Shannon’s World

I had a pretty crappy day – compared to 99% of the world it wasn’t too bad, but for me personally it was just a hard one today. Things started looking up tremendously in the afternoon thanks to:

- Our neighbor’s bounce house that they rented for a birthday party. Libby was hitting volumes I’ve never quite heard her little voice reach before because she was so excited. She’s such a good girl – didn’t complain once when we had to get out for dinner or to go to bed.

- Mike brought home healthy (?) organic pop tarts for me – what a treat!

- two brand new packages of sharpies….pure joy!

- a quick run and bike ride while Mike watched Libby bounce (honestly, the girl bounced for AT LEAST a hour after dinner and a good 20 minutes before we ate!)

- friends coming over for a quick visit with their new puppy, Penny, and a new toy Yoda for Libby. Once again Libby could hardly contain her excitement – it was really too much for her: a bounce house, birthday cake, a 4 lb puppy AND a new Yoda toy? What else does a girl need? Kinda puts things in perspective.

Tuesday morning started with waiting in line at TKTS for half price theater tickets. We were able to get tickets for Billy Elliott, our first choice.

I was really excited about the rest of our plans for Tuesday and they did not disappoint. We headed to the Primrose Hill section of London to explore the quaint shops and “easter-egg colored houses”. I loved the neighborhood and its shops. The Primrose Bakery was lovely and reminded me of Sweet Lucinda’s. Our lunch at The Engineer was UNBELIEVABLE…it was so, so good and in such an amazing outdoor patio space.

While leaving Primrose Hill we happened upon a small river that we did not see on our way to Gloucester Avenue. The river had quite a bit of small-boat traffic – it was really surprising and fun to walk along on our way back to the tube.

Back in central London we visited the Tate Modern and tried to visit St Paul’s but arrived just as they were closing the doors. We grabed a quick bite to eat at Wagamama and then were off to the theater. Bill Elliott was excellent.

Since its been (GASP) 20 days since I’ve posted a picture of my sweet girl, here’s some Libby love for all the fans out there.

We have a pretty sweet set up with our neighbors. One night a month Mike and I have a date night and they watch Libby and Mike and I return the favor watching their two kiddos. Last night Mike and I headed out to see The Hangover. Funniest. Movie. EVER. I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in a long time. The movie was especially appropriate since Mike was just in Vegas a few short weeks ago for a bachelor party. After dinner we ran into Old Navy and then grabbed dinner at McAlister’s Deli (so darn good – can’t get enough of there sweet tea) and then made a quick trip to Target. It was such a nice night…

On Monday we started the day with a traditional English breakfast at a pub, saw 10 Downing Street and did the Rick Steve’s walk from Trafalgar Square to Westminster Abbey/Big Ben. We spent a few hours touring Westminster Abbey and I enjoyed all the history the Abbey has to offer.

We had a little bit of time after our tour, so we wandered to Leicester Square and enjoyed some tasties and drinks for a late lunch at All Bar One.

Monday night we had reservations at River Cafe. I learned about River Cafe after reading an article about April Bloomfield, the owner of the Spotted Pig in NYC (one of my favorite restaurants of all time). April was trained at the River Cafe in Hammersmith! We enjoyed an AMAZING dinner (and a fun adventure trying to find the restaurant, too) and a fun night out.

I am so far behind. Mike and I were very fortunate to sneak away for a week long trip to London at the end of June. Many thanks to my Mom (aka Nanny) for flying out to watch Libby. Mike and I had a great time because we didn’t need to worry about Libby. Not. One. Bit. We knew Nanny was spoiling her rotten taking very good care of our sweet girl.

Mike and I flew out to London on Saturday (meeting Eliza and Pete at Dulles airport) and arrived very late at night…almost too late after traveling from Heathrow, getting settled in hotel, etc. We walked around Trafalgar Square and the surrounding areas for a good 30 minutes looking for something to eat and finally found a pita place at close to 1 am.

Sunday was spent with a Partner I work with and his family. They were kind enough to give us the red carpet treatment and a tour of London. We started out the day on the London Eye followed by a great lunch at the Sea Shell of Lisson Grive – known for it’s fish and chips (although we learned people from London do not eat fish and chips). I had my fish and chips in matza instead of batter and it was outstanding. Mike and I ate mushy peas for the first time and loved those, too. After lunch we headed to Abbey Road to see the famed street and recording studios. From there we headed to Kensington Garden to see the Albert Memorial (breathtaking) and the Diana Fountain (which is great, but less like a fountain and more like a stream – still lovely, I was just surprised when I saw it). It was a truly gorgeous day – sunny and the low 70s – the perfect day to walk around a park.

We ended the day at the Sherlock Holmes Pub that was across the street from our hotel with Eliza and Pete who spent the day on the double-decker bus tour.

Have a good weekend everyone…here’s a little update:

reading: 8 chapters into Twilight…loving it. I listened to it while driving up to Chicago and ran out of CDs, so I started reading Storitelling. I also need to read The Shack for August bookclub…my nighstand is looking a little full.

eating: whatever we can find – have not been grocery shopping in ages…trying to clean out the freezer and pantry. I am happy to report I found two of our favorite foods from London: mushy peas and hobnobs at Meijer.

making: trying to finish some necklaces I started

listening to: twilight & the “new” u2

planning: to do some serious cleaning/recycling/donating

I have so much to post – our London recap, 4th of July pics, recent weekend in Chicago pics, Libby’s first day at camp, Libby officially entering the terrible two (I hope we make it through!) etc. I’m working on it, I promise. Until then, here’s a little something to wet your whistle from our London trip.
Mike also posted a 4th of July sneak peak.

My Aunt and Uncle saw this on a recent trip to Maine – how funny! Tha

I ordered this welcome sign from Uppercase Living over a year ago and never put it up. Thanks to the Oskay’s for the inspiration and help; I love the way it looks! I have a few other Uppercase Living projects up my sleeve that I can’t wait to show you!

Libby and I had a great time making blueberry muffins. Thanks for the adorable cupcake apron, Nanny!