The McCooey's of London

We are moving!

2012-12-09T18:52:00.001+00:00

We are so excited! We are moving to another flat in London and tomorrow is the big day! Good-bye Notting Hill and all the memories of me strolling down Portobello Road replaying over and over again each scene in the movie "Notting Hill" (sorry, I can't help it. I love that movie. It's so sweet and funny). I never spotted Hugh Grant in my hood which would of been a dream come true, but oh well, I have a feeling he runs from my neighborhood like it's the plague after that movie. We have spotted Bruce Springsteen, Bridgette Nielson, Mick Jones from the Clash, Jimmy Paige, the curly headed woman from the show The Grimm and Jason Swartzman. I'm sure there have been others and we just didn't realize it.

We are moving to a new area, the theatre disrict, yep!, so exciting! London will basically be right on my very own door step. It'll basically be the equivalent of living in Times Square/Rockefeller Center if you've ever been to New York City.

The place is bigger, brighter, nicer and a 10 minute walk to Big Ben and London Eye.
There is so much more that I could say about this big move, but I'll hold off for now.

I'm pretty sure I won't be able to sleep tonight.

Watch me on QVC: Sept 26 2pm GMT

2012-09-25T22:53:00.003+01:00

Going LIVE again tomorrow on QVC UK (www.qvcuk.com) just click "watch live" or if in the London you can watch on the tele. 2pm GMT - I'm the first two products. (9am EST) (8am CST)

1st Product: Mod Podge - You are going to love it!

2nd Product: The Hot Glue Gun Helper - You are going to love it!

Recipe Holder

2012-08-06T13:12:00.003+01:00

How smart is this!

recipe holder

Olympic Torch

2012-07-27T13:40:00.000+01:00

Sorry about not blogging much lately I just have a lot on my to do list at the moment... I'll give you a hint we gave our move out notice for our current flat... soooo it is crazy busy time for the McCooey's right now... I do want to share a very cool moment that I had yesterday... The Olympic Torch went down my street yesterday and after calmly jumping over a barrier and nearly pissing off (probably pissing off) a female police officer I was able to get this great shot:

I especially love this shot because it looks like the bald guys head is on fire.

4th of July...in London

2012-07-02T08:14:00.002+01:00

We usually have a 4th of July garden party to celebrate the 4th, but this year it won't be happening. Sniff Sniff... I will be celebrating the 4th from a rooftop in one of the most charming cities in the States and to be honest I'm pretty excited about it. I had been wanting a summer Stateside visit for a while now, but at $1400 a pop for an economy seat I was ignoring the urge... However, when prices dropped a couple+ hundred bucks I pulled the trigger and hit the purchase button. So with that said "RANCH DRESSING HERE I COME!"

If you won't be Stateside and will be celebrating the 4th in London here are a couple options for ya:

American Beer Festival

The White Horse in Parson's Green is hosting an American beer festival. The festival will feature beers from the Goose Island, Rogue and Sierra Nevada breweries. Along with the various American beers, there will also be a special six course meal in partnership with Goose Island brewery. There will be live blues and rock music. Weather permitting, there will be an outdoor BBQ. Entry is free.

Hot Dog Eating Contest

The Blues Kitchen in Camden will be hosting a hot dog eating contest. Last year's winner will take on a new challenger. Along with the hotdog madness, Americans can also get a free drink. Just bring your US passport with you. Free live soul music in the evening.

Nashville the new "Nowville"

2012-06-27T13:52:00.001+01:00

First Nashville and its food scene was in GQ, then the New York Times, and now I see it across the pond in the Guardian!! I can't tell you how happy this makes me. Man, that's a great town.

Here's the article in the Guardian if you'd like to read up on what should be your next holiday spot:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2012/jun/22/nashville-tennessee-top-10-budget-restaurants?newsfeed=true

What it cost to dress like Kate

2012-06-26T16:48:00.000+01:00

I was reading Yahoo News this morning and thought I'd share this since we were just talking about it the other day...

