An American Shopper in England

So after a few weeks of being quiet on the blog front since my return back from the US, my retail triumph yesterday has broken my silence. In an attempt to treat myself to something pretty as a reward for completing a difficult work assignment this week, I decided to take a trip to Day 1 of the Harrod's summer sale yesterday. Each year the start date of the sale is a secret and advertised only a few days before. This week's Time Out magazine described it as "a sale not for the faint-hearted that attracts a diehard fanbase". The newspaper was estimating 250,000 visitors and I made the decision to be a part of the madness. At 5 am I packed my snack pack, loaded up my purse with provisions and set out for London. I can describe it as a Black Friday sale multiplied by 10! My perseverance paid off as I am now the proud owner of two magnificent pairs of shoes and while I am not proud to admit that I actually took a shoe out of another woman's hand, those feelings of guilt will quickly fade when I am walking around in my new Burberry beauties. After hours of bargain hunting I found a rest area (stool at the in-store champagne bar) to refuel and hydrate (champagne) and was able to do enjoy some people watching. It was amazing to watch the crowds of people and the energy in everyone's eyes scoring designer deals. Something I did not understand were the ladies who forced their boyfriends and husbands to come along and stand on the sidelines. The look in their eyes was fear and panic since the ladies' shoe department during the Harrod's summer sale is no place for the weak. I certainly would not even want any boyfriend of mine to see me in such a state. Best to wait until I am wearing the shoes and looking pretty and not bother with how I secured them or how much money I spent. Sadly, I left a few coveted items behind, but I ran out of gift cards and money and also knew that I wanted to be able to eat for the rest of my time in England and while a DVF clutch bag is fantastic, it's pointless if you don't have any more £££ to carry around in it.

I returned from my trip home a few weeks ago determined to find a dance class I could go to. My expert googling produced some excellent results and I have found a class to go to twice a week. The name of the class "Raw Diva" did deter me a bit since it was being advertised as an urban hip hop class for women and I thought that could have just been a fancy way to say "learn how to be a stripper in Oxford on Tuesdays and Thursdays". Luckily that was not the case and really has been a great chance for me to get out of the office at a decent time and dance it out (no poles included).

Last week I finally got the chance to see the new Sex and the City movie. The movie was not great, as I expected, but an improvement to the experience was the fact that you can purchase alcohol at movie theaters in the UK. Even better - Christina asking them to bring us cosmopolitans to our seats, and the movie ushers did! Gotta love it.

In an attempt to continue in my culinary journey during my time here, I started my very own herb garden. Inspired by watching too many episodes of Jamie Oliver I am now growing basil, coriander and parsley. Stayed tuned for my blog in a few weeks for the blog where I update you on the herb garden I over/under watered and killed. My mom and dad did not pass on their green thumbs but I am giving it my all.

Next up - Stevie Wonder in Hyde Park, cooking lessons at Jamie Oliver's Recipease school, London's Big Dance Festival, and another trip back to Harrod's before the sale ends.