It's a pole world.

When I was sixteen, I took this picture. In my mind it looked pretty aesthetically pleasing--even frame-worthy enough to be up on display in my Grammy's house. My mother & sister Lauren thought otherwise. They've made fun of me/it ever since.


I decided to do what all other good and amicable tease-ees choose to do. I ran with it; a move inspired after Regina George in Mean Girls (ya know, who continues to flaunt her shirt even after she discovers that two holes have been cut out around bust area?). She was able to start a trend. I wasn't so fortunate. But it nonetheless captured me through some major moments of my life.



Even this foreign adventure. So basically, Mom & Lu, it was like you were there with me too.

From Pole Collages_1

This semester went by so fast, it's almost unreal. Finals are over. My last papers are turned in. My bags are in the process of being packed. I've already had to say goodbye to my bunk-mate!

But I don't want to get sappy.

My mom comes in less than forty-eight hours. We are going to tear this place up in a one-of-a-kind European adventure. It's going to be grand.....and I'm looking forward to adding these pictures to the collection too..


And then I'll finally be home...and this experience will have been nothing more than a fairytale-like memory. So sad.

Muh Crib.

For months I've been going to bed, looking at this sight above me.
It has been my very creaky, starry sky.

I contemplated/worried over what to contribute in print way more than I should have. 
(It is an A-list, enlightened group of patrons and advice, you see.)

But considering I move out this week, I figured it was time.
So I finally did it.

And you better believe it was a big moment.
It meant I'm officially a veteran of the London Centre.

A night at the theatre.

I'm in London so yes, I can snobbishly spell it like that.

I saw Keira Knightley tonight.

(And Peggy from Mad Men + Miss Baggoli from Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen + Barbara Bush in W.)

I even waited outside the stage door with the paparazzi like some sort of freak.

Embarrassing.

But she is BEYOND beautiful.

I couldn't take my eyes off her....even as she got inside her black, window-tinted, waiting car.

Yes, just like celebrities in movies. They really do that.

Oh, the play was good too......very heavy. 

She captured tragedy. 

......

But I think I prefer my musicals.

An evening at Big Ben.

This week we got to visit with Member of Parliament Dave Rutley. 
He so eloquently talked of his political campaign, his governmental duties, and his position as the only LDS member in the House. I found it all very fascinating. It also helped that he looked like George Clooney, with a charming British accent. Because let's be honest, who wouldn't be transfixed?




Then he dropped the enlightened bomb that was exactly what I needed to hear. 


These are the years that define the rest of your life. 
Set a big goal now--a goal that you don't even think is possible. But just set it. 


‎"You will make all kinds of mistakes; but as long as you are generous and true and also fierce, you cannot hurt the world or even seriously distress her. The world was meant to be wooed and won by youth."   -Winston Churchill


Granted, this quote did come from the same man that also famously said, "I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly"......but let's try and disregard that fact.



Big goal. Woo & win the world. (I loved that personification.) 


With your blessing Churchill & Rutley, I think I will. I'm not crazy. Thank you.

I do other things but walk London.

I promise. But this is the final, last of the last assignments for this walking class so....please bear with me through this post. Or rather yet, just skip it. You hear me? SKIP IT!

Except you, Professor Crowe. 

The Favorite Three: 

1. Soho to Trafalgar Square.  Mostly because it's really fresh on my mind, this walk was also downright exciting. The West End theater district, the entertainment industry hub, Soho, Chinatown, a protest in the square......they were all places I would have walked around and visited eventually before my leave anyway. The whole walk hardly felt like a class assignment. I was just an American girl out experiencing the British world--kind of like an Amanda Bynes movie.

2. Central Parks. London parks are clean and beautiful. Aerial creatures and their mechanic movements are beautiful. Springtime provides sunshine and blossoming flowers, which are extremely beautiful after this most chilling winter I've experienced. All factors combined made for a golden walk experience I'm not likely to forget. It also helped that this walk was done with Brenden & Spring, and if you haven't noticed, I quite fancy them and their presence. Since I'm feeling extra nice this evening, I'll admit that they are also quite beautiful, too. So it was the complete walking package.

3. Bankside & Southward. A walk really can't go wrong when it includes THE ultimate food mecca, also known as the Burough Market. Time has begun to wind down and I'm starting to have to think about going home and all the London things I will miss. You better believe this place and its yogurt-covered banana chips are number one, all thanks to the introduction provided by this walk. PLUS, all the "Hay" insignia surrounding the area further proved our necessary & perhaps divinely-intended friendship; you just shouldn't ignore signs.



And there you have it. Thanks Professor Crowe, you really made me prove the legitimacy of my name.