Days 26, 27, & 28...School Sucks.

Hello again all.

It's been a couple of days. A couple of boring, busy with homework and project days. It literally has been non-stop going to class, eating, coming home to do projects, and sleeping. Oh, and being sick. I've had almost no voice for the past 2 days and DayQuil has been my best friend.

Nothing really eventful. I went to Trends class on Tuesday to learn that a scrapbook that I had spent hours on, I had done completely wrong...so I had to photocopy the pages I made and cut them all up to put them on my final board. Since our instructor gave us no direction whatsoever, I got completely confused and mixed up all of the assignments. That's one thing about English instructors, there is no structure! Anyway, I think I've got it sorted out now, so I'm just working on re-doing my whole research file. The research file is basically a big scrapbook of fabric swatches, magazine clippings, etc. that inspire trends for the upcoming season. Pretty easy, but very time consuming. Thank goodness that's all the projects for that class that are left.

Today in Styling, we had our last studio photo shoot. It was a male model wearing the shirt I constructed along with the bowtie I threw together when I got to class. Here is a before shot of the t-shirt:

And after:

Just cut the sleeves off and used them to make designs on the front of the shirt. Also bought a couple of badges to pin in randomly.

And the outcome:

Not my favorite model...not much variety, but a decent picture.

Here's a picture of Nicolette and I with our styling teacher...by far my favorite ensemble of his :)

In Robin's words..."Just a simple look." I love him!

Still have tons of work to do. Hopefully things will get more exciting by the end of the week. Tomorrow after class I'm planning to do homework until about 6ish and then we might possibly going to see the musical, Wicked. Then the flatmates and I are going to a model casting party with my flatmate, Shelise. Should be a good time, but I can't stay out too late since I have my interview on Friday. Wish Italy could have happened this weekend, but I think keeping my internship appointment is the smarter choice. Definitely going to Italy before my 10 weeks are over though! Also, definitely getting excited about getting to spend my birthday in Paris. Can't wait!!

Days 23,24, and 25 :)

Today is a game of catch up. I still have about 5 more pages to complete for my scrapbook, a 15 page paper to write for my internship class, and another photo shoot on Wednesday to work on. Ughh..I almost can't wait until these next 2 weeks are done, only for the reason that school will be OVER. But, then I'll be sad because my time here will be half over.

Just found out though that my mom's friend, a travel agent, just found a flight to Italy for $215 roundtrip!! So excited. I've been looking at flights and literally the cheapest I've found was 260 pounds. I'm glad I didn't consider a travel agent to be a career possibility. :) Hopefully we will get to leave for Florence on July 1st, which is also the day of my interview for my internship. I think I might email the lady who is interviewing me and see if I can move my appointment up so we can catch our 5 pm flight out of Heathrow. Hopefully it all works out because I'm dying to see Italy! We will be staying with Nicolette's boyfriend's family, who own a mansion in Florence. Saturday, they will be taking us to see Florence, and Saturday night, they are having a huge party with tons of home-cooked italian food! Sunday, we plan to take the train to Rome and then fly back to London on Monday morning to make it back for class. SOOO unbelievably excited!!!!

Well, Friday, Nicolette and I slept in until about 9:30ish and then went shopping for our next photo shoot. We have to style a male model this time and the requirements are buying something, either an article or clothing or an accessory, and somehow making it different; burning, bleaching, dying, ripping, sewing, anything to make it our own. I just bought a plain red and white stripe t-shirt, so I'm thinking about cutting it into a tanktop and putting badges (British word for pins) on it and cutting slits in it and safety pinning it up. I got a couple of things for myself at TopShop's super sale and some souvenirs. I got two shot glasses, one for me, and one for Duncan. Mine is smaller and says "Mind the Gap," which is what the say we you get off the tube. Duncan's is bigger and has the British flag on it. Pretty cute and only a pound each!

That afternoon, we went to the London Eye, the world's largest ferris wheel. It was really fun! We waited in line to get Nicolette's ticket and then we went through the line to get on the ride. We watched a 4D movie, before which was pretty awesome. It didn't take too long to get through the line, the only thing was, it was raining and a little chilly. We got in the capsule with about 15 other people and the ride was about 20-25 minutes to get all the way around. The only thing I wish would have been different would be having a "tour guide" to tell us what all of the buildings were. I recognized some of them, but a lot of them, I didn't know what they were, so I felt like I couldn't appreciate them as much. Still, though, really neat. Here are a few pictures from the ride. A lot of them weren't that great because of the rain on the outside of the capsule. Got a few god ones though!

