensive about how little Mr Mraz would fill the arena with just a guitar but with the help of his AMAZING band this was not a 'show' as such this was an education in how real music can still engage, inspire and entertain you. There were no half naked dancers, clever staging or pyrotechnics, there was just Jason, his band and a screen that had images or close-ups of the stage (you wouldn't have seen him from section 4 in the roof otherwise)!!

We were SO lucky to have seats 30 rows back on the floor though, so we could enjoy watching him up close and on the screen. We saw his band loving every minute, we saw Jason changing guitars and having fun! That may seen a random thing to say but as much as Britney (and after seeing her 5 times Sarah is a little knowledgeable on this) turns up and does her performance, you do feel a little like she just changes the 'city' in her speech. But with Mraz, it did not feel like that at all. From his anecdotes about his times in London before and from the way he took time to let the crowd cheer him, this was not an artist just 'doing a set'.

Strangely one of the stand out moments, that we both mentioned, was the fact that he came on stage at the exact time we were told he would - not half an hour late! And his first words were 'Thank you so much for coming' - what a gentleman! We also loved that fact that he acknowledged that his lack of 'self promotion' made him somewhat of a well-kept secret and he was glad the secret could fill the O2! That made the atmosphere all the better, everyone there was a real fan and you couldn't help noticing everyone singing (even if the guy behind us sang a little too flat & a little too loud for it to be pleasant ;D ).

We also loved his remixes - 'Lucky' with 'Fly Me To The Moon' was ingenious! He also did 'Three Little Birds' by Bob Marley - brilliant and 'Careless Whisper' by George Michael - smooth!

A lot of his old classics were featured too - 'I'm Yours', 'Plane', 'You & I Both', 'The Remedy', 'Butterfly' and 'Live High'. Although the crowd pleaser, and cleverly left to last, was his hit 'I Won't Give Up' - this had everyone's phones in the air and left everyone buzzing.

We couldn't fail to mention his percussionist either - she was SO talented, slightly insane if you go by the faces she was pulling, but so wonderful. In fact the band (all 8 of them) seemed to play every instrument available at one point of another. It made every song come to life in a completely different way.

Oh and there was a proposal too! Just before the song 'The Woman I Love' Jason gave a speech about how we should all appreciate the women we love and as it ended, the camera panned to the crowd and there was a man on one knee! Ahh love and Mr Mraz just seem to go hand in hand. Funnily he even mentioned us, his lesbians friends, in his speech :)

We're sure we aren't the only couple who relates to Jason Mraz - not only is he a talented musician, there is something more, his clever lyrics are so relatable and in the main, positive, that you can't help feeling loved up - we spent almost 90% of the concert embracing each other, kissing and saying 'I love you'.

No doubt Jason Mraz's songs will play more than a small part in any future moments of ours - after all, in the words of 'Living In the Moment':

I will not waste my days
Making up all kinds of ways
To worry about all the things
That will not happen to me

So I just let go of what I know I don't know
And I know I'll only do this by
Living in the moment
Living our life
Easy and breezy
With peace in my mind
With peace in my heart
Peace in my soul
Wherever I'm going, I'm already home
Living in the moment

I'm letting myself off the hook for things I've done
I let my past go past
And now I'm having more fun
I'm letting go of the thoughts
That do not make me strong
And I believe this way can be the same for everyone

We echo that, Mr Mraz! And if you ever do read this - THANK YOU for a night that will go down as a highlight in a year that has already been one of the best yet!

We LOVE Jason Mraz!!!!

One of the upcoming events we are most excited about this year happens December 1st - we are so excited to say that we are going to see Jason Mraz in concert in London!!

Have you heard of him? If not, then prepare yourself - we're about to change your life. Jason is such a talented singer and songwriter, with an acoustic feel and very clever lyrics, his music is amazing and as if that wasn't enough, he is an incredible person.

Mraz lyrics are all over our house!

Jason and I go way back. Coincidentally, my brother's name is also Jason, and I go way back with him too (from birth). I first saw Mr. Mraz in concert in 2005 in Boise, and completely fell in love. I own every album and know all the words to all of his songs. It's one of her bigger obsessions.

The second time I got to see Jason in concert, I waited at the stage door, and had one of my dreams realised, when I got to meet him! I have a signed ticket stub and photo with him. He was lovely in person, though a little short (but nobody's perfect, right?). It still goes down as one of the best nights I've ever had!

Oh yeah, that's me at 16!

When I got together with Sarah, I knew a big test of how compatible we were was if she could appreciate Jason Mraz. His music also helped me get through a really dark time in my life, so it was really important. At first, it looked like Sarah would fail the test - fast forwarding to the quick, 'pop-y' songs and not loving the slow and meaningful ones, but I would come to accept Sarah's adoration for anything cheesy (Britney Spears!). Once Sarah really listened to the album Mr. A-Z, she got it... and I was relieved that I could in fact marry her someday.

And what's even more awesome than his music? When he got engaged a few years ago, he pledged not to get married until everyone can. I have so much respect for celebrities who value marriage equality.

