The Good Girl Gone Blog: London

Time stands still

Apr 26, 2010

Someone in Thibault's family pointed out that because of my watch-free wrist, I could never pass for a Swiss lady. Of course, ever since then I wanted my very own Swiss watch, but never actually bought one.

Fortunately for me, Thibault surprised me with this purple Swatch that he picked up on his brief trip back to Switzerland.

He told me he spent half an hour deciding between this and a red watch that was just too bright.

I love my watch- the color is perfect and it doesn't feel too big or heavy on my wrist. Truth be told, it's currently in the drawer of my nightstand in a sort of "time out" (ah bad pun!) because it's so loud.

It's the perfect accessory because it's from someone I love. You'll definitely be seeing more of this watch!

Tourist Shot!

Anyone who visits London, no matter how "un-touristy" they pretend to be, simply MUST take a photo in a red phone booth. Sure, it's cheesy, but it's just so London...

What they don't tell you back home is that many of these iconic phone booths are plastered with nudy photos of "busty blondes" who just want to have a good time! Oh, and the inside of these phone booths smell like poop...I think there might have been actual human excrement in this one. Eww, eww, EWWW! You can't tell from this photo, but I was willing Thibault to take the pictures faster so I could get out!

We spent most of the day hanging out and doing nothing, enjoying our last 24 hours together. We eventually took a nice walk through Hyde Park and took these photos along the way.

I'm wearing:

Dress: H&M
Sweater: Ann Taylor Loft
Bag: Coach
Tights: Kohls
Shoes: Madden Girl (I think they're from Burlington Coat Factory)

The big splurge!

Apr 22, 2010

The end? The beginning? It's all in how you look at it...

Hi everyone! If I seem particularly excited, it's because I took my last college exam today. That's right, you heard me, I'm officially finished with all of my classes and tests. I was so excited I even did an embarrassing dance in the elevator, and then proceeded to put on Taylor Swift and the Glee soundtrack and jumped on my bed. I felt like a little girl...except the adult kind that has finished college.

To top off the amazingness of the day, I got to go to the Armani sample sale, where tons of items were up to 90% off! (In London at least, Armani is under a bigger company called Club 21 that also operates DKNY Jeans and Luella.) It was just a little bonus of having worked hard for the past two months in the press office!

When I arrived, I was surprised to see the sheer size of the room, as well as the amount of clothing and accessories. Unfortunately, I'm about a size or two smaller than typical sample clothing, so I spent most of my time checking out the shoes and accessories.

Though I desperately wanted to buy a Luella bag, there were none that I truly loved. I did end up scoring an amazing DKNY cropped leather motorcycle jacket for £75, originally marked at £429, a pair of Emporio Armani suede peep toe heels for £40 (I'm not sure how much they originally cost, but its safe to say they probably cost hundreds of pounds) and an Armani Exchange dress for £20, originally £75!

I also tried on a pair of Giorgio Armani black patent leather flats (£40 down from £300) that ended up being a size too small...so I bought them anyway to give Becca as a graduation present. They're so perfect for her, and at that kind of discount, I couldn't say no. Of course, I called her as soon as I left the sale, even though it was 8:30 AM in Boston, which she made sure to remind me. It was so worth it though!

So basically, today was a big splurge and will probably be my last shopping trip ever (err maybe not), but I think it was definitely worth it. I can't wait to show you all my new pieces!

Well it looks like the end

Apr 21, 2010

My bags are about 85% packed with just the essentials remaining. I'm leaving London (G-d willing) in just three days. I can't believe I've been here for almost 3 1/2 months! I've learned so much while being here about myself, about friendship, about love, about independence and about my career.

I made new friends, ate some delicious food and fell in love. I got closer with a cousin, experimented more with fashion and took boatloads of photos. I traveled to countries whose inhabitants spoke languages I couldn't understand, I carried a manikin across a major street and got picked up by a random sketchy man in a club.

It's been a great experience and I feel so lucky to have been given the chance to live in another country again. When I get back home, I'll be bringing with me much more than just a ton of accessories from Primark. I'm so happy that I managed to document my entire semester in this blog so I can always remember my time in London. As the girl who was never able to keep a journal for more than a few days, I'm pretty proud of myself.

When I get boring and American again in a few days, I hope you'll still read!

Just a little fitted blazer

Apr 20, 2010

Iz and I were due for a fun dinner and I had a two-for-one voucher for one of my favorite British restaurant chains, Giraffe- what great luck! After a day spent for the most part in my room writing a paper and obsessively checking volcano updates, I decided to lose the yellow sweatpants and purple t-shirt in exchange for something a little more polished.

Yes, I do still need to cuff my jeans, even when wearing platforms!

I'm Wearing:

Blazer: Ann Taylor Loft (via TJMaxx)
Red top: Ann Taylor Loft
Jeans: Loehmann's
Shoes: TKMaxx
Necklace: H&M
Bag: Coach

The British Climbing Tree

Apr 19, 2010

If you grew up in Pikesville, you've definitely been to "the duck pond," also known as Druid Ridge Park. If you're over the age of 18, you probably remember going there for picnics and taking photos on what my family affectionately calls "the climbing tree."

Unfortunately for the children of Pikesville, the low branch of the climbing tree used for many a photo shoot was cut down and picnics were soon banned. My childhood memories were crushed.

