lunch with a view - sushisamba

The mister and I booked tickets to the Lichtenstein retrospective the other week at the Tate Modern and thought we'd grab lunch beforehand since our booking at the Tate wasn't until 3:30pm. We come into the centre for lunch, um, never, so thought it might be good to dine somewhere with a nice view over the city, which put SushiSamba at the top of my list. It did not disappoint. I still think about the black cod (OMG!) and yellow tail taco (YUM!). I can't wait to go back.

swapping drinks with the mister. 

Yellow tail tacos

black cod and flank steak

another shot of the cod because it was THAT good

sushi selection

the beautiful terrace

a sunny day!

out of office

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30 before 30

Last month I turned 30. And while my 30th birthday wasn't too terribly different than any of my previous (besides the abundance of celebrations) it was a natural time to reflect on my life and try and understand what I've accomplished and learned but also to look forward and try and make sense of where I want to go. I mean this literally and figuratively. 

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When I was in college a friend of mine shared an idea he had for a challenge - 30 before 30. He wanted to visit 30 countries before he turned 30. I thought it was a brilliant challenge and adopted it as my own. I've updated my list over the years and have always been really blessed to be able to prioritize travel in my life. When I looked at the list right before my birthday I was so pleased to see how many parts of the world I've been able to discover. I ended up falling short of the 30 mark (even when I included Switzerland and Bosnia, both of which I've driven through but not necessarily "been to").

Perhaps I should set a new challenge of 40 before 40?

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The Flower Room

I love having fresh flowers in the house but I'm definitely not in the habit of buying them weekly. There's a sliver of a flower shop just up the road from us in Barnes which is an adorable little space and I'm always so pleased to shop locally. Since the cold has somewhat left London, hopefully I'll get in the spirit of regular flower shopping soon.

Counting Crows

The Counting Crows are one of the mister's favorite bands so when I saw they were coming to London, I snapped up some tickets. We saw them back in Seattle, where we had amazing seats (see pics below) but this time all that was left when I went to buy the tickets at 10am the morning they went on sale, were 2 tickets in the last row. Thankfully the Hammersmith Apollo isn't too big so they were still good seats. 

I love the Crows and don't think I'll ever tire of seeing them live because they're constantly mixing up their songs, doing something different than what's on the album and they play their classics (of which there are a lot!).

The were 3 teenage girls in front of the mister and I at the concert who seemed to have such a deep emotional connection to the music, that they mainly expressed by hugging each other in excited glee and waving their hands back and forth through the air. I don't know if it's age or the abundance of digital music - music that is inextricably linked to a period or moment in my life seems so far behind me. Jack Johnson's 'Sitting, Waiting, Wishing' - a college heartbreak, 'Just Like a Prayer' - late night joy rides in high school and what about last year? I listened to a lot of music last year but no one song brings me back to a moment... Is this a sign of growing up?

PS - Seattle peeps, Counting Crows + The Wallflowers at Chateau St. Michelle this summer! SO Jealous! 

Lorde

I ran across Lorde on Twitter yesterday, it was her NZ heritage that caught my eye but I love her soulful voice. Have a listen to the first track, Bravado. Love it. 

our trip to Rye

For my 30th birthday the mister planned a whole week of celebrations. It was all a surprise which was so much fun!! After Easter weekend, we got on a train Monday afternoon to Rye, although I didn't know where we were going until we switched trains in Brighton. A short 1.5 hours later we arrived and checked into our Windmill. Yes, that's right, we stayed in a windmill!!

Rye is a decent sized village, but it is a village. We spent one day exploring the sites and shops and the rest of our time relaxing, which is exactly how I wanted to spend my week. 

There was plenty of good food and of course the mister spoiled me every night with delicious meals and wine.

Webbe's Fish Cafe

The Ambrette at Rye

After dinner drinks at The Mermaid Inn, one of the oldest Inns in the UK (their cellar
dates back to 1156 and the building to 1420!)

The Landgate Bistro

Cheers!

And then there was my actual birthday, which was one of the most relaxing days I've had in a very very long time. The mister booked me a massage at the local Aveda salon and then we spent the afternoon sipping champagne. 

Post massage sorbet and water. so relaxed.

And as if this birthday week could get any better, a gift from Tiffany!

All and all, one of the best, most relaxing, weeks of my life. Thank you hubs! x