Birmingham, Brum, B'ham - whatever you call the home of the 2nd largest population outside of London, we have fallen in LOVE with it! That may have a LOT to do with our Brum tour guides showing us all the best parts, but there is no denying it's always a city that we can't wait to get back to. So in honour of the city once known as Bromwicham, and the 72nd largest city of the world, we bring you our view of Birmingham.
Growing up I, Sarah, was convinced Birmingham was skanky, rough, past its best, industrial, run down and a place to drive past, not stop at. That opinion seemed to be shared by everyone I knew so I had never thought to visit as an adult. In fact, before 2012, my last visit to the area had been to see a Wolves vs Reading football match, it didn't show the midlands in a great light - in fact I left scared after the Wolves fans had chanted that as 'soft southern b*****ds we deserved a kicking'! I think I actually made my Dad run to the car.
Home to 3 football clubs; Wolves, Birmingham City and Aston Villa! You're never far from a ground.
However, in 2012 my view was changed by a trip to Lauren and Sarah's. It was Laura's first visit to the city and I had no idea what to expect. The plan was to visit Cadbury's World and then head into the city centre for dinner- it was to be our first of many visits to The Mailbox in Birmingham city centre.
The Mailbox (http://www.mailboxlife.com/) is a converted former Royal Mail Sorting office. It now incorporates shopping, restaurants, leisure facilities, office space and flats and it is high class! It even has a Nando's - and you know how we feel about Nando's!
It is also just down the canal from The Cube, a building that dominates the skyline and is home to an amazing spa, Hotel Indigo, and numerous bars and restaurants. The view from the top allows you to see out over all of Birmingham and beyond into the surrounding countryside. Everything in http://www.thecube.co.uk/ appears brand new and it is impressive.
The Cube Spa has everything you could need - Steam Room, Sauna, Mud treatments, a flotation room, hanging pods (soooooo relaxing), a pool / jacuzzi full gym, nail bar and loads more. It also has a restaurant just above that hosts afternoon tea - it really is a self contained retreat in the middle of Birmingham.
Not far from The Cube or The Mailbox is the part of Birmingham that is probably most well known - The Bullring. With over 160 shops including the most amazing Forever 21 (the first one in Europe) and other Selfridges it is an easy place to spend the day. The location has always been the historic market centre and the new Bullring attracts over 38 million people a year! With over a million per week in December!
One of the things we appreciate most about downtown Birmingham is how new and pretty everything is - it's a city centre that has really been thought out and planned properly. And it is quick and cheap to get out to the suburbs, making it a great place to settle down :)
Oh and Birmingham is also home to the NEC where the LG arena is, where I just happen to have seen THE BIG REUNION!!!
Being situated in the middle of the country also gives Birmingham the advantage of being central to just about everything! It's about 2 hours from London, it's the same from Manchester and Newcastle and Cardiff and the motorways all seem to have a junction for Birmingham. Then on the outskirts of the city you have Shakespeare's birth place, the beautiful Stratford-upon-Avon, the lovely Leamington Spa and the recently discovered city of Lichfield - small and very pretty in Spring!
There you have it, Birmingham- home of the Brummies, city of a thousand trades, workshop of the world and the city with more canals than Venice! If you have time when you're in the UK or if you ever drive past, make sure you drop in - it's a city on the up.
It's no secret that we love living in London. Furthermore it may not be old news that we love to try new things! So when our home city announced it was hosting its annual pillow fight in Trafalgar Square, we had to check it out!
As with most things, timing is everything - we realised that the pillow fight was happening on the Saturday that Sarah and Lauren were down as part of Lauren's birthday celebration and so we were already planning to head into the centre to visit Whole Foods at Piccadilly Circus. Except now we'd just need to take pillows with us!
I headed off to pick up the cheapest pillows possible with everyone else still tucked up in bed, so we were ready to go after breakfast. It turned out our trip up the Shard(that's another story), the night before, had worn everyone out so breakfast started at 10:30 - but after a round of 'McLauras' we were ready to go.
We arrived as the pillow fight was starting - it was INTENSE! My memory of pillow fights is that they were a fun, crazy light-hearted way to beat someone up :) What I don't remember is the mess or how hard it is to breathe surrounded by feathers! Within minutes all four of us looked more like chickens than people, covered head to toe in feathers!