The Duchess of Cambridge might be mortified that her father-in-law, Prince Charles, could let the cat out of the bag when it comes to her sartorial spending, but he is the one funding her shopping trips.

In the coming days, the Prince is due to reveal his financial accounts for the first time since the royal wedding, and it is estimated that the Duchess has spent £35,000 on clothes already this year, a sum only a small fraction below the £44,000 salary her husband, Prince William, takes home as a RAF search-and-rescue pilot.

While Kate is partial to bespoke, high-end Alexander McQueen creations, she also offsets this by mixing affordable high street brands like Zara, Whistles and Reiss into her hugely-desired wardrobe - which she isn't afraid to recycle every now and then.

According to the Daily Mail the future king is only too happy to pay for outfits Kate requires for 'work-related' engagements through his official Household budget, which is funded by his Duchy of Cornwall estate.

Kate has shown her more daring side of late where clothes are concerned, dazzling in a lace-back Jenny Packham gown at a red carpet gala and flashing her legs in a thigh-split dress by Roland Mouret.

"She's a fantastic person to work with. She's a woman of her time" Mouret told The Telegraph.

"She's very aware of her position and she's a really nice person. She's human. It's really nice to work with someone in her position. It's… historic, yes."

While the creations created for Kate by the likes of McQueen, Emilia Wickstead and Erdem can fetch several of thousands pounds per piece, the 30-year-old is quickly reducing the 'cost per wear' by wearing each item again. Only in May, she recycled a pink Emilia Wickstead dress within two weeks of its first outing, and has even been pictured in a Reiss dress belonging to her mother, Carole Middleton.

So perhaps Prince Charles can take comfort in the fact that Kate's clothing costs probably include a fair intake of dry cleaning bills too…

Kiwi Crate

2012-06-25T18:31:00.000+01:00

I recently learned about Kiwi Crate, it's a really cool idea if you have kids or know someone who does. Each month they send your 3-7 year old a different craft project. Cool, huh?! Yeah, I think so too so I think a young boy we know just may be getting a 3, 6 or 12 month subscription for his birthday.

Beth Snyder @ 1Canoe2 if you are reading this you may want to see if you could do some paper kit craft business? just a thought...

To find out more about Kiwi Crate click here

*This is not a sponsored ad, I just think it's cool enough to share with others...

Germantown Cafe East tragedy

2012-06-20T10:56:00.001+01:00

Sunday night Nashville lost not only a talented chef, but an overall great guy. Jay Luther, co-owner of Germantown Cafe East and Germantown Cafe (1200 5th Avenue North) went to check on the food inside the cooler at the new Germantown Cafe East after power had been restored after an outage over the weekend and while inside the cooler the door shut and locked behind him. Not only was their dry ice inside the cooler to help preserve the food during the outage, but the door release button inside the cooler was broken. He pulled the burglar alarm inside the freezer, but when the cops came 5 minutes later they checked the outside and just thought it was a false alarm. His cell phone was at home. One tragic thing after another. It's just heart breaking.

When I moved in with the Mister our first apartment was above the Germantown Cafe on 5th Avenue. It was still under construction and since I'm chatty I got to know the owners and staff. They'd let me come in, see the progress and talk food with them. Everyone was so nice to us especially Jay. I fell in love with his Pumpkin Cheesecake to the point when he'd finally have one (October...only time its in season) he'd stop me if he saw me or call me and sneak me some out the back door, he even gave me his recipe for the cappuccino whip cream. I can't count how many slices of cheesecake that I have eaten from Germantown Cafe. He'd also (if he was working) let me order his warm molten chocolate cake with Cabernet sauce even if it wasn't on the menu that night. To this day they are the two of the best desserts I've ever eaten. When they opened Allium he was into trying new bacon and he'd bring me out some to taste from time to time because he knew I was a big bacon lover. Don't even get me started on his Plum Pork and mashed potatoes or the chicken strudels. OMG the bread!!! YUM! I didn't know him well outside the restaurant world, but the fact that he always remembered what I loved to eat always meant so much to me.

