Getting There is Half the Fun

Since the trip to London was last minute, I had to fly alone.  I dropped him at the airport at 11:00AM so he could start his journey via Dulles.  I went back home to finish packing and pass the time until I had to leave around 2:30.

Thanks to all of Matt's travel I have become quite an efficient packer.  The main secret to our packing success is the roll.  We roll all of our clothes instead of packing them folded.  For some reason this allows an insane quantity of clothing in a suitcase.  I am guilty of over packing, but this packing system allows for it with room to spare.  I packed two jackets, an extra pair of shoes, five shirts, three pairs of jeans, and all the other necessary accessories for a successful trip.

With room to spare!

So I was on my way to the airport for the second time for the day.  Matt had something up his sleeve when he booked my award ticket - he booked it as business class on British Airways.  That ticket allowed me to hang out in the BA Lounge before taking off.  Snacks, free Wi-Fi, and a small meal before taking off was well appreciated.  What a great experience to fly BA.  First off all the employees have the great polite British/Scottish accent.  How can you not smile when you hear that.  On top of that, the business class seat was a lay flat with video on demand.  Yet again, he is making it hard for future travel.  How can possibly expect me to fly coach after this?

My sleeping pod :)

Cozy to watch The Descendants

Upon arrival at Heathrow, I had to find Matt.  Thankfully I've been to this airport a few times before so I knew what to expect as far as layout until Border Control.  The only thing we did not fully agree upon was where to meet after that.  I saw him before he saw me.  Thanks to the family signal I caught his attention right away.

We rode the Underground out to Holborn station to find our home for the next few days.

Old School Matt & Holly

When we were first married we were notorious for making crazy last minute travel plans.  It would be nothing for us to decide at 6:00 on a Friday night to drive to Minneapolis for the weekend.  Or decide to on a Thursday night to fly to Florida just because Matt found an amazing cheap airfare (and we had a few days left on a multiple day Disney ticket).   Who cared that it was hurricane season? 

We always enjoyed calling our parents once we arrived at our destination to hear their shock of our weekend location.

Fast forward to this past Thursday (just two days ago).  Matt has a client in London that wanted an onsite demonstration.  Since it was the company's dime he booked it straight away.  I jokingly asked if I could go along, but the price of the ticket was well north of  $1700.  I put the thought out of my mind.  Then he said, "you know, I have a lot of miles banked and can see if there are any award tickets for this weekend."  Euphorically I told him to go for it.  Within ten minutes he had an entire round trip booked.  Granted panic did set in since I had approximately 36 hours to plan for a trip that might take me several days to plan out my clothing. 

Old school Matt & Holly back in action.

G was already with Papa because my sitter could not take him on Friday.  Matt had already called his parents earlier in the day to see if they could keep both kids into the beginning of the week.  They graciously agreed to keep the kids.

We're going to London until Wednesday.  Matt is working and I am sightseeing.  A colleague from work is living over there now, and I hope to meet up with her one afternoon to see her favorite (or favourite as the Brits spell it) bits of the city.

Two things I'd like to look into are the Olympic venues.  I have no idea if any of them are close to central London or the Underground stops.  And the Queen's Golden Jubilee is also this year.   I'm sure there is a plethora of trinkets to buy in commemoration.  I also hear Kensington Palace is set to reopen after a renovation, and I hope to go see it.  Especially since William & Kate will move into their 20-room apartment @ Kensington next year.  I have to check to make sure it's a suitable living environment.  Maybe they will be there to check on the renovations, who knows?

City on the Cheap

We decided it was high time to reap some benefits of Matt’s travel.  The kids were with the grandparents for the weekend, and we hit the big city.  Matt has wanted to stay at the Conrad for quite sometime.  They had a promotion going to get a certain style of room for a discounted amount of points.  Free is good, right?

Oh my, is free ever good.  Apparently it was slow in the big city because she upgraded us to a one-bedroom king suite.  Sweet!

We needed some lunch before anything else.  We had a gift card for a restaurant nearby.  Our lunch came to $3 under the value of the gift card.  Not too shabby.

Our goal while childless in the city was to experience a little culture.  We left the Conrad and walked in the blustery wind to The Art Institute.  The six blocks Matt estimated seemed a bit longer. 

