Dear New York,

I dont know what it is about you that intrigues me so much. Whenever I see pictures or films of you, or when people talk about you, I feel like I need to pop over for a visit. For the past couple of weeks I have seen post about New York floating around, in particular from LouLou In Paris and The Midnight Club. Their posts have been making me extremely jealous and longing for everything "New York". There is a feeling that I haven't gotten to know you completely yet, that there is so much more to see and explore than I have already. 

From the first time I stepped onto your streets in the late spring of 2011 I have felt comfortable. You make everyone feel welcome, which is why I think you have such a diverse community. It is the opposite of how I thought I would feel. I thought I would feel overwhelmed, small and insignificant. Yet I felt like I belonged there, walking through the streets, eyes upwards taking in as much as I could. 

The iconic shirt says it all, I <3 NY. I would even go as far as saying that alongside the hustle and bustle of New York life, you can be a pretty romantic city. The food, the art, (most of) the people and the sights, are pretty darn awesome. And Central park, where do I start? It is beautiful whether sun, rain or snow! I have been lucky to have seen you in your two extremes; boiling hot during a heatwave and freezing cold during the Christmas holiday. Both times were as enjoyable as the other. Even when I couldn't feel my face because of the ice cold winds.

Now I do have a bone to pick with you New York. I have yet to master the Metro system. It just confuses me and I dont know why. I can get around London's underground easily but your Metro system.. I just can't. Why don't you make it more simple for us foreign folk to understand so we don't annoy locals by asking them how to use the machines as they go about their daily lives.

I have a dream, a dream to live in New York. Bright eyed and naive, I would probably go there expecting it to be as amazing as each time I have visited as a tourist. Something tells me that it is a little different to LIVE there? Who knows if this dream will ever come true.. I sure hope I at least consider it if the chance comes along. I am excited to return to you one day in the (hopefully) near future.

Yours,
Grace.

Whats In My Bag?

They say you can find out a lot about a woman by looking through her bag. I don't know how much I believe this, but here is a sneak peek into mine...

I got this bag for my birthday back in March and since then I have used it to death. Some of the black piping has started to peel off, which is a little disappointing, but seeing as I have used it nearly everyday for the past 4 months, I would say it has lasted rather well! 

Its not too big, but it manages to fit in everything that I need on an everyday basis. This is of course unless I am at uni or going on day adventures, then I take different, larger bags. For everyday use, this bag is wonderful. It manages to fit an array of lipsticks in, which is handy because I always seem to have 4 or 5 in my bag at one time. A girl can never have too many lipsticks!

Other than the Odeon cinema tickets, (from when I went to see Monsters University the other day) I have pretty bog-standard things in my bag:

 -- Sunglasses that are finally getting some use.

-- I-pod.

-- Car keys.

-- A pen.

-- Purse.

-- I-Phone.

-- Loose change.

-- Blotting sheets.

-- Lip products.

...and the ever so mysterious bobby pins that always seem to disappear.

Let me know what is in your bag. I love being nosey! 

Sunshine and Beaches: Barmouth

It has been incredibly hot here in the UK for the past few weeks. I am talking high 20s even low 30s, which to us is pretty darn toasty. My friends and I have been trying to plan a trip to the beach for some time now but nobody is ever free on the same day etc, etc.. All the usual problems involved with trying to get a group of people organised for a trip. However we finally decided that we wanted to get to the beach before all the schools broke up for summer and just incase this beautiful weather went away (which thankfully it hasn't!).

Wales was our destination, Barmouth to be exact. It is one of the closet beaches to where we live, seeing as we live literally in the middle of the country. So at 9am we set off on our 2 and a half journey to the coast.

Well it would have taken us 2 and a half hours if we didn't get stuck behind 2 tractors for about 2 miles. Crawling at 20 miles an hour on a 60 mile an hour road is quite depressing, especially when you are trying to get to a wonderfully sunny beach. Instead we turned up the music (S club 7, Girls Aloud, early Justin Timberlake...Just cheese to be honest) and sang out hearts out to pass the time. We were soon past the tractors and found ourselves in the Snowdonia National Park (I think), driving through extremely long and winding roads and lovely green valleys. I loved driving through it, I just hated the tight bends.

We arrived in a boiling Barmouth around lunchtime and found some chips, because why would you not eat chips at the beach? The sand was incredibly hot, almost burning the bottom of our feet so it was a relief to get into the sea. There weren't too many people at the beach so we could sunbathe and swim without too much noise. We did see a jellyfish though. Of course we ran away screaming and didn't try to make friends with it. After seeing it I got paranoid about the seaweed that kept wrapping round my leg thinking it was more jellyfish. This fear of the seaweed resulted in a seaweed fight. I even tried to open the balls that were attached to some of the pieces, unknown to me that they were actually crab egg cases, or so I think they were. Little crab looking things came crawling out of it. I again screamed and ran away, scaring my friends in the process. HAHAHA!

 I have missed the beach at uni since being at home, so being back on the sand made me really happy and we all enjoyed our adventure cross-country to the exotic feeling Wales. I am sure we will be back there someday to find more jellyfish and to hope that the water was as warm as it was that day. 

Wales, you have beautiful beaches. Keep up the good work.

Why Hello There, Prince Cambridge

I love myself a little bit of the Royals. I got over excited last year for the Queen's Jubilee and when Kate and Wills got married the year before I spent the day off watching their wedding. So when the announcement came that the young couple were going to have a baby I was rather excited.

