forgot about this song.

Thao with the Get Down Stay Down in my living room from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

Maltesers.

Oh wow. I don't know quite where to begin and of course it is getting late- but I feel I owe you an explanation of my amazing adventure this weekend. I figure I'll use some pictures to guide me through this whirlwind trip to Malta. 

The First Glimpse

The Players: 

Kristine aka "Geronimo" 

"Naughty" Natalie 

Christine "Oh Ya"

Michael "Mickey"

...and rainbow bright/tacky tourist/hadn't slept in more than 24hrs.

Upon arriving we were met with sunshine and blue skies. After getting organized we walked through our area and then hopped on the bus to Valletta- the capital city. 

(I took many many pictures of the great doors on this island- this one just happens to be the entrance to one of Dad's favourite stores)

St. John's Cathedral- which we couldn't get in to unfortunately- but it gave us some great photo-ops!

Our personal tour guide

This was in an amazing garden overlooking the city. These two gentlemen looked so at home in this wonderful place, I had to capture it.  

As the sun was setting and our tummies were grumbling, we snapped some last shots of the city. These pictures turned out quite well but still don't do this scene justice. 

Day two started off with a few more bus rides to the south of Malta, where we hoped to grab a boat and go explore the Blue Grotto. 

While we waited for the bus- we flossed! After quick pies and pastries from little stalls we were all in need of a little oral hygiene check. Thankfully I always carry my floss picks! 

(Yes I was made fun of for this)

 The grotto is a site you have to see in Malta- but that day the wind was a little too strong for their little boats and again we were denied our sight seeing fix. Instead we lazed on warm rocks, soaked up some vitamin d and took in the views of the ocean. 

Lunch was in another city- Silema. This area (known for its shopping) is where our credit cards got the best workout :) As a break between sales, we sat at this great cafe, drank maltese wine and ate delicious pizzas. We happily got a little pink from the sun as we people-watched and tried to creepily take pictures of the wonderful looking people in this town. 

There was always time for photo shoots. 

Successful shopping trip? I think we did well! The dress below was the only thing I paid full price for- and I think it was totally worth it. Try not to judge it by the messy 80's ponytail or the boots that do not match(which were only 15 euros!!)- because with the right shoes and maybe a bit more of a tan, I doubt I will ever give up this Zara dress. 

Okay my dears, I have to get away from this and get some sleep. The gym is calling my name everyday at 8am until the lawball, and with all the catching up on emails, blogs and fb I have deprived myself of a full nights sleep. This week I plan on upgrading my room and I will try and take a few photos of my other purchases as well.

Have a wonderful day!
xo cmac

Playing.

New fonts! I'm testing out a few different ones to see what I like, now that I figured out how to play around with them.

Wrote my first exam today. Besides running out of time, I think it went pretty well. Then I went out for dinner with the group, had a martini to celebrate, and now I am trying to get to sleep again. The jet lag is nearly over, but 12 seems to be my new bedtime- which is not so nice in the morning. Tomorrow back to studying, then booking the trip to Malta for this weekend!!

I have been having creative sparks lately and I think next week while I am getting back into the swing of classes again I am going to do a little re-decorating in this room. I need a shelf I have decided- and lots of little hooks. I have big plans. This probably has something to do with the insane amount of blogs I have been reading lately... anyways I have been inspired and hopefully I'll have fun things to share on here soon enough.

Adios amigos.

Dear exams: write yourself.

The last thing I want to do on this cold January morning is get out of bed. But tomorrow I have an exam worth 100%, so I cannot afford to have a lazy sunday. While I was avoiding this reality and wishing my jet lag would just go away, I did find this blog that makes me jealous for several reasons. Well firstly it is an actual website- and even the title makes me want to be her. But scan through her 'five things' and great outfits and hear about how she lives in California- and you will love to hate her, too. I wish my blog could be more like that, but apparently she spends her entire days blogging etc so it is just not a reality for me. Oh and has a fiance that takes all the lovely pictures of her adorable outfits. Maybe as a treat to myself, after all the exams are done, I will get a little creative and give you a really fantastic blog that will be full of interesting and pretty things.

For now: a hopeful horoscope accompanied by a few of my favourite silly pictures from my break.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23 - Dec. 21):

You will be amazingly focused in the way you do things this week – amazing because you are usually quite laidback in your attitudes. Use that focus to bring a long-term project to a swift and successful conclusion.

 New years @ Lucky Bar

Bringing back the 80's jacket at Big White

Crazy Christmas pictures with my two lovely girls

xo cmac

Watch this.

Calgary Airport

Apparently I need to get more creative because my titles are getting very bland. But I truly am sitting in the Calgary airport, waiting another couple hours until I can board my flight back to London. I had a wonderful break and I am actually a little sad to go. Yet, other than the exam stress to come, I am excited to get back to school and back to the people I've been missing there.

