It's been a long, I shouldn't have left with... (if you know you know)

New York, New York
Nashville, Tennessee
Long Island, New York

It's been far too long since my last post, but it was because of a whirlwind of events the last few month!

Since April, Sam and I started a petition for my return to the UK, and with an unimaginable amount of signatures and exposure from Time 107.5 FM radio station in Romford, we quickly got a response from immigration. And the best part was that I actually received an apology from the immigration officer I spoke to.

It turned out that I was rejected by mistake the second time we applied for my visa from the US. The officer who viewed our application failed to check with the reasoning for our first application rejection (only rejected because we applied when I was still in the UK). The second rejection was because the officer determined Sam and I's relationship to not be genuine (yes I know, absolutely laughable). The month of May was an absolute celebration with Sam coming over to visit me in New York, and finding out together that I would be back in the UK in the following weeks. I spent loads of time with family and friends and just in complete eagerness to put the last 6 months of misery behind me.

In all the stress of the 6 months being stuck in New York, I learned a lot about myself (lots to time to reflect on life). Mostly the fact that I don't always deal with things in the best way. I looked back at my time in New York, and although I did some amazing things and traveled a bit, on the down time I wasn't taking care of myself. Major stress is not something I had ever really had to deal with, so I never really understood how to cope with it then. It felt like my life was taking huge steps backwards. But now I feel as though a massive weight has been lifted and I can settle into my life. I have a new appreciation for the time I have in my life, and what I do/who I fill it with.

When I got back to London in May, I started the application process to begin teaching. The paperwork took longer than I ever anticipated. I mean I actually had to go and get ink fingerprints done and send them off to the FBI as part of the background check. It was an intense process that basically has taken up to this week to finish up. So unfortunately I was unable to start teaching for the duration of the school year, but luckily the agency I am working with has been incredibly helpful and caring to my situation.

 

It really felt as though everything was beginning to fall into place. I had three really great opportunities come my way for this fall (one including a reality tv show). I was able to take a couple mini getaways to Scotland (to see the Spice Girls), and Germany (for a potential job opportunity). It just felt so nice to have options and thinking about the future.

 

I was only back in London for 2 months before it was time to head back to New York for more celebrations with family and friends. It was satisfying to know that it would just be a visit, and there wasn't any pressure of dealing with immigration on the way back. I landed in New York and a couple days later I was straight off to Nashville for my bestie's bachelorette party. Flew Back to New York for my niece's first birthday party, got to see a lot of friends in the weeks between, and ended the month with my other bestie's wedding, and Sam and I's 2 year wedding anniversary.

I am beyond ready to see what the next few months back in London will have in store for me. But most of all I am very eager to start my career after A YEAR of unemployment.

There is certainly lots more to come!

Yeah I'm with her...

City Winery, NYC

     With all of this immigration nonsense going on I was annoyed that I missed out on getting tickets to see Kaitlyn Bristowe’s spring break live podcast tour (because who would have thought I would still be in New York come March!?) Any of my friends can tell you how obsessed I am with KB. She was once the bachelorette on ABC and is now running a ridiculous amount of businesses including a podcast, scrunchie line, and apparently upcoming vocal artist? So on the day of the show last week, I saw that Kaitlyn had posted on her Dew Edit page (name of her scrunchie company) about that nights live show in the city. I figured I’d post a comment about my disappointment of not being able to go to the show, hoping for a miracle that she would magically just want to invite me or someone would have a ticket they were selling. What happened next was something I couldn't ever imagine occurring.

      As I send out this post I see that Kaitlyn (or whoever runs the Dew Edit page) likes my comment. I start scrolling through the other comments seeing if anyone is selling, when all of a sudden I see a post from another fan who had no idea this event was even going on and was desperate to go. She was also searching for a single ticket, and got a reply from a girl who said that she had 2 tickets to sell because she was unable to go to the show herself. Tickled with delight for myself and this possible opportunity I quickly typed in that I would take a spare ticket because I was flying solo if I went (because my friends are not as obsessed as I am, and rightfully so). The girl agrees to sell me one of her tickets and Corinne (the other fan searching for a ticket) the other spare. All of a sudden I start thinking the worst, like what if this is a scam? This is just way too good to be true, and she only wanted the amount she paid for the ticket! I’m not as trusting of the internet as most so I start messaging Corinne and the girl (Jeneva) who was selling the ticket. I express my concerns to Corinne about buying the ticket from a stranger while also expressing to Jeneva my interest in buying, without sounding too eager (which I was SOO EAGER!). Corinne had said that Jeneva had already sent her the ticket without even paying her yet so she was all on board. Once I exchanged emails with Jeneva and saw she had also already sent me the ticket my worries faded and I knew that this was just meant to happen. I should also mention that this was a mere 4 hours before the show was starting which meant I had to be ready to leave to get into the city in 2 hours (also meant that I would have to wash my hair that night, and that’s a major process).

