Thankful

{Where I was a year ago}

I keep forgetting that this time last year I was abroad. I spent Thanksgiving in Paris with my two best friends.  The year before that I was very ill, felt awful and barely ate anything.  So this year I need to eat a lot of food.  

So much has happened over the past two years and this has been one rough and long week.  It makes me appreciate everything I have.  I am so thankful for all the people I have had, do have, and will have in my life.  I love them all, each in their own way, and am incredibly thankful for their presence.  

{Miss my baby}

Election Day

I started my day early by going to the polls and casting my vote. I hope you all do the same, because everyone has a voice and you should use it.  Your voice matters.  We have the ability to vote, so why not use it? Women have only been allowed to vote for 92 years.  We've fought for many things and we should make those fights worth it and continue to fight.  I don't care who you vote for, just go and vote. This may be one of the most important elections of our lifetime.

The Week That Was Never Going To Happen

{Flamingo last weekend}

{couture flamingo skirt and mask}

This week has been the longest ever and has felt like a never-ending weekend.  It started last Thursday when I did some 21^st birthday-planning-research at a bar, and continued into Halloween parties, preparing for Hurricane Sandy, celebrating classes cancelled and so much more.  Once everyone realized the potential of the storm we made sure we had the necessities and then locked our doors and intended on not leaving our apartment for two days.  It was such an odd feeling to be sitting inside and feeling the calm before the storm and just knowing that it was coming.  It felt like endless waiting.  With two days of classes cancelled, the weekend stretched on and it just felt like Halloween and my best friends’ 21^st birthday would never happen.  Eventually it did and with it did class.  After almost eight days straight of drinking and doing things I am exhausted.  I had so much fun at Halloween and Amanda’s twenty-first birthday, and I was lucky enough to see one of my best friends for a few hours today.  However, I am also devastated by the damage Hurricane Sandy has caused.  I was in constant contact with my family throughout the storm and am just happy everyone is okay.  My heart goes out to all those who were greatly hurt.  As I kept seeing pictures of the Jersey Shore, my heart was breaking.  The shore is home to my favorite place and I want nothing more than everything there to return to normal.

{Showgirls}

{Feathers on my eyelashes}

{Happy Birthday my dear, I love laughing with you}

A Weekend Away

A few weeks ago I packed a bag and drove almost three hours by myself on the turnpike out to Gettysburg.  I had never been that far west on the turnpike, most people say that drive is boring but I thought it was gorgeous.  I love driving, the sense of getting away and going somewhere new, so I loved being by myself at 60mph with nothing but open skies, green trees and crisp autumn air.  Gettysburg was beautiful and it was so nice to be on an actual “college campus” and meet up with three of my best friends.  We went out and let me just say the people at that school are nuts.  I am so happy I go to school in a city where there are things to do and we don’t resort to the kinds of craziness they do. I would not be able to handle that all the time.  It was so nice to be with such close friends for the weekend.

{Dysfunctional love}

{#gburggreat}

Twenty-one Begins

{Birthday flowers and set-up}

{I am a pro champagne popper}

{Birthday present-champagne flutes}

{21}

I turned twenty-one on September 20^th and I now have a big girl license.  It’s horizontal and my hair takes up the entire frame, and I love it.  My day was absolutely splendid, filled with delicious Italian food and red wine, people I loved and lots of laughter.  Champagne was popped and all things yellow were present.  I had a lovely time and went to my first two American bars that evening with a group of wonderful people.  I am so excited for the rest of this year and all the promise it holds.

{Making a wish..}

{Friends}

{And so I'm a year older, and perhaps a year wiser..}

Please Excuse My Appearance

While I play with my blog's style and give it a nice little makeover. 

Tomorrow is moving day! SO excited! And thursday I turn twenty-one! Talk to you all soon x.

One Year (almost)

I meant to write this on Saturday, September 1st as the anniversary of my blog.  But as you can tell I'm two days late. I also apologize for any typos in this post or things that don't make sense seeing as I'm tipsy as I write this.  My post would have gone: This day one year go I started this blog. It was meant to chronicle my adventures as I explored London and traveled through Europe.   I wanted it to tell my story about things I loved and wanted to share with the world.  I didn't really care if anyone read it, as long as I was sharing those things.  I feel that I succeed in that act.  I wrote whatever I felt like regardless of anyone else and found that having a blog is a liberating thing.  It allows one to express their interest without outside influence.  I have loved writing on here and am happy that I have stayed with it for so long.  I sincerely hope that you have all enjoyed what I have written as well, it means so much to me that people actually care about what I have to say.  I am excited to start this next chapter of my life and share parts of it on here. So far, on the first I moved almost all my stuff out of my current apartment and home, I also worked on Labor Day (today).  But my friends had a barbecue which was very fun and the sole reason for my tipsyness.  I am moving home for a week, ending my co-op and then moving into my new apartment where I will promptly turn 21 and then get to enjoy my fourth year of college with my best friend.  I am so excited to share my adventures through this year with you. Happy September everyone! Enjoy the last month of summer and one of my favorite months!

Getting on a Plane

{London Landing}

Last year on this day I hopped on a plane and left everything behind me as I flew across the Atlantic. Thinking back, I wasn't nervous at all to get on the plane like I thought I would be. I was completely fine with it, it felt exactly right.  It would be the longest I would be from home. It would be the farthest from home I had ever been.  It would also be the first time I would literally know no one where I was going. And yet, it was totally natural and perfect.  I am so happy I made the decision to get on that plane to London. I have no regrets about going and I think it was exactly what I needed.  It's always good to get away and gain perspective.  I just have to keep in mind that it's good to get away from home and explore.  Exploration and adventures are how we learn and grow.

P.S. Do you like my new background picture? It's the English countryside from when I visited Stonehenge.

Down the Shore

{Seagull}

My family (well most of my family) went to Ocean City, New Jersey for vacation. That is where we have gone my entire life for vacation and it has a large place in my heart. It was unfortunately cloudy and storming just about every day we were there.  Which is completely fine, I love when it storms at the shore, but it was raining during the day and we barely went to the beach for three days.  The sun came out eventually though and we had some lovely time on the beach.  The water was warm and had good waves to jump.  We ate Manco and Manco’s, with Birch beer of course, plenty of times.  We had seafood, Charlie’s wings, and ice cream galore.  My mom and I even got up one morning around 5:45 to watch the sun rise..too bad it was super cloudy and you couldn’t see anything. I never thought about that before, it being too cloudy to see the sunrise.  When we were inside because of the rain we watched Olympics, synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics are my favorites.  We rented a surrey for an hour and went up and down the boardwalk, got donuts and coffee.  It was an all-together relaxing time that I am happy I got to spend with my family.  It was definitely much needed and appreciated.

{Ocean City}

{Sunrise on beach}

{Surrey riding}

{Surrey}

{siblings}