philly!!

im coming for you! 12 days! April 5th! I'll be there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yea that's right

you haven't heard from me since i got back from London because I've been working like a CRAZY person. I've only had one day off since I got back, which was spent not getting out of bed because my body needed to rest. The only other day off I have before my last day is on Saturday which I plan to spend pack pack packing.

I'm kind of trying not to think about everything i have to do. its actually insane. im not 100% decided how im getting out there, do i drive? do i fly? do i ship my stuff? AHHHHHHHHHHH. One more week of work. so sad. then 2 weeks off!! then i'll be BACK IN PHILLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. I can't even stand how excited i am. seriously.seriously.seriously.

bbqs and bike rides and late nights and dancing and friendship and cute boys and a new store and the keenans and having a car and new york and boston and lindsay's wedding and baby eloise and circle and flea markets and cooking and baking and csa's and breakfast dates and bowling and pretzels and pizza and block parties and girlfriends and and and and and. i cannot freaking wait.

im the most bummed to leave lauren and my store and not see meggers every day of my life. and how i got to see my family all the time. and the trees and the good smelling air, and the beautiful rain, and walking to work, and perfect summer weather, and AMAZING food, and learning more about myself and what i need, and amaaaaazing thrifting/vintage shopping and and and.

life is crazy. things are changing fast. i love my life. im excited for a new old start.EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

London 7

Opening day! The whole reason I went to London was to be there for John's grand opening. I'm so proud of him, and everything he has done, and LOVE being there for these special events in his life, where he accomplishes another dream of his. I love sharing the joy, happiness, excitement, and craziness that goes along with an opening. There were people lined up starting Friday and we didn't open the door until 1pm on Saturday. At that point the line was down the block and around the corner. It took until midnight to get every last customer in the store. It was amazing. The new JC staff is incredible..overall an AMAZING day, happy success to John!











It was like opening a Christmas present! Massive amounts of people. CRAZY! Lucas came in late Friday night, so we got to hang on Saturday, it's so good to see that boy (he was a boy when i met him, now he's all grown up and a man!) We all headed back to the flat after we closed up shop,and had the most giant slumber party. it was perfect.

bfffffffffs

lookslike

i'll be in philly in no time. i'll be transferring to the ardmore store (10 miles outside the city) in my current position! It's a bigger store (they get more and better stuffff) a little higher volume, and they do alot of the initial installs there, so I'll get to work with the display teams hopefully. There's also a TJ's there (so i won't miss living around the corner from one here) and a daily farmers market. It will be a fun new challenge to grow that store since its been around for awhile vs my store which had only been there for a year when i started. yea yea yea! now you can all come visit me, and we'll play dress up and you can be my "favorite" customers! It will be weird to have a commute, something i haven't had since living in LA. Which means I'm in the market for a car. I'm going to look at my options and see if it would be better to get one here and drive across country, or fly out, ship my stuff and buy one there. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Philly I'm coming home!!!!

London 6

I finally got a decent nights sleep. It hasn't been jet lag, i've just been staying up late having fun and waking up early to get stuff done. CLARK GOT HERE TODAY!!!! I've been in charge of making sure people don't sleep their first day here..otherwise it will mess their sleep schedule up. SO- we stopped by the shop for a minute, so Clark could see it then him, chris d and I went exploring. We walked to Covent Garden, got a cookie, walked to Trafalgar Square, went inside the National Gallery for a quick peek before they closed, then made our way back to the shop via Picadilly Circus. We stopped a bunch of times in between to look in shops. All in all, a good exploration day. More of that tomorrow.

pack those bags!

the EF made 4 videos about different languages to encourage people to travel abroad. London because I'm here, and Paris because...its perfect.

like

The Dø - Slippery Slope from thatgo on Vimeo.

London 5

John's family came in today, as well as Lennard!!!! (plus Sal, Kelly and Chris M) It was instantly a party, and Clark, Lucas and Chris D aren't even here yet. We (they, i mainly watched) unpacked all the boxes and hung out at the shop. It was the first time all the employees were all together. They are all awesome. Sal, Lennard and I took a walk around, and we stopped into a vintage store where these shorts didn't fit, but i like the idea and may try and re-create at home.


We all grabbed a pint at a pub around the corner from the shop after we were done, and it was a jolly good time. we all split up at this point and a handful of us got dinner, and we're back at the flat now. Gonna try to sleep early and get a good start on the day tomorrow.



Sorry so blurry. new kids!!!!! plus old kids and non kids.

London 4

Today was pretty laid back. I finally slept past 7:30am. I met John at the shop and we went to get some lunch at Flat Planet. They serve spelt flatbread with different toppings. I got the Med Chick (Sundried tomato paste, free-range chicken tossed in a lemon and fresh thyme marinade, cherry tomatoes and basil, roasted sweet red peppers) John got the Veg All Day Breakfast (mushroom, free-range egg, sliced tomatoes and fresh basil, with a little brown sauce and onion marmalade.) Both were delicious.


I hung out at the shop most of the day, took a walk around in the afternoon and decided to give Topshop a go. I knew I needed a plan of attack or I was going to hyperventilate. So I went for the accessories first. Jewelry, bags and shoes. I came out with only a ring, but 3 pairs of shoes and a bag on my mind. We will see. I've been to Topshop in NYC, and it's big and has great stuff. This one is RIDICULOUSLY huge. Like, it's actually insane. I'm going to try and just do a little bit over the span of several days. ha.



