Laura Ashley Is Catching My Eye.

When I was little, I went to summer camp with a girl named Leah.


Within a day, Leah became my best friend for the next two weeks.

Leah wore a patch over her glasses to strengthen a weak eye.

The patch was maroon and had a kitten embroidered on it...

and I loved it so much.


 When my parents arrived to pick me up at the end of camp,
I immediately began to alert them of vision problems in hopes of getting my own.

It didn't work.

Beyond igniting my passion for ocular fashion,

the only other memory I have of my bunkmate Leah is of her cute mom
as she fluffed Leah's bunk with pretty floral bedding
while I sat awkwardly on my faded Little Mermaid sleeping bag.


I remember Leah told me that she worked at a store called Laura Ashley.


And ever since that summer with Leah & her mom,
I've had it permanently fixed in my mind
that Laura Ashley must be a very cool place, indeed.

After attending the press preview for the Spring Summer '12,
I can confirm, that yes,
Laura Ashley has still got it.

Before moving to the UK,

I never realized that Laura Ashley had such a large product line.

Home, fashion, perfume, travel accessories...

you name it, they do it.

And they do it pretty cute!

The clothes definitely had a British feel,

and I was smitten for that leather jacket. 

Wouldn't that be perfect for a trip to Dublin?

Me thinks yes.

I loved this bedside vignette...

clean glass mixed with a subtle modern wall paper.

Who wouldn't feel like a lady
 snoozing in a scene like that?

Recognize that flower from my day with the Queen?

It's Laura Ashley that I got in the gift bag.

While I strolled around the (really chic!) party

I ended up falling for some super cute pieces...

black dot dress (looks fabulous on!) £67.50 | london city scape pillow £27.00
laura ashley perfumes £36 | archer lamp £49

I may have different preferences for my eyepatch fashion today
(maroon really doesn't do much for my complexion)
it's nice to see that some old classics can always catch your eye.

Somewhere Out There

Thanksgiving was great.

I cooked my first turkey...

and, I have to say in a proud cry,

 it was delicious!

Thank you to everyone who offered such great help:

You taught me the merits of brining,

and for that- I am forever grateful.

Plus, I had my brother & sister-in-law here,

and that made it even better.

As my hectic semester comes to an end,

I'm finally having time to breathe 

and think beyond a minute-to-minute basis.

The snooze button on my imagination is turned off,

and I'm starting to scheme & 

plot the next round of adventures ahead of us.

Like a week climbing up to the to of Scotland....

Spending a few weeks in Texas with family & friends...

photo by Kevin Dotolo

Celebrating a special anniversary in the Big Apple....

Planning to spend a springtime in Paris....

And the possibility of seeing a lot more of this place.

Just when I start to think we're calming down, 

I realize-

we are just gearing up for more!

We are gluttons for punishment, I tell ya.

(Glorious, jet-lagged punishment!)

 I'm so thankful to have someone to enjoy it with,

our health that allows us to accomplish it all,

and you to share it with.

Because it really does make it all the more fun.

Blocktail Party!

Bloggers + Cocktail Party = Blocktail Party

And guess what?

You'rvited.

(You're + Invited = You'rvited.)

My blogger friend, Helena, and I are trying to organise 

a London Bloggers (and blog readers) event before the holidays!

 I know! It's pretty exciting, right?

  (Ahem... Right, London peeps?)

 I know there are a few of you so don't be shy. 

Helena & I are working on getting the right place nailed down

 and would love to see if you (yes, you non-commentor!) 

would like to join us for an afternoon/evening of fun with a bunch of fab bloggers? 

 Helena even created a little fun banner for the party...

because it makes it feel more fun this way.

  (You can use if you want, scroll down for various sizes!)

 The idea is to host it in a super cool venue in London on Monday, December 12th. 

As we both blog about a bit of everything, 

we would love to have bloggers from all niches 

(design, fashion, foodies, ex-pats, weddings... whoever!) 

Can you come?

 Please let us know if you would be interested below...

and we'll get all the details sorted.

