ASDA: Wal-mart…Hmmm..

In the UK Wal-mart is alive and well. I didn’t know this, at first, because there is no blue store, no well-known Wal-mart signage. No, here Wal-mart is spelled A.S.D.A. The moment I entered the store I knew. It’s Wal-mart! I asked Matt and confirmed my suspicions. It’s the UK partner. Seriously, Wal-mart really is everywhere!!!

Check it out for yourself and see: ASDA

The most interesting difference between American grocery shopping and English shopping? Beyond the expected extremely different food choices. (Cheddar is nothing like Wisconsin Cheddar) is that the way things are packaged is more economical. They break down packaging for smaller pocketbooks and offer a heck of a lot more savings offers. 2 for and 3 for the price of 1 offers are my personal favorites! They also have reduced prices on items that are reaching the sell-by date. The savings on those are amazing (some being as low as 10 p per item) Thats like getting a loaf of bread for a dime!

One of the things I love about food here in England, is that what we pay for as Gourmet pricing in the US, is generally available here in the UK, only in slightly smaller quantities to enable people to afford them. You have a large variety of choices and there is generally someone offering a cheap version of it in some form. There is also an emphasis on courses that is missing in American cuisine. I have visited more than one UK resident and they would not be caught dead offering a meal without some kind of after meal pudding (dessert). I have had the most difficulty getting use to the difference in food here. They love Indian food here, as well as, Chinese food. There are a ton of walk-in shops that feature Indian, Chinese, Thai, Cantonese and English fare. You can walk-in and get a meal for 2 for as little as £10. They do not (as a rule) enjoy fried food here, for the most part. I find that the area Britain’s around here truly indulge, is in the area of sweets. They have firmly made me a fan of all things pudding. (Did I mention I love Muller’s rice pudding?)

Matt and I really love the Fish shop (I affectionately call it the Mr Chippy shop) where a large single person order is large enough to feed 2 people for under £5. The fish piece is HUGE!#

Build-a-Bear!

Have you seen Build-a-Bear lately? I am completely loving the newest offerings. Here in the UK, they even have Pudsey for sale (He’s the UK’s children’s charity bear) and I really am considering getting Isabelle one of her very own. She may not understand who he is, but she will definitely love that he goes towards children, like her, and supports programs to help and support them.

Reading UK style.

I discovered that the reading in the UK is extremely hard for me. The writers I know and love are not as easy to find here. I was out of my element until I took some time to get to know some of the writers in England. I have read a few and here are my thoughts on them.

Dedication- by Nicola Kraus and Emma Mclaughlin.

This book was a fun read, mostly. I was very disappointed in the ending. It was the inevitable conclusion, since clearly there was no other grown-up result that could be played out on this story-line, my complaint was that the main character doesn’t seem to wake up and realize she is being a bone-head until the end. I mean, finally she gets the chance to stand-up for herself and she falls all over herself like a mind-less puppy. It followed type for her character who throughout her childhood waited around for this boy, over and over again. I think my basic personality being more take-charge, this book, at times, rubbed me the wrong way. A good book, but one that had me nashing my teeth.

The Bright Side Of Disaster by Katherine Center. OK, I loved it. All but the letting the ex back into the bed for a short time bit..other than that..loved it! The baby love, the feisty mother, the neighbor divine and delish..wonderful read! I would like to see more by this Author.

Acting Up! By Melissa Nathan. WOW. Melissa Nathan has something spunky and very readable about her books. It’s not just the characters (which are sublime and very lovable), but the dialog and the ease with which this book leads you from page to page. I never got bored and the new age take on Mr Darcy was just plan fun.

 

 

Music likes for November

I have been listening to music in the UK for almost three months now. My favorite tunes and artists so far?

Jamie Cullen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0z1Mo7O6dE&feature=fvst : Don’t Stop The Music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RUTgB07J_U: I’m All Over It.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUscn6VPfXc&feature=fvst: All At Sea.

Cheryl Cole:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr31Vhu01fc: Fight For This Love.

The Saturday’s:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGPwmr2FWn4&feature=channel: Forever is Over.

Leona Lewis:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mt7Nfq1CJc : Happy.

JLS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJWBfmudEeY: Beat Again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlfzNb_WeoA&feature=channel: Everybody in Love.

Alexandra Burke:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li_nzTVYpk8: Bad Boys.

English products..

I have been lucky enough to encounter the following products while here in England.

I guess I am just cateloging them because I want to remember the memories associated with trying them for the first time.

Sorry,

Sorry I have not been on in a while, I have finally relocated to the UK, so you will see more of me soon. Stay tuned for some lovely photos and things from my experiences in the UK.

