LONDON HAUL: ZARA, PRIMARK, FOREVER 21, SUPERDRUG, BOOTS, SELFRIDGES

Hi everyone! Today I'm (finally) coming to you with my long overdue London haul! I've been wanting to put this post together basically since I bought these things, but I didn't have a decent place to take pictures while I was in England! (no, your boyfriend's flat at university is not ideal for blogging as the lighting is terrible and both of your stuff is strewn everywhere because the room is WAY too small for two human beings to share...in case you were wondering) Mike and I ventured to Oxford Street to do some shopping (i was shopping, mike was a great boyfriend and held my coat and bag while i tried things on) and we hit up Zara, Forever 21, Selfridges, and Bershka (cheaper version of Zara) All of the stores were an absolute zoo, but we braved the crowds and I found some great pieces!

I cannot even begin to tell how you how excited I was to go to Zara! I've heard so much about it and have seen people haul clothes from Zara, but I've never actually been to Zara before! I don't have one anywhere near me so naturally I had to have a look around. They had a sale on but their clothes are still on the pricey side (as i'm sure most of you know) so I stayed on the more casual side with my purchases. The first thing I picked up was this really comfy white graphic tee and I'm so in love!

It has an outline of the London skyline and at the bottom it has some cute phrases like "crazy shopping" and "never ending coffee" (sounds like shopping on oxford street to me...am i right, uk people?) I got a small at first, but after I tried it on I decided on a medium because I wanted it to be more loose fitting.

The second piece I got from Zara is this basic white flowy top. Okay, at first I thought the cut on this was standard, but the more I wore it I started to realize that it is asymmetrical, which is really unique! It is shorter at the bottom on one side than the other (as you can see in the picture) which makes this basic top different from anything else I have in my wardrobe. I bought this to wear with leggings (which i have already done on multiple occasions because leggings are my fashion obsession...no shame) but I plan on styling it with jeans as well!

Mike and I went into Bershka next, which I had never heard of but I quickly fell in love with these leggings and I had to have them!

Actually, I would say these are more like trousers than leggings because they are quite thick. I said to the girl at the till that they reminded me quite a bit of the riding pants-style leggings from Zara, and she told me that Bershka is owned by the same company as Zara! So, it made sense that the two leggings are so similar...but these ones were much cheaper than the Zara ones ;) I bought them in black and olive green and I see myself getting a lot of wear out of them! I'm going to call them my fancy leggings from now on...!

Forever 21 time! I went in with a mission: to find a dress for New Year's Eve. I had this idea in my mind that I was going to find the perfect sparkly dress...and that didn't happen. But I did find this hunter green skater dress which I love! Probably a better buy anyways, I'll get much more wear out of this than a sequined number. It doesn't look like anything spectacular on the hanger, but let me tell you it flatters my figure like no other!

Believe it or not, Mike actually picked out this crop top for me! At the moment it seemed like a strange purchase (it is really cold at home right now) but as I'm packing for Florida now it seems pretty much perfect! And, it's Minnie Mouse colors so perfect for Disney World! Mike did a good job :')

Primark...oh Primark, how I've missed you. A couple days before I left (while Mike was at college...hey, i had to occupy myself somehow!) I went shopping in Winchester and of course I had to take a trip to Primark! This shirt has a little story behind it...A couple months ago I was perusing the Shop Jeen website (everything on that website is perfection and i want it all) and I saw a shirt...or was it a skirt? Anyways, it was a clothing piece with basically the same print on it and I wanted it so badly! But it was pretty pricey, so I decided against buying it. So, when I walked into Primark and I saw this shirt, I couldn't resist!

I'm a tad bit obsessed with emojiis so naturally I had to have it. *insert sassy girl emojii here*

I also got a new wallet at Primark! I've been desperately needing a new one for a while and I waited until I went to Primark to get one because they are cute and inexpensive! This one was only five pounds, and it's adorable!

still have pounds and such that i didn't spend...oh well, i'll save them for next time ;)

And of course, I had to pick up a few beauty items when I was in England! Mike and I went into Selfridge's because I wanted to see what was in there and we ended up at the MAC counter. I've been wanting the Nightmoth lip pencil for ages, so per Mike's suggestion I decided to treat myself and get it! I haven't actually worn it yet, but here is a swatch for you!

nightmoth is a purple color, almost black! comment down below if you want a picture of it on and i'll put it on twitter!

I went into the Superdrug in Winchester on a hunt for Makeup Revolution products and thankfully they had them in the shop! I only ended up getting one item, The Matte Effect Foundation, per my friend Stephanie's request. The selection was not as great as I would have hoped, which is why I didn't buy more! I've tried out the foundation a few times and I really like it :)

My mission in Boots was to find a new moisturizer (i'm running low on my first aid beauty ultra repair cream) and some makeup remover wipes, and I gravitated towards the Soap and Glory display for both of these items! In the United States, Soap and Glory are not the kind of brand that you can find in the drugstore (sadly) However, Boots has basically any Soap and Glory product you could ever want so whenever I go there I tend to buy their products simply because I don't see them as often at home! I tried their Off Your Face makeup remover wipes when I was in England the first time, so I repurchased of course. They smell like heaven and they make my skin look nice and refreshed. I've never tried a moisturizer from Soap and Glory before, but I decided on The Fab Pore Daily Micro Smoothing Lotion and so far I'm loving it!

