This message has been approved by Her Majesty The Queen (well, not actually)

I was meant to stay in England two years.  Over four years later, I’m exiting and Blighty will be “seeing the back of me” (to use an English expression I’ve heard many times over here).  

Merry old England, you’ve certainly shown this Buffalo gal a jolly good time.  I’ve walked your Zebra crossings - including Abbey Road - admired your stunning countryside, enjoyed the pleasure of going to your free museums (amazing!), visited Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, spent numerous hours in your fantastic pubs sampling your pasties and your bangers and mash (yum!) and drinking (an essential part of an English pub visit!).  

I’ve travelled to some of your incredible places: Cambridge, The Cotswolds, Derby, London, Manchester, Stratford-upon-Avon, Liverpool (hello, The Beatles’ home, it was a must!), Uppingham, and last but not least, lived, explored and met my now-fiance in your second - and best - city of Birmingham.   

You’ve taught this Yankee how to make and drink a cuppa properly: with English tea, often and accompanied by Cadbury fingers!  Where would I be without proper afternoon tea experiences and a life which regularly included the sentence: “Would you like a cuppa?” (p.s. the answer to this is always: YES!)  

I’ve learned the right way to wait in line/”queue”, with patience and reserve, not the NY-style, push, shove and complain way.  And I’ve been taught the correct way to decorate a Christmas tree: with “baubles”, not “ornaments” or “decorations.”  

Although I never got into it myself, the seriousness of a good bacon sandwich was also spelled out to me.  

I’ve discovered that timely public transport is uncommon and train delay announcements always prompt a unanimous “typical” from passengers.  I certainly know now that the weather is quite “changeable.”  I never did learn to carry an umbrella consistently, I think the ever-positive American in me believed bad weather would hold off until I got home and indoors.  Always wrong! 

The Royal Wedding of Kate and William, The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 Olympics all took place while I lived here and it was an incredible time to be living in Britain.  I feel so fortunate to have been at a pub watching Prince Charles’ televised speech during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, and after his speech concluded, hearing and seeing all the English pub-goers singing 'God Save the Queen' in the area around me - just magical and a moment that’ll never be erased from my memory.  I’ll also always remember Anthony discussing with me what we’d say if we ever met Queen Elizabeth and he proclaimed: “I’d ask her, ‘how do you keep your hair so round?  And what’s your favorite biscuit?”  His response caused a fit of giggles which carried on for several minutes.  I imagine this will be a joke in our relationship for many years to come.

A little of "Little Britain" goes a long way in laughter!

I’ve been fortunate enough to study, work professionally, learn and explore this culture.  The people, the accents and the lingo of England is amazing.  I wouldn’t trade the experiences and things I’ve learned or the relationships and bonds I’ve made with the people here for anything.  

To my friends, both those who are English and those who are from this part of the world - thank you for being the super people that you are.  You took on a crazy American and taught her the way things should be done around here!  Thank you for showing me around this great green country, “taking the Mick” out of my nasally Buffalo accent and hopelessly trying to correct all those pesky Americanisms which I couldn’t forget (even after four years I still use a “z” in the word “organized.”  Guess old habits die hard!).  I look forward to visiting with you again soon, on both sides of the pond!

To my English/American family -

Maggie and Jim - Thank you for watching dozens of Gavin & Stacey episodes with me (sometimes the same ones over and over again!) to help me prepare to write my university dissertation.  Oh, Gwen, I know it was hard work but someone had to do it!    I know my Birmingham bus route 45 and train commuting stories were probably entertaining but I’m sure sometimes they were annoying too, thank you for not telling me to “leave off” on those sometimes-endless tales!  All the dinners and laundry you did, the loud music you suffered through and the times I was a “dirty stop out” must have been tough times but you were both always there for me.  I appreciate everything you did and still do for me.  Thank you for being incredible parents and friends and for welcoming and taking good care of me during my time in England.

