Busy Livin'

Sorry I haven't posted in a while- I've been pretty busy livin' and....
gearing up for midterms. 
My study break looks a little something like this: sipping on my second cappuccino (they're small) while sitting in an intimate little study café, complete with a café bar, Anthropologie-esque decor, classic American music playing in the background (n.p: Roxanne), a mix of classic Italian and English books covering the walls, and a nice breeze coming through the french doors that open onto the quiet little street it sits on. I came here by myself, seeing as I cannot focus when I’m surrounded by other people, specifically my roommates because it’s impossible to be productive together. We just too silly! I'm also thinking about how time certainly needs to slow down a bit. I cannot believe I am already half way done with my semester abroad. I have been keeping really busy over the past month and a half, and still have a lot to look forward to in the coming months. 


For starters... FALL BREAK starts next Thursday after my last mid-term. My friends Jess, Katie, Kathy and I will be leaving Italy to embark on a twelve day adventure through England (London), Ireland (Dublin), The Netherlands (Amsterdam), and France (PARIS)! <--Every girls dream, right?
This will be my first time visiting all of those countries accept for France. I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful few weeks touring France with my family ten years ago. We spent some time in Paris and eventually made our way down to the South of France (Bordeaux) where we had a very emotional meeting with distant relatives. I am so excited to return, revisit some of the necessary landmarks, and see where my mom lived during her year abroad while she was in college, what was it... fifteen years ago? or something. 
Paris is most definitely one of those cities that can be revisited over and over and offer you something different every time. 
Here is some eye-candy baked goods for ya- a video made by the one and only Louis Vuitton that shows Paris' delicious bakeries:

^So yeah, that's on my to-do list.

As far as Amsterdam goes, I didn't know much about it besides the marijuana vending machines (I've never touched the stuff, but if that's your cup of tea then this is clearly is the place for ya!). I was recently informed of the Red Light District, and everything that has to offer (get it?).

I will definitely be taking a tour of that to get all nice and cultured for you, my dear parentals! Isn't it great to know where your money is going? ;)


Ireland will be incredible because not only am I as Irish as they come, but a mother I babysit for is originally from Dublin, still has a sister living there, and gave me a long list of amazing restaurants and pubs to go to. She even put me in touch with her sister in case we want a personal tour guide! Considering we have very limited time in each of these cities, this will be such a help to us, and will take a lot of the pressure off from finding the good spots once we get there ;). Thanks, Cathy!


London, England: I cannot wait to see all of your green parks, hear some English-speaking people as well as some English accents, maybe get rained on, or take a picture in one of your red phone booths. Jess has already been there so she has a good idea of the go-to places which will be a big help. 
All in all, I am so excited to start our trip and conquer four countries in twelve days. Sounds like a 007 mission but I have no doubt we'll do it, and do it right.


Another thing I have to look forward to? The week after we return from break, my very beautiful and good friend Sarah is coming to visit for two weeks!!! Seriously- I could go on and on about how excited I am that she's decided to come. My roommates and I could not be happier to have her. She is a true Italian and has wanted to visit the country for a while. I can recall talking about it with her in the past quite a bit. Although she is just about as independent as they come and will take in every opportunity to explore the city on her own, I have already started composing a list of places/eateries that I want to bring her to. This will be a great way to break up Fall Break and my return back to America. So, cheers to what is undoubtedly going to be an incredible two weeks with you, Sare!

Sare & I- NYC circa 2009

On a side note, I bet you're wondering what this will turn into, huh? 

http://honestlywtf.com/diy/diy-wrap-bracelet/

Well, I have recently become ob-sessed with do-it-yourself (DIY) fashion blogs, and have composed a long list of jewelry/accessories I want to make or spice up. One of those DIY projects includes the above supplies. And if all goes well, it'll look a little something like this:

http://honestlywtf.com/diy/diy-wrap-bracelet/

Although some of the supplies for these projects will be hard to track down over here, I figured this bracelet would be easy to find the supplies for and right, I was. After my last class of the week on Thursday I decided to thoroughly search the city for its craft stores. I landed upon a few, including a hardware store, to get the necessary supplies. Ever since I was younger I have been very hands-on, always getting involved in different projects/crafts, and helping my dad on the tool bench. How many girls do you know that are good with a drill? Not many, I bet. The stores didn't have gold chains or gold bolts so I had to get metallic gold spray paint to fix that little problem. I will let you know how it turns out once I'm caked in gold paint and most likely missing a finger. Anything's possible...


In the meantime, the Queen of Procrastination over here needs to get off her throne and get to studying. Ciao! xx