Mixtape Monday

It's one of my best friends Deb's 30th Birthday in two weeks time and they've asked for song suggestions to play on the night that represent her past 30 years.  Deb is also American and  I feel like it's my duty as a fellow American to suggest the type of songs we would have danced to back in the day.


It is probably fair to say I went out dancing at least once a week my freshman year of college and I loved it!  Going clubbing wasn't something you did in Ohio if you were in high school so the world of DC clubs was something totally different to me. Sure back home you danced at Homecoming and Prom, but this was completely different.

Judith and I at GWU (not clubbing, but goofing)

I can remember basically just copying whatever my friend Judith did at first.  Judith's Belgian so it's safe to say most of my dance moves had a Eurotrash flair.  I always wanted to be Eurotrash so it worked for me.  If you're a girl you need to choose to lead with your butt or with your boobs; obviously I lead with my boobs. Somehow I managed to pull it all together and when I went back home to Ohio over the summer and went to Bourbon Street (a bar in a mall, I kid you not) with my friend Dana I got told I was "an awesome dancer." 


These are some of the songs that I remember getting my swerve on to back in the day.   I'm actually really excited about it as I love dancing and I think the last time I did was most likely at our wedding!  So what songs are your favourite all time, 100% will get you on the dance floor songs?

Build your own custom video playlist at embedr.com

Guest Post: Better in Britain

Meg, like me, is an American married, raising a family, working and living in the UK. She is  also, like me, in the expat minority and isn't in or around London and lives in the north of Wales with her husband and adorable little boy Iwan.  She's currently expecting baby number two and I'm hoping that my all you UK Mummy bloggers will welcome her into the fold as you did me :)  Meg blogs over at The Rare Bit (click and show her some love!) and was inspired by my expat post and decided to put her own spin on it!

Whenever I get into a discussion with a stranger over here (and it happens a lot- friendly American that I am) there’s almost always a moment, about 45 seconds into the conversation, where they realize that I’m not a wayward tourist, but that I’m actually choosing to live in Britain. In Wales for that matter. Why? They’ll ask, why in the name of Tom Jones and all that is holy would we live here when we could live there? I get it, or at least I think I do, if all you know of a place is what you’ve seen on holiday or in the movies, it’s bound to look more fun/ glamorous/exciting. I mean, if someone I knew married Mickey Mouse I’d be shocked if they didn’t choose to live at Disney World. But, while there would certainly be some advantages to upping sticks for America, there are a few things that I think are much better in Britain and that I would definitely miss should we ever move. Here they are, in no particular order:

Public toilets- I didn’t realize how much better public bathrooms are in Britain until the first time I went back to America for a visit. Generally in Britain, each little toilet cubicle is its own little snug private world. Not so in the U.S. Stateside, even in rather nice restaurants, you’re bound to have a gap about an inch wide at the place where the door hinges onto the wall of the cubicle. Add that to the foot or so gap at the bottom of each stall and you’re in for a real treat.  Peeing in American toilets is often an adventure in contorting yourself so as not to be caught en dishabille by children crawling underneath the walls, vagrants trying to steal your purse, and nice old ladies checking whether or not the stall is occupied. That’s right- there’s no ingenious little window on the outside of the door telling you if the cubicle is vacant or occupied, so people are often reduced to stooping over to check for dangling feet, or, more rudely, peeking through the crack.

Snacking- Snacking in America is basically an all or nothing type thing. Either you’re guiltily indulging in a calorie ridden feast (umm, KFC “snack wrap” anyone?), or you’re snacking as part of diet, dutifully counting out the nine grapes you’re allowed to have. In my humble

opinion, they do it better in Britain. The whole concept of “Elevenses” is something I can definitely get on board with. When I was working in America I was never able to make it between breakfast and lunch, and so I usually had eaten half of my midday meal by 10:30. But a designated time when the entire working nation stops and has a couple of biscuits and an apple? Brilliant!

