finally!

After November weather in the mid-70s, I was so ready for winter to get here.

And get here it did!

After the Arsenal win, I walked to campus with the vague idea of getting food. Then I realized that it was the first snowfall of the season, and so I had to get a peppermint mocha from Starbucks. When I got downtown, I decided to pick two up and take one to my friend LA, who was holed up inside her apartment because she hates snow.

On the way over however, the snow went from a light but steady dusting to a blinding swirl of white, and by the time I got there, I was soaked. So I ended up staying the afternoon because I didn't want to walk back in the blizzard.

Home sweet home!

singlehandedly keeping the american economy afloat

Shopaholic, thy name is Sarah.

I have spent lots of money on myself lately. When, you know, Christmas is in about a month and I really need to be spending money on OTHER people. Here are some of my latest acquisitions (yes, this isn't even all of it).

Purple knit top from Anne Taylor Loft:
Blue Tahari dress and black pointed Steve Madden pumps:

ModCloth dress and purple boots (these I actually bought a month or two ago, but I had to take the dress to the tailor to get taken in so I still spent money on it recently):
Anthropologie dress and CL by Laundry shoes:

And this sweet hat from Forever 21 (this was actually only $4 so I don't know if it really counts):

I'd make a vow to stop buying clothes, but I know that won't happen because my sister just got a job at Urban Outfitters so now I get 40% off everything in my favorite store. 'Tis the season of consumerism!

peep set me up!

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you all are having a happier holiday than I am. Have been practically bedridden with flu-like symptoms since Friday, and haven't eaten a proper meal since Thursday lunchtime. My parents even bought me a chocolate Easter bunny from Fortnum & Mason when they were in town last week, and it looks delicious but I have no appetite. I am devastated. Nothing like chocolate to make you feel better.

On a funnier Easter note, the Sunday Source section of the Washington Post held their second annual Peeps Diorama contest, and some real gems made it to the finals. This one, titled "Peep set me up!" had me laughing for about 5 minutes straight.

Semifinalist: Jodie Smolik, 42, of Washington re-created former D.C. mayor Marion Barry's infamous 1990 arrest. "The Peep on the bed has been drinking champagne ordered from room service," she writes in an e-mail. "The FBI agents (or Funny Bunny Investigators) are hiding in the W.C. after having set up video cameras and providing a bag of crack to the Peep (please see dime bag with rocks on the dresser). Perhaps the Peep did set him up."

More positive news: Arsenal beat Wigan 4-1 yesterday away, ringing in another joyful St. Totteringham's Day. If I were hungry, I'd make myself some lasagna to celebrate.

revolutionary war: part deux

I am exhausted.

My day was completely unproductive work-wise, but it was totally worth it. I went to meet some other students around 2ish; the original plan was to build a snowman. But we ended up in a group of about 14 and decided to start snowfights instead. We started out playing a revised version of capture the flag in a quad sort of area by some of the dorms, but quickly got bored of that and went out past campus to explore. A few hills, fences, and lots of slippage later we found a field with a giant snow phallus in the middle of it. So naturally we took pictures. (Girls picture has not been put on Facebook yet so I haven't been able to poach it.)So past the six foot penis was another hill with a foresty looking thing at the top. We noticed there was a little opening in the trees, and thought it would be a good idea to go through. It looked magical.
We ended up in Narnia.Okay not exactly, but it was really cool. So then we waited around for a few more of our group to show up (and the phone directions were priceless: "no, go past the giant penis, you'll see a magical opening, go through it into Narnia!") Then we started more snowfights, this time with forests and fortresses.
After that game was exhausted we started one that is a little hard to explain, but involved tackling and throwing snowballs in faces and tug-o-war with scarves...needless to say, we all got casualties from that one. We were getting ready to pack it in, because we were all frozen and hurting, when all of a sudden we heard loud war cries and the sound of running feet...

We were being attacked by the British! About 30 first year students were running at us, yelling and throwing snowballs. We were outnumbered probably 2 to 1, and we were tired and cold and wet since we had been outside so long, but we fought valiantly. We shouted things like "No taxation without representation!" and "Give me liberty or give me death!", and spurred on, we managed to hijack their giant snowball and roll it back to our side of the field, where we proceeded to destroy it. The Brits started singing 'God Save the Queen' so then of course Tyler had to start quoting the Declaration of Independence. It turned into an all-out vicious snowball war, and I am now covered in bruises and may possibly have a black eye, but I did get quite a few shots in myself.
We then had a cease-fire, introduced ourselves, and made plans to meet again in Narnia the next time it snows.