WE CAN'T WAIT TO PARTY WITH YOU! :)

 

 *Here are some more sizes, please drop me an email if you need a different size or coding to embed it. 

(160)

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An Overview: First Class Seating

There are only two days left before Thanksgiving.

Are you ready?

Have you dusted off your ribbed turtleneck 

and spent hours shopping Real Simple & Pinterest for recipes?

Is the back seat of your car scattered with

overnight bags & aluminum-foil covered pyrex dishes?

In honor of the millions of people traveling 

around the country this week...

here are some travel photos to get the party started.

I didn't realize what a fascination I have with pictures from planes,

until digging through my external hard drive...

and apparently, I've kinda got a thing for the perspective of a window seat.

These pictures stir up that sense of anticipation

you have in-flight when you glance out the window to the ground below?

The gradually changing scenery below

whets my appetite for the approaching destination.

Hopefully, they can provide you some in-flight entertainment for your travels.

Drive safe! Drink lots of coffee! 

Get to the airport on time! 

Don't wear belts or lace up shoes for security lines!

The patchwork farmland of the Midlands. England.

Apennines, Italy.

Flying out of a storm. Ft. Lauderdale, Fl

Touchdown in Milan, sunset.

Paris, by plane. See those arrondissements winding out of the center?

Welcome to the Emerald Isle. Arriving in Dublin, Ireland.

Flying into France. Looks just like a map.

Seattle, Washington

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

Comendi. It's a good....

Did you ever see The Social Network?

So I liked the movie when I first saw it...

however, when I learned the Winklevoss twins 

were in Oxford's MBA class a year ahead of Tyler,

I liked it even more.

Because I'm ridiculous like that.

Apparently, I feel cool being 14+ degrees removed 

from cute Nordic-ish twins 

who lose lawsuits to Facebook.

Unfortunately,

I can't hook you up with the Winkleviii

(the plural for Winklevoss, silly)...

our paths never crossed.

But the good news is,

 I can hook you up with Comendi.

Yeah, it's a basically website that is going to be huge.

I figured you all hear about it soon enough...

but I wanted to tell you first

because, well, my friend, Daniel, kinda started it.

I know... I'm shameless...

but it's true.

I got on Comendi.

I flipped out on how cool it is.

I wanted to blog about it, like, immediately.

When I emailed Daniel,

he kindly humored me 

by giving us bloggers a little group of our very own.

The very first group on Comendi ever.

{Basically, we're all famous!}

It's like our own little clubhouse that we can go play in

and tell each other our secrets...

... like where we buy our discounted plane tickets...

.... how to find good sources for couch recovering...

and the best place to eat fried chicken near our house.

You think that sounds awesome? 

I know. Me too.

So This Is What You Do...

When you're in the site, it will automatically feed your facebook contacts in.

Editor's note: The site is just opened to the public

so you may not see anyone yet...

except for all your fun blogger friends, like me!

Then follow cities you are interested in...

And then start requesting/ giving advice.

Being that these boys have Ivy League educations 

& have work histories including places like Google,

the site is super smart. 

As you type in suggestions,

Comendi will feed suggested google matches for you.

It will also give you pictures, too...

because pictures makes it pretty.

So someday, when people start getting dis-pinterested

and everyone is going crazy about how cool Comendi is...

you'll be able to say in your most hipster voice:

"Yeah, I was one of the first people on the site. It's whatever."

And it'll be true.

More true than the courts found the Winklevoss' claim of inventing Facebook, at least.

Some things never change...

This week has been low in blogging, 

but as I always say-

when my blog posts are down,

it means other things in my life

are being awesomely distracting.

Beyond a visit to Windsor,

{that totally charmed my face off}

I've been hitting the town with my brother & sister-in-law...

I have some great memories 

of traveling Europe with my brother...

When we sit around a dinner table,

most of those stories are pretty much guaranteed

 to induce tears upon recollection.


Their favorite being the look that I strutted
 around London & Paris one week
in the height of my awkward years.


