Care Packages Galore

We all know I am a massive fan of care packages, right? Right?! How great is it to get some of your favourite things in a care package from another country? And it's always good to show your friends and family that you are thinking about them even when you are far away!

Anyway, I just sent my sister and my friend Renee two different care packages using Parcelforce yesterday afternoon! I am beyond excited for them to get them! I've been buying lots of bits and bobs here and there (this sounds so British, doesn't it??) to send to them and finally they're off to the states!

Let me show you!
 

This one here is for my sister! When she came to England in February she fell in love (as did I) with the Coconut Kit Kats, hence why she is getting a bunch now! (And obviously I bought a bunch for myself at the same time... Ooops!)

Have you tried these yet?? They're call 'Marvellous Creations' and they are absolutely magical. It's just like something out of Willy Wonka! They have pop rocks IN the chocolate!

The wrapped pink thing is actually this cute little pencil from Accessorize; I had them wrap it up at the store for my 5 year old niece! The cat stickers are for her, too! 5 year olds like stickers, right? Those stickers plus the adorable sticky notes are from the Paperchase pushy cats line. 

This one is for my friend Renee! She collects 'foxy' things as much as I collect owls! Obviously, I saw those socks and couldn't resist! She's also going to get her fair share in chocolate from me; I hope she doesn't mind! I love how the chocolate I bought from Belgium actually says 'Belgian Chocolate' on it. Just in case you forgot! 


I had such a good time shopping for these care packages! I seriously can't wait to send some to other family members and friends this summer! Cheers to being in the 21st century and fast traveling parcel services!

Who do you normally send care packages to (or receive packages from)?? What types of goodies are normally in there?? 

My Daily Questions

Recently I've been meeting more and more people.

That sounds weird. But now that I'm out and about more because of work, Saturday park runs, and Monday night group runs, I'm interacting with more people who are intrigued by my desire to live in England.

And they tend to ask me the most ridiculous questions. But these ridiculous questions are pretty consistent across the board. These are questions I get asked about once a day at least. Which makes me wonder where these people's priorities are!

I don't know if any other expats get asked these ridiculous questions as well, so I thought I'd share both the questions (and answers, in case anyone was too shy to ask!)

Why are earth did you move here from Florida?!

And yes that mixture of question mark and exclamation point is completely necessary. I probably get asked this the most. It's a fair enough question. It's the passion that they put into it that is the most hilarious. It's like they're instead asking "are you out of your mind?"

And I really don't think I need to go into detail here on why I moved. It's pretty obvious now, isn't it?

It wasn't the weather.

So you went to a real American high school? / Is high school just like the movies/TV shows?

Yes I went to high school... In America... And it was in fact real...

I always say high school is definitely not like movies/TV shows. Maybe for some people 90210 and The OC portrayed their lives perfectly. However, I was in marching band and AP classes. So no, high school is not all about standing around at your locker for 7 hours of the day and wearing pink on Wednesdays. At least not for me anyway!

This is me in high school senior year. We wore marching band polo shirts on Friday. And no, don't quote American Pie at me please. 

What do you think of our food portions compared to America's? 

I never know how to seriously respond to this. I mean, I don't really notice a massive difference except when it comes to like specified or set sizes. (So like, a large drink at McDonald's in England is an American medium, a medium drink is an American small, etc.) But it's not like I'm walking around going "OMG I'm so hungry! If only British portions were bigger!!" Yes, I know it's hard to believe, but I don't eat Cheesecake Factory sized food all day everyday. The only thing I miss about the food industry in general is FREE REFILLS. It's an epic concept.

I've also been asked....... 

Do Americans understand sarcasm? (No..... Not one bit.)
Have you met the Kardashians? (Oh gawd no.)
Does it snow in America? (Yes.)
Do you love Wal-mart? (Absolutely not.)

My shining moment in question asking was when a 9 year old asked if I was Hannah Montana because she never met anyone with an American accent before. No, I'm not Hannah Montana. But I was willing to sing Best of Both Worlds to her if she desired. (She didn't.) 

Anyone else get asked funny/random questions??

Traditions Across The Pond

Day 2 of Wedding Week is a Bridal Battle of epic proportions. Just kidding. I like to be a bit dramatic.

I get asked all the time, "What are differences between American and English weddings?!"

I end up babbling for hours on the subject and eventually give up and just say "Google it". 

Sometimes I would ask Alex "is this normal??" or "is this how you do it??" regarding our wedding planning. He would respond, "I don't know, I've never gotten married before!" Thank Zeus and all the heavens he has a pretty accent, because he was seriously zero help at times.

Obviously, American weddings and British weddings have a lot of similarities.

But there were also plenty of differences everywhere, from planning the wedding to the actual ceremony to the party in the evening!

With my experience of planning a wedding in England, this is what I noticed are some major differences between American and English weddings.

(Note: Our ceremony was a civil ceremony, which meant no religion was incorporated or even allowed. Our wedding planning/ceremony is where this list of differences comes from. It may/may not differ from other types of ceremonies.)

Ceremony vs. Celebration

In America, you tend to invite everyone to both the wedding ceremony and the party afterwards. Everything just sort of flows into the next event without more people arriving.

In England, the wedding ceremony is much more intimate. It's really only family and close friends that attend. And they're the only ones who eat a full sit-down meal, as well.

The celebration guests come later. This consists of all of the people from the ceremony, plus other friends and colleagues. There is usually a buffet for the evening guests throughout the night, but nothing like the presentation and elegance of the intimate sit-down dinner.

(Our wedding consisted of about 40 ceremony guests and 120 evening guests.)

