October Trip to the USA - The Good, the Bad,and the Ugly.

The Good

• Spending time with friends and family
• My godfather's spectacular wedding to a girl we are pumped to welcome into our family
• Winning $100 at Keeneland horse races
• Taking my husband to his first public sporting event EVER, yay Bengals!
• Absolutely perfect weather... sunshine I missed you!
• My first hot yoga class with my sister 
• Food, food and more food.  My mom's home cooking really deserves a shout out. And I'm sorry British folks, but you're food sucks compared to American food.
• Outlet mall shopping.  Hell yeah.
• Nick feels a renewed sense of America's awesomeness.  Hopefully that means we will move back sooner rather than later.

The Bad

• 10 days is not long enough
• Accidentally leaving my digital SLR on the train platform at Sheffield Station on our way to the airport. (Although the good thing is it has been recovered!)
• Watching the $100 we won dwindle away to $2... but at least we still came out on top!
• I probably gained 10 pounds.
• It's raining a lot in England now.

The Ugly

• Listening to the advice of the lady on the train to get off the train and go back and get my camera.  A train NEVER came going the other way, we almost missed our flight, and this resulted in a lot of gesticulating and a few choice words between the husband and myself.  
• Drinking too much wine at aforementioned wedding and thinking it was hilarious to tell a woman that her kids were "mediocre at best." even if she knew I was joking - lets just say other ladies did not...
• Man in front of me doing a downward dog in boxers at hot yoga class, dudes should be required to wear briefs for these occasions... talk about an eye full. 
• Getting in a dispute with the 20-something high on herself snooty snooterson at UK border control who told me I had to go to the back of the foreigners line because I went through the British ppl's line because I was with Nick.  Apparently we are supposed to split up to go through different lines because all the other people with foreign passports are going to be mad at me for cutting in line even though I have indefinite leave to remain in England and a british husband.  Are you following?  Anyways, she sucked.

Want or Need?

I'm not sure whether this is airing my dirty laundry a lil too much, but one of the biggest fights Nick and I have regularly is on the issue of purchasing a car.  My little American self does not like walking.  Call me lazy if you will but when a 5 minute car ride turns into an hour walk, I really have no desire to get off my arse.  And I can honestly say that our lack of car is seriously holding us back from enjoying the beautiful English countryside.

So, even though my husband says we'll get a car, I'm not sure when, if ever, this is going to happen, so I have started contemplating the purchase of a bike.  The problem is, they are kind of pricey and I wonder whether I will actually use it or I whether I will be just as lazy as a pedaler as I am a walker.  Also, running errands with a bike doesn't seem that appealing because where do I put stuff?  Groceries?  Dry cleaning?  I can't figure it out.

Enter Madsen Cycles.  I first saw these cargo bikes on the lovely Kera's blog.  Even though I thought she was adorable carting her two little boys around in one, I didn't really see the potential for my childless self.



But I keep seeing them around the blogs these days, and so I went to their website to have a little gander.  And it hit me...



The dog, the blue color, the flowers.  I need this bike.  I would take Heidi deep into the countryside and then we would go exploring, sans vehicle.  How cute would we look?  Hey, I could even put my husband in the back - he never learned to ride a bike (sad childhood I know!).  I might cycle him along to a new restaurant since the only one we ever go to is the one within walking distance.  Talk about a date.  Do you think it would be for or against man code to have your woman drive you around in the bucket of a bike?  And I could go grocery shopping without having to pay for a cab.  And I could make it to rowing practice without having to find a ride.  Oh the joy of being self reliant!

Do you want one too?  Madsen Cycles is having a contest where you can win one by linking back to their site.  I wasn't going to tell you because I wanted to up my chances of winning, but I feel too guilty.  Damn you, conscious.

Update: I just read the contest rules again, you have to be in America to win.  Bullocks.

Packing Tips

Hi friends!

I've safely arrived in Chicago!  Let the adventures begin!
Since I'm a bit of a globe trotter, I figured I'd share some packing advice with you today.  I used to be completely crap at packing.  When I was 13 I went to France with my Aunt's family to visit our relatives and babysit my cousins.  I brought the BIGGEST suitcase ever and everyone made fun of me.  Plus, it was a huge pain to drag around public transport.  Since then, I have learned how to travel the world with less baggage!