I made this for Sarah when she went away to Bali for a week when we were in Oz! I missed her so much

You probably didn't need all this backstory, but I just wanted to make sure you understood just how much Jason Mraz means to me.

So this Saturday, we get to see him live!! My third time, Sarah’s first. We are SO excited to see him in such a big venue – I've just seen him in Boise, Idaho.

We’ll update you after the concert on how (inevitably) amazing he was, but we thought we’d leave you with a few of our favourite Mraz songs!

'I'm Yours' - A Mraz classic!

'Lucky' - this is 'our song'!! In fact, the lyrics to this are all over our house!

'I Won't Give Up' - Jason's latest hit - touching, emotional and beautiful

'Geek in the Pink' - one of the original songs that made me fall in love with Jason Mraz!

A Very Merry Thanksmas!!

SO Thanksmas comes but once a year and our second one took place on this past Saturday night. And it was AMAZING!

To start at the beginning, Thanksmas is a 'made up' holiday, an opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving here in the UK with a mix of Christmas traditions included so that we get to share both holidays with a select group of friends.

Just like last year (see here), the evening was a mix of FANTASTIC food, GREAT guests, games and DELICIOUS dessert with more than a little alcohol consumed. What was different was that Laura had a sous chef in the the form of Lauren, from 2 brides to 2 mummies, and we had invited some new guests.

The fam! 

Lauren and Sarah arrived on Thanksmas Eve laden with American candy, bags of diet coke, freshly baked savoury muffins and PUMPKIN PIE! We spent the evening indulging in pizza and catching up till almost 2am!

On the day, and filled with excitement (and because some rowers were being yelled at to 'TURN AROUND, THE FOG IS TOO BAD!') we all bounced out of bed bright and relatively early. First order of the day was to warm the savoury pumpkin muffins S&L brought, add some baked beans and voila 'Thanksmas Breakfast'! Definitely a must for the day next year!

As femme-couples, we don't have defined roles - though society tends to think that one must be more 'manly'. In fact, I think it's true of a lot of couples today: they are made up of two individuals, not 'one' who will cook and clean and 'one' who will work and chop wood (or whatever) - and that is definitely true in our case. However in the case of Thanksmas, roles quickly became defined amongst the four of us. The L's (Laura and Lauren) cooked/baked and the Sarahs stayed way out the way - we may have mixed a few things but other than the potatoes it was all on the L's! (and an amazing job it was too, but more on that later). The Sarah's were packed off to the shops to get a few last bits and then got to do the decorating, table laying and furniture moving. It worked out well.

As the weather outside was frightful (see what we did there :) ) Sarah decided to meet the rest of the guests at the station and provide a taxi service to the flat. It meant a slightly delayed start but it also meant everyone turned up a lot drier than if they walked!

The guests were: Sarah & Lauren, Fiona (Sarah's sister) & Ben - her boyfriend, Alison - Laura's old school friend over here studying, Pete - Sarah's old work colleague (and gay man version of Laura) and US! Oh and Willow, the smallest and furriest of our guests, but also modelling a very festive jumper!

As we seated everyone in their allocated chair, poured drinks and got everyone introduced, it was time to start the serving - that way Laura didn't have to be lost to the kitchen (as last year). Her panic of not having enough food was quickly put to rest as the dishes were past around and the plates reached their limit! Damn those Americans and their amazing food. It's ALL so good!

The only problem was, those who hadn't come last year hadn't paid attention to our 'dress comfortably and if possible wear trousers that stretch' - and they were having to do some mid-meal adjusting! In true American style though, Alison led the way, claiming Laura's green bean casserole was the best she'd EVER had!!! A compliment indeed!

So the menu in all it's glory: green bean casserole, turkey, cornbread, roast potatoes, carrots & broccoli, candied yams, stuffing and gravy!

After dinner was cleared away, it was time to be thankful - so we went around the table each giving thanks - a serious thanks followed by a silly thanks! Laura kicked it off and if you saw our last post (HERE) you'll know what her serious thanks included. Her silly thanks was for the one and only Boris Johnson - for making London cool again!!! Sarah's was.....we think (bearing in mind it was 2 days ago and alcohol was consumed) for dog clothes, so we could dress our dog up to be as cute as Willow and make everyone smile!

Just awww!!!

Then to Apples to Apples - a game that when described sounds so terrible and boring, yet to play is hilarious and informative and allows insight into people's minds that even alcohol doesn't provide!

Willow in her sweater playing A2A, & they say the cards you win describe you - Sarah on left, Laura on right haha!

After what seemed like no time at all but had actually been nearly 4 hours, we dared to serve dessert. We say dared as last year dessert proved one step too far for most guests who ended up taking it home  :) This year though we had Pumpkin Pie (courtesy of Lauren) and Bread and Butter Pudding (courtesy of Fiona & Ben) - served with custard or double cream, or both!!

Both desserts were DELICIOUS! Having never had Pumpkin Pie (what kind of American is Laura - right?!) it was a revelation - seriously so good! So good!

In fact, all the food went down so well EVERYONE left with food parcels!

So there we have it - our second annual Thanksmas was arguably better than the first - and we look forward to celebrating it together for years to come!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hi everyone!!

