Ryan is the weather reporter in our household. In the morning he shares the weather report so we know how to dress and also how busy the museum will be. This week it’s going to be rain, lots of rain, until Thursday. (Which also means a busy museum)

But last week we had one glorious beautiful day. Ryan did the weather report Friday morning and said it was going to be 30°C/86°F on Saturday. He then suggested, “let’s go to Brighton.” Yesss. It rarely gets into the 30’s in London, let alone gets that warm on a day when neither of us has to work, we don’t have any plans, and we have the ability to just pick up and go somewhere. Also, we have been aching to go the beach all summer. It’s a staple of summer and it was imperative we get out feet into some water before autumn rolls around. 

We left early Saturday morning and took the Thameslink from St. Pancras to Brighton. Our tickets combined were about £40 round trip and the ride is about an hour and a half each way. Easy peasy. Once we arrived we immediately hit the beach. We spread out our beach towel and soaked up the sun. The beach is a pebble beach which can sometimes make walking difficult/painful but laying down on it wasn’t uncomfortable at all. You can also rent deck chairs from £2 each and sun bather chairs from £4, so both affordable options.

My favorite thing about going to the beach might be the breeze from the sea. It’s cool freshness makes me feel alive, happy and rejuvenated. I think I am happiest by the water. It erases all the stress and frustration from city life. Being by the ocean reminds me of family vacations, birthday and bachelorette celebrations, and traveling. I was feeling happy in Brighton. Happy simply sitting there people watching and enjoying the perfect weather.

But of course, we had to go in the water at least a bit. Ryan and I hobbled our way to the waters edge to splash our feet in the cold water. Hobbled is the best way to describe our descent to the beach because the slope is fairly steep given that the ground is made of wet rocks of varying sizes, some of which want to stab you in the foot (in both painful and ticklish ways). The water was chilly, but the kind of chilly that you can quickly get used to.

After a bit of playing on the beach it was time for lunch. Everything I read about Brighton says you have to eat fish and chips while you’re there. There are like a thousand fish and chip shops there ranging from dingy shacks, hole in the wall locations, and proper sit down restaurants. We had been interested in going to the Regency, but it was packed full of cyclists in yellow racing suits so we kept walking and chose Bankers. We both had cod and chips and it was tasty! The portions were generous, the fish was fresh and hearty, and the breading was perfectly crispy.

Next, it was time for some shopping. Brighton is a really fun place to go shopping. I was really taken with Bert’s Homestore which had all the cutest necessary and not-really-necessary-but-I-would-use-it items for home and kitchen. There were things like beautiful cake boxes, flower printed straws, and at-home coffee grinders. Currently I’m interested in fox patterns (random I know) and so I fell in love with all the fox stuff they had. There was a fox cuddly toy, a fox pattern on a white mixing bowl, and a fox lunch box (also a lot of other really cute lunch boxes). I let my willpower restrain me and I left fox-free and kitchen gadget free. 

We then moved on to more typical Brighton shopping areas: North Laine and the Lanes. North Laine was really cute, and I only have the photo above on the left to show for it. There are loads of cute cafes and lots of antique shops and flea markets. It has absolutely everything you could ever want and things you didn’t know you wanted. They had beautiful furniture, clothes, bicycles, and handbags. As to be expected, I wanted all kinds of antique kitchen things. If I had more space I would have gone for the heavy army-looking metal kettle or the tiny copper sauce pan or the tarnished but ornately engraved knife and fork sets. I even saw one girl buy an old hand-crank egg beater for £1. It was a shopper’s (and even window-shopper’s) paradise. The Lanes also has lots of lovely shops all around skinny winding streets. Go to Brighton willing to browse! There are such lovely things to see. 

