Bueller....Bueller...Bueller...

Absent much!?!? Oooppsie, sorry guys! I have been so on the go and just dealing with a lot of daily life stuff that I haven't had the chance to sit and blog. But I was starting to miss it and so here I am...

I had the chance to spend about two weeks with Calista down in H-town and we had a great time. I haven't laughed so hard, cooked so much yummy food, hung out, shadowed someone at work daily, had a running partner, and even just sitting in silence was enjoyable. I had to soak it all up because soon I will be joining the corporate world again and back to the 8-5p grind. I am definitely looking forward to it but I must get re acclimated to the schedule.

On my way back from Houston there was a tractor trailer truck that was two cars in front of me and his entire wheel came off and barely missed my car and when I passed him a crap ton of brake fluid sprayed all over my car, so after a good run this morning and some errands I hand washed the car in the driveway. It was a workout for sure but I have definitely missed washing my car by myself. Such a feeling of accomplishment.

I guess I have one more weekend to enjoy before I become a weekend warrior again... here's some photos of this past week/end...

Calista hosted a Pampered Chef party and it was so much fun and of course she had a craft for all us girls to do...Painting wine glasses is super fun and a great party gift!

My Favorite Flower

For that time when you want to class up your football game

 The weather was great this past weekend...Definitely feeling like fall is starting to sneak in...My all time fave season!

Me and Petey enjoying some back porch sittin'

Calista is one party planner and adventurous cook. Friday friends came over and we did ribs and potatoes on the grill and some ranch style beans.

Scribs!!! So tender and yummy...bake first then grill

 I'm envious of her Keurig machine and she was sweet enough to make me some pumpkin spice latte.

Perfect start to the fall

All in all a great weekend and ready for one last more before the real world swallows me up whole. What's on your schedule for the weekend!? 

Cheers, Nelly

Next Stop?

I have a friend that has always commented on how much I travel as a young person that she never did and how it seems I am always on the go...thus blog name. There are definitely times where I love to sit at home and do nothing, or just have a low key weekend, I could be considered a home-body. But I for sure love to travel and see new places and experience new things. I don't have any big travel plans booked or planned coming up...what a shame...so I have been thinking of where to go to next...

Maybe to a beach in the Caribbean...

photo from google images

Maybe to the hill country of Texas during fall...

photo www.westphaliaisd.org

Maybe a quick trip to Vegas...

google images

Or lastly what I have been thinking about lately is a girls trip to wine valley in California...

image www.prweb.com

Where's your next stop on the map??

Cheers, Nelly

Sister Week Get Away

This past week I have been spending time with my sister Calista; she blogs over at CalistaRose ... you definitely should go check her out.

I was so excited to be able watch some Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football...and this was American style football...I absolutely LOVE football season, both college and professional. Football is the start to Fall and it's my favorite time of year.

I've been riding along with her during the day while she works and everyone comments about how much we look alike. Today we drove up to Brenham Texas, walked through their small historic downtown, ate lunch at Must Be Heaven and had an amazing pimento BLT sandwich...TO DIE FOR! Brenham is also the home to Bluebell Creameries...only the best ice cream ever created in the universe! We took a tour of the production plant and of course sampled at the end.

Chocolate Peanut Butter...Only way to go

See we look nothing alike... :)

We also have been getting our training in for the half marathon we are running in November...a good run and some bike riding with a side of dog walking. Calista is also a great cook and she makes a killer salad...be jealous. 

My longest run to date

I'd pay good money for that salad

That's Petey the cutest basset hound ever

Hope you all had a great Hump Day...it's almost the weekend! 

Cheers, Nelly

Just on the go...

I tell ya it's true when I say I am always on the go...

I am currently back in the hot and wonderful Texas! Geez I missed this country..err I mean state!

I haven't been back long and my inner clock is still a little off. The flight over I watched three movies and slept a little. I tried to push through the day and stay up late in hopes to bypass jet lag...well I am still dealing with it a bit. Last night I went to bed at 9p. I am a night owl and I am generally pretty good in the mornings too. Hopefully after tonight I will be reset. 

Cheers, Nelly

Addiction

I have a confession, I may need to attend some type of anonymous group, maybe even a rehab center...

I AM ADDICTED TO CARROTS AND HUMMUS.

Seriously yal I have always enjoyed hummus but recently carrots and hummus are just my thing, my craving. Carrot sticks are carrot batons here in London and hummus is spelled houmous. 