Me looking like a tourist in front of the London Eye :)

View from the bottom; waiting in line.

On the way to the top!

Couldn't get a decent picture of Big Ben...

Pretty successful Friday. On Saturday, it was Nicolette's 20th birthday, so it was her day to decide what to do. We got up and went to the Natural History Museum to see the Sexual Nature exhibit. It was originally 8 pounds entry, but we got a student discount and got in for 4 pounds! Pretty interesting...random fact: before mating, male giraffes drink the female's urine to make sure it's fertile. We learned a lot of other crazy information, too. After the museum, we went to an American diner called Ed's. It was amazing; a bbq burger, fries, onion rings and root beer!! On their menu, the most expensive soda was root beer and in parentheses "imported from the US!" They literally have no root beer in Europe! The British couple next to us asked, "I hope you don't mind us asking, but what is root beer? It is made from the root of a plant or something?" We had to tell them it was soda, or the British words for soda, "fizzy drink." Then they saw us get a root beer float, which we explained was ice cream in the root beer and they almost had a fit! Too funny.

All of us at Ed's :)

After lunch/dinner, we went home to rest and get ready for the night. We wanted to go to Tiger Tiger again, because we knew it was free cover before 10. When we got there though, they wanted to charge us 5 pounds, but we threatened to leave, and they let us in for free. It was pretty lame when we got there, so we decided to see if we could get into another club for free. We found a promoter that got us into 2 different clubs and a free shot for 5 pounds, so we took the deal. The first club was not good, so we went to the second one and stayed for a little while. We got bored after about 45 minutes, so we went to one last club. We got in for free when the cover charge was supposed to be 15 pounds, and stayed and danced for most of the night. It was a lot of fun! And, we took the bus for most the way home, so when we got close to home, a taxi ride was only 6 pounds! I'd say a pretty successful night for the birthday girl. :)

Today, we slept in, fixed lunch, and now I'm catching up on homework. It's so beautiful out today, I want to be outside! I've got a bad cold though, so I'm staying in and resting up. Tomorrow is supposed to be really nice too, so we might go to a pool before class. That's all the updating I have for right now...so check back tomorrow! :)

Thanks for reading!

Day 22...Workin' Hard.

Ello :)

All in all, today was a pretty good day. I started out the morning by getting to class around 9 am. When we got there, she told us that we were going to the Fashion and Textiles Museum, but they didn't open until 11 am. Not really sure why we couldn't just show up until 10 because after she gave us a packet of homework, she sent us off to get coffee before the museum. A group of us made our way to the London Bridge tube stop, got out of the station, and turned right like Virginia (our instructor) told us. We kept walking and asking for directions, and no one seemed to know what we were talking about, but still tried to give directions. We walked around for a good hour, looking for the street the museum was on. Finally, we decided to call the museum and the receptionist gave us directions. By the time we got there, I was exhausted.

The exhibit was pretty cool, other than the fact that it cost 4 pounds to get in and only took 10-15 minutes to go through. It was an exhibit for the designer named Tommy Nutter, a menswear designer that made his mark in tailoring. I saw suits worn by Mick Jagger, Sir Elton John, and a Vivienne Westwood blazer! It was really interesting, but I wish it had been more interactive, with videos or something...overall, a good class period. Better than sitting in a classroom!

After class, I came home to start working on my scrapbook for the same class. Then I realized I needed materials, so Jessica and I went back to Marylebone to get supplies, print off stuff at the library, and pick up tickets for the London Eye tomorrow. When I went to purchase my supplies and Ryman, I reached for my credit card...gone. I then proceeded to FREAK OUT, so Jessica tried to calm me down and help me think of where I had it last. She asked if I had put it in any pockets and that's when it hit me...Last night at the pub I had cash and my credit card in hand, not wanting to use all of my cash. However, there was a 5 pound minimum, so I couldn't use my card, so I put it in the back pocket of my jeans and forgot about it. Luckily, when I got home to check my jeans, it will still there! Thank goodness. I don't think I've been that relieved in my life.

I've been working on my scrapbook for a while and I only got two pages done...oh well, I guess I still have until Tuesday. Just want to get as much done as I can so I can have a relaxing weekend. We are planning to go shopping tomorrow for our photo shoot on Wednesday and then ride the London Eye tomorrow afternoon. Pretty excited!