The party has arrived! By the way, in no part of the evening was I drunk. I know it appears like I am, but I'm not!

Personally, I like this concept better. I know there's always stress knowing who to invite and "whether you want to spend the money on a meal for your mother's sister's grandchild's stepsister". But for us it was pretty clear who was coming to the ceremony and who would just be coming to the evening celebration.

The only thing I will say is that because of this, we had to have 2 different invitations with 2 different times to arrive. It honestly wasn't that big of a burden, but just make sure you stay organized so you know who you invited to which part!

Location 

In America, you can get married practically anywhere! Getting married on the beach is common where I lived in Florida. All you have to do is arrange someone to come marry you at a certain time. You don't even need to reserve the part of the beach or let anyone know.

In England,  they are much more strict (which I found incredibly frustrating when first planning the wedding). The venue has to be licensed. Because of this, they are also quite pricey.

And also because of this, getting married in a registry office is common.

(Here's where I'm going to sound like a snob. I have no intention of sounding like a snob, but I know I will. It's not my intention to offend anyone, so I'm sorry if I do.)

There is nothing that I wanted less than to get married in a registry office. I felt like Alex and I had sacrificed enough in our 3+ years of dating, and that we deserved not to have to settle for a registry office wedding. (See, I told you. Snob.) Especially when we could get married on a free beach in Florida and have a gorgeous surrounding instead of a stuffy registry office. (Snob.)

I kept telling Alex that I would rather get married in our back garden than a registry office. (Snob.) He just kept saying "you can't do that!" and I didn't understand why! He said it's to preserve the meaning of marriage and I said "bullshit, I don't care."

We ended up finding a lovely, affordable place to have both the wedding and the evening celebration.

But keep all of this in mind if want to get married in England.

Giving notice vs. having a marriage license

I was completely clueless about both of these things to be honest.

In America, you get a marriage license. (Which sounds hilarious to me.... Like a drivers license for your wedding.... Waiting for hours at a DMV to take a test and a bad picture...) I couldn't tell you the first steps of how to get a marriage license.... Good thing I never had to!

In England you "give notice". It's basically giving your intentions to marry. They post your intentions to marry, as well. They ask you basic questions about each other. (spelling of names, birthdays, occupation, very basic things) You can get married 15 days after giving notice and it's valid up to one year.

Carrying a horseshoe 

I've never heard of this custom in America, but I also haven't been to or been a part of many weddings. So I just decided to go with this one. 

I was given a small, decorative horseshoe a few days before the wedding. I opened the box, looked up at everyone, and just said "I don't get it". They said it's for luck. Noted.

Then, when I was nearly ready at the venue, someone handed me my bouquet and the horseshoe. I was like, "what do I do with this??" Finally, someone had explained to me that you hold it with your bouquet. I wish someone told me this sooner so I didn't sound like an asshole the whole time wondering what I was supposed to do with it!

Stuffing cake in each others faces

Purely an American tradition, and I was set on keeping it that way. My husband, however, had other plans....

Nice picture before he went to the dark side...

We talked about it and agreed no caking stuffing. But when the moment came, my American family starting shouting "Stuff it in her face!!!" and like a good in-law, he did.

(I also got the feeling that if I did it to him, some of the older English family would be appalled. Like I would get the "Ugh... Americans..." glare and head shake. I know that's probably not the case. I just felt like that at the time.)

The wedding party was sitting

Alex and I had a small wedding party consisting of 2 people..... His Best Man and my Matron of Honor.

I was utterly confused when they had them sit in the front row (on their respective sides) instead of standing next to us during the ceremony! I thought maybe it's because we had a civil ceremony instead of a religious ceremony that things were less formal. But then I Googled it and it turns out it's normal in the UK.

Something blue, and a sixpence in your shoe

Everyone knows the rhyme "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" for items the bride wears on her wedding day.

In England they add "and a sixpence in your shoe" meaning an old form of currency.

I didn't do this one. Not for any reason. I could have found a sixpence somewhere (and John Lewis actually sells them for brides at a ridiculous price.... Ridiculous considering what they're worth really...) Oh well!

Oops upside your head

This is a popular dance done at wedding celebration parties in England.

I had never seen it before until it was turned on and I was dragged to the dance floor and plopped on the ground! (in a white dress... classy) It's like a Macarena, Electric Slide, or Time Warp dance... Everyone just knows what to do!

Basically, everybody lines up and links legs while sitting on the ground and you shimmy or clap your hands from side to side a certain way. My freakin' hips and legs were killing me afterwards! Even though you're sitting, you're moving your upper body around so much and your hips take the brunt of the strain. Maybe I'm just out of shape!

Regardless, I don't think my American family participated. Actually, that's a lie. One of my family members stood at the front of the lines and conducted everyone into perfect synchronization! But no one got down on the ground to clap and shimmy with me. 

In the end, both weddings get the job done, am I right? I'm sure there are plenty more differences (Bachelorette Parties vs. a Hen Do, bridal showers, etc.) but these are what played major roles in our across the pond UK wedding!

Anything else you can think of? Have you been to a wedding that was different to your traditions? What traditions did you/will you incorporate into your wedding?? Have you done the "oops upside your head" dance??

Fa La La La La La Florida

Before we get to the meaning behind my cheesy post title, I'd like to say a major thank you to Melissa at Smitten by Britain. She allowed me to do a guest post for today!

I've been thinking a lot recently about the differences between Christmas in Florida and Christmas in England. This year will be my fourth Christmas in England, so I decided to write about my 5 favorite things to do during Christmas here in England! 

So please make your way over here to read it!

