Sarah & Laura's Wedding: 5 Months To Go!!

It's speeding up, our wedding is only 5 months away (!!!!)

Over Christmas we didn't do much wedding-wise, so completely forgot to do a 6 months to go post! But in the new year, we seem to have realised how little time we have left, and have sprung into action, along with our lovely wedding planner.

We've planned a lot of the 'before' bits of the wedding - Las Vegas for our hen do, Boise for a few days, and booked McCall for the main bit of our honeymoon. We've booked hotels, friends have booked, we are looking into matching t-shirts which Laura will be forcing even the boys to wear, and we've set up our registry. We have decided to ask for contributions towards larger items of furniture for our home, as while we have cutlery and plates etc, we really need a bed! And cupboards, and dining chairs, etc!

We have also started looking into beautifying before the big day - gone to a tanning salon (don't worry, we're not going orange, but it's irresponsible to go to Las Vegas and Boise in the summer completely pale - it's a recipe for sunburn disaster!!), Laura has booked her hair highlighting appointment a few days before we go, and we are looking into various other things to help us look and feel our best.

We've re-launched our sweating for the wedding, starting with healthy eating and some good old-fashioned Tao Bo on VHS (yay Billy Blanks!) - this week we are beginning to walk/run the 3.5 miles to our car we'd usually take the bus to get home on. We have signed ourselves up for another 5K with our friend Karen, this one is called The Electric Run, its a huge dark dance party with bright clothing and music!! We want to tone up, Laura wants to lose a bit more weight, and we just want to look the best version of ourselves.

We are getting RSVPs as well, which is great - sadly, we've had a few surprise declines, but we understand that it's a long way to go, so always expected that we couldn't have everyone there that we wanted to. We are just so excited though for those who can make it. We will get to spend so much time with our guests, especially those who will be at Vegas beforehand, and because its a whole weekend, so we just feel so incredibly lucky that we mean enough to our guests to go all that way!

We've been sorting out the finer details, like presents for our bridal party and families, what kind of chairs will we have, what will everyone wear to get ready on the day? These things are the 'fun' bit of planning, we are loving it, and its pretty much all we think about at the moment! (Even Sarah!)

Sarah's mum took another leap forward this month, she asked if she could walk Sarah down the aisle. This is wonderful news, and such a long way from where we came from!

It's all really coming together- we can picture it, things are being ordered, invites are being designed - I mean, it's just amazing. We feel so lucky!

One more thing, we were very kindly asked to be featured in Jason Dottley's new music video, for his song called 'Love Story'. You may remember we did an interview with him awhile back - he's become a lovely friend since, and we can't wait to meet up with him when he makes it to the UK.

Our bit is at the very end!

xxxx

One Wedding Dress or Two?

Since announcing our engagement last Christmas a few questions have been asked by pretty much everyone. The first is 'where are you getting married?' - that's easy to answer - Idaho! The second is 'oh why Idaho?' That's pretty easy to answer too - it's beautiful, picturesque, more likely to guarantee sunshine (fingers crossed) and most importantly, Laura's family and quite a few good friends are still there. The third question is then 'who is wearing the wedding dress?' That question is also easy to answer! Well, it is for us, but we thought we would expand on it here.

Our fitting rooms were next door!

The answer is 'both of us'. We will both be wearing full length, strapless wedding dresses in just off-white. We will both have veils and we will both walk down the aisle. That being said, the styles and design of the dresses and veils are very different so we get to keep our individuality and taste but we complement rather than clash with one another.

We have also been asked if we have seen each others' wedding dresses, and if you saw our post (HERE) about our wedding planning trip to Boise last summer you will know, the answer is YES we have. From the moment we started talking about our wedding we have always agreed that we both wanted to wear a dresses and as Laura is my best friend and me hers, who else would we want to go wedding dress shopping with?!