I'll have more on that tomorrow :) Good night!

Day 21...Interesting.

Hi everyone!

So, no blog last night because I was literally up until 1:30 am, working on my stylist project that was due today and preparing for my photo shoot. It's been an interesting day.

Nicolette and I were up at 6:30, and left the flat at 8 am. We got on the tube and tried to transfer lines, but the Central line which we were planning to take to Oxford was closed, so we had to find a bus that would take us instead. After our bus ride, we stopped off to get coffee and went on a mission to find props for our photo shoot. I was on the hunt for a black skinny tie, and happened to find one at Claire's on Oxford. Really cute, skinny, black, and lace, and only 6 pounds 50! Nicolettes were a bit more hard to find. She based her photo shoot on a circus theme, with a white ruffle dress, a small black top hat, striped tights, and a whip. To get a whip, we had to find an "adult" store because that was the only place to get a whip. We went in and actually found one; it was perfect! Then, we got on the tube for another 40 minutes to find a tiny trimmings store that carried mini top hats. It took FOREVER to find it because it was hidden in an alleyway, so we had to break out the map, but we eventually ran into it.

The photo shoot went great, we used the model provided for us and our flatmate, Shelise, who is a professional model, also took a couple of photos for us. I have to say, I like Shelise's look a lot better and I think she was able to pull off the more edgy look I was going for. I'm really happy with her final images. What a great portfolio piece! After all the shopping, running around, and photo shoot madness, I convinced the flatmates that it was time for a drink. We went down to Covent Garden, where there are a lot of great pubs. We went to The Porterhouse, which we've heard is a great place. When we got there, it was packed, but we luckily found an empty table. We got a couple of pizzas and ciders. I think I found my new favorite drink...Strawberry & Lime Cider; delicious! So, we just got back..it's 12 am here and I have 9 am class, so I better be heading to bed. Interesting day and a good night...I think I'm starting to love this city even more. :) Have to say though, I do miss the fam and the boyfriend. It will be bittersweet coming home, but I think I'll be ready when the time comes.

Here are some photos from the photo shoot and the Porterhouse:

The provided model..probably one of her better photos.

My gorgeous flatmate, Shelise! Thanks for being my model :) You rocked it!

At Porterhouse :)



That's all for now. Good night!

Day 19...Stressful!

Hi All!

So today has been pretty hectic. I slept in a bit and then Nicolette and I got ready to run some earrands before class. First we decided to go to the post office, since we both had letters to mail back to the states. I had my Father's Day card to send to my Dad, but when we got there, I realized I had left it in my other bag...so frustrating! Oh well, I guess I'll do that tomorrow after class. Then we went across the street for lunch to a place I've never been before, Eat. It was pretty good; a mexican wrap and chips. Then we went to campus to talk to our internship advisor. I have an internship with a company called Fenn Wright Manson, which is a ladies occasion clothing store. He said I will most likely be working in home office instead of a retail store, so I'm really excited to get some executive experience for my resume! I have my interview on July 1st, so I'm hoping it goes well!

We then went to our Styling class and the photographer critiqued everyone's photos from the shoot last week. He liked mine a lot, so I was happy about that! We then got ANOTHER assignment...a second photo shoot, on Wednesday! The theme is black and white, so right after class, Nicolette and I went on a hunt on Oxford Street for the perfect ensembles for our next shoot. I picked a black and white striped skirt and a thick, black studded belt. I'm going to pair it with a black fitted blazer in my closet. I want to the model to wear the blazer with no tanktop underneath and a black fedora to finish it off. I can picture exactly how I want the photo to look, so hopefully it will come out like it did last photo shoot!

We got home around 8:30 pm, and it's now 11:20. I've been working on my collages and looking up flights to Italy. It's insane how expensive flights from London to Florence are; I thought it was supposed to be cheap!! Hopefully we can find something a little cheaper when we research on Wednesday night after all the madness is over with the photo shoot and the stylist project being finished. We would be staying with Nicolette's boyfriend's family (confusing, I know), so we wouldn't have to pay for lodging or anything, so that makes me feel a bit better. And, Italy is one of my top destinations...it looks so beautiful! Hopefully everything will work out.

Well, I better get to bed considering I have to be up and ready to go by 7:45 tomorrow morning. Thanks for tuning in! Have a fabulous night :)

Days 16, 17, & 18...Catching Up!

So, I'm a little behind..but it's been a busy and fun-filled weekend!

