London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady.

Saturday was our first full day in London.  We started the morning off right with fish n' chips.  I love fish and chips and Mckay doesn't, he's not a seafood person... we had breakfast/lunch (we way overslept because of the time change and jet lag) at a cool pub in Camden, then spent 4 hours at Camden Market.  Camden Market is a huge outdoor market every Saturday that is bustling with food, crafts, art, trinkets and clothes.  Part of it is held in these old (1854) stable arches, hence, me with the giant horse head.

It was ridiculously large, we walked around for hours and still didn't see all of it.  We were sad that we had eaten at the pub because once we entered the market place we realized that there was a whole entire avenue of food carts and stands.  It all smelled so good and fresh but we were stuffed with mediocre pub grub.  Of course that didn't stop us from indulging in more than a few baked goods.  I got a pair of cutesy little fabric earrings too.

After the market we walked across the London bridge!  It was fairly anticlimactic but gave us access to St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London so we were happy to stroll across the sing-song, infamous bridge.

The Tower of London Bridge, much cooler.

It was rainy off and on, which was annoying because we walked everywhere, but who can even be sad about rain when one is in a wonderful city like London?  Actually for a minute I forgot that as we stood under bridges and buildings freezing (we were under-dressed seeing as how it was the middle of June!) waiting for the rain to pass.  Thankfully, it only rained in 5-15 minute intervals and then the sun would shine again and we'd prance off to the next destination.

St. Paul's amazing Cathedral.  This was the first Cathedral we saw and it was amazing.  I didn't know picture taking was not allowed and got snapped at by a lady there. WOOPS!  St. Paul's Cathedral has been standing in that exact spot since 604 AD (there have been restorations and renovations of course).  It was magnificent inside and we learned a lot about its history and other jolly Catholic things.

We had dinner that night at an Italian restaurant called Zizzi.  It was fan-flipping-tastic (I maybe used to say that in middle school).  I had pumpkin and pancetta risotto with sage.  It was one of the most delicious meals I've ever had.  Mckay had a traditional lasagna and liked it, but was not as happy as I was.

After dinner we went to Shakespeare's famous Globe Theatre for an evening production of Dr. Faustus.  That was really cool.  Initially, we didn't have tickets but got lucky when an older couple sold us their son and his girlfriend's tickets after said son decided to go on a "drinking vacation instead"!  Sad for the parents but we were feeling pretty lucky to score the best seats in the house! (note the people that stand through the entire performance... I'm not fan enough to endure that).  The globe theatre is outdoors and it was quite cold when night fell.  Despite my bare legs, I really enjoyed the play.  It was funny and deep at the same time.  

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Anyone who knows me knows it is an absolute dream of mine to see Les Mis in the Queen's Theatre in London, and a few weeks ago I was able to do just that!  We decided a few months ago to go to England in the summer and the Les Mis tickets were my thoughtful husband's idea, love him.  June 16th we flew the 6 hours to London and arrived the next day, Friday June 17th.  We got out of the airport and made it to our hotel, crashed for a few hours, and then headed to the theatre.

 A yummy Italian dinner first to quiet our angry stomachs.  The tickets!  I was so excited- literally  giddy with anticipation.

 Waiting for the show to start, the theatre was absolutely breathtaking.  It was really small but so regal and beautiful.

 A generous hobo charged us 1 pound to take this picture, but I'm glad we have it.

 Ceiling/Chandelier.

The night was everything I hoped it would be... and more.  Cliche, but so true.  I cried at least three times during the performance.  It is such a beautiful and entrancing story, and seeing it performed by the best of the best was unbelievable.  Even Mckay, lover of Phantom of the Opera that he is, said it was the best play he'd ever seen.  It was absolutely magical, so well done and the sets and logistics of it all were stunning.  Not to mention the music!  This was my most favorite thing we did while in England, & that is saying a lot, because it was the best vacation I've ever been on.  

My birthday honey.

Sunday, June 5th Mckay turned 29!  I made him Korean food!  Booya.  It was a chicken/Korean sauce/veggie stir fry over WHITE rice (he gets so sad when I make brown).  Corn on the cob isn't so Korean but it's sweet summer corn so I couldn't resist.  

Blowing out the candles- I look crazy because I am inviting kids over to help him & I want to make sure they get to the cake before he is done.  It was probably counter productive because look how scary my face is, I would have stayed put too.  

I forgot to ask him what he wished for... Last year when I threw him this party I posted a picture of him and his freshly extinguished birthday cake on Facebook and my friend Ashley commented, "That means no girlfriends... only a wife?".  I DIED.  Deep down in my heart I hoped and dreamed and knew, but I was so embarrassed and scared that Mckay would freak out a little.  Luckily he didn't, and by the next birthday I was the wife. 

