There's No Place Like Oz

Ask any Charlottesville or Albemarle County local, and you’ll hear that we’re a community that LOVES to support local business. Ask anyone who knows me personally, and you’ll hear that I LOVE food. A few weeks ago, Gav and I woke up early to visit nearby Carter Mountain Orchard, an apple orchard that’s been part […]

I’m back, and I’m married! It’s been a whirlwind 3.5 weeks to say the least. Gav arrived in the US Friday, October 12 at Washington Dulles International Airport on his K-1 fiance visa. One week later we visited the local Social Security Administrative (SSA) office to file for his Social Security number. He had his […]

There’s been relatively little that’s “typical” about me and Gav’s relationship. We met through mutual friends…in London (his home) while I was visiting. In a matter of a few short months we knew we wanted to get married. We’ve spent less than two full months together in person but we talk on the phone, via […]

Although Gav isn’t in the US yet, we’re already discussing our May 2013 honeymoon. For a variety of reasons, we’ve decided to plan a trip to Hawaii! AND we need your help. Neither of us have been to Hawaii before, so we want to enjoy the islands as much as possible without traveling too quickly. […]

When Gav and I decided to get married, we knew we would have to wade through a sea of paperwork and documentation in order to be together. Since we chose to start our lives together in the US, our path led us to the K1 Fiance Visa. The fiance visa requires a reasonable amount of […]

Last summer I met the man I’m going to marry. I was visiting friends in London and I met Gavin, the “new guy” in the group. We hit it off, and within a few months, we were discussing a future together. Since I’m American and Gav is English, we started researching visa options as soon […]

Last Saturday my wonderful maid of honor and several gal pals treated me to a great bachelorette party in central Virginia. Gav and I hoped he would be here by the end of August or early September, so we planned my bachelorette party and his stag do for early August. Turns out he won’t be […]

On Saturday, July 28, 2012, lovers of dance celebrated National Dance Day! I took three years of “street jazz” when I was a teenager (was described as “jazz meets hip hop”) and have always enjoyed watching live or televised dance performances. A few years ago, I realized I missed taking classes, so I attended a […]

The “No Macaron Left Behind” mission is alive and well, my friends! Yesterday I sampled three beautiful macarons from DC’s The Sweet Lobby, and I must say, they lived up to Zumbo standards. Read on for my tasting notes and more about my new favorite place in the nation’s capital. For years I’ve been a […]

I love sports. I’m not so good at playing them anymore, but I’ve enjoyed watching since I was old enough to hold a plastic bat and my dad started teaching me about different sports. I love American football and Aussie Rules football. But what the rest of the world calls “football”? Well, I’ve never been […]