Flying from London to Chicago this morning!
Flying from London to Chicago this morning!
Fun reads and pics this week:
A roundup of great food options in London.
Oh, Canada.
One of the fews news stories this week that made me really, really happy.
I think this idea from Spoonflower/Hello Beautiful for making tea towels out of handwritten recipes is brilliant. I’m hoping to snag a few of my grandmother’s recipe cards when I’m home in May so that I can try it myself.
A couple weeks ago, I wrote a post that described a bit of my current homesickness. Well, time has not helped. Nor have the many photos of baseball games that friends have been posting on facebook. The good news is that I’ll be in Chicago two weeks from today! In the meantime, I’m listing to stuff like this:
Recently, I read this and this, both discussing the trials and tribulations of making new friends as an adult. Two years ago, I moved from New York (lots of friends!) to London (only a few!) and then last year, I moved again, to Edinburgh (again, a few established friendships at the start). And I’ve gotta agree, making new friends is hard. That said, I don’t regret the moves and I think the challenges that went with them were all good for me. In the process of acclimating to life in Britain, I’ve learned some things about friendship but the most critical, by far, is the importance of staying in as close touch as possible with my family and friends in the U.S.
AnnaMaria is absolutely right, there’s nothing better to fight loneliness than hearing from an old friend. With that in mind, I thought I’d lay out some of the things I do to make sure I don’t lose touch with my friends and family. Honestly, it’s not easy. I’m busy and they’re busy, but technology helps a lot.
Over the long Easter weekend, the boyfriend and I packed up a rental car and drove to the Lake District in northern England. We met up with friends who live in London and rented a cute Airbnb flat near Keswick.
The weekend was great. The lakes and mountains of the region are stunning and we spent two great afternoons hiking and enjoying views like this one.
Crummock Water near Buttermere
Our group only had one real complaint: the food. Like many heavily touristed areas, we ended up wandering into a number of not-cheap places offering not-great food. Luckily, we also found a couple of really great spots and, in the interest of helping future hikers, these were the best.
Grange Cafe — Grange Cafe is located just down the road from Keswick on the River Derwent. We stopped in after a hike with great views of Derwent Water. Sadly, we found a parking spot around the corner from the cafe and had lunch at its main competition, a truly lackluster cafe called Grange Brigde Cottage Tea Shop. We then walked over to Grange Cafe and found a cozy cafe featuring the best gingerbread cake I’ve ever had (Grandma’s recipe, according to the owner). The homemade soups and other cafe fare being served around us also looked delightful.
Bridge Hotel – Midway through a hike around Crummock Water, we stopped for lunch at the Bridge Hotel in the village of Buttermere. The hotel’s pub served the best food we found all weekend. Highlights included a savory steak and ale pie, handcut and expertly fried chips, and a delicious sticky toffee pudding.
I’m headed out on an Easter road trip and am hoping, hoping, hoping that Britain finally decides it’s spring. And, I’ve got Josh Ritter to set the mood.
Our favorite links from around the web this week:
There are no words.
Great tumblr of beautiful and seldom used words.
More like 33 pictures that me feel old.
I love this interview with Sharon Montrose almost as much as I love her pictures of tiny adorable animals.
A for Effort? Epic Pinterest Fails!
On a serious note, another interesting entry in the Mommy Wars Diaries. Is the number of hours many Americans work really the problem?
Sheer Genius: LuLu Puns Roundup
Scottish Winds is my favorite song about Scotland. I started listening to Frightened Rabbit a few years ago in New York, but they’ve become a much bigger part of my soundtrack now that I’m on their home turf. Not surprisingly, there’s just something about their music that fits this place.