Typical lesbians in our Converse... :)
There were two rules for this activity:
Don't hit anyone without a pillow
Don't hit anyone with a camera
As I had a pillow and no camera I was fair game for anyone and boy did I get hit! I got hit by Laura, hit by Lauren, hit by Sarah and hit by so many randomers that at times I had no idea who I was defending myself against! And it was a hard, physical work out! It was the first day the sun had shone in London for quite some time, and being out without our coats was liberating. The free feeling after the pillow fight added to that too. Who knew hitting strangers with pillows could release so much tension!
After a week that had involved more food than I can remember, a trip to the hospital for Laura's eye, an amazing trip up the Shard, another visit to Mother Mash for a delicious meal, filling our faces at The Big Easy with all you can eat fajitas and spending way to much at Whole Foods on a hot food box we are in need of a break from all this fun and yum!!
On that note we officially booked to head to Iceland in November! It had been a place on our 'to do' list for 3 years after we pit-stopped there coming back from Idaho once. We never left the airport but we loved the country and were determined to come back and explore. Every time we see deals we've never had the money so we've always thought that it'll have to wait - that was until a Groupon deal came up last week! Lauren and Sarah booked the deal and then invited us to go with them - and it turned out that we had just enough in savings to be able to join. Bring on the Northern Lights!
In other exciting (wedding related) news we are almost there with our Save The Dates and videographer. We have decided on our photographer and are now in the process of sorting out how to change my name after a long discussion about what we are doing with our names post wedding!
So normally our Sunday post is a What's Happening, Hot Stuff?? about what's going on in the big wide world but to be honest our world had been somewhat busy lately, so this post is dedicated to 'What's Been Happening' with us!
When we started this blog, sometime at the back end of 2011, the point was to keep our family and friends around the world updated on our goings-on but before long we were adding recipes, things we love and then WHHS on news we'd seen - one thing we definitely didn't think about was doing it to make friends. However, this last week has shown us just how AMAZING the land of social media is.
If you have followed us for awhile, you may have seen that back in February we had our very first BLATE or 'Blogger Date' with the lovely Megan and Whitney from What Wegan Did Next, and since then we have been in fairly constant contact. In this post you'll find out a little bit more about our latest antics!
Our AWESOME week started last Friday with a trip to Birmingham to meet Sarah and Lauren from 2 Brides to 2 Mummies - it was an early start for us to get out of London and make an 11:30 tour at Cadbury's World, and we just about made it (had we not stopped for Maccy D's breakfast we'd have been in perfect time). Thankfully as it was a Friday we could push the tour start time back a bit had time to arrive at the ladies' lovely house and meet them first. Here's the weird thing with blogging - you follow each others' lives, watch their plans unfold, but ultimately you don't 'know' each other, so rocking up to someone's front door, there are a whole heap of thoughts running through your head. Is is creepy to say I''ve read EVERY post you've EVER written?! Or that I recognised this from the photo on your post in January?! Etc. You get the idea. How 'cool' do you play it???
Thankfully within 5 seconds of meeting Sarah & Lauren we were put at ease - they were just as we had hoped and expected from following their blog. We didn't have much time to talk on the 10 minute drive to Cadbury's World and before we knew it we were handing over tickets, getting chocolate thrust at us and being welcomed into the Aztec jungle (welcome to Cadbury's World)! Cadbury's World was brilliant - we were entertained from the second we walked in the door- after a history tour of cacao beans & the history of how cocoa was discovered we had a video film about the history of Cadbury's. For a history buff like Sarah this ticked ALL the boxes. The only downside - we hadn't really gotten a chance to speak to Sarah & Lauren!
From the history part of Cadbury's, we went to the 'production section'. This involved a 4D experience - we won't give away what goes on but let's just say there are signs saying 'If you're a wimp, stand at the back.' (or something like that) - we sat down, and let's just say Laura is OFFICIALLY a wimp. As the 'experience' started, something made Laura jump and exclaim 'SH!T' loud and clear and in front of children! It was a make or break moment - if Lauren & Sarah hadn't found it as funny as we did, the day could have ended very differently. After the 'experience' we had an interactive section and for us this was when we knew for sure we liked these girls. We are all 'young at heart', so faced with games, we couldn't walk by like the other adults - oh, no - we had to get stuck in. Apparently we scared the children away but we were doing such a good job, we didn't notice! :)
The rest of the tour flew by with all of us laughing and joking - who knew Cadbury's made such inappropriate adverts! And Laura couldn't get over the fact that we have ad campaigns such as 'A finger of fudge is just enough' hahahaha where's the American 'bigger is better' attitude? :D
We tested, watched, tried, ate and were throughly entertained all the way around and at the shop ended up succumbing to temptation and stocking up on our favourites. It is an attraction we DEFINITELY recommend! At the end, we were certainly chocolated out and thankfully Lauren had a stock of much needed Diet Coke in her boot! Another moment we knew we'd love these girls.
