My flight home for David's wedding is booked! The price to fly into Seattle is much lower than flying into Vancouver (very frustrating) so my travel time will increase by about five hours each way. Not fun, but worth the almost $300 I'll save through putting up with the extra hassle. One of the things I'm really happy about is that the total cost for the return flights was less than $600! I'm flying home on February 12 and returning to England on March 2, arriving on March 3.
I'm now trying to figure out flights to Italy - looking at January 16 - February 6. I'm planning to go shopping this afternoon to check out carry-on size bags because I'll save £30/$55 if I don't take checked luggage. For a girl who isn't the greatest at packing light, it could get interesting, but it's a skill I need to develop. I figure if other people can do it, I can too... hopefully...
*Yeah... ummm... I'll need more than a carry-on bag. I checked the dimensions and my camera will take up about half the space.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Cottage in Italy
When I was house-sitting in Wales I met a couple who offered to let me stay at their cottage in Italy when I travel into Europe. I decided to get in touch with them since finding a job isn't working out so well. They have generously offered me free use of their cottage in Panicale for as long as I want to use it (I just need to pay the house-keeper to do the laundry and cleaning when I leave). Panicale is located near Perugia on the border of Umbria and Tuscany. I'm looking into flights and my plan is to spend two or three weeks there before going to Canada for David's wedding.
I'm so excited! They said there are lots of great day-trips into the surrounding area so I'll rent a car (back to driving on the right side of the road) and do some exploring. It's hard to believe this opportunity was just dropped in my lap. I called my parents to tell them and I just kept bursting out with, "I can't believe I'm going to Italy!"
The area is cold (between 5 and 10 degrees) but it's warmer than where I'm living in England! The place has two double bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom, and small sitting area. It was described as simple, unsophisticated, and a perfect base to explore the area. She also mentioned that I should rent a very small car due to the narrow roads... this could get interesting.
I'm so excited! They said there are lots of great day-trips into the surrounding area so I'll rent a car (back to driving on the right side of the road) and do some exploring. It's hard to believe this opportunity was just dropped in my lap. I called my parents to tell them and I just kept bursting out with, "I can't believe I'm going to Italy!"
The area is cold (between 5 and 10 degrees) but it's warmer than where I'm living in England! The place has two double bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom, and small sitting area. It was described as simple, unsophisticated, and a perfect base to explore the area. She also mentioned that I should rent a very small car due to the narrow roads... this could get interesting.
Six Hours Shopping = Sore Feet
Here's a shopping report for those who care. Guys, feel free to just skip this one as it'll be quite painful for most of you. (Hey Brian - you want to find me a dress for your daughter's wedding? I've heard you're good at shopping!)
The personal shopper was helpful but not as much as I'd hoped. Oh - here's a fun little anecdote... I told her the bridesmaid's dresses were purple and she brought me a purple dress. I reminded her about not wanting to look like a bridesmaid and she said, "Oh, it's not purple, it's aubergine." Right... close enough. She pulled dresses that I never would have normally tried on and I had fun trying them out, but the stock is quite limited due to sale racks being picked over and new stock just starting to arrive. After spending about an hour trying on dresses, I headed over to high street and the mall to see what else I could find.
I literally tried on at least 40 dresses today. I tried long and short, high necklines and plunging, strapless, shiny, prom, embroidered, beaded, and fifties style with big crinolines. I narrowed down what does and doesn't work... now I want to hire a seamstress to make me a dress using my favourite features of all the stuff I tried on.
I discovered that Murphy's Law definitely applies to shopping... anything that looks like it would work well is bound to be in the wrong colour or size, anything in the right colour and size doesn't fit correctly, and anything that's even close to looking fabulous costs a ridiculous amount (over $200 CAD). I found dresses that fit but they just didn't have any kind of "wow" factor. I'll wait until the week before the wedding to finally get desperate enough to buy something that doesn't make me feel good.
The hunt continues... not sure where I'll look next, but I'll find something eventually!
Normally I wouldn't welcome a whole crowd of people into the dressing room, but I figure I can use some feedback and this is a good place to get it. A couple of my favourite pics are below and here's a link to a Picasa album with more. Feel free to make some comments in the Picasa album and let me know what you think for colours, style, etc. and I'll continue the search.
This one had a big crinoline and made me feel like Shirley Temple but the colour was fabulous (teal/blue). (Note the big heater in the dressing room - so nice!)
This one was a great colour too - sort of a fuschia/pink. I wasn't a fan of the bodice or the unforgiving fabric (I want to be able to eat dinner at the reception without looking pregnant), but I was surprised by how much I loved the skirt! The fabric had great movement; little random "bubbles" and folds without giving the stubby-leg look that accompanies a typical bubble skirt.
