National Lampoon's Disneyland Vacation

Just hook it to my veins!

This past week I went on holiday to Disneyland and California Adventure and had a fantastic time. I've been going to Disneyland nearly every year (sometimes twice a year) since I was 5 months old but this might be my best trip ever. I went with my friends Heather, Jackie and Maddie and we met up with their friend Krista who works at the park.

Jackie had made a Disney playlist for the trip so on the car ride over we had a 6 hour Disney sing-along (which had every track from the Lion King in like, 5 different versions, haha). The first night I went to Downtown Disney while everyone else was off doing their thing and did some perusing. Krista got a 40% off employee discount so I wanted to get an idea of what I wanted to buy later.



Giant Mickey-o-lantern

We got to the park Monday morning at 8am (my half-birthday btw) and would end up staying all the way til close at 11pm. 15 HOURS OF DISNEY. It was a LONG day but a really good one, blessed even. The lines were super short all day and we didn't have to wait more than 20 minutes on any ride; most rides we only had to wait like, 5 minutes. I had heard about days like this from other people but had never experienced one myself. I think the reason why the park wasn't so crowded was due to the fact that it was "closing" at 6pm for Mickey's Halloween Party which ran from 6-11pm (Krista had gotten us tickets to that too). We went on all the rollercoasters at least 3 times each and pretty much got to do everything we wanted to do. We even had time to catch a few shows, parades, and the fireworks as well. One of the major highlights of the day, though, was I saw my very first DISNEYLAND CAT! I had heard about the feral cats that lived at the park about 5 years ago and in all the years I've been going to Disneyland, we'd never seen one. That morning I had been telling Heather about them and said that anyone who spotted one got 1 million points. About an hour later we were over by Big Thunder Ranch Barbeque when I see this massive black and white tomcat!! I whipped out my camera just in time to snap a pic of him looking right at me before he scurried away. It was totally unreal!

Big Thunder Railroad has been my favorite ride for a long time and I was so thrilled to get to ride it for the first time since its reopen. I loved the new explosion part near the end but was glad that they didn't change anything else. Being a Taurus, change isn't really my thing. My least favorite ride of the day, sadly, was Splash Mountain. I volunteered to sit in the front since no one else wanted to and I got more soaked than I've ever been. I think they raised the water levels on the ride when they renovated it because in 24 years of sitting in the front of the ride I've never gotten so drenched. It was like I'd had a bucket (a large bucket) of water dumped over me. It took the rest of the day for my to dry off. It was pretty miserable and I think that'll be the end of my days of sitting in the front on Splash Mountain.

The next morning we went to California Adventure, which I had never been to. It was perfect for a second day park but if I'm only there for one day, I'm going to choose the Magic Kingdom. They didn't open til 10am so we got to sleep in a little. Krista was totally on top of scheduling and getting fast passes. I was really impressed! We made sure we got our fast passes to the Cars ride since it's new and really popular then we walked over to the ferris wheel. This ferris wheel was cool because it has swinging carts; I'd never heard of swinging carts and it was really neat! Next was "California Screamin" which was their big rollercoaster. It was pretty intense and made me think of "The Demon" in Copenhagen.

One category that CA beats the Magic Kingdom in is FOOD. We ate SO well there. I had this delicious pesto 5-cheese ravioli with pine nuts for lunch, a frozen lemonade for my snack and a mandarin orange tofu rice bowl for dinner. Yum yum yum! Some kiddy rides that I enjoyed were the Toy Story Midway Mania, Ariel's Undersea Adventure, Silly Symphony Swings, and Monster's Inc. At dusk we went to see "Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular". Usually I don't go to any shows or watch any parades when I visit a theme park but I'm glad that Krista talked us into it because I think everyone really enjoyed them (plus it was nice to sit and relax for a while). The boy who played Aladdin was cute as heck too so that might have been the reason I enjoyed the show so much ;) I also liked Tower of Terror a lot. I'd been on it at Disney World but this one was better. Oh, and I forgot to talk about "Cars", which was awesome. The outside part of the ride where you race was designed I think to look like Zion National Park and it was just GORGEOUS!

