london

i'm finally doing it. blogging about the best 9 days of my life.... i've had a hard time deciding how to do it, but here are the clifnotes:

day 1: a looooong travel day, including the worst flight from slc to nyc.

day 2: after almost 24 hours of travel we finally arrive in london!

after we got checked into our hotel we came up with a game plan and hit the ground running.....
we walked oxford street, regent street, made it to piccadilly circus, traflagar square, and marble arch all in one day... probably doesn't mean much, but that is a lot in one day on foot.

day 3:the next morning we were off to windsor castle. windsor was way better than i thought it would be. there is so much history at the castle. i loved seeing it all and taking it all in. wouldn't it be fun to be a royal?

after windsor we headed to this place called covent gardens... it's basically just a large market. we got lunch there, i'll let the picture do the talking.

we did find laduree. it's a little pastry shop that i was told was a must, we got some of their macaroons which were sub par at best. {plus they were way expensive!} it was fun and charming none the less.

after covent gardens, we walked along the river thames, stopped at st. paul's cathedral, sat on a bench and next to the river chatted and people watched, walked across tower bridge, we took the bus over to parliament and big ben, and enjoyed every minute of being in london together!

day 4: the next morning was a tour of london where we saw everything from a memorial to prince albert, to westminster abbey, to buckingham palace for the changing of the guards.

after our tour we went to harvey nicklos {high end london shopping} and harrods and found some of the prettiest cupcakes london had to offer!

we decided last minute to go see wicked. we went and bought tickets saw some sights around the theater, saw the play {amazing!} and called it a night.

day 5: our final day in london and probably my most favorite day there. we decided to try out camden town. we had heard there was a great market it, and boy were they right. street after street. store after store. stable after stable. country after country. of great little shops full of great treasures. so. much. fun. and so. crazy! a local had told us we would see the 'weird and the wonderful' boy was he right! {so many pictures for this day, like i said, it was my favorite!}



upon leaving camden town we got on the bus, however the bus was going to opposite direction we need. it did however end up being a fun adventure.

we finally got back into the heart of london and decided to do everything royal. we walked up the mall {don't be alarmed by the lady that looks like the uni bomber, that would be my mother.}, stopped by st. james' place, even saw prince harry, walked around buckingham palace and down constitution ave. sooooooo great. one of those moments i wish i could just relive over and over again!

we finished up london by walking through hyde park, stopping at the queen mum's gate, fish n' chips, oxford street one more time and a few gift shops.

                                      this is our walk through hyde park. honestly i  was exhausted!

london was such a pleasant surprise, for some reason i didn't thinking i would love it, but love it i did!

this was a lot of work.....paris coming soon!

adjusting to a new normal.

i've stared and stopped. decided and decided against blogging about this. i'm just going to do it already.

i don't think it's a secret that i'm once again single. i forgot how bad the fall out of a relationship sucks. i mean like really, really, sucks..... the last few months of my life have been dictate by someone else's schedule. i loved it. someone to be with after work. a weekend buddy. going to all those family things with someone by my side. it was great. now i'm adjusting back to my single selfish life. i thought i was out of the dating scene, and truth be told i was pretty sure i was out of it for good....the sheer thought of dating again is almost enough to send me into the fetal position. through the ups and downs of this relationship i  did learn something i needed to. i used to think that being single is just easier. while it is true, i realized how much better {not necessarily easier} it is to have someone. thank heavens i had that realization, or honestly i would swear off dating entirely.

as hard as this past week has been, i've felt unreal peace. although i have no idea why things had to happen this way, i have felt peace knowing things are going to work out. i have been so blessed with so many good people in my life. {i don't think a day has gone by without receiving a text from nashville asking me how i'm holding up.} it's helped me understand that even in the face of trails, we are given the tools we need to endure them. i've kept telling myself i can't ask why? only what? i'm beginning to see and realize we learn the very most in the very least of circumstances.

so here is to adjusting to a new normal. {and by new i mean the old normal.}

hey now that i've finally gotten this off my chest, what do you say i finally work on my europe post?!

when life gives you lemons....

....you make lemonade. {or something like that.}

this past weekend i did just that.

it was originally meet the parents weekend in st. george.

let's just say that didn't happen. {nor is it going to, the joys of dating.}



i had my bag packed.

in my car.

my weekend blacked out.

i went back and forth.

back and forth deciding if i really wanted to make the trip solo.

more back and forth.

then finally, i decided no more thinking, just going.

45 minutes later i was on the road.

{by myself.}

i arrived in st. george around 10:00 to a completely empty, quite house.

heaven.

i watched the news, jay lenno, and jimmy falon then headed off to bed.

saturday morning i woke up, complete and utter silence.

i thought to myself, "i don't have anyone to keep happy today other than myself. what shall i do?"

i ran to the store to get some trashy magazines and a cold diet coke then hit the pool....

after a few hours by the pool i decided to clean up and go shopping.

i ran to a couple of stores.

grabbed some dinner.

where i wanted. when i wanted.

is it so selfish i LOVED not having to work around anyone else?

i rented a couple redboxes.

watched one of them, decided i wanted a treat, so what did i do?

i went and got a treat.

i got home watched two more movies. so lazy, i know.

called it a night.

i woke up at 11, just in time to hit church.

people, it was worth it. most entertaining fast and testimony meeting to boot!

best part was the old couple behind me that didn't know how to whisper.

a woman after my own heart!

then it was back home....

it was one of the best weekends i've ever had.

travelling alone isn't such a bad deal.

just in time for things to go from bad to worse.

{that could be a blog post in and of its self.}

through the ups and downs of the past couple days i have been so thankful for the good, and i mean good, people i have in my life.

europe is next up! thursday night. stand by.

Dear 18 year-old me

My little Jenny graduated high school today.... I've thought a lot about what I would tell myself at 18, here's what I came up with....

• your best friend, ya, she wont say your best friend. She'll get married and forget your existence. But it's ok, your real best friends are still around.
•Dixie is fun, and hard, BUT GO TO SCHOOL!!!
• wear sunscreen!
• be nice to everyone.
• that boy in St. George, he's really not as great as you think he is.
• your heart will be broken, and it will hurt like a &$?!#. Time heals all wounds.
• always pay your tithing.... 10% is worth the blessings.
• know that when you buy apple products they are obsolete in 3 weeks: but wait until you get your iPhone. Sick.
• don't be shy about rockin the box bangs. You'll get them well before anyone else, and you rock the heck out of them. You'll be over them by the time the rest of society catches on. trend setter.
• speaker of being a trend setter: you'll catch beiber fever well before anyone else.
• don't worry about the haters, they will always be around.

Dont worry about the rest it will all come!

Lunch date.

Jared bright me an adult sized little kids lunch.... Complete with fruit snacks, pudding, and capri suns. Kind of cute, right?!