The personal shopper was helpful but not as much as I'd hoped. Oh - here's a fun little anecdote... I told her the bridesmaid's dresses were purple and she brought me a purple dress. I reminded her about not wanting to look like a bridesmaid and she said, "Oh, it's not purple, it's aubergine." Right... close enough. She pulled dresses that I never would have normally tried on and I had fun trying them out, but the stock is quite limited due to sale racks being picked over and new stock just starting to arrive. After spending about an hour trying on dresses, I headed over to high street and the mall to see what else I could find.
I literally tried on at least 40 dresses today. I tried long and short, high necklines and plunging, strapless, shiny, prom, embroidered, beaded, and fifties style with big crinolines. I narrowed down what does and doesn't work... now I want to hire a seamstress to make me a dress using my favourite features of all the stuff I tried on.
I discovered that Murphy's Law definitely applies to shopping... anything that looks like it would work well is bound to be in the wrong colour or size, anything in the right colour and size doesn't fit correctly, and anything that's even close to looking fabulous costs a ridiculous amount (over $200 CAD). I found dresses that fit but they just didn't have any kind of "wow" factor. I'll wait until the week before the wedding to finally get desperate enough to buy something that doesn't make me feel good.
The hunt continues... not sure where I'll look next, but I'll find something eventually!
Normally I wouldn't welcome a whole crowd of people into the dressing room, but I figure I can use some feedback and this is a good place to get it. A couple of my favourite pics are below and here's a link to a Picasa album with more. Feel free to make some comments in the Picasa album and let me know what you think for colours, style, etc. and I'll continue the search.
This one had a big crinoline and made me feel like Shirley Temple but the colour was fabulous (teal/blue). (Note the big heater in the dressing room - so nice!)
This one was a great colour too - sort of a fuschia/pink. I wasn't a fan of the bodice or the unforgiving fabric (I want to be able to eat dinner at the reception without looking pregnant), but I was surprised by how much I loved the skirt! The fabric had great movement; little random "bubbles" and folds without giving the stubby-leg look that accompanies a typical bubble skirt.
Monday, January 5, 2009
I'm sorry!
I just received a desperate email from one of my blog addicts and in response I want to formally apologize to any die-hard fans for not having an interesting life right now! I do my best to find something interesting in even the most mundane of events, but seriously... nothing is happening right now.
I would also like to clarify that it's only been five days since my last post and going five days without something interesting happening isn't too bad. Trust me... when I eventually get a full-time job, you'll be starved for stories... unless I end up with crazy coworkers.
As I've mentioned previously, my brother, David, is getting married on February 21 so I'm planning to go home for a couple of weeks for the wedding. I was recently asked to be the Master of Ceremonies for the reception, a task I'm really excited about! I don't mind public speaking and I like David and Keri so it's a good combination.
(Since I also get emails from people wanting photos with each of my blog posts, I've included a couple of my favourite shots from David and Keri's engagement photo shoot [I wasn't the photographer]).
The plan is to book my flights and start looking for an outfit this week. I don't get many opportunities to dress up, so I'm excited about having a reason to shop for a fabulous dress! There's a large, high-end department store called John Lewis in Reading, about half an hour away from here by train. I shopped there in November and saw some really fun clothes. I checked their website and discovered they offer a free personal shopping service so I figured I might as well give it a try! My appointment is booked for two hours on Tuesday morning. I gave them my size over the phone and I was told they'll pull some dresses for me and help me put together a complete outfit. I've always wanted to try using a personal shopper... I'll let you know how it goes.
I would also like to clarify that it's only been five days since my last post and going five days without something interesting happening isn't too bad. Trust me... when I eventually get a full-time job, you'll be starved for stories... unless I end up with crazy coworkers.
As I've mentioned previously, my brother, David, is getting married on February 21 so I'm planning to go home for a couple of weeks for the wedding. I was recently asked to be the Master of Ceremonies for the reception, a task I'm really excited about! I don't mind public speaking and I like David and Keri so it's a good combination.
(Since I also get emails from people wanting photos with each of my blog posts, I've included a couple of my favourite shots from David and Keri's engagement photo shoot [I wasn't the photographer]).
The plan is to book my flights and start looking for an outfit this week. I don't get many opportunities to dress up, so I'm excited about having a reason to shop for a fabulous dress! There's a large, high-end department store called John Lewis in Reading, about half an hour away from here by train. I shopped there in November and saw some really fun clothes. I checked their website and discovered they offer a free personal shopping service so I figured I might as well give it a try! My appointment is booked for two hours on Tuesday morning. I gave them my size over the phone and I was told they'll pull some dresses for me and help me put together a complete outfit. I've always wanted to try using a personal shopper... I'll let you know how it goes.
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