My FAVORITE thing at California Adventure, however, was the World of Color. I hadn't heard anything about it so I didn't know what to expect but it was one of the most beautiful shows I've ever seen. It was a water and light show on Paradise Pier and they projected images from lots of Disney films onto the water. It was so lovely that I got a little emotional (I think all of us did). It just made me think of my childhood and how these films were such a huge part of my life ever since I was 5 years old. The Little Mermaid was the first Disney movie that I became absolutely OBSESSED with and it was also the same film that taught me how to sing. Next time any of you visit this park you MUST see this show! I demand it!

The last day of the trip we went to Newport Beach. I usually go to Huntington Beach when I go to California with my dad so I'd never been to this beach before but it was really nice. For it being October, the water wasn't really cold at all and I had so much fun playing in the sea. I just felt so happy and free. It was so wonderful. After the beach we met up with our friend Sharleen who's going to CalArts for graduate school. We hadn't seen her since August so it was so nice to see her face. I miss her a lot :(

I'd been a bit stressed about this trip since I'd never traveled with such a large group before but I'm happy to say that everything turned out great and I had a fabulous vacation. Now I'm super stoked about my next trip coming up in February. It hasn't been finalized yet so I'll tell you all about it once I have my plane ticket. Stay tuned!

Time Capsule 2014

Me in 2k14

So it's already been a whole year since the last time I did a Time Capsule post. This year feels like it went by faster than any other year, well, ever. Maybe because so many good things happened in 2014. Of course this year has had it's low points (that's part of the whole human experience) but as a whole it's been a fantastic year.

Now let's get into what Ms. Doom was into in the year 2014!

My Life in 2014:
Favorite Films I saw in the theatre: What If, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Pride, The Wind Rises
 What I was listening to: Phoenix, Taylor Swift, Vampire Weekend, Florence + the Machine, the Frozen soundtrack
What I was reading: A Song of Ice and Fire (books 3-5), Harry Potter 1-7, Before I Go to Sleep, Gone Girl, Pride and Prejudice, All Men are Jerks (until proven otherwise)
Shows I was watching: Game of Thrones, The X-files, Orange is the New Black, Adventure Time, Parade's End, Girls, The Big Bang Theory
Trends I was into: peter pan collars, rompers, wing eyeliner, high waisted shorts, jellies
Trends I hated: acid wash denim, pointy finger nails, 90s grunge fashion
What I was driving: Buick Regal
Who I was crushing on: Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Kit Harington, Daniel Radcliffe, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Games I was playing: Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Hyrule Warriors, Ocarina of Time, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask
Best Friends: Melissa, Rosalynn, Michelle , Ashley, Heather
Favorite Restaurant: Tea Lite Noodle Café
What I was looking forward to: My Disneyland trip and my trip to Thailand!
What I was most proud of: travelling all over Europe with my bff, being featured on the 100 Creatives List in the New Times, drawing again, and selling lots of art!
Dream Pets: tea cup piggy
Favorite color(s): mustard yellow, hot pink, turquoise, moss green
Most Used Words: omg!, bb, wowzers, bananas, so cute!
Favorite Food: Veggie Eggrolls on rice noodles with veggies and Hoisen sauce (yum!)
Pet Peeve: misogyny
People I admired: Melissa Winning, Chelsea Bloxsom, Kelly Anne-Boylan, ALB, Lauren Crow

September Wrap Up

(Doesn't have a title yet)
Pastel and paper
2014

Things have been a little bananas the past few weeks. I got the flu for the first time in a long time and have been a gigantic baby about it. I've been pretty healthy for the past year and a half so I was disappointed in my immune system for succumbing to illness. I called in sick to work on Wednesday (my first call-in since I started working there) and probably should've called out yesterday and the day before but since I'm only part time I don't get any sick days so I'd have to use up my vacation time which I'm not willing to do. That vacation time is MINE. And I already know what I want to do with it...(insert pause for dramatic effect)

