On day six we took the Eurostar to London and a National Rail train to Nottingham to visit a our friends Laura (Busywork) and Andy. I was very excited about taking the train but, turns out, it wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped. We did end up going through the Chunnel, but they didn't announce it or anything. It just got dark, and a few minutes later we were in the UK.

We did get some great advice from Laura on how to book a good train ticket, and I've added my own below.

We were hoping for more time in St. Pancras station since it's filled with nice stores, and we were hoping to go next door to get a picture of Platform 9 3/4, but our train was late and by the time we found where to get our tickets and grabbed some food it was time to find the new train.

At this point in our trip I was in desperate need of some vegetables. I was over the moon to find some prepared broccoli and soba noodles with carrots! At this point these were the most precious and delicious things in my world. I was giddy while eating them, it was terribly silly.

I also spotted Scotch Eggs!

And these cute meat pies:

We were met at the Nottingham station (so nice!) and were soon exploring the neighborhood. First we went to the Nottingham Craft Mafia pop-up store. Apparently it had started as a temporary shop set up for the holidays but was so successful they stayed. It's full of great things:

We passed a bank and Laura and Andy pointed out this cat who waits at the front door in the moring, comes inside and hangs out in the lobby all day, and leaves at night. Smart cat.

After this we went to Boots! I bought some Travel Calm (motion sickness pills that we can't get in the states, and don't have the heavy drowsy side effect of Dramamine) and looked through all the many goods. I didn't buy nearly enough stuff here.

And then we went to a Marks and Spencer's food store, it was amazing. Trader Joe's pales in comparison.

The flavors of crisps here were amazing. I think we bought Honey Roasted Whiltshire Ham, which tasted uncannily like any barbeque flavored chip.

Chocolate buttons.

Look! Dessert spoons.

Later Scott got a Malteasers milk shake:

I was very tired so we all went to bed early.

Things I Learned the Hard Way

[Read more →]

Tomorrow night (Wed. Mar. 17th at 7pm) the Grassroots Business Association is having our Focus Group meeting where we'll be reviewing each others business ideas. It's going to be a lot of fun. And if you're a regular please note the meeting will be in a new location, in the offices of Accounting For Small Business at 920 NE 64th Street, just across from the Ravenna Whole Foods, here is the Google map. You can find more details here, I hope to see you.

Ways to save | Ask MetaFilter. A discussion on the best ways to cut energy consumption in your house, how much power switched off electronics really draw, and where you should actually focus if you want to save money and/or energy.

Design*Sponge » sewing 101: curtains.

Memo Chalkboard Wall Sticker, online at JohnLewis.com. Curse my orange peel finish walls!

Highlight Your Flat Screen With Plywood & Pipe | Apartment Therapy Unplggd.

Making it Lovely | Transforming the so-so. » DIY Painting Tips, Tricks, and a Step-By-Step Guide.

Design*Sponge » small measures with ashley: starting seeds indoors.

The Kitchn On Dishwashers Kitchen & Bath Month 2010 | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn.

5 Books & Guides To Help With Wiring Woes | Apartment Therapy Unplggd.