Getting there.

I moved to Chicago in August of 2008. The 23rd year of my life was in its infancy and the idea of taking on a new city seemed like an enormous task. My journey was made lighter by the fact that I had (and have) the most amazing parents on the face of the earth, the most supportive friends, and that I was fortunate enough to meet my love within the first four days of residence. I am 27 now, and there are a few details between there and here that I have skipped over, but London is now where I reside...with Michael (my love) and Otis (my pup). We will all be here for a while to work, play, eat, and expand our individual definitions of 'living'. Otis is really just in it for the new food.

So, welcome to my blog of our new life. Here we go...

We watched our apartment get packed up about a week ago and that is when it got real. We were actually moving to London...a foreign country...on a different continent. Yikes. Crazy! Bollocks? Otis was just concerned when his food bowl was the last item to be removed.

So many thanks go out to Michael's Mom, Janey, for helping us get out of our apartment in one piece. Could not have done it without her.

We stayed with Michael's sister and brother-in-law, Stacey and George, that night at their beautiful new home in Evanston. There is something about spending time with family immediately before an enormous life change that is just so fitting and perfect. You have a chance to catch up, reflect on the past, and realize how thankful you are to be surrounded by people that love you. The perfect end before a new beginning.

Flying internationally with a pet is fairly difficult. Flying internationally with a BIG pet is insane. I'll spare you the details.

After a cancelled flight, many beers, and a tired canine, we finally arrived in London! Finish line.

**As a side note, I have to give a recommendation to anyone planning a trip over to London. We ran into a significant amount of hurdles during our journey across the pond, which is par for the course when it comes to flying these days.  We flew British Airways though, and they turned what could have been a terrible experience into a good one. All of their employees that we came into contact with were courteous, helpful, and knowledgeable throughout our entire (two day) trip. They gave us a level of customer service that is very hard to find these days.  So, if you are pondering your options for airline services, we recommend BA.

Alright, we're in London now...

Our temporary housing is amazing. We are very lucky to be where we are. The apartment is modern and clean and there is a kitchen that I can have fun in! We found a permanent apartment (flat) in W10 and I will put a post up with pictures of it as soon as we move in.

It feels extremely surreal to wake up every day and be in a city that is so beautiful, and with so much history. I feel like a tiny little scrap of fabric in a beautiful gown. Very lucky.

The first day for Otis was rather exhausting.

He needed to bottom out....get it?

The highlight from our first week in the Big Smoke was definitely our first trip to Borough Market. I can't even begin to describe how much I loved it there. It is like this biggest, brightest, and tastiest farmers market that you have ever been to. It makes you want to be a better person.. For real. Here are some of our favorite pictures.

A motto that everyone should live by...or just by people that want me over for dinner.

Brownie mountain. Will summit later.

What a babe.

The most beautiful assortment of tomatoes I have ever seen. Equally as delicious.

 HUGE paella!

We'll be back.

Ok. One post down, 50 billion to go. Please keep reading. We will try to keep it interesting!