Changes, Changes

I was going to wait to begin blogging until after I touched down in Europe, but so much has been going on in my life in these past few days that I wanted to get it out now. Alright so first of all, I just got back from my end of summer trip to florida -- it wasn't exactly a vacation according to me, seeing as I was at the pool once, only saw the ocean from indoors, dropped Jen off at UMiami, and was looking at real estate the entire time with my parents. That was my own fault though. I told them that I wanted to see as many communities as possible before heading overseas so that I could have some say in where they decided to buy a house. Ironically, the one day that I decided to sleep in, they went to a new community and found a house. They loved it so much that Jen and I went back later to get a second look and we liked it so they put a bid on it and got it! Long story short, we got a house WAY before we anticipated and now when I fly back to Miami from London, I'll have a home to go to instead of a stuffy condo. We only took a few photos of the house because the owners were there and it was a little awkward, but here is a view of the backyard!

Sidenote: Ina Garten is making spanakopita with lamb kebobs right now and I'm dying.

While down there, we also said goodbye to Jen as she started her freshman year in college. We met her roommate, Amanda, who later went out to dinner with us in Coral Gables so they could bond. Surprisingly, there were no tears as we left her and she seemed pretty busy in the next few days to distract her from homesickness.

Here she is with her new roommate posing in front of their dorm. I wish AU looked like that!

The only thing that was completely undesirable was the size and layout of her dorm room. I didn't know it, but I was so spoiled as AU with huge picture windows and built-in shelving and oh I don't know, maybe room for a TV. She didn't even have that. Her windows were significantly smaller due to the hurricane shutters they had on them. Other than that, it was a typical dorm room.

As of now, I'm back in North Jersey basically waiting to leave for England. I started packing today while simultaneously babysitting Bella for the next 2 days until Kelly comes home to say goodbye and then takes her back to the district. She's actually a fairly boring dog. I guess I just never realized it. She just stares at me and barks at the cardboard boxes strewn all over my house. She also woke me up at 7:30 this morning which was just AWESOME. Anyway, back to packing. I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what to bring. I'm going to be in London for a big change in temperatures so I need a variety of clothing. I only have 2 suitcases to work with so it's gonna be interesting. I might just end up pulling a Foster Curry and wearing half my suitcase on the plane. We shall seeeeee!!!!

I probably won't be posting again until we get closer to D-Day, but as of now, I'm enjoying my last few days in the great country of America. And speaking of, I have a Chipotle giftcard that is burning a hole in my wallet. God I'll miss that place.