"yeah, i'm a third year at uni"

yeah, they don't call it "college" here. or "school". it's "uni".

so, my fashion classes are a piece of cake. drawing and illustration is really fun because i'm actually learning how to draw instead of getting yelled at every ten seconds for not knowing how to draw like my last drawing class (ahem, i think kate, emma, and emilie will appreciate that, and several other people if they happen to see my blog). my professor is helping me find what i'm good at and is teaching me to build on those strengths, so i feel like i'm actually succeeding! woo!

i also love my visual merchandizing class (i dropped digital product development in exchange for this...best decision ever). basically, we are getting graded to look at window displays and talk about them and why they are pretty. OK.

fashion journalism and photography are both eh. neither of them are particularly challenging so i'm having a hard time wanting to sit through them for four hours each. but i guess that just means i'll get high marks! yeah, they don't say "grades", either.

[holding the reflector in photo]

my last class is british art and architecture. this class is offered through arcadia, the study abroad program, not the london college of fashion. i am really excited about this class because it's the most academic of my five classes, so it is a nice balance to all the drawing/reading magazines/shopping for homework that i've been doing. yesterday morning i went to the british museum and scoped out the rosetta stone (cool), but more importantly the statues from the parthenon! basically, some british dude somehow got permission in the 1800s to take a bajillion of these beautiful marble sculptures from the parthenon and bring them to london. i personally think they should bring them back to athens, but i suppose it's not my call. now, my friend rebecca and i are determined to go to athens to see the rest. we will see.

[me in front of the marble statues, so stoked on culture]

this definitely makes me a nerd, but i literally have a moment when i am standing so close to such major pieces of history. those are pieces of the PARTHENON! see, nerd.

[centaurs versus humans]

[don't remember what this is but it's cool looking! legos?]

tomorrow it's off to the national gallery to look at some dumb paintings of canals. eh. but it's in trafalger square, so after i stare at canal paintings for a while i'll probably explore!

back in business!

i'm back from minneapolis and, although the circumstances were not ideal, it was nice to see the fam for approximately 48 hours. i returned to piles of laundry, homework, and emails that i am, unfortunately, spending the weekend getting rid of.

luckily for me, my homework consists of drawing, taking some photos, going to an exhibit about grace kelly's clothes at the victoria and albert museum, and reading a lot of magazines. so although i'm cooped up getting things done, those things aren't half bad.

the rest of the weekends are going to be crazy! i'm planning a trip to italy and i am hoping i will make it to spain, greece, or maybe paris again. my mom and dad will be here twice in october, my friends katie and beatrice from chapman are each coming out to visit, and erin will be here for a few days for thanksgiving! i'm so excited to have little pieces of home here with me in london for a few days. so, with all of these fun times coming up, i'm taking this weekend to relax. :)

speaking of relaxing, here is where i do most of it...my room!

[my bed, pile of magazines, and two phones. yes, two.

one is my iphone, which i only use for whatsapp and maps.

the other was probably designed in 1998 and its best feature is t9. enough said.]

[bulletin board. fam, friends, postcards.]

[desk. told you i need lots of magazines for my homework!

+ a moleskin and art supplies.]

detour

more than ever, i have been finding that life is going to throw stuff at you that you didn't think would happen. no matter how much we prepare or what our expectations are, there is no way for us to know what the next moment brings, and sometimes we have to detour.

my grandpa lorney has been in and out of the hospital for a while now. i don't fully understand the complexities of medicine, but i do know that as long as i can remember my grandpa had battled heart problems. over the years there were a few times that we weren't sure if he would pull through, but he always did, and within the week he'd be out on the golf course again.

i've always admired my grandpa's wit, charm, and talent. an artist and ad man, my grandpa has books full of sketches, advertisements, commercial storyboards, and other things that i have always loved pouring through. his paintings embody a style i love so much and often try to imitate in my own design work. on top of it, he was a talented songwriter and a very strong people person. most of all, i admire grandpa for his love for his family, who he would have gone to the moon and back a hundred times for.