(Beret + Vest + Pink Puffy Coat = Lifetime of Family Jokes)

Yes, tears of laughter for them... tears of shame from me. I was just living the dream.

However, some of my best memories of Europe 

come from the other half of their marriage...

My sister-in-law, Meredith

{a.k.a. my college roommate}

Oh yes,

we both studied in Florence together

when we were in college...

Florence, 2004

took the continent by storm...

lived together for the rest of college...

and even came back together for a victory lap

through England & Sicily

with my family when the two of them started dating.

It's been six years since we've bought this party
back to this side of the ocean...


and we were doing our best to make up for lost time.

Out the door went through my calm, "local" demeanor...
and I transformed back into a loud, laughing American.

So much so,
that I regret to admit that we even went out last night 
dressed in matching shirts...


This move landed us the nicknames of "Ketchup" & "Mustard" from our dear husbands.

Oh well...


I guess some things never change.

The brilliance of our youth. Hard Rock Cafe, Rome 2004

Now you know more about my family...
and can see why I've tried to destroy all family pictures from 1995-1999.

*images original to Aspiring Kennedy

A Day with The Queen... & A Smile from Charles

I admit that some of the things 

I get to do are completely ridiculous.

Life in England has given me the chance

to partake in some amazing moments & celebrations...

and I haven't lost the hunger to try & find them.

One of the more memorable of these came today,

the day the Queen & I crossed paths.


(And for real this time... not across the street like at the Royal Wedding.)

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the translation

of the King James Bible.

Today in Westminster Abbey,

the Queen, Prince Phillip, & Prince Charles

came to celebrate this event

that was led by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

And, gosh darn it, I did, too.

My friend, Grace, inherited some tickets

that an old friend won in the lottery 
held by the King James Trust.

When Grace's husband couldn't leave work,

I got to play second fiddle...

and was the happiest fiddle in the world.

Grace, being responsible & prompt,

got there early when the doors opened 

and scored seats on the front row.

I, being late & a maniac,

was happy to see her prime location upon arrival.

After about an hour,

the crowd grew silent...

the scene from outside the door illuminated in camera flashes...

and the party started.

The Queen walked past & nodded hello.

Prince Phillip walked past and nodded hello...

but when Charles walked by and saw two euphoric, grinning Americans,

 broke his composed face and smiled at us.

I pretty much blacked out after that.

The End.

Actually, I do remember the service.

It was gorgeous

and a great tribute the huge impact

that this translation has had on the world.

The choir was, in the most cliche terms, angelic 

and we listened to the thoughts & prayers 
of some faithful leaders of the Anglican church.

Afterwards, the Royals all processed out

and, so kindly, nodded at us once more...

We made our exits from the Abbey with the crowd...

and glowed all the way home.

I'm not sure if this would be your cup of tea...

but it sure was for my taste!

The BBC news clip is here... 

*Around the 1:32 minute mark, you'll see my big white flower in the bottom right. :)

*crappy iPhone pics by me

*gorgeous real photos by Grace Glendinning

India In Motion

Grab a cup of your favorite tea,

some nibbles of your favorite chocolate...

and spend three minutes jumping in our Indian adventure.

Sure, we might have taken this trip in the summer,

but is there a more appropriate time to debut the video than mid-November?

(Don't answer that.)

And just a heads up...

there may or may not be a shower scene
that gives this video a PG-13 rating. 


Viewer discretion advised. :)

Our trip really was unforgettable.


Especially our day at the Taj Mahal.


.... amazing ...

If you are considering traveling to India...

I would recommend staying in the incredible villa in Goa, Noi Varo.

The ratess are absurdly affordable, the house staff is amazing, 
the amenities are dreamy (you saw that shower in the video!)...

and it really was the MOST relaxing week of our life.

We also really enjoyed our hotel in New Delhi, Le Meridien...
though, to be honest, the contrast of it's opulence & the surrounding poverty
was a little difficult for us to stomach. 

For more information on our trip to India, click here.