Long time comin'

Ok, I started this yesterday and then got an admonition for my aunt to post, so perfect timing! I know! Sorry it's been almost a month since I last posted! I'm bad. Oh well, I've been busy, having fun as usual, plus getting ready for my big trip, which I am soooo excited for!

London here I come! I leave on Wed and will be there for almost a whole week, I can't wait! I have lots of plans of things to do in London (most of which I never got a chance to do before) including:

Shakespeare's Globe Theater
Buckingham Palace
Harrod's (especially the food level!)
Tower Bridge
Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey (how did I miss this?)
Peter Pan statue in Hyde Park
Going back to see:
British Library (of course)
British Museum
Victoria & Albert Museum (mostly the historical clothing exhibit)
Museum of London (maybe)
Top Shop
Wagamama's

Plus, I'm going to probably go see Les Mis! I haven't seen this since the last time I was in London, 7 years ago! Wow, I can't believe it's been 7 years. It's been so fun to think and plan about everything I want to do, I've had fun remembering everything I did before. I'm sure it's going to be great.

On Monday I'm renting a CAR! Yikes, I'm a little nervous, but excited to have the freedom to go at my own pace down to the south to visit the school. And guess what? I'm going to go visit Jane Austen's House!! I'm so excited! Especially since I just learned that they are having an exhibit through the end of May of dresses from the new Sense & Sensibility movie which was on Masterpiece! Awesome!

I'm also getting excited and nervous about my interview with the school. I think it will go well, but I'm working on putting together a portfolio to show them now and that's stressful.

Anyway, I'll be sure to post pictures and a recap when I get back, but for now, here's some things I've been up to in the last month:

*Checking out more blooming trees! On Mother's Day we walked around the Mt. Auburn Cemetery and then went to the Arnold Arboretum for "Lilac Day" to have a picnic. It was beautiful and of course all the trees were blooming, so here's some more pics!

My roommie, Abby, and Barbara

Lilacs!
At the cemetery
Beautiful pond at the cemetery

Oh, and here is what the one in front of our house looked like a couple weeks ago! Beautiful!



*Goodbye party for lots of friends, like Kylee (see pics at the party with the link)
*Cheering on my roommates in the Big Lake Half Marathon up at Lake Winnipesaukee (see pictures here)
*Visiting the best circus in town at Laura's Big Top Birthday Bash! (this was an amazing party, I might have to try to procure photos)
*Going to see a couple movies (Made of Honor and What Happen in Vegas)
*Hosting book club at my house (Northanger Abbey) and making fabulous Banoffee Cream Pie!! This is my favorite dessert from England (it's toffee with banana, hence the name) and I've been craving it for 7 years, you don't know how good it tasted when I made it! Heaven! Here's the recipe, if you like sweet, rich desserts, you'll definitely like this. I'm going to try to have some this week and see if turned out like the real thing! (One note on the recipe, I didn't use the coffee, of course, but I used the traditional method of boiling the cans, I used a lid on the pot to prevent the water from evaporating and checked on it every so often, to make sure the cans were still covered. I only used one can for my pie, but boiled four, so now I have tons of toffee to make a spur of the moment pie!)

English Holiday

So, I'm very excited because this week I bought tickets to London!! Yay! I got an amazing deal, which of course made it pretty much necessary to buy them, so at the end of May I will be heading off to the beautiful English countryside and to old London town, to drink tea and live an English fantasy for a week. I can't wait to explore London again, catch up with old friends and check out the schools I'm applying to! I can't believe it's been 7 years since I was there for study abroad...

Just look at this place!:


I could go to school here!! Wow, that's all I can say. You should really check out their virtual tour, it's beautiful. I will hopefully be able to attend the MA Conservation program there in '09, if all goes as planned. Anyway, I'm just so excited I had to share.

Oh, also as a little update. Thanks everyone for your well wishes! I'm still not 100%, but I started Physical Therapy again this week, which helped a little, I was at least able to walk normally out of the office. I'm still having chest pain and I guess I'm just going to have to wait it out. I had x-rays and everything was pretty normal, so they said, so I guess it will just take time. Thanks again for your thoughts! Keep sending the good vibes my way and hopefully I'll be normal in time for my Holiday!!