I've Got Decorating on the Brain

Since I'll be moving into a new place soon, with very few items from home, I've had my mind on decorating lately. I know my walls will be a light shade of yellow/gold, I believe the trim will be white, and I'm not sure about the color of the blinds.

Jonty's family and I made a trip to IKEA on Sunday, where I got my bedlinens (a gift from his parents, actually, which was very thoughtful).

My sheets are about this shade of teal.


Since my place will be brand new when I move in, I'm concerned that it will have a really sterile feeling. So I hope to find some thrift shop treasures to make it look a bit more homey. My main focus right now is finding a great mirror with lots of character. Here are some thrifted mirror muses of mine:

[Vintage Fern, inner sanctum, Centsational Girl]

I hope to make some older, funky finds and revamp them myself. Centsational Girl and Dollar Store Crafts will hopefully give me some fun (& cheap) ideas. I'll also be using The Big Ass Book of Crafts that Sissa gave me for my birthday.

Speaking of my birthday, it's one week from today! I'll be 22. Pretty exciting...

Off to the Witney market and charity shops!

<3

My New Home

Well, first and foremost, I have arrived in the UK to stay (for the next year, at least). I thought I would be shocked at all the differences (like last time but not quite as intense), but I was surprised to find I felt very comfortable from the start.

The beginning of this week was devoted to finding a house in Bristol (where I will be getting my MA in Philosophy). I knew I would like Bristol, but I didn't know how much! I was expecting an Oxford-type town and was (pleasantly) surprised when I saw tall buildings and a new shopping mall! It has a mix of these urban pieces, plus neo-Gothic style university buildings, PLUS lots of funky little shops and organic eateries. I'm so excited to do more exploring! There were definitely snags in our house search here and there, but I was thankful for the sunny days to guide our way. (Apparently it typically rains a lot in Bristol so this is a big deal.) We finally found a place. It's actually still being built and will be ready to move into by the Thursday of our first week, but it's worth it. Pros: brand new place, third floor, two bathrooms (with showers) for four people, new furniture, relatively good location. Cons: not much character (yet), a bit of a walk from campus. All in all, this will be a great place. Also, our landlord Bojang is my new BFF.

My housemates are worth noting as well. Nell is an English girl getting a PhD in Chemistry, Jim (James) is an English guy doing Law, and Michael is a German guy doing Commerce Law. All three are very nice and very different, so we will make quite an interesting bunch!

Now I'm back in Witney (near Oxford) at Jonty's house for the next few weeks. Today we're going into Oxford (I miss it soooo much so I'm excited to be going back!!) and we may be going punting!!!

<3

My Crazy Life

I took a Tylenol PM two hours ago and am still awake. "Why?" you may ask. Because I leave for the United Kingdom tomorrow (well, today since it's after midnight), and a million things are running through my head.

The past week has been utter mayhem. Saying my goodbyes, finishing up work, packing, and cleaning, to say the least. But that is just a start. My flight was scheduled to leave on Thursday morning, and I realized Tuesday night that I wasn't going to receive my visa in time. And this is when the craziness began. I immediately get in contact with the British Consulate in LA (very difficult to get ahold of). Then I rebooked my flight for Saturday and flew down to LA with my mom on Thursday morning. I had an appointment, and the woman I spoke to informed me that I could pick up my visa the next day at 3pm or I could receive it by mail on Monday, maybe Tuesday. Since my flight leaves before Monday, I had to choose her first option, and the date/time of pickup was definitely not negotiable with this woman. And so we waited.

Thankfully, the British Consulate is in West Los Angeles, just down the street from Santa Monica. My mom and I ended up having a blast, [window] shopping on The Third Street Promenade, drinking cider and eating Irish nachos (nachos made with potato wedges), and laying around and swimming at the beach. We then got a great deal on a room at the Raddison ($79, believe it or not!) that had Sleep Number Beds and squishy pillows. It was really nice to have some extra quality time with my mom, and I ended up being kind of happy all of the delays happened.