Injuries obtained today:

• Swollen right index finger
• Red and bruised right upper cheek/eye area
• Red and swollen left cheek
  
• Partly frozen toes
• Various bruises on legs, arms, and torso area
• Massive grapefruit-like swelling above right knee--beginning to bruise and discolor

I think I'll be very sore tomorrow. Good thing I don't have class! I love snowdays.

snow? in england?

I was under the impression that you Brits never got snow!!

I'm so excited about this. Especially since my lecture was canceled this morning! It did kind of suck that I woke up and got dressed and everything, but it was worth it to get out and see all the English students acting like little kids, building snowmen and having snowball fights and slipping and falling every few steps. I even saw some tray sledding!

I passed two guys while walking to Founders who couldn't understand how I was walking so fast without falling. I told them I was used to snow, and then they threw a snowball at me! I would have gotten them back but I was carrying coffee. I think a bunch of the internationals are going to try to organize an epic snowball battle soon though, which should be a good time. We're talking teams, hiding places, strategy, the whole nine yards.

Okay, I'm off to build a snowman!

sorry guys

I predicted that my blog might be neglected for a while, and apparently I was right. I was planning on writing long recaps of all of my outings, but now it's just way too far after the fact, and would take far too much effort than I am willing to put in. So here's a very quick rundown of what I have and have not accomplished so far...

Things I have done:

• tour of The City (the inner square mile)
  
• tour of Eton and Windsor
  
• Jack the Ripper tour
• gone to the National Gallery and the V&A
  
• seen where the Magna Carta was signed
• seen Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, and lots of other famous buildings/structures from the outside
  

Things I have not done:

• bought plates/silverware
• gone shopping at Harrods, Kensington High Street, or Oxford and Bond streets (although I did the last one two years ago)
  
• gone to the Emirates
  
• gone inside St. Paul's Cathedral or Westminster Abbey (may do these when my parents come to visit, because while the museums are free, the churches cost money!)
• hooked up with a cute British guy
• watched a football match in a pub

I have made plans for outside-of-England travel though. I am going to Wales at the end of January, Norway for skiing in mid-February, hopefully Bruges and Amsterdam at the end of February, and Paris in early March.

I am also going to go into London on Tuesday to celebrate our national holiday! Possibly going to Madame Tussaud's, because US citizens get free entry to see the new wax Obama, and then meeting a bunch of internationals for dinner and to watch the ceremony at Hard Rock Cafe. We're going all-out American (even the Aussies)!

excuses, excuses

Sorry for the lack of postage lately, busy holiday season and all that good stuff.

And by "busy" of course I mean waking up at noon and lazing around the house playing Rock Band all day when I should be preparing for my epic-across-the-pond-adventure, but it kind of amounts to the same thing because I have nothing of interest to report.

Although I did see my best friend for the first time in ages today. Coffee was consumed and fun stories were told, including correspondences with indie rock stars, getting drunk at professor's luncheons, and watching Martin Heidegger get slapped in the face, just to name a few. We've also made tentative plans to meet up in Sweden in June. Maybe at Jens Lekman's house.

Just kidding.

Sort of.

Ta-ta for now, perhaps I'll have something more substantial to say later. But perhaps not. I'm unpredictable.

sarah's new year's resolutions

• Cut down on the procrastination. It's getting to be a serious problem.
• Run more often.
  
• Stretch more often.
  
• Don't be too slutty with the foreign boys next semester.
• Don't spend too much money next semester.
• Straighten hair less to reduce split ends.
• Learn to cook more than pasta.
• Gain five pounds.
• Go to at least one Arsenal match.

joyeux noël

Merry Christmas from Santa Kun!

...and just for the hell of it, Santa Cruz!

And purely for my own amusement, Cesc dressed up as a reindeer.

Now I'm off to bed. Hope you all have a fantastic present-filled day!

merry christmas eve!

My neighborhood has a tradition of putting up luminaries every Christmas Eve. Here are some pictures that I took of them this evening (sorry for the blurriness, I had to take the flash off for the lights to show).

