A Nantucket Wedding

So, I totally owe you all an update on my Nantucket weekend. I’ve been focusing a lot on settling back into London life (more on that in the next post), so this has taken me a long time to write.

I’ve decided to go with some top ten lists - which somehow became top 9 lists (I seemed to have ran out of steam there on each list), as this is obviously my favorite format to blog in. So, here goes...

Top Nine Amazing Things about my Nantucket weekend

1. The wedding - B, one of my oldest friends (our friendship goes back to the diaper years) got married to D - a great guy! And they sure did it in style! B of course was an absolutely lovely bride and I have to say that D did make a very handsome groom. And they had great weather and a great location and of course, great guests! All in all it was a beautiful wedding and I wish them a life of happiness. Congratulations B and D!

2. The Clam Bake - Weddings these days are never just one day events. I see this as a good thing. More time to catch up with people you do not see enough. This time, the wedding festivities began with an awesome clambake. And this clambake was a lobster one -see picture! Lobster, clams, potatoes, chicken, sausage, corn - YUM! The clam bake was in a beautiful location - a private home the groom’s family rented in Tom Nevers. Everyone had a nice time although the dinner was served quite late and people were totally boozing it up in the meantime. By the end of the night everyone was totally hammertown. Fun but sloppy!

Yummy Lobster!

3. Hanging out and Catching up with old friends - I got to spend some more time with S and K who I have mentioned before. S and K are old old friends. We don’t go back quite as far as me and the bride B, but almost. I met K when I was about 6 and S when I was about 7. So we all go back like 25 years. Kind of cool. All of our group that grew up together from our small town has stayed close. As S says, the fact that she joined our school in second grade has always made her the “new kid.” Even 25 years later we still point it out that we have not known her as long. Obviously this is kind of ridiculous. But it just shows what kind of bond we all have. We sort of know everything about each other - even the things you wish no one knew. But it was great to catch up and spend time with S and K.

4. The Boat Ride - S’s friend from NYC has a house on Nantucket. And he very nicely invited us out on his boat! It was a beautiful sunny afternoon - a bit too hot to be on the main land, but PERFECT for boating! We cruised around the island checking all the big houses, we saw some seals, we soaked up some sun, drank some wine and we waved hello to John Kerry - for real: see the picture below if you don’t believe me.

Hello John Kerry!

5. Quaint New Englandness - No matter how far you travel, you can never escape your roots. I am a New England girl. Fact. There is no escaping it. And Nantucket is the epitome of quaint New Englandness. The cobblestone streets, the rocky shoreline, the lighthouses - see below, the cute little boutique shops, lobster, clam chowder, steamers...

6. The Bouncers - Apparently, Nantucket is a place where underage drinking is highly pursued. Therefore, the Bouncers at the clubs strictly enforce ID checks for most people before you can enter a bar. I am proud to say that my ID was checked carefully every time and one of the times, the guy actually said to me: “Congratulations! You look way younger than you actually are.” Needless to say, I was kind of stoked about this.

7. The LOBSTER - I heart lobster more than any other food (besides nachos). I can eat lobster every day and never get sick of it. As if to prove this point, I did have lobster 4 days in a row - first at the Clam Back, and then as an hors d'oeuvre at the wedding. Then as an Indian dish and then my dear Mom made it for me as a going away dinner. Did I get sick of it? No way! If I could eat lobster right now, I so would. Unfortunately, I’m in London and I only eat microwave dinners here.

8. The Weather - The heat wave continued and Nantucket had lovely weather. In fact, it was hot. In general, Nantucket is a place where you always need that extra sweater. But actually, this time - no sweaters needed. Luckily, in the South of the island where the wedding was held, the weather was a bit cooler otherwise we would have actually been too hot! We even used the AC at night!

9. The Boys - Actually, despite the bad dressing (see top not so amazing things about Nantucket below), the boys on the island were actually kind of hot...

Top Nine Not So Amazing Things about my Nantucket weekend:

1. The price tag - It was a great weekend, so I’m not really complaining. But I’m glad that I am no longer a cash strapped college student, that’s for sure. $65 for a return ferry ride. $60 for parking for 3 nights. $400/night for a hotel room (with a 3 night minimum).

2. Khakis - They should be illegal. Nuff said.

3. Feeling like a Foreigner - Despite being a New Englander, I felt a bit like a foreigner the whole weekend. I’m just not used to being in the US. It’s so different from Europe! Different dress, different music, different manners and customs. I have obviously been away for too long since I feel uncomfortable in the US now. And I couldn’t help comparing this island weekend to other island weekends in Europe - see list below.

4. Not Being Rich - I couldn’t help but feel a little bit of envy when scoping out the 30 million dollar “summer” homes. I mean, I do ok for myself... but that is ridiculous. I mean ridonculous!