He got 'em all.  

 Happy!

We had to relight so the cutie pies could have their turn blowing out candles.  Three times.  Thad was hilarious and kept asking and asking and asking for more fire.  Seriously, two of the cutest kiddos I've ever seen.

We had a great night visiting with our friends, downing german chocolate cake, and watching the basketball game (him).  Mckay is great, it was fun to devote a day to celebrate him.  I quite enjoyed it & think he did too.

Utah

It was so great to be back in Utah for a visit.  Cache Valley is more beautiful than ever to me.  I hadn't seen most of my family in eight months, so it was time!  Mckay and I decided that since he would be in full blown-study mode, it would be good - for both of us - if I took a vacay!  Having him at the office studying late every night was wearing on my nerves and he was guilt ridden & didn't want to worry about neglecting me.  So off to Utah it was.

I arrived on Friday.  My parents picked me up at the airport in SLC and we had lunch together before heading home.  As we drove through the canyon I noticed the mountains were covered in snow.  Still.  The end of May.  Poor Cache Valley residents.  They are so fed up.  I was welcomed home by my sweet sisters and a dashing "Welcome Home" banner, so cute!  A few hours later Trev got home from school and that night we all relaxed and caught up.

Highlights:

New haircut!  Utah is so affordable.  Connecticut is not.  So I only get my hair cut in Utah now.  And it's under $70 with a scalp massage to boot.  Yes.  My hair looks just the same, but 3 inches shorter.  I'm disappointed.  Mckay begged me not to cut it short, and this time I heeded.  But when we're there for Christmas, it's coming off.

Friends. I know I saw most of these people at my wedding, but that doesn't count because I hardly got to spend 2 seconds with any of them.  Shanna girl and Ashley girl, two of my best friends from college, came to visit me and spend the night.  I hadn't seen Shanna since before she left on her mission in 2009!  We did crafts all night and ate pizza and hung out with my Mom.  It was so great.  

I had dinner with the Kimball girls, Kassidy and I were the best of friends during high school and Jacki is her little sister, and an equally good friend.  It was great to catch up with them.  Kassidy married her husband 9 months before I married Mckay, and Jacki married her love last week, almost 9 months after my wedding.  We had a grand time talking about love and marriage and men and all the funny things in life.  Love those girls! 

Later in the week I had dinner with my dear friends from when I was a nanny in NY.  We were all out here on the East Coast for the same year and had a blast seeing the sights together.  It was (again) so wonderful to catch up with them.  I miss having them out here with me.  They became such close friends in the year we were together.  We were always going to trendy restaurants, having sleepovers and on new city adventures together.  

The 25th was Stacey James' (soon to be Garrett) birthday, so she, Krissy and I got together for a birthday celebration.  The cake was a poop and didn't come out of the pan all the way, so it was an ugly, coconut-flavored birthday celebration.  We still had a riot together.  These girls were also dear high school friends and we have had yearly get togethers every year since 2007 when we graduated (so proud).  A big feat when we all went totally separate directions after graduation.  This was the first year that one of us was missing, Ali was traipsing around Europe instead.  Her loss.

The temple. It was so wonderful to go back to the temple that Mckay and I were sealed in 8 months ago.  My parents and I spent an afternoon there and it was simply beautiful.  I loved it.  I'm so glad we did that. I was very emotional, partly because I missed Mckay and partly because it was so easy to remember and feel the emotions I felt on our wedding day.  I will always be so grateful that Mckay and I were sealed together for eternity in that lovely place.

Girl's Weekend! A McAffee family favorite, and definitely a highlight of my visit.  My fabulous cousins and Aunts came to my Mom's house for a sleepover.  This has become a yearly tradition and I have been missing it year after year so my Mom made this years' get together happen while I was home.  I met three new babies, the most precious and happy little things (my cousins make the prettiest of those).  We munched and cooked and laughed and shopped and cried, played Loaded Questions and didn't get to bed until 4:30am.  We were also stupid and forgot to bring out the camera until after half of the party had left. Dumb, dumb, dumb.  But the pictures we do have are priceless.  We really missed the cousins and Aunts who couldn't make it!

(Trevor snapped this photo before we were prepared.  It was supposed to be our "Blue Steel" picture, but we were still trying to figure out the logistics. I LOVE IT.)