Radio - I love that I can switch on my radio and hear top 40 hits, show tunes, classic rock, and up-and-coming new bands. And that’s just on Radio 2! As much as I grumble about having to pay a TV licence fee every month, I must admit that I love the things it funds. There’s a bit of a stigma attached to public radio in America, and I think that’s too bad. Americans who listen

to NPR (National Public Radio) are often stereotyped as crunchy, middle class, yuppy, liberals. NPR doesn’t seem to do a heck of a lot to change their listener demographic, but you can’t really blame them. A great deal of the funding for NPR comes from listener donations, so they’re stuck having to keep their supporters happy. BBC Radio, on the other hand, is funded by any British resident owning a television, which not only gives them a larger budget, but the freedom to mix things up here and there. Of course, “mix things up” is a relative term here- compared to a lot of independent radio stations, the BBC can often seem quite stodgy, but when you’re used to having to slog through a cacophony of “zany” radio DJ’s, a commercial after every song, and the same pop hit overandoverandover again, BBC Radio is a breath of fresh air.

Jacket Potatoes- Oh the humble baked potato. When I first moved to Britain I was shocked (and a little horrified) by the concept of jacket potatoes. Why oh why, would you want to put baked beans on a baked potato? I turned up my nose. I would try coronation chicken, I would

even taste black pudding. But toppings on a potato other than butter or sour cream just seemed obscene. Seriously? Coleslaw, on a potato?! There just aren’t enough italics in the world to express my shock and dismay over the molestation of this noble tuber. Then one day in a Cardiff café, my husband ordered a jacket potato with beans and cheese. I wrinkled my nose. Our food was brought out. The cheese on the potato had gone quite melty, and it smelled kind of good.I tentatively asked to try a bite, and hoisted the fork to my mouth with the same hesitation of an eight-year-old eating a worm on a dare. I chewed it thoughtfully for a few seconds. The clouds parted. It wasn’t good. It was divine. I realized that I had been culturally blinded in my bias toward acceptable potato toppings. In retrospect, I don’t really know what I was thinking.

What’s not to like? Baked potato? Good. Beans? Good. Cheese? Good! This is now one of my favorite comfort foods, and it was actually the first thing I ate after giving birth to my son. If we were to ever move back to America I’d miss jacket potatoes the same way I now miss Kraft Macaroni and Cheese or Jello Instant Pudding.

Food products aside, there are lots of things I do miss about America, and lots of other things I’ve come to love about Britain, and, more specifically, Wales. It can be hard to have two places that feel like home, and I think we’ll always feel torn between the two no matter where we live. So, although it might shock those strangers I meet, I’m actually quite happy here. If I could just get an electrical socket in my bathroom, my world would be complete.

Wordless Wednesday: 36 hours in Glasgow with Mo

See you later Alligator!

Do you remember my post about the amazing bumper and other goodies my extremely talented friend Amanda made for Blondie Boy?

Well now you can have some of her fabulous creations for yourself, just in time for the holidays! She's also very kindly giving away a $10 gift certificate to one lucky reader AND giving a 10% discount to all Transatlantic Blonde readers to her Alligator Lane Etsy Store!

Alligator Lane is full of super cute items including:

How cute are these holiday clothes?

Innovative no Pee-Pee blankets that are perfect for Naked time

She even has DIY applique kits to make your own tie onesies!

And so much more! She also takes custom orders, too!

To receive a 10% discount on Etsy use the code "Transatlantic"

To enter the giveaway:

Follow my Blog publicly (link on right sidebar) using Google Friend Connect and comment on what you'd get from the Alligator Lane Store.

