The Only Way is Dogs.

The Vine, Brentwood
Slug & Lettuce, Brentwood
Sugar Hut, Brentwood
ExCeL Centre, New Ham


     Wow! I can't believe I'm at the stage where I've been doing too much to keep up with my posts. I have had a roller coaster of emotions the past 2 weeks, but I really can't complain because things seems to be working themselves out. It just shows me how great of a support system I have on both sides of the pond. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to ask how we are and to offer advice. But anyway back to the good stuff..

     Last weekend I had two special outings on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday I had gone out with my lovely cousin Emily to Brentwood, in Essex. Her and I, and a bunch of Sam's other female relatives are mildly obsessed with the reality TV show The Only Way Is Essex. The show is about a group of 20 something year olds living in Essex and all their drama in the group. Similar to Laguna Beach or The Hills, for those of you in the States. So Brentwood is there big going on area on TOWIE, so Emily and I thought we would give it a shot a see what all the fuss is about at these popular spots. 

     I'm going to try to paint a picture of the type of people who go out in this area. Lets just say most of them are a different type of breed of human. Walking around these bars were like being in a plastic surgery convention. The women/girls (because a lot of them were 18 years old possibly younger) were decked out to the max. It was like going to the Bronx Zoo and seeing the wild peacocks walk around with their feathers stretched out and strutting down the walkways. As you can imagine Emily and I felt a bit out of place. I should also probably explain that if you don't know me well, I'm a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers kinda girl. And although Sam would say otherwise I don't spend loads of time doing my hair and makeup. But for this occasion I made much more of an effort than usual.... I even wore heels. Most of the women there were dressed in stilettos and dresses that contained more sequence than a craft store. And if you weren't wearing some type of animal print then you were not worthy of eye contact. 

     The first bar we stopped at was The Vine, which was super crowded and more of a 18-23 year old vibe. The music was great but as the minutes ticked by we began to feel more and more like sardines in a can. This is where I found myself stating the most age identifying quote I have ever said. "The music is so loud in here and I'd really just like to sit dow with my drink." WHO AM I?!?! After our 1 drink there, Emily and I quickly learned this would not be our spot for the night. So our next location was just a few doors down at the ever popular chain of Slug & Lettuce. Not the most appetising name to me but it was miles better than The Vine for us. This was because A. I could now hear myself think. B. The crowd age was a bit more appropriate. C. 2 FOR 1 DRINKKSSSSSS!! I don't know why but whenever I am in one of the Slug & Lettuce bars I find myself gravitating towards a porn star martini (classic TOWIE drink not such a great name). Since this was my first big outing really since living in London I tend to forget that I am in a foreign country and I am the one with the accent. When Emily and I were waiting in the bathroom line a girl overheard me and quickly spun around to ask "OMG where are you from?!" when I replied there was a shrieking sound as one of the girls lifted up her skirt to show my her New York City tattoo on her thigh (because obviously when you meet a stranger this is an approbate thing to do!). Luckily this girl had actually been to NYC and gushed about how much she loved it. As we made our escape out of the bathroom Emily and I made plans for our next spot to go to. 
https://www.thevinebrentwood.com            https://www.slugandlettuce.co.uk/brentwood

              Although we were enjoying ourselves at S&L this wasn't the spot me and Emily had dressed up for, no we were going for the mecca of the TOWIE themed night. We were determined to end our girls night out at Sugar Hut. This bar/lounge/club/restaurant has been featured on the show probably every other episode. So we were hoping that we would find ourselves bumping into a few of the TOWIE stars. As we queued up to get in Emily and I started to get chatted up by two guys waiting in front of us. We got to talk and they began to ask us the usual chat up questions, where are you from, what do you do, are you single. When I replied that I was married one of the guys jumped back with "If you're married then why are you out?" to which I replied "I'm not dead". It only got worse when he then asked how old we were and made a face of disgust and said "shouldn't you be having babies or something" OUCH! But once we learned their age of 22 and 23 years old, Emily was definitely not interested and we got to enjoy the rest of our girls night. Being inside Sugar Hut was like walking through a maze, every turn was a different room with more bars and DJs. There was even a lounge area with only couches in the room! (I don't know why it excited me so much, probably the fact that I was wearing heels and was in need of a break from being on my feet). We really enjoyed this place the most since it had a little bit of everything bar, club, and lounge. They even have an outdoor seating area (much appreciated when it got way too hot inside). But although we enjoyed that spot the most, I can't say that this would be our new hang out spot. That and we didn't even spot any TOWIE stars. Well at least I don't think so as I thought one had passed by but Emily didn't see her so it could have just been my eager imagination playing tricks on me. I think next time we'll stick to a daytime visit and try out their restaurant. 
http://sugarhutbrentwood.com

