iceland

Over Easter weekend, Adam and I (along with our friends Alex, Mark, Ali and Paul) set off to Reykjavik, Iceland. No one could've prepared me for how beautiful this country is! Reykjavik is incredible with all it's colored houses and amazing restaurants while the rest of the country is one wonder after another. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the Northern Lights as it was cloudy and rainy during our trip but that's just another excuse to go again!

the big 3-0

A few weeks ago, I turned the big 3-0. I'm not going to lie...it was a day I was dreading for a long time. And I don't know exactly why, but I felt pretty scared about the whole situation. A few months ago I made a comment to Adam and it went something like this: 'I do not want to plan my own 30th birthday party, but I do want something to happen!' Poor guy. He took this silly little comment and ran with it, planning me the BEST 30th birthday I could've ever asked for.

copenhagen

At some point during my 3 days in Copenhagen, I looked over at my friend Courtney and said 'everyone here is just so happy.' It was then that she told me 'Copenhagen is actually the happiest place on Earth.' (Here's an article explaining why: Happy Copenhagen)

january 2015

Adam and I arrived back to London on the 3rd of January, and felt very jet lagged after several weeks in the US. We agreed to take it easy for a while, for the sakes of our wallets and our health. So overall January was a pretty low key month.

Christmas and {New Year's} in NC // Part 2

Let's see. Where did I leave off?

Christmas Eve was a rainy, relaxing day. Adam and I had lunch with my cousin, Emily and ran a couple of errands before heading to church with my mom and dad for Christmas eve service. We had an amazing dinner of steak and potatoes, and proceeded to snuggle on the big chair and watch movies for the rest of the night. We were excited for the next day and spending lots of time with family!

Christmas {and New Year's} in NC // Part 1

I arrived back to London just last Saturday after spending THREE whole weeks in beautiful North Carolina. (So, I'm sorry I fell off the grid but I was really enjoying my time with family and friends.) I'm back now and very excited to share some of my favorite pictures from the 3 weeks in Charlotte, Asheville and Raleigh, N.C.

This trip was made even more special thanks to my boyfriend, Adam, who came to Charlotte and spent 2 weeks with my family and friends. It was the first time we got to spend Christmas day together and it was really wonderful to have him there with my family!

Christmas in London (and it's not even Thanksgiving yet!)

Christmas is only 4 weeks, but here in London the lights and celebrations started weeks ago. Everyone is in full blown Christmas mode. This is my third Christmas here in London, so I knew what to expect. I started seeing decorations for sale in mid-October, lights up by Halloween (I know my fellow Americans will find this disgraceful…it's not even Thanksgiving yet!). The honest truth though is that London is incredibly beautiful with all the lights up. It truly becomes a winter wonderland. So I guess I don't mind the lights too much.

life in london lately

The last few weeks in London have been pretty relaxing. I had off a week and a half from work (thanks to London school holidays) and I spent it stay-cationing in London. I had a couple massages, caught up on my admin, started a new gym, and spent lots of time with girlfriends. Adam went to India for just over a week for our friend's wedding but unfortunately, I wasn't able to go with. But I throughly enjoyed my time spent in this amazing city.

Before Adam left for India, we spent a lovely Sunday afternoon in the sun with friends at our new local pub, Hop & Berry on Liverpool Road.

autumn // in pictures

ali's 30th birthday

{dinner at feng shang princess, brunch at the jones family project,
drinks at the nag's head, and fun times at proud camden}

aqua kyoto (oxford circus)

katzenjammers (london bridge)

clapham and scenes of autumn

{sorry i've been real slack with the blog lately…it's been a little crazy with work the last month. but looking forward to lots of fun times over the next couple months!}

blitz party!

Who doesn't love an excuse to properly step back in time? When our friend Bethany suggested going to a 'Blitz Party' for her birthday in September, I genuinely didn't know what to expect! I knew people dressed in 1940's gear, pretending to be in a bomb shelter, and using 'rations' at the bar. But no one could've prepared me for how much FUN it would be! 

a weekend in yorkshire

A few weeks ago, we spent the weekend in the Yorkshire Dales for our friend's wedding. I hadn't been to Yorkshire, but everyone I spoke to kept telling me how beautiful it is. Well they weren't lying…I was completely blown away at the gorgeous scenery. Add a really fun wedding and it was pretty much the perfect weekend!

cambridge

Over the summer holidays, I took a little day trip up to Cambridge with my travel buddy, Courtney. We left London at Liverpool Street Station and an hour and 15 minutes later, we were in beautiful Cambridge. It's so nice to get outside of London and see other parts of England because it is a truly gorgeous country.

a southern lady in barcelona

We finished off our trip to Spain in Barcelona, a city I've been to before but was very excited to go back to. Last time I was there (in April '13), the weather was rainy and chilly…not ideal! But this time was absolutely gorgeous; sunny, HOT, and perfect for sitting outside.

We arrived in Barcelona in the afternoon on Wednesday and made our way down Las Ramblas to the beach. There were tons of people out and about, soaking up the sun. We found a beach bar and had a couple drinks and enjoyed our people watching. Then we walked over to Barraca for a fantastic meal by the water! After dinner, we walked down the beach and boardwalk and back up Las Ramblas to our apartment.

a southern lady in valencia

On Monday, we woke up in Granada and started getting ready for a very long coach trip ahead of us. We left at 11:45 am, and arrived in Valencia at 7:30 pm. We were so excited to be off the bus and able to walk around a new (and beautiful) city! A quick bus ride through Valencia and we arrived at our new Airbnb accommodation. Once again, we were happily surprised with our apartment - it was huge, sunny, and had a lovely terrace for sitting out and sipping wine.

a southern lady in granada

After a very easy train ride from Sevilla, we arrived in Granada mid-afternoon and we were ready to see our Airbnb apartment and grab some food! I really can't say enough great things about our accommodation. It was right across from Centro Nueva where there were loads of restaurants. It was also very near La Alhambra (more on that later).

beautiful granada

a southern lady in sevilla

I arrived back from Santorini, spent 24 hours in London, and then I was off again to meet my dear friend Courtney for our 9 day adventure in Spain! We started off in beautiful Sevilla (which was my favorite city throughout the whole of our trip).
                                        

a southern lady in santorini // part 2

The second half of our holiday in Santorini was even more relaxing than the first part. The weather was absolutely perfect…sunny, gorgeous and the right amount of sea breeze.
                                                   

a southern lady in santorini // part 1

A few weeks ago, Adam and I spent 7 amazing days on the island of Santorini. We stayed at Kamari beach on the east coast of the island. I won't lie…most of the trip was spent laying on the beach or by the pool, with a cafe freddo and my kindle. We ate some amazing meals, drank some great wine, and just enjoyed being together (and away from the craziness of London). I want to share our favorite restaurants, sites, and experiences while in Santorini, as well as some of my pictures of this beautiful island.
                                      

restaurant story // vinopolis // zoo lates

A few weeks ago (before moving into my new apartment, heading to Santorini, and then off to Spain), I celebrated the end of my school year with three memorable experiences here in London.

mishkins // long horn // fun times in chelsea & angel

Last week felt like one of the longest, but fastest weeks of my life. We were inspected at work and it was a high stress situation. We all did great though and by Friday, we were incredibly happy to see the end of the week!