That being said, I picked my visa up today, yay! After bus issues and missing one flight, I got home safely. I leave tomorrow for England, and I just cannot believe it! It really only started to sink in this evening, and even then it doesn't seem real. I'm going to miss Sacramento, my family, my friends, etc. so much! But I'm excited to finally be with Jonty again, and to begin my new adventure! My next post will be written over 5,000 miles away!

The Tylenol PM is calling me to bed... Time to get a decent-ish night's sleep before embarking on my journey.

<3

My Apologies for Being MIA

Read an explanation for my lack of new posts here.

I'm hoping to get at least one good one in before I head out of the USA!

<3

My Final Week

I leave for the UK at 6am one week from tomorrow. As I begin my last week in America for a while, I am realizing this next few days will be very eventful. [Keep in mind that I will be running around like a mad woman and packing throughout all of this.]

My last day working for Tahoe Creamery will be Saturday. I have already said good-bye to the Roseville Whole Foods, and Saturday will be Arden's turn. I've gotten to know the stores and the employees so well this summer, and it's weird that it's all ending.

My last River Cats game will be Friday, which I'm sure will be a busy night, and I can't believe I won't be watching any more games, joking with old men about ordering more beers, or dancing with Dinger (the mascot) and children. This season has been so much fun, and it's ending so fast.

Speaking of jobs, my bookstore gig will be over the day before I leave as well. In fact, I will be working pretty much up to the point of hopping into the car to head to San Francisco.

Friday (after work), I have some pretty mind boggling (and Top Secret!) plans with a few friends that I'm really excited about.

Saturday night will be my going away party, which I am both excited and nervous about, as I invited lots of my friends and pretty much the entire Whole Foods store at both locations. Hopefully only the coolest will show (and bring their own drinks)!

Sunday will be my very first grown-up wedding. My friends Valerie and Zach will be having an evening wedding, and I'll be showing up with two of my very best gal pals. I'll be happy to arrive with friends, as I expect many of the groom's guests to be glaring in my direction. You see, my ex-boyfriend is a groomsman, and while he and I are on good terms, several of his friends are angry with me about the breakup. It's completely ridiculous, and I shouldn't care about them, but in a way I do because they were my friends once too. Plus, I don't like to be viewed as the bad guy, especially when the whole situation hurt me too and there was nothing I wanted less than to hurt this guy who is one of the nicest people I know and who I still consider a friend. Bleh, I digress, but you can see why I'm a bit anxious about the wedding. Above all, though, I am excited for the wedding and so happy for the newlyweds!

Well, I am wasting away one of my last nights with my best friend, my sister. I'm going to miss her so very very very much. So I must go.

<3

Sleep Talking

...is proof that Whoever Is Up There has a sense of humor.

This happened when I woke my sister up the other night, after she had taken a Tylenol PM. I wrote it down so I would remember to tell her in the morning, & I just found the note. Amazing.

Stephanie: "It's just really cute."
Me: "Hm?"
Stephanie: "It's just really cute."
Me: "Uhm, what is?"
Stephanie: "Didn't you ask me why I keep the hammer?"
[And then she fell back into a deep sleep.]

When I was a little girl, maybe around five years old, my Grandpa Gary told me that he didn't dream, that he had stopped years ago. I couldn't believe it! As a kid I had such vibrant dreams (& still do sometimes, though more are nightmares nowadays), and the thought of having none made absolutely no sense to me. In fact, I felt bad for Grandpa. I wonder why some people remember their dreams and others don't. Dreams have always interested me, maybe because it's one of the few things on Earth that we still don't quite understand. I think if I would have remained a Psychology major I would have studied them in more detail. Maybe I still will--I do plan on being a lifelong student, after all.

Well, I'm off to experience dreams myself! Night!

<3

The Rainbow Connection

I'm in love with Jason Mraz's rendition of "The Rainbow Connection" by The Carpenters. I actually adore this song--I sang it at my kindergarten graduation and will never forget it. And Jason's version sounds sooo nice. Perhaps I can learn to play it on guitar :.)

<3