untitled.: October 2012

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

obsession: proposals.

so you know how much i love weddings.....i found one thing i might love just as much: proposals.
i. love. proposals.
for the last two hours, i've watched youtube proposals. and i melt. every. time. i literally get goosebumps and start shrieking.
seriously....just type in "wedding proposals" on youtube and/or pinterest and it will be time well spent.
(please don't freak out, parents.....my arranged marriage isn't for another 5 months.)

here are some of my favorite ones:
http://www.susanlinesphotography.com/2012/09/21/megan-john-a-virginia-proposal/
(a scavenger hunt leading to a proposal....SO CUTE.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DgOqdfG5PFg
(at multnomah falls. her reaction is so precious)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_v7QrIW0zY
(lip sync/flash mob....so creative!)

things i have gathered from these videos/stories:

there are not a lot of guys this romantic out there.
i don't want a huge group of people/strangers at my proposal. (although i do want an incognito photographer)
i don't want to be wearing sweats when i get proposed to.
i will kill my fiance if he proposes to me on valentine's day. (just kidding. but really.)

i want to witness one of these in real life.

i can only imagine what my own proposal will be like. so don't be surprised if you hear stories of me bawling. or screaming. or fainting.

but that won't be for a long long LONG time. i'm perfectly content living vicariously through these other couples.....

Sunday, October 28, 2012

lindsey: from lynden to london.

^how's that for alliteration? i'm a literary nerd.

that aside.....my wonderful and beautiful friend lindsey came to visit me in london! (read more about her here) she had a week-long fall break from her school in holland, so she went to italy for a couple days, then hopped on a plane to london. she is such a world traveler! in the three days we had together, we covered a LOT of ground. i had already bought my ticket for the london eye, so we went on that too. it was SO fun. i showed her all around london - buckingham palace, big ben, westminster abbey, st. james park, tower bridge, trafalgar square, harrods, harvey nichols, the london eye, my school, primark (!), etc.
over frozen pizza and chocolate muffins, we got caught up with each other's lives. i'm so glad she got come - it's so nice to see a familiar face and have a little bit of home from somewhere so far away. i can't wait til we live 3 blocks away from each in a couple months!

underground lovin

buckingham palace!

the front!

kaylee came too!

this horse hated us. this was right before he urinated everywhere...

st. james park! (since when did i become a midget?!)

i'm totally creepin....but it was worth it.

tree huggers...true northwestern-ers.

classic tourist shot

trafalgar square

love love love these leaves!

family pics.

tower bridge.

without the flash...the background looks so fake hahaha

yep........

view from the london eye!

inside :)

you can see forever!

"OMG WE'RE ON THE LONDON EYE!"

went to a pub

linds w/the harrods bear!

outside!

helping me get ready for halloween.

love you girl!!!

field trips galore.

it feels like it's been so long since i've posted anything! apologies....time seems to slip away so fast here. i've officially been here for one month and one day. it feels like way longer in some ways, and way shorter in others. i will do my best to recap the last week (ish) so bear with me. i'll probably put them on separate posts so it's not overload :)
oh and the time changed here last night, so now i'm only 7 hours ahead....at least for a week.

on monday, my images & society class went to the hayward gallery & the somerset house to see the time walker exhibit. we had to kill some time before the hayward gallery opened at noon. (did i mention how much i LOVE field trips?!!) i love getting outside of the classroom and experiencing what we're studying in real life -- in LONDON. anyways. a little explanation of these pictures. i had actually never heard of the photographer tim walker before this exhibit. but he is FABULOUS. i realize i'm probably one of the least qualified people to comment on photography, but this exhibit was so so so good. he has a whimsical, alice-in-wonderland type style. a ton of the props he used in his shoots were in the gallery too, which is what you'll see below. though i don't have a strong background in photography, i respect the craft so much more. photography is subjective. something ugly to someone can mean everything to another.

the courtyard at the somerset house

a background -- right as you walk in

LOVE these quotes....

tim walker himself.

giant swan.

a bee playing a bass....why not?

humongous skeleton across the ceiling

huge crumbled newspaper

that's not my hand.

HUGE shirley temple. don't worry, it was even creepier in real life...

next, we walked over to the hayward gallery to see the art of change: new directions from china exhibit, where i snapped this picture, perfect of a foggy london morning:

i'm gonna spare you photos of the other gallery because it was kind of boring. and weird. it was all this chinese modern art that felt thrown together. maybe i just didn't understand it. the downside is that i had to write a review for the hayward gallery - not the other one - but that's alright.

i would definitely go back to see the tim walker exhibit....it was that good.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

confessions, european style.

currently listening to a playlist from the 2000s on spotify -- including (but not limited to) usher, alicia keys, black eyed peas, & justin timberlake. and singing/dancing along.
just set off my smoke alarm from a toaster. A TOASTER.
the dairy in england is SO good....cream cheese, butter, yogurt....all of it.
i'm procrastinating my homework (surprised?)
sarah & i are going to the bloomsbury festival today - check it out here: http://bloomsburyfestival.org.uk/
i bartered my way (for the first time) from 12 pounds to 7 pounds on a really cute pair of sweater leggings. BOOMSHOCKALOCKA
i constantly have to fight off the urge to sleep on the tube...it has a habit of lulling you to sleep
i decided i want to live at harrods. there's enough clothing & food for a lifetime. or a few lifetimes...
i've tried my best to get into the hashtag trend....confession: I CAN'T DO IT. ever since we made fun of it last year by actually saying the word 'hashtag' and then another phrase after it, i just can't get myself to use it. plus i don't have a twitter. which is probably the only place hashtags belong. here it is one and final time: #hashtagssuckandbelongontwitter. there. i'm done.
it's currently 5:04 am at home....weird.
i'm glad i'm not in america for the presidential debates/elections/politics/obnoxiousness

that's all she wrote.

more later :)

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

HARRODS! and st. paul's cathedral.

well....it's wednesday. you know what that means....no class = another adventure day for chandler & kaylee! we planned on going to st. mark's cathedral for a 12:30pm service, but we were running late, so we decided to go to the evensong at 5pm. before that, we decided to go to the one and only HARRODS. that place is SO magical. it beat my expectations. i can't accurately describe it...you have to see it in person to understand. i'm pretty sure they don't allow photography in there, but being the stealthy person i am, i managed to get some shots. we also went to Harvey Nichols (which was princess diana's favorite department store) which was also super cool. it wasn't as extravagant as harrods, but it was still great. on the fifth floor, they have a giant restaurant/food court/grocery area. we then jumped on the tube to camden (its becoming a favorite hangout....) because kaylee wanted fish & chips. i told myself i would get it, but i backed out. we ended up going to this really cool pub called Oxford Arms. we ducked in at the right time -- it was starting to rain. kaylee got her fish & chips, and i got a bacon & cheese baguette with "chips". it was SO delicious. the bacon wasn't bacon at all though....it was more canadian bacon.

since we missed the 12:30pm service, we went to the evensong at 5pm. st. paul's cathedral is where prince charles and princess diana got married. again...pictures weren't "allowed" by i snuck some anyway. i don't think i will ever get sick of these cathedrals....the architecture, the statues, the murals....it is absolutely incredible. we even got to sit with the choir in these throne-looking seats. my feet hardly touched the floor! i would definitely love to take a tour.