A B i t G r a c e f u l.

You know how everyone is always like, "Oh my gosh you studied abroad? Did you travel? Did you have fun? Did you discover yourself? Did you mature in ways you never thought possible? Did you go to Paris? Did you see Big Ben? Did you get lost? Did you meet new people? Did you make amazing friendships that will last forever? Did you eat a lot? Did you even have time to study anything?", and you're just like, "Um yes", and then you scurry away before you are forced to give any details because if you mention ANY memory you might burst into tears because it is just a fading memory and you cannot handle that?  Yeah.  So the title of this post, "TIPS FOR WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN YOUR OWN BED IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY AND FEEL LIKE YOU'RE HAVING AN IDENTITY CRISIS" is supposed to sort of let you into my mind right now. I basically have come home from having many adventures "prancing", as my mom likes to call it, around Europe. (I prefer the word ...

Ah hello! So I am going to do BLOGMAS again this December, but since my month is going to be such a whirlwind, with me moving back to the states and then two weeks later going on vacation with my family, I am going to try for most days and be happy with that :)  I can't believe it is December already - these past four months in London have flown by and it is already almost the new year! I have been so happy that my free time here in London lately, despite my five finals and moving process, as well as trying to squeeze in all the things I still need to do and buy, I have been blogging. Blogging can be very touch and go for me sometimes, particularly when I am feeling overly stressed, but I have had such a great fall that I haven't really felt overwhelmed, anxious, or depressed. So, here's to the future, starting with the countdown to Christmas through BLOGMAS <3 I hope everyone's December is filled with excitement and happiness! xx

AMSTERDAM IS AMAZING This post is a bit late but I figured I want to show you some photos from my birthday weekend with friends in Amsterdam! My four friends from college who are studying with my in London, as well as my two best friends from high school who flew in as well, all celebrated and had a kick ass time exploring the city.   This was us the day before we left - November 20th is definitely the prime time to pull out those Primark Christmas sweaters, right??? So we left our flat at 3:30 am to catch the EasyBus to take us to London Stansted Airport. That journey was around an hour and 15 minutes. Once there, we got our passports approved (because Ryanair, although the cheapest option, is such a pain with all their rules) and went through security. We then grabbed a tea/coffee at Starbucks and waited about an hour for our terminal to be announced. We went there, boarded the plane, and took off to fly into Eindhoven. The flight was supposedly around 50 minutes bu...

I had the most magical time visiting the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in London. You get to explore all aspects of The Making of Harry Potter , viewing everything from props, sets, costumes, and even special and visual effects. It was such an amazing experience and I am even more excited now for when I go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida this Christmas with my family :)  I took around 1200 photos during my 3 hours there and I want to share some of the fun ones with you! I also think I might do one or two more Street Art posts but then cut it a few days short, as I have a LOT of work to do in the next week for finals before I leave.  Enjoy the pics and let me know if you have ever been here and what you thought! Or if you just LOVE Harry Potter (like most people I would assume), tell me your favorite movie/book!

Fintan Magee's "Two Men Fighting Over the Moon"

 From his website, I have learned that James Cochran, aka Jimmy C, played a key role in the development of the underground graffiti movement in Australia during the early 1990's. His two interests in graffiti and oil painting converged, leading to the development of Cochran's signature aerosol pointillist style; portraits or urban landscapes painted entirely from blobs of spray paint. This technique developed into what he called the 'drip paintings' and the 'scribble paintings', composed of layers of coloured drips or energetic lines to form vibrant and poetic cityscapes and portraits. Cochran now lives in London and his canvases and walls can be viewed in cities across the world.  This piece called "Lounge Lover" is on Whitby Street.  I also found it extremely interesting, having just come from a weekend in Amsterdam where I visited the Anne Frank House Museum, that he did this beautiful work of Anne.  (Source)