     By the time I knew it I was all jazzed up and on my way into the city. Excited was an understatement to how I felt, I had nervous sweats and everything from the anticipation of seeing the show and wondering where my seats would be. When I got to City Winery (the venue for the show) I was pleasantly surprised that it was an intimate crowd (probably around 100 or less people, and mostly females). I didn’t have to wait online very long before getting inside, since I was spot on with my timing getting there as soon as the doors opened. What I thought was strange was that they didn’t even ask to look at my ticket! The guy merely just asked for the last name that the ticket was under and a girl ushered me over to my seat. That’s really when the magic happened. I was just feeling lucky enough to get a ticket last minute so it really would not have mattered to me where I was sitting but as I was following this girl to my seat she passed through the back all the way up to the middle section of the stage and 3^rd table in!! WHATTTT I couldn’t believe my luck just then, not only did this happen only a few hours before but the seats were literally up next to the stage.
https://citywinery.com/newyork/

     Of course I ended up buying some exclusive to the tour merchandise before getting settled into my seat at the show. Corinne still hadn’t showed up and I was beginning to think she was going to be late, until only a few minutes before the show she was escorted over to the seat next to me. She had explained that she had been there from the beginning, and the girl seating people had put her at the wrong table all the way in the back of the room. We quickly hit it off and chatted about everything KB and bachelor. We already knew that KB was bringing her new boyfriend Jason Tartick, who I have been asked by a lot of people who know my love for KB how I feel about them together. I was open to giving them a fair shot since I would be seeing them in person together and really see how they interact. For me it was very weird to just see her with anyone but Shawn, who I had also met back in December of 2017 when I had dragged Sam to her Broadway show that was a Christmas concert.

     So Brandi Cryrus (Miley’s sister) comes out and starts pumping the crowd up djing and the show is ready to start. It gets quickly underway and right into some of the topics KB usually hits on her podcast. They do their confessional (admit something embarrassing they have done), bring out Jason’s brother and brother in law, sing karaoke, and got into an intense game of rock paper scissor with a fan. It was a great show in that they were super interactive with the crowd. People were yelling things up at them and they would just talk right back and incorporate it into the conversation. There was also A LOT of sexual conversation which at this point I’m sure was mostly triggered by the large consumption of alcohol on stage and the crowd of mostly single girls swooning over Jason. There were even a few digs about KB’s ex fiancé, Shawn Booth, that I was not a fan of. I don’t think bad talking your ex is cool to do in any situation, especially to a crowd of people that are easily influenced by what you do, but again was probably because of the alcohol consumption that they really laid into him. But the show was playful and they even did a FaceTime session with Kaitlyn’s mom who is also hilarious!

     I was super thankful for the intermission after 2 hours of the show going on (I was not expecting it to be so long so I was really feeling like I got my money’s worth!) because after 2 glasses of wine I was in dire need of a ladies room break. On the line I got chatting to a girl named Brooke who was the sweetest human. We chatted about the show and back story to how we got tickets. She was in a similar situation getting tickets last minute to the show and was surprising her sister who recently went through a bad break up (I told you she was sweet). We exchanged Instagram handles as we parted ways and got ready for the second half of the show. Since there was still a bit of time left I figured I would go grab one last glass of wine at the bar to hold me over till the end of the show. That’s when I met another very nice human who offered to order my drink for me since the bartenders were way understaffed and she had been waiting for a while. We ended up chatting and when our drinks were finally served we put our money in together and she ended up having to Venmo (transfer money app) to me to make it even. I was thinking to myself where else in the world could you be this trusting of other humans? And why was everyone so nice?!? It was on another level of girl power (that sounds lame but I can’t think of any other way to describe it!) There was no cattiness with each girl, we were all just there for a good time. Going to this show was like being with 100 people who have the same kind of personality as you because how can you not if you’re a fan of Kaitlyn who is laid-back, funny, and kind to everyone.

