Many people have been writing their year end round up of best eats, sleeps, sights, and posts. I can't really look back on this year to do that because I was a very bad blogger indeed. The reason I have this blog is to let my family and friends know about my adventures in London, and all I can say is that 2010 was busy. I began a job that had me online 8 hours a day. I had events to attend after work, and most were not the kind to share. On my free nights, I wanted to cook, clean, catch up on laundry and tv. I thought I'd blog on Sundays. I was going to do it, dang it! Then, that failed too. Mostly, there was nothing to report. I woke up, went to work, eventually came home, went to bed. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. So what can I do other than look ahead to 2011 and how I want to live life and perhaps document a bit of it: About London I am constantly asked for tips on day trips or how to conquer London on short visits. I should share my usual routes, sights, and eats so that I can just link to it instead of writing it out every time. I will also write up some of my favorite free things to do. London can be expensive, but there are ways to see a lot without paying a cent - or pence! I also would like to set the record straight about the 'big smoke', if London is really as foggy and rainy as people think (it's not), and other stereotypes. Travel I want to travel more this year. I will take advantage of airline sales and package deals and go. No more waiting around to make things happen. I am making a list of places in the UK and in Europe/N Africa and I will conquer my list. Somehow. I will share my tips of traveling to/from London while I'm at it. Qype I have been involved with Qype for two years. It has led me to all sorts of new discoveries around London. I will be a more active community member and be sure to cross post my reviews on the blog. This way you can see where I'm eating, sleeping, visiting, and shopping around London (and outside of it too). Mobile blogging I downloaded the Wordpress app to help me blog more often. It worked on my trip to Cornwall, but then I forgot about it again. I recently used it to write up my Number 10 report, but there was confusion over how to attach the image and POOF! My whole post was gone. Reminder to self - learn the dang thing before losing work again. I plan to use it more this year. Sites While there are a few bugs with DLT from a server change, things here will mostly stay the same. I do plan to give katematlock.com a new look. It's time. Heck, it's more than time, but there again is that whole time issue thing. Other The usual resolutions include being healthier and happier by some sort of change in behavior. Yes, I will *try to* go back to the gym, drink more water, eat healthier, get more sleep, etc. Mostly I just want to make sure I do this year proud in case it's my last here in London. (Visas are hard to come by, don't you know?) So that's it, folks. That's my aim for 2011. May you all be as successful with your New Year's goals.

The thing about London is that I can be passing celebs all the time and not know it. Not only is it easy to blend in, but if you're not big in the States - how am I supposed to know you? I dont have a tv! I dont watch EastEnders. I dont have years of watching BBC dramas behind me. Even more difficult to spot are the big shots behind the camera. I mean, if you saw Bryan Singer walking down the street, would you know it's him? No, probably not. Yet, there I was...in a club...in the VIP section... with a guard giving the nod to go behind the velvet rope...with Bryan Singer. Well, not so much with, but enough to be included in the exclusive space. I totally chickened out in asking whether he needed a new production coordinator. Dang. Note to self: drink the free champagne and grow a pair. How often do you hang out with director/producers of major motion pictures? Yeah, not often. But for a moment I could say, "I'm with Bryan Singer", and get the nod.

For those of you who have come to visit me, you know that I pass the Alexander McQueen office on my way to town. I always point it out to visitors or friends coming to the area for the first time. I think it is so exciting to be in a city where world-renowned fashion designers live. Today, I learned that Alexander McQueen is dead, possibly of a suicide. The news makes me sad. While I do not know him or anyone who works with him, I feel like the next time I pass his office will feel different. I feel connected by proximity. It is a tragic loss for the fashion world. He put together stunning shows filled with innovation.

London - Eating & Drinking - Pubs & Bars - Pubs After a cold weather walk in Hyde Park, this pub is a good place to warm up. Stopping in for ale and hot food is just what I needed. This is the kind of pub that attracts groups of friends with board games available, as well as the lone paper reader in the corner booth. With lots of comfy seating, The Champion invites you to stay in for the duration. Check out my review of The Champion - I am katmabufay - on Qype

The folks were headed to Europe on their way to Africa and decided to take a long layover in Amsterdam, which was convenient for me! After two failed attempts to see Amsterdam (due to flights and illness), I had high hopes for this visit. I arrived at the hotel twenty minutes before they were to leave to find the excursion office for the Red Light District tour they had booked. While I was a bit unsure I really wanted to see the RLD with my parents, once there and we found it was no problem to book me in, I joined. I am *so* glad I did! There is so much to learn about and see in the RLD. Our tour guide was fantastic. She was funny and smart and has been leading tours for something like ten years, I believe. She many times has to do it in both English and Spanish, but our group that evening all spoke English. There was a lot of information to take in. Our first stop gave us some intimate details from Mariska, a former prostitute/sex worker who now runs the Amsterdam Prostitution Information Center. She told us about everything from prices, negotiations and how to rent a room/work a shift, to safe sex practices, tax regulations and why they use a red light (leaner, tanner, younger looking and less cellulite -- hello I'm buying one now!). It was impressive. I was also surprised to learn that the age span starts at 18 and the oldest is/was 88! The ladies as we walked through the streets were sometimes playful and sometimes indifferent. When I looked through the windows at some of the younger looking girls, I felt as though they looked back at me like I was judging them. If anything, I was just curious. My father, somewhat jokingly, asked our guide during the tour: Is this where the term window shopping comes from? She laughed and said she wasn't sure. I cannot find anything yet about the origin, but it sure makes sense!