My very dear friend Michelle has invited me to come along with her to Thailand this winter while she visits her mother. I am beyond excited about this! It doesn't even feel real. I've only had my passport for less than a year and I'm already going to knock another continent off my list! The flight will be hella long (24 hours) but it'll be worth it. I've always wanted to visit Bangkok; it's incredibly beautiful and from what I've read, there's lots and lots of things to do. Michelle's mother has an apartment there so we'll have a place to stay and a very good friend of mine, Shong, lives there and is going to show us around a bit. I'm SO looking forward to finally meeting him in real life. Shong was the very first fan of my comic strip "Marksville" and we've been internet friends for nearly 8 years. I've been wanting to meet him for so long and can't believe it's finally going to happen! Right now we're just waiting for Michelle's vacation time to get approved and then I'm going to talk to my boss about it. I should have more than enough PTO hours by that time (we plan on going the first week of February) so hopefully he won't have a problem with me requesting a week off.

Wedding Heirloom Embroidery (a gift)

Another exciting thing that's happened recently is my darling friend, Stacee, got married on Saturday and I was in her bridal party. It was my first time being a bridesmaid and I felt so honored that she asked me to be a part of her special day. The day of the wedding, though, we had a huge storm and it rained so hard I could barely drive. Michelle came along as my date and I thought I knew where I was going but as usual I had no clue and got us SO LOST! I realized things had gone awry when there were cows right outside the window. I had no memory of the venue being out in farm country when I'd gone there for the rehearsal. Michelle GPSed where we were and I had gone like 20 miles in the WRONG DIRECTION. Aiya! Luckily, we got there safe and sound (we saw so many wrecks and cars that had driven right off the road) but I felt pretty crummy being so late. But Stacee looked so BEAUTIFUL--OHMYGOODNESS! She looked like a princess. I wish I had pictures to post but I only took Instax photos. I'm usually the one taking 10 billion photos and get so busy with that that I don't really experience the moment as much as I should and I didn't want that to happen this time; I wanted to look at everything and remember everything with my own eyes instead of through a lens. So I'll just have to wait until Stacee's photos are on Facebook then snitch some. It was so nice being right there during the ceremony and getting to hear all of the vows and see all of the emotions and everything. I'd never been so close at a wedding before and you miss a lot of that stuff when you're sitting 20 feet away. It was so hard not to cry through the whole thing. I was so touched too when they brought me a vegetarian meal made just for me. Stacee is pure ANGEL!

In other news, I've been taking a bit of a break from my embroidery work the past 2 months and have been focusing on my illustration work. So far I've completed two full color pastel drawings in a series of kitten portraits (as seen above). I'm nearly done with the third and will be starting a fourth soon. I've been wanting to get more comfortable working in color so this has been a great opportunity for me to practice. So far I'm very happy with the progress I've made and feel like I'm learning more with each drawing. Once I have some decent photos of the rest of the drawings I'd like to start selling them as prints in my Etsy shop (www.iggystarpup.com) and then get them framed so I can perhaps show them around Phoenix. As much as I enjoy embroidery it's been a nice change to draw again. I love going to the art supply store to pick up new pastel colors. Soon I'm going to have every shade of Nu Pastel they have! After I'm finished with my kitten series I'd like to draw some other animals as well; right now I'm thinking a pug, bunny, and a deer. I could draw animals in pretty dresses forever to be honest.

I said in my last post that I was going to post some new hoops, so here's my newest pieces (they're all Adventure Time hoops). BUMPS!

Homies Help Homies
SOLD

Marceline the Vampire Queen
$33.00



Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum
$33.00

Earl of Lemongrab
$40.00

LSP "Every Party Is My Party"
SOLD

Melancholy Baby

I've gotta be real here, I'm still bummin'. The past few weeks have been all full of suck. I've been trying to keep a positive attitude but it can be really difficult when shitty things are happening on a regular basis. I've been stuck in a rut and not doing a very good job of hoisting myself out of it.

First, I had a falling out with a dude who I really wasn't even friends with. I won't get into the specifics but he was treating me pretty shitty and when I finally spoke up about it he got all bent out of shape and pretty much cyber-bullied me. It was really childish and was another reality check of why I don't have any hetero male friends. It's just too complicated and weird. I'm trying really hard not to be a man-hater but the men in my life aren't giving me much reason not to be. I can count the decent men I know on one hand and that's really depressing.