Friday was pretty bland. I actually got to sleep in, though, which was really great! I woke up, showered, and then got to work on a Stylist assignment that's due on Wednesday. Our assignment is to create 10 collage/mood boards, 2 pages for each of the following categories: Color, Line, Texture, Photography, and Lighting. All images must embrace our own unique style and a 500 word essay describing each page must be included. Pretty intense...and it takes FOREVER. Oh well, at least it's fashion and somewhat enjoyable. Then the flatmates and I decided to go to a club called The Zoo Bar that night, which was pretty fun. Drinks are so expensive though, so I just had one drink, which was fine. We danced most of the night, which was a blast!

On Saturday, Nicolette, Jessie, and I decided to go on the Monumental Walking Tour, hosted by our university. We started at 10 am and didn't finish until 4 pm, but it was amazing! I'm so glad we went. We saw so much; Buckingham Palace, St. James' Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey! Our cultural activities director is awesome and I learned a lot about each sight. Here are just a few of my favorite photos from the tour!

Buckingham Palace, and what the Queen refers to be, her "office" which she is mainly present on weekdays.

After walking around for what seemed like forever trying to find something to eat in Covent Garden that was cheap enough, we settled for a hole-in-the-wall diner that served American food! P.S. British ketchup is NOT the same as American ketchup! Oh well, still good :)

The beautiful Trafalgar Square!

The Westminster Clock Tower, nicknamed Big Ben. However, Big Ben is actually just the 3 resounding bells at the top of each hour. The London Eye is also in the background, which I hope to ride soon!

The magnificent Westminster Abbey! The entrance where the royal couple walked in to be married.

I was exhausted when we got home, so I took a quick nap and rested my sore feet. When I woke up, we all made dinner and planned to go out again and started getting ready. Normally, I use two converters and an adapter to plug my straighner in and it usually works just fine. Last night, I decided I wanted to borrow Nicolette's crimper to do my hair, thinking it would be fine with my 2 converters and the adapter. I split my hair into sections and started crimping. Next thing I knew, I took the crimper off of my hair and my entire strand of hair was in the crimper, literally frying. It singed my hair right off! It was putting off so much smoke that the smoke detector went off and maintenance had to come up to my room to make sure everything was ok. So embarassing, and yes, a strand of my hair is missing on the bottom layer. At least you can't really see it...still, though, crazy. Then we went tried to go to a different club, but it ended up being closed, so we went to the same club as the night before.

This morning, after a good night's sleep, Jessie, Shelise, and I decided to go shopping on Oxford Street. I had a couple of returns to make and ended up not buying anything, except a cute bag to carry to school. We all made dinner and I've been working on my stylist project since 4 pm...it's now 12:20 am now. Still have 4 collages to go and write up's of each page, ahh! Welcome to college, I suppose.

Anyway, that's it for tonight! Thanks for reading!

Day 15...Conquered!

Good afternoon...well, evening here. It's about 10:45 London time. I feel like I've had a pretty productive day!

This morning, I had to go to the V & A Museum for one of my classes to see a fashion exhibit for Yohji Yamamoto, a famous Japanese designer. I really wanted to take pictures because the exhibit was amazing, but pictures weren't permitted in the exhibition room.

I guess the real story was getting there...I had been to South Kensington tube station before and I saw a signs pointing to the V & A, so I assumed it would be easy to find. So, I started following the signs down the tunnel and then when I finally found the sign for the museum with the straight arrow, I looked ahead and it was blocked off for construction. I had now idea where to go once I got out of the station, so I picked right. And right was wrong because I walked for about 10 minutes until I ended up at the next tube station. I hopped on and took it back to South Kensington. I contemplated going back home, not wanting to get lost in London by myself, but I braved it and decided to try again. This time I went left, and the museum was literally a block down the road! Oh well, at least I found it, I guess.

After the exhibit, I went back to my flat and met my roommate to go to the famous Harrod's, the largest and most expensive department store in London. It was absolutely amazing, even though there's no way I could ever afford most things there. Got to see some of my favorite designers: Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, Chanel, Alexander McQueen, and Miu Miu. It was awesome because I've never been anywhere where their designs are sold. Instead of just looking at them on the internet, I got to actually to see it firsthand.

Otherwise, it's been a pretty low-key night. It's been raining almost all day, so getting out isn't really ideal. The flatmates and I made dinner and did workouts and handstands in our hallway. Now just getting ready to watch a couple of movies since, for the first time, I don't have plans for tomorrow! I plan on getting a TON of homework done for the upcoming week. Can't believe it's time for midterms already!