Extra Entries:

-Follow me on Twitter and tweet: "I entered to win Alligator Lane goodies with @Melaina25 and TransatlanticBlonde.com and you can win too!: http://tinyurl.com/33xwmzt" and comment to let me know (1 extra entry)

-Follow Alligator Lane using Google Friend Connect and comment to let me know (1 extra entry)

-Like Alligator Lane on Facebook and comment to let me know (1 extra entry)

-Favorite Alligator Lane on Etsy and comment to let me know (1 extra entry)

-Blog about the giveaway and comment to let me know (1 extra entry)

Make sure to leave each entry in a separate comment.

All entries will be verified and deleted if not valid so make sure to leave the usernames you subscribe or tweet with.

This giveaway is open to all readers worldwide. A winner will be drawn at random on December 16th at 12:00 GMT. Winners must contact me within 48 hours or another winner will be drawn. GOOD LUCK! NOW CLOSED.

30 Day Blog Challenge

Do you know Sare? Sare is one of my favorite e-mamas friends,we had a great time meeting up this summer at the Cincinnati zoo this summer, and she's hosting a challenge over at her blog Falling for Baby.

The 30 Day Blog Challenge

Here's how it works:

*The 30 day blog challenge is not about blogging every day for 30 days. Realistically that's just setting you up for failure. Life happens, and not every day can we sit down and pour our minds out on a keyboard.

For six weeks straight, aim to write a new blog post five times a week. That could mean one blog post every weekday Monday through Friday, or just five random days throughout the week that work best for you.

Add your name to the linky below and follow along with other bloggers that are taking the challenge.

Post the 30 Day Blog Challenge badge at the end of your blog posts and in your side bar so more people can learn about the challenge and follow along.

If you are having a hard time thinking of topics to blog about, there are many other blogs out there that have weekly check-ins that may interest you. Psst, Feminist Friday would be a super easy one :)

There is a linky on Sare's blog that will be open from August 9 - September 17 and you can join any time.

Don't forget to visit the other bloggers taking part in the challenge!

My chicken's pretty funky

I've started a bunch a post this week but not finished any of them. I could have written about CyberMummy, a belated post on the birth of my faux-nephew, dieting, Blondie Boy turning 6 months or even an easy one a survey post.

Red over at Resourceful Redhead awarded me with the sunshine award, but honestly lately I've been feeling anything but sunny. It's certainly not a lack of ideas that's fueling my writer's block, but I'm pretty sure I know what it is.


I'm homesick. It normally happens at some point after we get back from the States, but this time since we were home so long it has hit me really hard. I can't get back on the same timezone and I'm just sorta in a blah mood in general and it is affecting just about everything I do.

CyberMummy: I totally appreciate the fabulous people at Emma's Diary sponsoring me to attend and I had a great day listening and learning from speakers, liaising with PR folk and meeting other bloggers. However, I didn't come away with that warm fuzzy feeling of sisterhood everyone else has been blogging about. I felt like an outsider looking in; everyone seemed to know everyone else or had just made a new best friend. Between all the back and forth on twitter and blogs popping up on lists just makes me feel like I've failed at Blogger Popularity 101.

Faux-Nephew: My best friend had her baby boy 3 weeks early and I was in the same country as her, but couldn't go and see her. Logistically there was no way I could get to DC from Cincinnati and back with a 5 1/2 month old with all the stuff we had scheduled while I was home, but I still felt ridiculously guilty that my best friend in the entire world was so close, but so far away. Even just writing this right now I feel guilty and teary that I didn't find a way to make that 10 hour drive and meet her new son. I hate that I don't know when our boys will get to meet and I know that's because I live abroad.

6 months: Blondie Boy is half a year old, W-T-F. He's following the same growth curve and now weighs 16lbs, 8oz. We had his customary photo shoot, but I just can't be bothered photoshopping in the number 6 and pulling it all together. Otherwise I love the boy to bits and he constantly makes me smile and there absolutely nothing blah about him. Trust me even his poos are blah, they are more blech to be precise.

