(HEY NOW, HEY NOW) THIS IS WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF

Hi everyone! Wow, it's been way too long since I last blogged, it feels so good to be back :) I spent last weekend in Rome (I had to keep telling myself it was December, it was so warm it felt like summer!) and I wanted to share some of my pictures with you all! (I don't know about you, but ever since I saw The Lizzie McGuire movie when I was younger I've always wanted to go to Rome!) We managed to see most (if not all) of the famous sites in the city like the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and the Vatican (and the Sistine Chapel, but sadly I couldn't take any pictures in there, boo) I was extremely disappointed to discover that the Trevi Fountain is still under construction and it has ugly scaffolding all over it! That was one of the things I was really looking forward to seeing, but it was kind of cool that we were able to walk through it since there is no water in it. Oh, and I ate some really delicious food. A lot of delicious food. Definitely a highlight of my trip! Well enough blabbing, let's get into the pictures!

i got a heart in my cappuccino!

when in rome. am i right?

my amazing porcini mushroom fettuccine

mike's giant calzone

tiramisu...yum

cannolis are life

mike and i our first night in rome

just chillin at the colosseum

not a white christmas, but still beautiful for sure!

be adventurous

this lovely building (the pantheon) was a two minute walk from our hotel!

a view of the roman forum

the vatican

cathedrals are abundant in europe and they are all gorgeous 

until next time,

       

MY (HYPOTHETICAL) CHRISTMAS WISHLIST

Hi everyone! For Christmas this year, my lovely parents put money on my travel debit card! It works basically just like a gift card, there is a certain amount of money on the card and you can spend it anywhere you want! Last year, I used the card while I was abroad and it was super convenient so I will be doing the same on my trip this year! (9 more days to go, eek!) So, since my parents already gave me 300 dollars to spend I won't be receiving any actual gifts this Christmas. But, that doesn't mean that I don't have some goodies in mind that (hypothetically) I would love for Christmas! ;)

First things first: I love my little Nikon Cool Pix point and shoot camera. I really do. It's cute, compact, and it's purple. And it will be perfect for when I start vlogging! However, in a perfect world I would own a Canon Rebel DSLR camera for blogging purposes! My Nikon is sub par when it comes to focusing so it would be ideal to have a camera that allows for easier close up shots. These cameras are pretty pricey (as I'm sure most of you know already) so I probably wont be able to buy one for myself anytime soon, but a girl can dream, right? :)

Victoria's Secret sweatpants are my favorite and they're basically all I wear when I'm at home! (And out in public occasionally...not gonna lie) I have two pairs right now that are pretty worn out, so a nice new pair would be splendid! I love the Skinny kind because I can tuck them into boots.

Oh boy, I've been eyeing this Sigma travel set for probably about a year now. Lindsey (beautybaby44 on Youtube, love her) is always talking about Sigma brushes and how great they are, and I really want to get my hands on these babies! They come in a really nice holder as well :)

Another beauty item on the wishlist! I have Benefit's Coralista blush and I absolutely love it, so I think this blush palette would be an awesome present because it has 5 shades that I've never tried! Also, the packaging is super adorable (as always) so that's a plus.

How could I leave the iPhone 6 off my wishlist?! I have the iPhone 5 right now, which definitely does the trick, but I would love to upgrade! At first I was skeptical of the increase in screen size, but I think a slightly bigger screen would be helpful because I read a lot on my phone and watch Youtube videos! The iPhone 6 Plus is too big though, I'll pass on that one ;)

And what would I put on my iPhone 6? A Wildflower case, of course! Like I've mentioned before, I love Wildflower cases and I can't imagine any other kind on my phone.

Well, that's all for my hypothetical Christmas wishlist!

What's on your wishlist this Christmas? Leave a comment down below, I love hearing what other people have their eye on! :)

until next time,

LIFE UPDATE: WHERE AM I GOING?!

Hi everyone! I just wanted to do a quick update for you all. Sorry I've been MIA for a couple days, it's a week and half until finals and I'm freaking out a little bit with all of this work and studying! You know how professors just love to assign projects and papers right before the end of the semester! Trust me, I would much rather be blogging instead, but it has to be done :( Anyways, I'm hoping to get a few posts up in the coming week for you guys :)

Guess where I'll be exactly 2 weeks from right now! Go on, take a guess! You don't know? I'll be on a plane somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. Eeeek! And where am I going, you ask? To England, to see my boyfriend, Mike! Finally. I'm so excited. If you're new to Essentially Shannon and you have no clue what I'm talking about you should click here and read up! Will I be posting while I'm away on my lovely 3 week holiday, you ask? Well, that's the plan! I'm bringing my laptop and camera with me on my trip and I definitely plan on blogging while I'm in England, so stay tuned for some international posts :D Maybe I can even get Mike to help me out with a few OOTD posts ;)

Next up on the agenda: I'm moving to Florida in mid January because I am doing the Spring 2015 Disney College Program! If you're scratching your head in confusion right now, the Disney College Program is a prestigious (I mean, it is Disney so...duh) paid internship at the Walt Disney World Resort (they do it at Disneyland also) that allows college students (that's me!) to work in the parks and resorts in a variety of different roles (I'm in Quick Service Food and Beverage in case you're wondering, but there are so many possible roles) Oh, and did I mention I get into the parks for free? ;) Yeah, it's a pretty sweet gig and I'm so grateful for this amazing opportunity! I can't wait to move down to Orlando and meet my wonderful roommates and embark on this new adventure! I've always loved Disney, and the fact that they want me to work for their company blows my mind and I couldn't be more jazzed! And I mean, I'm avoiding the winter yet again and I'll probably get a tan for the first time in years so that's definitely a plus :)

So what does this mean for Essentially Shannon? Since I will be working a lot when I'm down at Disney, I will be really busy. And tired. But I am going to do my absolute best to post as much as humanly possible during my four and a half months down there! I'm also happy to anounce that I will be vlogging my entire experience! My university requires that I document my program in some way, and I chose to vlog it for two reasons. The first is that I already blog on a regular basis, so I thought it would be fun to try something different! That's not to say that I wont blog anything about my program though ;) And second, I want to have videos of my program to watch years from now when I'm feeling sentimental! I plan on getting my channel together and posting my first video (probably an About Me or something along those lines since it will be the first video I post) when I get back from England, so when I get that all set up I will be sure to link you guys to my channel if you want to come along with me on this journey! It should be pretty fun to watch, I mean it is Disney World...

Finally, I just wanted to say hi to all of my new followers and thank you! I am thankful for every single one of you and I hope you all stick around and follow me on these adventures of mine! And always, be sure to follow me on social media to keep up with me! :)

https://twitter.com/essentiallyshan

http://instagram.com/shanandoah8/

until next time,