I also had a good think about what I liked to do during Christmas in Florida. Instead of focusing on the cultural and weather differences between the two locations, I thought about what I liked to do the most. And while "going to the beach" and "sunbathing" didn't make the cut (but so should have!), I also wrote my 5 favorite things to do during Christmas in Florida!

1. Putting up the tree - In my family, buying the tree and decorating it is a pretty big tradition. We have to find the perfect tree. Decent height, no "bald patches" as my step-mom likes to call it, and a strong smell to fill the house! Then, we spend an entire night decorating, eating, and drinking while listening to Christmas music. My parents fight and threaten to divorce each other while trying to put up the lights while I laugh my ass off and just try to keep the cats in check. The ornaments have to go up in a specific order. It's serious business, but it's such great fun! 

I'm stuck! No, I'm kidding... Gotta love doing the grunt work!!

2. Pretending 50 degrees Fahrenheit (about 10 degrees C) is cold - Oh, yes, Florida's "cold fronts" are kind of a joke. But any excuse to wear a scarf and boots, right?? It's fun to dress up like it's winter, even fully knowing that by next week we'll be back in shorts and t-shirts. My friends and I like to have small bonfires outside and make s'mores! 

3. Driving around and seeing the Christmas lights - When I was little, there was a water tower that had the best Christmas lights display! My mom and I would drive around (sometimes twice at my request) slowly and look at them while listening to Christmas music. Since then, the water tower no longer does their massive displays. But I love going around my neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods to look at the impressive lights. It feels magical!

4. Seeing old friends - Once I reached college, a lot of my friends and I went separate ways. Christmas vacation was always the best time to meet up again to reminisce, talk about our semesters, and of course do lots more eating and drinking. If the weather was nice, we'd have a pool party. Typical Florida December. My favorite thing to do, however, was go painting with my best friends. There's a local place where you can paint your own pre-made pottery. We'd spend hours upon hours there painting potential Christmas presents!

5. The local parade - One of the things I miss most about South Florida is our local parade. I was actually IN that parade for a majority of my life; first with my dance studio and then in high school with marching band. I never really got many chances to spectate it; however, when I did I thought it was absolutely amazing! It's no Macy's Day Parade, but it's still pretty good for a little beach town in Florida.

IT'S CHRISTTTTMASSSSS! I hope you said that like Slade's "Merry Christmas Everybody" song.

As you can see, Christmas in Florida and England are completely different experiences! But they both have the same priorities in mind.... Eat.... Drink... And be merry! 

Where do you normally spend Christmas? What are your favorite things to do there that make it so special and unique?

You Eat WHAT For Breakfast?!

Take a second to watch this video. (Major kudos to Sam for introducing me to the video in this post!)



Alright, now what did you learn?

"Biscuits and gravy" does not mean McVities and the stuff you pour all over your Sunday roast.

Biscuits and gravy is a southern style breakfast that looks a little something like this:

WTF is in that? Looks like a whole bunch of mush.

When I say "southern style", I mean that it's more common in the southern and stereotypically "country" states.

(Florida is a funny place. North Florida is more "southern" and South Florida is more "northern". Lot's of people move to South Florida from New York, New Jersey, Eastern Canada, and New England, therefore making it more northern. North Florida is closer to Georgia and Alabama, therefore making it more southern. My mom was from New Jersey and my dad/step mom's family is from North Carolina, making me a whole bunch of confused.)

I thought when I moved to England, that would be the end to some of my favorite meals. This one included. But that's definitely not the case!

First things first, we need to define some words for everyone in the UK. Yes, it's your turn to get an English lesson today!

Biscuit - I'd say this is a savory version of a scone. It's not sweet like they are for a cream tea. They're more buttery. Typically if you think of American fast food chains such as KFC or Hardee's, you think of these biscuits.

Before and after pics of the biscuits. Helpful hint: we used the rim of a pint glass to cut out the biscuit from the dough! Talk about getting crafty!

Gravy - There really is no British equivalent to this. Gravy is the result of mixing all the flavors of spiced breakfast sausage (but not the typical links of it like in a fry up), mixing it with milk, and thickening it with flour.

(The sausage we used was found in the frozen food section of Sainsbury's and was without the encasing normally found for sausage links.) 

Sausage made into patties before grinding it up and adding it to the "gravy"

We (and when I say "we", I really mean the Fiance. I'm useless in the kitchen.) based our recipe off of this one and my family's own southern recipe.

It just goes to show that with a little extra effort and some trial and error, "home" cooked food doesn't have to feel thousands of miles away!

(If you want me to do a full post on how to make UK-friendly biscuits and gravy, let me know and I will!)

What meals do you miss when you're not in your home country? Have you ever tried to make something "foreign" and succeeded? Or failed miserably?

Broadcast Battle: USA vs. UK

I want to talk to you about something very important....... TELEVISION.

Oh yes.... I'm going there. 

There's a question that dates all the way back to the dawn of time (not really)... Which is better, American television or British television?

I've read every fired up argument from every forum that Google would show me. I have to say, people are pretty passionate about their country's telly! So much so that I've literally been incredibly overwhelmed thinking about writing this post.

But I still don't know which is "better"!

I'm going to warn you, I'd say that my taste in American TV is dreadful. But I am fully against Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and that's what's most important.

But seriously, I enjoy shows such as Pretty Little Liars (sue me, it's addicting), Awkward., and The Big Bang Theory. I'm sorry.

Does it help my case if I say I know the entire Big Bang theme by heart? No? Didn't think so....

In all honesty, a lot of the American things I like to watch, Brits hate. Prime example being The Big Bang Theory.

