Burr and I are headed to Scotland today! Its supposed to be 0 degrees Celsius there today and tomorrow. Oh joy!!! (YIKES!) Its going to be a cold one.
We are staying with Christine and Charlie (See Christmas eve pics) and we are going to golf, walk on the beach, and hopefully just have fun celebrating the new year!!
Talk to you all in 2010.
MUAH
Back to the Beginning
San Fran 2011
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Our Christmas in London
Pic of us on our street in front of our flat...love the lights!
And then then there were 5 of us:-) The Farrar Family arrived on the 23rd. Steve, Lee, and Batten!!! Burr and I were so excited we were bouncing off the walls. They were all fresh off their flight (except for Batten who was quite disappointed he did not sit in first class) so after checking into the hotel and showing them our flat we went out for drinks! (Pic of Anne and Lee at hotel when they arrived).
Pic of the crowded tube!!! The esaclators stopped working so we were hoofing it...Farrar's are way down below.
We went to Vertigo 42 and Bleeding Heart. Vertigo is at the top of the Nat West Tower and its the highest point in London that is public. Its a fun Champangne bar (very similar to the John Hancock bar in Chicago). It was a fabulous view and I would recommend it to all who visit london! At Vertigo...
The 24th Burr took Steve, Lee, and Batten down to Bourough market while I waited for our groceries to be delivered and to get ready for our Christmas Eve Party. He called about 11 saying that Bourough was only half full and wanted to know if I needed help. I thought to myself....well YES I need help but no clue how you can help, I have £200 of groceries scattered all of the floor because I have not figured out how to get anything in the tee tiny fridge we have. The flat is a disaster as we have 1 house guest plus me and Burr so its just a very tight squeeze, you know? So I'm standing in the middle of the kitchen thinking Yes you can help but I don't even know where to start!?! AHHH. Well they ended up coming to help. Lee cooked with me while the boys went and ran errands all around London. At least Batten could see how it would be to have to go get 5 things all about a mile apart!
After we cooked and got all ready for the evening festivities we went to the Carol Service at Westminister Abbey.
Luckily Steve and Lee arrived at the church at 1:45 for a 4pm service. They wanted in the queue until 3 when they started letting people inside the church. I took a taxi and arrived at 3:15 (perfect timing on my part)....although the Church is NOT heated!!! It was SO SO SO cold in the service. People did not take off their coats or scarves - which the boys happen to not bring....The service was beautiful though and we had great seats thanks to them arriving so early. (Outside Westminister pic below)....
Yes there were 14 of us at the Christmas Party!! Thanks to Charlie we figured out how to work these Christmas Crackers. Look at Charlie trying to get Batten to do this correctly - haha!!! 
Yeah we did it!! And we all got crowns in them! 
Christmas Eve party was super fun. There were 14 of us in our tiny flat but it was a great time to be around family celebrating and such.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the night was when everyone left about 11 and it was Burr, Batten, and myself left....now this would alright but we had the following things to do:
1. Make Egg Breakfest casserole for brunch on the 25th
2. Make Frances' homemade rolls from scratch
3. Brine the turkey
4. Clean every dish and glass in the flat (literally - the party we used EVERYTHING).
The 26th was girls and boys day!!! The boys went to a pub, football match, pub, and move. The girls went to portabello market, hamley's, Billy Elliot, and tea at the Ritz. It was fabulous!
And then then there were 5 of us:-) The Farrar Family arrived on the 23rd. Steve, Lee, and Batten!!! Burr and I were so excited we were bouncing off the walls. They were all fresh off their flight (except for Batten who was quite disappointed he did not sit in first class) so after checking into the hotel and showing them our flat we went out for drinks! (Pic of Anne and Lee at hotel when they arrived).Pic of the crowded tube!!! The esaclators stopped working so we were hoofing it...Farrar's are way down below.We went to Vertigo 42 and Bleeding Heart. Vertigo is at the top of the Nat West Tower and its the highest point in London that is public. Its a fun Champangne bar (very similar to the John Hancock bar in Chicago). It was a fabulous view and I would recommend it to all who visit london! At Vertigo...