Bekki

REVEAL SHADOW PROJECTOR

I love it, I love It, I love it! It’s no secret that Matt and I love his star projector, so this is just another way to use light to make a relaxing atmosphere. This projector creates a shadow with the feeling of sunlight and wind. This is perfect for anyone living in an apartment or dwelling with very little window, or worse, a view of a brick wall! I have a minor obsession with shadow and light and this is very much to my taste. (via Uncommon Goods)

VivaTerra – Iris Nightlight

Made exclusively from recycled glass! Talk about cool! These nightlights are functional and beautiful. They call this the "Reborn Glass" project. I personally love this Iris version best. The Gray family uses discarded bottles and containers to make something rather gorgeous to have around. I imagine even glass containers dream of becoming something like this one day! (via Vivaterra)

Munny Cameo Multibead Necklace | FreshTrend Unique Gift Ideas

Loving this necklace. I just joined a cool site where all the neato stuff I find online can be recommended to people. That’s right up my alley! (via Freshtrend)

Happy Birthday..

You sexy, sexy thing you! Who says being 45 is old? Rock on!

Happy Birthday Keanu.

TV lovins and a poll!

Ok, so this week I watched all my favorite shows. I even investigated some new ones!

Here are some of my reactions to this weeks programming!

This weeks Eureka was really cool! I love how they slowly build on the core story-line and make the characters develop. I was mega-mad that they brought Kim back only to kill her again. That bites! I hate the new love interest for Carter..he belongs with Allison! I miss Zoe, why are they not doing more with her character this season?

Loving the new show Royal Pains. Divya is my favorite character (and not just for her English accent that reminds me of you-know-who) Her personality is wonderful and the way she puts Evan in his collective place, is just fun. This week they hinted at a cliff-hanger about Evan and Hank’s father. I cannot wait to see what develops.

Warehouse 13 is a blast, I love the way the characters have gotten more relaxed and funny. The additon of  Claudia to the team was a very good decision, I cannot wait to see what comes of her character.

Monk’s last season is promising to be something special. I love that they will FINALLY solve his wife’s murder! All I can say is that this is a perfect gift to loyal viewers!

Psych, I love this show and always will. Gus plays very very well against Shawn’s character! I want Shawn’s girlfriend to take a flying leap though, the character is mildly boring and hardly even in the show at all, she’s not even interesting. I do adore that they have been making Lassie’s character more funny, I love that they revealed more depth to his character. Just plain fun!

Castle: What delish fun it is watching the characters interact! Love this show!

Then there is my English lust!

Merlin is one of the shows I hope comes back. It was really well done and I enjoyed the fact that they brought in as guest stars some of the faces I have come to know from British televison. I have been watching British programming for YEARS~! If they ever get QI, I will finally be happy, funniest part is that by the time they get it, I will be in England already watching..neener neener neener!

I wish they had Green Wing’s second season on HULU…(pout) Matt has seen it, and I have not…I need more MAC in my life! (drooool)

Also, When the heck is CHUCK coming back? It’s my favorite and it is not on tv yet…(whimper) They did say it would come back for 1 more season. Why don’t people ever check the HULU stats for shows! I know many people (like me) watch tv primarily on their computers! It’s getting to be a big thing.

Do the poll!

MINE!

NO, I am not joking! I would totally buy this bed-frame by Shawn Lovell!

This is my kind of cool!

Just don’t ask me the price, cause I may cry!

Grissom would love it!

While walking about with my sister this weekend, we happened on these awesome necklaces. Since I am afraid of all things bug, it was hard, at first, to touch these.

I am pretty sure that Shay took two steps back when she saw this one!

Who doesn’t want to wear a creature that can kill ya? Brown recluse (in case you wondered!)

My personal favorite was not even a bug.

Want one? Go here!

I can just see the teenagers lining up for these! My nephew was in love! (but had no dough!)

Drown in giggles.

This drain stopper is pure Quirky~! (How could I resist?)

Why buy a boring drain stopper when for just $6.50 you can make a giggle happen!

Get the HELP! Drain plug: here!

Now thats the pizza cutter of a REAL MAN!

This pizza cutter is made to look like a table saw! I laughed when I saw it, because you just know, that there is a woman out there who will just nod and ask where she can buy it. Cause, when you have one, you have one! lol

For $14 this cutter is a perfect gift for any “Handy” man. Get it here!

You can find more MAN-gear gifts here at Sirtified. A place for “Cool design, specifically for guys!”

Are you pouting because you are a girl and want some cool stuffs too? Check out the sites new girl-stuff section!