Oops.

So I've made a list (shocker) of what I have deemed as some major differences between television in the UK vs. USA, and you can determine for yourself which is better.

(I'm going to warn you now, it's long. Go make yourself a cuppa tea or grab a bowl of popcorn. Or both!)

(Disclaimer: I am an American living in England (duh) trying to see both sides. This is also from my perspective being in the young adult/emerging adulthood phase of life. Don't hate me for what I have to say.)

Emphasis on Good TV - Does it bring people together?

A known phrase here in England is "when the weather gets bad, the TV gets good!" So a lot of emphasis is put on "good television" to the point where it's a pride factor. It's lighthearted and a communal activity. And the only thing better than good TV is the Christmas Specials of good TV! Nothing brings people together on Christmas more than an episode of "The Royle Family" after your roast.

In America, I don't feel as though it's about "good TV" as much as it is being current and in the know with popular TV. Seriously, I don't even know how many times I've been pressured to watch "Grey's Anatomy". No I don't care how popular it is or how much it made you cry that one time; I'm not interested. (Still have yet to see one episode) It's also not really deemed healthy to have so much emphasis on TV. Although, when people are more interested in watching season after season of shows, I can kind of see why.

Humor - Or technically, humour since I live in England now.

Humor can seriously be split into 87 different subtitles of it's own, so bear with me. 

I'd say the biggest difference on what constitutes good television (that is, if it's not meant to be a drama) is the sense of humor.

American comedy is completely different to British comedy, but also think of the amount of people American sitcoms have to impress. American TV has more obvious humor. And of course, who could miss that fake laugh reel in the background? British comedy, on the other hand, is more quick and witty.  

One thing that England definitely does right (among lots of other things) is something called "wall to wall comedy panel shows." Basically it's two teams of comedians that make fun of, well, anything and everything!

In my opinion, I think this hasn't really caught on the States because of how controversial it can be. (The closest thing I can compare this to is Chelsea Lately. Instead of 2 panels of competing comedians, it's 1 panel of 3 comedians. But if you've read her books, which I have because I have a little girl crush on her, you know how censored it really is) I say that because typically on these shows, BRITISH comedians always end up making fun of BRITISH news, BRITISH people, and BRITISH lifestyle (i.e. dull weather, cuppa tea, Nectar Points... don't even get me started on Nectar Points).

Now if a show like this was aired in America with AMERICAN comedians making fun of AMERICAN news, AMERICAN people, and AMERICAN lifestyle, it wouldn't be funny, it would be unpatriotic. Am I wrong? America prides itself for being strong and united. Now turn that into a mockery, and you've got something unAmerican.

Personally, I don't feel that way. I repeat: I don't feel that way. If you've read my blog for more than 10 seconds you'd know that I think the best thing you can do is laugh at yourself. But not everyone feels the same. You've got to remember, American TV has to impress a population spanning from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and that's just on the national level. You can't please everyone.


Content - How can they say that on national television?! 

The Fiance (remember him? Yes I do have a life outside comparing America and England) told me that as a kid he used to watch the show "Bottom".

I watched it and thought, "OHMIGOD! You watched this as a kid?!" (In case you don't know, it has a lot of rude humor. Hilarious, nonetheless. Watch the Christmas episode right now.)

Well, British kids are exposed to a lot more at an early age, and it's acceptable. Example: football (soccer for the other side of the pond) is just as rude as things seen and heard on TV, and kids are exposed to football extremely often.

As a kid grown up in America, I feel as though we are more sheltered to content. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, I have no idea. But it's just like the controversy over violent video games; do they cause more violence? Does more mature content make kids act or speak differently?

The F-word among other words (I sound like such a wuss, "The F-word", like I'm that goody two shoes girl in the 4th grade covering her ears at the word "crap". For the record, I say the F-word quite often, just not on here.) is also a very common word heard on national television.

"Say what?!!!" says every American.

Yes, basically anything after 9 PM is free range, including the F-bomb.

Now while we are on the subject of content, I want to bring up this point: Kids from America age differently than kids from the UK.

That sounds ridiculous.

Almost as ridiculous as these guys. The Inbetweeners doing their thing at Thorpe Park.

What I mean is, the norms for certain ages are different in the two countries and I think that drastically changes how television content is displayed.

Take drinking for example. Americans drink legally at 21 while people in the UK drink legally at 18. This makes their experiences so different! 

What does that have to do with television? Content and exposure. Exposing television viewers at the adult age (18+ years) to "adult content" (i.e. drinking) is inevitable in both countries. Television shows have to reflect the laws and norms of the audience, making something "normal" in the UK actually "racy" in the States. Lot's of these norms start earlier in the UK. Since the growing up years are more accelerated in the UK, so does the content that is "normal" to show.

Instead of sheltering certain ages, I feel that the UK takes a more "this is real life, this is what happens" approach. America takes more of a "if we don't show it, it doesn't exist" approach. Out of sight out of mind.

So exposure at an early age is not only different in both countries, it's also based on the norms of growing up. 

If we are trying to decide which is better, it all depends on what you're looking for in your television experience (or what you want your children's television experience to be). I personally enjoy not having it so censored in England; it tells it like it is. So British TV wins for me. No faffing about or dilly dallying around the subject matter just to make it "acceptable".

Familiarity - Have you heard of this show?

I honestly think American television is more well known and therefore more universal. But that doesn't mean it's better.

If you ask people in the UK to name some American TV shows, you get things like Friends, Frasier, Glee, etc.

"Could I BE wearing anymore clothes?!"