Wow, that was a long post but I hope you enjoyed! If you love hauls as much as I do, I'm sure you didn't mind ;)

https://twitter.com/essentiallyshan

until next time,

AMERENGLISH?

Hi everyone! I'm back in the U.S. (boo) but my trip to the UK and beyond has caused me to ponder a bit about myself. (don't worry, this post wont be nearly as existential as it sounds...maybe!)

I took a class at my university in the fall entitled Global Literature (it sounds really easy, but actually it kicked my butt) and we talked in great detail about where people are from and how that influences their life experiences and in turn their writing. Almost all of the authors we studied were born in one country and lived in countless others for a multiplicity of reasons. My newfound knowledge regarding cultural identity and how it affects basically everything about an individual combined with my recent travels (in this context, primarily my UK travels) has sparked my curiosity about how I define myself and the way I talk/think/eat (yes eat, sounds weird but it will make sense soon)

My passport says I'm American.

My heart says I'm British. Despite the fact that I don't have an accent.

My parents tell me I'm French Canadian and Native American.

My name denotes that I'm Irish (Shannon) and Welsh (Griffiths).

My brain informs me (and then everyone else that asks) that I live in New Hampshire but I'm originally from California.

When I went to England the first time to study for 3 months, I felt awkward and out of place among the Brits. (well, I still feel that sometimes even now...but definitely less so than before) Despite the fact that we speak the same language, the language barrier is still a thing between Americans and Brits. It took time for myself and my American friends to feel truly comfortable in conversation with our British peers, and personally I occasionally still feel self-conscious about my "accent" when I speak around Mike/his family and friends.

However, this trip to England was different. I was fully immersed as I spent three weeks with Mike and his family/friends, the American influence that previously had acted as a sort of comfortable counterbalance for the newness of British culture and lingo vanished. However, I felt confident in my ability to discuss football (not soccer) on a very basic level with Mike's dad, order food and pay for it without feeling like an idiot and having to rummage through my purse for ages wondering which coins I should use (that's wallet for all the Americans reading this), and eat food in public without putting down my knife and fork every five seconds (in the UK and Europe the norm is to hold your knife and fork the entire time while you're eating, unlike in the U.S. where we pick our knife up to cut our food and then put it down again and so on) 

*cue existential questions about identity now*

I know I don't have a British accent and I wasn't born in a borough of London like Mike was, but I've spent enough time in England now that I feel like I belong there. I want to belong there. Perhaps it is my Irish and Welsh heritage that contributes to the strong magnetic pull that I feel towards England. Or, possibly my obsession with Harry Potter. Maybe it's both. I know that the connection that I feel is strong, but is it enough to say that I'm British because I feel British? Because I lived there for 3 months? Because I adore their way of life and their food? Because the person that I love is British?

I'm not a British citizen, but I might be in the future. wink wink Either way, my experiences in England have shaped the way that I view myself in a way that wasn't possible before. When Mike and I went to New York City last summer, we went into H&M and I spotted the most perfect shirt: a flag, half American and half Union Jack. I persuaded Mike to buy it, mostly because it was sweltering outside and he needed something cooler to wear but also because it was so fitting for us. Now that I think about that shirt, it not only represents Mike and I's relationship, but my relationship with England. My heart is there in more ways than one, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

until next time,

CHRISTMAS SHENANIGANS

Hi everyone! The holidays have passed now, but I was so busy at the time I never got to blog about what I did on Christmas and beyond! As you know, I spent this Christmas with my boyfriend Mike and his family in England. The whole clan ventured to a place called Warmwell, which is about 2 and a half hours south of London on the coast. We stayed in cabins at a holiday park (hard to explain to someone who has never been to one before, if i had to compare it to something in america i would say it's like a campground but with cheesy entertainment, games, and a bar) for 5 days and we all had a lovely time! Mike's mum and her sisters cooked Christmas dinner for all 15 of us and it was absolutely delicious. We had turkey (strange for Christmas as I'm used to turkey on Thanksgiving but I was more than happy to eat it again), gammon (ham), chicken, stuffing, potatoes, carrots, peas, and of course Yorkshire puddings! Yum :)

i don't know what the face is for, everything tasted amazing :)

We ate our lovely meal and pulled open our Christmas crackers which is where we got our fashionable crowns from ;) Oh, and in case you were wondering I ended up wearing the black and green dress that I bought from Francesca's!

sunset over the lake near our cabin

We went to Weymouth a few times, which is a nearby city that is right on the sea. Mike and I had a nice cream tea (a pot of really nice tea, a scone, and some clotted cream and jam to go with it) at a little shop on the high street.

And then we headed to the beach!

After our trip to Warmwell, Mike and I went out one night to a pub with about 10 of his best friends! Some of them he hadn't seen in a long time and some of them I had never met before, so it was fun for both of us :)

this is mike's best friend's girlfriend, her name is shannon too!

Mike and I also went ice skating at Hampton Court Palace and it was so much fun! Well, I may have enjoyed myself a bit more than Mike did because I actually like ice skating ;) The rink was small and there were loads of people but somehow we managed to maneuver our way through them and not fall!

my favorite picture of mike and i so far :)

until next time,

(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,