West Wedding

Wedding party on the left, me & Jonty on the right.

Hi guys! I've been a been lazy about blogging lately, aside from my Kenya posts, so I hope to fill you in about all the lovely things I've been doing lately. Last weekend (as in a bit over a week ago), I went down to Portsmouth for my friend Denise's wedding. It was on a gorgeous, sunny, warm summer day at an amazing location: Stansted Park, outside of the small town of Rowlands Castle in southern England.

The wedding was in a small, ridiculously old, & incredibly beautiful chapel.

Afterward, we headed outside for a couple hours of photos, chat, canapes, & PIMM'S.*

Dinner was served inside the historic Stansted House.

The groom picked these centerpieces out! Impressive, right?

Since we were down near the ocean, we stayed at a B&B near the wedding & took the opportunity to check out some seaside towns & beaches.

Portsmouth:

Emsworth:

We all were lucky to have such a fun-filled weekend planned while the sun was gracing us with her presence!

<3

* For those unfamiliar with PIMM'S, it a British liquor that is popular in the summertime & served with ice, lemonade (aka lemon-lime sode without the lime), & lots of cut up fruit.

Sweet Summer

Jonty & I had a lovely, summery day today. I turned in my last essay (woop woop!), so we decided to head into town and celebrate.

We sat by the river for a while, sipping on Starbucks, reading, & listening to music.

I really love Bristol, especially in the summer.

We also did a bit of shopping.

Maybe you guys can settle a dispute: Is this dress nice enough for a wedding? (It's cotton.)

I didn't buy this bag, but how cute is it??

New 'fit from H&M.

My new favorite dress/top! <3

It was such a nice day on the town. When the sun is out in Bristol, it has such a good vibe. I can't wait to lay around on the grass, eat bread & hummus, drink iced tea, & read this sunny (knock on wood) weekend. Especially since I'm giving myself the rest of the week/weekend off before I begin my dissertation.

By the way, I don't usually photograph myself in the dressing room... Jonty was still looking around & I wanted him to see what I tried on. Plus, I was feeling particularly bloggy today.

<3

Random Tuesday: Stream of Consciousness

Today is Random Tuesday, yay!

Even though my blog is pretty random every day, hence its title, today is fun because I get a special excuse not to need any particular theme or plan. Here it goes!

I went to Mocha Mocha again today, and went for a regular latte, rather than the splendid Hazelnut Mocha I had last week. While my coffee was good, it didn't live up to last Tuesday's expectations.

Does bread make you tired? It makes me sooo sleepy. I wonder if it's a natural property of grains, or if I'm in some way gluten intolerant. The reason that I'm asking is that I had a bacon sandwich on wheat bread for breakfast today (while sipping on my latte with my friend Dan) and now I just want to curl up on the bench in the sun behind the Grad Center and have a snooze.

In fact, I have already done that. Right when I returned from Mocha Mocha. It was so warm and loverly.

I'm happy that the sun is starting to grace us with her presence, but couldn't she just wait until after my essays are handed in next Friday? I just want to be outdoors all the time. But, unfortunately, laptops don't love the sun half as much as I do. And my laptop and I have to be BFFs at the moment.

I think I'm going to start dreaming about Plato soon.

One time, in high school, I dreamed in Old English. I was in a play based off of Macbeth and The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, reading Cyrano de Bergerac, helping my sister (a freshman at the time) read Romeo & Juliet, and had watched Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet that night. I don't remember what the dream was about; I just remember that the setting was contemporary but all of the speaking was done in Shakespearean prose.

I've started reading Julie & Julia. It's light and a bit girly, and I think it's the perfect read for that time at night where my brain needs to wind down from work.

Not that I'm working now. I'm blogging. And dreaming about all the lovely things I could be doing in the sun right now. I have a meeting in just over an hour, so maybe I should get back to started on work.

Maybe Random Tuesday should be renamed Stream of Consciousness Tuesday.

I hope you enjoy your day and appreciate the sun!

<3