Sewing. While I was home, my fabulously talented Mother helped me make pillows for my living room and cafe curtains for my kitchen.  I couldn't have done it with out her. Seriously, I was barely able to handle it with her.  She had to rethread the bobbin after almost every stitch I did.  I still do not know what kept happening.  She even graciously endured me accusing her of cutting the fabric wrong... oh dear.  Thanks Mom! Sewing with you was super fun and I love my loot.  (pictures later).

Movies, Mom's home cooking, babies, neighbors, family time, walks, shopping, laughing, Cami Adair, church ladies, slow drivers, friendly sales people, the beautiful mountains. 

Nine days in Utah with my family was truly divine.  Coming home to Mckay was wonderful too.  I was so happy to see him at the airport.  I'm glad I don't get sad to leave my family and come home to him, it's great to be so excited to go back to real life.  Nine days was a long time to be apart, we cuddled and watched movies and chowed on popcorn and soaked up each other's awesomeness all night long.  (Mean Girls!)  There's no place like home!

Treasures and trinkets.

While my poor and dedicated husband studied his brain to mush this weekend (love him so much), I hit the tag sales that are starting to pop up along with the spring flowers.  Tag sale= yard sale, rummage sale, attic sale, garage sale. I don't know why people out here call it that, but they do.  Saturday morning I called my friend Megan and she willingly came along with me to scour the GINORMOUS tag sale that a local Episcopalian church puts on every year.  I am so thankful that sweet Mckay knew I would be heartbroken if I missed an event such as this, and felt obligated to tell me about it & shew me out the door that morning.

This was a huge deal.  It was a tag sale/best BBQ ever/carnival event.  I had my first brisket... do I call it brisket or a brisket sandwich? I hardly know. All I know is that spectacular meat topped with homemade BBQ sauce and raw onions had me on cloud 9.  I raved about it all day long.  And the next day.  And right now my mouth is watering thinking about it.  I want to try to make it, but I'm scared that mine will sorely disappoint.

Gorgeous shelf: $10. 

I've convinced myself it came from a Quaker kitchen... or Martha Washington's... or any other historically rich and aged place.  It's so beautiful.  The wood is so dark and sturdy and I am obsessed with it. Manly Mckay hung it in our kitchen for me yesterday and I was enamored.  With him too. 

Green bottle: 50 cents. Love that little gem.

Books: $1 each!

The Three Musketeers is a classic and hello beautiful cover! Couldn't pass that one up.  The middle book, Abigail Adams caught my eye because she absolutely fascinates me.  They say she was her husband's equal in intelligence.  I love that, I am so excited to read it.  As I skimmed it, I gathered that it is a biography but written somewhat as a novel.  It was published in 1947, cool!  War and Peace, although I am scared of this undertaking, has been on my "to-read" list for quite sometime.  I also got East of Eden and Mr. Pettigrew's Last Stand -but they were normal, newer books so they didn't get to be in the picture.

Brass candlesticks: $4.

They are heavy and I love them.  I'm not sure about the color but we'll see what happens to these beauties.

Maggie London cornflower blue vintage dress: $5.

My heart! I hardly have words for this dress.  Except when I tried it on I immediately thought of both my Grandmothers and then 113 (my college apartment and all the memories, girls & happiness that go with it, lovingly referred to as "113" by former occupants).  Once that happened there was no going back.

2 twin sized vintage silk coverlets dated 1940's: $20. 

This one may have been a splurge and a little premature.  Because we don't have twin beds.  Or little girls to fill them.  But I just couldn't pass them up, 100% silk!!! I bought them and I'm hoping that even if I store them and carry them around with me for a few years, I won't regret it.  I know I'll turn them into something beautiful one day, right? Nursery curtains?  Baby dresses?  Crib skirt?  Other ideas?  I really don't know.  But I love them. 

It was a great weekend, I am thankful for Spring and simple pleasures, and screaming good deals.

I even made my first successful (there were previous flops) Sunday pot roast!  I was proud.  Probably worked because it was Mother's Day and I couldn't be shaming me Mum.

BRANCHES

My desk was looking empty and I wanted to zoosh it up.  So I ran outside, in the dark (Mckay was at basketball and I was left to my own devices), and twisted some branches off of our trees.  When I first got them, they didn't have blooms on them, but after a week in a vase with water, they look gorgeous!  I read that you should take a hammer to the base of the branch, so that it will suck up lots of water and bloom, but I did such a number with the pliers that I felt it unnecessary.  I just love the organic, natural look- and it's easy and cheap! You should try it... if you want. 

Jump for joy! (finally)

On Wednesday I left the house to pick up Mckay for a mid-week lunch date & I grabbed the mail before hopping into the car.  I was so surprised to see a skinny, little letter that I'd been expecting in May. 

