is christmas over already?

For months and months I waited for London and christmas; and in the blink of an eye it was gone. And all I have is memories (and a handful of photographs and an overflowing suitcase) as I sit on the balcony in the warm December Cyprus sun. 

Christmas was exactly what I wanted it to be; there were lazy mornings, coffee trips, dinner dates, festive films, a huge roast dinner (I may or may not have had two plates) plenty of chocolate and christmas cookies and of course, presents. 

But the best bit was seeing friends and family. Spending precious moments with familiar faces. Although the huge chinese feast me and the boyfriends mum devoured in China town also ranks pretty highly! 

Only another 11 months until the countdown begins again. For now, it's time to embrace 2013 and all it has to offer.

Back to the blog

Well I did tell you it would be quiet for a while.

I arrived back from London late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning and since then it has been a blurr of work, unpacking, washing, folding and tidying away many, many items purchased whilst in London. The problem now is where to put everything! 

London was simply magical. 

It was cold (and rainy but the less said about that the better), there was christmas spirit everywhere and lights for that matter. And the food. Well the food was just how I remembered it. Only better. 

Unfortunately in my haze of excitement, taking in the moments and consuming the lovely faces of friends I havent seen for oh so long, I forgot to take any photographs. I literally have 2 photographs on my phone.

But I have the memories in my head and sometimes it is just better to be in the moment instead of trying to capture it.  

And after my whirlwind "holiday" thankfully I have 4 days off to relax, enjoy the new year and get back into life in Cyprus, which means eating, drinking, blogging and spending too many hours on pinterest im sure.

sunday sound: the christmas edition

It's Sunday. It's nearly christmas. I'm in London and feeling festive.

So this Sunday sound is a classic that instantly puts me in the mood for christmas.

I'm actually writing this in bed, on a rainy and cold Tuesday morning as I contemplate finishing my packing since I'm getting on a plane in 6 hours.

And since by the time you read this it will be the Sunday before christmas (thank god for scheduled posts) I thought I would make the blog feel that little bit more festive.

Enjoy.

its beginning to feel a lot like christmas

As you read this I am in London. Officially I was in London since last night but landing late at heathrow doesnt count. I mean anyone who has been to heathrow knows it's not exactly the hottest place to be.

Obviously this is pre-written from my cosy little bed in Cyprus, but right about now I should have taken in an adequate amount of festiveness that London has to offer. Oh and I probably got my hair chopped off. We'll see how brave I was...

While it may be a little presumptuous, I am sure I will feel incredibly christmas-y by now.

And so here is a little something I saw on pinterest to add a visual dimension to my ramblings.

There is no way the pooch would let us do this to her.

Londons Calling

Ever since I saw this advert, all those many months ago, I've used it as my pick me up. You know, when its been one of those weeks. When I feel really far from home and a little lonely. 

The BBC have absolutely captured everything I miss about London, the culture, the architecture, the food..... need I say more. 

But finally the time has come. London is calling and I get to hop on a plane in a few hours headed for heathrow and 8 days of London time. And more importantly, christmas London time. Christmas is probably the best time to live in London. Its crisp and cold. Its magical. Its beautifully decorated. It has a buzz about it like no other time of year. 

I wont be blogging while i'm gone because frankly I will be out and about enjoying everything London has to offer me and catching up with those faces I usually only get to see through Skype.

So consider this christmas holidays for the blog (although there may be a few sneaky scheduled posts thanks to blogger). 

I won!!!!

No it wasn't the lottery, but the fact that I have never won anything in my life makes this moment all the bit sweeter. 

I mentionned before, a great little online community called Expats Blog - which every year run the Expats Blog Awards, honouring some great blogs worldwide with gold, silver and bronze prizes. The guys over at Expats Blog not only found my little online diary but nominated me for an award and I won. 

OK so it wasn't the big gold (but that went to a very deserving lady), but I did grab a silver!!! 

I'm very proud of my little silver badge keeping my side bar company.

If your looking for some great travel blogs or blogs about life around the world - find your new reading here.

a haze of packing

Packing is probably the hardest thing about going to London on vacation. The dilemma is this; how much and what do I pack for freezing cold England and how much room should I leave for shopping?

