What wedding?

I can't tell you how many times someone has referenced "the wedding" to me in conversation.
It takes me a few minutes to realize what they are talking about.
I search my consciousness for if a mutual friend of ours is getting married.  I am confused and start to say, "Actually, Ross and I are already married... close to a year and a half now..."
Then I realize.  I realize that they mean THE wedding.  The Royal Wedding.  Wills and Kate's.  William and Catherine's.  Duh.
Most times, it is an American asking this.  They seems far more intrigued than the Brits by the upcoming nuptials.

I admit to being vaguely curious, possibly slightly excited.  Not so much in an active way where I think about it, but if it comes up, I think, "Oooh, I wonder what her dress will look like... I bet the event will be really beautiful..."  I think about how much love I felt from all the people in attendance on our wedding day and how much Kate will be feeling from the throngs of people standing in the street just to glimpse her.  I can't imagine how overwhelming that would be.
I'm sure we'll watch it on TV.  If I had any friends here I'd probably even put together a fun little party with cute decorations.  More because it's fun to make a fuss than because I'm that into it.

We went to the Royal Exchange Theatre last night and saw this print in their craft shop:

Royal Wedding Art

It's kinda cute, and only 16 pounds*, but I can't imagine actually displaying it in our home.  

You can also get it screen printed on a canvas tote for a mere 8 pounds*.

There are other fun "commemorative" items out there.

Tongue-in-cheeky Tea Towel 10 pounds*

Artsy Print 25 pounds*  (I think this one is actually quite charming)

Print of the Processional Route $65

Then Ross forwarded me an email that he'd received from a website.  It's the one that we used to search for our flat.  You can purchase the ultimate Royal Wedding Souvenir**.  Or just be a little creepy and stalkerish.

Kate's childhood home is for sale.

*My American computer doesn't have a pound key.  I usually go to a word document and insert a pound symbol from the "special characters" section, then cut and paste it into my blog entries.  Today I'm lazy so I'm just typing out the word instead.  That said, just doing it would probably have been quicker than typing out this little explanation... oh well.

**Their language, not mine.  

Word of the Week

AirconA/C

Cool man... real cool...

Definition:  The abbreviated version of air conditioning.

Used in a sentence:  Most homes in the UK don't have aircona/c, but it doesn't usually get warm enough to matter.

Easter Eggs!

So Easter eggs are pretty standard, right?
They look like this:

Standard Issue Eggs

And then they get filled with candy like this:

Sweet Sugar Coma Ahead!

Which are hidden and then this happens:

Easter Egg Hunt

Not so much in England.  Ok- there might be the occasional egg hunt, but not to the degree that they are an institution in America.

Here in England, kids don't receive Easter baskets filled with plastic grass and little treats and candy.  They get these:

British Easter Eggs

I have no idea who this woman is, but I figured it showed the scale of the eggs...

There are giant chocolate eggs in all different candy bar flavours.  There are ones that come in sets with kids plastic dishes and cups.  Ross says kids get one, or maybe two.  We were theorizing over lunch today that this has something to do with the different standards for chocolate in this part of the world. They are super-serious about chocolate in these parts.

As for egg dying or decorating, I haven't seen a single PAAS kit anywhere.  I guess they don't really do that either.  Wait I just consulted with Ross.  I asked about dying eggs.  His response?  An incredulous, "Dye?!? No.  They sometimes paint them, but not so much any more."

It's funny what cultural traditions seem so commonplace until you see how someone else does it!  What cultural traditions are sort of weird when you think about them?  

Any expats out there bringing some American-style Easter to England?  Whatcha doin?

Mental Health Awareness

So I've been noticing a new campaign lately.  With my background in mental health, I found it intriguing.
This is the tv ad that has been playing quite frequently the last few weeks.

Dave's back at work.

The first time I saw this, I didn't know how to react.  On the one hand, I totally dig the idea that people should be able to talk about mental health more openly.  I think the stigma attached to it keeps way too many people from seeking treatment.  On the other, it made me uncomfortable.  I couldn't figure out if it made me uncomfortable in the way that it is meant to or if something was rubbing me the wrong way.  I'm still not sure.  The only thing I can think is that it REALLY irritates me when people who are un/semi-qualified give mental health "advice".  I'm talking to you Mr/Ms. I-Have-My-Bachelor's-Degree-in-Psychology-So-I-Think-I-Can-Diagnose-or-Offer-Treatment-Recommendations-to-Everyone.  Yuck.  Mental health is one area where a little knowledge tends to give people far too much confidence in speaking with "authority".

