London Traveling & Day 1

Welcome to post #1 of my London recaps! I'm sure this is going to get wordy so lets get started!

Traveling/Day 1

Our traveling day started out with me rushing to get packed before leaving for the airport (literally the hour before we left), but once we got to the airport in Columbia our flight was delayed. Long story short we eventually get off the ground, then run through the Atlanta airport to make our connecting flight to London. While waiting for our London plane to take off, this man appeared on our plane...

...President Jimmy Carter! Now even though he was way before my time and was CERTAINLY not the greatest president, this will probably be the only President I will meet in my lifetime, so nevertheless it was pretty cool.

The flight over to London was not the most pleasant experience. It was just under 8 hours, and out of those 8 I probably got 1 hour of sleep! Our seats were just way too uncomfortable and small that it was impossible to get comfy. The whole family agreed that first class was the way to go next time!

**First view of London!**

When we arrived at Heathrow Airport it was about 10am local time and rainy (shocker right?!?). We quickly gathered our luggage and caught a cab into downtown London. 

**all of our luggage in the small cab**

I can't for the life of me remember the name of our hotel, but it was in the Knightsbridge area across from Victoria & Albert Museum and walking distance from Harrods and an Underground station. It was a VERY nice hotel and we would definitely stay there again! So after checking in and freshening up we walked a couple blocks to grab some lunch and then our first tourist destination...Harrods!!

**not my pic**

Is it a real shocker that I wasn't even in the country for 4 hours and I was already visiting the largest department store in the world?!? Walking into that store is definitely a giddy/overwhelming experience. There are soooo many different rooms and departments and floors it's hard to know where to begin...the handbags alone were in about 6 different rooms that took up almost the entire first floor! I wish I could have taken pictures of it all, but naturally there was security everywhere so picture taking was no-no.

I of course headed straight to the room I knew Louis Vuitton was in and made the purchase 3 years in the making!

I'm not going to go into much detail about my purchase since I talked about it in my London Haul video. But I am still in love with this bag and 100% don't regret my purchase!

Upon leaving Harrods we quickly returned to the hotel and all napped and recovered from jet lag!!

Keep a lookout for Day 2's post soon!! 

Sunday Social Week 7

I've missed the last couple Sunday Social link-ups for various reasons (wedding, vacation, sick etc) but I could NOT let this one pass me by! Especially since it's about one of my favorite new purchases! ;)

 Favorite handbag you've ever owned

My new Louis Vuitton Neverfull GM in Damier Ebene! I bought this my first day in London (almost immediately after we got off the plane!) after saving for what seems like FOREVER and it has been my obsession ever since. I carried it the majority of the trip and it was a saving grace when you have to lug around all your rain-gear and souvenirs. Even my dad who was appalled at me that I was spending this much on a handbag came to at least accept it after I carried his stuff around all week :)
   

Dream handbag you lust over


Since I have acquired the bag I have been lusting over for years, I had to peruse through a couple websites to find another bag that captured my attention. I know I know it was a tough task, but never fear I did prevail...

Valentino Bow-Front Dome Tote

I mean who doesn't love a classic black tote with a huge bow on top?!? Not saying I'll be buying this bag (or any bag for that matter) anytime soon, but if this beauty was to find it's 

way into my closet I wouldn't be upset. 

Of course there is the infamous Hermes Birkin bag that I think all girls lust over. Unless I happen to find myself a man as wealthy as Christian Grey, this will probably be a bag that I will be lusting over for a LONG time! 

Daily essentials in your purse or work bag

Besides the normal basics like wallet, phone etc, there are a couple things that I don't like to leave home without...