I mean, obviously there will be shopping, unless it's one of those times when the time limit of a week is too much pressure and I dont find anything I want to buy (this is worst case scenario, but I guess my bank balance would be happier).

Anyway, on a cold and rainy Monday night in Cyprus, I am trying to work out how to get an adequate amount of this.....

...........into my suitcase. HELP!

sunday sound

I heard this song on the radio today and knew it had that Sunday sound about it. Perfect listening for a cold day, all tucked up at home, in sweat pants, doing laundry and trying in vain to pack a whole wardrobe into one suitcase (but more about that another time). 

And I love that this doesnt sound like a typical Rhianna song. The video is pretty beautiful too.

winters arrived

The past few days have seen "winter" embrace this little island. 

We have had rain, wind, thunder and lightening and it is f.r.e.e.z.i.n.g. And when I say freezing I mean the temperature dropped below 15 degrees. Anyone in the UK is laughing at me right now, but seriously, after months of plus 30 degrees, it feels so cold that my bones are constantly shivering. 

I even wore a hat on my walk to work this morning so my ears would be spared that cold burning sensation.

With that being said it seems like the perfect time to discuss the John Lewis christmas ad. I think the christmas ads from these guys are amazing. Somehow, they always suck the emotion out of you and this years is no exception. Maybe its something to do with the soundtrack. I really feel like its christmas when I catch a glimpse of this. As well as the coca cola ad obviously.

What do you think?

hibernation?

For the past few days my head has been all over the place and forming proper sentences was not a skill I could manage. Which would explain the lack of activity around here. If I were to give you a visual perspective of what my brain felt like it would probably be something like this....

source

I big white haze of nothing-ness. A weekend of sleeping, lunch with girlfriends and sex and the city seems to have done me the world of good as I emerge from my haze, well not quite, but ready as I will ever be for another Monday.

Maybe it's my inner desire for hibernation?

music to my ears.

When me and the boyfriend first started going out; way back when I was just 16 and he was 17 and teenage love was blossoming, our first discovery of mutual musical love was a Moby song. 

Everytime I hear it all those emotions and memories come flooding back. I remember the first time we saw each other [because the first time he saw me, I wasnt paying much attention], the first date; he got a projector and made a homemade cinema for us and the first time we realised, as we sat in the park in the middle of winter, freezing cold [don't ask, its what teenagers in England do] that our situations were more similar than either of us thought possible. 

And here we are 8 years later, living in together in Cyprus with a dog. His mum always says to me; "if someone had told you all those years ago that you would be living in Cyprus, you wouldn't have believed them". And she is right. I didnt even have a passport let alone aspirations of living in abroad. But if we survived the teenage years, university, long distance and many more challenging times, living together on the other side of Europe is like a walk in the park.

It's amazing to think how far life can throw you in 8 years.

the expat blog awards

The lovely people over at expats blog not only found my little online diary of love and life in Nicosia, but nominated me for an award. Expats blog is a great little (or should I say large) online community for expats the world over and I have had the pleasure to get involved (as I informed you here) and follow along with the adventures of all sorts of expats from Africa to Asia. 

And every year they launch the expat blog awards; they find the best expat blogs out there and award top blogs per country. 

So now my shameless plea for help - the awards for Cyprus are fast approaching and I would really appreciate if any of you out there feel like vocalising your thoughts to head on over here, and leave your comments at the bottom. Or click on the big blue expats blog badge on my sidebar - the same rules apply.

And while your there go check out some of the other fantastic blogs from around the world.

so december's here.

Don't you feel like this year has just flown past and suddenly December has crept up on us and its nearly the end of another year. Seriously. I remember January like it was last week. But here we are, counting down to christmas already.

source via pinterest

And this years countdown is a little more exciting than usual; because I'm going home to London for christmas!! 7 whole days of consuming everything christmas-y and London-ish I possibly can; inhaling the cold smell, seeing the lights and eating, well eating just about everything and anything I can get my hands on. (I have warned the boyfriend that he should expect me to return with at least an extra 5 pounds and im not talking money.)

Im pretty sure a christmas trip to London is bad for my waistline and bank balance but you know what, you cant put a price on happiness. And christmas should be spent with family and friends right - while its always nice to get a tan, christmas day is for roast turkey, chocolate and an afternoon on the sofa watching christmas films and opening presents.