Thanksgiving in England

i'm a sucker for holidays, halloween, fourth of july, st. patrick's day, you name it. now that we live in england they're even MORE to celebrate (bring on boxing Day, guy fawkes day!) in honor of my first thanksgiving away from home, i prepared thanksgiving dinner for my husband's family. i was relieved to find a fresh turkey at the grocery store waitrose, after unsuccessfully trying to procur one from the butchers (they don't sell them apparently before december for christmas). i'm never sure what i'll be able to find here, for instance they don't sell cookie mix or cookie dough. thankfully they do stock pumpkin puree! negative on the egg nog though - much to my horror.

 cooking in my father-in-law's kitchen was such a treat - endless counter space and huge aga oven (which turned out to be both a curse and a blessing). even though i struggled (as usual) with timing the dishes, and the turkey was a little dry (because someone, well me, couldn't work the said oven correctly) the dinner was yummy.  afterwards i even managed to convince everyone to make fools of themselves by playing Charades! turns out, my brother-in-law john (who is also the quietest of the bunch) was a champ at it! I don't know where our little family will be next year, but wherever we are hopefully we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving with loved ones, good food and games!

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 Note the fancy shmancy Aga oven behind me.

I was quite proud of my humble tables setting. My father-in-law's dining room has never been used, and we had to hunt down chairs.

 Oh man, just looking at my full plate of food in this pic makes me want to cook another Thanksgiving dinna!

LOVE, love this game!Just play it already!

Getting my mojo back

and holiday rewind....

wow, that was fast. december and all of the holiday fanfare is over. already. my first english christmas. our first visitors, my niece hailey and her beau john, have returned home to florida. their whirlwind 10 day trip, now just a memory. the adventures and life changing experiences that 2012 brought have all been completed - it's a wrap!

i don't know about you, but as much as i love the holidays, i am SO relieved when they are over. phew! It's a new year, and we are looking forward to ALL that 2013 has in store for our little family. 

with the holidays, our visitors, and temporary life circumstances (how very vague) I have admittedly lost my blogging mojo after briefly debating whether to stop blogging altogether, i discovered that i missed my little piece of the blogsphere. the elephant and the pirate may be amateur, and i may only have two readers (THANK YOU again!) i feel moved to share my life experiences with others, though i couldn't explain why. so that said, i'm jumping back on the blogging bandwagon, and resolving to post more regularly as well as improving the overall blog site. it may be a little blog, but i want it to be the best little blog!

Below is a re-cap of my first english christmas AND as a wife..... it was epic ya'll.

our supermarket donned the traditional paper hat.

this year's baked goods included candy cane cookies, mocha balls, chocolate chip meringues and christmas bread made with dries cranberries and pistachios.

We attended a Christmas carol concert performed by the at an English Heritage sight decked out in our faux-fur, all Russian Mafia like

We all enjoyed ice skating at Beckworth Emporium, including John who 

We attended Dicken's 'A Christmas Carol' at The Royal & Durngate Theater and even though we had serious nose-bleed seats it was a fantastic production.

Speaking of traditions, we started a new one this year by going out for a curry (or an Indian) down the road for Christmas Eve dinner. After cooking all day in preparation for Christmas Day it was so much fun to walk down to our local pub and then to the  restaurant. A great time and yummy food was had by all!

don't we look cute in our party hats?

my Mum-in-law and my niece toasting to a merry christmas!

every christmas the queen gives a speech and everyone watches.

christmas day moustaches. of course.

my brother-in-law looking festive in his tie.

holding our breath for no reason at all. note my niece's christmas shades.

we spent new year's eve in the gritty, industrial city of manchester.

don't mind us we just playing with their christmas gifts - iPads.

i love this picture with two of my favorite people.

my niece looks beautiful even with a mustache.

barry's younger brother is a concert promoter and scored us tickets to an intimate new year's eve concert with frank turner. 

upcoming blog posts....

Stonehenge and Wiltshire County, plus a certain birthday boy

London Calling

Cambridge day tripping 

Pheasant Shoot

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Happy Turkey Day!

top 10 list of things i am thankful for this year

I am preparing to spend my first Thanksgiving in England with my husband's family while mi familia gathers in Florida - shockingly, they have carried on in my absence!!!!  In all of the excitement at my return, combined with my love for the holidays, I offered to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for my British in-laws. Now, as I plan for the Saturday feast, I am worrying what I have gotten myself into?? A new Meredith family tradition, I hope!

There are soooooooooo many things to be grateful for this year, where do I begin?? After much thought I concluded I am one seriously lucky girl and narrowed my 2012 blessings down to 10  (in no particular order).....

1)Becoming Mrs. Meredith. As well as our friends and family who made the day so special.

2)Roxy's safe passage across the pond (that was nerve-wracking, for sure).

