Irony

The other night I watched an airplane get pulled out of the bottom of the Hudson River from my friend's living room window for hours on end. It was probably one of the stranger things I have ever seen.
Today I booked a flight to Miami for President's Day Weekend. This is a weird world.

I need a perfect white eyelet dress, lots of neon, cute wedges and mermaid hair (this one might be a bit more difficult).

Oh, do yourself some favors:

Deutschland/Praha

Our Euro trip was amazing and probably the most fun I have ever had. We saw so many beautiful things and pieces of history, all while drinking tons of German beer (and wodka) and meeting great people. The trip has inspired me to go "backpacking" when my lease in Philadelphia is up. So at the end of April/beginning of May, I am going to buy a one-way plane ticket to Europe and go wherever my little heart desires. Maybe by the time I return the economy will have turned around? We can hope.


The only remaining part of the Berlin Wall


Genius in full effect at the WORLD FAMOUS GENERATOR BAR (best place ever). Yes, that is a Joe Jonas trading card in the tap.


Prague. These sandwiches they have there would be reason enough to move to the Czech Republic. Deep fried edam cheese (Smazeny syr - it looks like a chicken patty) on a bun with mayo. I can't even talk about it.


A very snowy Neuschwanstein Castle. Getting there was one of the craziest adventures of my life. Since neither of the Americans could actually drive a manual, our one Australian friend (Kevin Jonas) had to drive. This seemed like a good idea until we realized that in Australia they drive on the other side of the road. And they do not have snow. But we somehow made it there and back alive.


Biggest bestest beers ever. Oktoberfest 2k9? Dead serious.

Nickelback, trackiedacks, free hangover included, sink toilets, koalas in gutters, Baaaston, rangas, Lauren hates everything, speaking in Spanish, falling on the floor at the Hofbrauhaus, travel pillow everywhere, glowing teeth, is she eating a burrito? Ahhhh memoriesss. Ich liebe Deutschland.

Princess/Castle.

Between finishing my college education, celebrating my birthday (which my friends made absolutely AMAZING), preparing for the holidays AND my trip to Germany/Prague (I leave Christmas night), I have definitely neglected my blog and getting excited about all of the beautiful things I love in it! But, in a quick update, besides many of the things I was DYING for for my birthday and Christmas, I have had a few lovely surprises in the last 24 hours...

Couldn't find a picture online (my lovely sidekick picture obviously is not good enough) but I got these AMAZING nude open-toed Burberry pumps, originally $800, for $89!!!! No, not a typo. $89!


FINALLY


I realize this picture is barely visible but I am too tired/lazy to look for anything better...
See by Chloe Day Tripper Clutch with Strap in Red Patent as a total surprise from myyy Melissa!

While most probably think the 'Princess' necklace that I share with my cat is a ~funny joke~, the rarely spoken about German side of my family is from the royal line in Bavaria and in a little more than a week I will be visiting the very famous castle built by one of my crazy ancestors... Neuschwanstein, the castle that inspired the Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella Castles in Disneyland and Disneyworld. This is one of the things that I am most excited about seeing in Germany!


I most likely will not have any free time between now and leaving for Berlin in just over 40 hours. For those curious about my itinerary for the next couple of weeks... Berlin December 26-29, Prague December 29-31, Munich December 31-January 3, Frankfurt January 3-5, HOME January 5. Send me your address if you would like a postcard! Happy holidays to everyone, have a safe and healthy New Year! No wastin' time in 2009! Auf Wiedersehen.

I wanna go

In my geology class we have been learning a lot about volcanoes... And well, while it makes me very glad that I do not live in Washington State, they are extremely beautiful and interesting.
It really makes me want to go to Hawaii (along with a bunch of other reasons) to see the Volcanoes National Park, and take a helicopter ride into a volcano (eee!)...


I am considering maybe trying to go to Hawaii as my college graduation trip... however, I also REALLY want to go to:

GREECE

CROATIA!!!

Has anybody been to any of these places? If I were to go to Greece and Croatia, I don't really know how to go about planning the trip, and I am also wondering if there are any other places that would make sense to go to during the trip...
Liiike, perhaps Istanbul, Turkey?

Do travel agents still exist?!?!

Because I can...

Little Las Vegas vacay next weekend...



obviously for hangz with:



No big.

J'adore Montreal

If I didn't prefer warm climates (without constant snow) and could muster up the nerve to speak more than three words in French, I would move to Montreal in a heartbeat.

