May 2013
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LISTEN UP… This week it is brought to you by our two years in Scotland. I was so surprised when I compiled this list on some of the singers and groups who were Scottish.
Sheena Easton- she dated Minnesota-native Prince! The Talking Heads, how could a classic American movie like the breakfast club end with a non U.S.A based groups song. What is your biggest surprise?
Have a great weekend-...
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TWO YEARS
We arrived in Edinburgh two years ago today. Crazy to think this is possible, but it is, we have the easyjet ticket stubs to prove it. I married a slight hoarder. The two weeks before I started my job were packed with exploring our new city, finding a place to stay, realizing we would never be hot again and adjusting to life in an English speaking country. Here are some of the photos from that...
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LISTEN UP… This week we are celebrating MOM! Mine, yours, you if you have littles- whosever it is- they are most likely amazing. The lady singers on this week’s list are all mothers -some better than others (did you catch what mom of four Madonna wore to the Met Gala this week-cringe!) My mom favoured the long-sweeping broom skirts-phew. None of these women are as fabulous as my...
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THAI GREEN VEGETABLE SOUP
I mentioned a few posts ago the Whole 30 eating plan Ben and I have been following- we made it our 30 days and are feeling so great we have extended the deliciousness. For 30 days we have said to no to dairy, gluten, pulses, alcohol, peanuts, legumes (lentils), seed oils, white potatoes and sugar. We have been feasting on lean meats, vegetables, fruit, nuts, healthy fats like coconut oil and...
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AN OPEN LETTER
Dear Travelling Lorises
I assume you are part loris because most humans I surround myself with move much faster. I have spent time in 25 airports since January and have seen you sloping your way through multiple security checkpoints, after our last encounter at Moscow’s Domedovo Airport, I had to speak up.
To the brown-haired woman at Charles de Gaulle, cheese is not a carry on item- even...
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SIX YEARS
Six years of wedded bliss- this is completely true. As my grandmother would have said, ‘you picked a winner ‘. The winner and I had a low-key anniversary. Breakfast at home, followed by tasty coffees from the newest cafe in our neighborhood- Blue Bear, coffees in hand, we strolled to the Botanical Gardens to people watch while we read magazines and books. I realize these sound like...
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LISTEN UP… Family and friends are gathering in Granville, Ohio this weekend to celebrate Ainsley’s first birthday. She requested a brunch, a true sign she is a Gorrilla/Smyth. She invited us, but unfortunately we decided not to fly in and steal her birthday thunder, instead I made her this celebratory mix. There is also a package in the (almost) post, don’t get too excited...
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WHICH ARE YOU?
If you live in Edinburgh you are either Maroon or Green- you cannot be both. I am referring to the clashing colours worn by our two Scottish Premier League football teams the Heart of Midlothian (Hearts) and Hibernian (Hibs). The rivalry is dates back to the 1870’s when the teams were founded.
Ben and I not have no particular allegiance, so when tickets care of Chest Heart Stroke...
April 2013
27 posts
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HALFIE RECAP
Since I have been hyping this weekend’s half-marathon more than I should have, I owe you an equally engrossing recap, however I fear the video I posted just the other day sums up the experience in a wind-tousled nutshell.
Picture it- Sunday, April 14, light breaks through a cloudy sky, Reia and Buffy ask themselves- how can rain be vertical and horizontal at the same time? It is impossible,...
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EAT UP: PETER'S YARD
Given how much time and consequently money Ben and I have spent over the almost two years at Peter’s Yard, I think it deserves a bit more of a shout out. I am thankful they have a loyalty card, take that Peter’s Yard- loads of free coffees.
The first summer we lived in Edinburgh, it was the only place which opened at 7.00 a.m., this meant Ben and I could have a Friday-morning coffee date. A...
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LISTEN UP… Inspired our recent Neil Diamond tribute concert- here is a mix of several other well known artists who have covered versions of original Neil Diamond song. There certainly are some obscure singers on this list. I tracked all the songs down on a fun site called Second Hand Songs, SHS catalogs your favourite artists’ original songs which have been recorded or performed by...
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TOUR DE LAUDER
Ben completed the 50 miles around the demonically agressive hills and single track roads that made up the Tour de Lauder this weekend. He was joined by James and Simon who are friends since their days growing up in Haddington. The trio did remarkably well considering their group training had been sporadic- Ben and James squeezed in two training rides before the event and we only met Simon for...
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LISTEN UP… This week’s theme is inspired by Ben. He is competing in his first-ever cycle race this Saturday. The distance is 50 miles and he is ready! I will be return the favour of being an awesome support crew member, hopefully will get some great race snaps for next week.
More of our cycling adventures can be found, here, here and here.
Ben’s inspiration can be found here...
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HE’S STILL GOT IT… The best head of hair in Hollywood has a new movie, The Company You Keep. Mr. Redford still rocks a fabulous mop and I am looking forward to the politcial thriller and spending some time with a handsome man and Ben too- whenever it arrives in Edinburgh.
Do you have a favourite Redford film? I am partial to The Natural and All The Presidents Men - baseball and D.C....
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ALLOTMENTS
I like flowers and I like vegetables, they are pretty and tasty respectively, but I was never too interested in growing things.
Since we moved to the U.K., I have become mildly fascinated by the increased popularity of allotments.
Allotments have been around for hundreds of years, dating back to the Anglo-Saxon times, but today’s system is based on when land was given to the labouring...
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WatchHALFIE… Rock n Roll Half Marathon- Edinburgh- Here is the video- the sound quality is poor and for this I apologise, but it also shows how unbelievably horrendous the weather was. We finished in 2.17.16- not bad we think and truthfully we do not care what you think! Plus there were hills- quite a lot of them.
Ben went above and beyond, he cycled to several points on the course to support...
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MR. DIAMOND
When I was 22 my friend Jessica and I went to see Neil Diamond in concert and although we were seated in the last row of the Target Center, it was a fabulous concert and I have remained a fan ever since.
When I was 24, I was dating someone who knew I was musically into Neil and he introduced me to Minnesota-native, Martin Zellar and his fabulous show NEIL!, where he and his band sing all the...
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ATHLETES
Over the next few months Ben and I are registered to compete in several sports events.
APRIL 14: I have finished the Rock n Roll half marathon this weekend.
APRIL 20: Ben is racing in the Tour de Lauder, his first ever cycling race- he has been training up a storm. I will be there and hopefully get to see him cross the finish line. I am going as a volunteer for Chest Heart Stroke Scotland.
...
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MORNING
I really like a lazy weekend, but this is not going to be one of them (Reia arrives in a few hours)- ours started a bit slowly- I woke up at 6.30 a.m.- curses British Summer Time, Ben slightly later, however, Ben did not want to get up. The consequence- a photo (it is payback for this one).
The weather today is supposedly going to break 50 degrees, so iced coffees were a must, the best recipe I...
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LISTEN UP… This weekend I, along with my pal Reia, will be running the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in Edinburgh. This is our second halfie together, you might recall the time we ran the one in Paris last year. I will only make two pre-excuses- Reia has tendonitis and I have not been running as much I should have been since I proudly ran my 80 miles during my trip.
Our goal-...
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OUT AND ABOUT: GLASGOW
Mary and Colin (Ben’s adventurous aunt and uncle, remember their first visit) were in Glasgow for a weekend getaway and they invited us to visit for the day. This was my first visit to Glasgow and it was too short (another post about our visit).
We had a flurry of art at GoMA, they had an exhibit by the artist Nikki de Saint-Phalle. The art had a very familiar quality to it, I had seen...
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SWANS
Swans will hold one happy memory for me, when Ben proposed to me along the banks of the Isere River, there were two swans swimming near by. We laughed that he had trained these normally terrifying birds to deliver the ring- so now whenever we cross paths with swans, I think they will have a little something for me, so far this has not happened. I have to be realistic. Plus since swans, (usually)...
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OUT AND ABOUT: BRASILIA- SAO PAULO STORM
In Sao Paulo, I had been relaxing and checking emails by the oval pool and just decided to move myself under one of the flimsy tents to avoid the harsh equatorial rays- redness comes fast. No sooner had I settled in when the sun was covered by thick clouds and the staff of the Tivoli São Paulo - Mofarrej, started a flurry of Brazilian activity- gathering all the lounge cushions, the stray...
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ALL THINGS FOOD: GOOD FRIDAY BRUNCH
To celebrate the holiest day of the Catholic calendar, Ben and I hosted a Good Friday Brunch for our newly engaged friends- Australian Sarah and Scottish James. They claim it was their first brunch, but being a well travelled duo, I highly doubt this, but they played ignorant brunchers quite well.
It also happened to be the first time we entertained after my epic trip (the adjectives will get...
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OUT AND ABOUT: MY NATION'S CAPITAL
Remember back to January when I was in the U.S. for work-related recruitment activities (proof)? Here is the photo recap of this visit. This was my second trip to D.C., the first circa 2001, was a trip with my mom to see Charlie (the actor here and here) perform at the Kennedy Center- amazing to see him on that stage (another funny performance which was filmed at the Kennedy Center, Tina Fey...
March 2013
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OUT AND ABOUT- TASTY TREATS IN SANTIAGO
(The menu- only in Spanish)
(First impressions are everything)
(So welcoming and love the colours)
One of our fabulous MBA students from Chile gave me some recommendations of things to do/see/eat while I was in Santiago. As you have probably realized, my priorities tend toward the eating variety, so first up is FOOD!
There is a lovely, albeit, touristy place called Patiobellevista,...
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LOYAL READER SPOTLIGHT
While I was in India, I was talking to my mom and she mentioned I was going to lose my two most loyal readers if I did not get my act together and start to post regularly again and Instagram photos were not the posts she had in mind- does she have Google Analytics tracking my readership?
She was of course referring to herself and our Aunt Mickey. My mom’s best chum from her crazy college...
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FAMOUS HIGH-FIVES
I am keeping you guessing this week with posts of both home and away. Today we have another home post, which could also be categorised as away as it comes from a visit, my first, to Glasgow.
Have you ever high-fived a celebrity? I am guessing my brother Charlie probably has, also my brother John, he waited in long lines for the autographs of Greg LeMond and Brad Pitt (the latter comes with a...
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ALL THINGS FOOD: ROLLING WITH MY HOMIES
I love me a toasted hazelnut. I would have thought I would have od’d on them when I was in Istanbul last October (here, here and here). I think the hazelnut is the national nut of Turkey, I sustained myself on a diet of hazelnuts and green oranges. So this cookie recipe for Chocolate Hazelnut Crinkle cookies was perfect. I like to make sure Ben has a little something sweet to take with him...
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WHERE IS MY PILLOW MINT?
After three weeks of not having to do anything around any home- mostly the one I share with Ben, reentry is proving tough. I had to carry my own suitcase up one flight of stairs. What do you mean, I have to open and close my own curtains? I keep pushing the number one on the phone, but my 24-hour butler no longer answers and Ben’s excitement for my return was short-lived and I had to...
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I DID IT!
Remember my post a few weeks ago about running, well to help spur me on, I set a RunKeeper personal goal to cover 80 miles while I was hopping from hotel gym to hotel gym and I am pleased to report I completed the goal miles, they were capped off by a 10 milers at the LaLit Hotel in New Delhi.
After visiting a total of eight hotel gyms on this trip, I was most impressed by the following:
-...
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OUT AND ABOUT: LUMINEERS AND TIME WITH CHAZZY
I seem to be working in reverse and am SO BEHIND, soon I will be back to Thailand and all the photos, until then we have NYC and D.C. to get through- at least Boston is finished. But now since I have a two month lag- I will have to add Santiago to the mix.
In NYC, I was able to catch up with some fabulous people- my brother, Audree, Charlie’s former roomie and whom I might even say is a...
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