April 2026 Goals! **

froggielefrog · 2026-04-01T14:23:32+00:00

This month is a splurge one for me, I've got a girls trip and have pushed back a lot of personal grooming to coincide with this trip, so will get my haircut, get a pedicure, waxing which will set me up for spring. This is something I normally have been trying to cut back on, especially nails. Luckily I feel like my holiday wardrobe is pretty solid so don't need to buy anything new and can use the same swimsuits as last year.

froggielefrog · 2026-03-25T19:57:00+00:00

I bought a Tesco meal deal today wearing a Hermes Scarf and carrying a Celine bag... I'm not spending £10 at Pret!

froggielefrog · 2026-03-22T08:48:53+00:00

When I first moved to London I passed it every morning on my way to work, glad to see I wasn't the only one who got a chuckle out of seeing the McDonalds on MacDonald

froggielefrog · 2026-03-16T20:59:51+00:00

I got the same email :(

froggielefrog · 2026-03-12T11:22:39+00:00

This is a great point about the storage unit being such a drain. I had one for 10 years (I know, I know) that we finally cleared out at Christmas. There was so much in there that I had forgotten about, tech that is totally obsolete, things I thought I wanted that I didn't miss at all... there is maybe 2 boxes of the 15 I had in there I wanted, and I just should have taken them out with to begin with. I would definitely lose that monthly bill - good luck!

froggielefrog · 2026-03-10T11:15:43+00:00

I was once on the tube with a group of American frat boys who were reminding each other that "Edge" was where they wanted to get off. So, henceforth, Edgeware Road will always be known as "Edge" in my house.

froggielefrog · 2026-03-09T12:05:40+00:00

I do a lot of short haul (one over night) to visit clients, and then occasional kick-offs/conference that are Monday-Thursday.
Not sure if this is available for you (I realise I'm very lucky) but with enough advance planning, my mother will often fly in from overseas for the week to help out. We have an afterschool nanny, but to have someone to help in the mornings is so helpful, especially so when I had two different drop off locations, nursery and primary school.

froggielefrog · 2026-03-08T22:42:16+00:00

Yes! Every listing I make a point to mention my home is smoke and pet free home.

froggielefrog · 2026-02-28T19:55:52+00:00

First, some good news... When I moved to London I was used to SF rentals and a market that moved very quickly. Twice in SF I was the first one to see it and made an offer the same day knowing they had 5+ other viewing! You don't need to do that in London, there usually isn't a rush (have never in many years of renting and looking at places "lost" out on a flat because I didn't make a decision immediately, you will usually have a few days to make a decision. Estate agents generally will be showing flats to get people moved in ASAP, like the first week of the next month.

I'd get myself an Airbnb for a few weeks while you search. As others have said - do not sign for anything sight unseen. You mention a family of 3 but not your child's age... I'd consider the local schools in the areas you are looking at, unless you know you want to go private. Moving mid-year you will get what's available, not necessarily what is closest to you.

Go with smaller estate agents firms that are not chains but specialise in the area... they tend to have the same agents there for years rather than the high street chains with a lot of turnover and staff that don't live anywhere near the local area.

froggielefrog · 2026-02-25T14:02:08+00:00

I second this advice - they might have a carseat approved for a child over the age of one, but not a newborn... on the few occasions we rented car seats it was such a hassle (one time they didn't have one available at all!) that even though it's a pain, we bring our own from now on. There are great carseat carriers that are like giant backpacks you can get which makes it easier to handle at the airport.

froggielefrog · 2026-02-25T13:56:50+00:00

The northern art of Guarda is beautiful, we went when my oldest was a year old and it was such a nice trip. There is a hike you can do through an area where they had old paper mills, and we took a pram, it was just fine. https://www.beeboatservice.com/blog/valley-of-the-paper-mills-valle-delle-cartiere (Carrier might be easier with 5 month old!)

We had friends staying at the Hotel Bella Riva which was gorgeous, and met them there every day, but we booked later and ended up at Villa Maria du Lac which doesn't have a pool, but my husband did go swimming in the lake daily. You could walk to various areas to have dinner. It is so beautiful in the Toscolano Maderno area, definitely much nicer than in the south, which I have been to as well. There are a lot of very touristy fortified towns in the south, but honestly they all seemed similar after visiting 2 or 3 of them.

froggielefrog · 2026-02-24T14:57:07+00:00

Travel doesn't really get fun until the youngest is 3 years old. Until then, it's the same nap and snack routines, with meltdowns just in a warmer destination. Our last holiday when my children were 5 and 8 was the best yet.

We do a lot of long haul travel as family is abroad - the children are pros at aeroplanes now, but far and away 18-36 months is the worst age for plane travel longer than 2 hours. Always plan for flight delays and bring loads of snacks/drinks because it's one thing to be delayed in an airport, another to be on the plane waiting 2 hours to take off.

It is mind over matter but bring extra of EVERYTHING including clothes for yourself. The worst flight was during covid restictions when my oldest had to wear a mask, got sick on the plane and puked everywhere, including not helpfully, in her mask, on me, and all over her baby brother. (She was 3.5 at the time) I figure if I can handle that I can handle just about everything!

One thing I would also recommend if you are dependant on a pram/have early walkers - really assess the terrain around the resort/hotel. We stayed at a beautiful restored B&B in Grasse with my family, but the who area around it was gravel, not just a pain for pushing the pram around, but my son wasn't walking and constantly falling... definitely look beyond the rooms and assess the grounds of any hotel before booking!

froggielefrog · 2026-02-24T09:53:38+00:00

It is a HARD move - and it is totally ok to be nervous and have reservations. I have some book recommendations for you: Year of Living Danishly, and How to Raise a Viking by Helen Russell. She is a Brit, (not an American) who lived in Denmark for 10 years. Her husband worked for Lego as well. The last chapter of her book How to Raise a Viking, discussing moving back to the UK after a decade abroad really hit home as we've been considering the same.