We came to the conclusion that we don’t get modern art.  We chuckled at the visitors that stood and pondered the all white canvas with a black frame.  Really?

Originally we planned to go out to dinner; it’s been a long time since we ate at a nice place without the kids.  However, the more we thought about it, we wanted to get the most out of our sweet room.  So the plan for fancy-schmancy turned into a Malnati’s pizza and a Red Box movie.  I have to say, I think I enjoyed that more than the original plan.

Love

Love is in the air, even a week after Valentine’s Day.  New love is also blooming.  My friend, Kim, is experiencing new love right now.  Hearing her stories of long, late night phone calls, outings to the big city, and nights at home cooking dinner together makes me think (way) back to my own new love, circa 1990-something. 

Today’s shuffle mix on the iPod played some songs that conjured up memories of when Matt and I first started dating.  Our relationship started when we were still teenagers, and music is an instant transport back to that time.  There are certain songs and albums, to quote a local radio station, that are the soundtrack of our lives. 

One of the first songs of significance to our relationship is Today by the Smashing Pumpkins.  Matt bought me this as a CD single and I listened the heck out of it.  Do you remember CD singles?  I'm so happy I can now buy individual songs on iTunes.  

10,000 Maniacs Unplugged Album – Back in the day MTV did an acoustic show called Unplugged that had great artists such as Eric Clapton, Nirvana, and Lenny Kravitz.  MTV then smartly released the show as an album.  I remember watching the 10,000 Maniacs show at Matt’s house since out in the country we didn’t have cable TV. 

InYour Eyes by Peter Gabriel – This was the theme of Matt’s Senior Prom.  We went into Schaumburg for dinner with Matt’s BFF Nate and his date.  At the time going to Schaumburg was quite a distance, at least to me being the rural kid that I was.

Melloncollie and the Infinite Sadness by the Smashing Pumpkins – We drove into the big city to the Tower Records the night this album was released.  At midnight we drove back to our dorm in the country listening to it at full volume.  I actually wanted the title song from the album, MellonCollie and the Infinite Sadness, to our wedding processional.  However, the title of the song in the wedding program would look to be a downer.  So I opted for the popular Trumpet Voluntary.

InYour Eyes by Peter Gabriel – Yes you’ve seen this song before.  It ended up being our first dance song at our wedding. 

There were a few albums that we obsessed over during college and early adult life.

ThrowingCopper by Live – Lightning Crashes, I Alone, and Selling the Drama were most likely worn out on our CD. 

TheBends by Radiohead – Whenever I hear Planet Telex, The Bends, Fake Plastic Trees I sigh and remember our apartment on Augusta Avenue.

Music as a “where were you when…”

I remember sitting at Matt’s house in April of 1994 when news broke of Kurt Cobain's suicide.  Hearing Courtney Love on MTV while mourners gathered outside his Seattle home, for some reason, is etched in my brain. 

Now as adults we have many more musical connections to Coldplay, Foo Fighters, and The Subdudes.  We’ve even got the kids trained to know when a Coldplay song comes on the radio.  G has a good rendition if Paradise.

The Annual Weekend Retreat

Before children I would confidently say one of my hobbies was scrapbooking.  It was therapeutic to document events and even the mundane things in our lives.  I could spend hours trying to organize paper and photos in just the right spots to convey my idea.  I kept all of my materials out at a table downstairs incase the creative bug struck.  Today we laugh at my early books because they were so lame.  I was very formulaic and to use patterned paper was almost unheard of to me. 

Then we had kids. 

All the scissors and pretty embellishments were relegated to the storage room for safety reasons.  That was pretty much the end of my spontaneous hobby.  I would scrap from time to time, but it was a big hassle to take out all of the tools and papers.  Plus I had to fend off the kids who flocked to my table like a moth to a flame when the shiny and sharp objects came out of hiding. 

We’ve done day scraps before, and while they were an opportunity to scrap for the day, it was a lot of hassle to pack all of your gear up for just a few hours.  Plus you tend to get some odd groups of women at these things.  My sister told me about a place near her house that offered scrapbook weekends.  I was intrigued.