Dieting: Ugh. We all know I've done South Beach before and it really works, but I also know that South Beach and fresh food in general is really expensive. Being on extended maternity leave means being on a budget, so South Beach isn't going to be an option. I'm going to try the Special K Diet (2 bowls a day + one healthy meal), so if anyone knows anyone at Kellogg's please hook a girl up. In general I'm not happy with my post-pregnancy body, but let's not go there.

Sunshine Award: I'm supposed to tell you ten things about me and let you know ten other bloggers I like. Honestly I think I've been honest enough in this post and I'd suggest you try any of the people in my blog roll to the right.

This isn't my typical post and I know that; hell there's only one picture and it's not even of Blondie Boy. I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but I am trying to keep it real. Wasn't blogging about stuff whether people like it or not one of the things CyberMummy taught us? So for those of you who hate this post, I'm sorry. I promise to post some fabulous pictures of Blondie Boy, taken by the AMAZING Kortnee Kate, tomorrow for you. See yet another easy thing I could have blogged about, but haven't.

Thank you for bearing with me and if you've ever been in a funk, especially a homesick funk, what do you do to shake it?

Happy 4th of July!

To celebrate Blondie Boy's first Fourth of July, we had an All-American BBQ complete with burgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob and all the fixings. Unfortunately we had some very Scottish weather, so we all ate inside.

I was very excited to use my new USA shaped cookie cutter and even made the red and blue colored sugar all by myself :)

We had brought back some plates and decorations with us and a good time was had by all!

California Dreamin'

I realize my blog has gone quiet, but we are all enjoying the sunshine, friends and family out here in California and I promise to try and update more soon!

Bummed about Glasgow

I love Glasgow; I've lived here for almost 6 years now and love the people, shops, restaurants, you name it. However, Glasgow has me seriously confused right now.

I'm sure y'all have seen ads for the new Reebok Easytone shoes that help you firm your legs and bum with balance ball technology. Well apparently their ads are too racy to be advertise on the side of Glasgow Black Taxis and Glasgow City Council have banned the ad. Say What?

This is a city that lets lapdancing clubs advertise on the sides of taxis, but a pair of bare legs and the word bum are indecent? I don't know about you, but that is CRAZY to me.

So myself and some other ladies decided to show Glasgow that Easytones and bare legs are not offensive and should be allowed. So here we are in front of Glasgow City Council in our Easytones: Moms, Teachers, Students, Business Owners--Women who want these shoes. What do you think? Are we horribly offensive and indecent? You tell me...

Running for Lillian

Since getting pregnant with Blondie Boy I have made some amazing friends online. There is a group of us who bonded and their help and support have been invaluable to me the last year. I'm going to meet up with a lot of them this summer and I can't wait!


Two of these ladies, Vanessa & Beth, are running the Marine Core Marathon 10K in honor of another one of my friend's daughter, the beautiful Miss Lillian who has Prader-Willi Syndrome. Lillian's flourishing and growing so well with the help of her amazingly dedicated parents, but there is no cure.

If you have the cash, please donate to this more than worthy cause by clicking on the button above, which can also be found on my sidebar to the right. If you'd like to learn more about Prader-Willi, click here.

Vlog Interview

You may have noticed that vlogs seem to be all the rage on blogs right now. I thought I would take the plunge, but I had no idea what to say! My friend Stacia was in the same boat so we decided to "interview" each other; since we are 8 time zones apart, we sent each other the questions, so I guess it's more of a survey than an interview, but I digress.

NotBlondeHusband says my accent is all over the place, but I refuse to watch it because then I might not post it. Here it is in all it's glory; please go easy on me!

Untitled from Transatlantic Blonde on Vimeo.

Wow/Wordless Wednesday

I realize this isn't completely wordless, but while the pictures speak for themselves, they needed some introduction.

My extremely crafty friend Amanda offered to make Blondie Boy a bumper after she heard about all my bumper drama (I ordered one only to be told it was sold out) if I found some fabric I liked.