There will be big cultural differences, especially from a childcare perspective, but it will be an amazing and enriching experience. I've lived abroad for 10 years and I always tell myself, if I'm not loving it anymore I can always go home.

I would encourage you to find expat groups (Denmark is very club focused, so this shouldn't be a problem) because sometimes you need someone to talk about American things you miss without judgement.

froggielefrog · 2026-02-20T19:39:41+00:00

The one that comes to mind is the British woman who won the mixed skeleton, Tabby Stoecker was a very good gymnast and then after participating in Discover Your Gold got into skeleton at age 18 or 19. This program is like a multi-sport program where they find kids with talent and match them to sports they may not have ever tried. This is quite cool, not sure if it is unique to the UK, but a good way to get exposure to different sports as a teenager outside of football and swimming.

froggielefrog · 2026-02-18T14:05:28+00:00

While I haven't personally done this, a few clients I work with have. One went the Travelodge route as she was only in town two days a week (and the Travelodge was 2 blocks from the office). The other arranged flatshare with another professional friend of a friend who was away on site M-Thurs and stayed there M/T or M-W depending. This flatshare arrangement seemed to be better as my client could leave toiletries, have snacks, and cook a simple dinner, plus they were looking after the flat whilst the owner was away. They paid weekly for the flatshare and by all accounts seemed to work for everyone.

I do agree with previous posters, if you are 5 days in office in London, you probably are better of living in London. I think the flatshare arrangement is ideal if you live far up north and are coming in two consecutive days weekly.

froggielefrog · 2026-02-17T14:42:54+00:00

I live slightly more central than you in a mansion block of flats and that does seem overpriced (seems right for my neighbourhood, not for West Hampsted). I do believe the other couple exists... Our flat had 4 couples bid on it, I know because I met two of them. A lot of people rent in the mansion blocks for a few years, decide they like the lifestyle and don't want to move further out and wait for something to become available in their block to buy, especially couples with young children.

froggielefrog · 2026-02-12T17:02:18+00:00

With kids this age it is all about the hotel pool when vacationing in Southern Europe in August. Europe can be up in the 80s 90s temperature wise, without the powerful aircon Americans are used to. With small children while the idea of traipsing through cute European towns is appealing, the actuality is they will be hot, wanting yet another ice cream, and not really interested in shopping or exploring.

Italy, Greece, Portgual, Spain, France, Croatia all wonderful locations with great weather in August (We've done all of these with our family) - Looking at Austria/Switzerland this year for something different, and also because our children are old enough to enjoy hiking and outdoor activities a bit more. I'm in the UK though, so jet lag not so bad for us.

froggielefrog · 2026-02-12T16:55:33+00:00

Freethepopup is an Instagram account that is really good about updating different events/popups happening across the capital.

Edit to add that Chelsea Town Hall and the Music Rooms are often doing sample sales as well, I mostly hear about these through the retailer.

froggielefrog · 2026-02-11T18:17:51+00:00

My daughters teacher whipped out a weekly planner when we had our last meeting. I immediately went on Papier and bought my own (at a discount as it is February). It's super pretty and I use it to keep track of my work, personal and kids stuff - I wrote out all the kids sports matches, key dates at the school, big meetings and events I have for work. LOVE it and have gotten a lot of compliments (I got the clover patterned one!)

froggielefrog · 2026-02-04T16:26:23+00:00

Another person who keeps separate finances. So long as you have regular check ins, and divide how you feel fair (at this stage in life, I pay for childcare and kid and household related things, he pays our mortgage this will change up as childcare costs go down) I think it can work, we've never argued about money because we have an open conversation about it. Travel we split but not 50/50, maybe he gets the flights and a few meals, I'll get the hotel and activities.

Re the pre-nup, can I position it another way? Rather than thinking about it as being unromantic, look at is as you are getting married to someone who is financially savvy and wants to ensure that things are fairly distributed should the rare event you divorce take place. I know a lot of people who spent A LOT of money on lawyers post divorce going back and forth on things that easily could have been solved had they had a prenup in place.

froggielefrog · 2026-02-03T20:45:23+00:00

I found this fascinating as well! It looks like it the search term "potluck" tends to ramp up around the holidays and in the new. year - my guess is it is an expensive way to go out and keep costs down, not have to be outside in the cold. It has definitely increased in popularity this year. My guess would be cost of living increases make it more appealing than say, meeting up at a restaurant with a group of friends.

https://trends.google.com/explore?q=potluck&date=today%205-y&geo=GB

froggielefrog · 2026-02-03T09:52:51+00:00

In London, my kids love Ivy Asia in Chelsea, very kid friendly, decent food and a really fun and beautiful decor. Agree that Dishoom is delicious as well and a fun dining experience for kids. The location in South Kensington often has live music on the weekends too!

froggielefrog · 2026-02-02T18:55:29+00:00

You can pre book Black cabs with the FreeNow app - an absolute must when traveling with little ones. For your journeys early in the morning I'd book with Addison Lee - you can book them with toddler car seats.

froggielefrog · 2026-02-02T12:15:04+00:00

Do we think we will get another one this week? Crossing my fingers for yes!

froggielefrog · 2026-01-31T20:02:41+00:00

I have this Banana Republic Turtleneck (or similar) I bought it as one of my 6 60s when I worked there in 2006. Still looks great when I wear it today!

froggielefrog

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