Click HERE to see the blog parties I will be linking up to.
Julie
Julie
Hello friends, Happy Friday. I will be linking up with Jennifer from Overflowing With Thankfulness for her fun link-up Share Four Somethings.
For the last Saturday of each month, she prompts us to share four things that we loved/or disliked, accomplished, things we improved upon, and/or that need improvement, and noticed (either in our own lives or around town).
THINGS WE LOVED AND/OR DISLIKED: I recently tried to make soup in the crockpot and the soup wasn't getting that hot. The crockpot wasn't working properly and was broken. I had to dump the soup into a large pot and cook it the rest of the way on the stove. I was on a search for a new crockpot. I looked at BJs and they had a fancy one by Hamilton Beach but I wanted something simple but functional. I ordered this Pioneer Women 6 QT Programmable Slow Cooker from Walmart. The crockpot came within two days. I've already made for dinner Crockpot Marry Me Chicken and Crockpot Beef Short Ribs and both recipes came out great. The crockpot is simple but works great and it looks pretty.
ACCOMPLISHED: I've already read two books for this month. Imperfect Chemistry. This is a romantic rom-com that was perfect for me to read after the holidays. There are five books in this series.
This book, The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, was a Christmas present from my daughter. This book by the author is a memoir of the year after the death of her husband. This book is good but sad and how she relates to loss and grief.
THINGS WE IMPROVED UPON AND/OR THAT NEED IMPROVEMENT: Now that the holidays are over, we are trying to eat a lot less sweets, such as homemade cookies and cakes. We are all trying to get our workouts in each week at the gym.
NOTICED (either in our own lives or around town): I was recently at the funeral of a family friend and someone asked me if I had lost weight. So I guess someone noticed a change in my appearance. I'm glad about that because I want to look and feel good.
I hope you all have a happy Friday and weekend.
Hi friends, I'm joining Holly and Patty for their Monthly Musings link-up. The topic for this month is Winter Self Care, where they ask the questions and we answer them.
HERE ARE THE QUESTIONS:
- How do you take care of yourself in the winter? I wear warm clothes inside and outside of the house. I like putting on a lot of light in the evenings and lighting candles in the kitchen while cooking dinner. I enjoy making homemade soups for lunch/dinner and eating comfort foods. I use a lot of creams on my face, hands, and body.
- How do you fight the winter blues? I enjoy reading books, crocheting, and streaming tv shows and movies.
- Tips to make your living space cozy? I get my house cozy with a lot of heat to keep warm, blankets on the couch, and a lot of light in each room.
- Suggestions for fun wintertime activities? I like taking walks in the neighborhood or take a walk right after it snows. One of my favorite things to do is curling up and reading a good book, cooking and baking, plan a winter getaway, visit a museum, go out to lunch with a friend. My husband and I like to go to sporting events such as a hockey game, going out to dinner with my husband or with friends. We love seeing a Broadway play or musical each winter.
- What are your exercise routines in the winter? If the weather permits, I like to workout at my gym at least two to three times a week. My workouts consist of a weights class and doing a Zumba class.
- Best tips for a restful sleep? I like to go to bed at the same time each night and not too late. On the weekends I tend to go to bed a little later. I don't drink caffeine in the evening. I like to read a chapter or two in my book before bed.
- Favorite warm beverage? I love to drink any type of hot coffee, or in the afternoon hot tea.
- Best winter skincare tips? I use a lot of cream on my body and face. I put on my lips each night before bed chapstick, and I put hand cream on hands every night before bed.
- Flannel sheets - yes or no? No. I used to use flannel sheets years ago but I don't anymore.
- Favorite winter pajamas? I love wearing my Nautica flannel pajamas.
HERE ARE THE TOPICS FOR EACH MONTH:
Click HERE to see the blog parties I will be linking up to.
Julie
Julie
My daughter and I are on our last day of vacation in London, Sunday 12/3/23. In the morning my daughter and I had a nice breakfast. I had scrambled eggs, bacon, and coffee, and my daughter had a traditional British breakfast with coffee.
My breakfast.
My daughter's English breakfast.
Our next stop was to visit the British Museum.
We saw the Rosetta Stone, sculptures, and art collections.
We stopped for lunch and coffee at Costa.
We quickly shopped at the department store Primark. I bought a beautiful wool coat that was on sale. The store has many departments and it even has a cafe on the second floor.