5. The only Cute boy was taken - So the bride B has forever been talking up this boy that is friends with her now husband. She really wanted us to meet. She even introduced us on Facebook and we exchanged several messages. But unfortunately, he managed to find himself a girlfriend just in time for the wedding. As B dramatically said: “He ruined everything!” Despite the fact he had a girlfriend, I was still a bit curious to see what he looked like. I’m not going to lie, I doubted the ability of B to pick out a guy for me. Although we have been friends since we were babies, she has met very few of my boyfriends since I’ve been living abroad. But, I am pleased to say that B was right! He was hot! Damn the fact that he was taken.

6. The Skinny Jeans Conversation - The dinner conversation somehow turned to the topic of skinny jeans. I live in Europe! Who DOESN’T wear skinny jeans? But the entire table proclaimed their hatred for skinny jeans and as fashionista S was on the dance floor, I was left alone to defend skinny jeans! It was just one more reminder of how hard it’s going to be to move back to the US. Also let me note that I'm not a fan of Brooks Brothers or Lily Pulitzer either - and I have already expressed my feelings for Khakis in a previous statement... so basically I was having a bit of trouble dealing with the Nantucket fashion...

7. Getting really sunburned - We made a mistake in not bringing or buying sunblock. Unfortunately, this mistake was not realized until we were settled in at the beach soaking up the sunshine. We were highly aware of the no sunblock fact however and decided that we would only stay on the beach for an hour. That hour might have extended to an hour and a half - max. But oh man did we get burned. Unfortunately, as sunburns tend to do, it only showed up later when we were at the wedding. So my body felt like it was on fire all night and all the pictures show me looking like a big red ugly lobster. I will not forget sunblock again!

8. The Foreign Staff - Oddly, all the staff in Nantucket were foreigners: Irish, Eastern Europeans, Jamaicans. This included all wait staff, the DJ at the wedding, the babysitters (for the children at the wedding), and the taxi drivers. Weird. Although it was explained to me that Americans do not find it worth it to live on Nantucket and work (too expensive to live and save) and the actual island kids have such rich parents, that they do not need to work. Thus, the foreign staff who apparently live in dormitory style housing somewhere in the middle of the island. Now, you all know I love me some foreigners. But what I DO NOT LOVE is foreigner's ideas of acceptable service levels. As you know, I do like the American mentality of “service with a smile,” and “the customer is always right.” Therefore, I was not impressed with the Eastern European waitress who for whatever reason would not allow us to order another plate of calamari as the “kitchen would get mad.” Not only did she loose out on that order, we also gave her a reduced tip and left the place frustrated. I would not recommend this place to my friends either. So take that you mean waitress!

9. Crying through the wedding ceremony - What is is about seeing one of your oldest friends getting married that turns on the tears? I totally lost it right at the beginning when the Justice of the Peace told B’s father to “kiss your little girl” before he turned her over to her husband-to-be. That started the tears aflowing - let me tell you. It didn’t help that the bride cried all through the wedding and that I was sitting in the front row. Thank God I had remembered to bring tissues. My other girls were also crying although I did notice that most others had dry eyes! It seemed to have been just us!

Top Nine Comparisons between Nantucket and Gotland*

1. Both Nantucket and Gotland are islands

2. Nantucket is way more exclusive than Gotland - and WAY more expensive!

3. Champagne - In Nantucket, champagne is to be drank, not sprayed by brats

4. Cobble stone streets - both have them although the Nantucket cobblestone area is much smaller than the massive area in Visby

5. Preppy Dress - New Englanders invented the preppy dress style. But Swedes perfected it. Last summer Swedes seemed to reinvent preppy borrowing from classic New England but making it really cool. Guys were all about boat shoes and sweaters over the shoulders. But there wee no khakis except slim fitting ones in pink and blue and green. And there were definitely blue button down shirts, but there were absolutely no T-shirts underneath (that is totally America style). I have to say, the Swedes do preppy better!

6. Rose - In Gotland Rose wine is definitely the drink of choice... I’m not sure what a traditional Nantucket drink would be, but Rose was nowhere to be found unfortunately (actually, we did have some Rose bubbly)

Cheers!

7. The party - Gotland wins hands down! The summer months turns this Medieval village into party central when all the brats from Stockholm take over. It's now being called one of the top ten summer party destinations in Europe. It’s so much fun! Nantucket does ok, but nowhere near Gotland!

After beach at Kallis

8. The shopping - Nantucket wins here! Lots of cute little boutiques all over the place! I always felt like the shopping in Visby was kind of lame. But in Nantucket, you better be prepared to drop some serious cash. It is not cheap.

9. Quaint New England vs. Medieval village - Nantucket is very quaint New England, but Visby is a very quaint and very old Medieval village with a beautiful wall surrounding it built sometime in the 12th century. Let me point out that is WAY before America was born.

