Day 2 - Shakespeare Globe & Shopping

Saturday, September 12, 2009 - In the morning we went on a tour of the Shakespeare Globe, which was so  much fun! I was able to see costumes from Shakespeare plays up-close. I have some really good pictures for you'll to see. After the tour some of girls stayed for the first costume demonstration of "Ophelia". Which was really neat; one of the girls from the tour was the model. Once we were done a bunch of us girls went with Amanda and her Aunt Cari to Portobello Road Market.

On the way to Portobello we couldn't at first find the right bus stop. On the way to the correct bus stop we lost three girls from our group. We finally arrived at the market, which was busy and loaded with some goodies! (We did bump into the three missing girls at the market, which was wonderful!) I found this lovely silk panel skirt/dress (instead as wearing it as a dress, I'll wear it as a tunic with jeans) that is made out of vintage silk for 32 pounds. It is so pretty and it goes with my new orange scarf and brown belt! Hurray!!! I also picked up a deep red scarf for 2 pounds & 95 pence. Oh, and a large cameo necklace for 6 pounds. I'll have to do a fashion shoot when I get back home of my new things. ;-)

After Portobello Market we tried to head over to Marylebone, but we got lost in the Paddington area after 5:00 PM. Me and my mom were glad we were with a group lost, instead of by ourselves. We did finally make it over to Marylebone late at night and all the shops were closed. Very sad as there were shops I wanted to visit in that area.

I don't have pictures of the shopping area. But I do of the Shakespeare Globe.

  Outside the Shakespeare Globe

The Stage, "All the world is a stage" - As You Like It

Another view of the stage

Some of the seating area

Part of the group listening to our tour guide named Kitty. :-) (Think Pride & Prejudice)

Timeline mural

A costume for a play

Undergarments for a lady

Another costume

A picture of the Fish & Chips and wait for it, mashed peas with the fish itself. My mom and I didn't have any. :-) The look on Molly's face was so funny when she opened her box of food. Cari spilled some on her jeans and the ground when she open her box of food. 

I'll talk to all later!

~Ashley

London - Bus Drive

On our first day in London which was Friday, September 11th, we all took a private tour of London on a coach in the morning. We saw so many sites that morning. St. Paul's, Tower of London, Victoria & Albert Museum, Harrods, Natural History Museum, Wellington Arch, Buckingham Palace, Trafargar Square, 10 Downing Street, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, George Washington Statue, and so much more!!!!

Do you want to see pictures? *huge grin* Of course you do! Well then, on to the pictures!

First Double-Decker Bus I saw in London! :-)

Albert Memorial

Buckingham Palace

10 Downing Street

I forgot the name of this, but I do believe it was in the St. James's area.

One of the four lions guarding the Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square.

The top part of the Lord Nelson Column

The George Washington Statue in Trafalgar Square

St. Martin-in-the-Fields

The steps of St. Paul's were the scene Feed the Birds in Mary Poppins was filmed. Fun!

St. Paul's

OK, Americans what bridge is this?
I know you are thinking London Bridge, but guess what?
It is called, Tower Bridge.

Tower of London

Some pretty church in London

The London Eye

What is the name of this Americans, the true name?
It is not Big Ben but, Bell Tower. The bell inside the tower is called Big Ben, so everyone calls it Big Ben.

Westminster Abby

Westminster Abby again from another view.

Upstairs Downstairs Houses in Kensington.

This picture shows almost all of our bags, not mine and my moms but, the whole tour groups.

We were able to see so much in the morning, things we really wanted to see that we don't have to visit them latter this week. Hurray! Another good thing was that we were able to get out at the Albert Memorial, Buckingham Palace, and St. Pauls to walk around a bit and get some great pictures.

I'll try to post more pictures Tuesday, as we have Victoria & Albert, Suzi's House, and As You Like It play at Shakespeare Globe on Monday.

I'll give you all a taste of we have done in the past few days. I will try to post pictures later. I promise! On Friday, the day we arrived, we visited the Tower of London in the afternoon. Saturday, September 12th we toured Shakespeare's Globe, visited Portobello Road Market (Oh, I have a funny story to tell about that), and Marylebone. Sunday, September 13th we attended Metropolitan Tabernacle, Charles Spurgeon's church. After church my mom and walked to the Imperial War Museum and the Westminster area. Afterwards we took the tube back to the hotel to rest our feet, then we back out on the road. We walked to Kensington High Street to visit a Laura Ashley store to browse around, as they left America. :( Then we walked to Kensington Gardens and saw the Peter Pan statue. After that we headed to the hotel and I'll tell the rest latter, as I HAVE to get to bed. It is like 12:48 AM here! :-)

Talk to you all later!

~Ashley

Flying into the London Airport

When we were flying to London this morning we went right over Ireland, in fact very near Dublin. :-)
And I have pictures of Ireland, thanks to Amy who had the window seat.

 The coast of Ireland

More of Ireland

Little Flight Map

The flight seamed very long. It was a evening flight, so I tried to get some sleep. I got about 1-2 hours of sleep at the most I think, don't take my word as I never really looked at a clock while on the flight.

Well, it is getting late over here and I must get some sleep. For in morning I'll tour Shakespeare Globe and in the afternoon go shopping. I'm also hoping to stop by at The Sherlock Holmes Museum too. 

I'll try to post more pictures of today tomorrow. I have a good many to share! Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, and many more! 

Sorry if anything is spelled wrong, I can't tell and I'm so tired!!! Goodnight.

~Ashley

Back from Guam Wedding!!