Next stop was the girls' house to meet Willow properly and catch up without the chocolate distraction. The plan was to have a brief chill-out and then head to dinner - the chill-out turned into laughing, getting on like a house-on-fire, drinking diet coke and generally feeling like we'd known each other forever and before we knew it we'd been there 5 hours and we thought we better have dinner. It was our honour to take the girls for their first Nando's at Birmingham's Bullring. Laura and Lauren did the ordering and before long we were getting feedback that Nando's for vegetarians is 'all good'. (We've since heard that the girls have been back alone - you can't get better feedback than that).
The day came to an end at 9.30 - we'd been there 10 hours and as Sarah is always nervous meeting new people, hanging out for 10 hours breaks all previous records! We are hoping we get to host the girls in London town soon!!
The awesome week continued with Megan's 25th birthday - to read her version of events check out WWDN - we arrived at Megan's parents for a birthday dinner of pizza and wedges, always a good choice, and alcohol! We also got to meet her lovely family. The party continued into Windsor city centre where we had a table reserved at 'Verve' - a bar in Windsor Town Centre with a good acoustic singer and champagne! We had a great time chatting and dancing with Megan, her best friend Karen, two sisters, her cousin and her cousin's friend! They are a great group of girls, and though it was our first time meeting most of them, we quickly felt 'part of the gang'!
From Verve, we went to a club 'under the arches' in Windsor (Sarah used to go to these places 'back in her day' pre-Laura!) and danced with cocktails to music with the girls! Lets just say there are some 'interesting' characters out clubbing in Windsor!!
The rest of the group left a bit early, so us, Megan and Karen stayed on and danced our little hearts out!! On the way home we stopped at a kebab shop, and took a cab who thought he was a racecar driver home. We had a lot of fun, even when we arrived home at 3am, chatting and laughing for another hour before bed!
We slept on an air mattress in the living room of Meg's parents' house, which was funny - halfway through the night, Laura (apparently) rolled over to the edge of the bed, pushing Sarah over - when asked what she was doing, Laura (allegedly) responded 'I'M LIIIVIIN' MY LIFE!!!' Hahaha - so special.
In the morning, we were treated to croissants and juice, courtesy of Megan's lovely parents, and drove home to relax and recover from the night before, in our PJs. We had an awesome time, and are so glad we were able to help celebrate Megan's 25th with her!! Thanks, love!!!
Bank Holiday Monday was spent chilling out before heading back to work on Tuesday, but our fun-packed week hadn't ended. Another friend who we had made over Twitter works on the London production of Shrek and over the last couple of months she has been a great confidante over email, so when she offered us tickets out of the blue to see the show we literally jumped around with excitement! We had walked past the theatre back in January and mentioned that it looked like a fun show and we were RIGHT. We picked up tickets at the box office and (for anyone who isn't British this may mean nothing) Shane Richie walked past us - it was a 'celeb' night to celebrate the show turning 1! We found out we had seats in the 7th row from the front (AMAZING) and had a great view. We got to our seats 20 mins before the start and got to see Sinnatta, various Eastenders & Emmerdale cast members and Jemma later informed us the Saturdays and finalists from the Voice were there!