We both wear dresses on a daily basis, we both enjoy being girly and both of us grew up dreaming of our wedding dresses so for us the dress option was the only one we ever planned to take. Interestingly, when Laura and I first got together one of her reasons for only seeing our relationship as a 'short-term fling' was because she could never imagine actually marrying a woman. I understood that sentiment. It wasn't as if you often saw two feminine lesbians together, let alone marrying one another. When we did start looking into it we saw couples dressed identically and that did not appeal - we are way too different to agree on one dress and we wouldn't want to feel like we were 'marrying ourselves' or hear the 'who wore it better' that would inevitably happen?! - but eventually, through blogs and googling, we found more and more femme ladies pulling off weddings we could imagine having.

We weren't short of choices!

Laura's Mum joined us on the trip in Boise and my Mum will join us for our fitting in the UK twelve weeks beforehand, so thankfully they have/or will have been involved in the process, but ultimately we value each others' opinions on everything including wedding dresses. By seeing each others' we were also able to confirm that the colours and styles worked together - something we didn't want to wait to find out on the day!

Even the experience of shopping in David's Bridal together was great fun. The assistants -after they realised we were marrying each other and not just having weddings on the same day- saw the potential of a double sale and could not have been more helpful (extra surprising in a place like Idaho!). From suggesting styles to helping us into our dresses, the session turned into a girly party. We were excited to see each other in the different dresses, we were overwhelmed when we knew the other was wearing 'the one' and we will always remember it as a great experience. We were expecting trauma, tears and disappointment - we are both particular after all, but we got tears of joy, laughter and excitement. Not many couples get to share the experience, but we are so glad we did. As it will have been nine months by the time we get married since we last saw each other in them, combined with the makeup and hair, we will still get the overwhelming 'first look' experience on the day as well.

Even down to the bell ringing that we the store had as a tradition when you found the dress you would wear. Standing side by side, hand in hand we were told to close our eyes and imagine wearing the dress surrounded by friends and family on our wedding day- I burst into tears, Laura followed shortly after, at the thought that we were starting our journey to our happy ever after!

Working in the City of London!

It's been just over a month since I started work at my new company and so far it's been really good. Other than learning a whole new set of skills and systems, it's been an adjustment getting used to working in the City of London.

To clarify for those of you who have never been to London when the 'City of London' is referred to it doesn't mean the whole of London - it is specifically the area where most of the banks and financial services are located. Geographically it's where the Romans settled in the 1st Century AD, the area's boundaries haven't changed since the Middle Ages!

You'll also hear it described as the Square Mile - although in reality it is slightly bigger than that! Included in it are places like the Bank of England, Mansion House (official residences of the lord Mayor), The Exchange and The Guildhall - all very grand, old buildings! These are met with the newer additions of the Gherkin (30 St Mary Axe), the Walkie Talkie(20 Fenchurch Street) and The CheeseGrater (Leadenhall building).

The underground station Bank arrives right in the middle of it and depending on the exit you choose you can walk out from under the Bank of England! I prefer to start my walk to work at a station just down the road - Mansion House, it takes less than 10 mins to get to my office and to be honest I like the walk. It makes me feel a part of what's going on in the hustle and bustle of the city. Even if it involves avoiding stressed out taxi drivers, crazy cyclists and vicious umbrella or briefcase wielding bankers!

It's the same at lunch, my office can either be filled to the brim with 15 people or almost empty with just two of us in, it can change at any given hour and is never the same two days running. It keeps it interesting - but it also means that the need for fresh air is paramount. When I worked in Victoria, lunch times were busy but nothing on the scale of the City. Victoria was a Sunday stroll compared to the very busy, very determined City workers.

Take today. My office is kind enough to supply fruit but I found myself in great need of sugar and the temptation of a doughnut became too great. I had found a Greggs (bakery) about a 15 minute walk away in my first week and decided that would be my destination. A half an hour walk served the purpose of getting out the office, getting some (slightly smoggy) fresh air and satisfy my doughnut need - perfect. As I got ready to leave I debated if I needed a coat, it's a weirdly mild 10 degrees right now, and decided to take it. The thing is as soon as I leave the front door I have to walk at pace. No-one strolls around here! Everyone has a set direction, a purpose, and those who dilly-dally or look confused get pushed aside or stepped on.