We quickly headed back to the hotel to collect our bags and luggage. We had an 8:25pm flight back to NY and we took a two hour Uber ride to the Heathrow airport. We checked in our bags and then we had to go through security. We had to take out of our backpacks any liquids and put them into clear zip lock bags. We finally made it through security. We bought some liquor at the duty free store and then went to our gate to wait for our flight back to New York. We made it onto our plane with no problems and I was happy to be back home.
I enjoyed my four days in London and I look forward to visiting London again in the future. We flew both ways Virgin Atlantic. Going home we upgraded our seats so that we wouldn't have anyone sit in between us. We had plenty of room and the food was good. I saw the comedy movie About My Father starring Rober De Niro and Sabastian Maniscalco and I slept most of the time.
Thanks for following along on my trip to London.
You can read Day 1 - HERE
You can read Day 2 - HERE
You can read Day 3 - HERE
Click HERE to see the blog parties I will be linking up to.
Julie
Julie
The next morning, Saturday 12/2/23, we had a quick breakfast at Caffe Nero. The caffe had great coffee and pastries.
We decided to take a half hour walk to Westminster Abbey. Below you can see Trafalgar Square.
You can also see in the background, the famous Big Ben.
We booked our free tickets online to see Westminster Abbey. The line to get into the Abbey moved quickly.
Benedictine monks founded Westminster Abbey in 960AD. This church if full of history and it holds services to the public every day. Westminster Abbey offers 90-minute guided tours to see special parts of the church. We toured the church by ourselves but the next time I'm in London I'd love to have a guided tour.
It's the final resting place for kings, queens, poets, musicians, scientists, and politicians of the past. This is also where the coronation of King Charles took place, and royal weddings such as Prince William and Kate Middleton.
There was so much to see inside the Abbey and we enjoyed visiting the Poet's Corner.
Jane Austen is buried in Winchester Cathedral but there is a small tablet on the wall in the Poet's Corner.
The Bronte sisters are honored with a tablet in the Poet's Corner.
When we left Westminster Abbey you could see in the distance the London Eye.
We headed to Borough Market. Borough Market is a food market with vendors selling a huge variety of food and drink.
It was so crowded and there were long lines to order and buy food, but the lines moved fast.
Due to the crowds of people we had to stand in a corner and eat our food. We shared a pork sandwich and had the most delicious tasting Thai Pad.
We had to try the viral TikTok strawberries with chocolate sauce. This was so delicious tasting and the strawberries were huge.
We went back to the hotel to change and rest a bit. We had tickets to see the West End musical Six. We first had dinner at an Italian restaurant called Lulivo. The location of the restaurant was perfect and right near the theater. We shared bruschetta pomodoro, and we both had pasta dishes and the food was good.
We both enjoyed Six the Musical. It's about the Six Wives of Henry VIII. The musical is only 75-minutes long and an all women cast. I loved the singing, the dancing, and the story each wife told of her marriage to Henry VIII.
After the show we walked around Covent Garden. We had reservations at The Alchemist. The drinks are unique and my daughter had a drink that was smoking as she poured it into her glass. We shared delicious tasting edamame and smashed potatoes.
I enjoyed my espresso martini.
We had a long and enjoyable Day 3 in London. Stay tuned for Day 4, and our last day of our trip to London.
You can read Day 1 - HERE
You can read Day 2 - HERE
Click HERE to see the blog parties I will be linking up to.
Julie
Julie
The next morning in London, Friday 12/1/23, we had brunch at Bill's. I enjoyed pancakes, bacon, and a hot latte. My daughter had avocado toast with french fries and coffee.
After breakfast we walked around a bit. We took the tube to South Kensington where the Victoria and Albert museum is located.
My daughter and I had to take a photo near a telephone booth.
We decided to visit the Victoria and Albert Museum.
This museum has six floors to explore sculptures, paintings, jewelry, and fashion.
We saw the famous sweaters that Harry Styles wore.
We left the museum and walked down the block to the famous department store Harrods. We had a great time in Harrods. We spent some time in the food court and shopping for sunglasses and handbags.
By the time we left Harrods we were both very hungry and ready to eat dinner.
We enjoyed our dinner at The Restaurant at The Capital. We both had cocktails and shared mussels.
I loved my lamb chops and my daughter had steak in sauce. The meal came with salads and we shared creme burlee for dessert.
We took an Uber back to our hotel.
Our second day in London was a long and busy day. I was happy to get back to the hotel and go to sleep. I had a great second day in London.
In case you missed Day 1, you can read that HERE. Stay tuned for Day 3 coming soon.
Click HERE to see the blog parties I will be linking up to.
Julie
Julie
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