The 24th Burr took Steve, Lee, and Batten down to Bourough market while I waited for our groceries to be delivered and to get ready for our Christmas Eve Party. He called about 11 saying that Bourough was only half full and wanted to know if I needed help. I thought to myself....well YES I need help but no clue how you can help, I have £200 of groceries scattered all of the floor because I have not figured out how to get anything in the tee tiny fridge we have. The flat is a disaster as we have 1 house guest plus me and Burr so its just a very tight squeeze, you know? So I'm standing in the middle of the kitchen thinking Yes you can help but I don't even know where to start!?! AHHH. Well they ended up coming to help. Lee cooked with me while the boys went and ran errands all around London. At least Batten could see how it would be to have to go get 5 things all about a mile apart!
After we cooked and got all ready for the evening festivities we went to the Carol Service at Westminister Abbey.
Luckily Steve and Lee arrived at the church at 1:45 for a 4pm service. They wanted in the queue until 3 when they started letting people inside the church. I took a taxi and arrived at 3:15 (perfect timing on my part)....although the Church is NOT heated!!! It was SO SO SO cold in the service. People did not take off their coats or scarves - which the boys happen to not bring....The service was beautiful though and we had great seats thanks to them arriving so early. (Outside Westminister pic below)....
Yes there were 14 of us at the Christmas Party!! Thanks to Charlie we figured out how to work these Christmas Crackers. Look at Charlie trying to get Batten to do this correctly - haha!!! Yeah we did it!! And we all got crowns in them! Christmas Eve party was super fun. There were 14 of us in our tiny flat but it was a great time to be around family celebrating and such.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the night was when everyone left about 11 and it was Burr, Batten, and myself left....now this would alright but we had the following things to do:
1. Make Egg Breakfest casserole for brunch on the 25th
2. Make Frances' homemade rolls from scratch
3. Brine the turkey
4. Clean every dish and glass in the flat (literally - the party we used EVERYTHING).
(This is the picture of Anne and Burr after the party and before the cooking....YIKES!) 
On top of the things we needed to do - all of us had drank a LOT of alcohol. So we had to do all the things very tipsy. Here are some pictures.... The best is when Burr and Batten decided to make a brining mix with some vegetable stock and beer. Or perhaps when Batten was holding the hot vegetable stock out the window to cool it off before we put it in the the bag with the turkey. Finally, the fridge was WAY too small to fit anything so Burr had to carry the turkey and the rolls to the utility closet 3 floors below us which was the coldest and safest place we could think of at the time to store our food for the night. Needless to say Christmas morning was a little slow after going to sleep about 2 am.
Christmas Day David, Rachel, and Ellie Kent came over for Christmas Brunch. It was so fun to have Ellie there - she is absolutely adorable!!! After brunch we opened gifts. Lee helped me make Christmas dinner and thanks to my Christmas gift from mom and david (meat thermometer) the turkey was good - my oven cooked it about an hour faster than we expected!!!
On top of the things we needed to do - all of us had drank a LOT of alcohol. So we had to do all the things very tipsy. Here are some pictures.... The best is when Burr and Batten decided to make a brining mix with some vegetable stock and beer. Or perhaps when Batten was holding the hot vegetable stock out the window to cool it off before we put it in the the bag with the turkey. Finally, the fridge was WAY too small to fit anything so Burr had to carry the turkey and the rolls to the utility closet 3 floors below us which was the coldest and safest place we could think of at the time to store our food for the night. Needless to say Christmas morning was a little slow after going to sleep about 2 am.
Christmas Day David, Rachel, and Ellie Kent came over for Christmas Brunch. It was so fun to have Ellie there - she is absolutely adorable!!! After brunch we opened gifts. Lee helped me make Christmas dinner and thanks to my Christmas gift from mom and david (meat thermometer) the turkey was good - my oven cooked it about an hour faster than we expected!!!
The star of Christmas Brunch!!! Isn't she adorable! Eleanor Kent 7 weeks.