In the morning, getting to grips with the flow of people is easy, like escalators you walk on the left - us Londoners love order! - there are also main turn off points for people so you know to be on the outside of the footpath or risk getting forced in a direction. At lunch however it's a different story. There are a lot of flows - some going towards the more coffee shop based area, some towards the cafes, some towards the shopping centre, some towards the banks and then there are the TOURISTS. These tourist flows are dangerous, whether it is a large group of green coated Aussie's stopping to take photos or the determined Germans trying to read a map mid-footpath they are hard to predict and therefore hard to avoid. Will they go left, right or stop completely - who knows!

The City can be intimidating. In all honesty I never thought I would be someone who could work here. I'm a country girl at heart and this City madness is tiring but now I am a part of it I get the appeal. It's like moving to a new country except every night I drive home with Laura to the countryside. The language is that of finance and acronyms, the pace is almost Italian and the culture is not particularly British. There is the order and innate politeness but people here don't waste time, they are brisk and pushy. In coffee shops you queue but as soon as it's your turn you must have your order at the end of your tongue. Pause and you're back in the queue. This doesn't help in places where prices are kept a mystery - I was queuing for a sandwich in this stunning bakery in my second week and asked how much the turkey sandwich was - £7! I was taken back and asked how much the soup was £4.50 - I feared asking about anything as I could hear the 'tut's coming from the line, and begrudgingly paid £4.50, I had spent almost my entire lunch break queuing for it and didn't want to leave empty handed! It was nice but no better than my tinned soup. Lesson learnt - if you can't see a price it's because it's expensive!

Now 5 weeks in, I am getting the hang of it. I know which roads are less busy, which cafes are reasonably priced and what time I can gain access to the microwaves in my building. My reactions are quicker and sharper, I can dodge tourists and spot footpath congestion quick enough to avoid it. I bring my lunch in most days so I can spend my time outside admiring the buildings and not the back of someone's head in the queue but most of all it's helping me enjoy the City and all it has to offer! I can officially say I enjoy working in the City of London.

British-isms - Do You Say These??

Happy Tuesday!!

I saw this online the other day, and just had to share it with you. Having now lived in Britain or with a British person for over six years now, I finally get these, and actually use some of them!

I had a really hard time getting my head around when the British say 'Alright?' they actually mean 'Hello!' - it took me almost two years to fight the urge to say 'Yes fine thank you, how are you?' (because that is then met with 'I'm fine thanks, how are you?' and then we get stuck in a vortex of asking how each other is, forever, when really we don't care that much in the first place!) I now just smile and nod. Actually, I do that a lot of the time, when I don't understand an accent, turn of phrase, random cockney insert into otherwise normal conversation...

So I want to know - as non-British, do the British meanings of these phrases make sense to you? And as British, do you use these, and are there any others you can think of?

What I get from this list is the British are polite and mildly passive aggressive! Aren't we all though :)

An American in England: 6 Years On

The 19th January 2014 marks 6 whole years since I walked off the plane with my suitcases in hand in ole' Blighty. I was 19 years old at the time, and had no idea what the future would bring me, or if I could even survive in another country, completely alone.

Found a whole bunch of 'arty' photos of me on my FB from 2008, so thought I'd stick one in this post for authenticity.

I'd gone to university at Western Washington, had a good scholarship, but only one year in I realised it just wasn't for me - I didn't know what I wanted to do so felt like I was floundering, coupled with upset over a long distance boyfriend I had at the time who was cheating, and a natural inclination towards depression and anxiety, I was a mess. the coursework was easy and I'd get decent grades for little effort, but I hated it there - I cried myself to sleep all the time, and often missed class just because. It's a shame because WWU is a stunning university, but it just wasn't for me at that time. So I packed up my little car before Spring Break and drove myself all the way home, 10 hours of driving, to my understanding though I'm sure worried, parents.

