Another year gone, another one begins - WOW!
This may have been the quickest year of my life.
What a great one it's been, though.

I started this little space as a 'travel/studyabroad/callitwhatyouwant' type of blog.  I wrote about my adventures through Europe, favorite locations, bucket lists, etc.

I wrote about the things that pertained to my life at the time - looking for jobs, finding a flat, getting a visa, moving to London, etc.

And now I'm IN London - I'm traveling less, settling more, but still writing about what is going on in my life.
It's different.

So how do I manage to make that transition from writing about travel to writing more about life, and having people want to still read?

I mean, you can't write about your past forever.

Why would I want to?

I love my life right now, and that's what I want to share.
I'm finding out who I am, what I want,
what opportunities are out there, and working towards that things that I want.
Whether that includes a trip to another country, a night out in the city, what I'm doing towards my degree, or even a visit to the theatre
 it's my life in London, and that's what I started writing here for.

Plain and simple, this blog began to document my life, and that's exactly what I'm doing.

I'm an expat - I'm making a life for myself on the other side of the word.

I found something (erm, somewhere?) that took hold of my heart, and couldn't shake it until I found my way back. And what do you do in those cases? Duh, you find your way back.

It's called chasing your dreams.

And I guess that's what this blog really comes down to in the end.
It's about being passionate about your life - finding what you truly want, and going for it.

The fact that people want to read about it, in my case though, is something I wasn't completely expecting, but turned out to be more rewarding than I could have ever imagined.

"Thank you for documenting everything you've gone through"

It's receiving things like this that make me so happy I decided to start this blog.  I remember before I traveled abroad for the first time, I went crazy on blog-searches for any type of real experience, not some Lonely Planet review or London travel guide. While they are great resources, I wanted to read about a someone's personal journey - someone like me.

And to be able to get messages like this - that I'm helping someone with their decisions on studying abroad, moving abroad, whatever it may be - is absolutely priceless.
Thank god for Heather, who was always there to bring me down from craziness and overwhelming thoughts about the future and what we were doing.  I'm all for independence, but having someone to give the reassurance that I was taking the right path is something that I needed. And to be able to be that person for other people is an amazing feeling. 

Talk about paying it forward, eh?

 Look, I have no idea what the next year is going to bring for me.

I could find a job in London, I could not.

I could preparing to fly back to America this time next year - I could be jumping ship to some other random place. Who knows really.

2014 has been a year of doing everything I'd been dreaming of.

And now that, after three years of work, that's out of the way,

I'm pretty excited to see where 2015 is going to take me.

Thank you for reading this little space and for taking this adventure with me.

Happy New Year!

1. The last Sunday of 2014. What??

It's hard to reflect back on this year, because everything in my being was going towards moving to London.

To finally be here is pretty ridiculous, if you ask me.
A lot of hard work paid off, and still paying off.

From the time I went to study abroad, I never thought the next year could top it,

but that was 3 years ago, and every year since has been even better? Now that's what's actually ridiculous.

But I'm not complaining - bring on 2015 - I'm ready for ya!

2. This article on life - Why My Life Isn't Falling Into Place.

Very fitting for this time in my life,

and probably yours as well.

One of my biggest downfalls is I'm big on 'the comparies.'

I know what my life is and I am over the moon about it,

but there are times I see others adventures, successes, etc. and get a little down that I don't have that too.

But everyone has a story - most of us only choose to talk/show/post about the good things.

And that's totally fine. Why would I bask in my struggles?

It just makes you realize that we'll never have it all.

And we'll most likely never have it all figured out either.

But hey - that's life, right?

3. Ever wonder what London would look like without all the people?

Check it out - it's kind of creepy. And cool.

5. I reached 30K views last week! For just 6 months with this little space, I feel pretty good about that.

To celebrate, I am being that typical blogger and created this little feedback survey for you all.

Just a few questions about you, and me, and this here blog thang.

HELP A SISTA OUT HERE

Happy 2015!!

Merry post-Christmas!

Is that a thing? We're making it a thing.

BECAUSE there was no Fab Four Friday for Christmas last week,

we're celebrating an extra day for them.

Every year in the 60s, The Beatles sent out a Christmas recording to their fan club members
that featured a message from each one, along with their typical witty antics.

There is one for every year they were together, but 1963 is one of my favorites.
So young and lively - just the cutest.

So in the words of Mr. John Lennon,
"Garry crimble to you
Garry mimble to you
Getty bable, dear christmas
Happy birthday me too!"

crisp, ripe, fruity, aromatic, even dessert!

A simple insert of your card and you're on to tasting whatever you'd like.

There was also a champagne bar, as well as a spirits lounge to taste liquors.

We stuck to wine and champagne.

"Yeah, yeah yeah. That's really cool and all, but you said FREE STUFF HERE"

OKAY OKAY.
On to the free things!

It's actually even better than just free stuff - it's CATH KIDSTON.
Social moguls such as baby Prince George have been recently photographed wearing this,
so you're only one of the cool kids if you're wearing it too.
 

That's right - another giveaway!
I told you this was the greatest post ever...

All your Christmas/Hanukkah shopping is done and you're ready to relax for the rest of the holidays. But how would you like to win one more present for yourself? 

I've teamed up with some fabulous bloggers to give away a fabulous Cath Kidston tote. You can choose either one, or any item on the Cath Kidston website of equal or lesser value (or any combination of items totally to £45).

 Get to know your hosts and how to enter after the jump!