Kelly's Tips for Packing

1. Mini toiletries are overrated.  If you have lion's mane hair like me, you know one travel sized bottle of conditioner will only last one wash.  But the big bottles are risky - what if they leak?  You could tape them shut and put them in plastic bags, but why not try using Lush products instead?  I LOVE their solid shampoo and conditioner - there is no chance of it exploding, and it takes up less valuable packing space!  They also have solid moisturizers.  Score!
2. I have a lot of make-up, but most days I stick to the same basic products.  There is no need to pack 5 different shades of blush.  Your normal make-up routine will work fine on vacation too.
3. When packing clothes keep a few things in mind...
1. If you never wear it at home for whatever reason, do NOT pack it.
2. Plan your outfits ahead of time.  I have my bachelorette party outfit planned, as well as a few others so I don't over pack.  
3. Check the weather!  When I went to Africa I assumed it would be hot so I brought a bunch of shorts, turns out I was there during the dry season and it was pretty cold!
4. Roll your clothes.  This is a huge space saving technique and helps prevent wrinkles.
4. I'm not much of a shoe girl, but even if I were - a pair of sneakers, a pair of sandles, and a couple pairs of dressy shoes should do the trick for most places I go.
5. Don't forget, the inside of your shoes is valuable packing space!  I often shove small T's and socks into my sneakers, pumps, and boots.  
6. Get yourself a travel jewelry bag.  I used to actually bring a small jewelry box with me!  Can you believe that?  It really weighed down my suitcase, and it caused me to go over weight a few times resulting in a frantic "what can I get rid of" ordeal at the check in.  This clothe jewelry bag works great!

Note: I would never put my wedding rings in my packed luggage, I put them there for illustration purposes only!

It even folds up for more convenient packing.

7. Speaking of going over weight - make sure you weigh your bag before you leave.  I try to leave 5 pounds worth of wiggle room, because the scales may not be calibrated exactly and I usually throw a few things in at the very last minute.
8.  The majority things you might pack are not essential to remember.  As long as you have your passport, you can probably pick up whatever it is you've forgotten when you get to your destination.  The things I tend to forget that are a hassle to buy are chargers!  Don't forget your camera or your phone charger, and if you're going to a remote location, you may want to invest in a few electrical adapters before you go.
9. Your carry on luggage should be light and portable.  Shopping in international terminals can land you some good bargains and help pass the time, but if your carry on is too heavy you'll want to sit instead of shop.

10.  Don't forget to bring a hostess gift if you are staying with someone!

Happy vacations and travelling to everyone!

xoxo

Kelly

Happy Birthday Sister!

Today is my little sister's 21st birthday!!  She's all grown up now I guess.  I wish I could post embarrassing pictures of our childhood together, but unfortunately those are all across the ocean.  So this will have to do...

Isn't she beautiful?

Clearly, she will have never had a drop of alcohol before tonight...

First time we got our littlest sister intoxicated off our great uncle's homemade kirsch.

Don't worry we were in France.  Stuff like that is legal there.  

This is my fave picture of them ever!  Aren't they so pretty?

Happy 21st Birthday (month) Princess!  

Love you!

Where We Live

It rains every day here.  Cold, grey, nasty rain.  Not a big thunderstorm of rain coming down in massive droplets on a sweltering hot day in the middle of summer, like in a music video for some awesome Meatloaf power ballad.  Just gross rain.  Drizzling, chilly rain.  Whenever I don't like the weather, I try to think to myself, at least you don't live in Chicago anymore.  Because the weather really sucks in Chicago, as in it is so freaking cold it sucks the life out of you.  Then you go into hibernation and get SAD.  The weather in England doesn't suck that much.  It's just extremely mediocre.

Then I wonder to myself, why do you put up with mediocre?  We don't have to live here.  We could move to Australia... There are a lot of reasons why we don't live in Australia.  But none of them are very good... See?

Reasons Why We Don't Live in Australia

1.  Nick has a job in England

2.  Neither of us are from Australia

3. Our families wouldn't be happy with us

4.  We'd like our kids to know their extended family

(Note: We don't have kids, except our dog-ter, Heidi)

Reasons Why We Should Move to Australia

1. The sun shines more often there

2.  If you live in Australia you're probably happier

3.  Everyone is really nice in Australia

4.  Australia is a good compromise for a mixture of British and American culture

5.  We both really like Australia

6.  My freckles would reappear 

(I kinda miss them.  They go away when the sun doesn't shine)

7.  I would have more motivation to have a bikini body

8.  We'd live close to a beach

9.  It's probably easier for us to get a visa to move to Australia than it would be for us to get a visa for Nick to move to America 

10.  The best dance parties of my life occured in Australia

Exhibit A:

I think that's all my reasons for now.  Though I'm sure there are many more.  Until then, I guess I'm stuck in England.  And..  
"That's the way it's gonna be lil darlin'"





ps.  Sorry if my videos bore you.
pss. At least watch the 2nd video.  That song needs to be in your life I think.
psss.  Where do you live?  And why do you live there instead of somewhere else more awesome?  Or is it the most awesome place to be living?