We booked our weekend at The Scrapbook Manor in Walworth, WI.  This weekend was our third (or is it fourth?) stay.  I cannot sing the praises of this weekend loud enough.  It is 48 hours of kid-free, spouse-free, cooking-free, getting up early-free, and creative-full extravagance. 

I would usually take Friday off so I could get there at 3:00.  This year was a no go since winter break started at the end of that day and taking time off is a no-no.  Regardless I was there by 5:30. 

Here are (just some of) the many reasons I love The Manor ........

Karen – She is the proprietor of The Scrapbook Manor.  She is a lot of fun to talk to, and has a quick wit that will keep you in stitches.

The Manor itself – The house is on the main street through Walworth and has gorgeous curb appeal.  The main floor consists of the kitchen, dining area, on-site store, and scrap area in the living area & sunroom.  I wonder about the families that lived here in the past and how they used the space.  

Work Space & Shop - each person has a dedicated area that varies in size depending on how many guests are at the manor for the weekend.  The tables are ample and the lighting is great.  She has many tools available to use, such as a Cricut, so you don't have to lug your own along.  Additionally Karen has an onsite shop that has an ample supply of things you might need.  She stocks plenty of cardstock, markers, and quality patterned paper.  
  

Music – Karen has her iPod going all weekend.  It is an eclectic mix of 70’s, country, jazz, and alternative.  I’ve been exposed to many new artists thanks to her playlists.  Every song is not my favorite, but when she’s trying to accommodate the likes of all her guests, you’ve got to hit all the genres.

Bedrooms - The upstairs bedrooms have two to three full-size pillow top beds and fluffy linens.  The rooms are decorated with candles and Scentsy warmers.  Each person gets their own bed, heaven!  All of the guests share one of the two bathrooms upstairs.  Since everyone is on their own time-frame, I’ve never had a problem with people having to wait for showers. 

Sustenance  – Karen provides dinner on Friday, three meals on Saturday, and brunch on Sunday.  Saturday and Sunday are catered meals.  In between meals there is an ample supply of snacks and bubbly beverages.  

P&Q – The only expectations for the weekend are those you put upon yourself.  Go to bed and wake up when you want.  Heck, you can even decide if you want to bathe.

Extras – On Saturday a massage therapist comes in for those who pre-book massages.  The cost of a massage is very reasonable and all you have to do is go upstairs. 

I’ve never been to another retreat-style scrapbook location, and I don’t think I ever will.  Karen has told stories of guests who fessed up to “cheating” on her at another place.  From what I’ve heard none are as nice and welcoming as The Scrapbook Manor. 

Did you know Christmas starts at 3:00?

Without going into tedious details, it’s been a long December.  Work has been more work than it has been in a long time.  I texted Matt on my way home yesterday suggesting that day’s theme song should be AC/DC’s Highway to Hell.  And, yes he obliged upon my return home.  However, he did not have time to pull the How I Met Your Mother version together (maybe next week).

So to save our sanity Matt and I took today off to wrap up our holiday shopping and to run on our own time zone.  We even let the kids sleep in so we could start the day off right, slow. 

I checked our list twice while Matt savored his coffee at Egg Harbor and we were on the road at 10:00. 

Mall – check (with a great sale at Bare Escentuals!)

Target – kind of check, out of the Matchbox track we wanted

Which leads us to that toy store with the backwards letter.

First of all, this is one of the dirtiest stores I’ve shopped in a long time.  Being a store for children, it should be ashamed of itself for the filth that covers the store.  Second of all, I can’t even begin to describe the employees for fear of slander. 

It started off quite well, our search for a Matchbox track and a bucket of action figure guys was quick.  The bucket-o-guys was even 50% off.  Major score.  We were pleased to see short lines at the checkout.

This is where it gets ugly.

The “employee” scanned our items, and the bucket-o-guys did not ring up at the right price.  When I alerted her to the wrong price, she said “Oh that price does not start until 3:00 today; our ad does not start until then.  You can bring your receipt back at 3:00 and we will refund your money.”  I think she read my skeptical facial expression and clarified that many customers are confused with the sale.  Before saying anymore to the person, I walked to the end cap to carefully read the sign to ensure that I didn’t miss any fine print of a start time before questioning her further.