That's why I was extremely excited when I spotted this tree on a recent roommate bonding expedition to Kew Gardens. I immediately made Maria take these photos, a somewhat difficult task that eventually helped her get over her fear of using the dreaded zoom on my camera.

I'm wearing:

Dress: Mango (from Granada)
Flip-flops: VS Pink
Necklaces: H&M
Sunglasses: Giorgio Armani, gift from internship

Maria is wearing:

Dress and cardigan: H&M
Shoes and sunglasses: Topshop
Bag: Nine West

There are TONS more photos on my Flickr, although most of them are flowers ;)

PS- Daddy, if you have any of those famous Brooks girls photos from the real climbing tree, email them to me- I'm sure everyone would love to see how cute we used to be!

Inside the Armani Press showroom

Fashion isn't really about words, so I think I'll let the photos speak for themselves. They were taken on a slow day at the press office, my last day working as an intern at Armani. Though I'm going to miss my coworkers, I see the end of this internship as a gateway to my future- my last day at Armani symbolized my last day of classes...with just one paper and one test to go, I'm ready.

The shots are a few of my favorite things at work- The VIP showroom, a selection of colorful watches, a pair of gorgeous shoes, some A/X samples and a selection of Armani Jeans shoes. I will definitely miss the showrooms- I loved looking at all of the clean, pristine clothing and imagining myself wearing select pieces. I'll miss the amazing VIP shoe collection, the crazy accessories and the hangers, and hangers full of clothing, just a size too big for me.

I'm not going to write about all of the things I won't miss, but it's safe to say that I'm happy to leave behind the faulty lifts ;)

Also, if anyone has any questions about my internship experience or internships in general, please put them in the comments or Email Me!

The witching hour

Apr 16, 2010

My dad always raves about this magical golden hour right before sunset where photographs look absolutely stunning. In my mind, it's called the witching hour and I've always wanted to do a fashion photo shoot at this time. Thankfully, I grabbed Izzy and she took a bunch of awesome photos, many of which are below. Unfortunately, they were taken slightly before the golden hour.

I picked up this top at Primark while on the quest to find a cheap pack of underwear to keep me from doing laundry until I get home. I'm currently loving anything with bows, so this top was perfect. Plus, I love that it looks hand drawn and slightly imperfect.

I added my own necklaces to mirror the drawn on chains, an idea I got from a window display I saw while delivering samples for my internship. In the window were flat photographs of models wearing specific scarfs or jewelery that were then accompanied by the real pieces!

How fun are these zipper tights?

And then, Maria randomly showed up at the park and jumped in this picture. I love it!

I'm wearing:

Black tank: Target
Purple T-shirt and tights- Primark
Skirt- Pink Zone
Shoes- Steve Madden (via DSW)
Necklaces- Wet Seal, H&M, thrifted

Mind the Gap, Please!

Apr 14, 2010

A few days ago, I asked Thibault if he wanted to write a guest post. Now, I've been asking my other friends to guest post for the past three months, so I was pleasantly surprised to see an email with a post this morning. So anyway, just in from Switzerland...Thibault's post!

If you're a reader of Alana's blog, you should be familiar with me. I am referred to as the Swiss boy or Thibault. I am in exchange in London for a year. That's not the first time that she asks me to write something, but now I finally feel ready to post.

The title refers to the constant announcements in the Tube (London Underground) that you hear at every station.

The first day of my second semester in London, I reluctantly agreed to meet some friends at the students union to celebrate a birthday. We were struck by the number of Americans in this pub usually empty on a Monday night. Suddenly, I was speaking to a girl I had never seen before, Alana. We went out a few days later. And again. And again.

It was not love at first sight. We had some trouble understanding each other. I am far from being fluent in English, we have quite different background and our interests are apparently not really the same. The more I learned about Alana, the more surprised I was that we have so many things in common (to the same color of eye!). We clicked. Why is still an unanswered question to me. As the time flew by, our relationship blossomed and we managed to take down every snag that popped along the way. I have a lot of friends ; I have known several of them for quite a while now. However, I rarely felt the same closeness with them.

Now that the time to get off that amazing ride has come, I feel torn. We have to walk down on separate paths to different lives. I feel torn between being thankful for the happiness Alana brought on me and sadness to let her go without being able to do anything about it. Guys, take care of this wonderful lady. “Mind the gap, please!”

In limbo

Apr 13, 2010

Yesterday, I sat through my last college class, well technically there was no stitting because it was my architecture class and we went on a trip, but you know what I mean.

I have 3 more days left of my internship.

My boyfriend has gone back to Switzerland, but will be with me in London to spend a day and half with me before I leave. I'm feeling strangely numb. Today was supposed to be his last day here before I leave, but he changed his flight for me. There were no tears today.

If I buy just a few pairs of underwear, I won't have to do laundry until I get home on April 24th.

I've been offered an internship, but it's not definite and I still need to apply. I don't want to get my hopes up, but it's definitely where I want and need to be right now.

I'm hoping to live in an apartment in Baltimore next year with a friend, but she's still looking for a job.

I'm graduating in just about a month.

I'm finally getting my own dog. He/she won't be a puppy because I don't think I can handle that right now. Sadie, I love you, but you were quite the handful when I puppy sat!

I can't wait to get home.

I've been thinking a lot about love lately- about new love, about family, about friendship and the power of saying "I love you." I've been thinking about the people who are important to me and what I want for the future.

I've been spending way too much time thinking and evaluating.

I'm ready to start the next part of my life. Please.