     The next day Sam and I spent some time at the Discover Dogs show at the ExCeL Centre in London. This for me was like walking into the pearly gates of dog heaven, for Sam not so much. There were two major reasons why I wanted to go to this event. 1. Dogs. Need I say more? 2. Sam and I will hopefully in the nearish future be getting a little pup of our own. Because Sam has never owned a dog, and I have had 3 since the age of 9, I thought it would be a good way for him to explore different types of dogs to see what he would like to get. At this dog show they had more than 100 types of pooches there. I told you, literally dog heaven. From A to W (not all breeds were present) they had almost every kind of dog you could imagine. Each booth had the type of dog for that letter and information packets on the characteristics of the breed. They also had booths on puppy training, medical care, and adoption centres in the area. I don't know why but I assumed because we were going on a Sunday afternoon that there wouldn't be that many people going. I was so very very wrong. The place was packed out and it made it super hard to get to every booth to see the dogs. This is actually Sam's nightmare when going anywhere, so he stayed back while I squeezed my way through the crowds to get a chance to pet as many dogs as possible. While we were there we also got to watch the agility contest (where the dogs jump through hoops and run through tunnels on an obstacle course). That was something neither of us had ever experienced and the trainers were the most serious looking people. They were doing warm ups with out the dogs running through and practicing their hand motions. Watching it was absolutely hilarious. I'm all about being competitive but looking at it seemed a bit excessive.

     Every person that I had the chance to speak with working at the booths were the actual owners of the dogs in the area. So for the breeds I really wanted I got a good idea of what training, caring, and maintaining for that type of pup would be like. Sam and I left there with the top four different breeds to get of a miniature schnauzer, Irish terrier, Welsh terrier, and Jack Russel. Since then I think we have narrowed our 4 down to 2 with the Welsh terrier and miniature schnauzer. This is because they are the most well tempered, easy to train and maintain small breed of dogs. The day really was a success because it gave us a better idea of what to expect and really what we were looking for when the time comes. I highly suggest doing something like this if you are looking into buying a dog. I really learned a lot on what to look for if we go through a breeder or even through a rescue centre. They hold this expo every year so will definitely look into going again, maybe even have our own pooch with us!
https://www.discoverdogs.org.uk

A bump in the road...

   
     Last week was a crazy busy week so apologises for not being so regular with my postings. But I've got a few posts coming within the next few days because I've done a bunch of exciting things I'd like to share. To catch you up a bit on whats going on. Since being here I have applied for a spouse visa so that I can start actually settling into my new home. If getting all the paperwork sorted and providing enough information wasn't hard enough, Sam and I unfortunately received a rejection notice from the U.K government for my visa. So what does that mean now? Well it means that hefty application fee we had to pay goes right into the pocket of the government and we basically have to start the application process all over again. That's the nice version of it.

     After being extremely down and frustrated we looked into getting a solicitor because clearly we had missed something. The hard thing is that we actually did nothing wrong on paper. We filled out the forms correctly and provided a lot of information. We even sent them our bank statements with highlights of where I was getting paid regularly from the Department of Education. The solicitor told us that basically the people who work for granting visas only accept a bare minimum of ways information is presented to them. Basically we needed to provide original pay slips as opposed to bank statements. Which is ridiculous because they show the exact same thing! The most annoying part was that because of the lack of information on the government websites and the information and vague information we received on the few phone calls that we had with employees to make sure that we had everything we needed, it still wasn't presented to us fully. The major reason of the rejection of my visa was that I wasn't actually allowed to apply for the visa while being in the UK. Which also does not make any sense to me.