The sign only stated Friday & Saturday as the sale date.  When I gently explained this to the person she stated again that the sale didn’t start until 3:00.  I said I wanted to talk to a manager because if the sign was there the price should be honored. 

She had the gall to tell me that I had to go to the customer service counter to talk to a manger.  Then she left the cash register to help the register next to her. 

Oh the adrenaline was flowing in full force now. 

I removed the purchases from the bag and walked to the customer service counter.  From what I can remember, I explained my concern to the people at the counter and asked that the discount be applied at this time.  After all if the sign is up they should honor it.  The lady sympathetically applied the discount and we could be on our way.  I decided that the customer service personnel needed to hear how un-customer service oriented the checkout girl acted.  His face dropped when I described the person connected with the behavior.  Maybe he’s heard these comments before?  To his credit he did express a sincere apology for her behavior and the missing discount.  I’ve never liked this store, and today solidifies my decision to never, never shop here again.

It warms my heart hoping that she gets a pink slip for the holidays.  

*The rest of the afternoon was fabulous, and we finished the list with time to spare before picking up the kid.  Shopping is done!

Happy Anti-Thanksgiving

For the second year in a row we celebrated with an anti-Thanksgiving.  This idea started last year when no one really wanted to cook a big meal nor deal with the day after turkey hang over.  Since we had a good time last year, we decided to give it a go again this year. 

We booked a hotel room in the big city and made reservations for Thursday night.  Nana & Papa were joining us for the duration of our stay while Grandma & Grandpa were going to join us only for dinner.

What the kids do when the shower fogs up the windows

On Wednesday we let the kids jump on the hotel beds while we caught up with N & P.  For dinner we walked down to Cantina Loredo.  From first look one would think it would not be kid friendly, but we were surprised.  They had a kids menu and it was slightly loud (which was great for dining with G).  I had the steak fajita tacos, and could have eaten them all night.  Then I realized I needed to save room for dessert.  Totally worth it.

Putting the kids to bed was a lesson in why we try to get hotel rooms with separate bedrooms.  Of course G needed to go to bed before the rest of us, and Matt volunteered to sit with him in the room while M and I hung out with N & P.  I brought the baby monitor along so we could put him to bed and then play some games while still monitoring the boy.  The monitor turned out to be our entertainment.  We could hear G talk to Matt in the dark while Matt passed the time on his computer.

G - "Daddy, I go to sleep now?"
Matt - "Yep, buddy it's time to sleep."
G - "Daddy, my eyes tired."
Matt - no response
G - "Daddy, my eyes tired.
Matt - no response
G - vehemently "Daddy, my eyes tired.
Matt - "Yep, buddy it's time to sleep."
G - "Daddy, you sleep now?"
Matt - "Yep, buddy it's time sleep."

Cut to N & P's room and imagine hilarious laughter.  90 minutes later the boy finally fell asleep.

On Thursday morning we knew our options for the day were limited since not many stores were open.  After breakfast we walked to the Christkindlmarkt at Daley Plaza.  We visited last year and the weather was so biting cold that it was a super short visit.  We felt that the weather outside was quite nice when we walked out of hour hotel.  Walking a few blocks into more open areas proved our forecasting inaccurate.  We were a bit chilly...

On the walk we passed by the tail end of the State Street Parade and watched for a few minutes.  Then it was time for the Christkindlmarkt with a few thousand of our closest friends.  Matt and Papa took G for a spin around the plaza since glass ornaments & G don't really mix.  We got to use our scant bit of German when Nana was purchasing ornaments.  Megan said danke schön to the cashier and she got a huge smile on her face and replied with bitte schön!  That's about it for my German other than how to say one (eins), no (nine), Tuesday (Dienstag - thanks to German MTV promos) and car (das auto - thanks to VW commercials).

After a brisk walk back to the hotel we had a little lunch and then napped until dinner.

Dinner......now that was a meal.  All the grandparents joined us at Buca di Beppo for some obnoxious amounts of pasta.  Carb hangover was had by all, especially Matt.

Matt got the really big spaghetti :)

Remember last night's conversation with G when he went to bed?  Just copy that conversation here.

