25 Fun Facts You Don't Know About Me

Photo taken by Alejandra Hering.

#1:  As a baby, I started walking at six months old.
#2:  My favorite bands/singers are FleetwoodMac, Florence and the Machine and Billy Joel.
#3:  I was a competitive cheerleader all four years of High School.
#4:  ANDDDD, I honestly believe that if it came down to a life and death situation, I could still stick a standing back-tuck.

London Life Lately

YAY! Team Starnes got a face-lift and I am also changing URL's. My new URL will be www.teamstarnes.com.  Finger's crossed I am making this transition properly!  More to come on the blog tomorrow!

Happy Sunday, y'all! xx

Diaries of an Unslept Woman | Things Irritating Me Now

#1: The eternal backlog of pictures. I wish I had a better process, but I don't. I am so freaking backlogged with pictures it's not even funny. Blogging about Barcelona? Just thinking about it gives me hives. Not only do I have pictures on the camera, I have just as many on my iPhone. Can I just delete them? HELL NO! That's like blasphemy. They ALL must be dealt with accordingly. Oh and don't even get me started on iPhone pictures from London pre DSLR... Yeah, I spent two hours at Tate Modern a couple of months ago, but there's a good chance you'll never get any proof of it.

#2: Overthinkers and people who take themselves too seriously. Y'all. Come on. It. is. not. that. serious. Seriously.

#3: People on Instagram who direct you to their blog when you're just asking a simple question. I. HAAAAATE. THIS. Like seriously, dude. I don't care about your miserable blog, I just want to know where you got your skirt from. Be a decent human being and just tell me without scrounging for blog traffic. Delete. Delete. Unfollow.

#4: Seeing the same damn interior design trends over and over and over and over, etc. Does it irritate anyone else that every single person out there is decorating their home the exact same way? It's nearly impossible to create a unique living space without someone stealing your idea from Pinterest or Instagram. Okay, Okay. Let me give it a go. Youuu can'ttt liveee withouttt-- a funky Navajo, Persian, or cow hide rug, vintage bar cart (stocked with only the finest liquors), white walls, brass/gold accents, and fresh flowers, excuse me, peonies and/or succulents, EVERYWHERE! Wow, I never would have guessed! *just to be clear, these are all trends I enjoy as well! but still, it is irritating.

#5: Not sleeping. I started writing this post at.. eh.. 4:00 AM. Then I stopped to leave and take pictures of the sunrise around Islington and now I am back at 6:30 AM finishing up this post. sigh. I've been up all night. I would crush some ambien right now.

first picture of the day. vintage bug right outside my door.

#6: Cheating on my diet a day early. Sooooooo not worth it. Turns out sharing a bottle of wine with a friend on an empty stomach after nine days of being dry, means that you will wake up at 1:30 AM to a raging hangover and not be able to fall back asleep. Now I am eating cereal and blowing my diet to smithereens.

unhappy friday.

GRAMMY

I learned Saturday evening that my Grandmother passed away in her sleep the night before. She had been suffering from dementia for many years and I think we knew that this day was coming, but of course that doesn't make it any easier.  Grammy was an amazing woman-- the matriarch of our family.  She was the mother of 10, grandmother of 24 and great grandmother of 11 and counting. Our family will never be the same again, but her spirit will live on in our fond thoughts and memories for years to come.  We are comforted to know that my Grammy and Grampy are now united once again. 

Grammy, we love you and we will miss you always.

Love, 

Alexandra & James

GRUMPY MID-WEEK RAMBLINGS

I am really kicking myself in the ass for, ONE, not buying a real camera before we came to London (come on girl, you're moving to another country, an iPhone might not be sufficient), and TWO, not buying a real camera while we were back in the States for Christmas. What were you thinking? (USD, helloooooo???) It was the perfect opportunity for me to get something reasonable with all the holiday sales going on... It just burns me up inside. YOU GO GIRL!

I am still learning how to be domestic. I bought a few extra pots and pans when we got back from the States with high hopes of being a domestic goddess. They are still unused and with the packaging on. YOU GO GIRL!

In another attempt to be a domestic goddess, I decided to freshen up our white sheets with a little bit of bleach. I wasn't able to locate any laundry detergent with bleach, so I ended up buying the standard (off name-brand) liquid bleach that you would find in any home improvement store. I apparently put in wayyy too much bleach, and when I got back from the grocery store, the entire flat smelled like a community pool. I basically got green hair just by walking into our kitchen. YOU GO GIRL!

