WEEK SEVENTEEN

Let me preface this post by saying--

James was more available this week!

Since returning from our Christmas holiday in the States, work has been non-stop for James.  But, on Monday, he completed a major milestone and so I was able to see him at home between 6:30-7:30ish the majority of the week.

YAYYYYYYYY! 

Okay. (Straight-face.) Back to business.

I took a walkabout around Shoreditch on Tuesday.

The weather was really nice; bright blue skies, sun was shining. Since having lunch there the other week, I was excited to check out this cool new area just around the corner from us.

I decided this would be the opportune time to break in my new Madewell booties that I picked up in the States as a Christmas present for myself.

Shoreditch is such a cool area... and so close to Islington!  I can't wait to take James.
Here are a few teaser pics from the walkabout!

Even though the sun was out and shining, it was still a bit chilly. Maybe I should have bundled up a bit more because the next day I got a cold. Great.

The next two days were a bust. I don't handle colds very well. In fact, I'm quite pathetic and worthless. I felt very similar to when I got sick before our Christmas holiday... I wonder if it just went dormant?... Hummmmmm.

Because when you're just too lazy to keep going downstairs for drinks and the decision between coffee and tea is too exhausting, you just bring it all back to bed.

Due to that pesky cold, I am now behind on posting my recent happenings... Hopefully I will catch you up later this week!

On Friday, though, I finally pulled it together. This happened in part due to a stern command from my husband, and a strong combination of Mucinex and coffee. James was available and wanting to do something (a rare combination)... so I couldn't miss the opportunity. I got serious with the Mucinex and coffee and plugged away at the computer for a while.

James called to tell me that he would be able to leave at 5:00 PM-- FIVE O'CLOCK PEOPLE! I'm not sure that has EVER happened in our almost seven years together.

I've been waiting to try this steak and chips restaurant ever since I read about it on a fellow Londoner's blog. They don't do reservations, so we were anticipating a long wait. I made James bring home a bag of chips (or crisps for you Londoners) for a snack, and I also smuggled them in my clutch just in case.

We ate at Flat Iron in Soho. It was an A-MAZ-ING experience...

One which I will go into further detail at a later date.

James and I slept-in Saturday morning. We leisurely drank our coffee, got dressed, and had a quick lunch at Pizza Express before heading to the Natural History Museum.

I was really excited to go to the NHM because I wanted to see the dinosaurs! This was James' first available Saturday since Thanksgiving (no exaggeration), so I wanted it to be something worthwhile. I sold him on the idea, and we were both excited.

This would be our first London weekend museum experience.
This was, quite possibly, my last London weekend museum experience.

The museum was WAYYYYYY crowded. Completely unlike my other two peaceful, mid-week trips.
I had TOTALLYYYY misjudged the audience of this museum. It was basically a child's museum.
And I didn't realize (or have any reason to suspect) that you had to queue for the dinosaur exhibit. Needless to say, we didn't see the dino's that we were so excited about. Sad face.

I will go into more detail about our NHM experience at a later date, but here are a few pictures to document that James really did make it out!

After all that walking, we needed to rest, so we headed home to relax and have some Team Starnes time.  

And so, in true Team Starnes fashion, we let someone else do the cooking (Lebanese-- Yum!) and we made a pallet on the living room floor.

And Sunday, well, we are still just hangin' out on our pallet, watching TV and catching up on work... and other non-income-producing hobbies.   ;-)

EAT&DRINK: PIZZA EAST (SHOREDITCH)

For me, every restaurant in London is a new restaurant. 

It is so exciting to learn of "new" restaurants in London that I need to try, or even better, places that I have tried and want to take my husband back to!

Pizza East definitely falls under the latter.

I am starting a new series of blog posts where I will highlight notable restaurants and pubs in surrounding areas of London. If you have any suggestions of restaurants that I need to try, please leave a comment or reach out to me via email or twitter! xx

I had a ladies lunch at Pizza East in Shoreditch a couple weeks ago, and I was pleasantly surprised that this wasn't just your run of the mill pizza joint. This place had character.