     So now what will happen is I will have to return to New York for potentially 6-8 weeks submit my application while there and stay until it is granted. The unfortunate part of that is since I won't be leaving until November 20th (we booked flights for thanksgiving thinking I would have my visa by now) it leaves the possibility of not being with Sam for the holidays and being apart for a long period of time. The situation is very bittersweet because on the one hand I'll be home with my family and friends and be back in my home state of New York, but on the other hand I'll be worried about my visa being granted and know that my life in the U.K isn't progressing how I had planned. I really thought by now I would be starting my career in the UK as a teacher (that the country is in desperate need of). It's just a very confusing and frustrating process, especially when you're in a obvious legitimate relationship and just want to start your life together. We expected it all to go smoothly with the visa since Sam and I did all the paperwork for his visa in New York on our own and it was granted (although the process takes MUCH longer).

     We're choosing to stay on the positive side of things and just looking at this as another bump in the road to us getting the life we've planned for one another. I'm looking at it as a massive vacation in New York to do the things that I have always wanted to do without having the amount of free time that I will have now. I'd like to plan some trips to my friend on the West Coast, blog about my favourite places in Astoria Queens and spend some much needed time with my family and finally get to meet my little nugget niece for the first time.

     I really hope that in writing this post I have given people a little insight to what it's like to have a international relationship and even though Sam and I put on a good face and look like we're always happy, we do have our struggles. Although it may not be with each other it is with the life that we share. I also hope that maybe someone who is reading this will be in a similar situation and get some information on how to go about getting their visa the right way without having to sell a kidney on the black market to pay for all of the ridiculous fees. Although it will be hard for me and Sam to be apart for so long at least we know that when I return to London we will have everything sorted and FINALLY be able to begin an actual life in our new home.

Let's give em' pumpkin to talk about...

The Cutting Crew, Pimlico

Foxes Farm Produce, Basildon

The Coach & Horses, Woodbridge

It’s officially the end of the first month of starting this blog. So I really want to start this post by saying a massive thank you to anyone reading this right now. It’s because of you that I have been enjoying this process so much. With more than 3,500 views to date on the site and over 200 reads on every post, it has already exceeded any expectations that I’ve had for it. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the support and the messages I’ve received of questions about the places I’ve been to. It makes me so incredibly happy to know that I have people reading what I am writing and actually liking it. It’s been a dream so far so I’m excited to see where else this crazy thing will take me to. 

Make sure that you’re following me along daily on Instagram at @coles_ and and/or on Twitter     @NY2LDN to see what I am up to!

So as for this week it was a bit of a low key one. Just lots of walking around exploring the Westminster area. I even took the long way home one night just to get more acquainted with walking through Central London. During sunset was the perfect time to do it. Literally anywhere along the Thames is a sure bet for a great picture and beautiful views. If you’re in the Westminster area, Ebury Street has some incredible store fronts decorated with fall themed flowers. It’s actually not far from Peggy Porschen Cakes, (the place I went to in my previous post) that also has a stunning store front.

I also did a bit of pampering this week as I’ve been absolutely craving to do something different with my hair, since I haven’t dyed it since well before the wedding. So of my discoveries this week I’ve found the Treat Well app which basically tell you the best spots for all types of services for men, women, and even children. There I found the highly rated Cutting Crew chain of hair salons. I visited the salon that’s on Warwick Way, in Pimlico. Absolutely loved it! They gave me exactly what I wanted. I had the mini friend with me for a haircut too and they were very accommodating to the both of us. They gave us beverages and snacks while we waited and got our hair done. I opted for a caramel colored balayage. It took some time to adjust to so much color in my hair at first but I am really loving it now. Needless to say I’ve now found my go to hair salon in London.

http://novelhairstudio.net

Sam and I’s outing this weekend was to Foxes Produce Farms out in Basildon, Essex. Although the weather felt like summer, we did the most fall activity there is.. PUMPKIN PICKING! If you haven’t gotten the picture yet, I’m a tad obsessed with them, and the entire autumn season really. So much so that Sam even made me a cornucopia from cardboard boxes and some rope. Super impressive and he really made my Nintendo Game Boy decoration for his birthday, look like a kids project. His cornacopia now goes perfectly with all of our mini pumpkins and corn we picked!

