DCP 2015: THE JOURNEY SO FAR

Hi everyone! Wow, the past few days have been a whirlwind! I flew into Orlando on Sunday afternoon and I was greeted by sunny and warm 75 degree weather! Which is quite a shock coming from Boston where it was 10 degrees...but the best kind of shock, of course! ;) I took a bus from the airport to Art of Animation, which is the Disney resort I stayed in the night before I moved into my apartment!

There are four different themed areas at Art of Animation: Cars, Finding Nemo, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid! As you may be able to tell by the pictures, I stayed in the Little Mermaid section! The giant characters make you feel like you are in the movie :) The room was well themed (of course...this is Disney we're talking about!) and I definitely enjoyed having the king sized bed all to myself.

this was on my bed when i walked in...how cute!

On Monday morning, my roommate Meghan and I (she spent the night at Art of Animation as well) packed up her car with all of our suitcases and boxes and headed off to check in for the program! I found out that I will be working in Magic Kingdom in Frontierland, which is what I was hoping for! :) We also got our first choice for an apartment, which was very exciting! I went to Casting right away after check in, which is where I did my fingerprinting, documentation for work, background check, and all that fun stuff!

the doorknobs on the door to the casting building, so cool!

After I was done with Casting, I finally got to see my apartment and meet my roommates! We are living in a three bedroom apartment in Patterson Court and it is really lovely! We are right near the laundry facilities and the clubhouse, so perfect walking distance for basically everything! That night we had reservations at Beaches and Cream at the Yacht and Beach Club to conquer the Kitchen Sink...what is the Kitchen Sink, you ask? It is 8 scoops of ice cream, every topping you could think of, and a whole can of whipped cream! Oh, and it's served in an actual kitchen sink ;)

I love ice cream, and I was feeling fairly confident about my eating abilities until about 15 minutes into eating it...it doesn't look that big at first but the sink itself is deep! Very misleading. We didn't finish it but we will be going back again soon to try again!

my wonderful roommates and i! next to me are brittany and kayla; across from us laura, meghan, amy

I'm all settled into my apartment now but I'm having serious issues not buying every single piece of Disney merchandise that I see! My first day of training is tomorrow, it's called Traditions and it is my official introduction to the Disney company and it will be my first time in the Magic Kingdom as a cast member! More on that later though...

until next time,

WHAT'S ON MY IPHONE?

Hi everyone! I must admit, as much as I've always tried to reassure myself that I would never become one of those people when it comes to my smartphone, I think I've failed. I love my iPhone, and I'm not ashamed to admit it! I had an Android phone (some crappy little thing, i don't even remember what it was) before I got my first iPhone and I can say with surety that I will never go back! Not only do I love my iPhone, but I love apps! They are such an interesting concept to me and so helpful in everyday life! Unless we're talking about games...in that case, definitely counterproductive. If you're anything like me, you love peeking at what people have on their iPhone...and if you are one of those people, you'll love this post because I'm going to show you what's on mine! Let's get into it, shall we?

First up, my lock screen! Surprise, surprise...it's a picture of my lovely beau and I ;) I love this picture that Mike and I took when we went ice skating, so obviously I had to make it my lock screen! Every time I unlock my phone, I smile :)

Aaaaaaand this is my home screen! If you've been here for a while, you know I love Pulp Fiction, and that it's my favorite movie! I especially love Mia Wallace, aka Uma Thurman...she's the bomb <3 I used to have a different version of this as my lock screen, but I found this illustrated one which I think is much cooler!

Here is my screen once I unlock my phone...nothing too exciting yet. All of the typical iPhone apps that come with the phone!

