The Olympic Opening Ceremony: LIVE.

Last night, we struck Olympic gold

and got to attend the opening ceremony

for the 2012 games here in London.

While I'm sure you watched them

and don't need a tour of what happened,

I am offering a peek at the ceremony 

from our view...

which was a view behind the big tree.

{Well, just above it actually... you'll see.}

So we got the park really easily.

{Bravo, London, for being so freaking organized. Public transportation was a dream.}

We breezed through security,

not because of a lack of screening

but due to the massive amount of screening lanes.

We wandered through the park 

got to giggle at what people were wearing...

... got to eat some bad food at the park

{which, I have learned, is a universal misfortune}

.... and then we kinda just wanted to go to our seats

and get this party started.

Who didn't love the Pandemonium scene 

when the English countryside

transformed into the industrialized city of London?

I got chills.

Then the NHS/British Lit part was fantastic...

Mary Poppins, Death Eaters, Captain Hook,

all of it was perfect!

{I was hoping that everyone in America stressing about socialized healthcare

paid attention to how happy the UK is about it

to have done a song & dance in it's honor!}

The Queen "parachuting" into the games...

the best Bond girl I've ever seen.

Tyler waving his "pixels" around during a light feature. They trained us before hand. :) 

The countries entry parade got, well, boring.

We didn't have commentators or commercials to help up through that one.

Then the flame was fantastic!

Beckham driving a boat?

The music?

The transforming torch?

Awesome.

And the crowd was pretty fun, too.

We made a few friends... like this guy, Ian.

{Who, as you may suspect, was off his head drunk.}

We didn't get home till almost 2:30,

but it was so worth it to have made such wonderful memories!

How did you celebrate the opening of the 2012 Olympics?

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

Olympic Sprint

The Olympics are almost here, y'all.

The 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

The Winter Olympics are pretty cool...

but let's be honest,

the Summer Olympics are the Mary 

and the Winter Olympics are the Rhoda.

(Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion reference, anyone?)

The city of London looks so great. 

In fact, I'm almost equally excited about enjoying London after the Olympics

when all the people leave and all the upgraded public spaces are "mine" to enjoy.

With the opening of the Olympic traffic lanes

and the pulsing addition of visitors to the city,

it's obvious that it's happening soon.

We have our tickets ready,

we've planned out our routes,

and all we need now are some temporary tattoos of American flags

and some face paint and we'll be ready to do this.

We scored tickets to four events:

water polo, football (read: soccer), women's field hockey,

and, as of today, the opening ceremonies!

WE ARE SO EXCITED.

If you are in London and need some tickets-
I have several to get rid of for July 31's game
where Great Britain's Women play Brazil in football! £60 each. 
Email me, if you're interested or share it with friends that may be in town!

I'll be instagram'ing (aspiringkennedy), facebooking & tweeting the whole time

if you want to catch an inside peek of the 2012 games.

Are you an Olympic fanatic

or are they nothing more than a disruption for your regular shows?

What events are your must-sees?

Summer Festivals: What? Wear?

Here in England, 

they don't just do "concerts" in the summer...

No, they do full out multi-day festivals.

Similar to Coachella & Bonnaroo,

but these things are everywhere from May-July.

Now, I've long since abandoned my tent-sleeping days...

and, if I'm honest, I generally feel too old for concerts.


There's so much standing...
the music is so loud...
everything has a sticky feeling floors...
and everyone around you seems to be drunk or incompetent. 


But as much as I might protest,
a couple times a year an artist/group will roll into town
and get me out of my grouchy pants and in the mood to party.


This summer Coldplay & FUN. did the trick.


So while you wouldn't have seen me dancing in wellies & denim shorts 
in some muddy pasture lined in port-a-potties anytime this summer,
you might have found me rocking out here...

or here.

And if I wasn't dressing like a 19 year-old college student,
what did I wear?


Well, something along the lines of this...

dress | polish | earrings | cuff | sandals

Festivals are a huge part of summer here in Britain...


but until Billy Joel and Elton John do a three-day gig
with Paul Simon & Ladysmith Black Mombazo... 
you won't find me camping out anytime soon. 


Is there a group {or artist} that you are dying to see live?




PS. I'm guest posting for Jillian today on Cornflake Dreams
while she is away getting married or something like that. :)
I've jotted down some Hepburn-style advice for the new bride- check out my guest post & her blog!

His & Hers

Check out Tyler being featured on the hip men's fashion blog, Something Legit.

I posted this pic of him at the Tate Modern on *instagram the other day

and, soon after, the site owners, Lauren & Laura contacted me about posting him on the site.

Obviously, I was excited.

Obviously, Tyler was embarrassed. 

Tyler's style has evolved significantly from when I first met him...

his standard uniform of zip hoodies, yankees hat & white converse has come a long way.

{Though I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for that style. I thought he was so hot.}

I'd LOVE for you to click over & leave a comment...

it'd make him feel cool. :)

On another note,

my feature in Heart Home Mag's summer issue

 is now out & live.

Have you seen it? 

You can find my spread on pages 96 & 97.

I really like this one...

it talks about summertime in England, 

which is a fun, crazy... and often, soggy affair. 