     The end of the show comes around I shout out to Jason for a quick selfie and then I opened the flood gates because all of a sudden I was trapped in between chairs and couldn’t move. When the Off the Vine (name of the podcast) cast finally went off the stage people were flying out of there to catch cabs and get trains home. But Corinne and I are standing there slowly putting on out coats while she was telling me she was going to try to get into the meet and greet. Although our tickets said premium you were supposed to pay another $50 ticket to get into the meet and greet. Corinne had said she talked to Brandi Cyrus at intermission and she told her to stick around for the meet and greet. I quickly jumped onto this band wagon because you know why not? What was the worst that could happen?

     Like a bat out of hell Corinne was forming her own line for the meet and greet and I was just in awe of how in charge she was. I push through the crowd telling people “yeah I’m with her” as she barricaded through people telling them to get out of the way. As we’re waiting on the line a woman who was running the event came over asking to see everyone’s wrist bands. As the few girls in front of us on line all lift their wrist to show their neon green wrist bands, I was thinking game over we’re out. But as quick as the woman asked us for ours Corinne spit out her story of Brandi Cyrus telling her to stay. To which the woman replied if you don’t have a ticket you can’t get in and she’d be back to check on us. I told Corinne how impressed I was that she was just so cool and confident talking to everyone that even I believed she was supposed to be in there. I told her to do all the talking since the honest human part of me was like "go home Nicole you’re not supposed to be on this line". But I stayed put with my new friend who had more lady balls than I did. She even chatted up the bouncer holding the line up in front of the door. When a guy came over from the meet and greet area asking us where our wrist bands were Corinne did her thing and he simply said how many of you and when we said it was just the 2 of us they ushered us in to go meet Kaitlyn, Jason, and Brandi. Que the biggest smile on my face with a hint of how the actual F did that just work.

     Now if this wasn’t magic enough, I was able to chat with KB for a hot minute telling her how much I loved the show and that I had met her on her final night on Broadway. She then replied F yeah and high fived me and I think I might have blacked out with happiness because of all the fan girling going on in my body. We said a quick hello and took a picture with Brandi Cyrus who admired my new mustard yellow scarf that my very talented mother in law had made for me. As we made our way through the cast we were directed to a table just before the exit where we pick up our party bag complete with MVMT sunglasses and scrunchie!!!!! Oh happy day, like a big in pooh I couldn’t stop squealing with excitement.

     

     With some of my new friends in toe we jumped in a cab on the way to Penn Station so I could catch the drunk train home. I said goodbye to Corinne and went on my way to the LIRR while she went opposite to the NJ transit. My happiness was so overwhelming I didn’t even mind being squished in between to very large KISS fans who had just come from the concert at MSG. And if there is anything to be learned from all of this it’s don’t be afraid to go places on your own because you just don’t know who you could meet and what could come of the night. I went from just sitting in the basement of my parents’ house picking out which show I would binge watch that night on Netflix to seeing a show of a podcast I love with my biggest style/life icon. I did it in Hollywood at Universal Studios and I did it in NYC. I’m now a firm believer in taking the opportunities given to you no matter by yourself or with a group. But by doing things on my own I get to meet new people, and I felt more approachable and comfortable talking to people when I wouldn’t usually do if I was with a group. It was seriously and insane night that was completely unexpected.

My new bad ass new friend Corinne 

The first time I met Kaitlyn December 2017

Kaitlyn's ex fiance Shawn Booth

Sky High in Colorado!

Colorado

Denver; First Draft Taproom & Kitchen, Finn’s Manor

Colorado Springs- Pleasant Valley: Garden of the Gods Park & Resort

Frisco; Outer Range Brew Co.,

Idaho Springs; Tommy Knocker Brewing

Steamboat Springs; Strawberry Park Hot Springs

Genesee Park; Buffalo Herd National Preserve

Red Rocks Park; Red Rocks Amphitheater

Lafayette; Stem Cider

Boulder; Amante Coffee, Pearl Street Mall,

Louisville; Waterloo

     Valentine’s Day wasn’t what I expected it to be this year, but turned out to be one of the best. Instead of being with Sam, one of my best friends Michelle flew me out to Colorado to go visit her in her new home state. This was my first time ever there and I can now see what all the fuss is about. There is a ridiculous amount of things to do and incredible scenery. It is honestly an active person’s dream place to live. People are always biking, hiking, snow shoeing, skiing, snowboarding, and trail running. I’m tired just thinking about it all.

