Morning at the Coast

We dropped Merrit off at school this morning and since it was such a beautiful morning, Ollie and I went for a walk on the beach.

Looks balmy, but we both have lightweight jackets on and the water is COLD!

Ollie throwing rocks into the surf.

I sat on the sand and read my book for a while and Ollie stared into the surf
and chased seagulls. We were both in "the zone."

As you look southward down the coast, this is the view.
(To the north is the St. Mary's Lighthouse.)

Mother's Day with Wallace and Gromit

After a delicious Mother's Day breakfast, we took the train into Newcastle. It rained during the night and earlier this morning but by 10am, the skies were blue and the sun was shining brightly! It had turned out to be a gorgeous day!

In front of our house.

Ollie gets so excited when the train pulls up to the platform.

It takes about 20 minutes to get to Newcastle by Metro.
Merrit and I get a quick hug in. He was wishing me Happy Mother's
Day when Mike took this picture. Sweet thing.

The Salvation Army band was playing hymns in the city centre. This spot
is right by Grey's Monument (of Earl Grey Tea fame).

Walking to a restaurant that Mike wanted us to try.

Mike suggested that we eat lunch at this great, authentic Chinese restaurant; he's eaten there twice with folks from work and says it's nothing like the Chinese food we've had before. But...it was closed. Poo. So, we walked up the street a bit to an Italian restaurant instead called Portofino's. According to Mike's friend from work Carlo--who is from Rome, so  he ought to know, right?--Portofino's is the best Italian food in Newcastle. It didn't disappoint; though it was a bit pricey. Mike said, "Hey! It's Mother's Day!" :-)

We all shared an order of insalata caprese (Roma tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper) as a starter. I had grilled balsamic salmon with roasted vegetables and salad. Oh my goodness, the salmon was so light and the texture so perfect, it almost had the mouth-feel of a dessert. (Do I sound just crazy? I know I'm a bit of a foodie, but it was soooo good.) The boys split an order of lasagna and Mike ordered (I forget what it was called) a pounded chicken filet, breaded and topped with ham, some cheese, and other stuff. I actually didn't really pay attention...I was in salmon heaven.

They all ate creme brulee for dessert, but I was "good" and only had one tiny bite when Mike wasn't looking. 

We really should have inquired about this
building's history. It had such a neat interior.
Hm, I guess we'll just have to go back! :-)

Pictures from our walk to the Centre for Life Museum, our next destination...

The Centre for Life is a museum in the city centre. I'm a big fan of free museums, which seem to be the norm in the US but not here. I have found, though, that you can typically join for a yearly family membership for less than the cost of two visits and they'll let you decide after your first visit if you want to upgrade. I've said no to a museum and an aquarium because I felt like "we'd seen it all" in one visit and the value just didn't seem to be that great for the price. Anyway, what's your point? (as Mike would say). After our Mother's Day visit, we applied the day's admission price towards an annual membership, so we're sure to go back.

There was lots to see at the museum, but we spent all our time at the Wallace and Gromit exhibit, which was partly about the claymation behind the animated duo and partly about fantastic (and forgettable) inventions of our time. If you've seen any of the Wallace and Gromit movies/shorts, you know that they are always coming up with some new invention, some of which go horribly awry! :-)

Mike and I have been fans of W and G since 1997 or so, when our friend Bill Stevens gave Mike a VHS tape and said, "You've got to watch this!" It was really, really cool to see the miniature sets where the movies were filmed. You just really can't imagine the kind of time, patience, attention to detail, creativity, and effort that goes into animation done to this level of perfection. The dollhouse-like sets were unbelievable. Here are some close-ups:

Wallace trying to help Gromit and the runaway vacuum.

"It's okay, Gromit. Everything is under control."

I love this dog's expressiveness. 

"Cracking toast, Gromit."

To give you a sense of scope, here's Ollie looking in at the dining room set.

We have this same refrigerator! (actually called a SMEG)

The little girl in me loved the dollhouse feeling of these sets. The little veggies
on the kitchen cart, the spoons in the ceramic pitcher, all the little details
in miniature! 

The exhibit was very interactive. Here Ollie toyed around with (not really)
making his own music. I gave him a shot because I honestly thought, "Maybe
he is a little Mozart." But, naah, he just got tangled up in the headphone wires.

At this center, you could design your own wallpaper, too.

There's much more to see at the Centre for Life, including a planetarium, so I'm sure we'll be back! Thanks to my three awesome guys for such a grand day out.

Cupcake Heaven

Someone apparently just finished sitting at this table.
I practically picked up these plates and licked them!

I walk past this cupcake store every day and SO want to go in there. The name, Lottie McPhee's Cupcakes, just sounds so English. The window reads: "Leaf Tea, Fresh Coffee, Sandwiches, Tarts, Cupcakes, Proper Tea for Two." The pink doorway. The crystal chandeliers. The outdoor seating. It's just so darling. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they have a selection of fab hats to choose from when you go inside for tea, like some of the poser tea shops back in the States.

Drool over this menu, which I scalped from their website: 

Vanilla - £1.50 
Classic vanilla sponge cupcake.  Available in an array of pastel colours.

Banoffee Toffee - £1.50 
Toffee & banana combination, topped with fudge pieces.

Lemon & Mandarin - £1.50 
Zesty infused sponge with real lemons & oranges.

Cranberry & Spice Orange Carrot Cake - £1.50 
Our twist on a traditional carrot cake.

Double Chocolate Chip - £1.50 
Traditional chocolate sponge with white & dark choc chips decorated individually.