But if you ask someone in the USA to name British TV shows, most of the time they can't. Maybe you get the occasional person who enjoys Dr. Who or there's that person whose sister's friend of a friend told them to watch The Inbetweeners that one time. Other than that, it's not such common trivia.

There's many reasons why that could be the case, but I think the main reason is simply that most everything in America is well known throughout the world. It's not just the TV, it's the entire industry that Hollywood created, along with brand names for food, drinks, electronics, games, etc. America wants it's name out there, and is pretty successful at that.

At the same time, many American TV shows are based on British TV shows. (View that list here. I'm out of school and have a degree now; so it's acceptable for me to use Wikipedia.) So the familiarity is there, it's just not necessarily giving originality credit in the right place. (There are also many British TV shows that are based on American shows, although it's not as hefty of a list. View that list here, and just look at the types of shows that they are...)

Budget - Bigger isn't necessarily better.

It's no surprise that America does television "over the top". They hire the best writers, the most upcoming actors, and buy the biggest and most elaborate sets. They entertain in the form of aesthetics as well as through the script.

But it's no secret that the UK can't afford the luxuries of Hollywood. At the same time, the scenes don't need to be supernatural, out of this world, or mind blowing for it to be good. I bet British TV would be through the roof amazing if they had a similar budget to the Hollywood budget. (The Fiance says, "Give Ricky Gervais loads of money and see what he can do with it!")

Now with budget comes advertisements in the form of commercials. Because let's be honest, who really is paying for the TV show you're watching. Could it be those 12 Pepsi commercials you saw during the break?

Well what about the BBC? No adverts because it's a public service; they have to be impartial. Obviously, this doesn't give them the budget that Pepsi gives, but it's still well liked (probably an understatement). Because of the no adverts rule, shows are l o n g e r. There's no 8+ minutes of commercial break time to account for. There's no mid-show cliff hanger while they cut away to a kitty litter advert.

More TV to provide for. Less of the money to do so.

Thank you, BBC, for Sherlock Holmes!

The downside to having to please the general public is that you get shows like Bargain Hunters, Houses Under the Hammer, and Flog It. I'm sorry, I have to say a big ol' WTF BBC to that. If I see one more show about antiques or dilapidated houses, I will lose my marbles.

Season size - Quantity or quality?

A typical season in the UK is 6 episodes. 6 episodes?! That seems like nothing!

But think about the amount of filler episodes you've had to go through in a 12+ episode season. Sure, it got a few laughs, but was there anything really substantial happening that was vital to the storyline? Not really.

America definitely favors quantity over quality while the UK favors the opposite. 

Maybe 6 is too little, maybe 12 is too much. Who really knows?

(That Sherlock Holmes from the BBC pictures above has 3 episodes per season. 3 mind blowing episodes.)

(Insert natural pause in my monologue to regroup and sum up key points)

The jist of all this is to say that American television and British television are different. It's like comparing peanut butter and pickles. Both have their flaws and both bring something unique to the table. They both have different standards for "quality". Lots of Brits think American TV is crap. A lot of Americans just wouldn't get British TV.

I think as far as being something globally impressive, American TV wins. You can't compare the special effects and sheer over the top energy that is American TV. It's made to be global and it's made to be known. But impressive doesn't mean better.

I also think that if we are comparing content and natural talent, not simply trying to "please" an audience or make millions, British TV takes the cake. But again, that doesn't deem it generally better, either. However, I do have the confidence to say that the comedy genre is better by far. (But you have to be able to keep up with it. I've been practicing my British comedy watching skills for years now and still sometimes I'm still like "huh??")

It's all a matter of YOUR opinion and what you like to see on the telly! Good TV to you may be bad TV to someone else.

As for me on this side of the pond, I loves me some good comedy: The Inbetweeners, Russell Howard's Good News, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, and A League Of Their Own. I've also been known to like QI, Sherlock Holmes, Fresh Meat, and Skins.

Come on, everyone loves Stephen Fry!

What's YOUR opinion? Is American TV or British TV better and why? What do you like to watch on TV? What's important to your television viewing experience? Something to make you laugh? Something suspenseful?

Inside the Wardrobe: Black Friday 2012

Nothing irritates someone who works in retail more than the words BLACK FRIDAY.

(For those of you not familiar, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving where there are massive sales, long queues to get into stores, and crazy people attacking other people for electronic items. It also, in my opinion, ruined a lot of what Thanksgiving is about by making workers go in at midnight for the sake of insane shoppers. I'll save that rant for another time.)

I've worked nearly every Black Friday since I was 16. I've gotten to work at 4 AM. I've dealt with irritating savings-hungry customers. I've arrived at work over an hour in advance just to attempt to find parking. I've made cupcakes for my team to boost morale. I've braved the chaos that is the food court. I've done and seen it all.

Now that I'm in England, Black Friday is a thing of the past. No Thanksgiving = No Black Friday. (I know, I know, Boxing Day Sales. We'll cross that bridge when we get there.)

So to me here in England, Friday the 23rd of November is just another day to shop.

This week was inspired by Black Friday, and of course, the color black. 

Dress . . Tights . . Scarf . . Jacket . . Flats . . Earrings

I feel like any time I wear a lot of black, someone always brings it up as being weird. One time I wore a black dress with leggings my parents said "What are YOU mourning today?!" Cool.

So whenever I wear black, I like to add some color by wearing a patterned scarf. I usually go for floral prints, but I fell in love with this scarf because it has discrete owls all over it!