This is the entrance to my street:

Some of the houses in the neighborhood:The path down to the pond (and if it were light out you'd be able to see the pond more clearly; it's the big dark thing in the middle):More of the lights by the pond:The path back up to the street:And my house:

free at last

Do you see the light at the end of the tunnel? I do!

I'm done with all of my work and my exams and my studying and my papers! I am now looking at seventeen days of blissful freedom, with nothing to do except give Christmas presents, get Christmas presents, bake cookies, and pack my life up into two small(ish) suitcases to take overseas.

Which will be a chore in itself, but it's not a stressful one. Well, not that stressful. Although I still have to figure out how they expect me to live on three (seriously?) pairs of shoes for six months...

seriously, i love wintertime. in case you hadn't noticed.

Now that Thanksgiving’s over, we can fully throw ourselves into the winter holiday season! I’m not religious, but I am an avid fan of consumerism so naturally this means that I love Christmas. So I am going to suggest a few things to get everyone into the holiday mood:

First off, a hot drink. The Peppermint Mochas from Starbucks taste like Christmas. I get them whenever it snows. But I can't drink them if it's not snowing, because somehow it just doesn't feel right.

Next, a little music to set the mood:

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Nat King Cole's Christmas CD is a staple in my house in December.

Can't forget the Christmas cookies!
These aren't the gingerbread cookies we always have come holiday time, but I didn't have a picture of those so this will have to do. I don't make them; it's actually my sister's best friend's mom's special recipe. I think it's Finnish. But those are the only gingerbread cookies I can eat now. No others can measure up. But my sister and I make sugar cookies and snowball cookies and sometimes chocolate graham cracker bark. Again, I don't have pictures but I might take some over break.

And of course, no Christmas season is complete without a little Bing:

White Christmas is one of my favorite holiday movies. (And the other is Die Hard, so if you're looking for a more traditional holiday feel, you might wanna go for this one.)

So yeah, that's my little post to get all of you Scrooges/Grinches more excited. It's Christmas! Be happy!

london calling to the faraway towns

Only a month away now!

For those of you not in the know, on this day next month I will be on a flight to Lahndan Town, and I will not return until they kick me out of the country. (Okay, that part's not true; I'm coming back in June.) See, I've been practising my accent (and spelling) too! I'm so ready to go. They won't even notice I'm a furriner.

/super excited

...

/understatement of the year

happy belated turkey day!

And so I return from the North; older, wiser, and a good 20 pounds fatter. Okay, so that part may not be true--my aunt claims that I actually lost weight, though I'm pretty sure that's not true either--but I did eat an exorbitant amount of food. Such as it should be on Thanksgiving, the happiest of food-filled holidays.

It was actually a rather small crowd this year; I think we only had about 20-25 people, so we set up three tables instead of the usual four.I should have spent the week off working on my English essays, but in fact I ended up reading the books in the Twilight series--four books in three days, so I can affirm that they are every bit as addictive as everyone says they are. When we got to Connecticut I had every intention of taking a nice long nap (after a three-hours-of-sleep night and a seven hour car ride, I certainly could have used it) but I couldn't fall asleep. Then I saw Twilight sitting on the side table so I decided I might as well see what the fuss is all about. They're quite entertaining; no Shakespeare or Joyce or Fitzgerald, of course, but they never claimed to be--they're very good for what they are.

Anyways, enough about my forays into the teenage world of vampires and werewolves and star-crossed lovers. Here's a picture of my Thanksgiving plate before dinner:
And after dinner:
I think I was the only one at my table who cleaned their plate. I'm such a pig. We also had lots of pies:Mmm, delicious.

best time of year

Winter is my favorite time of year. I know it's not actually winter yet, but the first snowfall of the season is happening right at this very moment and I'm super excited about it! I love this weather. I thrive in this weather. I especially love the clothes: coats, hats, scarves, gloves, and fuzzy boots make me very happy.

Plus, the winter holidays rock. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years are all fabulous. And St. Patrick's Day, although most people don't consider that a real holiday...whatev, I do.

But seriously, I canot wait until Thanksgiving break this Friday. And winter break a few weeks after that. I want this semester to be over with so I can enjoy the snow in peace!