Lately

When enough time passes, it's hard to pick writing back up here again. But so much has happened in the last few months, that I feel like I need to record it all somewhere.

Since I've last updated, I've:

- visited 3 countries (Germany, Iceland, Turks&Caicos)

- really grown into my job as a media research analyst, which I love

- saw the Northern Lights (!!!) 

- probably had the best weekend of my life when I found an amazing dessert (rote Grütze) and watched the sunrise in a fish market (all in Hamburg, Germany)

- started liking sushi, sashimi and seafood

- found a good group of people to regularly hang out with

- lost a ton of weight 

The last one has had the biggest impact day-to-day for me. I started changing my diet and habits after I left my advertising job in May. I felt like the unhappiness of that time, plus bad habits I picked up (free vendor lunches! happy hours every night! subway rides to and from work!) contributed to weight gain since I've moved to the city. Now I definitely feel healthier, especially since I walk everywhere, keep work food in check (just because it's free doesn't mean you have to eat it!) and wear a fitness tracker to keep up with my steps. The bittersweet thing about a drastic change in my appearance though is that it's impacted what clothes I can wear, and I've cut out a lot of things in my closet .So anyways, between that and the really long winter in NYC, I haven't been taking very many outfit photos. Which I hope to pick back up soon once it's warm again.

Anyways, thank you for reading - whoever you are out there.

Out in the grey streets of London

Some highlights from this past trip in June include St.Paul's, Antony&Cleopatra at the Globe, Westminster Abbey services in the Shrine of St. Edward's, Hyde Park, Portobello Road, the War Rooms and the Sherlock Holmes Museum (so cheesy and full of bespoke mannequins, but loved it). Jeremiah and I also spent a couple days in Oxford and explored around Christchurch (where those epic dining hall scenes were filmed for Harry Potter), Trinity (where Jeremiah did his study abroad), and a few of the pubs that are hundreds of years old. I really can't wait to explore this city again.

The V&A

 One of the biggest highlights for me when we visited London was getting the chance to spend a few hours exploring the Victoria & Albert Museum, a beautiful museum devoted to design and art. (Btw, Londoners, I am totally jealous that the V&A and so many of your other museums were free to the public!). We had limited time, but we were able to explore through the medieval and Renaissance sections, which were full of religious iconography and statues. 

My favorite section was the one that was devoted to women's fashion spanning from the 1600s to the present, and I was not the only fan, as there were so many students and artists camped out sketching out their favorites (especially near the 1930s-1960s window). A few of these dresses looked like inspirations for "Mad Men" characters (doesn't the 1970s maxi look like something Megan wore in the sixth season?). My favorite dress, however, is the 1938 Charles James green evening gown -- the crossover front draping is a style that needs to come back soon. 

I went for comfort when dressing for this day in some old favorite clothes, though I have to admit that I felt pretty blah after walking through and seeing Dior couture (I mean, who wouldn't?)

credits - dress, target | sweater, talbots | tights, boots, tj maxx | bag: pour la victoire.

london calling (me answering)

I think I've been dreaming of visiting London ever since the late 90s, when the Spice Girls, Titanic, Austin Powers, and Princess Di transfixed 10-year-old me, creating a personal obsession with crossing the pond (add to that the Royal Wedding, as well as Downton Abbey and anything on Keira Knightley's filmography, and it has only intensified). After an intense final year of grad school, graduation, moving cross-country and starting a new job, I haven't really had that much down time. And so, after months of planning, Jeremiah and I decided to take our first post-grad school vacation together, which was important in that it made us feel like real-life responsible adults (not that we weren't before, obviously, and not to imply that travel is the only way to feel like an adult. But years of being poor graduate students can make you constantly feel like you're trapped in arrested development). So this vacation was a big deal, celebrating that we were finally able to make some headway on our life goal of traveling around the world, together.

London was incredible, and definitely surpassed whatever childhood expectations I mentally clamped onto the city. We stayed in the Mayfair area near Hyde Park, and had a blast exploring the city through the tube (which fascinated this new New Yorker. The tube is so clean, beautifully designed and easy to navigate!). I took a million photos, and never wanted to leave. I may have even promised Jeremiah that it would be a part of a five-year plan for us to move there ...

I originally purchased this Kamali Kulture dress for work, but brought it along on the trip thinking it would be a great outfit staple for several days (I try to pack as light as possible because I always try to avoid checking bags). Wrinkle-free, easy to clean and goes with everything. Cannot recommend enough.

Here are a few photos from our day at the Tower of London, a major highlight of the trip for Jeremiah, who visited years ago during his study abroad. It was really fascinating to learn more of the buildings' histories, complete with royal executions, murders and intrigue (not to mention some of the Crown Jewels). Though it was super packed with tourists, I had a great time, and loved the views of the Thames River nearby.

credits - dress: kamali kulture (amazon) | oxfords: naturalizers | bag: pour la victoire | trench: banana republic. (photos of me by Jeremiah)