This is "Christmas Pudding" - I promised my friend Nicola we would try it. Well, we did and I do not like it. Its fruit cake! And special fruit cake because its suppossed to made a month in advance - GROSS. All of us tried a bite, even covered in brandy cream it still was not delicious.
This is "Christmas Pudding" - I promised my friend Nicola we would try it. Well, we did and I do not like it. Its fruit cake! And special fruit cake because its suppossed to made a month in advance - GROSS. All of us tried a bite, even covered in brandy cream it still was not delicious. . 
The boys on Christmas Day. Below the girls (below). Rachel and I wore the same dress! haha
The boys on Christmas Day. Below the girls (below). Rachel and I wore the same dress! hahaThe 26th was girls and boys day!!! The boys went to a pub, football match, pub, and move. The girls went to portabello market, hamley's, Billy Elliot, and tea at the Ritz. It was fabulous!
Here are the boys on the way to the Fulham vs. Tottenham match
The 27th we went to Tom's Kitchen for Sunday Roast/brunch - yummy.
Followed by the Lion King and turkey leftovers!
Followed by the Lion King and turkey leftovers!
The last day we went to the Tower of London, Harrods, and Wodka. The Polish restaurant - Wodka was delicious - sour cherry, carmel, vanilla, and 
lemon. The carmel and sour cherry were by far the best.
lemon. The carmel and sour cherry were by far the best.Look at that carafe! We love how they have the shape of the ice bucket is carved just for the vodka carafe!
This morning the Farrar's left. It was quite sad to be left alone in London without anymore family:-( But hopefully we will have some more visitors soon!!! (hint hint).
Miss and Love you all
Anne
Miss and Love you all
Anne
Monday, December 21, 2009
Burr turns 28!
Burr's Birthday.
I flew in the morning of Burr's 28th Birthday. thank goodness for friends!
Rachel and David set up a pub lunch for us at the White Horse (same pub we went to for 4th of July). It was delicious and fun!
the bag Anne gave Burr all his gifts in!
*Side Note - 1 giant bag is really a great thing, I mean you can buy all the gifts and just throw them in there with tissue paper - never been easier. Watch out folks - I may be moving this way:-)*
I flew in the morning of Burr's 28th Birthday. thank goodness for friends!
Rachel and David set up a pub lunch for us at the White Horse (same pub we went to for 4th of July). It was delicious and fun!
with friends ( Bundled up - London was COLD!)
the bag Anne gave Burr all his gifts in!
*Side Note - 1 giant bag is really a great thing, I mean you can buy all the gifts and just throw them in there with tissue paper - never been easier. Watch out folks - I may be moving this way:-)*
Clare BEAR!!!!
I had the opportunity to see Clare Bear last week. Unfortunately my grandfather passed away and I had to head to Kansas City. It was a good thing to see the family though, especially Clare.
Here she is in her car seat.
Mommy and Clare Bear!
Clare and Cooper! They are 5 days apart (I think)
Cheesing it up for the camera...
Who in the heck are you??? Seriously every time I walked in the room Clare would start crying, which would make me start crying. TERRIBLE. I need to move to KC - anyone want to hire us?
Here she is in her car seat.
Mommy and Clare Bear!
Clare and Cooper! They are 5 days apart (I think)
Cheesing it up for the camera...
Who in the heck are you??? Seriously every time I walked in the room Clare would start crying, which would make me start crying. TERRIBLE. I need to move to KC - anyone want to hire us?
More to come....
MUAH
Better late than never...Liverpool!
A couple weeks back Burr and I had the privilege of going to visit my friend Nicola from highschool and our Camp friend Anthony. We took the train up to liverpool, ate dinner at this fun cuban place and then had a boys/girls weekend!
Nicola and I stayed with her grandfather and went to her old school.
I think the boys just went out until 4am and slept a lot - ha!!
here are some pics:-)
Burr trying a little tequila red/green appetizer - look at those shots!
Anne and Nicola at the cafe - yummy!
Anthony - underneath my dinner - ha!
Anne and Nicola underneath the Christmas lights!
Nicola and I stayed with her grandfather and went to her old school.