I may have eaten a bag of carrots in a day...or did I?! 

Yal have a great weekend. Do something spontaneous and fun and out of the norm. We are planning to go to a beach tomorrow by train.

Cheers, Nelly

Weekend Rewind...Carnival Style

What a weekend!! It was full of spontaneity and new experiences. Told yal I would find some hidden gems...

Friday was a just a normal day, started with a run in Hyde Park with the Mr and because I can't keep up with his sprint style running we did our own thing but when we needed to meet back up it was like a scavenger hunt...texting each other what landmarks we were near...it was fun. I planned to try chicken tikka masala from the recommendation of Calista and it was awesome! There is a Masala Zone restaurant just a couple blocks from the flat.

Later in the evening we thought we should try out the clubbing scene of London...Ibiza style. We went to Pacha which is a satellite club from the original in Ibiza. We had fun but it was just not the same. 

Saturday was cool and rainy all day. We went to a new market that was covered, Covent Garden Market. It was different, more so a craft market. I had read online there was an Italian festival going on in the same area...um, don't believe everything you read on the internet...Thanks Mr. Al Gore. No festival in sight...

What we did find was the most-amazing-mouthwatering-scrumptious-finger-licking-goodness SOUTHERN KITCHEN!!! Joe's Southern Kitchen and Bar was a gem! I ate way too much but it was absolutely out of this world yumo! 

All the details were perfect reflection of the South

We started the meal with some coq n' balls...fried chicken and monterrey jack cheese...CHEESE PLEASE!

That homemade hot sauce was phenomenal! 

I drooled all over that menu trying to decide what to order and I finally settled on the coq of the week. 

Bacon salt!?!? What?? 

That's a masterpiece of food art

As if that wasn't enough to throw me into a coma we had to try the pecan pie with Jim Beam whipped cream.

That pecan pie had class

And that my friends is how you clean your plate

We did walk around the market for a little bit before heading back to the flat for a much need nap. 

Covent Garden Market

Who needs flower pots when you have pianos?!

Sunday we woke up and the Notting Hill Carnival was in full swing. It is the largest festival in it's kind within Europe. Over a million people were expected to attend and I think about half of them were walking pass the flat. We read that Sunday was the children's day of the Carnival and thus decided to just get out of town for the afternoon. Prior to coming to London we watched the reality show The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE). It is based on some young 20-somethings and their daily lives in Brentwood. It is only about 45 mins away and some of the stars have boutiques in the small town...so why not!? We ate lunch at Taratino Italian Restaurant and I had fresh tomato soup that was delish and of course ended the meal with some tiramisu. 

The infamous Sugar Hut club of TOWIE

Seriously it was such a quiet, quaint, sweet town...nice change! 

Went to Lucy's Boutique and of course found a purse

Sunday ended with some fun people watching with Carnival patrons making their way back to where ever they came from...it was absolutely entertaining. Yesterday was a bank holiday so I think more adults attended the Sunday events even though it was declared the children's day. We thought we would see what it was all about during lunch when the Mr had a little break from work. WOW! ... that's all I kept saying. It was so fun! 

The parade lasted from 10a-7p

Lots of beautiful costumes

Even the flats were having a good time

Mount Gay Rum!! Reminded me of our honeymoon...wanted one but didn't.

The amount of trash was horrendous! There were no trash bins anywhere.

So folks that was our weekend in rewind, lots of good eating and fun times...now on to the eight loads of laundry that keep screaming at me! I'll show them who's boss!

Cheers, Nelly

British Museum

Yesterday was just a blah rainy cloudy day in London. I decided later in the afternoon that it would be perfect to go to the British Museum and wander around...I think the entire UK had the same idea. I was able to only really walk through about three rooms in an hour...Egypt, Mexico, Southwestern America..

The entrance of the museum is pretty cool in itself

This dude had a bad shave and could use some rhinoplasty

The Crystal Skull has some unique history. It was thought to be from the Aztec area created not by man; the British Museum purchased it from Tiffany and Co of New York in the late 1800's and recently after research it is from Europe and made by man. Still a pretty cool piece. But can we say "Fooled ya!!"

I guess we all have our good sides, huh? 

That's just too much work for a mummy

Not real sure what this was besides a witch riding a grasshopper, a skeleton over earth and the
devil just hanging out on the sidelines. 

Yal have a great Friday and a happy weekend. I plan to find cool hidden sites to share with ya Monday. 

Cheers, Nelly