Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Week 5

When Keegan and I discussed all of the gazillion details regarding moving to London, leaving our furniture behind to avoid exorbitant shipping costs and an excrutiating long wait on the other side with nothing to sit on seemed like a good idea at the time.  Exciting, even, when I thought of having the free reign to design a fabulous flat in London as my new part time job for the first few weeks.  As it turns out, not so much really.  Searching for a statement piece that makes a whole room, stumbling across the perfect piece for the perfect spot, or even decorating ONE room from scratch . . . all fun and interesting projects.  Selecting and buying every single basic piece of furniture for a large 3 bedroom rental flat AND making it feel homey, lived in, and like ours (without the “luxury” of a car) has proven to be my match.  I have learned 1. I do not make decisions easily or quickly.  2.  When I do make a decision, I usually change my mind (again, the convenience of a car eluding me)  3. I loathe Ikea.  Ikea . . . no small coincidence my I-phone autocorrects the word “Ikea,” to “Okra.”  Okra . . . has some appeal to it in the beginning, but in the end for all of the labor it takes to make it presentable, really just leaves a bad taste in your mouth.  At any rate, I digress.  Slowly I can capture glimmers here and there of the coming together of a Home to return to in between our adventures and speaking of adventures . . . 

This weekend we attempted our first mini getaway with Liam up to Edinburgh, Scotland.  Keegan and I have found over the years we are quite compatible as travel companions.  The minute we threw a 4 year old into the formula, however, we learned pretty quickly we will have to revise our attack.  All in all, it was a really lovely weekend, exploring the Old Town of Edinburgh and seeing Liam soak up all this information about castles, knights, fortresses, cannonballs (RIGHT up his alley), but it was cold, it was rainy, we walked a LOT, and pubs didn’t readily welcome children so thoughts of sliding into a warm cozy booth and settling into a pint of the local brew while Liam plays on my phone quickly dissolved.  My explanations to Liam about meeting everyone's agenda while traveling seemed to fall on deaf ears.  Good learning experience and of course, with many many countries on our list to explore, I am confident we will come up with the perfect formula once again.


Ikea Flatpack Hell (albeit entertaining to a 4 year old) looks like this:
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Glimpses of home amidst the chaos:
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Forget the blisters from screwing together pieces of fake wood.  Pack the bags and head out of town!!
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I might have to move to Edinburgh just so I can go to Wellington's every morning!!
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Fruit Scone, Jam, and Clotted Cream.  Stop it.
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I have to admit myself, cannons ARE pretty fascinating . . .
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1 comment:

  1. I love the ikea point. so true! Travelling with children is painful- basically why we don't! Imagine Liam x 3!

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