In between shopping, there was snacking. We went to Roly’s fudge and saw staff mixing fudge in giant copper pots. Ryan and I tried the vanilla clotted cream and the banoffee pie flavors. I really liked the vanilla flavor but thought the banoffee pie tasted too strongly of fake banana flavor. The texture is also drier and crumblier than most fudge I’m used to, so be prepared for that if you decide to partake. We also go ice cream from Jolly Scoops for amazing ice cream. I had lemon curd and ginger cookie and Ryan had summer fruit sorbet. Both were incredible with whole ingredients and big flavor. We sat on the curb in the shade and people watched. Finally on the food front we stopped by Choccywoccydoodah to look at their incredible sweets. The cake decorations are like sculptures! Inside they had some pretty cool chocolate creations include a popcorn and chocolate lolly pop that was as big as my head. Our sweet tooth had already been sated though so we didn’t buy anything. 

After that we needed to walk off the calories. We went to see the Royal Pavilion (photos are well above this paragraph, next to the two images on the right of the North Laine picture). The building’s history if fairly old but it took on its current look in 1815 when Josh Nash was commissioned to turn a modest villa into the palace that it is today. Ryan and I sat in the pavilions’ park and watched the seagulls scavenger around people’s picnic. The day was hot and it was nice to rest a little bit more. 

Our last sight seeing trek was over to Brighton Pier and the Brighton Wheel. The pier was teaming with people (and also birds flying overhead) so we stayed away and just admired from afar. It reminded us of going to the boardwalk in New Jersey, which both of us did when we were kids (and also like 3 years ago). We felt a little homesick for our traditional beach vacations so we went back to the beach to take in just a bit more ocean and sea air. It was a beautiful day and also a easy, relaxing day trip from London. I highly recommend it – although next summer I think Ryan and I are resolved to get back to the Jersey Shore so we can have even more beach time.

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After working six days in a row during half-term when it was crazy busy at the museum, I was exhausted and ready for a little break. To get some much needed relaxation, I escaped the city and had a little vacation visiting my friend Sarah in Dorset. On Saturday straight after work I went to the coach station and waited for my bus… which turned out to be delayed. What was worse is that all around my fellow passengers and I were other buses going to the same destination. Those buses kept loading and we were kept waiting. After an hour, when another bus was loading, at our gate, to go to the same place – and we still weren’t going anywhere the people started to go crazy. There was yelling, a manager was called, people started throwing insults, we were told it was going to be another hour, and it got ugly. One lady start yelling about her dog, and race, and how English people don’t stand up for themselves. I decided to get out of there. I got a voucher for a free future bus ride and I had them change my ticket to the next morning. I went home and would start again in the morning.

Sunday morning was smooth sailing and I got to Sarah no problem. Sarah is my friend from work. I actually met her at the interview for the job and we kept in touch a little between the interview and the first day of work. I was so excited when I heard that she got the job. Sarah is smart, passionate, warm and honest. She’s traveled a ton, she’s knowledgeable about all kinds of interesting topics, and she has strong opinions but is open to chatting and learning about other points of view. After I first met her, I hoped that we would get to be real friends, but I didn’t want to come off needy. Lucky for me, it all worked out. And now, here I was in Dorset with my friend and she was going to take me to walk on the beach in February. 

And how cool is that, the beach in February?! Yes, it was cold and windy, but the blue water and open sky was glorious. Also there were tons of dogs frolicking around too and that was really adorable. I know this sounds stupid, but I didn’t know places like this existed in England. Obviously, there’s tons of coast, why wouldn’t there be beaches? But all I ever thought about before was London and then countrysides with beautiful brick buildings and rolling hills. Sarah and I walked along the beach and breathed in lots of fresh ocean air. She pointed out the Purbecks and Old Harry Rock, which in the photo above is all the way to the left and just above the man’s head. More on that later. She drove me around a little to show me the area and the harbor with boats, and all the stress and crime of the city seemed to melt away.

Sarah then took me to her house for Sunday lunch with her family. I got to meet her parents, her sister, her brother, her sister-in-law, and most importantly her adorable baby niece.  I was kind of nervous being the new person, but mostly I didn’t want to embarrass myself by being so excited and touristy about lunch. Her family was so warm and welcoming, and I had no reason to be nervous. Her mom was especially kind and a great cook. I’m also kind of jealous of her spacious kitchen with a lovely big window and thick wooden counter tops.