I'm also in love with tights right now. I think it's because I never really got the chance to wear fashion tights in Florida (tights for dance class though, I know all about!) except when my mom dressed me up when I was 6 to keep me warm from the cold front that was 59 degrees Fahrenheit. I have a pair of burgundy tights like those and they go really great with black and cream outfits!

Finally, top it off with an edgy jacket to stay warm and simple flats to stay comfy during the 12+ hour shopping day that is Black Friday.

Hope you guys in America have fun shopping today and that everyone stays safe! As for England, well like I said, today is just another excuse to go shopping! But apparently ASDA and Amazon were advertizing Black Friday sales online only! So how about THAT!

Anybody have Black Friday horror stories?! Either from working retail or from shopping?? 
What do you like to wear when you go shopping? Do you dress up or do you tend to stay casual? 
Does anyone in England wish there was a Black Friday equivalent over here? Would you take advantage of the sales or would the crowds scare you away? 

(Link up with My Friday's Fancies)

Thankful Thanksgiving Thursday

In case you didn't know, I live in England (shocker, I know). Also in case you didn't know, England doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving.

But that's not going to stop me from being thankful today!

I have a short list (actually, not short at all) of things I am thankful today and everyday.

The Fiance - Obviously top of the list. (Prepare for the cheesiest statements of all time) I don't know what I would do without him. If it wasn't for his hard work, I may not be living in England right now. I love him more than anything, and I'm seriously so lucky to have him as my future husband and my best friend.

Us and the Golden Gate Bridge. Why the hell not. We're also super tanned in this photo from working at camp all summer.

The Fiance's Family - Amazing doesn't even begin to describe. For the past 3+ years, they have been nothing but welcoming and accepting of me into their family. They are the nicest people in the world. I'm thankful that they will officially be part of my family soon, even though it has already felt that way for years.

My Family - Especially my sister and my extended family in north Florida. They've always been behind me 110%, but now more than ever they've showed me incredible support for my move across the pond. I'm beyond lucky!

My Friends - My best friends back in America who I miss SO MUCH, my English friends who put up with with my Americanisms, and of course YOU! Everyone who I've "met" through Twitter and blogging with such amazing stories. Expat friends, running friends, I'm thankful for all of you.

Running - If you would have told me about 3 years ago that running would become a priority in my life, I probably would have laughed in your face. I'm thankful that I've found something I love to do, and that I'm constantly being challenged to achieve more.

Cold Weather - Have I said enough how much I hate heat?? Cold weather clothes are so much cuter anyway. I'm thankful that I can put to good use my scarf collection and UGG boots on the daily.

Well I can't say that's cute cold weather clothing. That's actually from when we got stuck in traffic for 4 hours because of a heavy snow storm (shocker) so I threw on my massive coat (which is why I look about 40 stone) and wellies and boom, awkward snow picture.

Skype & Whatsapp - Life savers! I can speak to everyone in America now without hassle or hefty phone bills!

The Internet in General - Also amazing. It makes the world seem so much smaller and more connected! Obviously, it's great for me!

Taylor Swifts "Red" Album - I love this girl. Her songs are the reason I dance around my room with a hairbrush. And her newest album is amazing and has been on repeat since it came out!

I loves me some T-Swift! I've seen her in concert twice. Literally have a girl crush on her.

Being Able to Find Franks Hot Sauce in England - Sure they charge you an arm, a leg, and your firstborn child for a teeny tiny bottle, but Franks is seriously my life source.

Pumpkin Pie - Not just pumpkin pie; pumpkin pie IN ENGLAND and people actually like it!!! Can't have Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie, even if it is a fake Thanksgiving hosted by an expat. (And duh, pumpkin pie eating means it's now peppermint mocha time! That means from tomorrow onward, it's Christmas.)

Mmmm pumpkin pie baking away in the oven! The only thing better than eating it was seeing other people eat it for the first time here in England. Amazing.

Seriously, I have so much to be thankful for. I could make an entire list to last until next Thanksgiving! But I think that's a good start!

No matter what side of the pond you're on, Happy Thanksgiving!

What are you thankful for today? Good food? Good friends? Pickled onions? Am I the only one who likes picked onions?

Friday Fails and Friday Funnies Episode 2

TGIF seems to be the phrase of today!

(insert totally natural segway into the topic at hand)

I tried to do an Essex accent the other day. Apparently it sounds exactly the same (and exactly as terrible) as my regular English accent, my Northern English accent, my Posh English accent, and my little English kid accent (you know exactly which one I'm talking about... the little school kids in Tescos going "mumm-ayyy").

Hashtag Friday Fail.

I would like to brag that I have indeed mastered the Southampton drunken football English accent. With my superb imitations, I am quite the hoot at parties, by the way! 

On the topic of accents, I will leave you with a Friday Funny.

This is what America thinks of you, England.

 

Clearly this e-card writer means REAL British accents and not expatriate failed attempts at recreating one.

But I think I've hit that point where I don't notice British accents anymore (as compared to my first ever visit to England where everything sounded like a Harry Potter film).


Spontaneous change of topic to the American accent thanks to Selena via Twitter!  

As bad as I am at British accents, I think the Brits are equally as bad at the American accent!

The Fiance is 100% guilty of the nasally American accent. He also adds this noise that sounds like gurgling to his imitation of me......

I don't think I gurgle when I speak, but good effort, Mr. Fiance! I like your enthusiasm!

I've also found that many American imitations sound just a tad (read: REALLY REALLY) flamboyant, as well. You know, because I tote-ullllly have to emphasis weird parts of the word like to-MAYYY-toes and such.

Hashtag Friday Fail, again.