Then Emma came to the shop and we all got dinner at Vapiano again. I opted for pasta this time, and got their special. Fresh Zucchini, pine nuts, Belper Knolle cheese and i opted for tomato sauce as well instead of just oil. The Belper Knolle cheese is dried with a rind of black bepper, Himalayan salt & garlic. It was probably the best pasta dish I've ever had. And they make it right in front of you! Eating my way across London. <3

bucket list

things to do before i move back to philly:

juniors
santerias
crepe cart
bowling (happening when i get back!)


what elseeeeeeeee? I need to think about this.

London 3

John and I went to The Breakfast Club for brunch today. We walked up to a line down the side of the building. probably an hour wait. in my head i was like "no way am i waiting for food!" but john has been waiting to eat at this place until i got into town so i kept my mouth shut and admired the french men in front of us (wearing converse and levi denim..ha!) I looked up and down the line and noted "it seems like we're the only party of 2..maybe they have a table for 2 and we'll get to go in front of everyone!" and 5 minutes later..thats exactly what happened. I love being awesome. We split apple banana french toast and the veggie american breakfast (pancakes, veggie sausage, hashbrowns, eggs and mushrooms) It was delicious!


Then we hopped on the underground to go to Camden. We spent the afternoon walking around Camden market which was quite the experience. there were SO many little alleys and booths and shops and buildings to explore. some vintage, some new, some weird, all fun. then the food carts! everything smelled soooooo good. I didn't buy anything except an arapa for john to try. we were waiting for macie and boyce when we saw the Chin Chin Laboratorists. Liquid Nitrogen ICE CREAM. This place is one of the most well designed, thought out and branded places i've been in in some time. The guy who started it was there making all the ice cream and it was such an experience. not to mention some of the BEST ice cream I've ever had. I got Chocolate, John got vanilla. They use super nice fancy chocolate to make the sauce, which they pour in a kitchen aid, then pour liquid nitrogen in, and stir. It immediately turns into the creamiest, rich ice cream. holy cow. then he hands it to the other girl working, and she lets you choose your sauce and topping. I got dark chocolate and chocolate covered pop rocks. John got salted caramel sauce and carmelized pretzels. Mine was 100x better. At this point i was literally freezing. couldn't feel my toes!





We trekked back to the flat where i fell asleep on the couch and then we went to dinner at Vapiano. i got a margherita pizza. full fun awesome day, yet again.

London 2

woke up super early, then went back to sleep for a bit. when we finally got up and out of the house we grabbed something to eat at Princi. It's an italian cafeteria style joint with a french baker. go figure. it was amazing. I tried my very first cannoli. (who am i?) I haven't had one before because i assumed it was custard inside and never cared to know that it wasn't. well john made me take a bite, and it was actually delicious. ricotta?!?! so weird. but so good! I'm still a cake fan though. always will be. We went to Liberty, and I could have spent hours in there. Besides the beautiful scarves, their men's department really caught my eye. I spent the majority of my time down there. I wish we had one here. Besides being in an AMAZING space, it's an amazing department store. We walked to soho and took in a movie at curzon cinema. We saw Animal Kingdom. It's an Australian gang movie, and it was good. We're headed to the Camden Market Tomorrow!!!

London 1

soooooo i made it here. took the train into central london, and the tube to john's neighborhood where I went to the shop, and no one was there, so lugged my stuff all the way back to the flat where i did a quick change and we went out. Walked allllll around, grabbed a bite to eat at Fernandez & Wells, bought the cutest ring, and walked some more. So glad to be here.

Blanca Gomez

Not sure if this is the same girl who makes my fav (someday i'll wear it on my left ring finger) ring, or just someone with the same name, but I'm diggin her prints. Appropriate for today..

Whats App

I'm leaving for the good ole UK today, and will have access to e-mail while I'm gone. I also just downloaded the "whats app" application for my phone. It allows you to text(and picture message) for free across the world as long as both of the people (sending/receiving) have the app! It works for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Nokia. Download it and let me know if you do!

so many faces..

i get to see all of these beautiful faces in a few short days in London. Can't freaking wait!! friendventureUK2011.

no one's gonna love you

ok- so i like this video. not so much the song, but the amazing amounts of short cut offs, crop tops, kissing, cute bathing suits, beach time, and road trips. and then minus the fighting and leaving at the end. ha!

MARCH!!!

Man- February felt like a really long month. I went to Philly, decided to move to Philly, did spring install at work, worked ALOT, found a new home for Kashi, worked some more..its the shortest month, yet it felt so long! I'm so looking forward to the newness of March. And spring, and new beginnings, and being back in Philly, and London in 2 days, and and and and. I constantly have a smile on my face, and I'm so excited for what's to come. It's like being a kid again. I love not worrying but being excited. I've spent copious amount of time with Meg recently at work, everyday ALL DAY, and I have to say..I am SO thankful to have her as my partner. To be able to spend that much time with someone in such a small setting, and still laugh and get along, and flow the way we do is really a gift. I'm gonna miss her. Luckily she's moving to BOSTON so she'll only be 6 hours away!!!! East Coast 2011 Crew. That's us.