Anyway, back to lunch. When Ryan and I first had Sunday lunch at a pub, his coworkers told him it didn’t really count unless you had it at someone’s home. That felt kind of deflating, because when would ever get that chance? But now, I was having my moment and I didn’t want to stick out by taking pictures and being a weirdo. The food was really delicious and there was so much of it: roast beef, potatoes, vegetables, cauliflower cheese, Yorkshire pudding, and lots of crazy. It was delicious. I would love to learn how to make potatoes like that with a crispy outer crust and a creamy inside.

After lunch we played with the baby and watched her be crawl around, play, and make adorable faces. Finally after lots of relaxing and digesting, Sarah and I went to Wimborne (which is a town in Dorset) to walk around and go to the pub. Here is where I’m lacking on pictures. While we were out, I used my phone and since then my phone had decided it no longer wishes to hold a charge and/or my charger no longer wishes to work. So my photos of this night are in limbo. Anyway, when we arrived in Wimborne, the bells at the Minster were sounding. The church is a beautiful stone building, that’s large enough to feel significant but not so large that it feels intimidating and cold. The bells themselves, were so lovely. They were melodious and went on long enough to fill the whole town with music.  We then did a mini pub crawl and I got to see large and small places – all very cozy and charming. At the second pub I found Devil’s Backbone IPA! This is the second time I’ve found this beer in the UK. I’ve gotten so excited because Devil’s Backbone is an independent brewer located in rural Virginia. Ryan and I have visited the brewery with friends, and I’m not sure you can find this beer everywhere in the US, so it is especially exciting to find a piece of home abroad.

The next day Sarah made me breakfast. She made me fresh squeezed orange juice and a bacon sandwich. Again, I tried to play it cool – but I did text Ryan something like, “I’m eating a bacon sandwich with butter and brown sauce on it!” And he wrote back, “going native!” It was really tasty and it’s trying different food combinations that is something I love about living in the UK. If she came for a bacon sandwich at my house, I’d add an egg and cheese. Both good, just different, and I love that.

We then drove over to the Purbecks where Sarah knocked my socks off with Dorset’s beauty. It was windy, but we were lucky to have blue skies and sun. We walked around muddy paths, stopping every so often so I could take pictures and be in awe. As we walked we talked about everything, work, relationships, Tudor history. It was perfection. At the end of the path we reached Old Harry Rock, and his wife which is apparently the smaller rock that sticks out. Here’s what I know about this rock: I don’t know why he’s called Harry, he’s a chalk formation, he’s on the Isle of Purbeck, and is the easterly point of the Jurassic Coast. I also know, the view is breathtaking. The blue sky, white rocks, and green grass filled my heart up with beauty and gratitude. Looking out over the ocean, I felt that the world is beautiful, that I’m lucky to be alive, and lucky to have this opportunity to live abroad and get to breathe in new places. 

Sarah and I walked up hill a little, and apparently if you go further up, you can see over into the town of Swanage. It was as we walked up the hill that I took the picture above. I’m sort of in love with this photo. The people look so small and it makes me feel like the world is large and glorious and we are fortunate to be a small part of it. But anyway, it was so windy that my eyes were watering and the weather seemed to be shifting, so we decided to turn back and go home. It was at this point in our trip that we started unpacking Tudor history and I felt thankful for my friend. I have lots of people who let me talk at them about my interest, but Sarah is the first friend I have who was willing to dissect it with me.

We turned around at the right time. We were not ten feet from the car, when it start to hail and snow. Over the course of this weekend, I think we had every kind of weather: sun, rain, wind, snow, hail. Weird. Luckily it didn’t last long. On the drive home we stopped at a farm store – which was mostly a convenience store. But it’s worth noting because when we parked we saw tons of birds, including peacocks. Sarah was not a fan and wanted to get out of there. I stopped to take pictures. That’s the second time I’d seen peacocks in about a week! I also bought this sugar jar. It’s a little more country chic than I usually like, but I love pigs so I couldn’t resist.