yesterday, grandpa lorney passed away at the fulfilling age of 85. as much as we all could have prepared for it, the death of such a loved man is not an easy loss for my family. it's obvious that a little part of my grandpa lives within each of us: my dad's passion for his family and musical talent, my sister's ability to talk to anyone and sharp wit, and my love for art and design are pieces of my grandpa that are planted deep within our hearts.

his funeral service is on monday, so i am flying out of heathrow to minneapolis to be with my family for a few days and then returning to resume my time here in london. i'm not upset that i am leaving for a few days, nor am i really angry that my grandpa is no longer with us. it's a weird feeling of thankfulness and sadness that i know we are all trying to understand. it's no secret that my grandpa would want us all to be together, not in sadness but to celebrate his life.

so, with that said, the blog posts will be on hold for a bit. but not to worry! i will be back soon, adventuring through london as my grandpa was so excited for me to do.

fashion's night out!

wednesday was london's fashion's night out event, and when it comes to free stuff and a potential gwyneth paltrow sighting, you know i can never say no.

(snagged this photo from a fellow study abroader, jessica.

credit where credit is due, yeah?)

i'm gonna bullet point this post, mostly because if i went into detail it would be a small novel, and partially because i think erin is the only person who is really going to care about the details, and i can just tell her later.

1. we (emily, monique and i) started by looking at the manolo blahnik exhibit in liberty as we waited out the rain. manolo made an appearance later, but we were in a hurry and couldn't be held up by his shenanigans.

2. we were one of the first ones at chanel because we got to oxford circus so early, so we got our nails done for free by a woman who does the nails for chanel models, sipped on pretty pink drinks in tall glasses, and took pictures in a photo booth wearing chanel furs and jewelry. oh, and i brushed against claudia schiffer as i passed her on the stairs. WHAT.

me stressing about what LIMITED EDITION color to get.

3. stood outside of stella mccartney for all of 3 minutes when gwyneth paltrow pulls up, steps out of a car, gets paparazzi attacked, and goes inside. WHAT!

there she is. in all her glory.

4. bought shoes at dune, which has easily become one of my favorite shoe stores.

5. walked away with multiple goody bags. WHAT!?

that's it. it was a great night. had way too much fun.

nightmare on oxford street

today began with me panicking about rain and ended with me sobbing at the marble arch.

let me explain.

the london underground is on strike for twenty-four hours. for some reason, the union decided that my first day of school, the day that i needed to take the central line across the city to get to class, was the best day for this protest.

i woke up this morning to the sound of torrential downpour. i knew this day would come, but as my rain boots are being shipped from home (right, mom?) and my umbrella has the diameter of about 14 inches, i instantly began stressing about how my hair would hold up during my first day at fashion school. but, i needed to get art supplies before class started, so after bundling up, putting my hair in a bun, and waterproofing everything i own in plastic bags, i stepped outside. the sun also decided to make an appearance at this time and i sweated my way to the art store.

after rebuying many of the art supplies i already own at home but forgot/decided not to bring, i had three hours before class. that was plenty of time! on a normal day, i could grab lunch, take a shower, sightsee, meet the queen, and make the trip to school in that amount of time. but oh, no, the tube strike.

knowing that i didn't have any idea how to use public transportation, i forfeited the use of a bus and hailed a cab. no problem. 2 hours and 45 pounds later (that's 60-something dollars), i made it to class with time to spare. at least i wasn't late like the rest of my class and i actually did i decent job on my first in-class assignment, which was to draw a live model. this was the first time i had ever drawn a person, period!

but then, hell broke loose on london. as people tried to rush home from work, buses were packed and cabs were occupied. i frantically texted my mom of all people to look up a bus route, but because of the panic surging through the streets many lines were down or delayed. i followed a girl from my class onto a random bus that i knew ended up at the marble arch, where at least i knew there were lots of hotels. hotels=taxis. i can do this.

as i stepped off the bus at the marble arch, i looked around at the streets lined with people also desperately needing taxis. hundreds of people. i looked down at my phone to call my RA so he could at least tell me what to do next, but my phone was dead. great. now my mom thinks i'm dead, i have no way to contact anyone, and i'm stranded at the marble arch. i made my way over to a taxi pulled over on the side of the street with the word "reserved" in the window and asked the driver if there was a place i could find an unoccupied taxi, or even if i could have the number for a taxi service. "it's crazy tonight. you'd best be getting on a bus for the next couple of hours," he said as he stared at his phone.

