I'm Back!

I successfully returned from London and had an amazing time! Hooray! Jenna and I left Saturday early morning and flew basically all day, and met up with her sister Jamie there (whose study abroad semester in London had just ended). In total baller style, Jenna arranged for us to have a driver take us from the airport to the hotel.

Sunday, which was Easter, we walked around the city and walked the Tower Bridge, saw the Tate Museum (a modern art museum), Globe Theater, and Westminister Abbey. Monday we did the London Eye (which is huge ferris wheel that is all glass so you get spectacular views of the city!), Trafalgar Square, Parliament and Big Ben. Tuesday we went to an Ice Bar which was such a neat experience and saw the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, and Wednesday we did the Emirates Stadium Tour which was definitely a highlight for me! Thursday we saw Abbey Road and did Afternoon Tea which was so much fun. Friday was full of Royal Wedding craziness and Saturday we did the Portobello Market which is a huge outdoor market in Notting Hill for most of the day. Sunday we left to go home, and it was such a long day!

Adjusting to the time change was surprisingly super easy to deal with, but I guess our afternoon naps helped with any tiredness I would have been feeling. Arriving in London on Saturday evening around bed time made it easy to naturally go to bed (it was dark out, we were tired from travelling, etc), and Sunday when we headed back to the good ole USA we left super early in the morning, making it easy to go to bed very early last night. Going to bed at a (relatively) normal time yesterday helped make getting up for work today and getting back on track so much easier.

Below are a few pictures from London!

Jenna and I at the Ice Bar

Me in front of a London Taxicab - I love these things!

Big Ben

On the London Eye

Changing of the Guards

We saw Meredith filming the Today Show!!!

Posing with the Harrod's bear while shopping

Riding the Tube (Gloucester Road was the stop our hotel was near)

At Emirates Stadium

Interesting...

Next time you ask your boyfriend "are my green shoes the same color green as this shirt" and he says "I don't know", now you at least know that he may just legitimately not know.

London Here I Come

So today's the day - well, tomorrow is, but we're leaving the house super early so I definitely won't be blogging - I'm off to London! Off to see the Royal Wedding, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and the Emirates Stadium! I can't wait!

In case you miss me, I have a few posts set to auto-send in my absence, and of course a full recap with pictures upon my return (once I am not jet-lagged and actually functional)!

Adventures in Dog Sitting - Part 2

Sadly the dog-sitting adventures are ending tonight. I really enjoyed taking long walks with her in the evening after work (especially when the weather was nice, like yesterday). I could have done without the morning walks - trying to schedule in an extra 20 minutes in the morning when I am not a morning person was not too much fun - but definitely worth it over all.

I also got to know a lot more of the neighborhood by walking around it everyday - I discovered some really cute houses in the area, and Poppy got to know all the neighborhood dogs (although not that well since she is so shy, aw). 

Well, it was fun while it lasted!

The boyfriend letting the Popsters up on the couch, aka teaching her how to be bad

I Need A Vacation

I can't believe I'm leaving for London this weekend!!! I'm so excited but still need to pack which is looming over me and stressing me out. Once I get that out of the way, I'll be much more excited.

Since I am a planner by nature, I want to start sorting out my summer travel plans. April is covered with London, and then May I'm heading to Ocean City for a weekend beach getaway. June I'm heading to my hometown for a friend's wedding, and that leaves July and August wide open, with the exception of my cousin visiting for a week in July. So many places I want to go - where to start. Perhaps a trip up to NYC? Or maybe a weekend getaway to Pennsylvania. Needless to say, I cannot wait for summer to get here! And of course for this weekend to come so my trip to London will start :)

Adventures in Dog Sitting

A friend of a friend is getting married and then leaving for her honeymoon, and knowing that I love animals, she asked me if I could dog-sit for her while she was gone. Of course I said yes and am super excited. The dog's name is Poppy and she's a giant golden retriever. She is so pretty and one of the most well-behaved dogs I have ever known.

Poppy the (female) dog

Poppy the (male) dog

(Side note: Poppy was also the name of my lovely dog growing up. My Poppy was a male, and he passed away 2 years ago after living a very long and very happy life. So it's strange to be calling out the name "Poppy" again - in a good and bad way.)

When Poppy arrived last night, Moe-Moe (my roommates cat), was extremely curious as to who this new creature in the house was, while completely petrified at the same time. Moe-Moe stood back, observing from afar, a safe distance away. Poppy the dog could have cared less that there was another animal anywhere in the house and went about exploring the house and trying to get pets. Lucky for you, I was able to capture the whole scene with a quick snapshot on my phone. Notice Moe-Moe peering out from behind the doorway, so curiously.

Review: Cakepops

Yesterday while on a quick break from work, my co-worker Amy and I took a nice little stroll over to Starbucks. While I was waiting to place my drink order, I noticed they had some new little treats, all bite-sized and looking delicious. Recently, Starbucks rolled out a new line of food items called Starbucks Petites, which are all bite sized treats that all are under 200 calories and under $2.

It wasn't until about a month ago that I had ever heard of cakepops, but ever since then the term seems to be popping up everywhere! Cakepops are basically cake batter balled up and then covered in icing. They are then decorated in a variety of cute and colorful ways, making them a fun little bite-sized treat. 

Starbucks offered 3 different flavors - Birthday Cake, Tiramisu, and Rocky Road. Not wanting to chance it, I asked the barista what his favorite flavor was and went with that - Rocky Road:

Overall, I thought it was definitely delicious, similar to a brownie but more cake-like. I was expecting the frosting to be a bit firmer so was initally surprised by how soft and mashable the entire thing was. Overall, it was a nice combination of being delicious but not too rich or sweet. You can get them at your local Starbucks, or try to make them yourself (http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/tips-techniques/how-to-make-cake-pops-078637 and http://www.bakerella.com/category/pops-bites/cake-pops/).