Catch Up

Now that I am a Mum, (that's mom in british terms) I think it's time I get the blog back up and running. So much has happened in our lives since I have last written and I want to be able to look back and remember every detail of it all.

So, here it goes. Let's start from where we left off...

We moved. TWICE.

Way back in October 2012, Jeff was offered a position in NYC in the Private Bank at JP Morgan so, we packed up all of our stuff in Scottsdale, AZ and moved across the country to the big apple. We were living in the Financial District and loving every minute of it. We made tons of friends and were enjoying our new city life. We were only there for six months but it felt so much longer because of all that happened while we were there.

Our apartment building

 Downtown

Helping clean up after Hurricane Sandy

Celebrating our 3rd anniversary on a boat cruise around the city

Manhattan Temple

 
Christmas in the city

Bringing in the new year with friends

Empty subway- the best!

Yankee game

Just to mention a few things, our second week in the city we were hit with Hurricane Sandy. Since our apartment building was so close to the river, we were evacuated and weren't allowed to come back for 2 weeks. It wasn't too bad though because we got to spend some extra time with Jeff's parents in Pennsylvania. Shortly after we got back to our apartment, I got offered a job at Drybar in Tribeca. It was so fun and I miss it often. I even did a celebrity's hair once - it was pretty cool. Life was pretty great as we knew it but what we didn't know was it was about to change drastically. 

It all happened the same week. Let me back up though and give a little back story on how it all came to be.  When we were still living in Arizona, Jeff reached out to a few groups in the Investment Bank at JPM in London to find out more about potential opportunities. He let them know that he was really interested but unfortunately at the time there were no open positions. After we had made the move to NYC, Jeff again reached out to the London groups to just let them he had moved to New York and was still interested in opportunities sometime in the future. To his surprise, the manager of the DCM team over central and eastern Europe was going to be in NY for a meeting and invited him to lunch. During the lunch, he told Jeff that there happened to be an opening on their team and asked him to come to London (where his team is based) and interview with the team.

So there it was, Jeff was going to LONDON to interview which meant we might be moving again! I think we were both pretty nervous and excited at the prospect of living in another country. It gets crazier...a few days before he was leaving for his interview, I found out I was PREGNANT!!!! Now many of you know, Jeff and I had been trying for a baby for about a year and a half at that point. We were beyond excited to get this news. Later that week I got to hear our baby's heartbeat, probably the exact same time Jeff got offered the position in London. What a day!
So, after a short 6 months in Manhattan we packed up our stuff (again!) and headed across the pond to start a new life as Londoners. Neither one of us had ever been in the UK before (besides Jeff's interview) and we were pretty overwhelmed the day we flew in. I think riding in a cab that was driving on the left side of the road was quite a shock. It definitely didn't help with my pregnancy nausea. While looking for a flat to live in we found temporary places to stay on airbnb. We ended up staying in a couple's place in Shepard's Bush while they were on holiday in Africa who asked us to watch their pet while they were away. When we got there, we found out we would be babysitting a royal python for our stay! On top of that, 'Pythagoras' had to come of his cage for 'playtime' once a day, which was my job of course since Jeff was working all day. It's so funny looking back on this now - I still cannot believe I agreed to do that. About a month later we were all moved into our new home in Victoria where we have been living ever since.

 Flying in to London

Pythagoras the royal python

The London eye

Westminster Abbey

I think this is a good place to pause. Next post will be all about our summer in London and our lovely babymoon in Spain and Slovenia.

Cheers,

The Meise's

DIY Pocket Throw Pillows

Okay guys, I am going to attempt to explain to you how to make these bad boys!

(P.S. These photos were taken with my iPhone so I apologize for the quality)


These are so easy and fun to make.
The best part is you can make as many as you want.
As the season changes or your style changes, so can your pillows!

What you will need:
Sewing Machine
Fabric
Thread
Ruler
Scissors

So, you will start by measuring your fabric.
For example, the pillows I made were 16x16 so, I cut my first piece 16x16.

Next, you measure out your second piece adding 8 inches to one side so 16x25.

After you have finished cutting out those two pieces, your going to take the longer of the two and cut off 1/3 of the length.

It should look like this.

You should have 3 pieces of fabric now for each pillow.
The 1/3 and 2/3 pieces of fabric that are not the original measurement of the pillow now need hems because this will be the side of the pocket.
You will need to fold one of the sides down one inch and sew a long each side.


After you have sewn the hem on the two pieces, it's time to sew the whole thing together!
You want to lay your 16x16 piece down with the print side facing up, then the 2/3 piece with the print side facing down lining the bottoms together. Lastly, take the 1/3 piece and line it up with the top of the 16x16 piece.
Your pieces with the hems will over lap making your pocket.


Your almost done...

Pin the edges and sew about 1/4 inch in.


Once you have finished sewing the edges, you just flip your new pillow out using your pocket.
You can take your scissors or anything pointy to poke out the corners.

The back of your awesome new throw pillow should look like this...

Hope you enjoyed this How To!
If any of it was confusing or if you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Until next time...

Love,
The Meise's

Sisters in Seattle

First of all...

Can we just take a moment to talk about how long it has been since I have updated this thing.
So much has been going on in my life that my blog has been the last thing on my mind.
I am back now though and ready to update.