Maybe that's it.  Certainly the idea of human kindness and interaction is in no way objectionable.  People shouldn't be afraid to talk to each other.  People who are dealing with mental illness are definitely still regular people who want to feel supported and not ignored or feared.  So I went online to find the ad above and stumbled upon this one.

Time to Change Campaign

I find this one way more powerful.  It's apparently older, but I like that it focuses on misconceptions.  As hard as it is to deal with one's own mental health, it can be a huge challenge to deal with someone else's.  Most people don't understand and I love that this commercial shows this aspect and encourages people to find new ways of helping.  Now that doesn't make me feel conflicted at all :)

A rare event last week showed me how widespread they are trying to make this movement.  Ross and I were at a pub (the rare event) and we were sitting at a table on which I found the following:

Personal photo

What do you think of this campaign?

Have you ever come across something that made you feel strangely conflicted, revealing some only slightly related issue of yours?  ;)

Last night I dreamt I went to Target again...

Ah my beloved Target.*  I love you.
Like how the narrator loved Manderley.
Except is doesn't have a crazy creepy housekeeper...
And hopefully it won't burn down.
And I don't feel haunted by the presence of Ross' first wife at Target.
Because I am Ross' first wife.
Whatever... I like the book Rebecca and this has all gone horribly awry, but I'm not going to delete it.

The point is- I love Target.
It makes me happy.
We don't have Target in the UK**, which makes me sad.
I used to love to peruse the aisle of my local Super Target, now I torture console torture myself by looking at the Target website to see all the pretty things I can't have.
As a type of vicarious living, I will now share a few of the things that I've found that tickle my fancy.
If they tickle your fancy too and you are lucky enough to have a Target you can go buy them!
If you have a Target, but they don't tickle your fancy, but you love me- you could buy them and send them to me here in England! (kidding.  sort of.)

Online browsing does deprive me of my greatest joy- the true bargain.  I love those little red stickers and finding a treasure in the clearance section.  Oh well.  On with the pretty:

First up items for around the house:

So cute. And sweet.

Want this for the gallery wall in our living room that currently only exists in my mind.

Love. Love. Love.

Sure, I have no idea where it would go in our house, but see statement above.

Now, on to my favourite.  Clothes!

First you should know that I consider 3/4 sleeve cardigans the king of all clothing.  I can't get enough of them.  

Yellow + Ruffles + 3/4 sleeve = adorable

Minty Fresh Lace

Neutral and Feminine

Ba-BOOM! Zebra in your face.

**SPARKLES!!!**

I warned you!  I big puffy heart love a cute cardi.

Simple and Classic

Oh, orange v neck-  Your description says you are super-soft.  

I like the sound of that.  Plus a v neck shows off my tatas real nice and classy-like.

Now, onto shoes and accessories:

Bright Tribal flats

Sure to spice up any outfit

Every British resident woman needs wellies.  Can you believe I don't have a pair?!

These graphic black and whites with a pop of cheerful yellow would do the trick.

Seaside Statement Necklace

Dainty Tree 2 Strand Necklace

So thus ends my internet love letter to Target.

What do you think of my pics?

What is your favourite place to shop for bargains?

*Target doesn't know who I am or care about my little blog.  This ain't no paid post-vertisement.
** Long semi-relevant tangent which I find amusing: Awhile back I read an article in some British newspaper that was profiling Phil Spector's wife.  She was proclaiming the fact that she isn't a gold digger and that she truly loves her wrongly-imprisoned crazy-haired fella.  As part of the proof that she wasn't after Phil's moola she said that her favourite store is Target.  The paper explained parenthetically to it's readers, who would be unfamiliar with the glory that is Tar-jay that Target is similar to Argos.  If I'd been drinking anything, this would have been my cue for a spit-take.  Argos is NOTHING like Target.  I'd never experienced a store like Argos before moving here.  There are a few things out on the store floor, but mostly there are magazine type books around the perimeter where you can look to see what they stock.  There are little electronic pads next to the books that you can input an item code into, which the system then uses to check if the store has it in stock.  If they have it, you fill out a form and pay and then wait for the item to be brought out from the back (sort of like some of the stuff at Ikea).  If they don't have it, I think you can have it ordered in.  Exactly like Target, eh?  I'm guessing they were making a comparison based on the type of price-point in the two stores... I thought it was funny and Ross and I still joke about it nearly a year later.  Interesting tangent story, huh?  Aren't you glad you read all this rambling? :)