I've written several blogs about the food in Nashville and that said you know that me and the Mister have always been big supporters of the Germantown Cafe crew. Over the last 9 years we have had our wedding rehearsal dinner there, countless dinners, drinks, family get together's, birthday celebrations, brunch with friends, and we always do our best to stop in when we are in town visiting. It will not be the same going to visit knowing that Jay is gone. He will be missed. He was always so nice to everyone. I never saw him without a smile on his face, I'm assuming that's not easy to do in the restaurant business.

If you are in Nashville and looking for a place to eat this weekend head over to Germantown Cafe at 1200 5th Avenue North and eat all my favorites for me! They are open for business.

Germantown Cafe East, however, is closed and not sure when they will reopen.

Click here for the complete story.

Villa D'Este

2012-06-19T09:29:00.002+01:00

After Milan we went to beautiful Lake Como for 5 nights. Staying in Lake Como for that long means that without a doubt you do not have to rush to do anything... so... on one lazy day (yes, while I was still sick) I booked us a romantic lunch at Villa D'Este at their Veranda Restaurant. We arrived and I was heaven just like I thought I would be.

Villa D'Este was built in 1568 and since then has become one of the most luxurious hotels in the world or at least that's what Conde Nast and Travel + Leisure have to say about it. Some even say it was the first hotel in the world.

There was no way we were paying their room rate so I opted for lunch instead of a hotel stay. I was still sick so I stuck with sparkling water while the mister was having a delicious glass of wine... oh well, can't have it all I guess... I skipped a starter so that I could focus on more important courses like DESSERT. I ordered the mushroom risotto made with a special "7 year aged" rice (can you really age RICE?) and some herbs that I've never had before and it was delicious. The mister had the Veal Milanese and it was delicious! He was generous enough to share.

Then comes dessert. I ordered the cherry souffle and the mister ordered this chocolate trio plate that made me so jealous, it was amazing, food art on a plate. Again, he shared! My souffle was good, but not great. I think if I would have been able to take my eyes off Mike's plate mine may have been better HA!

I know what you are thinking... WHERE ARE THE PICTURES?! As for the inside shots and the food I was a good girl and kept my camera in my purse, it's a dslr so its not tiny like a point and shoot. I had to use Mike's phone camera and am still waiting on him to email those to me (Mike if you are reading this hint hint). BUT, I do have shots of the outside!! The grounds at Villa D'Este are GORGEOUS! Let me show you:

we had lunch under the awning behind my head~ the staff is AMAZING! SOOO nice!

this picture does not even give this beautiful garden justice

who wouldn't want to swim here?

this not the main hotel, just a side building...

Milan

2012-06-13T14:31:00.000+01:00

We recently went to Milan for a 2 night stay and was surprised with a visit from the Pope. Yes! The Pope! As we were standing there in the crowd of thousands waiting for the Pope to arrive we realized by looking at the big jumbo tron that he was coming our way! Camera's ready?! yep!! Snap Snap Snap Snap!

We were about twenty-ish feet away from him when he drove by... Out of the 50 shots I snapped this is the best one I got... I'm going to say that if I were a foot taller that it'd be way better.

When he started addressing the crowd in Italian we left... ya know, since we don't know how to speak Italian and all...

Pope in his Pope-mobile to the left as well as on the jumbo tron

How was Milan? It was ok
Would I go back? No
Am I glad we went there? Yes
Was two night plenty of time to be in Milan? Most definitely
What was the highlight of the trip? The Pope
What was the low light of the trip? Me being sick the whole time and forgetting my credit card in the pharmacy. Oops!

Victoria Secret in London!

2012-05-28T11:05:00.000+01:00

If you haven't heard already the Angels are coming to London!

Yes!

On July 25 Victoria Secret will open their first store on Bond Street!

Finally!