Well, that's all for now. Tune in tomorrow!

Day 14...2 weeks in!

Hello again!

Well, it's officially been 2 weeks since I left the states! I get a little homesick at times, but then I remember that I'm here and I have to make the most out of my time here. I always ask myself, would I regret it if I didn't do it?

Anyway, today was a pretty productive day! Except for the fact that I slept 2 hours after my alarm went off. After a long night's sleep, I got up and headed to class with all of my photoshoot gear. It was my first time in a real studio, so I was a little intimidated at first, but once I got in there, it was a blast! I felt like a real stylist. After all of the photos were taken, they were uploaded to my flash drive and I reviewed them to see which was my favorite. My flatmate, Shelise, and I picked one the good ones and she photoshopped it for me. It looks so professional and exactly how I envisioned it! Here's the finished product:

After the photoshoot, Nicolette and I were staving, so we went to the pub right next to school and got some dinner and drinks. We had the BEST nachos ever, onion rings, and of course, some delicious cider. Here, it's acceptable to drink almost anytime of the day. You can walk down the sidewalk and see people sitting outside at the cafes drinking wine or beer at 11 am. It's almost tradition to go out for a beer after work, every night of the week. Here are some photos of our meal!

Cider :)

Cheers!

Amazing chili nachos!

More to come tomorrow! :)

Day 13...Almost my last!

Well, it's about 11 pm here now, and I'm super tired but decided to do a quick write up about my day!

Tuesday is my busy day so I've literally been going non-stop. I was up around 7 am this morning, showered, and hopped on the tube (underground subway system, known as the tube by Londoners) by myself to go to class. I had Fashion Trends at 9 am and we listened to lecture for about an hour and then split into groups to research A/W 11 trends.

After class, I headed "home" and went to the big grocery store in Camden, Sainsburys, to get groceries with my flatmat, Jess. I almost hate buying new things at the store because there are almost no American brands and when I find something I know I like, I try to stick with it. Although, I've had pasta the past 2 weeks and I don't even think I can look at it anymore, even though it was delicious and super cheap.

Then I picked up my package that my mom sent over and now I'm stocked!! Gardettos, Ramen noodles, pistachios, beef jerky, ranch dressing, all my American favorites!

Then I went to the large department store on Oxford street, John Lewis, and picked up a martini glass for my styling photo shoot tomorrow. The assignment was to pick a fashion product, use props to style it, and allow the piece to convey a story. I am doing fresh fruit and the martini glass for my props; lemon and lime slices, and strawberries, and draping over the glass a couple of fruit necklaces I found for a ridiculously cheap price. My story is that fashion is like a drink, it gives you a buzz. Buying something new is exciting and almost gives you a rush, much like feeling good after a couple of drinks. I did a practice run earlier and I think it's going to turn out great. :) I guess we'll see tomorrow morning!

I then went to my Internship class where we listened to lecture for about 2 hours. By the time I got home, I was starving and had a salad with some glorious ranch dressing. (They don't sell ranch dressing in the UK. We actually asked numerous people and they looked at us like we were insane. They only have "salad cream" which looks nothing like ranch dressing but more like mayo. They also don't know what hot sauce is.)

Oh, and for the highlight of my day, I almost got ran over my a cab. I mean honestly, it was a close call. I always look the wrong way when I cross the road here and the person in front of my was walking across, so I thought I would be ok. As soon as I was halfway out, I hear a car honking like crazy and watch it come to a screeching halt. I probably looked like the idiot foreigner, half way out in the road; a deer in the headlights! So embarassing. Definitely learned my lesson!

Day 12 in London...Day 1 Blog.

Hi All!

So, just to introduce myself if you don't already know..my name is Emily and I am a student at Missouri State University in Springfield, MO. I'm a Junior and I am studying abroad this summer in London for 10 weeks. I've been here for 2 weeks on Thursday and I am having an absolute blast.

The first couple of days I experienced a lot of culture shock...light switches are opposite, walking on the left side of the sidewalk, pounds instead of dollars, crazy exchange rates, accents galore, and of course, the tube, just to name a few. It's different, but it's new, exciting, and I feel like I'm starting a whole new chapter of my life!

Starting tomorrow, I'll attempt to post a daily blog about my adventures! I've never blogged before, so I'll have to learn how to upload photos from each day, too. Thanks for reading! :)