Ellie's Here!...

Guest Post written by: Ellie

Hello hello! I'm yet another American living in England. I am already on my second month here and am loving every minute of it! Outside of work, I've been taking in all that I can of this wondrous country. I've become addicted to jacket potatoes with beans on top, have found my favorite pub in Shipley/Saltaire, Fanny's, and have fallen in love with the British blokes! ;)

I have a couple of trips lined up for this month: Whitby, London, Paris, Athens, and Santorini (along with my new travel buddy, MB). I'm super excited!!!

I wanted to write a quick little story about something I noticed about living in England thus far...

I decided to take a shopping trip into Leeds the other day and as I left my flat I noticed it was raining out. I always carry my umbrella with me here because you never really know when it might rain. Aside from the snow that we've had, I haven't really noticed what I would consider to be bad weather. Meaning, 90 mph winds and rain. Something a girl with curl cannot stand! Well, it was one of those bad weather days, so I whip out my brolly and hoist it open. Within two minutes of me having it open, it inverts on me. This was somewhat amusing to me and onlookers I'm sure, but as having just done my hair before I left, I wasn't too happy about the event. I flip my umbrella back into its proper position and head on my way to the train station. I was close to turning around and just not going, as I couldn't imagine walking all day in this from store to store. But, being that that is the weather here, I decided to embrace it.

Once the train got into Leeds, as I was walking across one of the main roads to the shopping district, I saw many people in the same predicament that I was in earlier with my inverted umbrella. It also amazed me to see a few people with completely broken umbrellas still trying to use them to protect them from the rain. I wish I had my camera with me. I saw one woman struggling with her inverted umbrella and then just gave up the fight, closed it up, threw it in her purse and continued to go on her way in the rain. This comforted me, as I thought I was the only one with the problem. I quickly learned how to hold my brolly against the wind to keep it from inverting =) From that point on, I no longer saw the elements as a negative to my shopping trip but rather something that was somewhat charming...seeing those broken and inverted umbrellas put a smile on my face. Hello England!

Friday Bliss

Wishing you all a very relaxing weekend!

Break Up Letter…Because it’s Just Easier This Way

Dear England,

I'm regretful that I had to do this through written correspondence and not in the flesh. I believe it’s better this way. Never is it an easy thing to tell someone that you’re done...and that you’re leaving to hook up with their best friend.

America is sunny and the connection that we have is undeniable. It’s really not you, it’s me.
You’re a skinny jeans type of guy and I tend to go more for the straight, relaxed type. These past two years have been really special. I’ll miss the sloppy way you flirt when you’ve had one too many at the pub…that always brought a smile to my face. No really...it did.

Love Always,
Mary Beth


It's official! My time in the jolly ol’ is coming to an end.
Two years in a foreign country...it's amazing to me how quickly it's all gone by.
I've formed lasting friendships, encountered situations that have made me stronger, seen more of the world, and dated...no one, really.

I'll be packing up my belongings and jetting back to the US of A for good at the start of April.
Now, if I could only work out what I’m going to do with The Crumpet…

British Word of the Day: Niggle

Oh to be at University Again…

...I just said university.
I don't really say that.

This weekend, I housed up a group of college gals from Abilene Christian University.

These four gorgeous girls are studying abroad at Oxford for the semester...leaving their friends, families and boyfriends behind in order to see the world…and study, of course.

Natalie
Before I moved to England, I met Natalie at the local High School where I was substitute teaching.

Sydney

Cailee

Kelly

Friday's Make Me Smile...

...so does this video of my mom.

Have a wonderful weekend people!
Be sure to call your mom/mum.

I Think There's Been an Escape from the North Pole

Two Years in a Foreign Country: MB's Journal Highlights

5.11.08
It’s so sad when distance comes between two people. The connection was once there, but somewhere along the way it was lost. And then, there are those connections that were never quite there in the first place, but you still hold on…maybe just for the sake of holding on. It all just goes to show that people are irreplaceable. You go through life and never meet two who are exactly the same. Some people are easy to get to know. Others…not so much. But if you take the time to get to know what someone is really all about, you’ll find that there is something profound in every one of us. That’s what I’m out there to find. And instead of thinking what went wrong along the way, I’ll just think about how beautiful it all was while it lasted.

