Hi Everyone, how was your weekend?

We took advantage of the warm temperatures to explore a bit of the east and north of the city. We spent most of our Saturday in Shoreditch at Red Market, an outdoor cocktail bar and street food market. It was the kind of place you could hang out all day just drinking, chatting, and kicking up your feet. Such a fun urban oasis. Afterwards we hit up the much talked about Pizza East. I sort of felt like we were part of the masses in LA that similarly "venture Downtown" to the area's hot spot, Bottega Louie. It always annoyed me to hear people say that they go Downtown but really, they park next door to Bottega, go in, out, and call it a day. It's such a scene. Hip-factor aside, Pizza East was seriously yummy and the ambiance was just our style. In fact, walking around the neighborhood felt very much, well...us. I love our quaint and leafy West End area of Maida Vale but before we moved here, everyone who knew us, and knew London, said that we'd love the East End. They were right.

On Sunday, I discovered that I love the North of London too. Home to Hampstead Heath, a sprawling park that feels more like a forest at times, we spent the afternoon walking around enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. The Heath is officially my favorite park for many reasons but number one may be that it has natural swimming ponds open to the public! I really can't wait to take advantage of them. They even have a far-from-view "women's pond" where I may be able to get rid of my pesky tan lines without worrying about men's peeping eyes. Seriously, it was like a totally different world in there.

Actually, the entire park felt a world apart. Especially when we took a break on Kite Hill and sat looking out towards the east of the city, precisely where we had been the previous day. The more we explore and learn about London, the smaller it feels. Small in a good way, of course. Small can mean familiar and to me, familiarity makes a place home. London has really become our home.