"It can't be"... I opened it and it was!  Ready for the big news???

I AM OFFICIALLY A NURSING STUDENT!

come fall semester anyway...

I was a hazard to those around me as I read the details while driving down the highway (exaggeration).  There was shrieking, fist pumping, a little shout of joy and maybe even a few tears of relief welling up in my eyes.  I couldn't wait to tell Mckay.

I picked him up and we went to the restaurant.  I waited until we were seated with our food before I casually mentioned the "interesting letter we got in the mail today" and slid it across the table to him.  He glanced at it and his face lit up with the biggest smile.  He said, "Come over here and sit by me!".  We had another mini-celebration & he kept telling me how smart and great I am (stop it some more!) and then we enjoyed our delicious bread bowls. 

It feels so good to have a timeline that goes with my plan of 3 years, no more goal/wish/dream/hope... it's actually a plan!  I'm so excited to finally be a student again.  I love the feeling of being on a path.  So much.  I am going home for a visit in May and can't wait to dig my stethoscope and old scrubs out of my boxes!!!

Wednesday was my favorite day this week.

with love,

nurse (to be) nicki.

Regan girl came to visit us!

Mckay and I picked her up at the airport late Tuesday night.  We came home and gave her the 30 second tour of our 600 sq ft home sweet home and got settled in.  Mckay went to bed but we stayed up and sat on the couch talking and laughing and having much needed sister-time.

Wednesday morning I didn't have work so we hit the grocery store, Goodwill (we revamped my console table decor for under $30.00, it was magical. I'll post that soon), lunch with Mckay at our favorite Thai restaurant and then she came to work with me that afternoon.

Thursday was not so exciting. I worked for 12 hours and she came with me.  She fell asleep.  We were bored and hungry.  The night improved when we came home and made my all time favorite (still haven't tired of it) grilled cheese on sourdough and watched Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.  A blast from our past and so funny and dramatic. We loved it.  We didn't go to be until almost 2am that night, it felt like we were both in high school again!

Friday was Regan's favorite day.  I took her shopping on Greenwich Avenue, it was raining so we weren't there long.  While in Greenwich we squeezed in a quick lunch at Cosi and more shopping at Anthropologie.  Then we went to the Stamford Mall where she took ten years in the Body Shop picking out lotions and potions.  I was impatient.  So rude of me but I couldn't help it.  All the smells were hurting my nose.  After the mall we went to Michaels to get supplies for my latest and greatest project I'm doing.  That took way too long.  I couldn't decide what color paint I wanted to get.  I worried and stressed and went back and forth while she kept repeating to me, "Nicki get this one, I know art. I know it!".  It was funny.  I heard a few people chuckle at our exchanges.  Finally I decided on a color, (which turned out to be the wrong color) much to her relief.  That night I made us all a lovely, accidentally-more-spicy than I intended dinner.  Later that night the three of us hit up our Local Dairy Queen for some blizzards.  The guy made me the wrong one and was offended when I requested what I had actually ordered.  Excuse me?

Saturday was our city day, and the day we actually took a few pictures.  

It was great but so long, by the time we made it home that night we were absolutely exhausted and had spent nearly 12 hours in the city.  It was delightfully fun & Regan was easily pleased and made me feel like a wonderful tour guide/navigator.  We enjoyed brunch at Sarahbeth's, strolled Central Park, walked miles and miles through the streets, took a taxi ride (her first one!), spent a few ours in the Met, spent a few hours in the craziness of Times Square, shopped and ended the night with Sister Act on Broadway.  Which was hilarious by the way, if you are in NYC you should see it.  We laughed so hard.  She loved the city but has truly become accustomed to the beautiful Cache Valley.  She said she couldn't live in NYC and called herself a "country girl", sigh- maybe it will be more Kenna's pace & she'll want to come live out here by me!

Sunday was the sad good-bye day.  I made the three of us a yummy breakfast.  We watched a little bit of General Conference and then we drove her to the airport.  Somehow there were no tears at goodbye but it was still hard to send her off.  I think she was happy to be going back home to see her doggie... oh, and the rest of the family too, maybe.

This was her bed while she was here, & this is how we would find her every morning.  It was funny, her head always under the blanket and extremities sicking out.  So cute.  

We are excited to have Mckay's sister Texas and brother-in-law Kenny here with us this weekend!  We are so lucky to get this much family traffic.  Keep it coming!

Oh- also. Gas?!!! $4.59 is not okay. NOT. OKAY.
Neither is everybody and their dog adding me as a friend on Facebook.  Just because your sister-in-law went to middle school with my husband, does not mean I want to see you on my news feed!