it's a sad day when...

[sleeping sitting up now since nothing else is working.]

-you wake up with "i might even be a rockstar" by hannah montana in your head. but just the chorus though, because that's the only part you know. so lucky for you, that part keeps playing over and over and over [and over]. how did i ever get so blessed??

-you can't sleep in anymore because the sun currently wakes you up...? i'm sorry, when did i become one of those mountain men when my sleep can't even stand the test of time and i'm "waking up with the sun"?? c'mon body, these are my glory days, give mama some dang beauty rest.

-it's way past your dinner time. you're starving, but you already ate two giant oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. and you're no einstein, but according to the nutritional content of those, you shouldn't be eating for another ten years. dang it.

-you go to ikea for the first time ever...and love it more than anything. and realize that you could lose track of time for days in there just looking at everything. obviously this is a testament to my true classy character. but c'mon, dishes in EVERY color?? it's kind of like a museum....for dorky recently inexpensive decor-obsessed people like me. oh, who am i?

-you're laughing more at the jokes you're making than the ones that other people are making. out loud. for too many minutes. people are staring. it's not my fault i think [and know] i'm the funniest person i know, okay?

-you are motivated to go to a wedding reception mainly because of the food. and you are legitimately considering bringing tupperware to take some home with you, discreetly or not. but seriously though, congratulations to the happy couple...as i down this gourmet pizza and pastries.

-you're excited for school to start in a couple days. and, you can't wait to go to your accounting class. when did i become this person?

the british are coming!

[me on the tower bridge in front of the london eye.]
i am seriously a spoiled brat.

okay, let me preface that thought by saying i am finally gonna do another study abroad post.

what michelle? it was almost a year ago and you're still not done and still going?

yes.

i'm a loser.

but who cares, i like the reminiscing.

back to the brat comment...

first off, can't believe i went on a study abroad.

it still blows my mind.

plus, why did i not appreciate it more while i was there?

going through all my pictures of this day seriously takes me back and makes me ache big time for 

LONDON.

that's right.

our first day in london [friday, november something], we decided we wanted to just go out and see the whole city.

aka get tickets for the double-decker buses and tourist it up!

and that we did.

and we weren't short of obnoxious imitation british accents [seeing the men in red on horses and yelling "the british are coming!" never got old...neither did "'ello guvna!"] and having our cameras glued to our hand with our pointer finger snapping like a machine gun.

or maybe that was just me??

probably.

here's some fabulous eye candy that'll make you go berserk like i just did editing them.

[stolen from maddie's fb-all us girls on top of the double decker.]

[you better believe this song was instantly in my head, and then for the rest of the day when i saw this.]

right??

one of the things i absolutely loved about london was the amazing architecture.

never in my life have i seen so much diversity in the buildings.

and i really don't feel like architecture stands out to me but it's impossible to not notice it in london.

it's an explosion of creativity.

and there's so much in me that just wants to take it all with me and look at it forever.

hence the bazillion pictures.

oh gosh, i just can't speak enough about it.

anyways, we stayed on the buses for awhile and hopped off whenever we decided to explore a little more [topshop, the tower bridge, the london eye].

and while walking by the london eye we stumbled upon a little doughnut-making lady [she had a shop...she wasn't just standing randomly making doughnuts in the road] who gave us a little piece of heaven on earth.

[i'm a sucker for any kind of simple, plain doughnut. so yes, i put this in my mouth and melted.]

our bus passes also gave us a free ferry ride, so we took off to get in line to get on the ferry.
and came across this pretty kitty...

yes, we were beyond obnoxious but i've never laughed so hard in my life with all these girls.

[stolen from maddie's fb-left to right: me, sam, riley, kelly, annie, anna, and maddie]

then surprisingly enough, me and maddie booked it off that ferry ride down to oxford street because we bought tickets to phantom of the opera on broadway.