(Disclaimer: Just so we're clear, not meaning to offend anyone by imitating accents or imitating imitations of accents. No hate here, I promise. )

Have a great weekend! (Read that in whatever accent you desire. Posh English, hint of Italiano, Alien speak, don't care!)

Lighthouses and License Plates

Monday night the Fiance and I went to this American style restaurant for a birthday dinner for one of his best friends.

Cue the American expat taking embarrassing, lame, tourist-y pictures underneath some license plates while everyone else chows down on massive hamburgers.

American license plates! No I'm not a tourist, I live here.

I'm sorry my camera is so crap. It takes photos underwater though, and THAT'S what's most important. Am I right??

This is what I'm standing under. Not one, but TWO Florida license plates in a restaurant.

Even though I get the mickey taken out of me (British way of saying to get made fun of) for being American, no one seemed too upset by their platters of BBQ ribs, chicken wings, bacon burgers, and "death by chocolate" fudge cake. YOU'RE WELCOME, ENGLAND.

Today was less of a food coma kind of day (I lie... I demolished a pack of McVities chocolate covered biscuits in the car).

I went to Portland!

No, not the American Portland. I didn't make a mad dash to Oregon.

This Portland:

Quite the lovely view!

It's a small island off the coast of Weymouth in Dorset and the place where the Olympic sailing took place this summer!

And I can see why! It was pretty windy and the waves were choppy!

I was supposed to get dropped off at a shopping center in Weymouth so I could wander aimlessly, but it actually closed! You'd think they put that bit of vital information on the Visit Weymouth website....

So instead, while the Fiance did his businessman thing, I took pictures of lighthouses and stuff.

See? Lighthouses and stuff. I'm so descriptive. Oh look, it's also sunny and stuff, too!

Any new places you've been recently? New towns? New restaurants with a coma inducing food selection?

So Apparently I'm Canadian, Eh?!

(Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn't read this blog for more than 5 seconds: I'm not Canadian.) 

People ask me all the time where I'm from. I think it's really cool! It makes me feel interesting.... even though I fully accept that I am the opposite of interesting.

Lot's of people guess that I'm American. Without even opening my mouth, my first name kind of gives it away.

"Ohhh, like Taylor Swift! You must be American!"

And then I talk.........

And sometimes people get excited, especially if I'm talking to girls around my age or if there's alcohol involved.

"You're from Miami?! I love your accent!! Have you met the Kardashians?!" 

I promise I did not make that quote up. It happened.

And then, more often than not, people ask if I'm Canadian.

The epitome of Canada right there. And then just smother this picture in poutine.

I always understood the confusion. Sure, Americans and Canadians sound quite alike. We are neighbors, after all.

I never thought anything of the mix up except "Oh cool, I can pass as a Canadian! I should put that on my resume! I really like Canada! And Caesars! And poutine! I'm hungry...."

And I do genuinely love Canada! I've been to Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria, and little towns in between. I've also seen the inside of Toronto's airport. Does that count??

The Fiance and I in Vancouver this past May. See, we love Canada!

But then on Saturday, someone asked the Fiance if I was Canadian. He obviously replied no, she's American, which the other person then followed with this:

"Well I was going to say American! But I didn't want to offend them in case they were Canadian!"

Say whatttttt?! You didn't want to offend a Canadian by calling them American?

Obviously, I could care less about that statement or any way of making fun of Americans for that matter. I love a good laugh. And I just epitomized Canada with a picture of a moose. I can be a cultural ass, too.

I may not be a cultural ass in this picture, but I just look like an ass anyway. Maybe this could be offensive to other giraffes. I don't know... I just needed a picture to break up the seriousness and keep things funny.

It makes me wonder..... Does everyone just ask if I'm Canadian out of politeness to other Canadians? Do they just revert to that in the off chance that they meet a Canadian? Or have they met Canadians mistaken for Americans before and just reluctantly lived to tell the tale? Should that guy just have kept that statement in his inner monologue?

But again, I'm making this very clear.
1. Not offended.
2. Not trying to be an American jerk.
3. Just curious.

But I did want to hear YOUR opinions on the matter. 

So what do you think? Is this normal? Are Americans allowed to be called Canadian, but not the other way around? 

My Trip To The North

In case you didn't get the memo covered in Marmite and HP Sauce, I finally moved to England!

Overly excited/incredibly touristy picture of the flight details from Newark. Ready to touchdown in London town!

I haven't even been here a week and I've already traveled the length of the entire country! I've seen enough sheep on the side of the road to last me a lifetime. As excited as I was about that, I didn't take any pictures. Apparently that's not what the locals do. Noted.

The Fiance is lucky enough to have a job that requires lots of traveling around England. More importantly, the job also allows me to tag along on these journeys!

Monday we went to London. While the Fiance met with his important peeps, I walked from the London Eye to Big Ben to Buckingham Palace.... By myself.... WITHOUT crying to stranger about my poor sense of direction!

I know I get about zero bragging rights for that. Baby steps.

Yesterday, we drove all the way to Blackpool for more work related business.

Look it's the beach! Kind of.

I've never been that far north before in England, so it was kind of cool!

Blackpool Tower. Looks kind of like an illegitimate Eiffel Tower.

And then I saw this shop.....

Oh lookie! Just what I need!

I've seen these shops in lots of cities around England. This one had a hefty selection, all of which was overpriced. They even had Vanilla Coke! That's freakin' hard to find even in America! If it wasn't about £3 per can I would have stocked up.

Then another sweets store had my name engraved in some rock candy!

Look! I exist finally!! It's a miracle! 

