Iceland.

By Liv

I know what you're thinking, "Liv, when the heck did you go to Iceland? I thought you were living in Seattle now and are all settled?" Well, you're right. We ARE living in Seattle and we ARE settled, but over a month ago, when we left England to move back to America, we made a short stop in Iceland along the way. Call it our last adventure for a long time, if you will.

We stayed in Reykjavik, Iceland. We rented a beautifully renovated 1-bedroom apartment right near the center of town and settled in with our 8 checked bags and 4 carry-on bags that was the entire contents of our house in Oxford. Yes, 8 checked bags. Yes, 4 carry-ons. And a stroller. Crazy, I know.

Besides strolling through town and admiring how amazingly expensive everything in Iceland is, we spent some much-needed family time together and enjoyed the local zoo as well as the world-famous "Pylsur" (aka Hot Dog) stand that both Metallica and Bill Clinton once ate at.

Directly before our flight to Seattle, we made a day trip to the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa is one of the most visited attractions in Iceland. The warm waters are rich in minerals like silica and sulphur and bathing in the Blue Lagoon is reputed to have healing properties, too. The water temperature in the bathing and swimming area of the lagoon averages 98–102 °F.

We had an amazing time at the Lagoon and would highly recommend anyone who visits Iceland to make a stop there - especially right before your long international flight!

 This store, "Stella" sold only the craziest looking pantyhose you've ever seen.

 Riding the carousel at the Zoo.

 Enjoying Pylsur at the most famous Pylsur stand in all of Iceland.

 No sink is too small for this girl!

 The Blue Lagoon's milky blue waters were very warm and calming.

 It was like being at the biggest spa in the world!

The tiniest spa-goer...

The things I do and don't miss about living in Oxford.

By Liv

I know I've spouted on and on about how much I love(d) living in England. I really did love it. There were quite a few things that (now that we are back to the USA) I can honestly say that I do NOT miss about living in Oxford. Here are a few:

I do NOT miss: hang-drying all of our clothes, hearing all the goings-on and people walking past my house (i.e. drunken undegrads), Nick being away working on assignments for what seemed like 24/7, the never-ending bug problem in our flat (first moths, then spiders then slugs!), using a self-rigged shower (our bathtub didn't have a shower head but just a hand-held shower head that we had to rig to the ceiling so we could take a shower!) and not being able to call and chat with my American friends whenever I want.

But, the list of things that I DO miss is even longer. I DO miss being surrounded by academics, amazing architecture everywhere (it really looked like I was living in the Harry Potter movies), the hilarious British accents all around, making new friends that were all in the same situation together (i.e. starting from scratch in a brand new place), walking EVERYWHERE, having so many wonderful restaurants within walking distance - my favorite Indian restaurant of all time was only a block away!

Mostly, I miss the friends that we made during our stay in England. I will never forget them and hope that we stay in touch for a long time to come. Here are some photos from our last week in Oxford. Everyone really rallied together towards the end of our stay - and we ended up having more than one going away dinner, which was lovely. I wish we were heading back for Capstone and Graduation, but it doesn't look likely. For all our OX friends, please keep in touch! We miss you all :)

 Anas can really play the tennis-guitar!

 Laka and the gang put together a delicious home-cooked Indian going-away feast for me!

 

Lovely Laura and her precious son, Tenzing. Stella and Tenzing Skype almost every day :)

 Stella's best-buddy at their favorite spot: The Perch Restaurant in Oxford.

Fancy a spot of tea?

Happy Second Birthday, Stella!

By Liv

Stella's birthday isn't actually until July 20th, but since we left Oxford on July 17th, I decided we should host a birthday gathering before leaving England, so we could celebrate with all of our new friends.

And what's more appropriate for a little girl living in the romantic English town of Oxford than a proper Mad Hatter's high tea birthday party? Especially since Stella enjoys having her very own high tea at home every single day.


