news! news!

dun dun dun. 

....

after roughly 21 years in school, 7 different majors and the accrual of many loans, 

 i am finally a working woman. 

 
and now i'm exhausted. 

goodnight. 

:)

these end of summer days

i've been dreaming of 

hot apple cider and crunchy leaves underfoot, 

of nubby mittens and warm scarves, 

of train trips through lush, colorful valleys, 

of crisp mornings and warm kitchens filled 

with the doughy, moist scent of cinnamon rolls, 

of stockings and tall boots going click clack 

on cobbled stone streets at twilight in lamp-lit

northern cities, 

of snow flurries and the bite in your lungs

after a run in the autumn chill, 

of headless gingerbread men and candlelight 

and long talks around a campfire and 

apple picking and homemade pie and 

hot chocolate mounded with marshmallows 

and the wind howling. 

oh for the wind to howl. 

preferably here. 

i can't wait.

Source.

some photos of summer

blah blah blah

oh wait, you wanted actual words with this post?

hmm, okay, here is what's up:

this summer has felt so long and, truth be told, a little lackluster. i wish i could say that i've been soaking up rays by the pool or communing with nature in my online absence, but the truth is that i've mostly just been stuck inside...communing with my couch, as it were. it's strange how you (i) can go away to far off, slightly exotic places (twice!) for a week at a time, and come back and fall so quickly into a monotonous life again.

mostly i've spent this summer looking for jobs and reading all the books i can find. i've got books coming out of my ears here. i even got my first Georgia library card this weekend (and i never thought i'd say this but it has to be said that the san marcos library puts the dekalb libraries here to shame. at least the ones near us.)

so, that's why i've been (seemingly) inside all summer. and also because have you been to Georgia in the summertime? it's like the sahari and the rainforest put together. and as i sort of hate the heat/humidity unless i'm at the beach/pool, i've lost every bit of tan i got in mexico, and it's not even officially fall yet!

but really, i think i've been hibernating a little. recuperating from a very stressful and hard spring, recuperating from a very stressful and hard last four years. maybe when all this hibernating/recuperating is over (please let it be over soon!), i'll write about it.

and in conclusion, here are some of the very few photos i've happened to take this summer of daily, normal, boring, real life, which make it seem like i haven't had quite as drab a summer as i say! :)














but i'm eagerly anticipating the first stirrings of fall, so hopefully i'll get off this couch and stop behaving like a vampire soon:)

xx
B

london, pt. 2

the london photo journey continues...


















aren't these english people so cute? in england they would say "aren't these english people lovely?" they actually use the word lovely all the time. even six-year-olds. as in, "squirrels are not lovely." true conversation overheard. :)

london calling

so...while i was not blogging last week, i was in london for the olympics! actually, i wasn't really there for the olympics but to join UK charity Amana Trust to pass out free Bibles to all the bunches of peoples who were there for the olympics. i only found out a few weeks beforehand that i was going, so it was a really crazy couple of weeks. the week before i left, i was interviewing for a job position here in atlanta (which i didn't get) AND running around like mad trying to find things like a rain coat, our volunteer uniform of dark skirt and white top, a UK plug convertor (bought on amazon, arrived the day before i left, and turned out it wasn't the right one), a sweater for the 60s degree weather there (that not surprisingly felt fantastic and not cold at all). then on sunday, i got on two flights and landed 5 hours ahead in london, took a cab with some other girls who arrived at the same time from california and texas to headquarters, and proceeded to have a jam-packed week.

highlights:
passing out Bibles for about 4 hours a day to all kinds of different people, discovering the flat white from pret-a-manger which is really just like a café crème you would get in france or italy (stronger, shorter latte), wandering around portobello road market (could have spent many more hours there, had the best falafel wrap and candy-sweet strawberries, should have bought a souvenir tote that said: "keep calm and have a cupcake"), becoming obsessed with instagram, meeting all kinds of new people, being back in europe after 9 years (not counting russia), taking the "tube", all the wonderful food we shared with lots of new friends, the lovely gardens and greenery (i swear london has more green space than atlanta!), taking lots of photos on my one day of sightseeing, hanging out with my fellow volunteer and sweet roommate, the adorable little "under-the-door" notes from the family we stayed with, having a renewed love and gratefulness for my Bible.

i was happy to be home when i touched down real early monday morning, glad to be with my loves and back in my normal life, but i sure wouldn't mind if my normal life would move to europe one day. :)

a few photos:

















p.s. anothernicole was there too! you can read her post about it here.