All these years later, I really wish I'd had my hair down and closed my mouth for this photo.

They took me to see a life coach, who gave me tools to handle my anxiety and depression, and I slowly got better. I got two part time jobs, in a hotel and at a restaurant, and worked on myself a bit. Then one day, my parents suggested I go to England to work and travel for a year - my life coach supported it, and I started to think it was a great idea! So I quit those jobs, got my first full time job as a receptionist, and saved up to move to England.

In a culture where pretty much everyone goes to university and gets a degree, it was awkward to have 'failed', come home and gotten a job. I didn't like seeing my friends much - I'm sure I've cited this before, but I will always remember driving around with a well-meaning friend and her telling me I'm 'wasted potential' for not going back to school. But that didn't matter, I figured I had 5 years to use my scholarship, so there was no harm in taking a break and doing something different. So I booked my ticket, and Dad and I flew to England - arriving 19th January 2008.

Dad came over to help me get sorted in that first week. He upgraded us to business class as a special treat, which was just so exciting! When we arrived, things didn't quite go to plan - the flat I had tried to set up when abroad for me to move into ended up being a scam (luckily I hadn't been silly enough to send them money before seeing the house (there was no house!)), I had put in some CVs but not managed to secure a job yet, and so my Dad dropped me and my suitcases off at a hostel, Globetrotters, in Hammersmith.

That was it - at 19 I was alone in a hostel with no job, just 6 months worth of savings (in American dollars too, awful exchange rate!) in London. Unfortunately, in typical teen fashion, I spent most of my savings in the 2 months I lived in that hostel (it had a bar in the downstairs!). But I made some friends I still keep in contact with, and had some really good experiences. I got a job as reception in a gym in Chiswick (where I met actress Vanessa Redgrave) and was lucky enough to secure a little room in a flat with two lovely posh English boys.

And when I say little, I mean little. It was big enough for a single bed, and about a foot of space around it. I struggled with homesickness and really living with others for the first time in that place, but on the whole I really enjoyed it. Particularly because of my flatmates (hi Sam!) - they were a whole different world than I'd ever seen - bars in Sloane Square with £15 cocktails, cabs, parties on the roof using a ladder they found on the street, it was always something new with them. I once got woken up to Sam drunkenly standing on our coffee table singing 'Sweet Home Alabama' (apparently my identifying tune) - I got into the living room just in time to see the table give way - legs everywhere, drink spilled, very dramatic! (spoiler, he was okay though!) - I loved that I got to spend so much time with English people, because as much as I loved the Ozzies at Globies, I came to England to immerse myself in the culture!

Oh yeah and I looked like this - why did I not realise dark hair makes my skin glow even whiter than usual?

I upped and left in July, only 6 months after arriving, for a trip home as my homesickness was so bad, but that I would say was the turning point in my life. Being home and realising nothing had changed - I wasn't missing anything, people would still be there, I should be enjoying my life! - really turned my thinking around and from that moment I loved living in London.

In a temp role I met my first real friend, who took me to Bar Rumba, the African music club where I spent every Sunday night for a year. I loved the music, the dancing, the attention I got... poor Sarah, I later even made her go there for a few months after we started dating (as a pop music lover, she did not love it like I did!).

Ready for Rumba, back in the day

And then... I started at Knowledge to Action. That fateful day, I met Sarah. And you all know how that went.

Six years on, I would never have thought I'd be where I am today. In love with a beautiful woman, getting married, having lived in Australia for a year, traveled all around, in a job I love, with our family home purchased, loving my life and the endless surprises and ups and downs along the way.

I still am prone to depression and anxiety, but the tools I was given by my life coach long ago paired with the joy it has given me to take control of my life here in England has made my doubts much easier to control. I'm lucky as well that over the years Sarah has learned just how to knock me out of it whenever I do have little lapses - and if worse comes to worst, a Skype with my mum always makes things better.