We really enjoyed ourselves on the farm. We were equipped with a wheelbarrow and ready to find the perfect patch. (The wheelbarrow also made for the most impressive camera stool) There were kids everywhere, as it really was a great day to get out with the family. Pumpkin picking has to be one of the most fall type of activities you can do in America. Apart from apple picking and drinking warm cider with some cider doughnuts (UGH I miss it). But here in England I don't think many people have really done it before. And if you've been on Instagram at all this week and you're American its basically taken over your entire feed this weekend. Lucky for anyone who follows me and doesn't have many other American friends, you'll get your fair share of pumpkin picking pictures. Complete with flannel wearing and boots. This specific farm also had hayrides, a food stand, and an ice cream truck! (Which is usually would be weird but on a day that it's in the 70's was ideal). That's where I had my first ever 'flake' in my ice cream cone. It's basically like a stick made of swirls of chocolate. Very enjoyable and I wish I had a picture to put up of it buttt unfortunately with it being so hot, and me having a ginormous sweet tooth, it didn't last very long. Foxes Farm has a lot of upcoming events for the Halloween season, complete with a spooky hayride and corn maze. They even have an upcoming mud run, that I may just have to look into. The farm had guides up for picking the right pumpkins, the specific types of pumpkins you can find (I had no idea there was more than one!), and loads of those head cutouts that you can take pictures out. Even though there were a lot of people at the farm, the fields are massive so you don't have to feel crammed in one location with everyone.
https://www.foxesfarmproduce.co.uk

I had no idea there were blue and black pumpkins, I thought this just meant that they were mouldy!

 
We finished off our weekend with a visit to my brother and sister in law's house. We went to the nearby town of Woodbridge, Suffolk. As it was me and Sam's first time in town we were really excited to see what it was all about. It has a lot of small shops, as well as a small cinema that does a 3 course meal during the viewings (sounds like a perfect date night to me!). We settled in at Coach and Horses pub, that is part of the Deben Inn, for an early dinner. It was super delish! Probably the best pub food I have ever eaten. It's not all the basic pub food you would find in most places since it also had a salmon and prawn risotto which I ate ever last bite of. The staff was friendly and there was loads of seating inside and out. We opted for the outside seating area, since we knew it would probably be the last weekend that we could eat outdoors before the start of the really cold weather. I fully enjoyed it for the views and all the dogs that came through with their owners for an early Saturday night drink. I really cant't wait to hang out here more and get to visit more of the local restaurants.
http://www.debeninns.co.uk/coachandhorses/

As for this upcoming weekend, I've got loads going on and I really can't wait to share!

Big Moths and Flowers and Cakes, Oh My!

London Zoo, Camden

Covent Garden Market, Covent Garden

Miller & Carter -Newbury Park, Ilford

Peggy Porsche Cakes, Chelsea

Hamilton Hall, Liverpool Street Station

Another weekend well spent in London. This week I’ve been lucky enough to get to hang out in the Chelsea and Kensington areas. Which are absolutely gorgeous! If you’ve been on my Instagram page you can see the extravagant apartment buildings I pass everyday on my walk from the tube. I started caring for a little American girl who is in London with her dad for business for the next 2 months. I get to bring her all around the city to help her experience all London has to offer while she’s here. Which is the perfect match for me since Sam is back to work and I’m trying to get more acquainted with my new home. It’s basically like she is my mini friend that I get to hang out with every day. And she is a trooper that is up for pretty much anything. 

