2012- An (Aspiring) Year in Review

Only a few more hours left here in England

until 2013 makes its way into our lives

and 2012 is gone for good.

{Except for our facebook timeline & Instagram feeds.}

Isn't it funny how certain years stand out in our minds as good, solid years...

while some years are just so miserable

you can't wait to lock them up and forget about them completely?

I hope that 2012 hasn't been one of those years for you,

but if it has- have hope!

Life is good

and better days will be back soon.

I love using this blog to record what is going on in our lives.

In the midst of chaos,

it helps to have an outlet to journal what all we do & what we see...

and it also helps me remember what all happened.

{Sometimes I'm fairly certain I have the memory of a golden retriever.}

So here we go...

the highlights of 2012-

a year that I am happy to pack away

with good thoughts and fond memories.

JANUARY

Tyler & I celebrated our 5th anniversary in New York with a photo shoot.

We moved from London to Paris for my a short-term stint for my job.

FEBRUARY

We toured Southern France in it's coldest weather in over 100 years. 

I was a brat on Valentine's Day and blew a perfectly good holiday in Paris.

Life in Paris started to draw me in and I started taking notes on how to tour the city.

MARCH

We ventured out on a MYSTERY TRIP (planned by moi) to Amsterdam, Germany & Austria.

The Swiss Alps brought us out for work and we weren't sad to ski & eat through our week there.

APRIL

Tyler & I drove around Normandy exploring the WWII beaches & Mont St Michel.

It was Tyler's turn to surprise me with a second MYSTERY TRIP.... to the Italian Lakes!

We spent a week relaxing in a manoir in the Loire Valleywith our best friends.

My sweet grandmother, Viola, passed away.

MAY

We moved back to London just in time for me to help with Helena's home shoot.

Tyler turned 30 and I did my best to treat him like a man.

Tyler's sister gave birth to sweet baby, Grey.

I spent the first part of my summer in a heat wave in Scotland.

JUNE

Tyler & I lounged at the beach and swung on a porch swing with family for a week in Florida.

Work brought me through Milan & Paris for a week that was one of the highlights of the summer.

I finally found the perfect purse for traveling- thanks GiGi NY!

JULY

I made my first (and only?) VLOG... where I swore off any babies in the near future.

We found out we had a baby headed our way... though I waited a bit to make it public on the blog.

I met up with girlfriends from Oxford for a sunny weekend in Rome.

AUGUST

We struck gold and scored tickets to the opening ceremonies of the London Olympics... for £20!

We cashed in our miles and flew first-class to Tyler's sister's wedding.

We found out we had ANOTHER baby headed our way- twins! 

Getting stranded on a layover in Chicago left us feeling a bit Bueller-esque.

SEPTEMBER

We moved into a permanent place in Notting Hill.

My parents treated us to a week in Scotland.

European ex-Pat bloggers united in a Tuscan villa to celebrate Megan & Stephan's engagement.

OCTOBER

We ventured to Iceland for a 10 day adventure of waterfalls, ponies & icebergs. (I love my job.)

I offered my two-cents on finding your place in the blogging community.

NOVEMBER

We found out we had two baby girls headed our way.

I wrapped up my work year with ten days exploring Scotland & Ireland.

Thanksgiving was celebrated at the Old Course Hotel in St. Andrews.

DECEMBER

I found out Kate Middleton is pregnant... and I'm still recovering.

I flew to Texas & OKC for babies' showers.

My family came to spend Christmas with us in London.

Our 2012 Christmas Card.

***

That line up makes me tired just reading.

When I see it in writing, I realize just how much traveling we actually do...

which works out well, since we love it & my job requires it.

Who knows what 2013 will bring for us,

but I know that regardless of it is the same or different,

it's going to be good.

Happy New Years Eve!

I'll catch you on the flip side... but until then,
what's been a highlight of 2012 for you?

It's (still) a Wonderful Life.

As we straddle the end of Christmas

and await NYE celebrations,

I'm finding myself in the middle of a quick downshift

from the holiday madness.

While most of the time,

the buzz around the holidays is referred to with a roll of the eyes,

I actually love the holiday madness

and this year, we found it especially hard to give up.

After spending the first half of December in the States,

we headed back to London

to host my (entire!) family

for a very special Christmas in London.

It was magical and perfect

and all that you could really hope for...

minus the constant drizzle of rain!

So after we said goodbye to the last of our entourage yesterday,

we found ourselves moping about in our flats

and feeling a little claustrophobic.

It was time for some fresh air

and a reminder that life was still going on

and how absurdly lucky we are to be living in a great place...

even if that sometimes means you are far away from people you love.

We headed out feeling pretty fussy.

grabbed some beverages for the journey....

and wandered down to Portobello Road.

I've found that walking around Notting Hill, 

makes it hard to stay blue

when everything else is so bright and cheery.

Sometimes this place can even make me prance a little.

When we arrived to the market,

we headed straight to Poundland where we refilled

on essentials like batteries & shower gel.

Then we stocked up at Cath Kidston's after Christmas sale with £6 of goods.

The streets were full of people who were wandering around

and enjoying the adventure of being somewhere fun.

"Chinease Pears?" Hmm....

The feeling soon became contagious 

and, as the rain started to fall harder,

our spirits lifted back to a state of normalcy.

I may have even slipped on some rain water at a deli

and flailed my bulbous pregnant-self down a flight of stairs

into a horrified audience of people eating dinner

 earning me one of the world's ugliest bruises on my butt.

But somehow, 

even that didn't really matter.

By the time we got back home,

we were normal again

and I even made a homemade chicken pot pie.