I'm very grateful to my parents for giving me that push I needed to do the best thing I've ever done in my life (move to England) and for the support when I wavered. I am so lucky to have made that leap and ended up where I am today.

Home is where the heart is!

It's fair to say that we have been hard at work on our house, we wanted to keep it under wraps until it was at a point where it looked like our home instead of a house we moved into. However as we aren't decorating aces quite yet, we haven't gotten further than the ground floor but we wanted to share where we have changed so far!

This was our lounge when we first moved in:

This our lounge now:

We picked out the grey because it will go with decorations for every season! It's also nice and girly. The red had overpowered the room and made it look small, in our opinion, and we wanted a lighter, brighter shade. We had picked the colour from samples Laura had ordered and committed to the paint after seeing it in the pot. Sarah's parents had a friend who could get us a significant discount so the decision was made.

Since then we have added the addition of our much loved corner couch, something Sarah had always wanted in her home - and its in her favourite colour! We finished it with cushions that came with the couch and Sarah got the middle one for Laura at Christmas. Sarah's Mum even recovered an old chair to match our colour scheme!

Our lounge is finished with a fire place we were lucky enough to get as part of the house and with knick knacks given as house warming gifts. We were so happy to have a fireplace at Christmastime!

We also brought in a shelving unit we had purchased at the flat and filled it with a few of our favourite things including designer Diet Coke! Sarah's sister gave us a set of tables that we are currently using as a TV stand and our blinds were finally installed on Thursday which is nice, as before we had a very expensive looking... sheet haha! We have a lot of space on our walls which isn't like us, but we are awaiting our wedding photos to finish the room!!

We have to say we LOVE the lounge. It's probably where we spend most of our time, snuggled watching films and enjoying our space together.

Next door to the lounge is our kitchen/dining room. The space has already seen it's fair share of action- from Thanksmas to Sarah's parents coming up at Christmas Day! Thankfully the kitchen came with integral dishwasher (Laura's favourite appliance), washing machine and fridge-freezer. It was also finished to a really high standard, with tile colours we loved, it was part of the reason we loved the house from the moment we saw it.

We have an extendable table, perfect for our gatherings and found sparkly mats that match our very pink cushions. In time we will invest in other chairs but for now our 'Jeffs' from Ikea are working well.

A few other additions include a gorgeous print that our bridesmaid Julia drew and the happiness sign Sarah's Mum got us as a moving in gift:

 The house is our ongoing project and we are loving it, every picture we hang or part that we paint makes it feel more like our home and we couldn't be happier in it.

Oh, How Far We've Come!

Almost one year ago to the day I came home and told my parents I was engaged! Can you believe that- ONE YEAR AGO! I say that, not in a surprised way for effect, but for many reasons:

1. Laura and I are now LIVING with my parents during the week – TOGETHER!
2. It's less than 6 months till we get married
3. So much have changed in a year like the small fact that WE OWN A HOUSE! I have a new job!

OK, I’ll quit with the shouting, but seriously, how much has changed – has anything not changed?! Well, maybe Laura’s job, but that’s about it.

I’m not a big one for reflective posts, on-wards and upwards is much more my thing, but if this blog has taught me anything, it’s that we really do have so much to be thankful for and sometimes that gets lost in the hectic day to day-ness of the life we are currently leading. Stuck in traffic at 6am or getting soaked walking back from a 10 hour day rarely leads to conversations about how grateful we are, but deep down we both know that this time last year everything was so different.

If you haven’t read the post we did about my parents reaction to our engagement, do, not because I wrote it but because re-reading it brings back so many emotions for me and in some ways it was the start of my 'It gets better' story. It's here. Ironic, as the reaction was not a positive one, but it was the lowest point we'd hit - and as they say, the only way is up.

The moment I saw Laura in my parent's house after almost 5 years!