Thanksgiving is one of Laura's favourite holidays (it is heavily food-centred), but because we don't celebrate it here in the UK, she wasn't able to get the time off work to properly prepare a Thanksgiving meal.

Thankfully, that's what Thanksmas is for, which is only two days away!!

Laura decided to do a little vlog to celebrate this wonderful day, and tell you all about what she is thankful for.

 

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving??

So this may have happened.....

So Thanksmas is only 3 days away, we've done our last bit of shopping, the turkey is bathing and the fridge is packed full.

We started our countdown here: http://sprezzaturaourway.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/countdown-to-thanksmas-2012.html

The only thing left is to cook, oh and finish decorating. Our start to decorating went a little something like this:

So as you can imagine we have quite a bit to do! But bring it on!! 

Is it just me?

It's been a while but today I decided to rant. Normally if I rant at Laura and she doesn't look at me as if I have 4 heads then I consider that my rant is not completely crazy! So rather than complaining at Laura I thought I would put it out to the blog world and see if anyone agrees!

Passwords!

Let me preface this with I understand wholeheartedly the need for passwords. Having just had my phone stolen I do see why having them is necessary but......

Seriously how many passwords can one person need in a day?!

Let me start at the beginning of today, as with every day I need a passcode to get into my office so before my brain is fully engaged I have to enter a four digit number! Challenge!! Password 1!

Then there's the password to get into my computer - here's where I became UNRAVELED this morning! I changed my password last Friday and noted it down, nice and simple 'Holiday2012' or so I thought. As I sat down I entered it and got the 'wrong password', I tried again and again and again and once more, then again oh and again and then I defeated the computer by turning it off! Not that it solved the password problem, it just postponed it. I got a cup of tea and started again, I tried every password I had used in memory and NOTHING! I raised a helpdesk request and then after my 100th attempt I added an 's'. I made my password 'Holidays2012' and it worked!! Seriously 'Holidays' - who uses the 's'!!!!

So lets say that was EVENTUALLY password #2!

Then I have to enter password #3 to get into my emails - that one thankfully hasn't changed in 18 months! Then password #4 gets me on to our sales system!! By this time it's only just 10am!

When it comes to my phone thankfully I am always signed in - although that could have been bad if Mr Phone thief (I say Mr as there was only men around) wanted to cause chaos on our twitter account :) But can you imagine if I had to sign into:
Blogger
Twitter
Instagram
Tumblr
Hotmail
Gmail

So phone sign in can go down as 1 more password!

If I get cash out then there's the ATM password, I have one, the joint card has a different one, the credit card has one and I have a TERRIBLE memory, so I could be there some time making sure I am 100% sure of the pin!

And laptops they require a password! Seriously see passwords- they are stressful! The nemesis for me though is accounts that have required me to put 'numbers' in my username or password!! I mean that's it, I request a new password as often as I use the account.

The funny thing is Laura and I actually did a focus group with paypal about how to make life easier. The suggestions ranged from face recognition to speech analysis, eye recognition to finger print signing - I mean they were trying BUT who knows how long that would take and would that be better?

Who knows?

Right rant over, I feel somewhat better after getting that out there.

I hope I am alone in struggling with password overload, I sense I won't be, but as they say better safe than sorry even if I lost nearly an hour of my life to frustration and memory lapse! Holidays2012! Seriously!!! Next time it's back to the good olde ILoveLaura4eva!

My day may have been a bit better had I stayed in bed :)

Countdown to Thanksmas 2012!

For those of you have followed us from the start you may have remembered this (THANKSMAS) happened about this time last year!

THANKSMAS is the event we created to celebrate both Thanksgiving and Christmas with our best friends. As with Thanksgiving there is turkey, cornbread, candied yams, green bean casserole, mash potatoes and things to be thankful for and as with Christmas there is the cranberry sauce, pudding, crackers and party games. It is a true union of the traditional American style food and English festivities.

As we LOVE Christmas we also use it as an excuse to get our crimbo decorations up and get the festive tunes playing while wearing ridiculous Christmas themed items of clothing, see exhibit A:

Exhibit A

With this being our second Thanksmas there were a few changes that needed to be made, namely making more space!! Especially as this year we will have an extra guest and a dog (albeit a tiny, incredibly cute one by the name Willow) so being rammed against the wall won't work. Our solution was to move out a couch, so right now our hallway looks ghetto with it sat out there.

Although did turn our front door into a present so hopefully Mr Postie will forgive our challenging access because we have given him a reason to smile - who doesn't like presents, right?!

Food preparation is underway with the turkey already at home in our freezer and our shelves crammed full of all kinds of goodies. The only thing missing is dessert which we hope is arriving with the lovely ladies from 2 brides to 2 mummies!

We also have another American joining this year as Laura's school friend Alison will be coming so Laura can at least have a bit more of an American Thanksgiving feel.

In getting our flat ready the next step after clearing the space was to set up the tree:

Laura got the hard task of the un-wravelling fairy lights!!

Our finished tree looks like this:

Have a good week and for those of you celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday!!