There's no place like home[coming].

I'm sitting at work, smiling maniacally and buzzing like I just drank a lot of coffee. But I haven't had any coffee at all. This, my friends, is what you call a natural high.

 

I'm just so excited to be heading to Texas tomorrow! Why am I going, you ask? Because of this:

 

That's right. I get to go to Baylor Homecoming this year! 

Here's what I'm most excited about:

 

Driving -- I say this all the time, but I can't tell you how much I miss it. A car gives you so much freedom. Plus, where else am I supposed to sing loudly without fear of embarrassment?

 

Christmas -- But it's barely Halloween, you say? Well when you're not going home for the holidays, Christmas comes early for the ones you love. I've been planning, and I'm really excited to make people feel loved and special with an assortment of British goodies.

 

Football -- (American style.) When I was at Baylor, I never missed a home game. I've watched online, but it's been two years since I've actually been to a game. I can't wait.

 

Campus -- Apparently, a lot has changed around my alma mater. Still, I'm sure it will still feel like home. I'm excited to grab a cowboy coffee and walk the Bear Trail like old times.

 

Sunshine -- I've checked the forecast, and it's supposed to get into the mid 80s (that's 30 degrees for all you silly Celsius users). I haven't been that warm since my visit to Italy last June. To give you some perspective, our highs for London are expected to be 50 and below this week. God bless Texas and it's complete lack of regard for fall...even in November.

 

Food -- I've already made a list of all the restaurants that I absolutely must visit. Judging by what I've got down so far, it's possible that I could spend my entire trip eating. But that's a risk I'm willing to take.

 

Target -- I don't even need to buy anything. I just need to go. Don't judge.

 

And of course, friends and family -- To me, that's what Baylor Homecoming is all about. In fact, when my friends and I were interviewed at Baylor a few years ago by some local news crew, that's the answer I gave. That's also the answer Alexis gave, immediately following mine (I think she panicked). So the camera panned across our group as we listed off our favorite things about Homecoming, and it ended up sounding like this: "Football. Pigskin. Friends and family. Friends and...family." It was hilariously awful. I'm pretty sure we never ended up on TV.

 

-------------------------

The point is, I can't wait to get on that plane tomorrow. I absolutely love living in London. It's such a fun city, and I've met some incredible people who mean the world to me.

See what I mean? Lovely, wonderful people.

But there's just something about going home that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. So all you lovely Texas people, get ready. I'm headed your way.
 
And I can't wait to hug you.

  

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

It's officially fall. Time to bust out the coats, scarves, and pumpkin recipes. 

This is my favorite season for baking. And there's so much you can do with pumpkin. But despite the myriad of choices I faced when I pulled a dusty Libby's can from the depths of my cupboard, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.

These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are exceptional. They're full of flavor and so soft that they're almost more like the top of a muffin than your standard cookie. And they're super simple. 

So grab yourself a can of Libby's, and whip these up on a crisp fall evening. Your kitchen will smell amazing, and your taste buds will thank you.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

(c/o Joy the Baker)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp (heaping) nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C). Line baking sheet with parchment paper, and spray with nonstick spray. 

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a medium bowl. 

In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until smooth. Then add the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla, and mix on a low speed until it's all blended together. 

Add the flour mixture, and stir until combined. Dough will be very similar to a muffin batter, but it should hold its shape when scooped.

Fold in the chocolate chips. 

 

Scoop out about 1/4 cup (or a large spoonful) of dough and place on prepared baking sheet. Leave at least 2 inches between each cookie, because they'll grow quite a bit in the oven. I think I only put 6 on my standard baking sheet. 

Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the tops are firm to the touch and they pass the toothpick test. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Then, enjoy!

 

Note: I got about 18 cookies out of this recipe. I baked them last night, and currently there are only 3 left in my kitchen. So while these could hypothetically last about 4 days in an airtight container, expect them to be gone long before then.

  

Pink.

On the last Friday of every month, we have a dress down day at work. The purpose is twofold: (1) We get to wear more casual clothes, and (2) we have the opportunity to support a charity.

 
This month, our dress down day fell on "Wear it Pink Day," which is Breast Cancer Campaign's biggest fundraiser. So naturally, we've been asked to wear pink.

The problem is I don't own anything pink. Not a single thing.
 

Okay, that's a lie. My Hillsong Kids Team t-shirt is pink. But that's a little too casual for the office...even on a dress down day.
 

I couldn't just not wear pink, though, because I didn't want my office to think that I hated breast cancer awareness. That would be bad. So I went out and bought a simple fitted tee that was only slightly more expensive than a cup of coffee. Not bad.
 

Now, I should probably also mention that I've seen Mean Girls more times than I care to admit. So many times that I can quote it -- not just the memorable quotes, either. If you put that film on mute, I'm fairly confident I could recite the entire script as it played. Which means that, obviously, a slew of Mean Girls references came to mind when I found out we were supposed to wear pink. Especially since when we found out, one of the women in my office was upset because she happened to be wearing pink that day -- two days early. Now, if you're a Mean Girls fan, you probably know where I'm going with this. That's right. It was a Wednesday...
 

 
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that things would be so much easier if I just had a Damien in my life to lend me a giant pink polo or something. Unfortunately, I don't.
 
Oh well. At least I got to wear jeans to the office.

 
Happy Friday!
  

Silver lining.

Mondays come much too quickly after Sundays. I think we should get at least two Sundays before Monday springs on us with its silly requirements like waking up early and actually getting dressed.

On this particular Monday, I'm hungry and sniffly and my throat is tickly and it's grey and foggy and I broke a nail this morning and my computer keeps asking me if I want to restart to install updates and I don't want to and I've still got to be at work for another 4 hours.