This magazine is getting awesome as it develops it's personality & style.

I feel so lucky be part of the contributing team!

*instagram username: aspiringkennedy | ps. instagram is the funnest. screw facebook. :)

**i'm really behind on emails. sorry if you have written & haven't heard back. i'm working on it!!

Little Lussie

A few days ago, 

I was wandering through Scotland

like a local.

Today, I'm sitting on a porch swing 

in the southern heat of Florida.

I'd take a picture to show you...

but my camera lens fogs over every time I try to take a picture.

While these beautiful little Floridian streets

of perfectly manicured lawns

lining pastel colored homes

filled with perfectly tanned people living inside

have a quite stunning effect...

I'm not sure how they compare

to the little village of Luss

that I stumbled upon over the weekend

while working our way up through Scotland.

(Though Scotland doesn't have my mom's biscuits & gravy... and that is hard to beat.)

I love the quaint "kirk" in the town.

("Kirk"= church in Scotland)

I also really love Cadbury 99's.

(Ridiculous soft serve on a cone with a Cadbury flake shoved in it. Yum.)

Seeing them just makes it feel like summer 

has actually arrived here in Britain...

even if "summer" often means

wearing a sweater, jeans & a giant scarf

while the grey skies above you spit out rain.

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

Summer Scarves: Give 'Em The Run Around

Paul Smith, Multi Dye Stripe Scarf £95 | Alexander McQueen Anenome Scarf, $625 | Paul Smith Pink & Gray Canvas, £125
Missoni Coral ZigZag, £165 | Madeline Thompson Lattice Print Scarf , £170 | Me & Kashmere Pink Python Scarf, £125
Paul Smith Pink Polka Dot, £90 | Bindya Pink & Purple Scarf, $125 | Alexander McQueen Leopard Scarf, $475

I've never been one to stick with a particular style.

I ride the recent trends with gusto,

and relish experimenting with any & every style 

as if I'm in a constant state of celebration for Halloween.

Instead of dressing like a fairy, vampire, or slutty sailor,

I opt for dabbling in genres like hipster, sorority girl & Northeastern trust-funder.

Flipping through styles allows me to constantly play a respectable form of dress up.

{Because we can't all be Lady GaGa.}

A couple of summers back,

as summer scarves started appearing on every girls neck,

my sister rolled her eyes at me one day

as I plopped down at the breakfast table.

"What the heck is the purpose of a scarf at this time of year?"

Erm, I don't know. 

To look awesome?

It's probably true.

In Texas, there really was no need for a scarves

except to serve as decoration for your decolletage.

But now that I live in Europe,

I realize their merit

as they constantly provide the perfect transition 

between the constantly fluxuating temperatures.

Hot bus to cold street.

Warm day out to chilly night on a terrace.

There never seems to be a day when I don't realize

 how glad I am to have the extra layer.

As I begin to plan for my summer travel schedule & packing list,

a new scarf is definitely on my check-list.

I'd love to invest in one of the amazing scarves...

but until I'm ready to trade my awesome job

for a more lucrative one,

I'll just have to enjoy these from a distance.

What do you think about summer scarves?

Completely awesome or Completely ridiculous?

Monday Moods: I feel... reminded.

In college,

I was fortunate to study in Florence
and was somehow cognizant enough to know at the time
that I was really living.

Upon returning home to Dallas,

I couldn't shut up about my time there

for years a long time after.

I would long to return to the summers spent in Florence.

I ached when I saw a scene on TV from Italy.

I would flip through my pictures again & again

in hopes of reliving those wonderful months.

After I started working

and traveled through more of the world,

my passion for Italy subsided a bit.

I began to give my heart out to new places.

While I would come back to visit every so often,
it was typically with people seeing it the country for the first time.
My limited vacation time was spent running the loop between 
the big sites of Rome, Florence, & Venice.

But a sleepy week in the country

has started to awake my younger-self,
and slowly I'm becoming romanced 
back into my young love for Italy.

Suddenly, I remember just how perfect the weather is here,

how serene the sunsets are,

how divine the daily simpleness is,
what tomatoes taste like with a little olive oil and salt,

and the forgotten bliss of walking 

through quiet neighborhoods at night.

It really is perfect here, I think.

We had lunch at the Antinori Vineyards, and people were getting their wine-tasting on.

We had an olive oil tasting. I'd never heard of doing that- but it's amazing the difference in each type of oil.

This weather is dreamy.

Dinner on the terrace.

Un caffe freddo at my favorite scenic view in Florence: the cafe on the top of La Rinascente. Best kept secret!

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

If you're looking for a good time...

... come to Oxford.

We can go punting,

which is, basically, Oxford's take on the gondola.

Long flat boats are pushed (or "punted") along the shallow river bed

with giant poles that push you along the muddy banks below.

Except forget about the opera-singing gondolier to chauffeur you.

You move the boat yourself...  

and it's really hard!

But don't worry,

it's also loads of fun.

You can pack a picnic...

... see a really pretty side of Oxford...

... get your friend to punt you along...

... and then stop in for tea when you're finished.

It's good, cheap fun, 

I tell ya.

You're gonna love it.

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy.