Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving, New Home!

This past week has been crazy! I am as exhausted as I usually get after tech/dress. So the past couple of days have been less about seeing London, and more about living in London.

Wednesday I spent prepping for Thanksgiving dinner--I also visited Argos and got bedding for my new place. Thursday felt like a real Thanksgiving. Of course, I missed my family back in California so much, but this year everyone was all over the world. I was up early, went to the shops for fresh ingredients, and started going about hosting my first ever Thanksgiving dinner. I even made place cards with construction paper turkeys. Here was my menu:

Starters: 

Chips and Salsa (like at Lana's)

Roasted Walnuts w/ Cinnamon Sugar (thanks Amy)

Fresh Veggies (like at Mack's)

Main Course:

Green Beans

Cornbread from Scratch (Fran's recipe)

Vegetarian Stuffing

Mashed Potatoes

Turkey Breast (I admit--Marks and Spencer)

Gravy

Dessert/Wine:

Chianti

Homemade Sweet Potato Pie

Vanilla Ice Cream

It was such a wonderful night, good food, family, and afterwards we watched "Elf"--a favorite holiday film for all of us.

The next day I went to...IKEA!

Let me tell you--besides the crazy traffic on the buses and the tube (which were a nightmare!) my experience at ikea was great fun. Mostly because...

ikea is pretty much the same in every country. And that is something I am really happy about. When you travel to new places, it is always nice the local things, do something you wouldn't normally do, go somewhere you wouldn't normally go. But that's short term. 

When you are living in a new city, having familiar things can make all the difference in the world--especially if you are feeling homesick. Walking into ikea was such a familiar escape for me--and fun--and i knew all of the products. Also...I paid 50 pence for a coffee and cinnamon roll! It's amazing how cheap it was; you could never get that at a US ikea, even with the exchange rate. Best deal ever.

So then I went home and made my cornbread again to take over to my new apartment! My new roommates were so welcoming and nice, they invited me over for their first thanksgiving ever. It was really great getting to know them, and Angela made such a lovely meal. Yes I couldn't eat the turkey (it looked pretty, though!) but the roast vegetables, homemade pumpkin pie, and Claire's Banoffee pie were a big hit. 

So today I moved in. I love having my own room again, and it's been fun to decorate. I've been able to get my basic supplies, bedding, and kitchen utensils for just about 50 pounds. That was something I was quite proud of. Oh, just to clarify: in London (as in many other European cities) apartments that you rent come furnished for the most part. So it's been one less thing to worry about (and makes moving much easier). I think my room is quite cute, take a look:

And now that I am done I can get back to enjoying myself in London! Get ready holidays, here I come!

xoxo,

Antonia