Things I miss about London:

1. Full-English breakfasts 
2. Walking to the Farringdon tube station from my apartment and seeing all the well-dressed Londoners going to work
3. Riding the elevator up to my office at the Royal Automobile Club
4. Seeing a Wasabi, Pret, and Ben's Cookies on every corner
5. The buildings and the way the city made me feel

Things I missed about the USA while abroad:

As some of you may already know, I have never been the most patriotic person in the United States, haha. The most extreme example of this was when I was in 7th grade... I went to our community's 4th of July parade with an England t-shirt on and waved a British flag. 

While abroad in both Rome and England, I had some moments where I just missed being in the States. Not only that, but there were quite a few moments where I felt my pride of being an American (as cheesy as that sounds) grow.

Here are a few things I missed about being in my home country while being a student abroad: 

     1.) The American Flag

The simplest way to explain this one is to tell you about one of my long walks around London. I had a free day to explore all by myself, so I decided to just walk....and walk and walk. I started in St. James Park, walked through Piccadilly Circus and Hyde Park, down Regent and Oxford Streets, and somewhere along the way I ended up outside of the US Embassy. It was such a surreal moment...after three months of seeing the Union Jack waving everywhere, I looked up to see an American Flag waving and the US crest engraved on the sidewalk. Without realizing it, a huge smile spread across my face and in an odd way I felt more at home.

      2.) Knowing what to do when I walked into a restaurant

This one is a bit of a challenge to explain, but there is just a certain level of comfort I have when I walk into any American restaurant that is missing in European restaurants. After two semesters abroad, I have learned to love the more hands-off customer service approach that I experienced in Italy and England, but it was quite strange to me at first. Not being instantly welcomed, having to wave down our server to order our food, and other little things like that took getting used to. 

      3.)  Knowing random pop culture figures without thinking 

A unique part of my London experience was that I not only got to take classes, but got to work in a British private-members' club two days a week! The days I spent at my internship were some of the best days because I was completely immersed in the British culture.

This immersion came with quite a bit of confusion. There were a lot of moments where my coworkers just assumed I knew what/where/who they were talking about because it was from their childhood, on popular TV, or just really common British knowledge. I knew that if any one of them came to work in the United States, they would be as lost as I was in conversation. It is strange to think about how many little bits of knowledge we take for granted and how much the country we live in affects our conversations. 

All in all, I guess what I am trying to say is that after spending two semesters living outside of the United States, I have become patriotic. I love the core values that I associate with America: unity, hard work, and individuals making up a greater whole. I love our quirks and our unspoken rules. 

p.s. This does not mean that I am not moving to England the first chance I get.

p.p.s This does mean that I will miss America more than I had expected in the past. 

Things I miss about London:

1. Walking out of the front gate of my apartment towards the Farringdon tube station
2. The sounds of people walking around Regents Park
3. Getting a flat white coffee from Starbucks in the morning before work
4. Sitting in St. James Square on my lunch break and looking at the flowers
5. Wearing my (uncomfortable) brown ankle boots with bright socks

London Instagram Spots!

With a city like London, it is challenging to know where to even begin to capture it in a single shot especially when using an iPhone. Fortunately, the Instagram community there is HUGE! Sometimes I feel like there isn't a spot in London that hasn't been posted on Instagram at some point. 

This online community is where I looked to plan my free days in London and it continues to inspire me daily! Some London Instagrammers my feed wouldn't be the same without are: @chaiwalla, @zoecaldwell, @presidentjkennedy, @jeromecan, and more! 

If that isn't enough to get you exploring, here are a few of my favourite spots to Instagram around London:

The Tube
Each station and platform is unique. Every second the colors are changing with people getting on and off carriages, trains arriving and leaving the platforms, and new ads covering the walls. Check out @missunderground's feed for some underground inspiration!

Tables 

Every restaurant you walk into will have its own feel, you just need to look at it from a different perspective. 

The many beautiful walls of London

This sounds quite vague but I don't think there is an ugly wall in all of London! Check out the hashtags: #strideby and #sidetraits for some more inspiration from Instagram!

East London Street Art 

This is one of my favourite elements of London! The street art changes everyday and, as visitors, I feel it is our job to document it! Take a look at the @londongraffiti page for some the latest street art in London! 

Holland Park

The most photogenic park in London, there isn't a bad spot in it. 

The Royal Borough 

Architecture, flowers, cobblestones, and pastel houses make it perfect for a mini photo shoot! 

The Olympic Park

This was quite a popular spot while I was in London, partially because the park had just opened, but mainly because the architecture is gorgeous! This is where I saw @chaiwalla and @presidentjkennedy taking some amazing pictures!

