My summer

...is dinner outside on secondhand patio furniture in a yard with a zen garden, a rose garden (with a book-reading fairy tenant), and veggies growing all around.

My summer, is an evening with family, talking about everything and being reminded of what is truly important.

My summer, is a blond dog at my feet and an ice cold, strawberry daiquiri in a bright blue cup.

My summer, is being reminded of home--the home that you move away from but never grow out of.

no school till ten

I don't have internet in my apartment and for some reason Boyfriend's computer won't let me upload photos to flickr. No fair. This explains both the lack of posts and the minuscule photos. My Dad lent me his SLR and all the lenses that go with it so I will, hopefully soon, but uploading some film photos. My schedule this semester is really sweet and I have lots of days free for adventing and photography.

This morning I woke up to an iced over balcony. Even in the late afternoon the trees and leaves were still coated in pretty ice crystals.

Update: Flickr now lets me upload photos using the basic uploader. It takes longer but at least my photos are nicely sized :)

snow animals

You may have heard that it snowed in London this past week and that's true. It wasn't a lot of snow but it's always exciting to get any at all. It's unusual for London to get snow this early but I think everyone is getting used to the idea that seasons are changing and have been for the past few years. I went over to Hyde Park the other day to take some snow pictures but only ended up staying about 30 minutes. It's so icy that I almost fell three or four times. I wish I had shoes with traction over here! Geez.

I was excited to see animals out and about. Although, I felt sad for the squirrels and birds who looked so cold. The pigeons have just been fluffing their feathers out and sitting still; normally they're flying about and begging for food! It's distressing to see them shiver. I think my favorite photo is the puppy running towards me but I also really like the pigeon on the statue's head! Oh, and squirrel tails are cute too :).

snowglobe

After work this week, Ellie and I put scissors to paper and cut about a million paper snowflakes! We wanted to bring some Christmas cheer to our little box of a room. This morning, I hung them from the ceiling and then lay on the floor and just smiled. It really is the little things that make life so great.

the first snow of the season

My friend, Caroline, and I took a four and a half hour bus ride to Leeds last Sunday. It started snowing about an hour after we arrived so we spent most of the trip cozied up inside various pubs chatting. We didn't get to see most of what we had planned to visit but we did stumble across a German Christmas Market (almost identical to the one currently in Hyde Park). It was a really fun day and I'm glad I had a chance to get to know Caroline further! She is so funny, awkward, and endearing--we spent most of our trip laughing. Most importantly, we saw our first snow of the season! Caroline and I danced around like crazy monkeys when the snow started falling. I love this season!!

so fresh

These pictures were all taken last Monday. I left early for my hair appointment so I could spend some time reading in this little square. I find that days when I spent time outside are days when I am a happier person. As the weather cools (and I mean cools, it may snow this weekend) I probably won't be able to do much sitting but I love going on brisk walks during my lunch break; it's a chance to explore a new part of the city.

I have been reading everything in my local by F Scott Fitzgerald. I started with The Great Gatsy, then Jazz Age Stories, I just finished The Last Tycoon yesterday, and this morning I started Tender is the Night. F Scott seems to hold a disdain for women. In his short stories the female characters are so flighty and easily manipulated by men. I think Cecilia and Kathleen (in The Last Tycoon) are more convincing women, not just sketches of characters of women. I'm excited that Nicole (in Tender is the Night) also seems to be an interesting woman. Of course, I am in love with Monroe Stahr--less so with Gatsby. Does anyone know of any other 1920s-30s authors I should be reading?

The third photo is my natural hair color. I haven't actually seen this dark brown in years. Of course, the second I have it back I go and change it. I love my foil mohawk! It was actually quite painful because they had it pinned like that for almost 20 minutes and it was very heavy! Do you like my bleach streak? I really really want to go blond in the future! I wish I could have had my whole head bleached so I could have seen a bit of what I would have looked like. Oh well, another time.

vondelpark

On our last day in Amsterdam, Ellie and I took the tram to Vondelpark and spent a few hours there.* Like the other European parks I've explored (i.e. Hyde Park and Holland Park in London) Vondelpark is a fantastic mix of open green space and wooded areas. There are a number of little ponds and lakes where ducks and swans were playing. It is a beautiful park and on Sunday it was filled with people biking, picnicking, and frolicking.

A magic gazebo on its own island :D.


Ellie and I tried to picnic by the water but the grass was too wet and within minutes had soaked through my furry bear of a coat. We moved ourselves to a bench and enjoyed a pepper chedder, a mild chedder, brie & jam, half a loaf of bread, and apples. We had purchased the cheese and bread earlier that day and we had so much that it ended up serving as both lunch and dinner. My favorite combination (introduced to me by Ellie) was brie spread on the fluffy, white bread with jam on top. Yummy!


After our picnic and when we were tired of meandering aimlessly through the pretty park we stopped at this statue to bask in the sun (like iguanas). It was a sunny day but cool enough that we kept our coats on most of the time. I think the natives considered it a warm day; everyone but us were dressed in short sleeves or light jackets.

On my next trip to Amsterdam I want to explore the park further. Apparently there is an arboretum and many more acres than we made it to.

*Why am I posting about my Amsterdam adventure starting with the end? Because it was my favorite day there and I'm getting sick and prefer to reflect on the best part!

good bye sweet summer

Today is the last day of summer twenty ten. Boy, this summer was an amazing one. I had a job that I loved, Boyfriend moved into the townhouse, I saved a bunch of money for London, I moved to London, I went on a million cool adventures, and I loved it all! This summer was filled with so many great trips and memories but there is one thing that sums up my entire summer. That's why I'm declaring this summer the summer of ICE CREAM!

On the docks in Annapolis.

Before the carnival in MD.

A cone from the famous Carl's in Fredricksburg.

From the 7-11 down the street from my university.

After a quick hike on the Appalachian Trail in Harper's Ferry, WV.

Does your summer have a theme?

mix up

(target plaid button up, forever 21 shirt, h&m skirt,
forever 21 leggings, thrifted belt and boots)

This outfit is from my mother's birthday party way back on March 6. I'm a little behind. I was excited to take photos at my house because it meant my puppy could be involved! Above, he is knocking me over. Haha. This summer Boyfriend is going to be renting a house somewhere around here so I'm looking forward to a change of scenery for outfit photos and life in general. Only four more weeks (one eight-page paper, one fifteen-page paper, three finals, a creative writing portfolio, and regular schoolwork) between me and freedom!

in like a lion

The spring that was here has left us.
It is cold and rainy and gray out.
But! Instead of letting it get me down I'm heading into D.C. tomorrow (the one sunny day this week) to walk around and take photos with una amiga! Que bien.

i love the rain

Driving in the rain can be scary;



but nothing beats sitting inside by a fire with a hot coffee
when the rain is coming down hard outside the window.