Hi All! I'm baaack!! And can't wait to tell you all about my wedding and fun on Guam. And I got sunburned for the first time in my life. (That just tells you how not an outdoor person I am.) I most likely got the sunburn wearing my gown doing the beach photo shoot following our noon ceremony. My shoulder have been hurting ever since, but I would still do everything all over again because not everyday I get to be on Guam!!



I will have more details on my fun in Guam in later posts.



Me still in makeup and gown after the ceremony:

Getting Ready to Leave for "Across the Pond"

Well, in the past few days I have been busy packing for my trip. I have also been finishing up some sewing projects for the trip too. :) So I think I'm finally ready to leave tomorrow.

I have been getting so nervous in the past few days, or weeks. :) This is a trip of many first. First time away from home, for more than a week-end. First time out of America. First plane trip after 9/11. My last plane trip was ten years ago.

Besides being nervous, I am excited for this chance to visit London, UK. As some of the sites I'll get the chance to visit are: Shakespeare Globe (behind the scenes tour and a play), Tower of London, Kensington Palace, Metropolitan Tabernacle, Portobello road, Greenwich, Victoria & Albert Museum, and so much more! Sound fun?!? :-)

Well, I'll see you all again when I'm in London!!!!

~Ashley

Picture: taken by my sister Gabrielle.

Inspiration from Target...

I'm always on the look out for new inspiration. Though, at times I think I have too much inspiration and not enough time or fabric for it all! I want to share what I found inspiring from Target this week. Ready? Here we go!

 

 

Juniors' Mossimo Supply Co. Plaid Pintuck Shirt Dress - Black/White - Target

  I don't know why, but I really like this shirt. The large black & white plaid (which is like my wool coat) just draws me in. :-)

Juniors' Mossimo Supply Co. Boatneck Pullover - Yum Yum Plum

 I have been drawn by this shade of purple lately, which is good as normally I'm drawn by only blues. ;)

What I really like about this pullover sweater, is the button trim on the shoulder.  

 

Juniors' Mossimo Supply Co. Boatneck Cardigan - Ever Reddy

I have always been drawn to sweaters with diamonds; don't know why? The great thing is, they are "in" this year! Hurray!  

Merona® Cotton Chelsea Peacoat - Purple

 A cute, double breasted peacoat that comes in several colors. My favorite is the purple one, though the black and brown ones are nice too.

Juniors' Xhilaration® Challis Maxi Skirt - Chocolate

A nice long skirt, which is rare to find at Target. The name says "Chocolate" but the skirt is definitely blue, not brown. :p  

Juniors' Xhilaration® Challis Maxi Skirt - Plum 

The skirt also comes in plum, if blue dosn't strike your fancy, or if you are trying to get away from blue in your wardrobe, like me. :)

 

Mossimo® Felt Cloche with Feather - Grey 

The cloche is back! It was here last year, but it is back once again! I'm so happy as the "newsboy" style dosn't look good on me at all, the cloche is the one for me. I would love to pick up this version up, they also have it in black, but I already have a black cloche that I bought at Kohls last year. 

 

Women's Xhilaration® Susan Pumps - Plum 

Are these the cutest the shoes you have ever seen! I don't know if I would wear wear these, but they sure are cute! But then again, I do have a weakness for shoes. :)

 

Women's Mossimo Supply Co. Katherine Leather Engineer Boots - Dark Tan 

A nice sturdy pair of boots, that don't cost to much ether, only $49.99. Which is better then some of the boots I like which range from $200 - $800, no, thanks! I would rather spend under $50 for a pair of boots.

 

Women's Xhilaration® Kalliope Button Ankle Boots - Brown 

These are cute, but the heel is way too much for me. If only the heel was shorter, as these have a great Victorian/Edwardian inspired look.

 

 

Women's Mossimo Supply Co. Ozella Flats - Teal

 I'm really going out of my normal shoe choices here, as usually I only go towards black and brown shoes. This year I have been branching out and I'm wanting to add some splashes of color to my wardrobe. These shoes are so cute and in my favorite color of blue!

These are just some of the fun styles I found at Target this week. Some of these things I can try to recreate myself, like the jacket and shirt. The others would be best bought. :)

 

What are your favorites from Target this fall? Is there anything you just have to have for this fall? Or is there anything you think is just plain ugly?

All images are from http://www.target.com/. 

Moving + Shopping Diary

Just want to let all of you friends & followers know that my absence for the past 2 weeks has been due to my busy getting ready for chapel wedding and moving into a new place. Some of you may have already known from previous posts that I'll be going to Guam this weekend for a chapel wedding. It's honestly no fun at all with moving being so close to the wedding.



I have quite a few outfit photos that I should have posted, but are now still sitting on hubby's computer due to our moving. I'll get those posted as soon as time allows. Right now a little update on my recent guilty pleasures.



Gentleman hats are being popularized by all the Japanese fashion magazines. It's THE must-have accessory for Summer. I saw tons of gentleman hats in all sizes and fabrics at the night market, but I felt in love with this one when I tried it on. The color is neutral and will go with just about any color wardrobe, and I love love love the turquoise flower detail.








A nude/powder pink bandaged heels. Need I say more? Bandaged heels is a must this season. I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more of this in my future postings.






I hardly ever fall for a skirt, but this high-waisted circle skirt catches my eyes. Besides I can't go wrong with black, can I?






Hubby and I had steak Taiwanese style - steak on spaghetti noodles, with a "sunny side up". Steak sauce is served on the side. The steak tastes different from those in the States, but still tasty.