Hello Fall, We Meet Again..

Tomorrow is my Dad's 61st birthday. It is also the first day of Fall. I have never been a huge fan of anything less than 75 degrees. Most people think Fall is so beautiful with the changing leaves, the brisk mornings, the cool evenings. Not me. I know exactly what it's up to. Trying to distract you from that fact that winter is quickly approaching. The leaves are annoying as they get ALL over my car and the morning dew ensures they stick on my windows. The brisk mornings force me to put the heat on on my way to work. The cool nights deter me from venturing out of my house once I'm home from work. I've always been cold, my natural state of comfort is typically a few degrees higher than what most people find comfortable. As I'm typing this, my hand are freezing. I've always rather be too hot than too cold because when you're cold, it's miserable, the numbing freeze, the cold nose, the chill that makes your bones ache.

I'm trying to get in all the fun I can before the cold hits full force. Last week we went to a super nice dinner at 90 Acres which is a beautiful 500 acre plot of land tucked away in the serene mountain backdrop that somehow manages to exist in New Jersey. It's surrounded by farm and wildlife and most everything they use in the kitchen can be found on the farm..gives you a new light to look at the deer in when you're driving up. The dinner was so delicious,the wine was on point, and the cocktails were strong. I absolutely loved it and am itching for having a good reason to go back.

The following day, we had a "end of summer" get together at our house. We love hosting and since this summer was so busy with travelling, we decided to do one last event where we can use the grill. It was lots of fun getting together with friends, eating good food, and drinking Pimm's Cup which is so delicious. I put Sprite Zero, cucumbers, strawberries, and mint in my creation. I fell in love with Pimm's in England and brought some back home with me. I attempted making popcorn on the stove for the first time. It was a success minus the part where the popcorn was too much for the pot. Guess this is a sign I need to invest in bigger cookware.

I usually tend to hole up and become a hermit when it's cold. Here's to hoping this is a mild winter. Although with my ankle length down coat, I feel a lot more prepared than in the past.

The Last Weekend 9/1-9/3

We left Paris Saturday afternoon. We had a full but delicious breakfast at the hotel. I am in love with "cocktail sauce" which is just ketchup and mayonnaise mixed together. Unlucky for me, I dropped a bit on my pants..which were white..in a spot that isnt covered by my top. Luckily it wasn't noticeable after dabbing with some Evian so I didn't feel the need to change

We took the metro to the train station and since we were very early this time and have some euros to spend, we shopped in the gift store while we waited for our train. Once we got to St. Pancreas, we met up with Kunal's cousin to visit with him and his family for the afternoon. We went to a family friendly pub. The grownups can have their beer, cider, or in my case, Pimms (which I LOVE) and the children have a playground to entertain themselves with.

Around 5, we went to my masi's house. She arranged a dinner party for all my family to see me instead of having me go from house to house. It was lots of fun. Great food and company. There was even a belly dancer! After dinner, Kunal and I went to a a local bar with my cousin, called Nu Bar. When we got home, we sat around and talked for a while until sleep got the best of us.

On Sunday, after breakfast, we had to head back to the other side of London to Kunal's family's house as we were leaving that Monday. We took the train back and after Kunal's uncle picked us up, we went to pick up my reception outfit. There was a few details that needed adjusting so I decided to come back the following day since my flight was late afternoon. That night there was a BBQ at another one of Kunal's uncle's houses. Kunal have raved about these kebabs his aunt makes. I got to experience first hand how to make them..well not really how to make them, but how to put them on the skewers. They were delicious and I felt like I could eat 10. There was also pork chops which was just as good. All the family came so it was a great end to our trip.

The next morning, we had to pack our bags which wasn't as difficult as I would have thought. We were under the weight limit so that was a huge relief. I left my reception outfit in the UK because it was heavy and would have defnitely been over limit. I'll get it in November when Kunal's family comes for a wedding in Boston.

And back we came to the States, vacation over...