The Musee des Beaux Arts (aka Museum of Fine Arts) is really incredible and the Yves Saint Laurent 'Love' exhibit was one of the most phenomenally curated I have ever seen. The viewer was really presented with a great collection of how this amazing designed shaped the fashion world, as well as what influenced him (from cultures to artists to writers to "Princess" Diane von Furstenberg). He was, and always will be, one of the most influential designers in the world, and it is so sad that he is gone. It is amazing to see his simple sketches and watch how it translates into a remarkable piece. I am REALLY happy that I got the huge Yves Saint Laurent "Style" book they were selling.

And as with every (new) city I visit, the shopping was very important (and it also inspired me to start a list of my personal fall fashion must-haves... ~coming soon~). They had a lot of great shops, although not very much that can't be found in America (oh unless you are looking for a Crocs store, they have one of those). BUT I was pleasantly surprised at the Betsey Johnson store there to see that she is now making hair accessories!

I am not exactly daring as far as hair accessories go, but I did get a really cute headband (that I couldn't find a picture of) and plan on working my way up. Yayy Betsey! What took her so long?!

Brian aka Lucky the Leprechaun

I really hope I get a strip tease from this lil guy in Vegas next week.

Eh?

So I was thinking of making a trip to Canada this summer anyway. And considering the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is having an exhibit on Yves Saint Laurent from May 29 - September 28, I think the trip is now a necessity! Canada or bust??

Top 10 Summer Essentials

So since every magazine/website/everything I read has lists of summer "must haves", I decided that I should obviously make my own because I know everyone is very interested (alright, and I am procrastinating).

#1.

Stila's Sheer Color Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15
I am totally not a foundation type of person, so this is fabulous for me, but definitely perfect for ANYONE in the summertime. It gives very light coverage to even out your skin tone (it comes in 10 different shades), moisturizes, AND with protects your skin from the sun to keep yucky wrinkles away!

#2.

Gladiator Sandals
Yessss I know, me and everyone else is obsessed, so this is very obvious. I have a couple of pairs already and I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new platform ones. They are a perfect accessory to compliment a plain outfit, and I love that I do not have gross monkey feet so they look amazing on me!

#3.

Fun, bright nailpolish!
OPI's The "IT" Color is one of my favorite, and their Mod About Brights collection also has perfect shades of blue, green, orange, pink, and coral. I need to stay away from Ulta because I buy too many bottles of nail polish... which is silly since I get my nails and toes done every two weeks anyway (an all-of-the-time essential, not just summer!).

#4.

Bumble and Bumble DeFrizz
Anyone who spends the summer months on the East Coast knows the humidity is hard to beat. Bumble and Bumbles DeFrizz serum is highly concentrated, but not too sticky, it gives you some shine and ACTUALLY works. You can use it on straight or curly hair... I would be lost without it.

#5.

Looooots of Sunglasses!
Victoria Beckham is rarely seen without a fabulous pair of oversized sunglasses on -- she knows what's up. Sunglasses protect your eyes from damaging sunlight, prevent nasty crows feet from squinting, and they are a perfect way to accessorize! I love sunglasses. Okay, I reeeeeeeally love sunglasses.

#6.

High Waist EVERYTHING
High waistlines are absolutely amazing. They are so flattering and turn anything from denim shorts to a cotton skirt into a fashionable item that can be worn with sandals for a casual daytime look or dressed up with heels. My collection of high waist shorts, pants, skirts, etc has been ever expanding for the last few months... and I don't see it stopping anytime soon.

#7.

NARS Bronzing Powder
While I am naturally much more tan than the average white girl, I take precautions to keep the sun off my face because I never want wrinkles (heellllllo SPF). This bronzer is amazing for kinda faking that natural glow and comes in two pretty colors. In the summertime I use the darker of the two, Casino, but I would recommend Laguna to anyone who doesn't have quick tanning olive skin.

#8.

Smooooothies
While smoothies are definitely good all year round, they are perfect walking through the city on a hot summer day. My favorite is strawberry banana (sorry Lauren)!

#9.

Body Scrub
Before I go out in the sun for an extended period of time, I make sure to use a body scrub so I get a nice eeeeven tan. They're even better in summery scents like this coconut one from Philosophy (ALL of their stuff smells soo good).

#10.

VACATIONS
Duuuh! I already have plans to go to Los Angeles and Las Vegas (San Francisco may be in the works as well), as well as little trips like to the Hamptons (and basically any beach as often as humanly possible). If it was up to me I would be traveling 90% of the year... so if anyone wants to plan any vacations in late August, let me know!

California!

FINALLY booked my flight to Los Angeles (July 5-9) to see my best friend! I really miss California and all of my friends there. Liz and I want to have an itinerary jam-packed with lots of fun things to do. So far on the list is: Museum of Contemporary Art, La Brea tarpits, Disneyland!, the beach, hiking, fancy dinners, shopping, Chelsea Lately?, zoo?, etc etc. Anyway, if anybody has any ideas of things that we NEED to do... tell me!