When you walk into the Pizza East, you're immediately taken aback by the openness of the restaurant. It is a huge, airy, obviously-converted old warehouse, and you feel a lightness come over you, like you can just now finally breathe. Deep, I know!  Some restaurants can be so stuffy, sometimes you just need a little bit of space!

Pizza East is definitely pulling off that industrial, rustic, farmhouse-chic feel. Between the exposed brick and metal air ducts, the inviting farmhouse tables, the down-home country napkins and the playful, sparkly lighting, you're definitely getting an eclectic experience.

We had a 1:00PM lunch date, so we had the entire back-half of the restaurant to ourselves.  It was lovely to be able to chat and goof-off without anyone sneering in our direction. 

At first, I was a little put off by how the wine was served, (in little tumbler glasses), but after round two, who cares! I will say, it totally grew on me! I love how unpretentious it is. I mean, you gotta drink it out of something, (the bottle?) and I think it goes perfectly with the rustic feel.

Tapas style food is my favorite type of food because I like to try a little bit of everything. Even though this isn't necessarily a tapas restaurant, we treated it as such and shared everything. THOSE ARE MY KINDA GIRLS!

We ordered the Soppressata, Burrata, Tomato & Olives pizza, the Buffalo Mozzarella, Tomato & Basil pizza and just as a shout out to the Good Ole' US-of-A, the Mac ‘n’ Cheese.

Everything was delicious, and no, we did not need a takeaway box.

As we were leaving I got these shots of these two cozy nooks. I love the contrast between the whimsical chandelier lighting and the wood stacks.

I would like to sit back there next time I go with Mr. J! 

For more information about Pizza East check out their website at:

http://www.pizzaeast.com/

SEE: V&A MUSEUM

The Victoria & Albert Museum is one of the largest museums in the world. It holds 4.5 million permanent objects of decorative art and design. Thanks, Wikipedia! 

The museum is located in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in a heavy museum-populated area, so it is really easy to find. Other museums that are in the area are the Natural History Museum, Royal Albert Hall, and Science Museum.

It's a really nice area in general so I would suggest going on a nice day, start early (the museum is going to take a while to walk through) and then go out and explore the area.

I like to give myself plenty of time at these museums. I have yet to go with a friend because I like to walk at my own pace and I enjoy the peacefulness of being in my head for a while!

I am very methodical when walking these museums. I refuse to leave before I walk into/through every, single room. I want to make sure that I don't miss anything. I use a map and put an 'X' on every room I enter and then I KNOW that I am finished with that level and can move on to the next.

The V&A has seven different levels; six of which I completely walked (the fifth level is board rooms and such). The museum is split up into five sections: Exhibitions, Asia, Materials & Techniques (Ceramics, Fashion, Ironwork, Jewellery, Silver, Paintings, etc...), Europe and Modern (20th Century). 

I was not as interested in the Ceramics, Glass, Ironwork. I think I sped through the sixth floor, which was all ceramics and furniture. I really enjoyed the seeing fashion and clothes through the ages, sculptures, paintings and jewelry the most.

One thing I found unique, yet did not partake in, were the interactive/hands-on exhibits. There were tons of these stations where you could try on clothes, draw, research online, etc. There were a lot of students and organized groups going through the museum; it makes learning much more enjoyable!

I watched THIS VIDEO! to get an idea of what I needed to keep a look out for. I didn't want to skim over a famous piece of art in the museum since they don't advertise that such pieces are more special than others.

Even though I tried my best, I probably only saw/took pictures of half of the pieces listed on that video. There is just so much to look at, it's nearly impossible to see it all in one trip. 

This is random, but I was surprised at the extent of the large collection of religious artifacts this museum had. Maybe it's my fault for not doing research before hand, religious artifacts aren't really my thing, but my mom would love it. 

Anywayzzzz... 

Something that is "special" or famous to someone else might not catch your eye or inspire you in the same way. That's why I just take pictures of things that move me in some way, shape or form. 

To each their own!

I read somewhere that travelers or sightseers should insert themselves in their pictures, otherwise you can just find the same picture online. So that's what I'm doing! #selfiecentral

For more pictures of the V&A Museum, CLICK HERE!