From left to right, the first folder I have holds all of my "social apps": Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Tumblr, Snapchat, Facebook Messenger (basically Mike and I's lifeblood, it's what we use to text each other! stupid international texting charges), Bloglovin, and Viber (what i use to talk to my parents when i'm abroad)

Next folder is my "random" folder...because I couldn't really find a home for these apps so I just decided to group them all together! In here I have: the Blogilates app (i wrote a post a few months back about blogilates and my fitness routine...click the link to read!), Pic Stitch (for when i need to make a killer collage for my instagram), Skype (a must have for anyone in a long distance relationship...let's be real!), Timehop (isn't it brilliant to be reminded of the embarassing Facebook statuses you posted four years ago when you were young and stupid? oh, and the cool stuff you did too), Shift Planning for my job, Buzzfeed (aka my one true love), MyFitnessPal which tracks what you eat every day (shoutout to Mike for this one), Netflix (duh), and The Hunt which is an app you can use to find bascially anything on the internet.

My "music" folder consists of: Spotify, Shazam, Songza, Pandora, Radio 94.7 (my favorite radio station that I listened to in California...the fact that I can stream it on my phone makes me the happiest girl in the world), BandsinTown, and SoundCloud. I listen to Spotify practically nonstop, but usually on my laptop...so my most used music app on my phone would have to be Pandora!

My "lifestyle" folder is pretty sad looking...it only has two apps in it, Etsy and Pinterest. As of late, I haven't been using either but I do like to keep them in case I ever get bored!

Here we have my "games" folder, which is significantly smaller than it used to be. I was living in England when Flappy Bird came out and my friends and I became obsessed with it! We would sit around the table at every meal and play it together, it got pretty ugly sometimes. You know what I mean if you've ever played it...it makes you want to smash everything in sight when your bird crash lands into the ground. I still play it sometimes...usually for about 5 minutes and then I give up because I get too frustrated! I also have Duolingo, which isn't really a "game" really...but it does make practicing my French fun! I downloaded Trivia Crack but I don't understand why everyone thinks it's so addicting...I usually use all my lives pretty quickly and then I forget about it.

Next up is the slightly boring "utilities" folder: Calculator (which i use way too much), Compass and Voice Memos (which i never use), Flashlight (which i also use way too much), my bank app, Podcasts, and the Square app which I use sometimes when I go to events for work (it lets you swipe credit cards and such)

My "travel" folder is pretty sparse: XE Currency Converter (so handy), and Skyscanner which searches for cheap flights.

Lastly, we have the most exciting folder on my iPhone: the "disney" folder! :) Seeing as I am moving to Florida in 3 days (!!!) for my Disney College Program internship, I thought it was only appropriate to download some fun apps that I can use in the parks! I have the WDW Lines app which tells you wait times for attractions in all of the parks and the official Disney World app which tells you anything you could ever want to know about visiting the parks!

Do you use any of these apps? What's your lock/home screen? Any app recommendations? Comment down below :)

until next time,

LIGHTS, CAMERA, BLAH: TWO THUMBS DOWN FOR TARTE

Hi everyone! I don't know about you, but I've been watching beauty videos on Youtube for about 2 years now and everyone who tries Tarte's Lights, Camera, Flashes mascara raves about it! Considering all of this great feedback and my previous positive experiences with the brand, I've always wanted to try this mascara out for myself. So, when I opened my December Ipsy bag I was pleasantly surprised to find a sample size of Lights, Camera, Flashes inside!

Now, let me preface this review by saying this: I like high end mascaras and I don't have a problem with paying more for them because usually they are better quality than those you find at the drugstore. However, my experience with Tarte's Lights, Camera, Flashes was not on par with any high end mascara I've tried and definitely not on par with my favorite drugstore mascara Maybelline's Pumped Up Colossal. I've always struggled with finding a mascara that keeps my lashes curled, and that's why I love Pumped Up Colossal so much! It is the only mascara (high end or drugstore) that I've found personally that doesn't weigh my lashes down, and for that I'm eternally grateful. On that note, when I used Lights, Camera, Flashes I could tell right away that my lashes were droopy and heavy. Even though I curled my lashes before applying the mascara, my lashes were weighed down significantly and therefore had no curl whatsoever. Honestly, I was disappointed by this outcome because I was really looking forward to finally trying out this mascara that I've heard so many people rave about! Maybe my lashes are the problem and it's not the mascara's fault, but sadly I will not be using it again as the results were disastrous. The moral of this story? Sometimes more money doesn't mean better results...in this battle, drugstore is the winner! ;)

Have you tried Tarte's Lights, Camera, Flashes? What are your experiences with it? I'd really love to know, comment down below and tell me!

until next time,

TMI TAG!