On top of that I've been feeling pretty down about my career. As much as I love making art I'm at a point in my life where I need more financial stability that art just isn't providing for me. I'm not going hungry or anything but being poor for long has been pretty taxing on me. To be perfectly honest, I'm very unhappy with my living situation and would like to get my own place in the not too distant future. However, in order to do this my current day job would have to become full-time (and who knows when or if that will ever happen) or I have to start looking for a different job and the prospect of having to change my life around again has been pretty stressful. I hate looking for new jobs like the plague but then on the other hand, the idea of doing my current job at the retirement home 40 hours a week is pretty daunting as well.

My original life plan was to meet a man with a good head on his shoulders and we'd find our way together but that's the thing about plans, they never work out. I'm finding out that I'm on my own here and I need to start figuring out how I'm going to take care of myself. I can't keep waiting for some dude to come along and save me or whatever. And I love my family but I've gotten to an age where I just can't handle seeing them every single day. I've pretty much become my mother's care giver and she only really speaks to me when she needs something from me. Whenever I try to talk about how I'm feeling or what's going on in my life she turns up the volume on the tv and totally tunes me out. My dad and I get along very well but I rarely see him these days and when I do talk to him all he can tell me is that everything is going to work out and not to worry about anything. He's retiring this upcoming spring so he's been working as much as he possibly can to save money. It'll be a relief when he's home to take care of my mother so I can get my freedom back and won't have to feel guilty anytime I want to go out with my friends.

I don't know. Do you ever look at your life and wonder what the heck happened or where did the time go? It feels like I just got back from Seattle but that was almost 2 years ago already. I would've thought that by now I'd have some idea of what I want to do with my life but I feel just as lost as ever. If you would've asked me at 12 years old what my life would be like at 30 years old I probably would've said that I'd be a professional artist with a good husband and probably a kid or two (ew). Not in a billion years did would I ever have thought I'd develop social anxiety at 14 and it would completely turn my life upside down. I know I've made tremendous progress with my disorder but there are days where I still feel like a fuck-up. People like to say that we create our own reality; if that's true, I'm creating a pretty shitty reality for myself. I guess I just need to trust in the Universe and myself more. Things might be tough right now but life has a way of balancing itself out again.

The shining light through this bummer time of my life have been my friends. I might not have a lot of friends but they ones I do have are true blue. I'm very lucky to have found such wonderful people who really love me and understand me. It's comforting to know that I'm not completely alone in the world. I do have people out there rooting for me and who will love me regardless if I ever become a famous artist. I may be unlucky in love in the romantic department but I think I've done pretty well in platonic love.

Okies, well, I'm gonna try to keep my chin up and stay as positive as I can. But if any of you could spare some positive vibes, I'd really appreciate it! Take care, friends!

Love,
Iggy

"P" is for Positivity (and Pizza)

I've been pretty bummin' lately with all of the crazy things going on in the world (Gaza, Ferguson, the death of Robin Williams) so I thought I'd do a post centering around all of the positive things in my life. Sound like a good idea?

I thought so too.

So here's a short list of positive aspects of my life and things that make me happy:

*I'm healthy. I am so fortunate to have a healthy body and am so thankful that it takes care of me. A year ago I started exercising regularly after having an injury and it has really helped to strengthen my body and calm my mind. Taking care of your body is super important and you feel so much better physically and mentally when your body is well cared for.

*My family. Of course my family can drive me absolutely crazy at times but I really am lucky to have them (minus the demon brother). My parents are two of the kindest people I know and have been so good to me. They've supported me through every decision (good and bad) that I've been inclined to make and have shown me what it means to love someone unconditionally (even if they are a 30 year old spinster struggling artist babe).

*My best friend and soul mate, Melissa. This girl came into my life 7 years ago (thanks to Myspace) and over the years we've grown from internet buds, to pen pals, to best friends (forever). She is a delightful and beautiful human being and I'm so privileged to have her in my life. Even though we live an ocean apart I feel closer to her than anyone else I know. No matter how crummy I'm feeling she knows just what to say to cheer me up. I wish we lived in the same time zone but hey, you never know, someday we might!

