london calling.

i leave for london, england in 41 days. almost 6 weeks. it feels so far away in some ways, and so close in other ways. i've been asked several times if i'm nervous/scared to leave the country for almost 3 months, and the answer is....no. sure, that's because i've never been out of the country (with the exception of canadia & tijuana) and have nothing to compare it to. i suppose the more accurate answer is that i'm excited. i've been asked that too. i know that there are a lot of unknowns, and some of it might be scary, but the risk will be worth it. i know it. studying abroad (particularly in england) is something i've wanted to do for SO long. even before studying abroad wasn't "cool" ;) (....kidding!) i do understand why people don't want to study abroad: leaving your friends/family; being in an uncomfortable or unfamiliar environment; all of the tedious arrangements/details, etc. and i 100% agree. all of the above is true, but they pale in comparison to the adventure i will have. i look at it as: meeting new friends/locals; getting to experience life in a new and different culture and adding it to my college experience. and it's not like i have a significant other anyhow ;)

i was thinking the other day about a couple of my friends who are also studying abroad shortly. we all have one thing in common: we took the same "major/career exploration" class spring quarter of freshman year (see here). more than once we were exposed to the study abroad office and had guest speakers who had studied abroad. they only further "fueled the fire", if you will. at that point, i wasn't even sure what my major was, but i was sure of one thing: i wanted to study abroad. and the sooner, the better.

my friends that shared my interest were victoria (my roommate at the time) and lindsey. 

after one of our class sessions, we immediately marched over the study abroad office to check it out even further. and now, almost a year and a half later, all three of us are about to venture into new adventures in 3 different countries. 

victoria is studying in thailand this fall (and ironically, left about 15 minutes ago!) and i could not be more excited for her! when i first met her, she already had a major picked out (business administration) but after a few economics classes, quickly realized it wasn't what she thought. throughout our class, she became interested in sociology and took the intro class that fall. she loved it, applied for the major, and is now going to thailand to further study it, specifically working with a trafficking shelter called Baan Yuu Suk. victoria has such a huge heart, and i know is going to grow and learn so much there.

another one of my good friends (lindsey) is going to the netherlands to study this fall. actually, she leaves next week (the 23rd) and isn't coming back until after christmas.     

lindsey, like victoria, came into college knowing exactly what she wanted to major in. or so she thought. she was a bio-chem major. after doing less than stellar in her chem classes, she  realized maybe she was going down the wrong path. we took macroeconomics together this past winter, and she thought business admin would be a good fit. i could definitely see her doing that....but the story doesn't stop there. she had to take financial accounting (the same one i got a C in) for her business major and absolutely LOVED it - so she decided accounting is the path for her. i think she is crazy (much like my brother) but only because i'm AWFUL at it. and as for the netherlands? lindsey is indeed dutch, like the rest of Lynden (and even has relatives who live there) so in a sense, she's exploring her roots.

and then there's me. i'm going to england -- okay, so there isn't really a language barrier (other than certain words like "bloke", "rubbish", and "bloody" etc. and their dialect...) but i'm okay with that. and the weather is very similar to seattle. but... i'm studying fashion....in london. i just said that out loud. how crazy. i'm so excited for my fellow studying abroad friends and am slightly jealous that they get to start their adventures so soon! 

patience is a virtue......or so i keep telling myself!

home again.

this past weekend, i went to salem, oregon to visit my 6th grade BFF. it's kind of crazy how i've lived in washington for 7 years now, and i've known her for 9. i'm so thankful that our friendship has lasted this long and is still going strong. i got to visit some of my old hangouts -- as well as some new ones -- all in blistering 100+ degree weather. i quickly realized that i will never be able to live in arizona or texas in the summertime. my northwest skin/blood will not allow it. it was so hot in hannah's car (as seen below) that we had to put a blanket over the seats. we saw the dark knight, which was actually really good. joseph gordon-levitt may have helped.....

hannah and her family have started going to salem alliance church, which is the church i grew up in. it was kind of weird going back 7 years later, but it was still the same in some ways. it was so wonderful to catch up - i already can't wait for next time!

 so hot!

 ducks vs beavers........fan central.

 floppy hats!

 right before the dark knight :)

 salem alliance

hannah and her dog, sam!

stayin classy in san diego

over the weekend, my mom & i went down to san diego to not only see my brother, but to help furnish our new condo we bought downtown. we had hardly a minute to rest, but we did end up on the roof to soak in some sun (and some burns...) even though our time may have been short, we made the most of it! here are some of my favorite shots:
(i was having fun with instagram if you were unaware.....)

 on my way!

 the view from the top -- SO beautiful.

birthday cake - a little late, but so so so worth it. it somehow lasted me two more nights!

siblings.

 view from the condo balcony at night

view in the day time....incredible

a man who likes his meat....he's a meatatarian.

at j.wok for lunch!

underground speak-easy....so cool!

martini, anyone?

i got to be squished in the back of a zipcar! 

 before dinner.

the results of 45 minutes in the sun w/no sunscreen...

happy happy birthday.....

to my brother chase! you are 26 now. i am so glad you are my brother! i love you. 

enjoy this photo montage.

20 candles.

today, i turned the big 2-0. twenty. two decades. 
how crazy right?! ....as my brother said, "i can't believe you're freakin 20. that makes me feel so old."


the older i get, the more appreciative i am of what i have and who i have to share it with. yes, presents are nice, and it's good to treat yourself, but at the end of the day, i am overwhelmed with all the blessings in my life. i have such sweet, thoughtful, generous friends and a loving and supporting family. one of my favorite parts of the day was the laughter....i laughed so hard tears were coming down.
enough with the sap though ;)
i started the day at my sister's and then went to brunch at the original house of pancakes with my parents, sister, brother-in-law, and nieces. soooo good. later on i claimed my free birthday drink at starbucks and then went shopping. around 6, jourdan picked me up to go to dinner at the old spaghetti factory in tacoma! it was so yummy. they even sang happy birthday to me with spumoni....i also realize the older i get, the more i don't like everyone's attention on me. i guess i just had to take it with a grain of salt - i mean how often do people sing to you in public, right? we did get offered a wine/cocktail menu even though only one of us was 21. so that made me feel older. we finished off the night with dessert at BJ's....a pizooki to be exact (warm red velvet cake with ice cream on top) seriously the BEST dessert i've ever had. if only i would have gotten a picture of that....all i can say is that i'm going back.

my venti caramel macchiato. 

had to get the shoes in!

my beautiful flowers from jourdan :)

 jour & me!

 with my birthday spumoni!

 tori, sheldyn, me, jourdan, taylor

my hat was so big it covered tay!

today was everything i could have wanted - and more. and while i want it to last much longer, it simply won't! but i will enjoy the last 32 minutes....