How is your week going? xx

BACHELOR

Oh, Juan Pablo.

I've never been a fan of the Bachelor or the Bachelorette franchise. It's just really, REALLY not my thing. In fact, I've purposely avoided anything associated with the Bachelor for many years, but when one of the girls brought up doing a bracket, this cut-throat elimination perked my interest. 

Mr. J is out of town for the next few days, so this date came at the perfect time to keep me occupied. Good company, trashy TV, pizza and wine, lots of wine. 

Solid Wednesday night, if I say so myself!

The Bachelor is just soo stressful!

**BY THE WAY! We are watching the show a week late, so don't spill the beans! :)

FRESH START

There's nothing like a new agenda (or diary, for you Londoners!) to get you in the mindset to start the year off right! There's something about the blank pages that make you feel that the possibilities are endless.

I'm the type of person that is completely lost without an agenda, so I'm surprised that it took me this long to grab one this year... 

Hopefully, with the addition of these two London reads, it will help me stay organized and on task when tackling sightseeing in this amazing city!

OH INSOMNIA

It's 2:00AM in London and I am wide awake. 

We are going on Day 3 of me pushing off going to the V&A Museum like I intended to. Talk about a commitment-- to failure!

For a few days now, I've been trying to wake up at 8:00AM so that I can get in a full day of activities and wear myself out so that when night-time comes, I can fall asleep at a reasonable hour... BUT FOR THE LIFE OF ME, I can not make myself get out of bed!

I think subconsciously I know that I really don't have anything thatttt important to get up for and therefore I allow myself to sleep until my heart's desire.

You are an adult. You are not in college anymore!

I am seriously starting to hate it. 

WHY CAN'T I SLEEP LIKE A NORMAL PERSON? 

I've struggled with this since high school. 

I've taken medicine to help me sleep for years, but recently my dosage has been bumped down and therefore isn't as effective. £%&@! please save all the medical mumbo-jumbo, I know it's not good for me, but so is not sleeping!

And now the Brits want to wean me off and help me get "clean." cue the eye roll. I literally started to cry in front of the doctor. That, sir, is what my nightmares are made of. Needless to say, he made me fill out a psych eval after that. perfffffect!

I think I need a job or a part-time job or some type of temporary work or somethingggg, because I am just really feeling disappointed in my game. 

I always slept better with a job...

I can do better than this. 

I will not sleep London away!

Alright, night y'all! :)

Insomnia, you suck!

WEEKENDER

I've been on the hunt for a weekender bag for a few years now, but I haven't found the right one to make an investment in. Since our move to the UK, and the likelihood for weekend getaways, the search is back on.

Many of these bags, especially the leather ones, can be particularly pricey so it's important that I make a level-headed decision. I frequently justify purchases to my husband as something being a "lifetime investment." Though he has come to view my justification as very skewed, I think we both can agree that the CPW (cost-per-wear-ratio) on this one will be well worth it! right babe?

This is what I am asking for Christmas, and even though it might take longer than Dec. 25th to find the right one, I am hoping to narrow it down to a couple good options around the beginning of the year. If anyone has any other suggestions of weekender/carry-all/holdall bags, please send me link!

xoxo,

AC

Here are some pictures of bags that I have come across recently.

photo cred: http://de-smitten.com/2013/12/09/december-list/

I came across the above picture of a Rag and Bone Bag on DeSmitten. I think it's pretty perfect except for the fact that the owner got that bag at a sample sale in NYC, it's nowhere to be found on the Internet and it's probably $$$$. sigh.

Madewell

I actually purchased this duffle from Madewell.com while it was on sale for 30% off. I think it could definitely be a winner, but we will have to see when it arrives.