Sheila and Anthony -

Thank you for not telling me that my house DIY ideas (and my day-to-day general ideas) were totally crazy and for “looking after me” for almost three years.  Sheila - You’ve raised a fine man who I feel honored to be with.  You have helped us both so much and put up with so much from a pushy Yankee - you deserve a medal!  I am indescribably grateful to you for your kindess and I feel terribly lucky to have both you and Anthony in my life.

Anthony - Thank you for being the upbeat, English man who I’ve fallen in love with.  I’m ‘well chuffed’ that you fancied dinner, ‘just the two of us.’  Don’t ever change because I love you just as you are especially when we sing “all night long” together - a little bit of Lionel always brings a smile to our faces!  If I had to pick my most treasured memories from my time living here, the ones with you would have top billing.  I’m so happy I was here at the right time to meet my brownie redcoat. 

My stepbrothers and their families -

Thanks for taking the time to show me around Birmingham and for including me in your lives.  You’re both real stars and I’ve enjoyed getting to know you and your families during my England journey.  Here’s hoping we can catch up again in the future!

I don’t want to “put you off” by “banging on” about my favorite (sorry, favoUrite) things/memories of England, so I’ll finish this up by saying: it’s been fun, old Blighty, and I’ll never forget you, mate.  Until we meet again, “mind how you go” and bye bye bye (because you can’t just say it once, bab).  Cheers!

Why YOU should read "Watching the English" (even if you aren't English)

While studying abroad in England, I had to undertake a dissertation as part of my degree requirements .  I knew that I wanted to write about something that mattered to me and that I was interested in.  So, I choose to focus on a popular TV programme, Gavin & Stacey, and looked at the constructions of Englishness and Welshness in the show.

Long after completing my dissertation and finishing my degree, my boyfriend (who happens to be English) came across the book, Watching the English by Kate Fox, and bought it for me since he knew of my interest in Englishness and that I had studied English culture for my dissertation.

After finishing this book I can tell you without doubt: it's fantastic!  Although some topics in the book may not be as funny to someone who is not a) English or b) has not resided in the country/visited for a period of time, it is still a worthwhile read that will delight and amuse anyone who enjoys and appreciates English culture.

Having lived in England for nearly four years now, I loved and fully understood many chapters in this book.  I'm not a native, but my time spent in England allowed me to really understand and enjoy the humour of this book.  Kate's work made me reflect and giggle at certain pages/chapters which exactly replicated moments/experiences I've had with English people while living here.  Moments such as: train delay reactions from English passengers awaiting the upcoming (and late) trains - which often provoked responses from English rail passengers like "typical!" (which is mentioned in the book), pub etiquette and how to queue up properly in Britain.

So many chapters in this book are really "spot on" about how things work in English society and will really make you laugh - or at the very least give you a better understanding of the workings of this proud island nation.

Those who have visited or lived in Blighty or those who are actually English will definitely enjoy this read but it would also entertain any Anglophile.

In the year of the Diamond Jubilee for her Majesty the Queen, this book is a must read!!

If you should read the book, please let me know your thoughts!

L'Oreal EverPure products - skip 'em or try 'em?

Because I am bit of a product freak, once I found out (from an ad in my Cosmopolitan magazine) that the UK had the L'Oreal Everpure line of sulfate free haircare products, I had to try them.


Normally, I'm not a huge fan of drugstore products.  I prefer to use professional, salon brands because I find them to be less harsh on my hair and they give me shinier, less greasy (I only wash my hair every other day) effects.  I haven't bought any products for hair from a drugstore in years.  Since this line is sulphate free, I thought twice about them and headed to Boots to pick some up to try.  

Sulphates are nasty ingredients that can dry out your hair and most better quality products won't have them in, or, will have the less harmful sulphates in them.  I was drawn to these products because I thought they would be better for my hair and a bit more inexpensive (about 6 pounds a bottle) than salon brands.


I should mention I have very baby fine, long hair (beyond shoulders) and I highlight it bright blonde about every 3-4 months.  Although I don't straighten it often, because it is weakened from highlighting and frequent blowdrying, it is a bit damaged.   