But. BUT.

I'm headed back to 'Merica in a week from Thursday.

Silver lining.
 

Wednesday randoms.

The other day, as I was getting ready to take my lunch break, I asked if it was raining. My coworker responded, "Well there are people going by with brollies up." What? Apparently "brollies" are umbrellas. Who knew?

 

This is kind of old news, but I still think it's wonderful. Thanks, Google.

 

I came home to this the other night. So thankful for sweet housemates who know that my love language is dessert.

 

Beautiful.

 

The problem (well one of the many problems) with cold weather is that it makes my hands shrink, which means that my rings start slipping and sliding all over the place whenever I type. I've readjusted the ring on my right hand 4 times while typing this. Weird, I know. Please tell me I'm not the only one...

 

I got my National Insurance number last week, so I'm officially official! Which means I get to...start paying taxes. Hooray.

 

The other day, one of my besties was talking about how it's weird working full time and that she was still trying to get used to this whole you only get a couple days off for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Well me, I'm still trying to get used to there is no Thanksgiving thing. And Halloween's not that big of a deal either. You pretty much just go straight into Christmas.

Seriously? But it's barely October.

 

It's terrible. I'm a huge proponent of letting each holiday have its own time, so I never do Christmassy until after Thanksgiving. But they started putting out the Christmas stuff at the beginning of October. Not cool.

 

I'm heading home for a little visit in just two weeks! Can't wait to see some of my favorite people in the world...and to eat some Mexican food.

 

Morning lessons.

You can learn a whole lot in just one morning. For example, just today...

1. I learned that if I accidentally turn off the wrong alarm, I'll sleep later than I should;
2. I learned that looking at the clock and panicking wakes me right up -- no coffee needed;
3. I learned that I can get ready (including packing lunch and having breakfast) in 20 minutes flat;
4. I learned that I can apply my makeup on the bus;
5. I learned that I don't want to sleep that late on a weekday ever again.

So much learning, and it's only 9:30am. 

 

Enjoy your Tuesday mornings, lovelies. Here's hoping they involve significantly less panic than mine.

  

So looking forward to fall.

You'll never believe what just happened.
 

You may remember my post from last year when I discovered that pumpkin spice lattes didn't exist in the UK, and I had to make my own. As cool (and tasty) as my homemade pumpkin spice lattes may have been, they just weren't the same.
 

Fast-forward one year.
 

I'm strolling down Sutton High Street during my lunch hour, and as I walk past Starbucks, I see this:
 

Isn't it beautiful?

 
The pumpkin spice latte is finally making its UK debut.
 

I stop and stare. I can't believe it. I'm so excited. I have to take a picture.
 

And while I'm taking a picture, one of the baristas walks out with a tray full of mini pumpkin spice lattes. Samples! I calmly walk (read: dash) over to her, where she's trying (and kind of failing) to explain what exactly it is she's serving to a bunch of people who have sadly never experienced the gloriousness that is contained within those itty bitty cups. I say, "Pumpkin spice latte?" and she answers with a nod. I then look at the confused individuals who are clearly hesitant to try it, and explain that they absolutely must have one -- that it is wonderful and will change their lives and that I've missed it so much ever since I moved here.
 

They were a bit bewildered by my unbridled enthusiasm, but that's fine.
 

And then I turned and walked away, sipping my pumpkin spice latte and so looking forward to fall.
 

I don't really like Mondays.

Monday gets a bad rap. No one really likes him (Monday is a male in my head). Poor guy. It's not his fault he's the first day back to reality after the weekend. But I've never really had a problem with Monday. I'm okay with getting up in the morning. I don't mind going to work. Monday is fine by me.

But not today.

Monday went all wrong for me today.  You see, I rely on two buses to get me to work. It usually takes about 40-45 minutes. That's fine, because I'm used to it, and it gives me time to read. Plus, it's actually quicker than the train.
  

But this morning, it was anything but quick. My first bus was 20 minutes late. Which meant that (because I get there about 10 minutes early, just in case) I was at the stop for half an hour. I was kind of okay with it though, because that bus only comes every 15 minutes, so I'm used to waiting for it. Plus, I still managed to get to the second bus stop by 8:35, so I figured I would make it in time.
 

This might be a good place to pause and explain that I seriously hate being late to anything. As in, I go out of my way to avoid it. As in, I plan well and I set loads of alarms.
  

And don't ask me why I never set my alarms
for regular times. I just don't.

So I'm waiting at the second bus stop expecting the bus to arrive any minute (because one comes every 8 minutes). And I'm waiting...and waiting...and waiting.
  

At this point, it's been 15 minutes, so I follow the instructions on the sign and text to find out when the next one is arriving. The reply says it will be another 13 minutes. What?? Not okay. I realize that there is no way I'll make it to work on time. Not only that, but I'm going to be seriously late.
  

Then I realize that I have no way of getting ahold of anyone from work to let them know what's going on. I semi-panic for about three minutes, and then text my housemate, begging her to look up the number for my workplace (because I don't have it, and since I spent a whopping £4 on my British phone, it doesn't have Internet capabilities). She heroically gets back to me with the number, and I call and let them know I'll be late. They're already well aware of this, as it's currently two minutes past when I'm supposed to be there, and I'm still standing at the bus stop. But at least I told them.

Finally, the bus arrives, and I get to work 30 minutes late. So I left my house at 7:40 and didn't get to work till 9:35. It was a super frustrating experience.

The point is, I don't really like Mondays anymore. At least not Monday mornings.

Hope your Monday went more smoothly than mine.