The wall surrounding Visby in Gotland Sweden

*Gotland is a Swedish island in the Baltic sea to the south of Sweden. The capital is Visby which is a a well-preserved medieval city that every year turns into a crazy party city for Stockholm's elite during week 29 and 30. I have gone 5 years in a row with my Swedish girlfriends. I couldn't help but compare my Nantucket adventure with my Swedish Gotland adventures.

USA Update

So, I have officially been back in the USA for 4 days now. I got in late last Thursday so therefore today is officially my 4th day here. It is also my 4th day off of work. I have taken Friday and Monday off as vacation but plan to work out of Boston for the rest of the week.

Because my last post went on and on forever and ever, this time I will spare you the details and instead leave you with a very short list (relatively speaking) about what I've been up to since I landed back Stateside because I'm sure you are all very curious about what I'm up to and if I'm at all living up to my vacation to-do list. So, here goes:

First of all, I'm very happy to tell you all that I got CARDED on the plane on the way to the US! What is going on here? This is the second time in the past month (I must be doing something right). We didn't actually get to the point of me needing to show my actual ID. However, she did ask my age in a very skeptical tone and when I told her that I was the very old age of 32 she burst out laughing (and embarrassingly, so did everyone around me) and she actually said: "Wow. You look no older than 18!!" Well, that might have been stretching it a bit. But it did make my day err.... well, my week actually.

Since arriving home to my parent's house in Western Massachusetts, I have been very disappointed in the terrible cold and rainy weather. Blah! Where is summer? I want to lay by the pool!

On Saturday I attended the wedding of one of my oldest friend S. Despite the pouring rain, the wedding and the reception were fantastic! At this point I have to give a shout out to S. I have known S since we were 3 years old and we went to elementary school together. S and I have a long history that dates all the way back to his first bowl cut (over the years for some reason he chose to sport a bowl cut hairstyle most off the time). In elementary school he was like the way too "cool" kid who was always bullying everyone else. In high school he was the typical popular guy who played every sport. He was the guy who relentlessly teased everyone - although I think that he suffered his fair share of well-deserved teasing back. In college, he was the smart engineering student who knew how to have a good time and still get top grades.

Somewhere between elementary school and high school S and I became good friends and that friendship lasted us all the way to college at UNH. Over the years we have shared a lot of memories and good times (and some bad such as the infamous night that I split my head open at his girlfriend's apartment in college - oops). In high school he was a star basketball player and me being the cheerleader I was always had his name and even made up a special cheer for him (yes, we did relive this at the wedding). In college I remember driving home with S in TRUCK (pronounced loudly TRRRUUUCK) - it was a slow going ride since Truck only had 4 gears. People would joke that one day we would get together (I mean that's what you do in small towns right)? But S and I never had a romantic interest in each other. He is like a brother to me and I hope a friend for life.

I'm so happy that S found a beautiful bride in N. They are a beautiful couple I wish them the best of luck!

The wedding enabled me to to catch up with 2 of my best friends from high school who I went to the wedding with. So great to see them!

I also got to catch up with many other friends from high school mostly the high school "boys" at the wedding. Funny how quickly we all revert back to our high school selves and even the way we used to talk... As the mother of the groom said, "You all have such a special bond, and whenever you see each other, you pick right up where you left off." She is right...

As I so often do lately, I managed to feel out of place being one of the only single people as well as one of the few people without children - I guzzled gin and tonics as the couples went on and on about children. Not that I blame them or hold it against them (I'm sure I would be doing it too), it's just that I can't really relate and I certainly have nothing to contribute.

After a night of hearing my friends who are new parents talk about the early 5 am "wake up calls" from the kids and watching the married couples interact (not always in a very encouraging way) I have decided that I am in NO RUSH TO GET MARRIED OR HAVE CHILDREN! Perhaps single life is not all that bad...

I marvelled at the differences between American and Swedish weddings including: at this American wedding most guests (including the Maid of Honor) seemed to be wearing black which is a big "no no" in Sweden, the DJ serves as the person who gets the wedding going rather than the toast master, American weddings tend to have an emphasis on family members while the Swedish wedding has an emphasis on friends, the religious American ceremony vs. the very short and non-religious Swedish one, and the fact that the American wedding ended around midnight while the Swedish one raged on all night. Up next a San Fransisco wedding. We will see how that compares.

I have been trying to wean myself away from work but so far it's only been met with minimal success. Today while I was taking a nap (as you do on vacation) I had work stress dreams the whole time. I also have been unable to stop checking my blackberry (that damn blinking red light) and tonight and last night I actually found myself working for 2 hours! I hope I can find it in me to really leave work behind for awhile once I get through this week.