10.6.08
Traveling inspires me. Thinking about all of the places that I can go, the conversations that I will encounter, and the stories that will come of it.

11.3.08
I’m slowly regaining my vision.
(I think this one’s my fav…I have no idea if I was drunk, or just a bit lost)

11.6.08
All of these amazing people in my life…each one, offering up a new perspective, teaching me something about myself that was unknown to me before. The characters in my life’s play…

11.15.08
I’m disappointed…and a little sad.
These feelings will pass…and I’m going to look back and think, seriously, what a giant nob’ead.

2.25.09
Sometimes you feel like you’re getting somewhere. Somewhere sweet. Somewhere different. Somewhere exciting. And then, all of a sudden, life comes in and says, NO…this isn’t the path I’ve chosen for you ~ completely wiping away the new, sweet excitement. Grrr.

3.8.09
…and sometimes, just when you think life has taken something away, it comes back and brings a smile to your face once again.

6.23.09
…My mother just told me a story about how when she was in the 8th grade, she asked this boy to come to her party…and he never showed up. This is supposed to make me feel better about the state of my love life. Funny…but sad.

8.13.09
I want people to look up and say “hello.”
Oh wait…it’s raining...again.

Sweetest Shout Out Ever...

Check out this sweet shout out that I received from a fellow art school buddy. What a nice surprise!
Julie Cope is an awesome photographer in the Austin area. If you need photos, she's your gal!
Go on, have a look at her blog while you're at it Asymmetrical Press

Impressionable.
So oddly enough, I was checking up on the good ol' Texas Tech alumni blog and came across a very impressionable girl, I knew from around school. Here's how Mary Beth Koeth made her impact. This very bubbly and extremely helpful girl graduated and landed a job with Hallmark in Kansas City and is now working in the UK. All this to say, my boss received a very funny Christmas Card from her come the following winter {prior to graduation}. There in front of us was a family portrait of this beautiful twenty something girl with 2 or 3 children along side a balding older gentleman that clearly screamed...MISMATCH! Anyway, I was tickled at the fact that she'd sent out an utterly false impression of herself that obviously couldn't be true just to satisfy self amusement. I tell you this story because I found her blog which is just as hilarious as the card she'd sent, and I want you to enjoy it too. I mean, we all like to laugh...right? And yes, it may be a bit of a *friend crush*.

I'm pretty sure this is the Christmas card photo that she's referring to...
(ps. Paul, I think you're beautiful)

V-Day Lovin' from a Few of my Friends

On This Valentine's Day...

...be sure to not except any 'hot' dates from questionable men who go by the name of Chester.
Have a lovely weekend everybody!

Monica's Baby Shower Invitation

My sister and her husband are expecting their first little munchkin on May 11th.
Cristina (my sister-in-law) and I are throwing her a shower to celebrate!
These are the invites that I designed. The baby carriage was made out of type elements.

Congrats Monica & Glen!

Not Judging...Just Observing

How low can YOU go?

Guess Where I'm Going Next Month?...

Here's a juicy clue...

image: The Sartorialist

Emily's Fashion Friday's

Emily's rockin' out the cowgirl look this week. I think it suits her, don't you?

Are You Hungry?

I guess the real question would be, "Are you hungry anymore?..."

Untimely Lip Licking

I’m a graphic designer. I stare at the computer screen all day everyday.
So…when my eyes catch any glimpse of movement outside the vicinity of my monitor…I look up…as you would. Under these circumstances, rarely would you make eye contact with the person-in-motion because it happens in a split second and the look is, well, unintentional.

So this is the awkwardness that took place today: (Marlene, I need my blankie)

H-E-L-L-O M-O-T-I-O-N within my ocular range.

I look up…as you would…and simultaneously lick my lips.

Tall man in suit makes eye contact…during the lip lickage.

Split second moment seems more like ten minutes…ten extremely inappropriate minutes.

I swiftly look away...and vow to reapply ChapStick hourly.


Here’s the painful reenactment…