Hi there! I hope all is well in your part of the world. We are in juggle mode at the moment because a problem with the rental house we were supposed to move into today has made us push back moving for a month. Meanwhile, we're getting ready to head to the US for a family visit. I swear, everything I own is in a box or suitcase. 3 Things I Always Bring When I Travel Having everything packed in some way made me think about my travel items that I bring along no matter where I'm traveling. I made...
13 days ago • 2 min read
Hi there! I hope your summer is off to a great start! Things have been a little wild around here because we somehow decided to jam GCSE exams, moving to a new rental house, and heading to America for a family trip all into a very small window. My daughter is finishing GCSEs this year, which is a whole thing that deserves it's own detailed explainer. The TLDR version is: Imagine high school sophomores taking 20+ standardized essay-format tests over about a month. Now imagine those tests are...
22 days ago • 3 min read
Ready for Autumn in the UK? What to Pack + What Not to Miss After a busy summer, I’m ready for a little more routine and some cozy time. My daughter and I recently came back from a week in central London while she took a pretty intense summer course. We stayed at Locke at Broken Wharf, right on the river near St. Paul’s. Seriously, I was looking out our window at the Millennium Bridge every day. It’s a mix of hotel and apartment, with a great café downstairs and just enough space for two. The...
10 months ago • 3 min read
Amazon Prime Day is upon us, and this year there are several travel deals you don't want to miss! These deals expire when Prime Day ends on July 11th, so move quickly if you want to save. Travel Deals for the UK and Europe Most people don't even realize that you can snag big discounts on travel through Amazon's Prime Day event - especially if you like cruises. I've taken a Royal Caribbean cruise from Southampton to visit France and Spain and had a fantastic time. 👉See the best deals for...
12 months ago • 1 min read
UK Hot Hits Different Look, I grew up outside Houston, Texas. I know what crazy heat feels like. So why do people in the UK always show up on my social media complaining when the temperature hits 80F? There's several reasons for this, like buildings made to absorb heat and the city glass/concrete combo bouncing heat around. But I think there's one reason that overrides all that: no air conditioning. Temperatures that would have felt fairly normal back in Texas or California are inescapable...
about 1 year ago • 2 min read
Summer in America vs. the UK I was lucky to have a good friend come visit me last week. Her kids have just wrapped up the school year in California and are starting in on summer activities. My nieces and nephews in Florida and Texas have been out of school for a few weeks. Meanwhile, my daughter still has over a month left in the school year. It's strange every year to see signs of US holidays while school is still on here. The differences between school calendars in the US and UK were so...
about 1 year ago • 2 min read
Hi there! I've been gone a bit longer than planned, so sorry for going quiet. I'm just getting settled back in after spending time back in the US visiting family and friends. It was so nice to be close to people I usually only get to speak to over video. I haven't experienced homesickness much this year, but there will always be a part of my heart that lives in America. American Things That Don't Exist in the UK Any time I go back to the US, my friends ask me what food I've missed and what...
about 1 year ago • 2 min read
The Housing Culture Shock It's hard to believe it's been nearly three years since I moved my family to the UK (for the second time). In spite of how long we've been here, and having now experienced several different rental houses, we are still sometimes surprised by what's normal in homes here compared to the US. From living in a rainy country with no clothes dryer to tiptoeing up steep staircases, we've definitely had to adapt. I recently updated my blog article 30 Big Differences Between...
about 1 year ago • 1 min read
Spring Break - British Style Hey there! My daughter is currently on her second week of term break from school. It's a bit like a second Christmas break in the spring, or maybe a longer spring break. Before we moved to the UK, I had no idea how schools scheduled coursework across this year. It was one of the bigger culture shocks we experienced to shift from our American expectations into British schooling. Now that we've been here a while, I still regularly have local parent friends ask us...
about 1 year ago • 2 min read