We ended with lunch at a pub where we had deliciously thick roasted root vegetable soup with warm brown bread. The pub was cozy with wood paneling and a roaring fire. It was decorated with maps, photos of cricket players, and old looking paintings. It felt very English, and then Michael Buble’s version of Georgia came over the radio. It made me chuckle, the juxtaposition of these two countries – my two homes. It felt funny and also perfect. Before going to the bus Sarah drove me to catch a glimpse of Corfe Castle, which is over a thousand years old. A thousand years old…all that history is a reason to be smitten with England. I didn’t get to go in and explore closer, so I’ll save that for my next trip to Dorset. And that’s the perfect way to end a vacation – leaving it wanting more.

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I do. Especially, when I’m slogging around during the DC area’s hot and humid summers. If it’s going to be uncomfortably hot, I want to be on the beach and be able to jump into the water. But, I can’t just fly off to the Caribbean so sometimes the next best thing is to go to the pool. My apartment building’s pool is on the roof and has a great view of downtown DC, so it provides its own brand of luxurious relaxation.

On a recent Friday, my friend and I were going to be off of work in the early afternoon and we had our hearts set relaxing by the pool. It was a hot and sunny morning, but no sooner did we get back to the apartment and change into our swimsuits that it started to rain. And not a little polite sprinkling that might pass quickly. It was a heavy rain, sheets of rain, buckets of rain – and also thunder and lightning. So there would be no sunshine, no pool, no Caribbean beach – but by golly, there could still be frozen cocktails!

My relaxing beach-inspired Friday was not to be ruined by a little rain. To make it feel like we were at the beach, I even stepped it up a notch and put the piña colada in a hollowed out pineapple. You need to have a special tool for this. If it’s possible to clean out a pineapple with just a knife, I don’t know how to do it.

Now, the pineapple slicer is one of those kitchen gadgets that you see in stores and think WHO NEEDS THIS?! That’s what I think when I see the strawberry huller or avocado slicer. Isn’t that what knives are for? Why can’t people just cut things? But this pineapple slicer is awesome.

Before I had it, I thought, “how often do I even buy a pineapple?” And the answer was almost never because it costs like $7 to get 12 cubes of pre-cut pineapple and $4 for a fresh pineapple. And that $4 pineapple also comes with the fear of cutting off my fingers and hacking at the fruit so badly that it comes out as mush. But, once I got the slicer it made pineapples so easy. Now, I worry it’s a slippery slope that soon I’ll be buying the banana slicer and mango pitter, but so far it’s just the pineapple slicer. So let me show you how it works and then we’ll get to the piña colada recipe.

Cut the top of the pineapple off.

Align the serrated circle at the bottom with the core of the pineapple.

Press down gentle to secure the slicer in the pineapple. Twist the top handle. Keep twisting until you’ve reached the bottom of the pineapple. You can feel it when the blade is getting toward the bottom and you can see when you’ve twisted far enough.

Pull the handle up firmly.

Now you have a beautiful spiral of pineapple and a hollowed out shell.

Awesome right? It’s like opening a bottle of wine, only it’s a pineapple. If you’re going to use the shell for a glass you can get a knife in there and cut out the core, but that’s optional. Now let’s get on with the recipe. Don’t get too caught up on exact measurements with this one because it’s really all about taste. This recipe serves about 4 people.

Ingredients:

Contents of 1 pineapple

1 cup coconut cream

1 cup coconut milk

¾-1 cup rum

Ice (as much or as little as you like)

Pineapple juice (I just added the juice from the fresh pineapple, but you can definitely add more)

Directions:

1. Cut the pineapple into pieces that are manageable for your blender
2. Add pineapple, coconut cream, coconut milk, rum, and ice. Blend until smooth
3. Taste. Add more of any ingredients until the taste is to your liking.
4. Pour into glass or hollowed out pineapple. Serve with straw – extra points if you have a curly straw or paper umbrella.

Enjoy! This week I actually am at the beach (in New Jersey – not the Caribbean) so I won’t be posting. Hope you have a great week, I’ll be back after a week in the sun.

Messy level: Low! Everything gets poured into one place. If you use a pineapple as your glass you don’t have to do any dishes!

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