     On the first night we ventured into Downtown Denver, where we had ourselves a delicious Mexican meal and extremely large margaritas (because if you’re single/not with your significant other on Valentine’s Day tequila is always helpful). If you know me you know I’m a bit of a beer snob, and so is Michelle which is one of the many reasons I love her. So us going to a brewery was definitely in the cards for the night and many other nights of the trip. We went to this place called First Draft Taproom and Kitchen and it is what beer lovers’ dreams are made of. It wasn’t a single brewery taproom but had multiple companies brands on tap from near and far. But the cool part about it is that you get this arcade looking plastic card that you tap above the beer you want and it keeps track of how many ounces you’ve drank and the cost of the pour (it’s also how you pay out at the end of the night). This is seriously genius because it means you never have to stand in front of a bar waiting to be served, you get to try every kind of beer (and a few selections of wine and cider) they have to offer without wasting a whole pour. Basically it’s like being in a taproom with all of your favorite breweries. If you’ve ever been to South Street Sea Port in NYC they do a similar looking pop up stand there. After First Draft we ventured not too far to Finn’s Manor. This place is known for their large selection of whiskey, so it would have been rude not to have at least one drink there before heading home. This bar has a great outdoor seating area with a large picnic style tables with a fire pit in the middle. Drinking at this table made me think this could be a huge fire hazard but I did love it since it was chilly out and was just the right touch to keep it cozy outside.

https://www.firstdraftdenver.com/

https://www.finnsmanor.co/

     The next day Michelle and I headed to Louisville quick for some breakfast before a hike at Garden of the Gods Park near Colorado Springs. Now this place is on another level of amazingness. It has these red rocks/mountain looking things that tower so high up it is just incredible to think how the heck they came about. Not to mention it is photographed on a daily basis and is an Instagram tourist spot. It is actually impossible to take a bad picture there, especially on the 60+ degree day that we were there. It was a bit windy so getting selfies took some patience. The scariest part about this beautiful place was all the beware of rattle snack signs along the trails. And even though I knew that it was still a bit too cold for rattle snacks to come out, I couldn’t help but keep a wary eye out ready to run for my life (or scream bloody murder) if I caught sight of one. There were also dogs EVERYWHERE which made the hike even more enjoyable. After out hike we stopped in Colorado Springs for a little shopping and a nice carbo loaded dinner at an Italian restaurant.

https://gardenofgods.com/

     The next morning we were off to Steamboat Springs to our Air BnB house, with the rest of our crew. But of course on the way up we thought we would break up the 3 hour drive by stopping at a brewery or two. Outer Range Brew Co. was our first stop and it was the land of skiers and snowboards and people who look way too cool for me to be around. This is one of the best breweries in the country (I’m not just saying that, it’s a fact) and I can now see why! They had such a good selection of beer and there wasn't anything there that I didn't enjoy. They also have some great merchandise which I had to have little souvenir from. And like all good breweries there were loads of pups hanging out. At a whopping 9,000+ feet up the beers went straight to your head. And just before we made it to the Steamboat Springs house we grabbed one more drink and some lunch at Tommy Knocker brewery. This place is located in the middle of an old mining town and the brewery pays tribute to that with its logo and decor in the building.

https://www.outerrange.com/

https://tommyknocker.com/

     So we finally arrive at the house and it is immaculate from the outside. Honestly it was by far the nicest house I have EVER stayed in! The property consisted of the main house (where the owners lived) and the smaller (yet still humongous house that we stayed in down the road). To paint a picture of the town for you, the area is just so massive with so much land that people named their own streets! This makes it hard to find on GPS but still so appropriate for some of the streets we drove past. This house had everything needed for a weekend away, complete with its own movie theater, arcade room (I’m talking the classics pinball, ski ball, basketball, air hockey), and incredible views of the mountains. This place was perfect for our group of 6 but easily sleeps 10 people! Even though it was about a 10 to 15 minute drive into town, Steamboat itself is a winter wonderland. They have a strip of shops, bars, and restaurants that were always lively at night and loads of winter activities. They say in the summer it is just as good because when all the ice melts they turn everything into water sports.

https://abnb.me/V687YeLPqV

 

     While we were in Steamboat Springs we were able to snow shoe, which if you haven’t done it but are very uncoordinated like myself, it is the best snow activity! It’s basically hiking with big shoes on that have metal grips so you don’t fall off the mountain. The higher up the trail we got the better the views were. We could actually see the whole town in front of us, it was really incredible. Everyone that we passed along the trail was super nice waving and smiling and giving a hello (which was a clear sign that they we were not in New York). One guy even gave us some tips about going to the hot springs which we had planned for later that night. The hot springs are basically a natural Jacuzzi that’s in the middle of the woods. It’s a big tourist spot for people who go to Steamboat. What we didn’t know was that after sunset was clothing optional (insert cheesing face emoji here). So before we hit the bumpy off road drive to the hot springs we of course had to stop for lunch and a beer at the local brewery.

