If I'm not sure...

I was riding the bus home after 5 hours of classes today, and I was thinking about the Skype conversation my boyfriend and I had last night.  I was stressing out about spring break plans, and he was telling me that I should do what makes me happy.  This was not only a fantastic point; it's also one of my 2011 resolutions, and I can honestly say I've been failing at it.  This lead to think, "Am I happy?"  And I've decided that if I'm not sure-- if I need to ask myself that-- I'm probably not.  So here's to doing things to make myself happy!  I'm currently sitting in my room in my pajama shorts and fleece jacket devouring a mint Magnum bar (soooo good!) and listening to Taylor Swift.  That makes me happy.  I think I'm going to do Ultimate Frisbee instead of running club, because I think it'll be more fun.  That makes me happy.  It also practices from 7-9 on Mondays, which gives me a valid excuse for not going out and partying (soooo not my thing).  Double bonus!  I just had Glee practice from 5-7.  The people are nice and fun, and I get to sing again!  Happy?  I think yes.  So while I've succeeded in doing things for me today, I need to continue to do that.  That'll be my goal for the weekend and most definitely for the rest of my time abroad.

Primark

Oh, how I love this store!  I made a quick stop on my shopping excursion because I was looking for a set of hard headbands to hold back my now-too-long bangs.  Of course, I can't go into the store without browsing through all the clothes, shoes, and accessories, so I walked away with more than just the headbands I wanted!  The phenomenon of the store, though, is how cheap everything is!

From top, clockwise: Large purse (£3), sport watch (£1), set of five thin headbands (£1), black and gold tank top (£3)

So I got all of these wonderful items for exactly £8.  The purse was marked down to five but rang up as three, and I was not about to complain.  Needless to say, I walked away a very happy shopper!

My choice of lightsaber color

Yes, I do realize how nerdy the title of this blog post is.  But it's one of the topics that came up as I was Skyping my boyfriend today (yay for long distance relationships?), and it made me realize how truly lucky I am!  Today we talked for a bit about Star Wars action figures and, as the title suggests, what color lightsaber I would have if I were a Jedi.  Which sounds ridiculous, I know, but I absolutely love that we can talk about random things like this.  He accepts me for the unique person that I am.  Like I said, I'm so, so, soooo lucky!  We're 4023 miles apart (I looked online), but he can still make my day.

Homesick

Ahhh, it's finally hit me.  The ever-dreaded homesickness.  I don't know if it's the rain, the fact that I have all day free, or that it's simply that time of month (ughh).  Anyways, as I sit here typing and looking out at the grey sky, I can't help but wish I were back in Iowa, walking through the snow to get to my next class.  I ate lunch alone in my room today; how I miss always having someone to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with!  So, over the course of the day, I've somewhat made a mental checklist of random things that I miss.  Here it goes (in no particular order!)

1)  My family (okay, this one is in order)--I miss being able to text them whenever I want, and I hate that they aren't waking up until I'm well into my day.  I also just hate to think about how many miles they are away from me.  Whenever I see a families here just going about their daily lives, I get immensely jealous.  My family is so far (too, too far) away.
2)  My boyfriend (also in order)-- I just miss him like crazy!  I'm fortunate to get to Skype with him often, but I miss holding his hand, running with him, getting breakfast together, etc.  I also get extremely jealous whenever I see a couple walking around campus holding hands... sigh.  When I'm travelling I often have these moments when I wish he was my travelling companion; for instance, this past weekend I wished it was the two of us exploring London together.  But c'est la vie.
3)  My fleece Austria pullover-- Days like today, when it's rainy and cold, really make me miss this warm jacket.  I just want to cuddle up in it and curl up on my bed.  On the note of warm things that I would want to wear on a day like today, I also miss my soccer sweatpants from high school and my purple knock-off Ugg boots.
4)  My cellphone-- I miss taking photos with my phone, and I definitely miss the QWERTY keypad.  And the zebra (zeh-brah, as they call it here) print case, for sure!
5)  My car-- My poor red Neon is sitting in storage.  I miss driving around and showing off my ISU vanity plates that say IMAKKCY (I'm a Kappa Kappa Psi).  I'm slightly afraid that when i get back to the States I'll want to drive on the wrong side of the road. Haha.
6)  Free refills-- Along with this one, I also miss rootbeer and strawberry soda.  I swear all they drink here is Coke, Fanta, Sprite, and Dr. Pepper in some places.
7)  My clothes and shoes-- See, if this were in order, this would probably be waaaaaay higher!  I miss having clothes and shoes for nearly every occasion.  I feel like my fashion here is very limited by the few articles I have in my closet.  I've used this as an opportunity to buy a few new things, but I still miss the plethora of amazing articles I have back home.
8)  Caribou Coffee-- The Costa Coffee that people like here is CRAP!  I hate it!  I definitely prefer Starbucks, but I still miss my Mint Condition from Caribou.
9)  Hamburgers/steak-- I miss my beef.  Hands down.  I hope Dad will make hamburgers for me when I get home, because his hamburgers are the best in the world.
10) Watching movies-- I miss being able to pick out a movie and watch it!  Apparently the DVDs here are a different format, so it would eventually mess up my laptop (No, thank you!).  So I'm stuck watching random and sometimes-French movies on this BBC website, thanks to the inability to get Hulu over here.  One of the movies I watched was pretty good, but I would love to watch an amazing romantic comedy from Hollywood (my fave!)