Spiral Jetty

I think that "earthworks" is a really interesting idea... art that (technically) not be bought/sold/owned/relocated, but is just a part of nature. This Spiral Jetty is in the Great Salt Lake in Utah and was done by Robert Smithson in 1970. It is a 1500 ft jetty that is a road to nowhere and purely for decorative purpose. I think the most interesting part about it is how the earth has added to it in the 38 years that it has been there:

My American art professor took that picture in 2003... and, yes, that is all SALT that has crystallized onto the jetty and made tumble weed a new part of the piece. The Spiral Jetty is definitely being added to my ever expanding list of things to see /places to visit.

Devil's Pool

Lauren told me about this place called the "Devil's Pool" at the top of Victoria Falls in Zambia. What it basically is is a natural wading pool at the top of the waterfall that you can swim in and somehow not go flying down the waterfall. There are tons of different YouTube videos of it and it seriously looks incredible. I would absolutely love to see it someday even though it would probably take me hours to gather enough courage to actually go into it. Don't things like this make you wish all you had to do in life is travel?

21.

The movie 21 is definitely not something to run out and see. Don't get me wrong, it was mildly entertaining... but the story was poor and it was WAY too long for what it was (this is the thing I most commonly find wrong with movies). And while Jim Sturgess is definitely a babe, I think I will always have something against him after that horrible disgrace of a movie that was apparently trying to ruin the songs by one of the best bands of all times (ahem, ahem). I did like the fact of how much your accurately were shown of Las Vegas (the casinos, bars, hotels, etc) but I didn't like the fact that one minute these "high-rollers" were shown throwing down thousands upon thousands in stores like Gucci and then shortly after were struggling for a few thousand dollars -- it just didn't add up. However, I love casino-based movies (The Cooler - which everyone should see, the Oceans series, etc) and the idea of card counting. While I do not think this is anything I would ever be able to do because even that "simple math" would be far too much for me, it is definitely very interesing PLUS I love black jack. I have been playing online black jack that tells you what you did right/wrong after every move. I am trying to get good/confident enough so that next time I am in Las Vegas I can play at an actual, real-life, scary TABLE. With that being said, I am at my last and final point... this silly movie produced enough Vegas withdrawal within me that I booked our ("deluxe") hotel room to celebrate Jess' 21st birthday in FABULOUS LAS VEGAS... July 24-27. Phew, it has been too long!

Cozumel

Cozumel, Mexico is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been to. I am definitely one for island vacations and have been to more than a few different islands in the Caribbean. Cozumel is small compared to the other Mexican tourist destinations and with far fewer tourists. This makes it a bit more pricey but in my opinion -- it was worth every penny. My stay at the all-inclusive Melia Resorts couldn't have been more pleasant. The staff was incredibly helpful and friendly while humoring my very out of practice Spanish. They made sure to give us free vouchers and coupons for as many things as possible, such as cab rides and entrance to Carlos&Charlies and Senor Frogs. There was always more food than anyone could handle at one time and the dinners had "themed" nights. The location of dinner would be in a different spot depending on the theme (ie: on the beach, in a fancy restaurant, etc) and the food was always to die for. Although as a vegetarian I always face the problem at places like this with not having enough to eat, I felt I always had a very decent selection of dishes and never walked away from dinner still hungry. They had a large amount of bars with a enormous selection of drinks and the bartenders always knew what drink you were probably going to order as soon as you walked... or swam, up to the bar. Another really exciting part about the "all-inclusive" aspect of this resort was that the water sports were included, along with bartending lessons, dance classes, and things of the like. The rooms were BEAUTIFUL and far bigger than I was expecting with an entire living area and marble bathrooms. And I was in for a very exciting surprise when I realized our balcony was overlooking the water! The pool was a decent size (although I never actually got in it -- I guess I am more of a beach person) and the beach itself was fairly small but not at all crowded. The only thing I could possibly find to complain about would be to comment on the obscenely large amount of seaweed in the water where it met the sand.
The most famous ruins of Cozumel, San Gervasio, were about a 40 minute cabride away and definitely worth the visit. These Mayan ruins are far from ancient (being built around 1200 AD) and sort of... "humble" in size. So while I definitely enjoyed them, I still would like the opportunity to one day visit Chichen Itza.
This has been quite the tangent, but I would definitely recommend Cozumel and Melia Resorts to anyone who is looking for a nice beach getaway. I am even considering looking into the Sol Melia Vacation Club, so there could be another entry similar to this one in the future!

(A few more pictures can be seen on my Flickr -- which I am going to try to actually start using. It is linked to the right.)

Edit: I went to Perez Hilton a minute after posting this and came to find out that Tara Reid was at the Melia in Cancun at the same time that I was in Cozumel, errr - HA!