What I purchased:

• L'oreal EverPure shampoo colour care and volume (bontanical oils rosemary & juniper) - for coloured weakened hair
• L'Oreal EverPure conditioner reinforcing and vitality (botanical iols rosemary & mint) - for fragile brittle hair
• L'Oreal EverPure shampoo eversleek smoothing and moisturizing shampoo (botanical extract sunflower) 

The verdict:


Scent:  If you don't like herbal or flowery scents these products will probably not be for you.  While most shampoos have a rinse-out, blow dry effect where once you've styled your hair, the smell isn't potent and has somewhat disappeared - this isn't the case with these products.  The smell isn't overwhelming after drying/styling,  but you will still smell it.  I do enjoy herbal scents though (I enjoy Pureology products which have similar smells to this line) so this wasn't an issue for me.


Shine, lather, value for money and overall quality:  These products are all 250 mL and my shampoo has an expiration of 12 months but I will probably have finished each (shampoo) bottle in about 2 months.  I think they do last a decent amount of time, about the same time as my salon products would have lasted.  
They do provide pretty decent shine and I would say that a shine difference is noticeable form using this line.


Lather is not an issue with these products, I noticed that they do lather pretty nicely without using much product.


Greasiness is a bit of an issue.  Since I highlight my hair, I think I may feel like my hair got much greasier using these products than salon ones because regrowth makes the hair look greasier (because the regrowth is darker naturally than the highlights would be).  But, I think if I'd had my hair highlighted this might not have been as noticeable.  However, since I'm unsure if the lack of highlighting my hair near when I started using these products coincided with making me feel like the hair was greasier due to using these products, I wouldn't say this is a deal breaker about purchasing these products again.


The conditioner was on the same level as my Pureology conditioner and I would purchase this again.  It didn't weight my hair down and it make my hair feel soft and replenished. 


Overall, I would say that if you are on a budget and can't afford the more expensive salon products, these would be a good second choice.  I found that they lasted a good amount of time, they had good shine quality, they didn't make my hair frizzy or dry and I would consider buying them again.


Please comment on this post if you would like any additional information about the products I've tested out.


Happy product shopping!  
*Please note I am in no way affiliated with the L'Oreal brand and these views are my own and based on my experience using these products.  

Sister shout out

Elizabeth, my older sister, has always been there for me.  She's one of the few people I ask advice of, she carved the path for me as we grew up discovering and learning lessons which she then passed on to me and she's the model I look up to.

Although we are close sisters, it's impossible to know everything about her.  I recently read an alumni article written by her former university, Medaille College, about Elizabeth, and through reading it a bit more of the determined and wonderful person she is was revealed to me.

Too often in life we lose track of the things that matter most and don't express how we feel about family and close friends -  I'm guilty of this too.  So, I wanted to use my blog to publicly praise my older sister and to tell anyone who reads this how very proud I am of her hard work at both universities she graduated from (Medialle College and New York University).

Small sisters

Sisters -all grown up!

I admire her tenacity in everything she does.  Elizabeth has  always seemed to have a constant faith that everything will work out and she always believes that nothing is unachievable if you work hard enough. Her fearlessness has been such an inspiration to me and everyone who meets her.  Elizabeth is such a motivational and loving person who I'm fortunate enough to call my sister.

UPDATE to Dear Jobless post

Dear Jobless post UPDATE -

I have a very close friend who is still struggling to land her first job in her chosen field, the world of fashion, and last Christmas, to give her a bit of inspiration, I bought her a print from a user on Etsy, Ginger Oliphant, which pictured a bulldog (my friend's favorite dog breed) and an excellent quote about looking ahead with optimism:

I've been lucky enough to find a position in the field that I love, I now work at a PR agency in England, and I hope that all of you graduates and job hunters can find the role you have been searching for.  It might take some determination and support from your family and close friends but you can do it - never give up!