Skippy peanut butter
Double-Stuf Oreo's
Lucky Charms
Aunt Jemima pancake mix
Aunt Jemima syrup
Hershey's candy of all kinds
Willy Wonka sweeties**
Vosges chocolate bars.
It was like American heaven. They did not have Sour Patch Kids, but I'll just have to wait till Easter (maybe the Easter Bunny will send me some, hint hint). Here's a photo of the other delicious items I didn't realized I missed until I no longer had them:
The Lucky Charms were amazing, although Cinnamon Toast Crunch would have been better.
Last weekend, I went on a double date with Josh, Josh's (now former) flatmate** Jim, and Jim's girlfriend, Rachel. They were really nice, and we went to the Trafford Centre, which is essentially a ginormous mall. It's about the same as Phipps Plaza, size wise, but much prettier. There were lots of restaurants, but we weren't too keen on any of them. TGI Friday's had a pretty short wait, so that's where we went. I came to England to experience all kinds of new things, and we ate at TGI Friday's! Who knew? However, I had a margarita, and it was amazing. Yet another thing I miss from Atlanta. Also, I never noticed how everything at TGIF has some kind of Jack Daniels sauce with it. Josh and Jim both had some kind of monstrous four patty burger with back and onion rings on it. It was a little disturbing that they both ate them and still had dessert. Here are pictures:
Finally, last night was my first Valentine's Day. Okay, not my actual first Valentine's Day, but it was the first one I've ever had with a sweetheart. And what a sweetheart he is! He gave me the plushest, softest bathrobe ever and some pretty "posies". I got him tickets to see Blur in Manchester at the end of June. I wore a new dress that has a "carwash" skirt with black sequins, and it's beautiful. Thankfully, Josh did not wear a paisley shirt, and he even let me put a posey in his buttonhole.
For dinner, we went to Gaucho, and it was marvelous. The restaurant is a renovated Baptist Church with even the organ left in (appropriate), and there is cowhide just about everywhere. It was very politically incorrect, but I thought it boded well for the cuisine. I had a strawberry margarita, and it was absolutely AMAZING. Josh had the mojito. For starters, we shared the scallop ceviche and sweetbreads**. Josh had the rump steak and I had a fillet**. I have now converted someone else to the wonder that is the Pittsburgh/black and blue steak. My steak was perfect, and I did not have to send it back (which, for those of you who have ever eaten steak with me, is a rarity). For dessert, Josh had the chocolate truffle cake (lush), and I had the braised fruits and a dollop (definitely not a scoop) of ice cream.
Also, I've been put through to the semi-finals of Manchester's Student Pop Idol competition. I sang "Falling" from Smokey Joe's Cafe for my initial audition, then "Over the Rainbow" and "Tears of a Clown" for the last two callbacks. The semi-finals are Monday week, and the theme is "Songs of the Beatles". I chose "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" because I figure it's basic 12-bar blues and I can do a lot with it and actually be entertaining without doing 7 minutes of Hey Jude. If I get through this round to the finals, I'll get to sing with a big band, which is my aim (rather than winning the competition, although it would be nice).
** sweeties - any kind of candy, though usually sold at a convenience store
flatmate - the British term for roommate, which is actually more accurate, since no one shares a room
sweetbreads - fried glands of cow, yum! The waiter asked if I knew what they were, since sweetbreads does sound pretty non-gross, like escargot or osso bucco.
fillet - what the Brits call a "filet", but it sounds like "fill-it" steak
2 comments:
sounds like your having a great time. miss you
It may have taken 25 years for your first date on Valentine's Day but it sounds as if it was definitely worth the wait. You looked gorgeous, as usual and so did your beau.
Love, Mum
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