{Which would indicate I was feeling obscenely better than average.}

I hope that where ever you are today between the holidays,

you find yourself happy & content!

{And far away from any slick stairs.}

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

Life In These United States

... while this blog has been quiet

since I flew home to the States,

life has been anything but that.

It's been full of spending time with people that I love,

doing things that jolly England just doesn't offer ($20 pedicures, anyone?),

being spoiled at showers for our quickly-approaching arrivals,

and eating more dairy/carbs/fat than I can articulate.

I have one baby that was leaning a bit on the scrawny side at our last scan

so I'm doing my best to stock up on extra calories while I'm here

to help a sister out.

Who said motherhood was a selfless gig?

The other day, I cruised through the grocery store with my mom

to grab a few things for dinner.

Typically, I can adapt fairly easily between cultures

but at times- 

I find myself reeling in a bit of reverse culture shock.

I'll find myself in a situation that seems so foreign and forgotten

and it leaves me confused on what to do next.

Items that I once needed in past years

 that are now frivolous, forgotten and slightly disgusting.

Yet somehow, their unexpected appearance

 leaves me with an urge to stockpile them 

with the fervor of a suburban mom at a strip mall on Black Friday.

And that's exactly how I ended up

walking out of the grocery store 

with one gallon of peppermint ice cream,

a can of orange cinnamon rolls,

an assortment of flavored coffee creamers

& seven boxes of Kraft macaroni & cheese.

So here's the plaguing question...

who doesn't like orange cinnamon rolls

and how can I change your mind?

*images original to Aspiring Kennedy

Homeward Bound- The AK Movie

Today I'm flying to the States

for a short visit home

to be pampered by some really amazing women

who are spoiling our babies with showers.

{We feel pretty loved.}

I'm flying solo on this leg

until Tyler arrives later next week.

While that may seem pretty standard,

it's actually a thought that is rocking my world.

I've flown these long-hauls flights so many times alone over the years.

Whether I was flying home from a summer in Africa in college,

flying to/from a trade show in Italy for work,

or heading to the States while Tyler was in classes at Oxford,

I'm pretty used to doing this on my own.

So the idea that this will probably be the last time I do this journey alone 

for the unforeseeable future 

is kinda rocking my world.

I made this video last year 

for an American Airlines promo last year

and, for some silly reason,

it still gets me when I watch it.

Something about traveling, family, heading home, Coldplay...

well, it just combines so many things that I love in one short little clip.

Bon Voyage!

Is it bad luck to wish that for yourself? 

Oh well! 

With as much as my back aches while sitting these days, 
I'm taking all the self-prescribed well wishes I can get. :)

It's a Pretty Big Day: Baby Royal On The Way.

Obviously, 

I think the two babies I'm carrying

are the most important children in the world.

I enjoy the world stopping everything

and celebrating the resplendent fruit of my uterus.

However,

with today's big news

coming from St. James Palace,

I'm happy to share the limelight.

WILL & KATE ARE PREGNANT!

image

Who knows when this little bundle of royal goodness is due

(as no due dates have been released yet),

but I think it's safe to say:

I'll be spending my summer

doing circles around Kensington Gardens

trying to shed some baby weight...

and in a pathetically obvious attempt

to bump into the happy little family.

PS. Have you heard the crazy rumor

that her hospitalizing condition, hyperemesis gravidarum, 

is more common in mothers carrying twins?

Well, I had never heard of it before-

which makes me think people are slightly overreacting.

(Remember the whole "peanut butter" absurdity last fall?)

Though, if it were in fact true-

I can't say that I'd be mad to learn

that we were both carrying two babies.

It'd just align our trajectory of being friends all the closer...

and make the two of us, well, twins.

Emotions, screaming, fanfare welcome below.

I want to be cool about all of this, but I'm going to fail miserably.

Juicy News from PULP.

Our flat is really cute

...if I may say so myself.

With it's big bright windows,

white walls & hardwood floors...

it just feel exactly like

a flat in Notting Hill should.

While it may have a winning bone structure,

it has a long way to go in the finish out.

{Editor's Note: Yes, that would be my fault entirely.}

When you live in a rented space,

it's always tough to balance what you want to do

and what you are allowed to do in someone else's space.

After hours of clicking through Pinterest,

wasting nearly an entire tree from sketching out ideas on printing paper,

and wandering aimlessly around IKEA,

I gave up and

decided it was time to call in the experts.

I emailed Pulp Design Studios

 and begged principal designer, Beth Dotolo, 

to take on our tiny nursery

and our even-smaller budget for the room.

I was just hoping that our space could have a PULP look-

one that would be both clean & luxe all at the same time.

Guess what?

Not only is Beth helping us,

but she's done an awesome job

of staying in our budget

and creating a look that, I think,

is out of this world.

It's perfect for our style,

for our rental constraints,

and... well, we can totally afford it

which makes me happy.

{Editor's Note: It's all still in the works- but once it's finished, I'll share it with you!}

So what does all of this baby room nonsense have to do with you?

Well, this morning

PULP Design Studios

has had a little baby of their own...

PULP HOME.

Yes, a store that sells luxe+modern merchandise 

that they have designed and produced.

The shop is stocked full of amazing pieces 

-both large & small-

that you've seen dotted around their spaces

in press mentions or on your home board on Pinterest.

The best part is-

Beth is a fellow blogger (Hello, Splendor)

and there is very little that makes me happier

than to see a fellow blogger grow their dreams.

I love when people in our community succeed

and their businesses thrive...

kinda leaves me with a lump in my throat.

.

Congratulations, Pulp Home!

{Remember us little guys when you're famous. }

*photography by Kevin Dotolo