Barbican Estate

I was so glad I made it here before I left, there is cool shot in every direction you look! Plus you may be able to spot Joe Thomas who frequents the area! 

The British Museum

With a ceiling this beautiful, it is no wonder the British Museum interests so many London Instagrammers.  

This weekend I:

Watched: The Fault in Our Stars

Listened: to the band 9 Sundays at the Hard Rock Cafe

Learned: that I can make delicious garlic, lemon chicken 

Ate: chocolate covered pomegranate 

Read: this article

Drank: fruity, alcoholic drinks from the Hard Rock Cafe 

Thought: save, save, save (money)

Wished: I could spend time in NYC without taking the megabus 

Realized: I need to relax and let things fall into place 

Bought: a losing lottery ticket 

UPDATE: 30 before 30

Before I went to London, I created this list of 30 things I wanted to do before I turned 30. I am so excited that I've actually made a bit of progress! 

1. Graduate college
2. Go to Grad School
3. Live in London
4. Go on a cross-country trip 
5. Travel to somewhere in Asia Hong Kong 
6. Get my first "real" job
7. Say "infindy" to my nephew and have him say it back
8. Run a marathon
9. Move to a completely new city 
10. Watch Doctor Who with my nephew 
11. Write a novel...no matter how horrible the writing is, just do it! 
12. Get a Harry Potter tattoo
13. Rent my own apartment and decorate it in a style that is all me! 
14. Get myself a dog...an English bulldog or shih tzu 
15. Buy a DSLR camera and learn how to use it
16. Have my blog become more popular! 
17. Dye my hair pink and purple Do whatever I want with my hair!
18. Read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone with my nephew (this might even become nephews and nieces) 
19. Have my Italian cousins come to the U.S. 
20. Stay in for an entire weekend and watch all of my favourite movies with someone I love
21. Go to Hawaii 
22. Buy a telescope and learn the different stars
23. Maintain my blog through the years...don't quit! 
24. Get into healthy habits (I am tired of starting and quitting)
25. Become a mentor to a young person 
26. Sit on that rock in Central Park that is in every movie and television show
27. Meet David Tennant
28. Go scuba diving 
29. Help my nephew view women in a equal and caring way 
30. Cook my family a real Italian dinner like my Zia Dora and Zia Lena, all the courses!!! 

Summer to do (really Hope, do them!):

As much as it saddens me to say it, I will be back in Pittsburgh before I know it! I have so many projects I want to do while also spending everyday with my awesome family that I thought a central to do list would be useful and might help me complete the tasks more easily :)

1. Do a combination of these two projects so I can hang jewelry and pictures on it (1 + 2) 
2. Paint a desk from a garage/estate sale 
3. Make your own wall art! 
4. Watch "How I Met Your Mother"
5. Visit new places
6. Hang photos in a pattern on your wall in your new apartment 
7. Dye or chalk my hair pink and purple
8. Buy this duvet set or one similar 
9. Get a tan (probably not going to happen) 

p.s. I will add, change, and cross off (hopefully) items throughout the summer

Currently obsessed with: Lyrics

"It's better to feel pain, than nothing at all

The opposite of love's indifference."

--Stubborn Love, The Lumineers

"We've got holes in our hearts, yeah we've got holes in our lives
Where we've got holes, we've got holes but we carry on."

--Holes, Passenger 

"I don't know you,
But I want you
All the more for that."

--Falling Slowly, Once

"When we were young,

We could always dare to dream

That places we have seen 

We're enough to make us who we are."

--Young, Air Review

This weekend I:

Watched: Dan Rubin take photos in East London

Listened: to families talk as they walked through Regents Park on Mother's Day

Learned: that I like having my alone time again 

Ate: smooth and creamy peanut butter for the first time in 3 months...and wished it was the chunky kind I am used to buying here 

Read: the first five chapters of The Double before the movie comes out  

Drank: a southern lemonade from the Townhall Hotel 

Thought: how are Jan and I going to pull off this road trip and it is going to be awesome when we do

Wished: I had more time in London

Realized: I walk too much and need to start people watching more 

Bought: a toy from a Doctor Who store for my nephew 

Things I love about London today:

1. Nando's 
2. Reading the new edition of "Stylist" Magazine on the tube this morning 
3. Walking outside during my lunch break and seeing blue skies 
4. The ease of doing amazing things and meeting amazing people (aka Arthur Darvill)
5. That we watched this commercial in my advertising class 

Pittsburgh vs. London

Not only have I been comparing London and Rome but I also have started to see the differences and similarities between Pittsburgh (my hometown) and London! 

They are more similar than I originally thought, which makes me smile :) 

Like this post? Agree with it? Then you should let me know in the comments below! 