Hi everyone! I love watching tag videos on Youtube and I must admit...I'm a tad bit nosy...which is exactly why I love the TMI tag! I think they are super entertaining and it's always interesting to find out things that you never knew about someone! Or never knew that you wanted to know. Or never wanted to know in the first place. On that note...onto the tag!

1. What are you wearing? A grey tee from Gap and some pajama shorts from Aerie

2. Ever been in love? Yes, in love with my best friend :)

3. Ever had a terrible breakup? Does your first boyfriend breaking up with you because he thinks of you "more like a sister" count? Oooh, or what about your second boyfriend breaking up with you over the phone? If so, then yeah I'd say they were pretty crappy!

4. How tall are you? 5 foot 7 inches

5. How much do you weigh? Less than an elephant but more than a feather (A lady never reveals her weight, didn't your mom teach you that?)

6. Any tattoos? Yep, one on the back of my neck and planning my next one :)

7. Any piercings? Ears, I did have my nose pierced but it closed up :(

8. OTP (One True Pairing: what's your favorite fictional couple)? This is so hard! Three way tie between Clary and Jace from The Mortal Instruments series, Chuck and Blair from Gossip Girl, and Hannah and Caleb from Pretty Little Liars

9. Favourite show? Pretty Little Liars 4ever

10. Favourite bands? The 1975, Panic at the Disco, Arctic Monkeys, ALT-J

11. Something you miss? My boyfriend Mike (even though I just saw him a few days ago)
12. Favourite song? Sex by The 1975 

13. How old are you? 20

14. Zodiac sign? Cancer

15. Quality you look for in a partner? Funny, trustworthy, intelligent

16: Favourite Quote? "Happiness can be found even in the darkest times if one only remembers to turn on the light"

17: Favourite actor? Johnny Depp (swoon)

18: Favourite color? Purple!

19: Loud music or soft? Loud, how am I supposed to hear it if it's not?!

20: Where do you go when you're sad? My room, with my headphones in

21: How long does it take you to shower? Usually around 10-15 minutes

22: How long does it take you to get ready in the morning? Depends, usually 30 minutes or so

23: Ever been in a physical fight? Nope!

24: Turn on? Facial hair and accents (duh)

25: Turn off? Cockiness, bad hygiene

26: The reason I joined Youtube? To watch Youtube ;) My vlog channel is coming soon!

27: Fears? Being shot (weird, I know), drowning, spiders

28: Last thing that made you cry? Having to say goodbye to Mike :'(

29: Last time you said you loved someone? Tonight to my mom 

30: Meaning behind your Youtube/Blogging Name? My name is Shannon and I needed a word that went well with it so I picked essentially

31: Last book you read? Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

32: The book you're currently reading? Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas 

33: Last show you watched? Mike and Molly

34: Last person you talked to? My friend Becca

35: The relationship between you and the person you last texted? Friend and co-worker

36: Favourite food? Mexican <3

37: Place you want to visit? Spain, Greece, Hawaii

38: Last place you were? Starbucks...typical 

39: Do you have a crush? More than a crush ;)

40: Last time you kissed someone? Last Thursday, 5 a.m., Winchester Bus Stop (specific enough?)

41: Last time you were insulted? Don't know...that's a good thing, right?

42: Favourite flavour of sweet? Chocolate...yum

43: What instruments do you play? Used to play the flute

44: Favourite piece of jewellery? The ring that Mike bought me for Christmas :)

45: Last sport you played? Is Dance Dance Revolution a sport? Cause I was sweaty afterwards...

46: Last song you sang? Probably something Hannah Montana because that's what I'm listening to right now #noshame

47: Favourite chat up line? Did it hurt when you fell from heaven? (I just made myself cringe...)

until next time,

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,