https://www.mountaintapbrewery.com/

     When we finally get to the hot springs there were a ridiculous amount of people coming and going. They charged us $5 to get in and another $5 to buy a towel (which was really a wash cloth). So if you ever do go there I highly recommend bringing your own. For all of its creepiness of some people being naked it really was an awesome experience. Being in the middle of the woods I would have thought it would have been pitch black, but because there were so many stars out, it perfectly lit the sky up. Probably was a good thing that it was faint lighting for the nudists there. Which I should add that our group were not a part of. Another word of advice would be to get dressed in your bathing suite before going to the resort. Since it is super busy there and literally on the side of a mountain there isn't much room for buildings, so they only have a small wooden shack to get changed in (think of the part in Frozen when Anna and Sven need to stop for supplies in the forest). Thankfully we were able to get the section of the shack that had some curtains. I’m making it sound negative but maybe I was just a little scarred from the man who tripped on the stairs while getting out of the springs and we all got a view full of his royal jewels. It really was a one of a kind experience that I would hands down do again… just preferably in the day time.

https://www.colorado.com/videos/colorado-hot-springs-strawberry-park-steamboat-springs

     When we left Steamboat Springs we stopped by another popular tourist spot, the nature persevere for buffalo and also elk. It was a crazy thing to see because they all just got along and ate together in a big circle. There were loads of people up against the fence taking pictures of the animals. We also stopped by the Red Rocks amphitheater which was covered in snow. The amphitheater is like Colorado’s version of New York's MSG, all the big concerts take place there nestled in the middle of a mountain. All I could think of was how anyone could drive to the concert because they must have been stuck in traffic for hours on the way in and out (SINGLE LANES ONLY!).  But the stadium is beautiful with its mountain scenery. I would love to see a show there because I can only imagine how good the music must sound. That same day we also visited a Stem Cider Taproom and Grill. If you are a fan of ciders this is the place to go! They had so many interesting flavors to try. My favorites were the lavender and this other one that tasted like a hot toddy. Their kitchen was also impressive. Since I have been meat free it was a little harder to find something on the menu. I ended up going for the beet burger that honestly tasted like a regular hamburger but better! I really loved it and it made me appreciate my new pescaterian since it made me try new things I probably would have never gone for. But don’t even get me started on their French fries!!!!!! They were out of this world delicious and the dipping sauce uggh serious yum.

https://www.denver.org/listing/buffalo-herd-nature-preserve/4549/

https://www.redrocksonline.com/

https://stemciders.com/

     On my last day in Colorado Michelle’s brother John and his girlfriend Ashley (who are now good buddies of mine) showed me around Boulder, since this was one of the only big spots we didn’t get to see on the rest of the trip. We stopped to get some breakfast and coffee in this cute little Italian shop called Amante. Everything was sooo good in there so had to give it a little mention. We spent the day walking around the outdoor mall on Pearl Street which had some major brands and cute little homemade shops. And before long it was time to head out of there and grab some lunch before I had to go to the airport. We ate at this place called Waterloo, which looked like an underground station in London, so I couldn’t not go in! It was actually a Johnny Cash themed restaurant that had all memorabilia on the walls, including a chunk of a Cadillac car on the wall.  

https://www.boulderdowntown.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw4fHkBRDcARIsACV58_Gqhm4R7l7iR9VKtopTcGiiBtXCkV6JLTGsJzFyN6Gn-hncH2RVcQMaAqDhEALw_wcB

https://www.boulderdowntown.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw4fHkBRDcARIsACV58_Gqhm4R7l7iR9VKtopTcGiiBtXCkV6JLTGsJzFyN6Gn-hncH2RVcQMaAqDhEALw_wcB

https://www.waterloolouisville.com/

     On this trip we averaged about 7 to 8 miles a day of walking. You would think I would have lost some weight from all the activities but the eating and drinking heavy beer put a stop to that (talk about a balance!). I can now see why Michelle loves living in Colorado so much. There is just an urge to get up and do something active every day because it is literally all anyone does there! And other than the occasional nose bleeds from high altitude, I really had an incredible time on this trip and I can definitely see myself going back to Colorado in the future!