So, life has been a little rough the past couple of months and I was feeling a little down in the dumps so I decided to take a trip to visit my favorite peeps in Washington.

My sister has unfortunately been residing here for the past year (almost) because her husband has been temporarily relocated for his job. So to say the least she is pretty lonely all the way up there in that rainy, cold state.
The trip mostly consisted of us just relaxing, going to the gym and me playing with my sweet little nephew Jaden! I love that kid so dang much, it's ridiculous.

We did of course get a chance to go in to Seattle and see all of the awesome sights like the space needle and pike's marketplace.

Beautiful view of the city behind us

It actually wasn't raining (surprise!) Still cold, but not raining :)

Space Needle

Pike's Marketplace


We also went to The Museum of Flight, which was actually really cool!
They had like a million planes and military artifacts that were really informational and interesting.


The plane behind us is a SR-71 black bird military jet, which is apparently the fastest jet EVER!

A little Robyn + Jaden bonding

That's love in our eyes <3

I seriously had such a blast visiting my sister. I love her and my nephew so much. (I guess I love my bro in law too haha)
Seriously though, my sister has and will always be there for me no matter what I am going through. I am so grateful to have such an amazing woman/mother for my sister and look up to her so much. She is my best friend and I am already counting down the days until I get to see her again.

Until next time...

Love,
The Meise's

It's a BOY

We gave in a bought a PUPPY!
So, I now spend my days potty training and teaching not to bite.
He is the most adorable little guy in the whole wide world.
His name is Jimmer and he is a maltese.
He is currently 9 weeks old and 2 lbs.
We absolutely love him! Isn't he the cutest??

He loves to cuddle with us when he's not playing. It's so sweet.
Sleeping in my jacket. This is how we sleep at night. Just pooped after playtime.
We are so happy we got him.
He is such a fun addition to our little family.
He is definitely hard work but he is worth it!

Until next time...

Love, The Meise's

Late Christmas/New Years Update

I know it's already well in to January but I wanted to share about our Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Christmas was a blast as always.
We originally planned to go to Jeff's parents in Pennsylvania for this Christmas but due to flight prices we decided to stay here in Arizona.
Jeff's dad got an iPad for one of his presents though so it was fun getting to facetime with them!
We started out with our own little celebration at our apartment Christmas morning and opened up the presents that we got for each other.
It was really fun having our own little family Christmas even though it was just the two of us.
Later that day, after we went to church, we went down to my parents house and the festivities began!
My mom had tons of snacks, we played the game Jeff's family got us and just enjoyed each others company.
My sister and her husband had Christmas at his parents so we waited to open up presents until they got there.
We got so many awesome gifts from our family!

He loved his Xbox that I surprised him with!
Grammy and Grandpa spoiled little Jaden with lots of presents...
He was a happy boy!
Jaden and his Uncle Jason bonding :)
My parents in action opening up presents.

We are so grateful for all of the presents we were given and that we were able to be with family on this holiday!

New Years was also lots of fun. We went out with our good friends the Olson's and had dinner, watched a basketball game and played some games on the kinect. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pics :(
So far, 2012 has started out great! We are looking forward to all of the amazing adventures and memories to be made this year.

Until next time...

Love, The Meise's

A popcorn ball that would smell so sweet

'Tis the season...
to make tasty treats and share them with friends!
If any of you have ever tried my mother's famous caramel popcorn,
you are in for a serious treat...LITERALLY!
Merry Christmas everyone,
from my mom, to me, to YOU!

What you'll need:

If your making your own popcorn- 1/2 cup of kernels
or 1 1/2 bags of plain popcorn

2 sticks/1 cup of butter
1/2 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
14 large marshmallows


Once you have all your ingredients out, you will want to pop your popcorn and put it in a large bowl.
Next, you will need a medium sized pot.
Put the 2 sticks of butter in and put it to medium heat.
Add your white and brown sugar.
Add your 14(no more, no less) large marshmallows.
Stir on the medium heat until all ingredients are melted and mixed together.
Once the marshmallows are completely melted, you will want to remove the pot from the heat immediately.
Poor the mixture on top of the popcorn and mix with a large spoon.


Let cool for 15 minutes (if you can) and ENJOY!

I decided to share this yummy treat with my co-workers, so I made them into popcorn balls and put them in cute Santa bags!

Adorable, right??

I hope you all enjoy this yummy recipe I shared with you!
Let us all remember what the real meaning of Christmas is and remember our Savior and His birth. I am so grateful for Him and my Heavenly Father and for all They do for me.
Happy Holidays everyone, from my family to yours.

Until Next Year...

Love, The Meise's

It's DONE!

We finished the dresser I was telling you about!
It's even more gorgeous than I imagined it would be.
Check it out for yourself and tell me what you think?
(P.S. Don't mind the horrible quality of these pics, they were taken from the ol' iphone)

Isn't she a beauty?
I decided to take some angled pics since I'm all artsy fartsy now :)
Not too shabby if I do say so myself.
A close up on the amazing knobs!

I can't tell you how much fun I had redoing this dresser. It was good times with my friend Ashley who helped me from start to finish and so much information I now know on how to make an ugly piece of furniture look as gorgeous as this.
Let's just put it this way...
I will NEVER buy a new piece of furniture AGAIN.
It's all craigslist and garage sales for me from now on...
I know too much and I can't go back.

Until next time...

Love, The Meise's