Here are some other options that I've seen around London and online.

left: Brics      right: Longchamp

left: Mulberry      right: Billykirk

left: Frye      right: Paul and Joe

left: Herschel      right: Marc Jacobs

PROS AND CONS

Things I am looking forward to while being back in the States:
- WINSTON, WINSTON, WINSTON
- Downtime with family and friends
- Hair appointment (GOD BLESS STEPHANIE!)
- Shellac Mani/Pedi with wine
- Chick-fil-a
- Mexican food with queso dip (the queso is key here!)
- Customer Service of any kind!
- Greeting all my friends with double kisses xx
- Gossip
- Apothic wine
- US soft drinks
- Bloody Mary's, Dirty Martini's, etc...
- Cheap shopping with the USD
- Billy Joel with my two leading ladies
- Sweet B&H
- Free Spirits

Things I am not looking forward to while being back in the States:
- jet lag
- driving
- tipping 20%

FLASHMOB VIDEO

I finally found a video of the flash mob I participated in a month ago, and let me say, it's hilarious! I can't find myself in the video since I was in the back-left corner (upper-right on the screen), but you do see me walk across the courtyard at the very end. SHOCKER, I'm basically wearing all black. It's a pretty long video so get comfortable. The first half is the dance studio performing and then crowd joins in about 1:46.

Enjoy!

OH, CHRISTMAS TREE

Meet Jolly. At about 3.5 feet (tall&wide), he is destined to put a smile on your face!

Merry Christmas!

xo,

team starnes

Animals of Aberdeen

I came across a plethora of animals over the course of our five day stay in Aberdeen. Meet the animals of Aberdeen!

Enjoy! xo

HOLIDAY PLANS

I am super pumped to finally share that we are coming back to the States for the holidays! Initially, we planned on spending Christmas in Europe, but our world got turned upside-down when my genius brother-in-law scored six tickets to the Billy Joel NYE Concert in Brooklyn. Sisters + Billy Joel + Hubbys= ULTIMATE NYE EVER. I can't describe how excited I am! Our schedule is pretty full, but we want to make sure to see everyone that we can while we are home.

Here is our schedule:

Charlotte: Sunday, Dec. 22-24

Winston Salem/ Raleigh: Dec. 25-29

NYC: Dec. 29- Jan. 1

Raleigh/Winston Salem: Jan. 1-2

Charlotte: Fly out Friday, Jan. 3

We have a lot of coordinating to do, but I can't wait to see everyone in a months time! We have some catching up to do!

xoxo,

team starnes

HAPPY FRIDAY Y'ALL

I stumbled upon this YouTube video last week and even though it's a bit crude, I had to post because it reminds me so much of James and I. Every time I watch it, it just cracks me up!

Enjoy! xo

PS- I don't/didn't know who Stephen Lynch was, so for those of you who do, sorry I'm behind the curve!

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY

you did good sir, you did good.

Thank you to all the soldiers who fight everyday to protect our freedom!

A special Happy Veteran's Day shoutout to my dad; a man who has dedicated his entire life to keeping America safe.

I love you dad! xo

GONE TO CAROLINA IN MY MIND

We are still acquiring different items for the flat. It's been more of a process than I initially thought it would be... I mean, seriously, we just got a microwave last week; who would have thought that two Americans could last without a microwave for 5 weeks, but hey, you adapt!

Along side of my microwave I also got a Crockpot, a mattress topper and a cheapy computer, but right now, I am just going to focus on my friend, the Crockpot. I knew that I had to get a slow cooker while living in London because the weather here just screams out for warm soups, stews, roasts and chili. I don't know if they actually eat "chili" here, but it's definitely a Fall/Winter staple in the Starnes' house, so we'll just throw that in!

When I unpacked the slow cooker, I immediately got a nostalgic feeling and I knew that I wanted to dedicate my first Crockpot meal to our old stomping ground, Good 'ol North Cackalacky! I love Eastern North Carolina Barbecue. I love everything about that hot, tangy, spicy vinegar sauce. I know I am a die-hard North Carolinian because I absolutely hate all other tomato-based barbecues. 

I've struggled to make NC BBQ in the past, so I researched a bunch of recipes and then took what I liked from each of them and overall I think it came out pretty accurate...

1. http://www.food.com/recipe/eastern-nc-pulled-pork-bbq-in-a-crock-pot-494551
2. http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/BBQ_sauces/east_carolina_BBQ_sauce.html
3. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Eastern-North-Carolina-Barbeque-Sauce/Detail.aspx?prop24=RD_RelatedRecipes
4. http://savour-fare.com/2009/03/19/carolina-barbecue-pulled-pork/

I'm typically not a huge fan of my own cooking, but I think it turned out great and I will definitely make this again!

nom nom

NO DAY BUT TODAY

I've been looking forward to Thursday all week. Knocking one off the bucket list with a little liquid courage to make sure I don't chicken out... Fill you in later this week! 

xo, A

i've got moves you've never seen