[i know i look like i should be auditioning for the part of phantom. it was a lonnng day without a mirror.]

it was my first time seeing it on broadway and it was amazing!

i was singing along with all the songs, 

and might have cried when christine sang "wishing you were somehow here again".

it's just too good!

anyways, this day was completely perfect.

what was more perfect was coming back to our hostel where all our girls were basically running around naked and sharing the tiniest bottle of shampoo to take showers in the public showers on our floor.

laughed my butt off until it finally walked itself to bed.

oh, how i miss london.

wait, vacation=eating, right?

no i'm not eating a quarter of a watermelon at 11 at night.

no i'm not wearing the same clothes i was wearing yesterday.

i'm just gonna give a disclaimer that this post is mainly a visual ramble.

you've been warned.

but really though, enjoy the food porn.

and the fine quality of my iphone pictures.

[we're on a plane.]

[no, the camera isn't adding 10 pounds, this croissant was literally king kong.]

[pool bums. yes, the beach is seconds away but it doesn't have fluffy blue chairs!]

[hole in the wall burger. pretzel bun. grilled onions. packed with veggies. how could i not throw a pucker for that beaut?]

[gelato that me and court sprinted for in the ten minutes we had before batman started. we're fat. technically we sprinted though. just saying...]

[she's finally joined the MK watch ranks.]

[ham and cheese crepe. it's no france, but i'll take it. and take it i did.]

[fresh caprese sandwich from bay cities with literally the chewiest bread ever.]

[the godmother. indescribable, but let's just say i'd be okay with it being my guardian if my parents died. badumbumpshhh.]

[what? you don't put salted dark chocolate in your hot french bread? shame shame.]

[china just gets me. haha but seriously, could not be more opposite.]

[beautiful sunday walk along venice beach.]

[venice canals that i WILL own a house on someday and canoe up and down the river every day.]

[i can haz them??]

[at home in my own home.]

[i don't know what's more pathetic, the fact that we sucked at running or the fact that we got croissants and breakfast sandwiches right after.]

[cue breakfast sandwich that was literally the hardest thing to eat. amazingly delicious. but put me on my deathbed. and yet, i still couldn't put it down.]

[cookie that court chucked into the street because she's a jerk.]

[heading to the beach with my favorite little sweet peas.]

[ben and jerry's round one.]

[can't tell you how much i love my little kiddos. they have my heart!]

[hey, sweet shoes jit...]

[barrata cheese and olive oil with grilled grapes and chewy french bread from stella rossa. never fails to make me fall in love.]

[half kale half something that was amazing that i don't remember=heaven.]

[no that's not a chocolate chip cookie with a rice krispy treat smashed in between...]

[the best almond croissants can be found at cielo's. they're also really good if you buy three of them.]

[court + meesh]

[food truck night taco.]

[ben and jerry's all day err day. but seriously, we had it like ten times.]

there's that one saying of how a picture's worth a thousand words.

let's just say if words were money, i'd have a good amount of money rolling from this post alone.

okay, what i'm trying to say is that a couple weeks back, me and court went to santa monica.

yup, just hopped on a plane and went for about a week.

it was seriously one of the funner trips i've ever taken, 

and that may or may not be because we ate an obviously ridiculous amount of amazing food.

moments that hit the spot were: cuddling up with my sweet eva, gizzy, kohlter, and jit [not enough! stay with me forever], laughing our butts off with franny and jay, talking to the super famous actress from the geico commercial that "knows allllll the advertising agencies on the east coast", wandering main street with court and jit looking for cheesecake [mind you we had already devoured dinner] only to actually buy a gross tres leches cake, a random smoothie, and have a heart attack from almost knocking over an entire shelf of metal bottles at urth cafe ["urth quake!" hahaha], vintage shopping to find the most adorable purse for me and dress for court, and almost peeing myself trying to find a bathroom on venice beach, eating an insane amount of food and loving every single minute of it, walking home from mao's and having to pee so bad ["i'm gon' blank in yo car!"].

it was a good trip for so many reasons that i can't explain, 

and for that, thank my lucky stars for pictures.

right?? say yes.