Anyways, now that I've gotten my rant out of the way, I feel much better and less homesick!  I guess writing is my therapy.  :)  Now off to write some postcards/read more of The Age of Innocence.  I'm going to enjoy the rest of this dreary day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

So, I'm sitting at m computer savoring the Dove chocolates that my boyfriend sent me for Valentine's Day (and working up the nerve to open my card from him-I'm excited for it!).   I'm wearing my key necklace that Laura asked Mom to send in the package that I got from my family.  Opening that seriously made my day; not only did they send the things I asked for, like my cleats, shinguards, more t-shirts, leg warmers, earplugs, pictures, and pink loafers, but they also sent peanut M&Ms (for Valentine's Day), Stride gum (my favorite!), Under Armor leggings (which will be great for running here), and an iTunes giftcard.  Plus the aforementioned key necklace that I have been really missing!  My sisters have similar ones, so I wear it because it makes me think of them.  I put it on right after opening the package! :) I also got a nice card from Mom and Dad, so it's safe to say that so far I've had a fantastic day!  I still have yet to look at the card from my boyfriend.  I've never had a Valentine on Valentine's Day, so this is rather new to me.  The sun is out in Swansea, so I feel like that's already a good sign!  For a little bit it was raining while the sun was out; I absolutely LOVE it when that happens!  That must be God's Valentine's Day gift for me <3
I'm so blessed to have a wonderful family, fantastic friends, and an amazing boyfriend!  I just want to say that I love you all!  Happy Valentine's Day!

(More) Fashion Musings

I'm settled in my room with a caramel Galaxy bar (soooo delicious) reading my sis' blog latest blog post.  Ohhh, how I love checking her blog; it seriously has thee best name ever.  She's inspired me to blog on my "personal" blog, since I have a travel blog about my time spent studying abroad.  So, I'm going to take her lead and write about some of my favorite fashion trends.  Keep in mind that things in Europe are just a bit different than in the States.

1) Leggings and tights.  Oh, yes!  Back home I scoffed at girls who wore leggings as pants, and while I'm still not ready to wear my leggings with a fashion tee and nothing else, I love pairing mine with a long button-up and a sweater.  Super comfy AND super stylish; you can't really get much better than that.  One of my British friends told me that she hasn't worn jeans for two years! I also love that tights are popular here.  It finally gave me the chance to wear the cute patterned black tights I bought in case I needed to cover up my broomball battle-scars for Band Banquet (fortunately the massive bruises disappeared so I could wear my short dress without black tights!).  Still, they are almost hounds-tooth patterned, and I received lots of compliments after wearing them with my cuffed shorts and black boots.  I've already got them packed for my weekend trip to London (can you say exciting?) to wear under a denim dress and sweater.

2) Scarves!  Yes, I've always loved them, and I honestly regret leaving most of mine at home.  I picked up a cute fringed one for only 3 pounds and am hoping to find a few more cheap ones in London.   They are perfect for the rainy and windy weather than seems to haunt the U.K.  I'm pretty certain that I'm wearing a scarf in nearly every single one of my tourist photos (I'm so good at being a tourist).  Which means I'll be sure to wrap one around my neck when I head out this afternoon!

3) Layers and layers (and layers).  I seriously think that the easiest way to fit in with the locals is to dress in tons of layers.  Since this includes sweaters, jackets, scarfs, etc, I'm more than happy to oblige.  My long gray cardigan from H&M is my best friend at the moment (even though it's gray and NOT pink), just because I can layer it over my tees or blouses, look fashionable, and be warm.  That's always a plus!

I do have two complaints against European fashion.  First off, all the colors are so dark (black, navy, brown, gray, etc), and when you pair this with the not-nice weather we have a lot, I could almost swear I was living in black and white!  I try to brighten things up by throwing on my new pink hat (so warm and with an adorable pink pompom on it!) or my teal scarf.  This way I still fit the usual dull colors but still add my own taste to it!  I've had people tell me that I always dress in bright colors, and I like literally brightening up my own day (as well as someone else's, hopefully!).  My second complaint is that people mix black with navy with brown.  Puh-lease!  I can't stand it; I feel like that's a fashion code that even I picked up on in elementary school.  But, still, it's pretty popular here, so if I come back wearing black with brown, try to understand :)

Well, I need to go read some Thermo or Strength of Materials and do something productive, so have a fantastic weekend!

Too many mochas, too little sleep

Sooooo tired.  I was hoping to get over my caffeine addiction this semester, but so far it's been a bust.  It won't help that I picked up a box of individual mocha packets on my expensive grocery-shopping trip today.  After my 9am class today, though, I knew I needed some form of coffee at my flat.  I'm just so exhausted.  I was Skyping with my boyfriend at m6pm my time, and, as much as I love, love, LOVE talking to him, I just felt so drained the entire time.  So I tried to pump up my energy by cleaning my room (this is a rather simple task here compared to the full-weekend-project that it would be at home).  But now, two hours later, I find myself typing this blog with my mocha (which is quite tasty) sitting right next to my computer.  Fail?  Maybe.  I've been invited to go out tonight for the Aniball, where the students dress up as animals and go to the clubs, but I'm not sure I'll last until 11 or so when my flatmates head out.  Plus, I left all my zebra-print clothes (note the name of the blog) in the States :( and my clothes/costume supply is rather low here.  The only thing I could think of would be to go as a turtle (green shirt and tights with my brown knapsack as my shell).  So, since I'm not nocturnal and definitely NOT a party animal, I may just hibernate tonight.

Pun-intended & lots of love!