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20-something American girl from Suburban Maryland/DC and transplanted to England in Spring 2011. After surviving a trans-atlantic relationship, I married my British better half in April 2011 and followed him across the pond! Wedding planning, immigration issues, and adventures in expatriatism! This blog has got it all. Please comment! :-D

27 September 2010

This week's playlist...

I am a huge lover of music and its beautiful possibilities. I've always turned to music to help put me in the right mood...or get me out of a bad one. It's a distraction and a muse at the same time. Just in the mood for somethin' a little different, here's a few songs on my playlist this week. What's on yours??


"If I Die Young" by The Band Perry

If I die young,
Bury me in satin.
Lay me down on a bed of roses.
Sink me in the river at dawn;
Send me away with the words of a love song.
The sharp knife of a short life.




"Like a G6" Far East Movement

Poppin' bottles in the ice,
Like a blizzard.
When we drink, we do it right, gettin' slizzard
Sippin' sizzurp in my ride, in my ride, like Three 6
Now I'm feelin' so fly like a G6.




"Misery" Maroon 5

I am in misery.
There aint nobody who can comfort me, oh yea.
Why won't you answer me?
The silence is slowly killing me
Girl, you really got me bad,
You really got me bad.
And I'm gonna get you back,
I'm gonna get you back.

Why do you do what you do to me?

(BTW check out this music video, this lady just beats the crap out of Adam Levine for 3 minutes, it's pretty hilarious)



"New Perspective" Panic at the Disco

Stop there,
And let me correct it.
I wanna live a life from a new perspective.
You come along because I love your face,
And I'll admire your expensive taste.

Who cares?
Divine intervention.
I wanna be praised from a new perspective.
But leaving now would be a good idea;
So catch me up on getting out of here.




"The Only Exception" Paramore

I've got a tight grip on reality,
But I can't let go of what's a part of me here.
I know you're leaving in the morning.
When you wake up,
Leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream.

Darling, you are the only exception.
You are the only exception.
And I'm on my way to believing.




<3 Have a beautiful week
Amanda :-)

16 September 2010

Thursday ramblings

Okay I have two very important discussion topics this evening. One, The Inbetweeners and how BRILLIANT of a show it is. And second, mosquito bites. Yea I never promised they would be related at all or make any sense whatsoever. Deal with it.

If you live in the UK or are an Anglophile like me, you know about The Inbetweeners. I'm in love with this show


It's the fictional chronicle of 4 friends at college (AKA high school plus 2) who are not quite outcasts but definitely not popular. Hence, they are "in between" the two social worlds. They are embarrassingly uncool which makes for terrific comedy. Plus the fact that British television is pretty cool with colorful language and subject matter, which I particularly enjoy. It's not uncommon (particularly on this program) to hear the F-Bomb dropped on national television or see someone's pale English ass on the tube. *ahem* I mean "arse"

The reason why this program has been on my mind is because I've been watching personal marathons of it on my laptop for days and finally got to see the new series release. I can't get this show out of my head, it's so entertaining. Plus I think that they are really relate-able characters. Everyone can identify with that feeling of not quite fitting in. Even now, I'm a grown lady now and I still feel like an "inbetweener" at times--never knowing if I'm saying the right thing or walking around with my skirt tucked into my underoos.

Plus it doesn't hurt that I think I have a massive crush on the actor who plays Simon Bird...

Oh baby, oh baby...yes, please! :D


Alright so as for my second topic, mosquito bites...
Picture this. I was minding my own business tonight, laying on the couch watching TV. Apparently a mosquito, trapped and starving in the house, took it upon himself to have a late night snack. Within a span of about 1 minute, it attacked my forehead, elbow, and leg. I saw the damn thing trying to feast on my leg through my hosiery. Stupid idiot. In any event, now I have 4 welts on my body. Before you see this insane pic, I should warn you that my body is slightly more allergic to mosquito bites that normal:


What the hell, mosquito?!
How am I gonna go to work like this...I look like I'm trying to grow a horn. :-/

This reminds me of the time that Kieran and I took a road trip and I got bitten to hell and back in Savannah, Georgia. Those suckers went to town on my legs. I was red and swollen and the only relief was sweet sweet Benadryl. Oh mama, that's good shit. Hmm...wonder if I've still got some reserves in the medicine cabinet.

:D

05 September 2010

August is the season of celebration in Worthing!

Hi, folks!
Back from my trip to England and totally bummed. Why do the months/weeks/days/hours drag on for aggeesss when Kieran and I are apart and then as soon as we're together it flies by like a flash of lightning? Not fair!

The trip was brilliant. First of all, the air in the South of England is delicious. Maybe it's my imagination, but I feel like the air along the Channel seaside can cure any illness or negative mood. And because of the rain and moist air, everything is so green all the time. I know England gets a bad reputation for being gray and rainy but the gray and rain helps the green grass and beautiful flowers to flourish all year long! It's beautiful. :-)





We spent the whole weekend celebrating, it was excellent! Saturday night was Nan and Grandad London's 50th wedding anniversary celebration. Nan, grandad, aunt Debbie, aunt Kathleen, and Michelle came down from London and we all went out for dinner and drinks to celebrate. Somewhere between the celebratory champagne and the pint of Becks after last call, I got embarrassingly drunk. No one can hold their booze better than the English and I just couldn't compete. At the time it seemed like a good idea to try out my best English accent...very loudly exclaiming 'ELLO!!!

Shockingly, I woke up on Sunday without a hangover...I'm telling you, that sea air must be magical!! Sunday was our engagement BBQ, which was beautifully planned and catered by Sue, Kevin, and Madaleine. They really gave us a delicious and perfect party in the back garden. The weather cooperated...on and off...and there were loads of good friends and family.






Needless to say, between partays, going out, long walks on the beach, and generally being sickeningly in love---not much actual wedding planning got done. Except Kieran's mom gave me a really cool wedding planning book and file folder to help keep me organized...at least it's on the right track! However, I did order my "save the date" magnets and they are super sweet. Hopefully they will come in the mail next week :)

I also got the templates of the invitations in the mail when I got home. I like them but I think it needs a little DIY touch to make it pop. I'm still unsure. Gotta run it by the MoH tonight to get her opinion.

Finally last night I got a rough guest list from Kieran and my mom and went over numbers. Things look okay at the moment. Except the fact that I originally guesstimated needing about 20 hotel rooms and now it's more like 40! So mom and I are gonna go see another hotel options this afternoon and hopefully we can do room blocks at 2 places.

Holy Moley....so many plans, so little time. 7 months this week!!

I know the planning sucks ass and I never want to plan a wedding again, but I can't even wait for the wedding. It's gonna be such a blasty and I can't wait to start our lives together...and actually BE TOGETHER.

Looking forward to going back to England for Christmas/New Years. I hope Kieran will be able to come over here for Thanksgiving and Kim's wedding, but we'll see what happens with the fiance visa. Still pending at the moment...jerkheads. I just hate this distance :-(

Alright folks, wedding stuff with mom this afternoon and then pow-wowing with the MoH this evening.

A BIG THANK YOU to the Todds, Baxters, Grims, and the friends/family of the English posse...for the brilliant party, your words of support/congratulations, and your love. I'm already homesick for England! Roll on, December

<3