UK Hen Do, October 2014

 My UK 'Hen Do' party was a complete secret and I had no input in planning or organising it, which was definitely a weird feeling since I am typically the go-to bachelorette party planner!  I was told to go to a salon around 2pm where I got my hair done, and it was there that my friend Nicola stopped by and gave me a mini bottle of pink champagne to have while I was pampered.  After getting my hair done I went across the street to get my nails done and when I picked the sparkly purple polish I wanted the nail lady apologised, but said she was instructed to only paint my nails red, white, and blue.  I explained that I was American and my friends were probably playing  a trick on me, so we came up with a fun design and then I headed back home.  

Upon arriving home I found that the whole place was decked out in British flags, with red, white and blue everywhere, and typical British snacks to nibble on.  Everyone was also wearing red, white and blue clothes and the place looked so festive!! They immediately sat me down and put each girl in charge of doing a particular makeup area - one person did my eyeshadow, another did my eyebrows, someone did my blush, not allowing me to do anything to get myself ready.

 Then they brought me my outfit for the evening - a red, white and blue go-go dancer outfit complete with gloves and knee high stockings!  I brought out my own pair of sparkly silver shoes - Lloyd had actually brought these to me when we first met in NYC (he worked for a clothing retailer and got me a discount) and this was finally the perfect opportunity to wear them.  We danced around and listened to music until the next phase of the evening began...

Soon after we headed downstairs and piled into a bright purple stretch limo which drove us around Central London!!  It was so fun, blasting our own tunes and singing along, drinking champagne and cruising around the city, only stopping to jump out and take our picture in front of famous London landmarks. 

In front of Buckingham Palace

The night was an absolute blast and many of the girls said it was the best hen do they had ever been to!  I'm so thankful to have such an awesome sister and great girlfriends who planned a truly epic night, one that will not be forgotten!  Jamie booked us a hotel nearby and when we got home the next day Lloyd and Barry had cleaned up the huge mess we left in the kitchen which was much appreciated, so we were able to relax and just enjoy the rest of the weekend. 

Halloween 2014

October was pretty busy with our stag/hen do parties so we didn't have a lot of time to get Halloween costumes together.  Luckily, we already had some costumes on hand!  I made a comment to Lloyd along the lines of 'wouldn't it be funny if we wore our stag/hen do costumes and dressed up as each other for Halloween' and surprisingly he agreed...although I'm not exactly sure he was actually listening.

For Lloyd's stag do his friends dressed him up as a cowboy, complete with a cowboy hat, bandanna, chaps, a vest, and the final touch - they cut out the pockets of his jeans where the back pockets were, giving everyone a little 'peek' at his backside. 

For my hen do my girlfriends had dressed me up as a UK Go-go girl, so I was estatic that Lloyd had agreed to wear it.  I went to the party shop and bought a long blonde wig and a black mullet wig (I cut off the back part), picked up some makeup and then rushed home to get changed for our friend's party. 

Once Lloyd saw how skimpy my costume was he threw a fit and almost called the whole thing off, but since he had no other costume options and the party was in a matter of hours he had to agree.  I did my makeup to make it look like I had a trimmed beard like Lloyd's, gave Lloyd a little bit of makeup and then made our way to the train.  Lloyd refused to wear the tutu as-is so he wore sweatpants underneath, and we got some interesting looks on the train ride to the party.  When our taxi dropped us off in front of the party we stopped in front of a family with a few young girls and one of them looked at Lloyd's tutu and when she realised it was a man wearing it, pointed and started laughing hysterically, which did wonders for his confidence in wearing the outfit!  Obviously this caused me great joy. :) Needless to say it was too late to turn back, so he prepared himself for the ribbing from his friends that was soon to come and we headed in!

All of our friends were pretty creeped out by our look swaps but it made for some really funny pictures and laughs throughout the night. Several of our friends commented on Lloyd's feminine qualities that were brought out by his makeup, and I tried to master the 'sexy man' face, which I was told looked 'quite disturbing'. :) All in all it was a great Halloween - Trick or Treat!!

Dartmoor hiking weekend

In September my Aussie friend Elle and I went on a hiking weekend with a London-based hiking group called the Outdoorholics.  We shared a ride with another girl from London and drove the 3hrs to Dartmoor, in southwest England on a Friday night after work.  There was a group of about 75 of us and we met at a hostel nestled in the Moorlands of South Devon.   The hike was billed as a 'Yoga + Hike' so early Saturday morning before the hike we did an hour of yoga with a fantastic instructor, really limbering us up in preparation for the long day.  The 1st day was the most challenging and we hiked about 14 miles through the beautiful English countryside, stopping on top of a hill for lunch and eating wild blackberries along the way. 

Briefing before we start

 

 

 

Gorgeous spot for lunch

Interesting rock formations

Qintessential English countryside scene

It was so nice being in nature...I miss the fresh air after spending so much time in the city

These blackberries were delicious!

Cute little calf relaxing in the grass

 

We were knackered when we got back after the 1st day's hike so we hobbled over to some picnic benches to have a beer in the sunshine.  Shortly after we did another yoga class and while we were sore from the hike it felt amazing to stretch our tired muscles.  

After our yoga class I returned to my room and saw a lot of missed calls on my phone...after calling Mom I received the news that Grandma had passed away.  I felt completely helpless, unable to comfort my family from so far away, and wishing I could be around everyone to grieve together.  My friend Elle was very sweet to me and I was able to call the family back home as well as speak to Jamie, Barry and Lloyd in London, so that made me feel a bit better.  I was able to sit outside under the stars and just think about her, and Mom reminded me that it would make her happy that I was in a beautiful place, surrounded by nature.  The next morning I got up and did the morning yoga class and thought about all the things I was thankful for, and prayed for Grandma and all the folks back home who was surely missing her as much as I was.  I hiked for Grandma that day and tried to enjoy the beautiful weather and surroundings. 

Cute pub by the river

Quaint bridge where we stopped for a drink and a rest

The hike on the 2nd day was much easier and we only went about 7 miles, but I was still so sore from the day before!  When we walked back into the town we passed a pair of dogs just relaxing outside, and the dog laying on the sidewalk looked about how I felt after the long hikes.