Within six months of that post, it was my 30th birthday - and after months of tears, arguments, not talking and every other emotion going, Laura was invited to my family birthday party. Not by me, not by my sister or any other supportive family member but by my parents. Since then we have never look backed. Laura has featured in all family occasions- including Christmas, we share a bed in my parent’s house 5 nights a week and they helped us buy our first house TOGETHER! I still can’t explain how much the change has meant to me. All I know is it puts an end to the feelings of being torn, pulled between keeping Laura happy and protected and staying close to my family – looking back, it was exhausting.

Together we re WINNERS!

Then there’s the house situation. This time last year we were blogging from our much loved one-bed flat in Fulham overlooking the Thames. We loved that tiny space, it was all we needed and it was an amazing location. What we didn’t need was the monthly payments of £1,500 to live there. We had sat down and done the finances and that level of outgoing meant we could afford the wedding but no real savings. That would have been fine, except in the 2.5 years we had lived there, we'd spent over £45,000 on rent and had nothing to show for it. That was a hard thing to accept.

It wasn’t until we sat down with my parents in August to talk about how shocked we were at how much we were spending on rent that they asked about our long term plans. When we said we saw ourselves heading north so we could afford property they seemed to think it was a good idea. Over the years I’ve learnt that sharing these ideas with my parents is both a good and bad thing. Good because they will go to any length to help figure out a plan, bad because that will start immediately – without you being prepared. No lie, we had a meeting with a mortgage advisor quicker than we could have updated our spreadsheets.

When we took my Mum to Birmingham to show her the area we had identified it was a mixed experience, the house we had really liked was terrible on the inside and badly located for a youth club, we were gutted. The upside was that by chance the estate agent showed us other properties and we fell in love with the one we now own. However it was our parents (and my sister) who made buying the house possible. It’s crazy that it wasn’t even on our 2013 plans!

Same goes for my change of job. Although that occurred at the end of 2013, it wasn’t even on the radar. I even sat with my manager and reaffirmed my commitment in January 2013 saying that I would be mad to look for a new job before the wedding but when things changed in the company and I was offered an amazing opportunity I took it. Now I work in a company that does all this cool elearning and I have a whole 6 months to get settled before the wedding!

And finally when I think how far we’ve coming with wedding planning it is wonderful. I have a real sense of peace about our wedding. Having a wedding planner was the best thing we could have done. I thought it would make us feel distanced from the process, but in fact she has the opposite effect - she lets us enjoy it without the stress. Rather than spending every spare moment searching for deals or doing the budget or trying to find that ‘ideal’ decorations it’s all done for us, we just have to come to her with our ideas, inspiration, and make choices. More than that though, Brandi’s ideas have often taken thoughts we've had to the next level.

The trip we had to Boise in the summer was one of the best holidays I’ve ever had. I loved seeing Boise it all it’s summertime glory, floating the river, chilling in the pool, visiting the markets and the art stores and getting to see our venue without the 3 foot of snow – it was perfect. Not only that, the wedding planning we did was so exciting. Tasting the food, picking materials, walking the venue layout, tasting cakes…..honestly it was a dream come true. Not to put rose colour specs on, there were definitely moments of realisation that we can't afford everything we want, but when you have a limited budget it was to be expected.   

But right now I proudly reel off our ‘completed list’ to everyone and anyone who’ll listen: 

• venue – booked
• dresses – bought 
• menu – tasted and chosen
• flowers – selected
• guests – invited
• flights – booked
• bachelorette –planned
• colour scheme – decided
• bridesmaid dresses – delivered! 

The list will grow again the closer we get, but I know with Brandi leading the way and Laura’s ideas and organisation (and my strong ideas of what I do and don't like), no challenge is too great. Every time someone confirms they’ve booked their flight we do a little dance, we know it is such an expense for each and every person but it is better than any gift and we can’t wait to celebrate with them.

