Travel

London & Winter Wonderland

January 24, 2012 nk330Leave a comment

I was introduced to my friend Jenna through Andrew’s parents. Jenna’s dad used to work with Andrew’s dad, and she & her husband have been in England for about a year longer than us. She was a GREAT resource for me when I was stressing out about moving across the pond. I finally met her in person about a week after we arrived here, but we didn’t get to meet her hubby until his deployment ended in December. Jenna suggested that she and John take Andrew & I into London as a fun little excursion one weekend.

This was a great way for Andrew & I to see how to get into London inexpensively and how to navigate the Tube! I’m not sure if we’re ready to do this again ourselves, but part of that is because we are more into castles and churches than exploring a large city. I’m sure we’ll get back there at some point to see some historical things!

First stop? Harrod’s. Jenna needed to do a little shopping here. This is a beautiful store, but most of it is WAY out of my price range, and it’s HUGE! I would seriously get lost in here by myself!

It was really pretty when we came back this way in the evening and got to see all of the Christmas lights!

Next we walked to Hyde Park, which is where Winter Wonderland is. Here’s us at the park:

I’m not really sure what I had in my head when I heard the term “Winter Wonderland.” Well, part of me was hoping there would be snow, I think! Note: It is currently January 24th, and we have not had any significant snowfall. This makes me very sad. I miss Wisconsin. I think what I was NOT expecting was all of the amusement park rides. It seriously surprised me, haha! It was cool to see, but I wasn’t about to stand in line to ride a roller coaster, and I didn’t have any kids to ride the carousel.

Andrew & I had forgotten to eat breakfast, so once we started getting rained on, we weren’t very happy campers. I hope Jenna & John weren’t too disappointed in us! We found a pub to eat a late lunch at, and that definitely helped! Then we walked to Buckingham Palace for a few night photos. I really enjoyed going here, but I wish my photos had turned out a little better!

Overall, I think we all had a pretty good day. I think my biggest complaint was to myself: Why didn’t you wear more comfortable shoes?! My feet were killing me by the time I got home. Andrew is used to this happening to me; he always suggests wearing comfortable shoes, and I always opt for cute ones instead. Oh well.

Thanks for the mini-tour of London, Jenna & John! 🙂

Recipes

Pumpkin Bread

January 23, 2012 nk330Leave a comment

When I needed canned pumpkin for pumpkin pie (my favorite Thanksgiving dessert), Andrew bought me the only size can he could find: a big one. I think I probably used half of the can he got me for the pie, and I didn’t want the rest of it to go to waste. It sat in the fridge for a few days before I found a recipe for pumpkin bread. This is super quick to throw together and it’s wonderfully moist and delicious!

Prep time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 65 minutes + cooling
Makes: about 16 servings

1-2/3 c. flour
1-1/2 c. sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 t. ground cinnamon
3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves
2 eggs
1 c. canned pumpkin (I just threw in what was left in the can I had)
1/2 c. canola oil
1/2 c. water

1. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (first 8 on list). In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, pumpkin, oil, and water together. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
2. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350F/180C for 65-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Daily living

Birds (not Angry Birds)

January 23, 2012 nk3303 Comments

One of the first things we bought for the house after we moved in was a bird feeder. We were really hoping that we would start to see some interesting birds before winter. It took awhile for the birds to “find” the feeder (I think they were just being cautious), but now they are there ALL the time. Andrew constantly has to refill the feeders, because the birds here are piggies. We mostly get small birds (the first one I recognized from a picture online is called a coal tit), but we also get pigeons and magpies and we’ve had a great spotted woodpecker too. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get any good pictures of these birds.

What I have gotten pictures of are our larger birds. I shouldn’t have been surprised when I saw a pheasant under the bird feeder for the first time. After all, we see them in fields while driving all the time. I was still pretty excited when I first saw one in our backyard though!

But then one day I got a big surprise:

I was so glad I got pictures of the peacock, because I was sure Andrew wouldn’t believe me if I told him! I had seen the peacock once before, but he had disappeared by the time I got my camera. Well, then he flew down beneath the bird feeder to find a snack with a pheasant!

For awhile, the peacock didn’t visit us, but I think that’s because we were being lazy about re-filling the feeders. And having a pheasant in the backyard has become so normal, that when Andrew says, “Pheasant!” I don’t even blink. But I still get really excited when the peacock decides to come by and have a snack in our backyard!