Today (Monday) the sun peaked its way through the clouds for exactly one hour. Unfortunately, that hour exactly coincided with the contractors who my parents hired to work on rebuilding our barn (no idea why this is important -it's not as if we have barn animals or anything). So, I sat in the house feeling very sorry for myself that I was missing the sun since there was really no way that I could strut out in my bikini in front of the 5 workmen. Thank you Mom and Dad for this great planning. I've been dreaming of a day at the pool for so long! I guess I have to wait a couple more weeks.

In general, I have been feeling a bit stressed and am not in vacation mode at all (probably because I know I have to work the rest of this week) I've been running around trying to sort out things, do work, get to the gym, etc. It has so far been anything but relaxing and so far I have not really crossed a single thing off my to do list and I'm struggling to find time to even sleep. And with this week in Boston and next week in San Fran, it doesn't seem like I will have much down time. Well, I guess that is the life of an International Woman of Mystery. I guess I should just get used to the fast pace.

I'm off to Boston for the rest of the week to work out of the office there and of course - have some adventures. Will keep you posted. So, stay tuned for a Boston update!

Have a great week!
XOXO

Summer in London

It's official! Summer has finally come to London. It's amazing that in just one weekend people went from being pale and white and covered from head to toe in winter clothing to being tan and showing as much skin as possible. I LOVE summer! It makes me a nicer and happier person.

I for one am VERY happy to break out my summer wardrobe. My summer wardrobe is just SO much better than my winter one. I'm a big fan of summer dresses and accidently bought 3 new ones this weekend. But hey - I have 5 weddings this summer... I am in serious need of some new dresses even if I financially should not be spending the money.

The bad thing about summer in London seems to be SPIDERS! I am not a fan of creepy crawly things. Cocroaches and spiders are #1 and #2 on my list of things that totally freak me out. So far, I have found and killed 2 spiders in the past week. And I can't stop thinking about all the unseen and unknown spiders that are probably lurking around. I seroiusly need a boyfriend for this. Every time I see a bug, I want to scream for the closest man around - usually in the form of a father or a boyfriend. But since my father lives on another continent and has spent at least 18 years killing bugs for me... I think it's time for a boyfriend to take over these duties.

But seriously, killing bugs is totally not a thing a girl should do. I feel the same about changing light bulbs, using screwdrivers, setting up computers or internet connections, figuring out why the television in my apartment doesn't work, carrying heavy things, hanging pictures, using a hammer, figuring out anything technical, making decisions about electronics, using a power drill, reaching things in high places or basically contributing to any handiness around the house... Alas, I am a single girl. So, I unfortunately have to suck it up and do those things from time to time. In the past week in addition to killing 2 spiders, I also used a screwdriver and finally after weeks of trying managed to get my phone to work again. I'm hoping that a man will rescue me soon from having to do these types of activities. Boyfriend oh boyfriend, where are you? Can't I at least find a stand in man to kill the spiders and fix things in my apartment for me in London this summer? Even a temporary boyfriend should do the trick...

In other news, I had an enjoyable weekend. On Friday night I went to Kensington Roof Gardens, which was nice but due to another stressful week at work, I was too tired to really enjoy it. But I did have an experience that I feel is worth mentionoing: I GOT CARDED going into the club! The funny thing as that at lunch that day I was speaking to some colleauges of a bit of a younger generation then me and they were asking me how old I was - I told them that a true lady doesn't reveal her age... Anyway, they told me I looked young (awww... how sweet of them). As all of us are at least well over the drinking age we started talking about if we ever get carded in London (while this is common in America if you look under 35, it's not so common in the rest of the world). When I told them that I had been carded twice at Waitrose (the supermarket here) however, they did look a bit doubtful! So, that night at the club I couldn't believe it when the bouncer asked me for my ID. My friend with me started freaking out since she didn't have hers with her. So, I asked him "Do you need everyone's ID?" And GUESS WHAT he said? "Nope. Just yours!" That means he actually felt that he needed to check if I was over 20 years old!!! Let me say that one more time:

He thought that I was possibly YOUNGER than 20 years old!

Ok... then he did look at my ID, laugh and tell me I was old. But who who cares! It made my night. Besides, I am old. At least a whole decade plus older than 20!

Other than that, I layed in the park on both Saturday and Sunday - and I have a sunburn to show for it. I read a great book Water For Elephants - if you haven't read it already, then I suggest you do! And I went running. All and all, a nice weekend. I should have done some productive things, and I should have done some work. But sometimes, I need a break too! This week I'm off to Madrid for work on Thursday and Friday and will stay over the weekend. Should be fun! I'm looking forward to it. Stay tuned for a Madrid adventure post.

And if anyone knows of a good man who is handy around the house, technically enabled and doesn't mind killing a spider or two while I cower in the corner... well, send him around!

Have a great week!