Hope

So our hope is in the Lord.

He is our help, our shield to protect us.

We rejoice in Him, because we trust His holy name.

Lord, show us Your love as we put our hope in You.

- Psalm 33:20-22

Via

Please, a holiday, please?

It is September, a new year has begun and I have not had a holiday. Obviously this is not a right and there is not a law stating that citizens must have a holiday, but I could really do with one.

The last holiday I had was last summer. True and fair, I did go on more than one, but surely that's not the way it works? I mean that was a year ago!

So I have been dreaming. While being stuck here.

Italy is one of my favourite destinations. I've been lucky enough to go there quite a few times on holiday and it's one of the most beautiful and relaxing but also exciting places to go to.

This place is Cinque Terre and I love the colourful houses, built up like building blocks overlooking a beautiful blue sea. Sigh.

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Greece is a country I have never visited, but it has a very high ranking on my 'Want to visit' list. I love the concept of white little houses with bright blue shutters. The little and narrow cobbled alleyways sound amazing and greek food is to die for. Find a nice little place near the sea with a pool (because I think the best combination is the sea and a pool) to finish it off and you'll have everything you need for a nice little getaway.

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Then again, I definitely would not say no to going a little further afield so somewhere with white beaches and sea-through water like Mexico! That's another place I'd really like to go. Again, mexican food is one of my faves so I would be more than happy with the food options and the scenery would be pretty sweet too. Mmmm Mexico. That's a good one.

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Then again, Hawaii seems to be a sweet destination. The photos I've seen of it look amazing and this entices me even more! I love the thought of tubing down a jungle, tropical river on a beautiful island. I'm up for a bit of adventure, so this would fit the bill nicely!

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So please, oh please with a cherry on top, may I go on holiday? Please can I have unlimited funds and endless time to visit what I would like to and just do whatever appeals to me. OK? Cool. Thanks. I'll just go and pack my bags then, yeah...? Excellent.

Fill in the blank Friday

Better late than never...

1. The best thing I did all week was Going to a pub around the corner that does the most amazing Thai food with a big group of my friends. It was so yummy!

2. The fact that my boyfriend is coming home tomorrow makes me super happy.

3. Pets are interesting .

4. My friends and family are the best things about my life.

5. With the cooler weather I am looking forward to snoods (my new season obsession), warm knit accessories, boots, cozy blankets, being warm in the cold outside and warm, yummy drinks.

6. Something that's on my "wish list" right now is some ankle high Uggs. I REALLY want them. Like really.

7. This weekend I am going to Not doing much at all. Hanging out with friends and awaiting the return of the prodigal.

The California Trip Part 2

It has finally arrived.

The second part of the account of one of the best trips I've been on in a long time.

The last time I left off, we were at the Grand-beautiful-Canyon.

We stayed in that area for one day and spent the following morning before leaving soaking up the sun rays and splashing in the very shallow pool at our hotel.

Katie and Emily were my California buddies. They are two of my favourite people and I got to stay with them everywhere we went. We stayed at our host family in Orange County together and then when we went on our road trip, we stayed together in all the hotels we visited.

One night in Orange County, we were invited by some people we met to go and hang out at their house in their hot tub.

It. Was. Amazing.

The view was insane! We looked out onto a beautiful valley with a lovely moon shining down. It was very californian.

When we got back to Southern California, we spent a few days in Costa Mesa where we stayed at a local University which was a lot of fun. We ended up going to Newport Beach again one day where I had a famous Balboa Bar covered in Oreos. I was a fan.

On our last day in California, we checked into our last hotel near the airport during the morning meaning we had lots of time to chill out and enjoy the last day in LA. We used the pool's jacuzzi and pool during the day with the boys playing random games in the water while the rest of us, being the girls, dipped in and out while giving a last attempt at getting a Californian tan. Which generally failed. Oh well...next time.

The meal for the last evening inevitably had to be one last In-N-Out experience which the Boyfriend took to the full extent by ordering two of the biggest burgers along with two portions of massive chips. So attractive. Bless him.

A group of us decided to take full advantage of the evening and decided to venture to the cinema which turned out to be a FREAKING long walk away.

It ended up being a massive cinema which was SO cool!

We discovered that there was a seemingly good price to see Pirates of the Caribbean 4 so Katie, Will, Ben and I decided to splash our last Dollah on that. They were excited...

I thought it was pretty good. Thumbs up from me. The 3D glasses are especially sexy I feel.

All in all it was an awesome trip, definitely not a holiday and I will be returning.

California, wait for me. I loved you. I will come back. For longer this time. Promise.