A New Most Magical Place on Earth

All of my life, I have been told that Disney is the most magical place on Earth. Now, I love Disney, but there is a new most magical place on Earth: Leavesden Studios.

For those of you muggles who are unaware, Leavesden Studios is where the Harry Potter films were made and now houses the Harry Potter Studio Tour with a good majority of sets and props in tact.

This was, without question, the best thing I have experienced since arriving in London; it truly was incredible. I was in such awe of the entire experience that I felt like a little kid again experiencing Harry Potter for the first time. For 5 pounds you could get a narrated walking tour which may sound like a little steep, but it was narrated by Tom Felton AND had some cool videos to go along with it, well worth spending the fiver. 

I cannot say enough how incredible the whole experience was. I gained a much stronger appreciation for the films after my tour, and I didn't even know that was possible. Seeing all of the detail put into even the smallest of things was a big eye-opener. The crew actually consulted an expert on feathers (seriously) for how to lay the feathers on Buckbeak so they could make as realistic of a hippogriff as possible. And boy, did it look real. I could ramble on and on about these things but it just wouldn't do them justice.

Oh, and it was also pretty cool to learn about some of the secrets of the films. The books on the shelves of Dumbledore's office? Actually phone books that are just decorated and covered in leather.

Without question, the best part of the whole tour was seeing the full Hogwarts model. I could have spent over an hour looking at that alone. It was used for exterior shots in the first 6 movies, exterior shots that always looked so real. Obviously they couldn't use it for the last one since Hogwarts is all but destroyed in that one. The detail in the model is phenomenal. There really are no words strong enough to portray the beauty of the model. It's a 1:24 scale and truly magnificent. It's the school I always wished I could attend, and still kind of do wish I could go there.

The only downside to the whole trip was leaving; I wish we could have had more time. The guide at the beginning mentioned that the longest tour ever took 12 hours, I think I could challenge that if given the opportunity. I would say a negative was the over-priced gift shop, but I kind of expected it. It's not like it stopped me from at least buying something. When my dad comes in April, I think we may have to make another trip to Leavesden though. It's one of those magical experiences I could do over and over again without ever getting sick of it.

Until next time.

Xx

Edinburrrrrr-gh

Yea yea yea, cheesy pun, I know. But fun puns make the world go round.

I spent this past weekend up in Edinburgh with people from my study abroad program. The train ride was only 4 hours but when you wake up early on a Friday morning to make the trek, it seemed a bit longer. Arriving at around 2 we dropped our bags at our hostel and immediately went in search of some food. A few of us ended up at a Thai restaurant before heading back to the hostel to figure out plans for the rest of the night.

One of my favorite, unexpected finds from the trip came that night and it was a second hand book store. We spotted it on a walk back to the hostel from a Sainsbury's and it was like walking to heaven on earth. The smell of old books stacked from the floor to the ceilings and a selection containing so many great writers nearly made me giddy. I could have spent hours in there if I had the time. I did find a book containing all 56 of the Sherlock Holmes short stories with their original illustrations. And with my student discount all it cost me was a fiver! Definitely the best £5 I've spent since arriving in the UK.

That night some of us decided to hit a local club and after a bit of a wait ended up in a place with plastic American flags everywhere. It was a bit weird, but nonetheless the night was a blast after everyone got there as the music was, for the most part, pretty on point. And of course, we couldn't not have a little Scotch in Scotland.

On Saturday one of my best friends, who is doing a semester at St. Andrews, made the short trip to Edinburgh to hang out with me, which was really exciting! First thing a bunch of us decided to do was to make the hike up to Arthur's Seat and boy was it a hike. But the view from the top was absolutely worth it.  For those who don't know, Arthur's Seat is an extinct volcano from the top of which you can see basically all of the Edinburgh skyline. The climb to the top was a bit of a mess as it was muddy, slippery, cold, and extremely windy, but the view from the top was breathtaking. Pictures truly don't do it justice. The hike back down was much easier aside from the fact that it started to snow. That part was a bit odd.

With a view like that I couldn't help but throw up my diamond at Arthur's Seat. FTK.

After the hike we made our way to a local Mexican restaurant before we headed over to Edinburgh Castle. We didn't have as much time as we'd have necessarily liked because the castle closes at 5, but nonetheless we made the most of it. The castle as a whole was absolutely beautiful despite being so old. The part that most interested me was the prisons. On one of the preserved doors on display you could see where an American prisoner actually carved an early version of the US flag. It was actually really cool to see when you consider it was done during the Revolutionary War, or as it was called here: the War of American Independence. 

One of the things about the prison that struck me was the showers: they reminded me of the showers in East halls, but better. Seriously. Part of it could've been how they were remodeled but they still looked better. And the sleeping quarters for the prisoners were barely bigger than the East dorms.

By this time the castle was about to close so we headed back to our hostel, which was fortunately only a short walk, to relax a bit. A few of us met up with some others from our group and headed out to the Fiddler's Arms pub for a bit to eat. It wouldn't be right to head to Scotland and not get some fish and chips and a pint. As you can see below, mine was massive.