Things I loved about London Today:

1. The open seat on the Piccadilly line on my way home from class
2. The sweets I picked up from the bakery up the street to share with Tiff
3. How the rains stopped just in time for my walk home
4. The smile on the Tesco cashier's face when I checked out
5. The fact that a man on the tube ran after a woman who forgot her umbrella as she got off

As time changes so does my tumblr...

The past few months my tumblr has been inactive. My longest break from it since I joined two years ago.

So....

I began thinking about why I had forgotten something that I used to enjoy so much. I realized that I have changed in ways I can't always see and don't often realize and I wanted to start a new tumblr to reflect that change.

Even though most of my readers on here aren't into tumbr, I thought it was still necessary to post because sometimes it is easier for me to express how I feel on there than it through a blog post. 

So go check it out (linked on the gray "T" button to your right) if you want to see cool pictures, have time to kill, or even want to try and understand what tumblr is all about! 

p.s. It is called "Such a doughnut" because a girl I work with always refers to herself or other people as doughnuts when they do something silly or dumb...I love it. I think it is hilarious! 

p.p.s. It was also in The TimeOut London Magazine as being one of the top 10 British slang words of the moment

Summer Wish List

Summer Wish List by hopefullyfashionable featuring a floral crown

*Updated* Bucket List

I posted a list almost identical to this one a few months back but changed a few things and have crossed some of them off! ( #5, #25, #35 and #36)! 

1) Travel to every continent
2) See MIKA live in concert
3) Write a novel
4) Run a marathon
5) Live in London
6) Live on the West Coast 
7) Read every Jane Austen novel
8) Dye my hair red
9) Volunteer abroad 
10) Go up at an open mic night and make people laugh
11) Become bilingual
12) Learn how to play a song on the piano
13) Somehow let JK Rowling know how much her stories affected my life
14) Become blog-famous
15) Graduate College
16) Have Kids (naturally and adopt)
17) Have a dog named Blubbie
18) Feel completely free
19) Travel cross country with my best friend
20) Have 'All You Need Is Love' played at my wedding
21) Go to India
22) Meet Emma Watson
23) Have a conversation with my cousin Tony in the same language
24) Go on another sister trip with Annie
25) Meet David Tennant 
26) Eat crepes in Paris
27) Pay a stranger's bill
28) Say infindy to all of my kids  
29) Help make the world a better, more equal place for women
30) Take my kids to Rome and London and show them around my old neighborhoods 
31) Learn how to skateboard
32) Go skydiving
33) Get a tattoo in Camden Town
34) Make Thanksgiving dinner, 100% by myself
35) Run in Hyde Park
36) Randomly meet a celebrity in a public place
37) Hail a cab in NYC 

Flat favourite: Drinks

Tiffany: Strawberry Lime Cider 
Haley: Taylor's Port Wine
Mary: Kopparberg Wild Berry Cider 
Nathaly: Champagne 
Lauren: "Whatever (s)he's having"
Me: Strongbow 

Check out Flat favourite: Tea 

London vs. Rome

I have officially been here in London for over two months! What does that mean? It means Spring Break. Well, it was last week :)

Almost everyone I know from my program here went to Italy and more importantly Rome! As I thought of places and tips to give them I began to think about all of the differences between my two study abroad cities!

This weekend I:

Watched: the pilot of Fresh Meat again with Kelly  

Listened: to a street artist talk about East London street art 

Learned: that I love to network 

Ate: scampi and chips in Covent Garden

Read: funny messages from my roommates 

Drank: tea...lots and lots of tea 

Thought: why does Kelly have to leave London? 

Wished: Janelle could be studying here with me 

Realized: that time is going too fast and too slow at the same time 

Bought: the best, most awesome gift for my sister

Flat Favourite: Tea

Despite living in a flat full of Americans, British life is creeping into our daily routines. For example, we have all started drinking tea. Here are our favourites:

Tiffany: English Breakfast
Haley: Whittard black, vanilla tea
Mary: Twinings English Breakfast  
Nathaly: Rose tea
Lauren: English Breakfast
Me: Waitrose ceylon tea

Kelly (guest flat mate): Yumchaa Wanderlust loose leaf tea 

This weekend I:

Watched: Funny Girl on Channel 1 

Listened: to British children playing in Regent's Park 

Learned: that everything doesn't always happen how you expect 

Ate: a lot of Chinese food (because it was Chinese New Year) 

Read: marketing textbooks  

Drank: my first glass of wine in London 

Thought: about the cross-country trip my friend Jan and I are planning 

Wished: my family could be in London with me or that I could be with them 

Realized: I don't like London as much as I think I should but that is okay

Bought: two tea cups from Chinatown