So reflection over – I am writing this as I return from my induction in Bournemouth and my train is nearly at Reading! I haven’t sat and thought about the past year until this point but in summary ‘it does get better’. We would never have dreamed that 2013 could have led to so much and we would have never put together a to-do list that included a house or new job, let alone ‘unite my family’ but dreams can come true! I can’t wait to see what 2014 brings with it – hopefully it’ll include a fantastic wedding and a Christmas puppy! J

Why We Believe We Deserve a Nandos Black Card/High 5 - Prepare to Be Persuaded

 

If you’re a Nandos Fan-do (like we are), you’ll undoubtedbly have heard of the fabled Black Card – which entitles its holder and four of their friends to free Nandos anyday, anytime, anyplace, for a whole year. It’s super secretive, highly sought-after, reserved for the famous and super-awesome, it seems, and we feel we fit under the latter category.

Of course, they say on their website that nobody who has ever asked for a Black Card has ever received one, so we’re pretty much taking ourselves out of the running by writing this post, but we figure we didn’t have much of a chance to begin with, so why not stun them with our top persuasive writing and list making skills? (Thanks, Advanced Placement English Writing!)

1. We wrote our very first ever ‘What We Love Wednesdays’ segment on Nandos. Back when our blog was a baby blog, we were publicly singing peri-peri praises. And if you look through our Tweets, posts, Instagrams, we haven’t stopped – we were dubbed ‘Nandos Fan-do’s’ by a non-appreciator last year, and have taken it as a loving term. Like Directioners, or… Beliebers (why are the only examples we can think of teen boys?)

2. We’ve gone far and wide to visit Nandos. We’ve calculated, we’ve visited 20 different restaurants, in 10 cities, in 3 countries. That’s just in the last 4.5 years, since we’ve been together. According to Google maps, we’ve travelled 14,000 miles in search of a chicken pita or two.

3. We’ve introduced TONS of people to Nandos! Visitors from abroad, vegetarians who didn’t realise just how awesome a chicken restaurant could be for non-chicken eaters, those who didn’t see the appeal (pre-us, of course) – now they are all loyal fans!

4. We’re helping them be better. Laura, the grammar and spelling police that she is, has brought errors to Nandos attention numerous times over the years – the most noteworthy one is a missed letter on a paragraph mural at the Fulham Broadway location in London. She showed the error to the manager, who looked a bit 

perplexed, and has not done anything about it in the 3 years since this happened. To this day the mural says ‘the' instead of 'they' – but hey, we tried! And in research about the new loyalty card, Laura notified them of a classic ‘to’ ‘too’ mix-up situation on their website. Therefore making them more appealing to people who are bothered by errors, like herself. You’re welcome!

5. We are fierce Nando-defenders. You don’t want to get into an argument with us about how you think Nandos is just a more expensive KFC… or we’ll no doubt end up turning you into Nandos fans!

source

6. We are naming our (eventual) puppy Nando. Yeah, this def is happening – our future family has always included an orange/brown fluffy girl named Nando. She will be peri, peri cute (see what we did there?)

Peri, peri cute.

7. Writing all this has made us want Nandos SO much that we’re going to go there for dinner! Watch out Westfields!

We’re convinced! We’re some of the most dedicated fans ever. So we should definitely get free Nandos, don't you think? 

Welcome to 2014 with Sarah + Laura!

Happy new year everyone! We hope it is going fabulously.

Along the theme of simplification, a major goal in 2014 for us, we've changed our blog name.

Sprezzatura has served us very well over the last few years, and though it is still the principle we live our life by (making the most of the little things), we found for people it was difficult to spell, to say, and so we've gone with something more simple - Sarah + Laura!

This means our URL has changed, so please update in your blog reader, your bookmark, however you visit us - it's now www.sarahpluslaura.blogspot.co.uk.

Thanks for bearing with us while we switch everything over, if you click on something which goes to the old site please let us know by commenting or email, so we don't forget anything!

We've loved having you share our journey over the last few years, and look forward to continuing that in 2014!