The show itself was great - very funny, very clever and very entertaining. Lord Farquaad was hilarious and the cast of fairytale characters made it feel like you were watching the film! The first half flew by and the flying dragon was so impressive the break disappeared discussing how it worked. The second half had a few surprises - the dragon descending from the air made Laura jump (wimp) and Kimberley (who played Princess Fiona) had an 'interesting' American accent, but for us, the dancing in the aisles to 'I'm a believer' was the best way to end a show. Check out the trailer here:
At the end of the show, we headed to the stage door and met Jemma for the first time. Thanks to the rain we had to make a dash to a bar, but once we were sat comfortably we were comparing stories, laughing at what wimps both Laura and Jemma are when it comes to loud noises and we immediately liked her (even though Laura was surprised at her Scottish accent - when you meet people from the internet, you don't expect them to have accents!!). When Sarah, Jemma's girlfriend joined, we definitely felt like we had met a couple whom we wanted to get to know more - the 3 hours we had were NOT enough! We only left because the bar staff turned the lights on and were literally standing ready to take our glasses. As it was past midnight we had to get the last tube home and we were grateful that they got the tube in the same direction as us so we could continue talking.
So as you can see it has been a BUSY week and filled with experiences that we were not expecting. To each of the lovely people we met THANK YOU, it was truly a pleasure meeting you/ hanging out with you and in Sarah's words 'This has been the best succession of days since I can't remember when'! ...And also, where did all the Sarah's come from!?
Some exciting things have happened this weekend already!
Laura looking American
Laura, our resident Yank, guest posted on our lovely friends What Wegan Did Next about the good, the bad, and the ugly of being an American living in London. Its a good read, if we don't say so ourselves, so pop on over to their site to read it and let us know what you think! Read it HERE!!
And more exciting news, we've been lucky enough to receive our second award ever from one of our favourite new reads!! Thank you so very much to the beautiful ladies at More Than Words for nominating us for a Liebster Blog Award!!! We are so happy you enjoy reading our blog as much as we do yours, even with your gorgeous little bundle of joy taking up most of your time! :)
And now to nominate some of our other favourite blogs!!
The Liebster Blog Award works like this:
Say thanks to the blogger who nominated you, and link back to them.
List 5 blogs (ideally with fewer than 200 followers) that you feel deserve the Liebster Award and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
Copy and paste the award to your blog.
So here we go! We nominate the following for a Liebster Award!!
After three years together, we had forgotten what first dates felt like. The nerves, excitement, extreme preoccupation with the state of our hair. Is this dress too short, or does the fact that I've covered my cleavage save me from looking too much like a ho? We didn't miss having to ask these questions.
But as we wind down the work day and prepare for our 'first BLATE (blogger date, I've been informed)' with Wegan, I can't help but be a bit nervous. Mostly excited, obviously, but there's that niggling 'What if I end up with Nandos delicious chicken in my teeth?' or 'What if my Nan's premonition of me spilling a full glass of DC over everyone with a particularly wild hand gesture, comes true?' (I was a clumsy child. Also, a clumsy adult.)
This must be what online dating feels like. You get to know someone virtually for a good few months (or days, in some of my friends' online dating experiences, but us Sprezzaturans, we take it sloooow), and then the long awaited meet in person. What if the fact that Megan likes cats and we like dogs means we are too different to be able to carry on a conversation all evening? After all, cats and dogs are fundamentally very different. Or maybe it doesn't mean anything!!
But just in case, maybe I should bring flashcards. Or would it be less noticeable if I write the topics on my arms? That is how I got caught cheating in an orchestra final in seventh grade... so I'll stick with the flashcards. If you were on a desert island and could only eat one kind of food, what would it be? (Don't say Wetherspoons, Sarah!!) What kind of music do you like? What's your sign? NO - that one hasn't been used since the 90s. What are your favourite ice-breakers or chat up lines?
You see, Sarah and I don't do a lot of double dates. We are much more used to tag-teaming people. We make a great two in a threesome. We aren't sure why most of our mutual friends are single. We're almost entirely sure it's not us though. But as a result, we are great at two on one's - as a ménage à trois, we are entirely comfortable. But a foursome? That's a whole new ball game.
How many awkward sexual references did you count in that last paragraph?
Obviously this is [almost] entirely a dramatisation. I'm not going to show up to our BLATE with flashcards, and I am sure we will all get along famously. But a first meeting, date or otherwise, is bound to come along with a few nerves. That's just part of the fun! Laura (& Sarah) xo
Not far from The Cube or The Mailbox is the part of Birmingham that is probably most well known - The Bullring. With over 160 shops including the most amazing Forever 21 (the first one in Europe) and other Selfridges it is an easy place to spend the day. The location has always been the historic market centre and the new Bullring attracts over 38 million people a year! With over a million per week in December!