*Dogs. Dogs have brought immeasurable joy into my life. Don't get me wrong, I love cats with all of my heart but dogs give their love so openly and freely and without judgment. Whenever I see a dog I light up like a birthday cake. Dogs seem to be naturally drawn to me and I to them (I like to think of myself as a modern-day Snow White). I loved how easy it was to communicate with all of the dogs I encountered in Europe; they took one look at me and they knew I was a friend. I'm very much looking forward to the day I can get my own dog (or two). I think it's going to be one of the happiest days of my life.

*Art. Even though it has been difficult and the field is extremely competitive, I still believe that my purpose in this life is to make art. There are times where I feel like I've let my parents down by choosing art since I had the grades to pursue whatever career I wanted but none of those paths felt right until I ultimately followed my heart and chose to be an artist. I am a firm believer that people should do what they love regardless of how much money they'll make. Art hasn't made me rich and most likely never will but if you're just making art for the money, then you're in the wrong business. When I am working on a piece I become totally engulfed in the process and work into the late hours of the night often without even realizing it. Nothing else has ever captivated me as much as making art and I'd like to continue to make it for the rest of my life. Another thing I'm grateful for is knowing that my art brings joy to others. Imagine that something that brings you so much happiness is also able to bring happiness to other human beings. It's win-win! My fans are very special to me and have no idea how much I appreciate their support.



As a person who has struggled with depression and anxiety it's all too easy to focus on the negative parts of life. To be honest, Robin Williams death really affected me personally because I know from personal experience how hard it is to hide your true feelings and thoughts from others and conceal your pain. Often times people who have depression are the ones who are making everyone laugh and seem happy on the outside because they don't want people to feel the things they feel. I've made tremendous progress with my anxiety but dealing with depression is still something I struggle with. I've learned that self-love and acceptance are very important, though, and I'm working on finding happiness inside myself instead of seeking it through other people. I'm a work in progress, but we all are, right?

I recommend that you take sometime tonight (or whatever time of day you're reading this) to reflect on the good things and people in your life. And if you are struggling and need help, don't be afraid to ask for it. You are very important and we all deserve love and respect.

Thanks for reading this post and take care, sweet potato!

Love,
Iggy

Queen of Summer Time

Little Merbabe

It's crazy that it's already been 3 months since I got back from Europe. Mentally, I haven't completely come back yet. I find myself daydreaming about it a million times a day. It's also a bit of a drag coming back to your everyday life after going on an adventure. A week after I got home I was already super jealous of my friends going on vacation. Why can't I just go on all the vacations? Oh, yeah, because I'm an adult and being an adult SUCKSSS.

I have had some good times this summer, though. I got this adorable mermaid bikini and got to wear it to a waterpark. I hadn't been to a waterpark since I was 10 so I didn't really know what to expect but Michelle and I had a great time. We went to Big Surf in Tempe and after 3pm tickets were half price. I don't think I'd have the energy to go all the time, but it was fun. From an anthropological standpoint, it was very interesting as well. You see ALL KINDS of people at a waterpark and I love me some good people watching.



Sophie and Kiki

Another fun thing I did this summer was that I went to Phoenix Comic Con for the first time. I went as Kiki from "Kiki's Delivery Service" and was stoked by how many people knew who I was. I took pictures with people all day (so much that my friends were getting super annoyed by me being stopped every few minutes). I only went on Saturday but I feel like I got the full experience in that one day. I got to ride the light rail in full costume and look like an absolute freak to people who didn't know about Comic Con, I got to see John Barrowman and Nathan Fillion who were both really funny, I got to see TONS of great cosplayers, and I got to shop (I didn't actually buy anything but I do love a good browse). I'm already super excited about next year! I just need to narrow down which costume I want to put together...I've been wanting to get a Sailor Mars costume for a while since my hair is finally long enough but I really really don't want to wear heels all day. Maybe I'll go as Nausicaa. Who knows!