Bailey Boo Cappuccino - £1.50 
A splash of Irish cream liqueur & latte frosting with a chocolate bean.

Toffelicious - £1.50 
With real toffee pieces & toffee frosting.

Raspberry & White Choc Chip - £1.50 
White choc chips & little burst of raspberries with pink frosting.

Chocolate Orange - £1.50 
Chocolate sponge with real orange pieces & chocolate frosting.

Snicker Doodle - £1.50 
A blend of toffee & peanut butter.

Black Forest - £1.50 
Chocolate sponge with a morello cherry finished with vanilla frosting.

Caramello - £1.50 
Chocolate & banana cake with chocolate frosting.

Raspberry Ruffle - £1.50 
Coconut & raspberries in a vanilla sponge & butter cream.

This shop always makes me think of my friend Robyn. She is the closest thing to a cupcake queen that I know. If she were going to start a business, I think it would look just like this. I can practically see her at the counter in a white apron and her big smile, greeting customers by name as they come in for a sweet treat.

If Ra would come visit we could go to Lottie's McPhee's together but, after airfare, that WOULD be the most expensive cupcake ever. LOL.

For now, I'll just have to wait. It's not the kind of place Mike will "get," and certainly I'm not dragging my two bull-in-a-China-shop boys in there. Sigh...I think I'll just go re-read the menu again...

Yellow Trench

Earlier this week, I read the post at YouLookFab.com about Color Blocking in the Bright Spring Sunshine and when I saw this yellow trench the next day--marked down 50% off--I snatched it up.

Bad picture, I know. Look at Merrit, though, in the background
doing his homework! 

I didn't have the guts to wear it layered with another bright color, though. Just went with a white T and a statement necklace (a multi-stranded mess of red and pink beads). Yay or nay? Can I pull it off?

Lost and Found...Doll, Bear, Sweatshirt

A few more examples of lost-and-found items placed in plain sight for the owners to find. Is this just the English way? I find it so sweet.

I wonder if people down south do this as well. Up here in the Northeast, you hear all the time that the Brits down south, especially in London, are not nearly as friendly. Londoners that left to come here and raise a family as well as locals seem to share this sentiment.

This from Leeds, in the indoor Tropical Garden at Roundhay Park.

This one is my favorite. In a shop window. Can you read the sign?
It says "I am lost" with a frownie face. Awwww....
Even more adorable since it's a velveteen rabbit.

Saw this on my way home from the Metro station yesterday.

A Typical Tuesday

After two weeks off from school for spring break, Merrit went back to school today. Programs for Ollie picked back up, too, since school is back in session. So, today was a sort of typical Tuesday. Tag along, won't you?

Merrit made breakfast for us. Toast covered with guacamole or hummus (your choice), sprouts, cucumber, olives, tomatoes, and a sprinkle of paprika.

I wasn't quick enough with the camera...someone bit into this one already!

Ollie and I dropped Merrit off at school at 8:50am. I still can't get over the fact that you can see the ocean from the school yard. Awesome.

We stopped by the library, which is next door to the school, to turn in some books. We headed up to the dry cleaners to drop off some of Mike's shirts to be pressed; on the way, we dropped a letter in the red postbox.

Look, the milk truck! He stopped three times as we walked along the sidewalk...we'd pass him, he'd pass us, we'd pass him, he'd pass us. He delivered to the real estate office, the breakfast/coffee shop, and the key cutter's shop.

Window washers, hard at work making everything sparkle and shine.

Ollie and I arrived at St. Paul's Church in Whitley Bay, where we have signed up to take toddler French lessons once a week for the next 10 weeks. We visited once before spring break, and today was our official first day!

After French class, we went across the street with some of the moms and kids to the Costa coffee house. 

"Double latte please! And a carrot, apple, and sultana muffin for the lad." LOL. I really didn't say that. But the muffin did  have carrots, apples, and sultanas in it. :-)

Ollie scoping out the sweets.

Love the coffee house atmosphere. Warm, cozy. Chatty, casual. Fragrant, friendly.

Love my dates with Ollie. After he snarfed down his muffin, he played with the other kids from French class in the hallway of this indoor shopping center where the Costa is.

Fast forward a few hours. Walk home. Lunch time. Ollie entertaining himself while I do laundry and clean the kitchen. 

At 1:45pm, we like to tune into Mr. Tumble on Ollie's favorite BBC Kids show, Something Special. He uses sign language throughout each show, and teaches some specific signs that have to do with that show's theme. Today's show taught the signs for "knife," "cherries," and "teacher" since the kids, who all have disabilities, made a dessert to share with their teacher.

Photo from www.bbc.co.uk

At 3:30pm, we went down to pick up Merrit. All the parents walk into the school yard and wait until the teachers bring the students out by class. I much prefer this to a carpool lane, I must say! Ah, here's the little scholar now...

On our walk home, we said hello to this cute Calico cat through the gate to his front yard. Both boys miss Skippy and Jenga and are keen to pet and love on any outdoor cat we come across sunning on a brick wall or concrete walk.

The day had gotten warm and sunny since this morning. Merrit really didn't need to wear his coat by the afternoon, but this morning he did. Here he is on our walk home, carrying his satchel like such a little man.

After school, we had snacks, did some chores, the boys rough housed, I started dinner. And then DADDY GOT HOME...the highlight of every day!!

Signing off....

I Heart Skype

Here's me over the weekend talking to my friend Brandie. Not exactly like being together, but pretty awesome all the same. Seriously...are we living in the future here?