One month to go!

A kind of random post today, but this is it, folks. The final stretch, or something along those lines. Today marks one month from departure. !!! I can hardly wait to start posting about all things Edinburgh and travel related! Therein lies the whole reason for this blog, and since I've had it for a couple of months now, I've got a handle on how best to bring the best posts to you. Family, friends, and blogosphere: I love you.

Just sayin'. :)

After what feels like eons waiting for all of this to come together, I'm finally faced with the concept of imminence, and trying to pack as much activity/work/travel into these last few weeks as humanly possible. As well as actually... packing. Which hasn't happened yet, not really even a little.

Today I have the day off and I've been taking it easy. One of the best things I know to do on a day off is go thrift shopping. I managed to find a sweet vintage leather convertible clutch bag in the most brilliant shade of blue. I try to only buy the things that a) are amazing, just amazing and b) are one-time-deal sorts of finds. I know I've been trying to clean out my closet, but some things I'm just certain I can make room for. And for $3.49, you just can't go wrong! Goes with my leopard print skirt I thrifted a while back. ;)



I also celebrated/prepared for Edinburgh arrival today by purchasing an iPhone off eBay that I'll be able to use on any number of networks in the UK once I get a SIM card over there. My current phone is about shot, so no matter what, it was about time to upgrade. Aaaallll the little things that go into a move overseas. Not that I'm complaining about a excuse to get a new phone. Not at all!



Otherwise, my very sleepy (read: naughty) cat and I are just hanging out today. He's an indoor feline, but yesterday he snuck out of the house and was outside for a loooong time. Luckily he hung around the house the whole time, but when I finally saw him, he couldn't stop scratching and biting at himself. I worried he had gotten into some fleas or something. Turns out he must have wallowed in some burrs, because they were stuck everywhere in his fur. Serves him right.




But now we're relaxed. I'm going to miss this dude. Lucky for me (and him, probably) my amazing parents are kind of adopting him. So I'll get to visit him at Christmas. ;)


Days to Edinburgh move-in: 32

Good morning, sunshine.

Nothing beats the beauty of early morning in the spring and summer. It has always been my favorite time of day, although I usually begrudged having to wake up early to enjoy it. It's a Catch 22, you see. However, I've been waking up much earlier recently.

When I was young, and traveled to art fairs with my dad in the summertime, we would be up super early to go set up his paintings at the show. We'd sometimes grab a doughnut, or waffles at Bill Evans, but it was that sense of purpose, early in the morning when the air was already warm, that I still feel when I get up early.

And sometimes I think about a weekend trip I took to the Welsh countryside in Spring of 2006, where, staying at the amazingly-located Baskerville Hall Hotel in a bunk room with seven other girls, I got up at the crack of dawn and went for a walk by myself down winding roads, around quilted hills. It was magical, and I remember it still today. It's those little moments that mean the most, and something about the promise of a new day and the clarity of the morning sun make morning an experience in itself.

P.S. The cat is a family cat, Roxie. She was curious about the flowers this morning, too.

Days to Edinburgh Move-In: 123