Banana Muffins, Jimmy Choo's and more

2012-05-27T18:39:00.000+01:00

I have been busy lately leaving little or no time for blogging if you can't tell... Sorry about that, but to try to update you here I go:

I found the most amazing banana muffin recipe!

I was recently surprised by my fantastic husband when we came home one night last week and he had a pair of Jimmy Choo boots waiting for me at the door . I had been "visiting" these boots since Winter 2009, but could never find it in me to actually purchase them. Now I can look at them every single day in the comfort of my own home. I was so surprised that I cried a little when I saw them and was in utter shock and disbelief.

Wednesday and Thursday I worked at QVC building/creating the set for the Martha Stewart Craft Show. So much fun!

Saturday we had a last minute garden party in our garden it started at 12:30pm and we got home at 12:45am. I'd call that a successful party!

Before I forget if you aren't already making Ina Garten's Lemon Chicken a regular item on your weekly dinner menu then you need to start doing that this week. It is DELICIOUS! Warning: If you are not a garlic lover this recipe is not for you. Me and the mister currently can't get enough of it.

As for what's going on in London... Everyone is preparing for the Diamond Jubilee Celebration. 60 years of being Queen! I'd say that's a good enough reason to celebrate. There is Jubilee this and Jubilee that everywhere you look. It's so festive and seems to have everyone excited. Between the Jubilee and all this warm sunny weather London couldn't be happier.

Uh oh!

2012-05-21T16:18:00.002+01:00

I looked out my window this morning and this is what I saw.

I'm going to assume the following:

1) That can't be good
2) That can't be quiet
3) That can't be a quick job
4) That I can't do anything about it
5) That I'm going to whine about it for quite some time...

Malta

2012-05-13T10:37:00.001+01:00

Last weekend we escaped the cold rainy weather in London for warm sunny clear skies in Malta! I'm so glad we did, it was just what we both needed.... some VITAMIN D!

Where is Malta? Its south of Italy and north of Libya. A tiny little speck of an island. It's a nonstop 3-3.5 hour nonstop flight from London Heathrow.

standing above the Blue Grotto

Air Malta: This is the first time we flew Air Malta... What did we think? Well... the plane was full of one rude crazy person after another and the flight attendants were not what we were use to. For example: when taking off the guy in front of me basically had his seat reclined into my lap and the flight attendant didn't seem to care (I SURE DID)... I also realized that when we touched down that no one ever told me to turn off my iPad (that I didn't mind so much) The agents at check-on were super nice though.

Is Malta pretty? Well... it's tan. That's for sure! Everywhere you look no matter where you are on the island the buildings are one shade of tan after another, no color at all. I kept finding myself wanting to see some vibrant splashes of color, but never did.

The water: The water was absolutely gorgeous!! Some of the prettiest and cleanest that I've seen anywhere. I don't like getting into the ocean (yeah, I'm a bit of a weirdo), but had the water been the slightest bit warm I would have been swimming around all over the place. It was so clear and so blue!

Spinola Bay at night (St.Julian's)

Where we stayed: Hotel Juliani located in St. Julian's overlooking Spinola Bay... just a 5 minute walk from the nightlife area "Paceville"... Did we like it? Yeah, for the price (a mere $150 a night) and location it could not really be beat. Would we stay there again? Maybe. If the water was warmer, I'd probably stay somewhere with a private beach. This place does have a rooftop pool though.

Places to check out while in Malta:

