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4th of july and Henley Regatta

July 6, 2015

This weekend was perfect. Simply perfect. The festivities began on Thursday. After work Ben and I headed to watch 1984 at the Playhouse Theatre right on Embankment and holy intense! Not your average play if I do say so myself. There were no nightmares after, so all is well! Although incredibly intense, it was also thought provoking and remarkably well done. After the show we headed back to the flat to meet up with our dear friends Anna and Eric who were staying with us for the weekend! Friday morning I headed to work, while the others headed to queue for Wimbledon. Although unsuccessful, rumor has it the queue wasn’t too bad of an experience! After work, I met back up with Ben, Anna, and Eric for an evening of Pimms, the best summer salad, and lovely conversation until late in the evening. We are rather fond of long dinners around here.

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We woke up bright and early on Saturday ready for a full 4th of July! Our little crew went on a morning run through St. James’s, Green, and Hyde Park and made our way back for a breakfast full of mimosas, eggs, bacon, breakfast potatoes, and fruit. Oh, and loads of coffee. After breakfast we dressed in our Henley finest and hopped on the tube to Paddington train station. I was so thankful to arrive in Henley-on-Thames, along with the other thousands of peopled crammed on the train. We were greeted with loads of flowers and the beautiful river.
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We walked along the river to the Phyllis Court Club and I felt as if we were walking right into a movie set. There was the little Quartet Band (the man with the tuba was my favorite), perfectly manicured green grass, the smartest of dresses, jackets, hats, and fascinators, and Pimms pitchers all around. Truly immaculate and ,we all agreed, a bit surreal.

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Looking good, Ben. fourthofjuly-9 fourthofjuly-10

We found a table outside and enjoyed our delicious buffet lunch with a side of incredible people watching. These people mean business. I felt like a little girl playing dress up! Let’s get real, I love any reason to get dressed up. fourthofjuly-11 fourthofjuly-14 fourthofjuly-17

It has been such a treat to get to hang out with these two this past year. Ben and I are team Anna and Eric and we can’t wait to continue our adventures in the States.fourthofjuly-18 fourthofjuly-20 fourthofjuly-22 fourthofjuly-24

Dream team^^. But really, weekends with this group are perfection. I love our conversations of our year in Europe, adventures, and this whole marriage thing. fourthofjuly-25

As much as I loved watching the races, I think I enjoyed watching all the different boats, along with the people on them, float by even more.
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What a view!fourthofjuly-28

All the old men in their hats and matchy-matchy blazers were all too much. What cuties.
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Such a wonderful day. Considering it felt nothing like the 4th of July (except for Ben’s subtle red, white and blue color palette), we made our way back into London for a little all American dinner with friends consisting of burgers, sweet potato fries, and loads of fruit and fruit dip.

Sunday morning we started off early snatching a few pictures of these love birds in the park before they caught their flight to Iceland!

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anna_eric-49 They snatched a few of Ben and I as well!stjames2

stjames7Although very different from our last fourth, I would say we loved every second just as much. The perfect mix of my love for this country, as well as the good ole U-S-of-A. Sadly, no fireworks though (what were we thinking?!). Ben and I also enjoyed getting one more weekend in England with Anna and Eric before they made their journey back!

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  1. Lauren | Love Lola says

    July 16, 2015 at 4:29 pm

    um, LOVE your dress!

    Reply
    • carrieellenradford@gmail.com says

      July 16, 2015 at 4:51 pm

      Thank you!! Asos for the win ;)

      Reply

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