Christmas in England

     This post is a bit delayed seeing as I didn't yet have a blog when I went to England for Christmas a couple of months ago. I have a lot of family in the Derbyshire area, and a fair amount in London as well. I've been going to England every year since I was about three years old for months at a time. I consider it a second home for me, and my love for England only grows as I get older. Nathan and I have been dating for a little over three years now so I decided that it was time to take him "home" to meet the family. We live in Florida so it was a bit of a culture shock to him, but he ended up loving it.

     Over the years I have only been able to visit England during the Summer months (since that's when I was given time off school), but celebrating Christmas there was honestly one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life. Although I've been there so many times, something about the holiday season made everything so new. Nathan and I branched out and took the train to London for a few days so we got to experience all of the classic tourist-y things such as Buckingham Palace and Big Ben.

Houses of Parliament/Big Ben

St. Paul's Cathedral

                               











    I love how traditional Christmas is in England. Preparation is done for weeks to create the perfect Christmas Eve feast, as well as another one for Christmas day. Our days in England were filled with cake decorating, champagne, and LOTS of exploring in our free time. My family lives out in the country so it is perfect adventure turf. I was so excited to show Nathan all of my favorite childhood places I used to explore, On the day after Christmas, we got lucky (in my opinion). We got to see snow! Snow isn't really something that most people get excited about but as someone who grew up in Arkansas and is now living in Florida, I miss it very much. Nathan had never even seen snow before (such a Florida boy), so it was especially exciting to go adventuring out into the snowy countryside.

Osmaston, Ashbourne, Derbyshire, England 2014

Winter vacation essentials:

Men's Wool Coat | Check Cashmere Scarf | Cotton Cable Sweater | Olive Slim Rainboots | 
Heathered Dark Gray Legging | Excursion Quilted Down Vest | 

The Perfect Blonde

     I've had about every hair color you could possibly think of. When it comes down to it, I have been searching for a hair color that really matches up with my personality. When I was in high school, I was convinced that this color was blue, lilac, pink, silver.. you name it. I guess everyone goes through that period of "trying to find themselves". Five years and many hair colors later.. I have found the one. Do blondes have more fun? I might spend my whole life testing that theory.

     For years I pictured platinum blonde as the color that I was destined to be. It was (for a short period of time), but I change as often as the seasons do. Lately I have been obsessed with golden, low-lighted, Blake Lively-esque hair. There is something about the way dimensional blonde makes you feel; a little older, a little more put together.

     No matter what your hair color is, I think the most important thing is to take care of your hair. There was actually a point in my life where my hair was so fried that I had to wear fake bangs. Yes, they make those. No, you do not want to wear them! After all of the serums and deep-conditioning masks I put on, I found the best remedy was simply to leave your hair alone. After about three years of brushing and letting my hair air dry (and avoiding all heating tools), my hair is finally healthy! When I do feel like going all out, I use this before I blow dry my hair. It makes your hair silky and it smells great. Definitely worth investing in.

Love my low lights!