1. June 28th was the anniversary of the day I left London. It's been three years since I've walked the streets of that amazing city,and left a part of my heart there. I met so many amazing people that I am so happy to call friends, fell in love with traveling, living on my own, being a free spirit wandering the world. I made it through a one year accelerated grad program at one of the most prestigious universities in the world, lived on my own, made friends, waded through the visa process for living abroad, and really tried hard every day to welcome what London had to offer. And I still miss it so much. I wonder if I made the right decision to leave, if I should have stayed, if I should move back, usually my mind changes over the course of a day. The city is never far from my mind and I'm so glad for the memories I have of my time living there, and the hope that I will get to be there again sometime.
2. I went to a funeral. As a kid you don't really think about funerals. I may have went to a few but I don't really remember. But they become a part of life when you are grown up. This one was for my great aunt. She was 97 years old. I had seen her just about a year ago and she was in pretty good health. It was in Portland so it meant a quick 2 day trip and lots of driving. I went with my mom and aunt. It's funny to say but funerals are bittersweet. I went to say good bye to someone but the rest of my entire family on my mom's side was there. I got to see my little cousins who i LOVE spending time with but live in LA so I don't get to see them much since moving back to Seattle. So it ended up being a pretty nice time spent with family. And let me tell you Portland in June is an adventure in weather. Standing at the grave side service in a torrential downpour is definitely an experience. Portland is definitely worth a trip (hopefully not for a funeral). I have been many times to see family so I haven't always done the touristy things but there are lots of fun places like Powell's Book Store, Portland Saturday Market, and a million other things I will probably write more about some day. Apparently the BEST. BURGERS. EVER. are at the Helvetia Tavern in Helvetia, OR just outside of Portland. They also film Grimm there. They used my aunts barn for an episode. Exciting haha
3. I planted my summer garden. The vertical herb garden I made is pictured above. My dad is a big gardener and I have learned from him. I think it's the most epic garden we've had in a few years. I love sitting out on the patio with a cup of coffee and a book just looking at it. Yes, my life really is that exciting. But it was really fun to figure out what I wanted to plant, then put in the hard work over a few weekends, and now finally getting some results. The weather has been hit or miss in Seattle (a week of thunderstorms followed by a massive heat wave) so things are slowly emerging now and it looks pretty cool. That vertical herb garden above was my weekend project last weekend. My dad is in construction so he had all of the materials and I got the pots 70%. Pretty cheap and awesome looking. I can't wait for all the fresh herbs and veggies!
So that's what's been going on with me. I don't really have an big trips coming up so it will be back to wrapping up a few posts about my trip to CA in May and talking more in depth about travel tips and tricks. i hope to get on a regular schedule. I really enjoy this blog and hope it's helping someone or at least mildly entertaining someone. See you soon!