Michelle and I

Two weeks ago I went to an art show and that was cool. It's funny that as an artist, I never go to art shows. People ask me all the time if I ever show my work and I'm always like, "OH, YEAH! I SHOULD DO THAT!" and then I never do. I'm one of those artists who are more interested in making more work than showing existing work. It would probably do me some good to get some more local exposure but I'm just sooooo lazy about that stuff. I need a manager or an assistant. I'll just lock myself in my room and sew while I watch the X-files while some grunt goes out and shows my portfolio to galleries, haha. Anyway, my friend's bf was having a show at a venue called "Monarch" in downtown Phoenix so all of us girls went to show our support. Art shows are apparently also great places to people watch; they attract all sorts of weirdos (including me).




The Duce

I went dancing one last time at the beginning of the summer before it got crazy hot. We like to go dancing at The Duce but they don't have A/C so going in the summer months is no bueno. Even going in June it got a bit too hot for Mama.



#sarinotsorry

Recently, I went to a "Sari Party" at Sharleen's last month and that was a lot of fun too. Since I didn't have a sari I had to make do with a bed sheet, haha. Sharleen ordered Indian food for all of us and made these delicious drinks called "mango lassi". I watched my first Bollywood film and LOVED IT! It was called "Three Idiots" and it was SO GOOD! It had everything: comedy, drama, singing, dancing, and even a bit of horror. I don't think I've enjoyed a movie so much in a long time. RENT IT.

I probably did a lot more fun things this summer but these stand out the most in my memory. There's still a little over a month left but I'm pretty ready for fall. Halloween is so close I can almost taste it, haha :)

Next post I really am going to post some new art. Promise!

Paris Part II and the Journey Home

Notre Dame

As I sit down to write this final travel post, I realize that we did not even come close to taking enough pictures of our trip. At the time we felt like we were taking mountains of photos but looking back on them I think I only took a total of 200 or maybe even less than that. From this experience I have learned that when it comes to vacations (and life in general) you can never take ENOUGH pictures.

Now let me wrap up our final day in Paris. Since it was our last day we wanted more of a leisurely day where we could just walk around and enjoy the city without a huge itinerary to follow. We decided to begin with Notre Dame. When we arrived there was already a sizeable queue but having survived the queue at Versailles the day before this one pretty small potatoes. It started sprinkling a bit while we were waiting outside but the line moved pretty quickly and we were inside in no time.



Mon chatton and the Seine

 
As many of you know, I'm not a religious person (though I was baptized Catholic) but upon walking into this church I felt strangely calm. My tummy had been a little weird since I had woken up (probably anticipation anxiety about this being our last day) but I felt fine as soon as I walked in the doors...Pretty weird! Also, I had been looking for a souvenir for my mother the whole trip and hadn't found anything yet but as we were walking out of Notre Dame I saw a gift shop. I thought it was a little blasphemous that they had a gift shop right inside the church but whatever. I had to shove my way through a mob of people but I managed to snag a beautiful azure blue rosary for my mum. Supposedly, all of the rosaries had been blessed and I knew my mom would love that.

I'd been waiting to shop in Paris since we arrived and when Melissa told me there was a Forever21 a few blocks away from Notre Dame I knew my time had come. On our walk over we got to see lots of adorable flower shops and I saw another pug! When we got to F21 we both separated for a bit while we perused the goods. We met up at the line to the fitting room and could not believe that we had picked the same romper but in slightly different cuts! We truly are soul sisters!

Shopping built up our appetites so we went in search of lunch. We stumbled upon a little café where a cute boy was making Nutella crepes outside. After we sat down Melissa went to the restroom so I was left alone at the table. I knew the waitress was going to come while I was there by myself and sure as sugar she did. She spoke in rapid French as I sat there with a blank look on my face like O__O She then asked if I spoke French and when I said "no" she made a face and put the menus on the table and walked away. That was my one and only taste of the French being snooty. Once Melissa came back she ordered for us while I sat there being a mute once again. I got a vegetable soup and bread which was just okay but I was pretty starving so I would've eaten just about anything. I remember Melissa getting this bright green minty soda that I thought tasted like mouthwash. ;)



Spooky art at the Louvre

After lunch we headed over to the Louvre since you can't visit Paris without seeing the Louvre (those are the rules). When we were waiting in line for tickets these two super cute girls asked us if we wanted their tickets and we scooped them up! Thanks, strangers! I'm all about random acts of kindness. Since we hadn't actually paid for our tickets we weren't given a map so we just picked a wing at random. This was not the best decision since we ended up in the medieval section. It was nothing but religious paintings and they all bummed us out. You can only see so many crucifixion paintings before you start to feel cruddy. To be honest, I only think we spent an hour and half in the museum. We quickly realized that you needed to set an entire day aside to really appreciate this museum and we just didn't have that kind of time so we bailed. It was also easier to bail early since we hadn't spent any money getting in. Boop!