I lucked out and found some super cute fabric from a seller on Etsy and had it sent to Amanda to work her magic. The bumper arrived today and wow, just wow, I am amazed. I knew she was talented, but the detailing and finishing is just amazing! She threw in a bunch of surprises for Blondie Boy, including a taggie blanket, blocks, shoes, a pillow and a new penguin friend for his ever growing penguin army :)

Thank you so much Amanda--you need to put stuff up for salen in your Etsy store immediately because you have mad skills!!

Thank you!!!

Happy 101

Thanks to Lexi for nominating me for the Happy 101 award!

The rules:
List 10 things that make you happy.
Pass it on to 10 bloggers that make your day a better one!

1) NBH. He's the Silent Bob to my Jay and no one gets me quite like he does. He takes such amazing care of Blondie Boy, Emma and I and I'm eternally lucky that I found him.

2) There are a billion things about Blondie Boy, but I will choose BB's many faces. He makes super cute faces that range from serious to cheeky to silly and more.

3) Sky+ lets me watch all my trashy American shows whenever I want without commercials.

4) Finding American food products at stores here.

5) Fresh highlights and haircut.

6) Singing in the car.

7) Cincinnati being mentioned anywhere in anything.

8) Getting unexpected mail, whether it's a letter, postcard or package.

9) Baking something new and having people enjoy it.

10) Seeing my friends and family who are 1,000's of miles away.

I pass along this award to:

Alison: Aviva Events

Abby: Little Red Buttons

Allyson: Day in the Life

Jef: Any Old Lie Will Do

Jess: Chaos and Love

Sabrina: Bad bad split level

Noodles: Patches and Paws

Meg: Baby Jones

Nancy: Brideface

Mary: Girl Stand Still

Thank you Thursday

Here is some of the adorable and amazing goodies I was spoiled with at our shower/housewarming on Saturday.

Onesies from Kashi, including a "Garrett's" onesie. Garrett's is where NBH and I met!

Hooded bath towel and mitt from Great-Grandma Anna

Onesies, bath goodies and Hamish the Dog from Paul and Laura.

Essentials and a cute penguin set from Deb and Dave

Deb also got me bath goodies and Wood Wick candle

Yummy Pomegranate candle from Craig and Clair, Cupcake book and jars from Katrina, Orchids from Great Aunt Elaine and Sarah and a Cupcake tree from Deb and Dave.

We are so lucky to have such great friends and family,

THANK YOU!

Thankful Thursday

I should have an extra thankful Thanksgiving edition, but as I was stuck in a staff away day today and not nomming delicious turkey with my family and friends, I will stick to my normal format :)

I got an amazing package full of tons of cute clothes from my BFF Sabrina. Some were gender specific, but I will show you these which go with our penguin theme!

She was extremely generous and I was super excited to fold them all up and add them to the bebe's closet which is getting fuller and fuller week by week.

I also got a stack full of American magazines and sweeties from my sister-in-law Katie, who was in NYC last month, including Cow's Tales!

I couldn't tell you the last time I had one and I freaking love them! They always have some on sale at the cash register at UDF so it's the perfect impulse buy, yum!

Thank you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yes I know Thanksgiving isn't until next Thursday, but as we don't get Turkey Day off we celebrated yesterday. It was my first year ever making Thanksgiving and we had NBH's Mom and John, my friend Deb and her husband Dave and two kids Sophie and Aedan over.

Despite having some issues with the pie crust for my pumpkin pie, I think everything turned out really well! NBH was in charge of the turkey, gravy, stuffing and mashed potatoes and I took care of the cranberry sauce, carrot coins, green bean casserole, apple & blackberry crumble and pumpkin pie.

I'm also a huge dork and made some headdresses for Sophie and Aedan. Most impressively Emma didn't seem to care about Sophie playing on the floor on a mat or Aedan's trains and tracks either. She was a very good girl and was rewarded with carrots and turkey for her dinner :)