Unfortunately we left early the next day to head back to London. I wish we'd have had more time to explore but despite being short, my trip to Edinburgh was a lot of fun and hopefully I'll go back. Just with some more cold weather gear. This weekend it's off to tour Leavesden Studios, better known as the Harry Potter Studio Tour. I'm already kind of geeking out about that one!

Talk to y'all soon!

Xx

Getting Acclimated

Hey all!

Despite the endless fun and free time that was first 2 weeks of my trip, I am actually here to go to school. I'd almost forgotten about that part as I toured the city. Class structure here, or should I say module structure, is very different. I only have 4 classes and each is split into 2 parts: a lecture and a seminar that totals 3 hours a week. Fortunately, my schedule leaves me Wednesdays and Fridays off to explore. And all of my final grades, or marks, consists of one exam in May and one paper. That's it. This means a lot of studying, or revising, on my own and better time management skills. So far so good though. I especially like my Modern American history (1850-1920) class since it is taught from a completely different perspective than I have ever been taught.

One other thing starting classes has brought me is a routine. No longer do I feel like a tourist in a strange city. It feels more like home now that I've settled in.

I read recently that London is officially the most expensive city in the world. I can back that up; this city is damn expensive. As a self-proclaimed shopaholic who is near Oxford Street and Regent Street on a regular basis, this is a problem. It's just so nice finally having my favorite stores right by me instead of having to rely on the internet for my fashion favorites. I'm trying not to shop, I really am…

To quell my shopping urges, I've found that I like walking around and simply window shopping or popping into random shops I've never heard of, just for a look. Recently I went out to Camden Market by myself just because I felt like it. As I wandered in and out of the stalls I took the time to observe my surroundings and just take it all in. The place is just so different from your typical tourist stuff (It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in London). It's much more alternative and eclectic than you'd expect. And there is food from all over the globe, I was a little disappointed that I'd eaten before I left or else I would have eaten more. Almost everything in the market is negotiable from what I've gathered so next time I go I plan to bring my best bartering skills even though a good number of the stalls sell similar things that are clearly geared toward tourists.

Outside of the markets there are your more typical stores such as Boots, Urban Outfitters, etc., which was also nice when the urge to be a tourist vanished. I was fortunate to wander into a pub that wasn't too crowded with tourists and it very well may have become one of my favorites.

That's all for now!

Xx

Winter Nudes

Hello all!

Hope you're having a great week so far. I've decided to give a crack at a product review post since I am partly a beauty blog after all and I don't think mini reviews in my monthly favorites does products full justice. So onward with: Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Lychee.

Winter months tend to mean darker nail polish shades are more likely to grace my nails. And since I do my nails about once a week on the regular, I cover quite a few shades but also tend to run out of dark shades. Barry M was one of the brands I was super excited to try when I landed in London as I've heard plenty of great things about the brand, especially the nail polishes. When I saw the Gelly Nail Paint shade in Lychee I was intrigued. I'm not one for nude nails at any time of the year but since the Barry M nail products were on offer at Boots I decided to give it a whirl.

The color kind of reminds my of a light taupe/ milky coffee color; you know, when people add coffee to their cream and sugar (Hi dad). It also kind of reminds me of my foundation when I pour it on my wrist before application. And since the color is so neutral, I think it would work with almost any skin tone. It's not to yellow or too pink. 

While I've never had gel nails, the finish looks almost identical and has amazing lasting power. I've had these on my nails for about 5 days now and not a chip or peel in sight. And for someone who is prone to peeling nails, this is amazing. And it is all without a topcoat because the finish is so lovely and it dries relatively fast enough that there really is no need for a top coat.

What is your opinion on nude nails? 

Xx 

(Note: For my fellow Americans who may be interested in Barry M nail paints and are not in the UK, you can sometimes get them on ASOS, although they are not there currently. The official Barry M website is the only place I know of you can currently get them )  

Whirlwind of a Week

Oh what a week it has been!

I cannot remember the last time I have been this tired and it wasn't because of THON weekend. I've done the red bus tour, gotten lost a few (ok a lot of) times, met a ton of new people, and I have completely fallen in love with London. Every day has brought new challenges and experiences and I can't wait to see what else is in store.

I'm going to keep this relatively short because I could easily ramble on and on about everything I've seen and done since my arrival. But in this short time I have already learned so much about myself and really had the time to reflect on how far I have come from a mental health stand point. I was a little worried my anxiety would go into overdrive when I got here and I would not be able to take it all inane enjoy it. I'm not one who deals with having many sudden changes to my schedule all that well, but so far so good.

On a more beauty related note I am happy to say that I have finally gotten my hands on the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer and it is every bit as good as advertised! Same goes for the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish and the Soap&Glory Sugar Crush Body Wash. I nearly squealed like a weirdo when I used these for the first time after longing for them for such a long time. My plan whilst I'm here is to try/buy primarily products I can't/are extremely hard to/are more expensive to get in the states. The same goes for fashion. Topshop being less expensive over here is extremely dangerous for my bank account...

If these kinds of posts aren't your thing fear not, I will still be writing beauty, etc. related posts. But I thought it;d be nice to keep y'all, especially my family back home, updated on my travels. This ended up taking a different tone than I wanted, ah well.

Talk to y'all later!

Xx