the city of love

Tomorrow may possibly be the best day of my life.

Not only is my best friend, partner in crime, womb-sharer, and love of my life arriving in Milan after two months of not seeing each other....when we're used to every hour of the day, BUT, we're headed to Paris with Sheri just hours after!!  

It's about to be the best trip ever.  And I'm not even exaggerating. Even if everything goes wrong, I still have my Kelcy with me.  And we're still in the City of Love/Lights.

So, an homage to my one & only, and of course the beautiful city of Paris, France.

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I can't wait!!! Sheri and I are planning out our itinerary in just a few minutes!And I just found out that museums are free if you show your student visa--which we have! :)

what to wear in winter

So it's (not so officially) winter in Milan. While it's still in the 90's in Phoenix...I'm over here trying to survive a little thing called cold weather.  We're talking highs in the 50's and lows in the 30's.  Basically it's Arizona's two-week winter already...and it's just going to get colder.

But that's not the point.  The point is having fun despite the cold.  This means dressing right for aperitivos, the clubs, etc.  Coat checks are in full force, and those walks to the metro station are getting to be killer.  The other night, I wore tights under my skirt for the first time EVER.  I like it though, this whole winter thing is kind of fun!

I need advice on what to buy, though!  What do all of you non-West Coasters wear in the winter while still remaining cute?

a letter to a thief

Dear Thief,

I don't care that you stole my blackberry.  I don't mind that you are now in possession of my best friend's blackberry.  Enjoy those cameras, too.  And the extra battery--just in case our cameras ran out of juice.  I hope you bought yourself something nice with that 45 euros.  I hope it was worth it for you.

What I do mind...is the fact that you stole our memories.  You're lucky we frequently upload pictures just in case assholes like you (excuse my language) steal from our purses like the sneaky pickpocket you are.  But still.  We had pictures on those cameras.  We had conversations with our loved ones on those phones.    And you took away the ease of speaking with our family and friends anywhere in Milan--not just on our computers--for the next two and a half months.  And not to mention, you took away the memories we will have in that time, as well.  It's hard to remember people and places years later when you don't have a camera to capture them with.

Not so sincerely,
Your latest conquest

thought catalog

FYI--there's this really funny website called Thought Catalog.  Just click on the words "Thought Catalog" to get to it.

Different writers write different articles about literally everything that's gone through your head at some point.  Examples of titles include, "Why You Shouldn't Always Make Plans With A Stranger When You're Drunk," "34 Regrets I Have About The Past 34 Years", and "To Those Boys Who Jump Instead Of Dance At Clubs" just to name a few.  

Their latest is actually quite inspiring.  Inspiring may not be the right word...but, it talks about "hadness." Defined as: happiness that we know is temporal and therefore registers more like sadness, the heart-inching intuition that what you currently "have" will soon be something you "had."  It goes on to compare it to those "last looks" you get from people, when you both know that that will most likely be the last time you see one another.  So read on.  

Check out the article here.

And be sure to check out more articles by Thought Catalog.  They post at least one per day.

shopping in milano

I've gone shopping SO many times in Milan.  It just makes sense...in order to get to the city center, you pass tens and maybe hundreds of shops.  But, I haven't found anything to buy...until yesterday.

Yes, I bought a grey hoodie (seen in the picture below) at Forever XXI in London.  And these cute comfy boots at Top Shop in London.  But in Milan?  Nope.  

I think it's me being picky.

I've been looking for jewelry.  I didn't bring anything with me--apart from a cross necklace that my Mom gave me before I left for the airport.  This is mostly because I don't have any--I've ALWAYS borrowed Kelcy's jewelry.  But how could I take her jewelry with me to Milan? I couldn't. So...I need rings, bracelets, long necklaces to dress up outfits, etc.  I need to accessorize.  Apart from buying another pair of pearl earrings last week after losing my real ones at the club, I started the ball rolling yesterday.  Thank goodness.  I bought a pack of two rings.  One of them is a row of gold roses, and the second is a gold ring that says "Oui".  Which now reminds me every day to be a "Yes Girl".  As long as something's not dangerous, I'm going to say "yes".  It will be a good way of getting out of my lazy funk.  

the rings, my pearl earrings, and grey hoodie <3

And, after reading Le Fashion's latest blog post, I realized that my new ring is modeled after one from the genius of Dior!

What else should I purchase?!  

someone like you

I absolutely love covers.  

Especially those songs that make you think about happy times, sad times, or almost-forgotten times.

The latest is a cover of Adele's Someone Like You.

Just listen to the lyrics--and try telling me you've never felt that way.

Just listen to the lyrics--and reflect on all of the good times and the bad.

Just listen to the lyrics--and realize that you will find someone out there.

It's not about finding love.  It's about letting love find you.

london calling

Last weekend, Sheri and I headed on our first trip of exchange: LONDON!

My friend Gibson was nice enough to let us crash on his two couches, so we didn't have to pay for a hostel!  Therefore, it all went to pub food, chilango's, taxi rides, bus tickets, tube tickets, falafel sandwiches, and shoppppping <3

Here's a breakdown of our trip:

THURSDAY:

gelato at the airport

We arrived at about 2am.  We were scared.  We didn't think to look up how to get to Gibson's house. We were harassed (I'm talking drunk people yelling, "TOURISTS!"), walked in surprisingly the right direction, and helped by a man who claimed it was his birthday (even though he was alone) with an iPhone.  Gibson met us half way, and we crashed once we sat on the couch.

FRIDAY:

We woke up.  We went in search of cappuccinos. Then headed on the "tube" to Oxford Street where we spent the entire day shopping.  I bought a simple grey hoodie from Forever XXI and these cute boots from Top Shop: my new favorite store EVER.  After getting ready for the night, we headed out to this pub called O'Neill's.  It was completely different from the Milano club scene...but it was a nice change!  

English Pub

SATURDAY:

Lunch at Chilango's.  P.S. I'm an avid Chipotle fan--you all know this.  But, we heard that Chipotle in Europe is a severe disappointment.  Therefore, in order to save my tastebuds from "bad Chipotle", we ate at Chilango's....twice.  After filling out bellies, we went sightseeing.  It was beautiful, amazing, incredible, but so very tiring.  That night we were supposed to go to this 9th anniversary of Koko (a cool club) but we opted for a neighborhood pub due to our lack of "party-girl" energy.

Buckingham Palace

SUNDAY:

Finally enjoyed a grande at Starbucks.  Which was definitely a beautiful change from the two-sip espresso/cappuccinos we get in Milano.  Don't get me wrong--they have excellent coffee, but I miss the comfort of Starbucks.  We spent the rest of the day shopping, and window shopping...and getting discriminated against by the Chanel handbag lady...who quickly told me to remove my water bottle from the shelf, and who was so kind to let me know that, "these are luxury items...they can't be marked by your hands."  

these saved our lives--multiple times

MONDAY:

We ventured over to Brick Lane after yet another cup of coffee from Starbucks.  We tried to find Banksy, but once again we didn't do enough research, and left without finding any.  We did find some cool pieces, though.  And then we were off on the bus, then the plane, and back to Milano...after an excellent first trip!!