Can you keep a secret?

Saturday in Cali started off much the same as Friday - not in a good way.

An unscheduled 4:15 wake-up call, again.

True to form we had no problem going back to sleep for a few hours.

After a mediocre breakfast we started making plans for the day.

Drive into Hollywood? Nah, too touristy
Drive up the coast?  Nah, too much in the car time on such a gorgeous day
Find a spot at the beach to read and nap? Nah, the fog stays at the coast until at least noon this time of year

Go to Disneyland?  Heck Yeah!

I had immediate guilt thinking about having a day at Disneyland without the kids, but then I got over it.  We have not been here without kids in about 6 years.  There are very few pictures of this day because I did not have to carry a bag with diapers, snacks, and bottled water, and neither one of us was sporting a belt with which to hook the camera.  There are a few iPhone photos, but you've seen it all before, right?  The only noticeable changes were the Halloween decorations.

Mickey and his friends decorating the entrance turn-styles

We started our day at California Adventure and the ride lines were extremely tolerable.  I suppose they were more tolerable since we had no preconceived notions of what rides "had" to do - other than Toy Story Mania and Soarin'.

The Toy Story Mania line was pretty long, I'd say it was about 45 minutes.  The wait was well worth it.  Matt and I get very competitive on this ride.  We've only ever ridden it with the kids so we have never rode together to see our close scores.  I started off with a narrow lead, but Matt eventually beat me.  I would say it was a close competition.  Matt would not ride California Screamin' because the guilt of riding it without M was too much for him. 

After a few more rides at California Adventure we spent the rest of the day at Disneyland.  We rode our favorites including the Finding Nemo Submarines and Indiana Jones.  There were two odd occurrences - Pirates of the Caribbean was closed!  They say it was closed for refurbishments, but we were still mad.

The second odd occurrence was the wait for The Haunted Mansion.  Now we say "duh" to the long wait, but I never expected this.  The sign outside the mansion read 85 minute wait from the gate.  However, the line had an overflow corralling that went over by the Disneyland Railroad stop and New Orleans Square.  Yeah, I may not be in a hurry to ride the rides, but I can find something better to do with myself than spend almost 2 hours in line for The Haunted Mansion.  We definitely got a Fast Pass for this one.  Plus the Fast Pass was for about two hours later so it was a win-win.

While we waited for The Haunted Mansion we rode another favorite, Buzz Lightyear.  Today's ride was particularly spectacular as it kept stopping.  That gave maximum opportunity to rack up points.  I love the Disneyland Buzz Lightyear ride because you can hold the laser zappers in your hand and shoot wherever you want, unlike Disney World where they are stationary on the safety bar.  I say that only knowing what it was like the last time we were in Orlando.  Matt scored big when he hit a high scoring target that was also blinking (blinking targets =  mucho points).  See how he turned out....

He certainly beat me today

Once we got in line we realized what all the excitement was about.  The Haunted Mansion is seriously decked out for Halloween, starting with the front gate.

  The mansion takes on the Nightmare Before Christmas theme, and they did not disappoint.  In the entrance room that stretches, the usual wall portraits were replaced with movie-themed scenes.  As a matter of fact just about every other possible spot in the ride was replaced or enhanced with movie-themed scenes.  Check out the backdrop as you get into your doombuggy.

Scary Christmas

The low level of light on the ride made all the rest of the iPhone photos come out black.  I think everyone should check this ride out at Halloween.

After a quick run to the car or our jackets we grabbed some dinner at Downtown Disney.  The main restaurants were 90+ minute wait for walk ups.  The UVA Bar is a small extension of the restaurant Catal and the line for an outdoor table looked manageable.  

We ate this trio of dips that could have sufficed as my dinner - hummus, baba ghanoush and mouhammara (hummus-like but made with walnuts and red peppers and our favorite of the three)  with warm pita slices.

Enough about the food, we had one ride left for the night - Indiana Jones.  I will make a confession right here, I had never ridden Indiana Jones before.  The lines were always crazy long and the Fast Passes were all out by the time we made it over there.  I think we picked the perfect night for it because we watched the fireworks through the trees as we waited in line.

Our day had come to an end, and we were certainly fulfilled.