The weather this morning caused a bit of a dilemma. I had an interview in the afternoon. It was only 15min walk, but if the snow was still coming down, what could I wear? I had my suit, but the pant legs would be too long to wear without heels and would get wet and gross. I didnt want to tuck them in boots because they'd wrinkle. I didnt want to wear heels because that was neither comfortable or practical. Fortunately, my mom had brought me the wrong black skirt from my closet (it was close, I asked for a black, knee-length Gap skirt and this fits the description, just not the one I meant) on her last trip over, but it matched close enough to my jacket that I could wear boots. Then, the boot dilemma. My black boots are the ones that always cause to me slip or fall. I thought it might be icy out. If not, it'd certainly still be wet and slushy and they aren't waterproof. So E offered to let me wear her rubber boots. Typically I cannot wear any of her shoes. Her feet are smaller than mine. Yet, these were a 40. I can usually wear 40s, and these fit! Hoorah. But rain boots to an interview?? I decided to suck it up. I could take other shoes and change or I could just get over it and wear the boots proudly. I decided to go with the boots. I talked myself into believing they would show how sensible and practical that I am. They also demonstrated my ability to get to the office regardless of the weather. I also figured that if nothing else, they'd be a great conversation topic. It never came up, sadly. E's boots are a pretty chic pair and not really the standard garden variety, literally. What do you think? Good look, no?

On Sunday, I joined the London Photo Walk group on their afternoon of photographing the area around Brick Lane. The day started at the Ten Bells Pub, known for infamously for being where Jack the Ripper met some of his victims. The area around Brick Lane is filled with funky offices, galleries, boutiques and homes. Brick Lane, itself, is a mix of Bangladeshi restaurants and shops that turns into a hipster haven of bars, cafes, record shops and vintage markets. On Sundays, however, Brick Lane is filled with people roaming the street stalls for a great find, eating from one of the street food vendors (yum!), or sipping on coffees or lagers while people watching. It is, in short, a fantastic area for taking photographs. The variety of people, architecture, and offerings yields a fantastic array of subjects. I'm still fascinated by doors and shop windows as photo subjects, but alas my battery did not retain enough charge to allow me as many as shots as I was tempted to take. I also felt like I had the pip-squeak of cameras. Oh well, someday I'll own some amazing camera with a gazillion lenses. Maybe. Till then, it's nice to go light and keep it simple. Photos from the whole group can be found on Pixie.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

It's snowing in London (well, if you can call the few flakes of white stuff blowing in the wind snow) and I'm drinking cocoa and listening to Christmas music. Yes, I am *that* girl who listens to Christmas music. I think that this year, having just completed my Masters and not spending money on a ridiculously expensive ticket home to the States, I feel the need to warm up my tiny flat with some Christmas cheer. I dont have a tree or place to have a wreath. It's just not Christmas enough without some Babes in Toyland, Love Actually or The Holiday playing. I need a little Christmas, right this very minute, dangit! So between the batches of sugar cookies and pumpkin spice loaf I'm baking, I thought I'd write a little about my upcoming plans for two reasons: 1 - it's been ages, but now that I'm going to have a bit more free time, I'll try to be a better blogger; and 2 - I would love to win some lovely Christmas goodies from my friends over at Domestic Sluttery. This year, I will spend the Christmas holidays with the boy and his family in his hometown - somewhere near Gloucester or Worcester - basically in the country where each town has 5 families on streets sorta near each other. We will arrives in Gloucester on the 23rd and be driven the 30 or so minutes to the house. It's a large home that has been divided into three; their's is in the middle. There's a pub just across the road that also looks like an old country home. It's very cozy. Other than the few other homes dotting the street, it's just the pub, a few barns and a lot of land. Since boy's mum is a nurse and is working the Christmas shifts, his parent's wont be there until Boxing Day likely. So it'll just be boy, his sis, her fiance and me. Quite a quiet holiday. Fireplace glowing and movies on tv...not a whole lot of action in the country. But the plan is to be there till the 29th, hanging with his family, walking the dogs (yay!), eating roasts and drinking tea (and probably some ale, wine or other jolly liquid). It will be a different Christmas, but I'm looking forward to getting out of London for a few days. My school friends are starting to head home for the holidays, and some are heading home for good. It will be a different London for me when I return. Till then, I remain in the Christmas spirit -- baking, making, cleaning, and packing... and singing carols while I work!

London - Shopping - Fashion - Lingerie I stroll past the windows of Bordello frequently and sigh that I'm not enough of a diva or dom to pop in and browse. Thank goodness for Qype's event which allowed me to stroll through the doors without shyness and tough silky knickers and buzzing toys without shame. The store is beautiful, but quite out of my budget. I would have loved to take home a pair of the vintage-inspired bra and panty sets, but *sigh* I cant reward myself for anything so extravagant quite...yet. Someday I'll be back and I'll take something home. PS -- All the ladies who work there deserve girl-crush status. BEAUTIFUL. meow. Check out my review of Bordello - I am katmabufay - on Qype