Golden Bay: parts of the movie "Troy" (with Brad Pitt) was filmed here... it has golden sand, cliffs surrounding it and is secluded from the city noise
Mdina: cool area and great views of Malta
Fontanella Tea Gardens (in Mdina) Eat there chocolate cake.
Mosta: home of the world's 3rd largest dome (or so they say)
Valletta: city capital... Republic Street is pretty busy and check out St. John's Cathedral it's home to a Caravaggio (signed in blood... or so they say) Check their hours though because it's closed on Sunday (the day we went) and closes pretty early other days...
Marsaxlokk: cute fishing village - nice place to go have lunch, spend an hour and move on... They have a daily market... and the freshest fish that you'll probably ever get in your lifetime unless you catch it yourself
Sliemma: a nice walk along the promenade from St. Julian's... you catch all the ferries, water taxi's, harbor cruises from here, cafe's and shops are all over as well... a lot of chain stores though...
Hagar Qim and Mnajdra Temples: these temples are said to be older than the pyramids and they have no idea what they were used for. They are located really close to the Blue Grotto.
Blue Grotto: take the 20 minute boat ride to/through the Blue Grotto and it's surrounding caves. even if this isn't really your thing just being on top of the gorgeous clear blue water is worth it. Mike and I wanted to jump in, but the water was FREEZING.
Hop On-Hop off bus tour: Best deal ever. For 13 euros per person we got a 3 hour bus ride all over the island and it even included a 1.5 hour harbor cruise (which we did and actually enjoyed) Like I said, BEST DEAL EVER.
Tom Hanks is currently filming a movie there, Captain Phillip? or something like that? and on the Harbor cruise we cruised by the set. The people who live in Malta are VERY excited about Tom Hanks filming here. It was Tom Hanks, this Tom Hanks that... Tom Hanks just bought a house near the Blue Grotto blah blah blah.

How are the prices in Malta? Everything is AFFORDABLE!

Would I go again? yeah, maybe. It's a big world and I want to see it all so it's really hard for me to go to places twice. As for the mister? Well, he was already talking about moving there one day. HA!

Things I didn't like about Malta?

Service is really slow there for the most part. Like REALLY slow.
People cut line ALL the time. No matter where you are, they will step right in front of you like you don't exist. There is never an orderly line. Total line chaos. I never got ok with this.
Smoking was everywhere. Barf. I hate the smell of cigarette smoke.

Bare Minerals

2012-05-09T09:23:00.002+01:00

While I love love love Bare Minerals foundation, their "Flawless definition volumizing mascara" that I just sampled for a few weeks is about as average as average can get. There was no "volumizing" going on so that was one flaw against their promised flawlessness. The black color also wasn't black enough and I felt like I had to keep caking it on to even see it.

Verdict: Disappointing and would not buy again.

Pancakes!

2012-05-01T09:46:00.002+01:00

While in Amsterdam a couple weekends ago we ran across Pancakes! Amsterdam.

I am so glad we did because not only did we have brunch there on Saturday, we went back for it again on Sunday. Yum!

Pancakes! Is open from 10.00 till 19.00 hour, 7 days a week. (From week 44 (2012) until week 7 (2013) Pancakes! will be closed on Tuesday)

Pancakes! Amsterdam
Berenstraat 38
1016GH Amsterdam

T. +31 (0)20 528 97 97
E. info@pancakesamsterdam.com

Coffee Breakdown

2012-04-30T18:24:00.000+01:00

I drink several different kinds of coffee and people always ask me what's the difference between this one and that one... I found this chart so I thought I'd share just in case you were wondering too:

My new favorite dress

2012-04-27T15:32:00.002+01:00

I love dresses! I don't wear them that often, but I should and will make a point to wear them more often.

The latest addition I picked up in Florence over our Easter/early anniversary holiday. I can not wait to wear it (see below). Although, the picture shows the model wearing sandals I unfortunately tried it with sandals and am sadly too short... so heels it is!!

Any ideas on where I can wear this? I need to think of a place/reason asap!

the back drops down and shows my lower back - too cute!

@NC5_ChrisCannon

2012-04-26T11:31:00.003+01:00

Louboutin Shoes at the Design Museum

2012-04-23T09:17:00.002+01:00

Mark your calendars

May 1-July 9, 2012

at the

Design Museum!

Urban Decay Mascara

2012-04-21T10:35:00.000+01:00

As I stated a while back I'm working my way through a sample pack of mascara's. The latest is "Urban Decay" their super curl curling mascara in black.