You don't know how hard it is to find my first name in anything here. Jane, Charlotte, Sarah... Those are acceptable first names. Taylor? Not so  much. Oh dear, I will never be able to buy those rinky dink little pre-personalized pencils or princess stickers ever again. What a tragedy.

All in all, it's been a lovely few days here in rainy England. My wellies and new umbrella (which hasn't fallen apart yet... that's record breaking considering it's from Primark) have definitely gotten lots of use! But no Seasonal Affect Disorder has kicked in due to lack of sunshine. Wahey!

To my fellow expats: Is there any candy or food that you desperately miss from home?? Do you see an American Candy store and just swoon?
To everyone else: Is there any foreign candy or food that you miss from your travels abroad??

My Great Expectations

I said a few posts back that I wanted to type out some expectations for my move to England. I've been constantly writing down random goals, generalizations, and predictions. I like doing these kinds of lists because it gives me something to look back to and see how incredibly off I was.

And seeing as this time next week I will be in England, I thought why not share them now!

Disclaimer: I know there will always surprises and bumps along the way, and I'm excited for that! I started this blog in the attempt to track every moment in this journey. I'm not trying to map out everything so perfect that I lose sight of what I'm doing to begin with. This list is for me, as a future expat and one hell of a list making goal setter, and also for you, whether you're a future expat like me or a seasoned pro with that awkward "not really American, not really English" accent. Or maybe you were just bored on the internet one day and came across this crazy anglophile lady.

So go make some popcorn or put the kettle on depending on what side of the pond you are on because I tend to get a bit wordy.

Ready anddddd GO!

Learn to drive on the other side of the road... and the other side of the car...

This was actually the 2nd photo I took when I got to England for the first time. Seeing this was SO EXCITING!

This concept isn't as terrifying as it was about 3 years ago, when I would wail every ten seconds in the car thinking we were going the wrong way. But I'm not an aggressive driver. And I don't plan on driving much in England. I would just like the option to drive. Like adding a super power to my resume or something. Hi I'm Taylor and I can tap dance, sing the entire Big Bang Theory theme song, and drive confidently on multiple continents.

Run more (and in colder weather). With my free time, I really want to improve my running performance and feel prepared to do a half marathon. And run in cold weather. Because seriously, everywhere is colder than Florida.

Race more. I ran my first race about a year ago and never felt so hooked to something. I'm already signed up for a race on October 20th!

Join a gym and/or running club. When I spent the entire summer of 2011 in England, I joined their local gym and it was one of the best things I've ever done. I really think both of these will keep me busy and help me make friends in the area.

Understand the London Underground. I can imitate the "mind the gap" voice like a champ, but when it comes to navigating the tube I'm pretty hopeless. In my defense, I've never had to learn any subway system. But I want to feel confident going to London and be able to know how to get from point A to point B without wanting to snap my Oyster Card in half.

Understand public transportation in general.

Stereotypical double decker bus picture. With a Harry Potter ad on the side!! I should frame this, it's so beautiful.

I understand public transportation just fine; maybe "utilize" is a better word to use here. I just want the ability to travel via train or coach and not feel like a tourist.

Spell words with u's and s's and y's and such.

Typical American taking pictures of signs that say Energise instead of Energize. It looks so silly to me! All those elementary school spelling bee's were for nothing now. Sidenote: don't know these people in the sign, but they look like they'd be okay with me spelling it with a Z.... ZED.... WTF sort of train of thought did I start?!?!

Flavour. Tyre. Organise. Favourite. I'm trying to fathom this and not want to throw a dictionary at the wall.

Also... Okay this is so random.... But one day while watching my new favoUrite show "Switched At Birth", I wondered how different American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL) were. Because you never really think of other sign languages. You just know ASL in America, but obviously they don't use ASL everywhere, because then it would be called Earth Sign Language or something. As opposed to Mars Sign Language.

It turns out ASL and BSL are SO DIFFERENT!! So I taught myself the BSL alphabet in case I needed to spell out something whilst not getting lost on the London Underground with my dictionary of words I've been spelling wrong for my whole life.

Learn more about the Fiance. I like to think I know a lot about him. He loves red and despises blue because of football team rivalries (typical English guy) and always eats his chips (fries) before his burger (which I DO NOT UNDERSTAND ONE BIT). But sometimes at random moments, I find myself going "Hmm... I wonder if he likes blue cheese." I like knowing fun tidbits about people.

I know he LOVES when I make him play tourist with me. I make him take me to "see the Queen" every single time and I react like it's the first time ever.

Be a close knit family. All of the Fiance's family lives SO CLOSE to each other! This concept is amazing to me. I've never lived close to family. The fact that we can walk to his grandparents house just blows my mind. I really want to embrace the proximity since I've never had that.

Keep in touch with the other side of the pond as much as possible. Right now, I try to keep in touch with everyone in England as much as I can. Starting next week, the tables will completely be turned. And I want to do everything in my power to still remain in contact with my friends and family in America. England will be my new home, and I'm very excited that I can finally say that. But Florida is where I spent 22 years of my life and I can't forget that either.

Anddddd we're done. For now at least.

I can't wait to look back at this list in a few months and see what really happened.

I'm trying to keep an open mind. Lists like this are made to be changed or added to. I might decide that I hate driving or running or eating fish and chips. I know fish and chips wasn't part of the list, but I think it's an unstated fact that I'll eat a lot of fish and chips. And vinegar. I love vinegar probably a bit too much.

I feel like I have so much to say, but none of it really matters. Because no matter how many lists I make or how much I think I know about living in another country, I literally have no clue what I'm in for.

So I guess all I really can say is bring it on, England. I'm ready for you.