i started bawling.

what a pathetic sight that must have been. an american girl, wearing 2039 layers, juggling her art supplies in tears at the marble arch. he looked at me in terror, as if i had told him i was missing a limb. "are you upset? what's wrong? are you okay?" he quickly asked. i explained that i am by myself in london and it was my first day of school and i didn't know how to get home. his heart softened in front of my eyes and he explained that his daughter was twelve and he couldn't stand to see me cry. after introducing himself and promising to help me, the little bald man named james offered me a ride home after the person he was waiting for was dropped off.

so, james and i dropped off an international businessman with no manners at the hilton and then started the 45 minute journey in terrible traffic to thoresby house. i cried on and off the whole way home, partly from gratitude, partly because i kept thinking my mom would send out a search party, but mostly because i was exhausted. in this moment, i hated london.

i'm not sure if you watch the hills, loyal reader, but in one episode lauren is in paris. she is picked up by an attractive man on a vespa and they scoot around town all lit up for her private tour of the city's greatest landmarks. in a really weird, completely not romantic way, i kind of felt like lauren all of the sudden. road closures had the taxi all over the city, and out the window i watched the ritz sparkle and piccadilly circus bustle with energy. my mood elevated as i found places that i could bring my parents when they visit and as we drove past hyde park. james and i chatted the whole way home, my voice wavering the entire time.

we finally pulled up to thoresby. i jumped out of the car, so excited to lay in my bed, and asked james how much i owed him. "buy a drink on me, ali. and have a great time in london, it really is a beautiful city," he said. he wouldn't take a dime from me (or i suppose a pence?) and after i safely got to the door, james waved and drove away.

so that was my first real obstacle in london. i knew it would happen one day and i also knew it would work out, but when you are in those moments, nothing can make you feel better. except for nice men named james.

adjusting!

hi!

so, i'm here. making friends, getting situated. i've been sleeping a ton because my body is confused and jet lagged, but this is the latest i've stayed up yet so i think it's getting it together.

i had orientation yesterday at the london college of fashion and ah! it will be so fun. the school is at oxford circus in the middle of an area housing every shop you could ever want. i'm taking five classes: british art and architecture (where we go to museums and galleries every week), fashion illustration and drawing, digital photography, fashion journalism, and digital product design. i only have each class once a week and no class on fridays, so that gives me some time to travel and explore!

the whole process of being here has been an interesting transition, and while the sleep schedule doesn't help, i think that it will take a couple of days for me to really get into my life here. i miss my house, my family, my friends, and my comfy bed A LOT. but, it always makes me feel better when i hear about what people at home are up to, how classes are going, and how chapman is carrying on without me. it makes me excited for the experience i am about to dive into and the memories i will be able to bring back with me when i am back in my little blue house in orange.

this is where i'm staying! thoresby house in islington.

today i went grocery shopping, which is usually one of my favorite things to do, but i forgot that grocery shoppings means i have to CARRY my groceries a mile from the store to thoresby house. no car? great, my arms will be looking toned for the spring by the time i'm back.

this week will be good, bringing about new surprises, new people, and new experiences. two of my classes start this week so it will be nice to get back into the mentality i have during the school year. also, fashion's night out is on wednesday, so a few of my house-mates and i are going to explore the city as it dresses itself up for a fancy night of fashion-related events.

i'm excited/anxious/grateful for the semester ahead! keep checking back here for updates. :)

so much love,

ali

i made it!

i'm in london!

i'm just getting to know people, unpacking, figuring out where i'm going to put all of my clothes, etc. so i don't have much of an update besides the fact that I'M HERE!

i have orientation tomorrow at the london college of fashion, where i will find out my classes and stuff, so i will have more to say then!

!!!!!!!

oh, you want to text me?

DON'T.

please!

but there is this magical thing called whatsapp. it's an application for blackberries, iphones, and ipod touches. download it and you can text me from there, FOR FREE!

(6.25 hours until lift off!)

(via tim walker)