Glasgow

one of the very first photos I took when we moved to Glasgow

I have been working on a post about all of the things I will miss about living in the UK.

I want to remember the good times,

and the wonderful places.

As I was writing the post,

I started to think about Glasgow.

It really is no mystery that I have had a love/hate relationship with this city.

Maybe more hate than love.

I have subtly (or not so subtly at times)

made it known that this is not my favorite place in the world.

I have noticed my attitude towards the city,

and I have become increasingly aware of how I need to put myself in check.

Bitterness is not cute.

Through a little self reflection,
and with our move to the states fast approaching,
I have realized that my feelings towards Glasgow have less to do with Glasgow,

and more to do with the circumstances that Stephen and I have experienced since moving here.

It has really been a struggle,

and we have had to go up against a lot of obstacles.

It has left us hurt and angry,

and we project those feelings onto the city itself.

I think as humans we have a tendency to do this,

place unwarranted feelings on something,

because of a situation that made us upset.

Our minds tend to associate feelings,

with things and places based on isolated instances that left us feeling a particular way.

It is how phobias and fears often manifest.

Situations in life,

good and bad,

happen in certain places,

and sometimes it can be hard to separate the emotions that go along with the incident,

from the place itself.

It is why people tend to run from place to place...

it is why I left LA initially,

and why I left Orange County.

I am guilty of not being able to separate unfortunate circumstance that can happen anywhere,

from the place they happen in.

Instead of only focusing and remembering the terrible things that have occurred here,

I need to remember all of the wonderful things,

like getting engaged and married to the love of my life.

I know that a couple of years from now,

I will be able to look back and see the good things about Glasgow.

Just like all I can think of right now,

is how much I love LA.

And yet there was a time,

years ago,

where I could not wait to get out of that city. 

Our homes and the cities we live in are the memory keepers of our lives.
Their streets are lined with our greatest victories,
The floor boards marked with every failed step...
Today I am thankful for the places that map out my journey.
Even Glasgow ;)

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Float On

You have probably seen me share this video on facebook,

and on twitter,

but I wanted to post it up on the blog for your weekend listening :)

My little brother is a super talented musician.

He took drum lessons when he was little,

but is completely self taught in singing,

guitar,

piano,

and music production.

What can I say?

I am proud big sister.

He has recently been doing covers of songs with his friend Brianna (her voice is stunning),

for a Sony music thing.

They record their own versions of the songs,

and film a video to go along with it.

They have been working really hard,

and I think it has paid off :) 

Enjoy.

 

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Blog to Watch: With a CH

Christin,

what can I say?

She is my spirit animal.

Cute outfits, yummy food photos, and dry humor,

it is all I need in a blog.

Oh and we both have names where we have to go "with a.."

Megan Kristine (with a K)

Christin (with a Ch)

fate, I tell you.

*******

Well hello there, Across the Pond readers. My name is Christin and I blog over at with a CH. You may not know this but I have two goals in life. Eh, maybe three. They include: meet Chelsea Handler and become her new sidekick, become as cool as Megan and winning the lottery, in no particular order. I'm not even trying to humor her because it's her blog, I'm being serious.

You're probably wondering what I blog about and why that's relevant to you. It just so happens that you're in luck. Below you'll find a little taste of what I do on the daily. Food, outfits, and collages. Pretty standard, right? Wrong. I also weave in a healthy dose of humor so I don't bore the bejesus out of you.

Oh, and some more food....

Yea...that's chocolate covered popcorn and it is amazing.

I hope you all haven't found me too terribly boring because I'm not. I obviously wanted to give ya a little taste of what I'm doin' over on my corner of the nets without cramping everyone's style.

Find her here: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

*******

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A day at the spa

So I didn't mention this before,
but last week we had a tiny setback with our interview date for Stephen's visa.
It left us feeling really stressed out,
and once again waiting on whether or not they could fix it.

I can't even tell you how frustrating it is to wait for something so life changing,

and not be able to plan anything because you don't know when you might have to take a trip to London at any moment.

It all got worked out though,
thank goodness,
but during our moments of waiting,
I decided to book a spa day to help distract us.

So I went to wahanda.com
(I can hear the commercial in my head when I type that out)

since I didn't know where the spas were in Glasgow.

Shocking, I know.

I ended up finding a spa that was doing a 2 for 1 special package,

and it had good reviews.

Spa day booked.

It wasn't a 5 star spa by any means,

but it was perfect for us that day.

The locker rooms needed a little updating and fixing up,

but the staff was SO friendly and helpful,

and the treatments (massage and facials) were awesome.

Our package also came with a full tea 

(tea with scones, jams, cookies, cupcakes and mini sandwhiches)

and champagne.

We spent the whole day there and also got lunch.

The food was really good. 

It was nice to just relax,

soak in the hot tub,

and talk.

Treat yourself don't cheat yourself...

my new life's motto.

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A Date

Stephen and I did another sweep of our closet last week.
I was going to list more stuff through my shop,
and on instagram,
but since we got rid of our car,
going to the post office is a huge hassle...
aka I am too lazy to walk the couple of blocks to the post office.

I never realized how little warm weather stuff I had until I took out all of my winter weather clothes.
I also realized how little I have shopped since living in the UK.
Most of my clothes are the clothes I brought with me to the UK three years ago,
or purchased right after arriving in Nottingham when I realized the word "winter"
did not mean what I thought.

Vamastyle sent me a few items of clothing back in March,
when it was still winter weather.
The summery garments have been patiently waiting for me to bust them out,
taunting me every time I opened my closet,
only to pull out another long sleeved shirt or sweater.

Needless to say,
they made the cut and will be coming to LA with me,
in  JULY!

We will be announcing the official date closer to the time as to not jinx it,
since we still have the interview to get through.
But we do have flights booked back to the USA.
ONE WAY.
boom.

dress&Jumper: c/o Vamastyle

hat #1: H&M

hat #2: Anthropologie (borrowed from Ahnika)

earrings: Poshlocket

Necklace: Pame' Designs

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Acute Designs Giveaway

So about 5 months back my friend Megan

told me on twitter to check out Acute Designs for pretty headpieces for a wedding.

So I went and bookmarked them for the future.

Then we all know how things got a little crazy,

and we ended up planning our wedding in two weeks,

which meant there wouldn't be enough time to order a piece and have it shipped from the US.

So I have kept them in the back of my mind for my LA reception.

Cut to about a month ago,

Regina from Acute designs contacts me about doing a little giveaway!

And I was like HEY I have your pieces already bookmarked for my LA reception!

Fate.

They don't just have beautiful headpieces though,

they also have super cute and modern jewelry

(I am loving these rings).

Today Acute Designs is giving away a $40 shop credit to one lucky reader!

Just use the rafflecopter entry system below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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More waiting

The weather has been warm, 

and the sun out.

Usually I am thrilled when this happens,

but lately it has me missing LA even more.

Knowing we are so close to being home has only increased the longing.

But I am trying to soak up every last moment,

and enjoy every minute of this unique time in our lives;

time we will never get back again.

We are waiting on some important news from immigration,

and the anxiety and anticipation is literally making it impossible to focus on any one thing,

especially blogging.
I am hoping I will be announcing the date of our return to the USA this week!

So I am going to cut this short before I say more than I should.

Happy Monday!

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