Yesterday as I am sure all of you know due to the over reported news. Kate gave birth to a son. The future King of England. How weird does that sound to say? Yesterday, whether you like the Royal Family or not, you witnessed a little bit of history. 

I correctly guessed that it was going to be a boy. I felt like God when the announcement came and my prediction was right. Now we are just waiting to see what his name will be. Most people think it will be George, and there is a very high possibility that this will end up being his name, but I want them to name him something different like Fredrick or James!! What do you think his name will be?

William and Kate are such an elegant, down to earth couple and look great in colour co-ordinated outfits... I wish them nothing but happiness for the future with their little Prince. 

*EDIT* They did call him George. Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge *EDIT*

Adventure Time

You know that feeling when you just need to get out the house? There is only so much that four walls can provide, the sense of adventure is limited. On Sunday evening I got a text from my best friend asking if I was free on Monday. I, of course was, and agreed to go out on a trip somewhere. The only problem being that we didn't know where to go, what to do or what the weather was going to be like.

Monday at 12pm was the start of the adventure. I picked up my friends, De and Tasha, in my beast of a car and we got rolling.

We were about 20 minutes into our journey, we had decided upon our destination for the day, Stourport, when my car started beeping at me. Poop. The beast needed feeding. This turned out to be the the first challenge of the day- Trying to remember whether my car required petrol or diesel, and trying to get the pump working once we were at the petrol station. We aren't the smartest kids on the block, but we know how to work a petrol pump. God however, had already decided that he would challenge our life skills, as the pump would only supply me with 10p worth with every squeeze for about 3 minutes. Another 5 (more like 10) minutes later, with all 3 of us out of the car after trying to work the pump and intoxicated with petrol fumes, I had filled the car. To the annoyance of the woman waiting behind us we drove slowly away from the petrol station. That should teach her for giving someone the stink eye when there were other pumps free that she did not go to.

Another 10 minutes passed and stomachs started grumbling. McDonalds was calling, we could not resist. It was while in the drive through that we experienced a traumatic experience with a pigeon. This pigeon was obviously suicidal and refused to move as I drove along. I couldn't stop driving and so I drove over the pigeon. I tentatively glanced back to see that the pigeon was still alive and walking. So don't judge me internet. I am NOT a pigeon murderer.

After many wrong turns and 3 point turns in side roads, we finally reached Stourport! The sun was shining but the amusement park was pretty dead so we headed toward the closest playground, as all 19 year olds do. There were of course a few children there with their parents and we were definitely the oldest 'children' there. But to be honest I think we were having the most fun. We shall always be kids at heart! 

After we played on the playground- climbing on spider webs, running across obstacle courses and spinning round on running wheels and spinning in a cup- we went on a walk across the park that backed the playground. The large green was looking bare and unused so me and Tasha thought it would be a good idea to run and roll around on the grass. Grass stains were obtained. 

At the end of our adventure in Stourport we stopped off in the ghost town of an amusement park. Not a single ride was operating, so instead we headed into the arcade and played on the 2p machines. There is something about those machines that I just cant get enough of!

I loved our afternoon out together. We don't get to do it as much as we would like, due to work and other things. BUT whenever we do go out as a threesome it is always an amazing time. I am sure there were moments where De and Tasha were fearing for their lives as I drove around, but all is well, we made it there and back in one piece.

An Afternoon in London

On Thursday my sister and I travelled down to London for the afternoon so that she could check out an exhibition at the V&A Museam that she needed to see for her dissertation. It was about the treasures of the Royals, such as Charles I, Henry VIII.. etcetera.

I have only ever been in the V&A once before. I had forgotten how many spectacular things there are to see, and, for the most part, for the price of £0. We saw Royal portraits, Royal beds, replica ballrooms and suits of armour that looked like they could have been pulled from a fairy tale. The cafe in the V&A was a spectacle in itself. Stained glass windows, chandeliers, a man playing piano, what more could you ask for while eating your lunch!? 

After we had walked round the V&A exhibition we headed over to Harrods, because when in London...

Harrods was full of wonderful treasures that I wanted to take back to my cave, a la The Little Mermaid.  We got rather excited by the Mulberry and Prada handbags. We even touched them. TOUCHED THEM. I in particular feel like I now NEED a Prada handbag, damn you consumerism!

We also a had task of finding the lifts so that we could get to the fourth floor. If you don't know what is on the fourth floor of Harrods... I don't know if you can handle it... it is the home of really really REALLY cute pets. On display we saw Cockapoos (who were sleeping), Multipoos (one who was jumping up at the glass) and other dogs that are far too expensive to buy, but extremely cute to look at. I would have taken one back to my cave if I could have hidden it under my shirt without it looking suspicious. Alas... It was an impossible task.

Undecided about where to eat we decided that we could return to a place called Maxwell's in Covent Garden where we had eaten and enjoyed on a previous trip. By the time we reached Covent Garden it was far too early to eat so we walked round the markets, tried to dodge the rain and found a Laudree shop, from which we bough some delicious macaroons. We were extremely fat by the end of the day.

Before we needed to head home we had some time to kill. This lead us to Trafalgar Square and down the Mall to visit the Queen. She was in, her flag was flying. Should have popped in for a spot of tea. Instead we chose to stand out in the rain and watch as her guards changed positions and shouted orders at each other. Oh I do love Buckingham Palace...

I love London. Even on a grey day.