Verdict: I don't like the thick rubber brush bristles, it makes the mascara go on clumpy. However, I didn't give up after the first use because when it did look good, it really looked good, you just had to really take your time and figure out how to use this stupid type of rubber bristle brush.

It stayed on all day. Never flaked or wore off until I washed it off which it did very easy.

Would I buy it again? Probably not, simply because I don't like the rubbery bristles. It also states "curling" mascara... yeah, there was no curling...

Highclere Castle

2012-04-18T21:03:00.000+01:00

I'm still here just very busy at the moment... not much time to blog...

so it'll be "blog tidbits" for a little while.

The latest...

A visit to Highclere Castle

aka "Downton Abbey" last Thursday in Newbury, UK.

Me looking at the back of Highclere Castle located in Newbury, UK

Easter in Florence

2012-04-09T12:45:00.000+01:00

There is not much that can beat a long weekend getaway/2nd honeymoon in Florence and the hills of Tuscany... Especially if you include the part where we sneaked into the Duomo at night. What an eerie feeling in there at night.

We had so much fun!

More to follow once I get the flat and our laundry in order...

Happy Easter!

2012-04-07T01:12:00.001+01:00

Still looking for something to do on Easter?

Don't have any kids?

I found the list below on londonist.com and thought I'd share...

Grown-up stuff
The Old Vic Tunnels bunker will be transformed into a Holiday Camp, complete with meadow, boating pond, deck chairs, bouncy castle, music etc on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 April from 7pm, activities start from 8pm (tickets £15).

Brodie’s Bunny Bash beer festival features 40 beers at the King William IV pub, Leyton from Friday 6 April to Monday 9 April.

Like cocktails with your chocolate? Try the Monkey Shoulder Chocolate Trail at 63 Broadwick Street from Friday 6 to Monday 9 April, midday till 7pm (free to attend, drinks to buy).

The Queen Elizabeth Hall roof garden opens for the summer and the Real Food Market is at Southbank Square all Easter weekend. Plus, E4 Udderbelly Festival begins in the upturned purple cow tent on Friday 6 April.

The Passion of Jesus will be performed in Trafalgar Square on Good Friday 6 April at noon and 3.15pm (free).

Take a seasonal chocolate and coffeehouse tour of London from 11.30am Saturday 8 April. Read our review of an earlier Coffeehouse Tour with Dr Matthew Green (£15+bkg — includes free shots of Olympian hot chocolate, 18th-century perfume, and champagne).

Watch the Goat Race at Spitalfields City Farm on Saturday 7 April from 1.30pm (book tickets now, adults £5.50, kids 50p).

Or there’s the Boat Race on the Thames from 2.15pm.

The McCooey's of London

We are moving!

Watch me on QVC: Sept 26 2pm GMT

Going LIVE again tomorrow on QVC UK (www.qvcuk.com) just click "watch live" or if in the London you can watch on the tele. 2pm GMT - I'm the first two products. (9am EST) (8am CST)

1st Product: Mod Podge - You are going to love it!

2nd Product: The Hot Glue Gun Helper - You are going to love it!

Recipe Holder

Olympic Torch

4th of July...in London

Nashville the new "Nowville"

What it cost to dress like Kate

Kiwi Crate

Germantown Cafe East tragedy

Villa D'Este

Milan

Victoria Secret in London!

Banana Muffins, Jimmy Choo's and more

Uh oh!

Malta

Bare Minerals

Pancakes!

Coffee Breakdown

My new favorite dress

@NC5_ChrisCannon

A dear friend is in need of more Twitter followers.

He's a bit competitive and in a "twitter race" with a fellow reporter. Right now he's losing and needs your help.

If you have a twitter account and a competitive nature please

start following

@NC5_ChrisCannon

Thanks in advance!

Chris Cannon

@NC5_ChrisCannon

Louboutin Shoes at the Design Museum

Urban Decay Mascara

Highclere Castle

Easter in Florence

Happy Easter!