Writing and Laundry and Harrods, Oh My ... Days 17, 18 & 19

I was kindly reminded by my good friend, Ariel, that I haven't blogged in a few days. This comment totally made my day! It made my day because it means that not only did someone notice that I didn't blog, but more so that it was missed! Man, I have awesome friends! Thanks, Ariel -  hopefully you're not the only one who missed my ridiculous stories.

You know what it is?? Clown Shoes! Fo' Real!

The reason I haven't been posting is because, even though I go for walks here and there, for the most past I have been busting my ass to get this thesis completed. Right now, I hate my novel. I hate the characters. I hate the story. I think it's a mess and I want to throw it out the window! But thankfully, that's just a day in the life of a writer. One day we LOVE our work and think we're brilliant, the next? Complete rubbish! I think this is also exacerbated by the fact that it's due in two weeks and I'm freaking out. I know it'll get done. I'm actually in pretty good shape, better than I thought I'd be. But my days and my nights have been spent laboring over this story. I'm ready to submit it and not look at it for a very long while!

Hmmm, what else? Oh, on Sunday evening, I was contacted by my friend Aileen, who just arrived with her husband from a VERY long flight from LA. They moved here and will be here for a year for his work. And what's awesome is that Aileen is a writer too, so I'm looking forward to some writing sessions and some great dialogue that only writers can share with one another! Anyway, they called me up and invited me to grab some dinner with them out in Richmond, which is beautiful and very posh! (Right, Aileen?)  Yeah, she and I love this word and we love even more that British people actually use it in daily conversation! Anyway, we went to Cote Brasserie, a really delicious restaurant that actually has a few locations around the city (one actually only a few blocks from my flat - yippee!). We shared great conversation and it was so nice to finally meet her husband! We took a short stroll around the town and walked by the Thames. It was so picturesque that it almost looked fake! What a cute town and I really had so much fun with Aileen and Jeremy! YAY! (Why didn't we take a picture of us for your first night in London?!? Doh! - Oh well, next time...)

A little bit of Richmond! Isn't it so cute?!? 

And last night, much to my friend Samara's delight, I DID wash my clothes in the bathtub upstairs! Yup, just like the picture a few posts ago. However, I was too busy scrubbing away to take a photo of myself, nor would anyone want to see that. It wasn't pretty. But while I was scrubbing, my neighbor came over an invited me to join him and his girlfriend for a drink at their place. So once I wrung out all of my clothes and hung them about my flat, I went over and we had a remarkable time. They are both from Paris and we talked all about Paris and music and movies and everything! I am so happy to have such great neighbors and I foresee us hanging out a bunch in the future.

And today, I reconvened with Aileen and we went frolicking about Knightsbridge and Harrods. It's a shopping MECCA! She was my official tour guide inside Harrods, and trust me you need one, it's friggin' gigantic!

We ate gross donuts. (See below!) Trust us, they look magical but they taste like stale cardboard. So sad.

Look at the ones with glitter, but don't be fooled! Yuck!

We strolled about and walked through the reading room (duh!) and then went to the Toy Kingdom. Holy Harry Potter stuff! I was drooling like a fool! (Dad, I had flashbacks of me bouncing around on my moonshoes almost two decades ago! Feels like yesterday, right?) 

Then Aileen and I went next door to a restaurant called Zia Teresa. We ate yummy yummy pizza and had great conversation! 

What a wonderful day out and about, in spite of the fact that the weather is growing much colder! But that's what shopping is for!