I'm a huge Amelie fan and had been dying to see Montmartre so we got on the metro and headed over. On our walk around Montmartre we got to see the Moulin Rouge but didn't go in. When we got to "Les Deux Moulins" I totally geeked out. I could not believe that I was actually standing right outside the café that my favorite fictional heroine worked at. It was pretty packed inside but we went in anyway. They sat us down in the back by a mirror with a huge poster from the movie on it. It was so cool to get to have a pineapple juice in The Two Windmills. I even used their toilets, which I might add, were UNISEX! I'd never been in a unisex toilet before so that's something to mark off the list.

After our little break we walked over to the park where the Sacré-Cœur is since that's one of my favorite scenes from the movie. It started to rain as soon as we got there and we were pretty beat so we took a few pics then headed back to the metro. I don't think we even had dinner that night since we were so exhausted.

The next morning we tidied up the apartment and then headed back to the airport. It was rainy and cold when we got back to Scotland but Melissa didn't care. She was just super happy to be back home (it was way cute). We watched "Our Idiot Brother" when we got back to her place (one of my faves) then her mum took us out for Chinese food for dinner. That night her mum told us all about her childhood growing up in Glasgow and I loved hearing all of her stories. I always get along great with people's mothers since I'm sweet and polite :)

My flight back to the states came earlier than I'd hoped. Melissa and I both wore our matching rompers and her mum took this adorable photo of us. As I was expecting there would be, there were some tears as we said goodbye to each other. I felt like I was leaving one of my limbs behind. We got so used to each other's company after spending 17 days together. Even now, three months later I get super emotional thinking about it and I miss her everyday. Sigh...



Matchy Matchy

My flight to the UK was nothing compared to the journey home. I had a layover in Heathrow for FOUR HOURS. Since I had run out of pounds ages ago I decided to wait until my flight back to the states to eat so I finished off my last protein bar and washed it down with water. The time didn't go by fast but it didn't go by as slow as I thought it was going to. When we boarded our plane I thought I was going to luck out again and get the row to myself but at the last minute a little old lady sat in the aisle seat. This is when I learned that on a long flight NEVER EVER TAKE THE WINDOW SEAT. This woman decided to sleep the whole flight so I was essentially trapped for 13 HOURS. I think I woke her up to go pee maybe 3 times since I hate waking people up so I was severely dehydrated when I got home and felt horrible. I tried watching some movies on the plane but they all sucked so I just read Game of Thrones most of the time. I got the urge to look out the window a few times and I'm glad I did because I got to see the tips of Greenland and Iceland and they were unlike anything I'd ever seen. Just massive chunks of ice in the ocean. It was UNREAL. When I wasn't looking out the window I was looking at this very cute boy sitting across the aisle from me and stared at him for hours and hours (and hours). I was hoping he might be from Phoenix too but when we landed I heard him speaking a language that I couldn't even identify. Bummer. That would've been such a "meet-cute" if I met my future boyfriend on my flight home from Europe.

My dad picked me up from the airport and I was sooooo happy to see him. He told me how awful it was having me an ocean away and not knowing where I was at all times. I tried telling him that I was officially a grown up now but he told me he'd always worry about me.

It only took about a week for Melissa and I to start planning our next meeting, haha! We've decided to do another Europe trip in 2016 but this time we'll visit Italy, Greece and possibly Switzerland. I'd like to dedicate an entire week to Italy and we've decided to go in June next time so we can swim in the Mediterranean. This trip was definitely missing swimming. I'm not in a huge hurry to be 32 but I can't wait to see my baby girl and Europe again. I'm so happy to have found my travelling soul mate.

Thank you so much for sharing this journey with me and reading up to the end. After this I'll be back to art blogging so stay tuned because Mama has been VERY busy.

Cheers!