I think the boys just went out until 4am and slept a lot - ha!!
here are some pics:-)
Burr trying a little tequila red/green appetizer - look at those shots!
Anne and Nicola at the cafe - yummy!
Anthony - underneath my dinner - ha!
Anne and Nicola underneath the Christmas lights!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
A couple more...
Our street at Christmas time! Isn't it cute?! I LOVE the lights - just cheer me up. A little different than Candlewood!
Yes, those are the shoes!! From the Wizard of Oz of course...Harrods them this year is theWizard of Oz. Which seems appropriate since its a movie about Kansas and I just moved down the street from Harrods. They must have known they could get more money out of me if they made the whole shop appealing! So burr took a pic by the ruby red slippers *
(Side note - ruby red slippers is my favorite shot to take - does anyone know what's in it?~!, if you went to the Wheel often you should know this!) 
My favorite "action" shot of Burr ice skating. This is basically what he looked like the whole time. Isn't it funny?!
I mean....and people say I'm bad at sports. (What? Ice skating is SO a sport - just like cheerleading)!
Have a great week.
XOXO
Anne
Ice Skating in London
This face basically describes how Burr felt the entire time of skating... I mean he was NOT comfortable. He looked so stiff - I kept saying "Bend your knees, relax" and he basically told me was trying to! I would compare it to being about as comfortable here as he would in a room full of crying audit staff. 
Burr's first smile of the whole night!!! (Probably because we're not moving - haha)
Burr, Anne, Daniela, and Dave. Daniela and Dave work at PwC with Burr (from NYC) - I am thinking we will be spending a lot more time with them especially since they give the big thumbs up to Burr's favorite resutrant= Maroush!
Hot socks huh?! (See Mom - I told you I would wear them! THANKS! )
Burr's first smile of the whole night!!! (Probably because we're not moving - haha)
Burr, Anne, Daniela, and Dave. Daniela and Dave work at PwC with Burr (from NYC) - I am thinking we will be spending a lot more time with them especially since they give the big thumbs up to Burr's favorite resutrant= Maroush!
Hot socks huh?! (See Mom - I told you I would wear them! THANKS! )
Rome pics!
Burr and Anne at the top of the Dome!! Can you see Rome behind us? (Side note - my hair is proof that I tried to be good with asked the question "Can you pack less please?!" - Obviously this one time I said yes, and packed in a backpack...I shall not make this mistake again -I'm sorry hair - I know you look henious.*) 
Biggest hotel room ever! I was so sad to leave to go back to our TINY flat :-(
Burr got real mad at me for not eating all of this.
Biggest hotel room ever! I was so sad to leave to go back to our TINY flat :-( 
Burr got real mad at me for not eating all of this.
Where did all these people come from?!
So this was my first weekend on my own in London! Yes, Burr went back to Charlotte for CPE training - I guess he decided he wanted to hold onto that license after all :-P
Friday night I went out with some work friends, Annette Rojas and her partner, Mike. (See pic below) - We attempted to go to this club, Mahiki for the 2nd time and still a 45 minute wait. I mean , I just don't do "waiting for clubs" anymore.... (with exception of the Hawk in Lawrence, KS over homecoming- gotta love the Hawk -haha).
Saturday I had a volunteering event event with Junior league followed by a long day of shopping. (Not for me ! But I did buy a lot of stuff for the house..oh and a hairdryer...that is not really for "me", right? I mean can it really count when you really NEED it). Not sure what it is here but hairdryers last about 3 months, what is up with that? Oh well. Saturday night I stayed and made pizza, christmas cookies and watched the KU game/christmas moveies...so nice.
Today was a full day of shopping with Ed!! Ed said he needed new clothes and he wanted my help. It was SO fun. I LOVE to be bossy and not feel bad about it - haha. No, really I think I found my true calling. Personal shopping! I should charge - LOVED it!
The only problem...the PEOPLE! I mean where did all of these people come from. shopping on oxford street and kings street this weekend was absolutely nuts! I had to come home and eat 3 cookies I made (from scracth!) in order to get over the craziness.