I managed to block out all the sickness that was surrounding me last week, and I had such a great last few days! I went skiing for the first time in about 3 years and had a wonderful time with wonderful friends up at the hill. It was a little different from the last time I had friends at the condo- you know who you are! But I guess we've grown up and out of creating disasters where ever we go.

I also spent the day with my mommy- doing some necessary running around- and some unnecessary but fantastic shopping! I got a dress for the law ball- but you will have to wait for pictures. All I will say is that it is very 'enchanting' - which is only fitting because that is the theme. And you know how I love a theme.

My last night was spent with the family and followed by packing into the wee hours of the morning. When will I get better at this? Oh and I even had to re-arrange my things on the airport floor because not only was my bag overweight- it passed the weight that they would even accept it! Thankfully I have a big carryon this time. But it's now a heavy one- I'm gonna blame it on the textbooks.

Well until I am back in Leicester I have little to talk about now. I may not give too many updates until after the exams are done- but I'll try and put up a few pictures from the vacation as soon as I load them on the ol' mac. So take care my lovelies.
Cheerio xoxo
(Mom did that make you think of glee??)

I may have the worst immune system. ever.

So after the ridiculous cold I had on my way here, I made two assumptions: 1) no more flight delays for the rest of the year and 2) no more colds. Now I won't be able to determine the truth of the first statement until next week, but already the second is failing. I woke up yesterday morning with a stuffy nose. I was feeling fine before, but the entire office is sick with one thing or another and apparently my eagerness to work (aka avoid studying) 'bit me in the ass' as they say.. okay that may be one of the dumbest sayings of all. But regardless, I spent yesterday morning in a foggy haze, despite the Coldfx, and eventually I was forced to turn to Advil C&S. Once that kicked in I went on a journey through the snowbanks to get my hair done. No seriously- I don't remember the last time we had this much snow. Maybe this has something to do with me avoiding winters here for the most part, but if I was 7 I would soo be outside in this. Okay sorry I got sidetracked. Hair. It is back to it's shiny brown self and not quite so crazy long, oh and the bangs are back. Then the rest of my day involved sleeping on the couch due to my lack of energy and getting my mom hooked on Glee. It was a success. I'm not sure why I felt the need to tell you about quite possibly the most boring day of my break so far, but that is what you get when cold medicine is involved.

What else is new and exciting? Not a whole lot. I neeeeed some new music and my usual sources of music are letting me down. I may venture up to Big White again this weekend if everything turns out well, but that is based on some very uncertain circumstances. I only have 5 more sleeps in my bed before I return to the UK. I don't want to leave, but I do miss everyone there... but exams are going to be about the worst welcome home present. But then the Malta trip may actually happen, which would make me cheer up considerably.

Okay, I'm babbling. Let's wrap this up for today, shall we?
Hope your start to 2011 has been successful so far. May your immune systems stay strong.
xoxo cmac

P.S This is for you, flan. (but maybe don't tell your mom)

A little obsessed.

a couple of random thoughts.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/video/new-cancer-blood-test-raises-hope/article1856678/

Just an interesting video I found. Maybe a big improvement?

Also, I am very sorry that Canada lost to the Russians. But are you really going to protest by not drinking vodka? Um no.

Also, thoughts on me visiting Malta after exams in January? Looks pretty fabulous- and with way better weather than the UK.



  Doesn't look terrible, right?

Did you miss me?

Well bonjour my lovelies!

I am terribly sorry for leaving you without a post for soooo long. It has been a crazy end to the year. I won't bore you with all the details (especially because I have had the pleasure of telling most of you the story in person) but it included drinking wine on the floor of Heathrow- and subsequently sleeping there, getting terribly sick and having four more days in London before I could get out of the country. Followed by four flights, which included going through customs three times, sitting at the very back of the plane where the chairs don't quite go back far enough and babies screaming and lots of turbulence. But I made it home, and since then it has been a whirlwind of things. Faux christmas with the girls, real christmas with the whole family, unsuccessful boxing day shopping, lunches and dinners with everyone, then a quick trip to Victoria. So these are my very good excuses for slacking on the blogs.

But what I wanted to tell you about was my night last night. It wasn't life changing or crazy, but it was just a fun night that I hope I don't forget for awhile. It was the first time since september that my family went for dinner, all six of us. We did dinner, had sake, yummy food and even dessert. Then we piled back into the Tahoe, blared music and sang at the top of our lungs, and then all 6 of us went grocery shopping. So imagine a very empty grocery store at 9pm on a Tuesday- and then imagine pairs of us taking over. Three carts full of food. What did we learn? Look for deals because groceries are expensive. Check best before dates. It only takes 20 minutes to fill three carts when we are all there. Oh and don't be offended by the looks the check-out girl gives you. It was a very funny night.



I promise to blog more now, especially because I will be avoiding studying...
xo cmac