3)Extra time with friends and family in Florida - we stocked up on memories and good times!

4)My sister, bro-in-law, and nieces for taking care of Roxy in our absence - she loved being at canine 'summer camp'!

5) Adding passport stamps! I have done more travelling this year than at any other time in my life, and Man has it been THRILLING! Holland, Mexico, England, and Ireland - wow, really?

6) Striking gold with my in-laws - I know I've bragged before, but seriously folks, I lucked out with his family! I have not always been so lucky (if you know what I mean)!

7) NOT moving to Jakarta. I have dodged a few metaphorical bullet before (think runaway bride, lol!) Theoretically, Jakarta is still within the realm of possibilities, but then again, being married to my husband is teaching me to be prepared for anything!

8)My  Approved UK settlement visa!! 

9)In spite of the fact that I still have no idea what I'm doing and am still discovering my niche in the blogoshere, I am thankful for starting a blog. I only have two readers (thank you honey!). But I'm ok with that, because for me, it is a creative outlet, as well as a place for family and friends to follow our adventures. 

10) Although this year exceeded my wildest dreams (honestly, I couldn't have imagined this if I tried), I am beyond excited for all that lies ahead - BRING IT ON 2013!!

Autumnal swooning

There is no season in all the year so beautiful, so radiant with glory, as the early autumn. There is no time when the human soul drinks in so fully the glory and beauty of nature. All objects of beauty are more beautiful while passing away from us. The closing up of a beautiful life—the fading of the holy stars in the dim light of morning—the ending of a quiet summer day and the passing away of the bright summer glory, are all more sweet and lovely as they are lost to us. The death-glow always beautifies anything that wears the trace of beauty ere it goes back to nothingness. We do not understand the secret of this principle, yet we know that it is some law of the infinite mind. 

~Northern Advocate

more quotes about Fall here

Oh, don't mind me, I just have been enjoying my renewed (I used to enjoy the seasons growing up in Rhode Island) love affair with Fall. I am seriously, unabashedly, head over in heels in love with this season. The colors are just WOW! Sweater weather! Pumpkin flavored anything - yes please! We are so fortunate to have an abundance of footpaths nearby and several times a week Roxy and I enjoy taking long walks. When Barry accompanies us, it gives me a chance to snap pictures (have I mentioned how much I love my dslr camera birthday gift?? LOVE! It totally beats my iPhone camera's butt!)Below are just some that I have taken. Oh Autumn, how sad I will be to see you go!

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Travel Diaries: Homecoming

'An occasion when someone returns to a place they used to live, work or study.' 

 What a GREAT word, 'homecoming', don't you think? I know, I have been back awhile and this post is a looooong time coming - but then again, so am I!  We are settling into our new life in England, and eagerly preparing for the future. Whilst (listen to me, I'm practically speaking British!) in Florida I wrote about being homesick (see here). Coming home after 6 weeks of being separated from my husband felt AMAZING. To start with, my husband surprised me by picking me at the airport. I felt the the crisp, fresh air of Fall immediately when I stepped out of the airport in Manchester, and fell in love with the gorgeous Autumnal hues of the landscape on the long drive home (obligatory blog post featuring Autumn to follow). Reuniting with Roxy was surreal. I often pictured what it would be like to have her with us in England, and now here she is!! Of course we had a curry (Indian) takeaway for dinner - I had been salivating for weeks in anticipation! During my first weekend back we met with friends for a delicious meal, and celebrated my brother-in-law's 40th birthday with a HUGE bonfire and fireworks display at my father-in-law's. After my absence, it was so good to catch up with family and friends!

 My apologies for the quality of the photos! On a side note, I love sparklers, don't you!

  Waiting (languishing really) for my settlement visa, I spent a lot of time visualizing what  our new life in England would look like. Although we aren't yet residing in our own home(February, we hope!)we have been very fortunate to stay with Barry's Mum, who very much makes us feel at home. Actually we are just down the street from our house - they are in the same development (see below). There is something very familiar about England. Maybe it is the seasons (I grew up in New England), or the funny accents (Rhode Islanders don't pronounce our R's) that I'm used to. Or maybe it's the rich history they both share, or lush countrysides. In any event, England feels like home.

 Home Sweet Home 
(At least in February, when the tenants move out!)

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Confession

TOWIE Obsessed 

Anyone who knows me well is familiar with my horrible taste in television, by which I mean my love affair with reality shows. I have recently become obsessed with the cultural phenomena that is The Only Way is Essex, otherwise known as TOWIE. Essex is located northeast of London. The reality series began in 2010 is incredibly popular in the UK. Think spray tans, over the top styles, and plastic surgery in a suburb of London. It is brilliant. Unfortunately my new obsession is distracting me from the work of the day! But then I figure it's part of my cultural immersion into English life, right?? 

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