*Update - M knows that we went to Disneyland.  She bluntly asked Matt when we got home and he was the good dad and told her yes.  I think she was sad, but understood that she can't go every time.  Although she wants to go every time!

Long Cali Weekend

The time had come for our Cali Weekend. Thankfully Matt’s parents graciously took the kids for us. They picked them up on Thursday afternoon. Unfortunately M missed a day of school, but I think she got over it.

We left on on a Thursday night and arrived at LAX around 10:00. The first stop was In ‘N Out Burger. There is a relatively new location just on the edge of airport property.

Friday morning was bit of a shock as we received a 4:15AM wake-up call that we did not ask for. After immediately rolling back over to sleep we woke up at 7AM PacificTime. Isn’t Pacific Time lovely, I got to sleep in and still got up at 7.

Mid-morning in Pasadena

Matt knew just where we were going for breakfast, Marston’s in Pasadena. This was one of my top 5 breakfasts of all time. All time. I had the Fantastic French Toast, which is sourdough bread crusted in corn flakes. My mouth is watering right now. Matt had the San Pasqual Omelet which had bacon, cheddar cheese, and fresh sliced avocado on top. OMG. We ate as much as we possibly could before we burst. Rest assured not one of those strawberries was left behind, nor was a lick of the avocado.

After breakfast we rolled ourselves back to the car for the day's activities. We started off touring the Gamble House in Pasadena. The Gamble in reference is from the Proctor & Gamble company. My pop culture friends should recognize this house as the outer shots of Doc Brown's residence in the Back to the Future movies.

The gorgeous front door

The inside was amazing! Unfortunately interior photos are prohibited, so what you see are from the Gamble House website. The family needed a winter home to escape the cold eastern winters; this is some winter home. The architects were the Greene & Greene. They commissioned the Hall brothers to create virtually all of the furniture and floor coverings in the house. Each room was highlighted by different woods. The staircase railing was teak, the wood trim on the walls was cedar, one bedroom was bird's eye maple, another ash, and so on. The funniest part of the tour was in the kitchen when our docent showed us the back screen porch & servants' entrance. She highlighted that the Gambles did not think that the servants needed such nice furniture on the porch. So they commissioned a different company to make a table for them. You might have heard of the designer - Gustav Stickley.

Sunny kitchen with the Stickley table on the servants' porch

Side view with front porch and sleeping porches

One of several sleeping porches

A final interesting fact about the Gamble house - Each year two USC Architecture students receive a fellowship to live at the Gamble House for a year. Sounds great, but one of them must be in the house 24 hours a day. I think they live in the basement as I bet they aren't sleeping in the priceless beds upstairs.

We spent the rest of the afternoon back at our hotel reading and maybe napping :) Since breakfast was so huge we never did eat lunch. That left a lot of time to get hungry for dinner.

I've been following a few food trucks on Twitter, particularly the Grilled Cheese Truck. Our area does not currently have food trucks, however there is a big push to create an ordinance to let this happen. Well this was our night, five food trucks were meeting in a parking lot in Pasadena!

The Grilled Cheese Truck had the longest line, and we soon found out why. Matt ate the Caprese melt and I had a regular good old sharp cheddar. So worth it. The Carne Asada tacos we ate from the Knock Out Taco Truck were stupendous.

I think we did enough for today. Just wait until you see what we do tomorrow. Shhhhh, don't tell the kids.

Kudos to Matt

Matt is what one might call an airfare hawk.  He knows who to read to find out about upcoming sales what websites to stalk for unpublished sales.   Knowing that let me tell you about a little airfare sale back in July.  Matt heard that the big airlines were planning a sale, and he was going to check it out.

Matt was online when the sale was released, and here’s where it gets good.  Someone at the main office of one of the big airline make a small error when loading the fare.  Instead of $142 each way to LAX, they punched it in as $142 round trip.  Yes, round trip.

Knowing that this was an absurd price, Matt immediately bought two.  There was no preplanning for who would take care of the kids.  This was too good to pass up, and they would fix their mistake soon.  No sooner did he complete his purchase that the big airline pulled the fare.  Score!

Now I just had to wait until October to enjoy some Cali.