Weekend festivities...

So on friday I spent the day lazily bumming around Royal Holloway and then Phoebe and I went into Egham for some shopping. I needed groceries and I wanted to look around the charity shops (thrift stores) while I was down there. Phoebe isn't into those kinds of stores, but I am on a mission to change her :) I did impress her quite a bit by finding some REALLY cute stuff!! Which included a pair of Levi 572 jeans that fit PERFECT!! - £3.50, a royal blue baggy top - £3, a long crochet sweater - £3.50! At one shop they also had a bin of mail envelopes of DVDs (kind of netflix style but with actual movie cover art)... only 80p! I bought Merlin (a TV miniseries that I have seen 100 times and my dad owns on actual DVD, but I had to buy it!) and Dr. Zhivago (the version with Kiera Knightly that aired on TV a couple of years ago... never seen it, but want to). It was a VERY successful day... except I got back after getting all my groceries only to discover that the bread I already had is now moldy... so I should have bought more... I'll have to wait for my next trip. Phoebe and I finished the day with Sliding Doors on DVD... funny, it was a different version than the one I own at home. Some scenes were rather more explicit... I think the US realized that the true movie would have gotten an R rating and so they edited it to be PG13 to appeal to a wider audience base... strange though. It is incredibly fun watching movies with Phoebe, especially movies we've both seen, because we end up commenting throughout the movie and then having hilarious inside jokes later on!! It was ALSO fun that I recognized places I have now been in the movie (which takes place in London - fact: they filmed the train station scene at Waterloo station, which Phoebe and I have now claimed as our station). HA!

Then on Saturday I went into London. I was planning on going to Camden with Phoebe to shop for cute clothes for our photo shoot in a month, but Phoebe instead had to be secluded in the Library of Roehampton University all day. So I continued on to London to meet Ashley (from Oxford) and her friends for the day. They were shopping at Brick Lane (known to have several vintage shops) and so ALL BY MYSELF I navigated my way through the London Underground to Liverpool Station and then through the streets of London a couple blocks to where they were. I felt SO cool all by myself. I even had a lady ask me for directions and another lady ask if she was getting on the right train... I totally fit in!
So we shopped around Brick Lane and then grabbed lunch. They has a couple stands for Indian Food and Chinese Food, so I ordered some Kung Pao Chicken - delicious and a Pepsi.
Then for dessert Ashley and I got a Crepe with Nutella and Caramel. You should note in the picture above that I am outside and my arms are exposed to the elements... it was 55 degrees in London that day, which equals heaven, which means my arms saw the light of day for the first time since I arrived in England. It is supposed to be that warm again in Egham come Thursday and I will be lying in the middle of the quad in a tshirt trying to get color on my arms. It is particularly alarming when the hair on my arms is darker than my skin... something that NEVER happens in AZ because the sun always ends up beaching my arm hair. Very sad that I can get even PALER than I already am, huh!
Ashley's friends were really nice and very interesting. One kid goes to Harvard and is studying at Oxford... he got his first Bachelor's degree in music at 10 years old and is working simultaneously to get his 2nd and 3rd degrees (bachelor's and Masters) in English and Science... he just turned 19. I feel hopeless. HA! not really.
After lunch we hopped on a train to Camden Market! They didn't allot for much time there, so we only spent maybe a little over an hour at the shops. You REALLY need a whole day to get the full Camden effect. But we walked around the stalls and I again lusted after the cute clothes that were too light to wear in the cool weather and dreamed of when I would come back and buy my spring wardrobe. I did however find cute socks that go all the way up to mid-thigh (now I can forgo the dual pants and just wear the socks and jeans) and the MOST AMAZING BAG!!! So, upon arriving in england and doing all the shopping and traveling I have been doing, I quickly realized I needed a sling back to save my shoulders. I found a cheap one at a charity shop for £3, but it wasn't that cute. I dreamed of the perfect bag - leather material and preferably yellow... because I have never had a yellow purse and felt like I needed one. Well as we were leaving Camden I spotted it!! In a genuine leather shop by the tube station... it was PERFECT! mustard yellow and everything. It was £35, which is steep, but it's real leather so I totally splurged because it was like someone stepped into my dreams to create this bag. The only bad thing I have noticed about it is that I don't think they prepared the leather properly and so as a result, it smells a little. But hopefully that will go away eventually. Here's my lovely bag:
We left Camden and our next stop was Harrod's department store.
This is world famous!! Every room is a different theme and filled with the top designer fashions. Names like Versace, Roberto Cavalli, Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik, etc, etc have their best stuff there. We didn't have much time, but we did get up to the shoes, where I HAD to try on some Jimmy Choo heels
We also made it to the Chocolate room - FILLED with Chocolate truffles, fudge, etc but I was actually more excited by the Fromagerie - an entire room the size of a large Walgreen's devoted to every cheese to can imagine!!!! I took a pic with all the deliciousness
These are the lovely people I spent the day with:
After Harrod's we went our separate ways and I caught the tube and then the train back to Egham. When I got back I met Phoebe at The Hub restaurant on campus and we sat with our friends Allie and Danielle for dinner. Then Allie, Danielle, and I went to Medicine (a pub on campus) to hang out and play from cards. Then off to bed!

Sunday I went to St John's from church. They sand 3 songs that I knew - "Holy is the Lord" "Majesty" and "Blessed be your name." There was also a baptism, which is always SO cool.
Sunday night there was a Regenerate Christian Union event in the Student Union. It was a night of worship. Very neat.
When I got back to my room I was able to Skype my parents at Emolyn's Birthday party for only about 5 minutes before Skype kicked me off, but I got to see the Princess and wish her a happy Birthday! I love that little girl so much!

Then I had classes today, so that brings you up to speed on my life.

*** Oh and I didn't get to watch the Oscars cause I would have had to stay up till 5am. But I have watched most of the acceptance speeches and the two big musical numbers on the internet!!