As I have mentioned about 39 times in my previous posts, I have made some amazing friends during our time in Oxford. I have met people who I know we will be friends with forever. Some of those friends came to the rescue on Stella's big day and helped me to put together a fantastic gathering. We had over 20 people join us to celebrate and we served a completely gluten/egg/dairy free menu that was delectable and delicious:

• Tea Sandwiches •
Chopped olive & cucumber
Wafer-thin turkey & hummus
Almond butter & strawberry jam

• Fruit •
Strawberry, banana, grape and peach fruit skewers

• Treats •
Ginger cookies
Brownie bites
Chocolate chip cookies
Chocolate cookie sandwiches filled with vanilla frosting
Shortcake fingers

• To drink •
Mimosas
A selection of fruit and black teas

The decorations were perfect, the food was delicious, the weather was delightful and the company was wonderful. We couldn't have asked for a better day to celebrate our daughter's 2nd birthday.

 My helping hands: Vini, Thanzeem, Yuvi, Neelima, Lakshmi and Mahdieh.

 Taste-testing every single flavor...

 The ever handsome, Jamal.

 Gluten free and still delicious!

 Ellie Claire sporting her Mad Hatter Hat.

 The Royal Tea party and the birthday girl at the head of the table :)

 Stella sat in her chair at the table for almost 2 hours, sipping tea and eating cookies!

 Anas & Thanzeem :)

 The Gareys: looking fabulous as usual!

 Enjoying some tea and treats.

 Neelima loves Stella.

 The whole group.

 Rahul is one of Stella's favorite new friends. 

 Stella loves Anas and Thanzeem.

 Vasu & Neelima are always so happy to see her, too!

 Stella loves Laka and Ash!

 Mahdieh did most of the decorating and did a fantastic job. Stella says, "Thank you!"

 Anas trying to convince Stella that he's cooler than Rahul :)

 These girls love the bambina soooo much!

How many tea sets does a girl need? In Stella's case, the answer is three. This is just one of them :)

Summertime happenings in Oxford

By Liv

A few things have happened since the last time I blogged (sorry!). Nick has been busy with school and turning in some finals to the exam school. The morning of one of his exams, Stella took it upon herself to "color" his exam paper, just minutes before he was to leave to turn it in... oops!

Punting along the Thames is one of my favorite pastimes in Oxford. I spent a lovely afternoon with some of my favorite people - punting, laughing and sharing some snacks. I will miss these moments but I'm glad that I have photos and memories to last a lifetime!

 Punting group: Me, Lakshmi, Amy & Thanzeem.

 Pretty Vinni & Pretty Thanzeem.

Green Templeton College hosted a family event that had all kinds of entertainment for young kids. When we entered the college grounds, we were greeted by living statues. Stella wasn't so sure of them...

Jamal was trying really hard to get Stella to hold his hand...

Neighbors and friends.

Our neighbor, Ellie Claire, had her 5th birthday party. The theme was a princess party, so Stella wore a cute dress and tried to play along with the bigger kids. It was really adorable to see her try to fit in :)

The Birthday girl's little brother, Archer.

Watching the party from a distance.

Wimbledon 2011.

By Liv

Nick is a member of a tennis club here in Oxford, so he had the option to enter a lottery to buy tickets to Wimbledon this year. He was lucky enough to land two sets of tickets to two different days. The first day (Monday) was a wash, literally. It poured down rain and we ended up not seeing a single second of tennis. The second set of tickets was for Saturday and it was perfect weather – it completely made up for our crummy first attempt at Wimbledon!

We had tickets to Court 1, so we were able to watch Nadal vs. Muller, Serena Williams vs. Maria Kirilenko as well as the Bryan brothers vs. Gonzales/Starace.

Even though we knew beforehand that children under 5 are not allowed in the stadium matches, we hid Stella in the backpack carrier and waited until she was asleep to sneak past the security in to our stadium seats. Even after she woke up and I held her on my lap, she was perfectly quiet and once the security man came over to inform me that children are now allowed, he then continued to say that he would allow her to stay until the end of the match (Federer!) since she was being so quiet. I think it's a sign that she will one day be playing on that court :)

 Day #1 was rainy, but this is where we WOULD HAVE sat if there were a match going on!

 

Yay!

The highlight of the day was her Wimby bear. 

 

 The princess in her seat up-high.

Wimbledon try #2: Bryan brothers vs. Gonzales/Starace

  Bryan brothers vs. Gonzales/Starace

 Sleeping through the first half of Nadal vs. Muller

 Rafa!!!

 Awesome seats.

 Enjoying Wimbledon's famous strawberries & cream.

 Her future's so bright, she's gotta wear shades!