I'm going to post some pics from the past couple weekends as well.
MUAH
Anne
Friday night I went out with some work friends, Annette Rojas and her partner, Mike. (See pic below) - We attempted to go to this club, Mahiki for the 2nd time and still a 45 minute wait. I mean , I just don't do "waiting for clubs" anymore.... (with exception of the Hawk in Lawrence, KS over homecoming- gotta love the Hawk -haha).
Saturday I had a volunteering event event with Junior league followed by a long day of shopping. (Not for me ! But I did buy a lot of stuff for the house..oh and a hairdryer...that is not really for "me", right? I mean can it really count when you really NEED it). Not sure what it is here but hairdryers last about 3 months, what is up with that? Oh well. Saturday night I stayed and made pizza, christmas cookies and watched the KU game/christmas moveies...so nice.
Today was a full day of shopping with Ed!! Ed said he needed new clothes and he wanted my help. It was SO fun. I LOVE to be bossy and not feel bad about it - haha. No, really I think I found my true calling. Personal shopping! I should charge - LOVED it!
The only problem...the PEOPLE! I mean where did all of these people come from. shopping on oxford street and kings street this weekend was absolutely nuts! I had to come home and eat 3 cookies I made (from scracth!) in order to get over the craziness.
I'm going to post some pics from the past couple weekends as well.
MUAH
Anne
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Christmas in the flat on Walton Street!
Its Christmas at the Farrar's!!! Who is excited?! I am SO happy to have a real tree - yeah.
Now, I know the tree is only 3 feet tall, but we were worried it would take up all the space we do have. Fortunately it does not. However next year I want an even bigger one!!
At least this way Batten won't have to move the tree everynight to sleep on the pull-out couch.
21 days until Steve, Lee, and Batten are here - YEAH!!! I'm so excited....family get here soon please:-)
Please notice the stockings made by Burr's grandmother, Frances. I got my own the year I joined the Farrar bunch in 2007. I love it! And...they are the only christmas items (or holiday items for that matter) we brought over with us. Just couldn't travel without our stockings.
My friend Nicola told me about all these crazy traditions for Christmas like Christmas crackers and Christmas pudding......now only 1 of those items is actually edible, do you know which one it is??
Gots to run
MUAH MUAH and HO HO HO
PS -Dont you love that my stocking is bugger than Burr's?! I DO:-)
Turkey day in London
THANKSGIVING ROUND 1
So...we had 2 thanksgivings!! Actually about 6 thanksgiving dinners if you count all the leftovers I've been eating. Seriously...this is night 3 of leftover turkey and green bean casseroles...nope I'm not even close to sick of it! LOVE american food. OH, and I'm still milking the last of the ranch dip I made. Anyone thinking of xmas gifts for us?? Send me over some hidden valley ranch packets - yummmmmyyyy.
So...we had 2 thanksgivings!! Actually about 6 thanksgiving dinners if you count all the leftovers I've been eating. Seriously...this is night 3 of leftover turkey and green bean casseroles...nope I'm not even close to sick of it! LOVE american food. OH, and I'm still milking the last of the ranch dip I made. Anyone thinking of xmas gifts for us?? Send me over some hidden valley ranch packets - yummmmmyyyy.So thursday Burr and I went to the Iliff's for Thanksgiving with 17 other people!! It was HUGE. But the food was so delicious....I still could barely eat on Friday I was so full.
Here is a pic of
the fearless cook - 16 pound turkey! (Joanna on the right) accompanied by Audrey and her fellow TX pals. Here is a pic of Jessica, Rachel, and Ellie! Isn't she cute?
THANKSGIVING ROUND 2: Hosted by Christine (townley) and Charlie Lane Fox. Aren't they a cute couple? Christine cooked a turkey for what she said was 6 people, but it was HUGE!!!!
Look how cute she had the table decorated - adorable. Kamry is in the middle. Brian, Burr, and Charlie did not make this pic.
The funniest story of the day was the pumpkin pie disaster of 2009!!! I will try to blog about it tomorrow, for now I must sleep.
Missing you all
XOXO
Anne
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