So since fall is in full swing here in London and the weather has been simply amazing I’ve been taking advantage of everything I can do outdoors. On Thursday my mini friend and I headed to Camden to check out the London Zoo. BEWARE: that walk from Camden Town train station to the zoo was no joke with the little one. (It’s about a mile) But of course it was worth it because the zoo is a great day out. Currently they have the world’s biggest moth on display in the butterfly paradise tent. I mean this thing was actually the size of my head! The people who work at the zoo are so helpful because once they see you’re into something they come over and give you facts about the animals. One of the guys working in the butterfly tent told me and my mini friend how this moth only lives a week! Which at this rate I’m sure his time is up so RIP biggest moth in the world. A few of the other exhibits are the same in that you walk through these big plastic curtains and into an area where you have all these different wild animals walking, running, and even flying around. Although it really boggles my mind that more people don’t get hurt/ crazy people don’t put a lemur in their purse and walk off. (Especially because there are these really cute monkeys with mustaches that I really want to smuggle home to have as a pet!) Going to the zoo is a good time for kids and adults I think. Sam had brought me there one of the first times I came to visit and it was a really good date day activity. 

https://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo

On Friday I continued to take full advantage of the weather and took a walk through Covent Gardens market with the little one in toe. The real treat was the fresh fall flowers that were covering every restaurant in the market, as well as some vibrant coloured dresses made from flowers. If you walk through the main section of big name stores like Danielle Wellington, Atelier, and The East India Company, you’ll find the row of these dresses made from exotic looking flowers. Now I’m not the biggest fan of flowers but when they’re made into something that beautiful, they’ve served a good purpose. I was even lucky enough to meet one of the creators of these beautiful dresses and he was nice enough to cut off a few of the big flowers in the display and give us one. On our walk around I even noted some of the stands in the market carried all candy from the US ♥️🇺🇸. It also has loads of stands for touristy purchases like the classic London keychains, sweatshirts and Harry Potter t-shirt. 
https://www.coventgarden.london/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gmb

Later that night I got to celebrate the hub’s big 3-0 birthday at one of his favorite steak joints Miller & Carter in Newberry Park, locally known as The Dick Turpin. That’s out in Essex if you ever venture beyond the city borders. I ordered far too much for sides because the table was completely covered. But really 🤤 just thinking about all that delicious food we had makes my mouth water. 

https://www.millerandcarter.co.uk/restaurants/london/millerandcarternewburypark#

And finally to round out the fun weekend I had, yesterday I ventured with my mother-in-law Pat to Peggy Porches Cake shop in Chelsea for some afternoon tea. The weather was unfortunately not that wonderful as it rained ALL day, but we figured the cakes would be worth the wait (all 70 minutes of it). And they really were! So if you plan on going here on the weekend don’t make the rookie mistake that we did and make sure it’s an early tea sesh (before 1) or after 5, as we waited in what I like to call the eye of the storm. The staff there really are the sweetest (pun intended) as they served us hot beverages, gave out blankets, and even umbrellas to all the people waiting. Just the exterior of the cake shop is worth the visit, as it’s seasonally decorated archway is an insta worthy pic. I mean literally every person who passed by the pink building took a quick picture in the doorway. There was even a professional shoot going on for a while. I have to say although our wait wasn’t the most pleasant of times because of the rain it really was worth it. The cupcakes were UNREAL in look and taste. And guess what flavor they had?! Yep that’s right, PUMPKIN!!! They get it  🧡🎃.  And now that we’ve been there once and had the experience of eating inside, I’m now smarter for it. Next time I will definitely be just stopping in to grab some treats to go at the counter and eating them in the comfort of my own home (or really on the train ride because it would be hard to wait that long). 

https://www.peggyporschen.com

Since I live on the honesty train, After having 2 cupcakes and some macaroons we left the cake shop feeling wellllll hungry for some dinner. Because to be fair we skipped right over lunch and dinner straight into dessert at the shop. But Pat and I were really in favor of a savory meal. Since it was getting late we decided to stop for a bite at one of our usual spots in Liverpool street station, Hamilton Hall.  This place is always heaving at any time of day since it’s conveniently located just above the TFL platforms. Which is why it’s usually on my list of places to stop for 1 last drink or a quick bite to eat. Yesterday was no exception as most of the people in Hamilton Hall were dressed up in German beer fest attire most likely ending the night with one last pint. And as for me and Pat sitting there with our cheeseburgers and Prosecco had us feeling like this was the perfect end to a perfect day. 

https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/london/hamilton-hall-city-of-london