#febphoto day 14

I heart Valentine's Day! Aside from Christmas, Valentines' Day is my next fav holiday.
Loads of pink, red, flowers, love songs, hearts, candy, love notes, what's not to love?

I started off this morning by making a big Valentine's Day breakfast for the loves of my life along with exchanging love notes and gifts.

But we mustn't forget the pink milk! I actually found pink Nesquick here! The girls thought it was awesome.

With Tim being so busy I wasn't sure if I was going to see him at all today but luckily he was able to meet us up for dinner AND manage to surprise us by not going back to work afterwards!

The girls were so excited when we were all getting ready for our "date" with dad. Natalie was so cute while I was doing her hair. She said, "We have to get ready...for the restaurant...with Dad!"

The girls have always been pretty well-behaved when going out to eat, but they have become way better since moving in a country where kids behave really, really well in restaurants. Natalie specifically has come a long way.

Cutting with a knife and fork! Yes, folks, we are all witnessing a monumental moment. I never taught her to do this.
Marisa also said something cute during dinner. When I told our waiter that "the girls will have a strawberry sundae" Marisa with concern looks at Tim and says, "I don't want a strawberry Sunday! I want a strawberry Tuesday!" (Today is Tuesday. She didn't want to wait until Sunday to have her treat. haha)

On the way home, Tim pulls out more of his fun, sweet surprises for the girls in his life.
One of the things I loved about Tim when we first met was his nerdyness. It's true. He has some quirky sides to him and it makes me laugh every time. I love it. When Tim proposed to me it was truly unique and done in a complete Tim fashion. To give you a little bit of insight part of it had to do with him pulling out a rose, a bottle of juice, a candy bar, and the engagement ring all from his jacket. All the while I had no idea he had that all on him! So in lieu of that, Tim pulls the same Houdini trick on the girls tonight. He slowly starts to pull out two big happy faced Hotel Chocolate lollipops from his jacket. haha The girls began jumping up and down in delight. It was cute.

For me my love did get me a bar of Hotel Chocolat from his jacket too. :) (And I forgot to mention that on my birthday date night Tim managed to pull out my fav red velvet cupcake.) And I'm not kidding. Hotel Chocolat is THE BEST CHOCOLATE EVER. Hands down. And I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers! Happy Valentine's Day! I hope yours was as sweet as mine!

#febphoto day 13

Blue.
Brits are right. American chocolate is rubbish.

I did not like chocolate as a kid/teenager/even as a young adult. I remember people thinking I was crazy. It wasn't until I became pregnant with Marisa where I began to like it. And with my second pregnancy the like turned to love.
Now, especially after moving to Europe, it is a full blown MUST NEED every day.

I'm not kidding when I say that Tim brings home chocolate every day for me or at least makes sure I am stocked up in the house. I'm not kidding when I say that one weekend I was searching for chocolate to eat when I realized that Tim had eaten the last bit and I gave him the death look. I'm not kidding when I say that I began to have anxiety, Tim and I start laughing, and then Tim immediately went to the store for me.

#febphoto day 12

During a short weekend trip to San Diego with our friends we got to reminiscing with them of when Tim and I first started dating. They remember having asked Tim, "So what's she like?" Tim's response, which I had learned for the first time on that trip was, "She likes to shop."
What?? Really?? THAT is the first thing you tell people about me?
I'm not denying that I don't like to shop, but you could have at least said something a little more ... impressive!

Yes, I like to shop and I have a natural taste for expensive things. I blame genetics? On pinterest I have a board titled, "My Closet" which has been brillant for me because I basically play pretend.
Today's feb photo a day challenge is "inside my closet". This is what I wish was inside my closet.

It is my dream wardrobe. If I were to have whatever I wanted, this would all be it. Here are a few of my recent absolute loves.

Sadly, I don't have these items in my closet. But I do have this 2 year old monster in my closet instead. She's pretty darn cute. I'll keep her.

#febphoto day 11

Makes me happy.
Birthday package from my parents arrived today!

• 8 latte bowls in ivory.
• Ikat mini bowl in blue.
• Zinnia hook in cream.
• Zesty Measuring Spoons

Loving the measuring spoons. Aren't they cute?! Love my mommy and daddy!

#febphoto day 10

Tim and I probably exchange 2 minutes worth of conversation every morning, minimal texts throughout the day, and a hello at midnight.
Busy season bites.

Last night was the first night in weeks where I could spend hours with my love as we celebrated my birthday/valentine's day in the city. It was a very much needed break from reality for the both of us.

Dinner at Jamie's Italian.
I first fell in love with Jamie Oliver when his show "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" aired in America. It was like love at first sight. I passionately 100% agreed with everything he said and did and I fully supported and totally signed his Food Revolution petition immediately. And I have been basically following him every since. (Not to mention I use his cookbook at least once a week.)
Now being a celebrity chef from the UK you can imagine what a big deal he is here. Him and his restaurants are all the hype. I have been wanting to try his food for awhile now.

The location of his restaurant in Canary Wharf is great. The display of fresh seasonal vegetables, rustic bread, and pasta machines was my cup of tea. The food was great too, but to be honest, it wasn't like crazy amazing like I kinda expected/heard about. I think with expectations set as high as Jamie Oliver's celebrity status there is bound to be an easy disappointment. I also think I ordered the wrong thing. Thinking that his restaurant is called "Jamie's Italian" I thought I should order some pasta, but I quickly noticed after I ordered that the seafood and meat is probably where I should have paid more attention to. They looked daaang good.
Either way, the food was still really good, my date was looking dapper, my coke hit the right spot for me, and we still had a great evening ahead of us.

Off to The Apollo Victoria Theatre to our first time seeing Wicked! I know, where have I been? Apparently, living under a rock. It was REALLY good. I LOVED it! The show lived up to its reputation, for sure.

(The feb photo a day for today is self-portrait. I really hate self-portraits. Grudgingly I post a pic of me inside the theatre waiting for the show to start.)

I DO love the tube though. I take back the comment many, many months ago when we first moved here and when I said something like, "Who the heck would want a keepsake of the map of the tube?" I have come a long way.
Looking forward to my next date night with this dashing fellow!

#febphoto day 9

Front door.
What a boring post.
I decided to make it more interesting and take a picture of the front door of our charming building. It was built in the 1920s. Although the exterior is old, the interior is modern and obviously recently updated. Best of both worlds in my opinion.

The front door is no longer in use but is still there for a beautiful welcome when you walk through the gates of our building site. A couple people have come and knocked on this door thinking it was the door to our flat. hahaha
Isn't it darling? Front doors in general in London are full of character. Maybe one day I'll post nothing but front doors from around the city.

#febphoto day 8

Sun. Or should I say, the major lack thereof. And dang you all OC peeps for posting the beautiful CA sun while basking in its rays on Instagram!

{Sigh}...Despite the bitter cold outside we have been quite busy inside. (Oddly enough, I have been doing a lot of baking. Not sure what I am thinking there.)
While getting a few things ready for our night time routine I found this little lady on top of the toilet busily dolling herself up.

She gave me no notice other than matter-of-factly saying, "I putting on make-up."
And no worries, there is a cap on the contact solution bottle.

"I pretty." - Natalie