• Erin Condren planner (can't wait to order my new one!)
• some sort of lip balm 
• body spray
• sunglasses

What's in your purse(with pictures)

1. Union Jack umbrella  2. Badgley Mischka wallet  3. Michael Kors pouch  4. Erin Condren planner  5. Target wayfarers  6. Target coupon organizer  7. Gucci sunglasses  8. keys  9. Orbit gum  10. B&BW body spray  11. deodorant  12. hand sanitizer  13. hand lotion  14. pedometer  15. hairbrush  

1. Vera Bradley Carry It All Wristlet in Call Me Coral  2. Bath and Body Works Hand Sanitizer in Winter Candy Apple  3. Wimbledon keychain  4. Apartment keys and fob  5. Car remote and key

1. Gucci sunglasses (discontinued)  2. Target wayfarers (here)  3. Erin Condren planner (here)  4. Foray Porous Point Pen...don't bleed through the pages! (here) and random Fleet Feet pen

1. bareMinerals READY SPF 15 Touch Up Veil in Tinted (here) 2. bareMinerals Flawless Face brush (here)  3. Yves Saint Laurent Gloss Volupte in 6 Rose Cannele (here)  4. Revlon Colorburst lip gloss in 008 Peony (here)  5. Chanel Glossimer in 03 Glaze (here)  6. Revlon Lip Butter in 020 Brown Sugar (here)  7. Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara (here)  8. Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser (here)  9. Vaseline...great lip treatment!  10. EOS lip balm in sweet mint (here) 

1. Bath and Body Works Fragrance Mist in Paris Amour (here)  2. Dove deodorant (here)  3. Bath and Body Works lotion in Carried Away (here)  4. Bath and Body Works PocketBac in Twilight Woods  5. Pedometer  6. hairbrush

Hope yall enjoyed this post! I can't wait to read all the other posts that link up!!

London Vacation Haul

Happy Friday everyone!! I was SO thankful to actually have today off from work so I could relax and recover from a pretty busy week. If you haven't been following me on twitter (which you should @swtcarolinagrl5) I've been occupied this week not only with work and getting back into the swing of things but also interviewing for a new job that I'm crossing my fingers for! I should find out sometime early next week if I got the position so hopefully I will be able to share more soon!

 Anywhoo, today I thought I would post a video showing all the fun things I got while on my vacation in London. I'm also hoping to put up a couple posts recapping what all we did while we were over there. But I hope you guys enjoy the video and have a great start to the weekend!!!

Summer Saving

This summer since I am not taking any classes I've had to opportunity to pretty much work full time. During the school year I ask that they only schedule me 10-15 hours a week since my class load is pretty heavy, but the past couple weeks I have been averaging about 30 hours a week. Which means a LOT more money than I'm used to! I do of course have a couple monthly bills I take care of, but I am fortunate that my parents provide me with an apartment to stay in (which I WILL do a picture/video tour of eventually!) and frequently help me out in other areas. Recently I decided that since I am making more money than I'm used to, I wanted to save a good chunk of that money and put it towards an "investment" piece. Now I did get some money back from the government that my parents put away in my roth IRA, so I wanted to think of something that I knew I would use for years to come and would never go outta style. So naturally Louis Vuitton immediately came to mind. I have always loved the timelessness of the company and how these bags are passed on from generation to generation. I initially thought I would save up to purchase one of the Speedy models, but I really wanted a bag that I could use in college and beyond. So I decided that I needed a bag that would fit over the shoulder, causing me to decide on the Neverfull GM! I have seen this bag periodically talked about in my own little blogosphere and LOVED it! I am always a sucker for big purses, and although I haven't seen this one in person yet, the size seems perfect for an everyday bag that can also hold a notebook or binder or whatever I need for class or a future career.

At first I couldn't decided if I wanted to classic Monogram Canvas. Everyone has that pattern and is familiar with it, so I'm thinking about getting Damier Ebene Canvas (similar colors to the Monogram, but a checker print). But I'm still undecided.

Are any of yall planning on saving up for a big purchase in the near future? Have you purchased a "luxury/investment" piece that you absolutely LOVE? Please let me know and if you have any opinions on the Neverfull or you think there's a better bag out there I should be saving for!! Hope everyone has a good weekend!!!