Happy Father's Day!

The Fatherhood Project is an online YouTube series from the media company Soul Pancake. Soul Pancake's YouTube channel is fantastic and home to the widely popular Kid President videos. The series the Fatherhood Project is one that I have begun to watch recently where a filmmaker father Corbyn Tyson explores what it means to be a good dad and what fatherhood is today. 

In honor of Father's Day watch a few of the Fatherhood Project's videos and be mindful of what makes your father a good dad, not only today, but everyday!

#makeitcount like Casey Neistat

I love surfing the web to find the latest and greatest fads and a couple months back I came across Internet sensation Casey Neistat.

His story is quite amazing and I read more about Neistat in this article from The Day last year.
What is even more exciting and why The Day most likely chose to feature Neistat in a story is that he is a native of Connecticut.
Beyond that, his fame and popularity stem from the videos that he makes that were made popular with the help of You Tube. After eventually moving to New York City he teamed up with his brother to create a series entitled The Neistat Brothers, this is where the video making began and his career took off soon afterwards.
I initially discovered Neistat after watching this video that he did for J.Crew, which was just awesome. Check out his You Tube channel and his website where he has videos posted as well. 
My favorite video is his #makeitcount movie as it simply encompasses who Neistat is, at least from an outsider's point of view, it shows his adventurous and creative side to creating an advertisement for NIKE and inspires us all a bit to think outside of the box and make everyday count, to live life to the fullest and continue to be creative. 
Basically Neistat is a really cool dude that despite any background education in film making has become quite successful and well known and I could not wait to share him and his story with you all, finally! And if you've watched a video or two of Neistat's then great, and if not even better! 

Back in the good ole' US of A

And I'm back. Wow, did that semester fly by or what? As everyone said it would, April 26th came before I even had time to blink and now I'm back in America and already missing London. As most will agree, my time abroad was filled with some of the best, most memorable moments of my life so far and on top of that London could have not been a more perfect place to study. Every day I would wake up unaware of what I would learn and explore. London was full with infinite possibilities and adventure. The culture, weather, food, and people were like non other and I could not be any more fortunate to have been able to study there. I am so thankful that I will have these memories that will last a lifetime. For now though, here's to an amazing summer back in New England!

London Pop-up Culture

If I leave London with one bit of knowledge to share about this utterly incredible city it that pop-ups are rampant and sweeping across every borough from North to South, East to West.
From restaurant pop-ups to fashion, music and art pop-ups this city literally has it all.
I've also learned, after discovering these pop-ups, that most everyone in the states has a narrow-minded stereotype (sorry folks, but it's true) of the kind and quality of food London has to offer.
Let me tell you though, some of the best food I have ever eaten in my life (not including my mother or grandmothers' cooking of course) has come from restaurants and pop-up food locations in London. No lie folks.
Not only do I love restaurant pop-up locations in particular as I consider myself a foodie, but the fashion and arts pop-ups are just as incredible and creative.
Some of my favorite parts about the pop-up scheme is the fact that these locations are clearly well thought out projects.
When I go out to dine for example (and make the decision to spend my hard earned money) I want to genuinely enjoy every bit of my dining experience. I have come to appreciate the pop-up schemes and locations that feature such well thought out out concepts from the food to the decor to every other last detail.
These pop-up locations must work to make the most out of the few months that they have in their London space.
What I also appreciate about the pop-up scheme here in London is how it exhibits the innovative minds that a city like London can cultivate. I have, no doubt about it, been so extremely lucky to have been able to study and discover such an amazing city like London.
London is truly an epicenter for pop-up schemes and I think this will be one of the things that I will miss most about what this city has brought to my life everyday (yes I am guilty of spending way too much time online finding pop-ups). I am constantly exploring more and more pop-ups across London. Here are just a few places that I have come across and have either visited or will be visiting within the next few weeks before my time here in London comes to a close (for now at least, who knows maybe I'll return to London to do some more pop-up exploration).
The Study- A pop-up laboratory for brands and companies to utilize the space for weeks at a time
Flat Iron- A pop-up food spot made permanent after much found success last summer, oh and they only serve flat iron steak... get it?
When Mac Met Cheese- have yet to go here, but no worries, already scheduled in for next week...

So much to do, so little time...

Wow! Time flies when you're having fun right? I can't believe it haas been over a month since I wrote my last blog post. Life in London certainly has been busy and every moment of every day is filled with something to do!

Since my last post I've definitely found my place here in London. I am absolutely in love with this city and could not be more happy that I picked London for my semester abroad.

In February I completed the first half of my program and went on 'spring' break to Rome. It was beautiful and we were blessed with the most amazing weather while we were there. We saw all the sights including the colosseum, trevi fountain, and the vatican.

Since my last post I've also started my internship with a local weekly newspaper in North London. The experience so far is great and on the weekends we try to fit in as much exploring in and around London as possible.
Some of my favorite things to do in London so far have been exploring the many markets that London has to offer from Portobello to Borough to Spitalfields, walking through Hyde Park and along the Thames, and checking out the awesome food and nightlight scene that London has to offer.
It's hard to believe that it is already almost the end of March! It feels like I just got here, but there are so many good memories that I have so far and so many more to make! Here's to more good time in London and around Europe!! Miss everyone at home, sending my love!!

All Things London

It has been five weeks since I have arrived in London and I am finally starting to get a feel for this city. The past few weeks have been filled with a lot of school work, but we have managed to find time to do some more exploring and adventuring here in London.
To start, we have been able to find some pretty amazing places to eat out in just about every corner of London. Last week for my birthday we went out to dinner at a Mexican tapas restaurant called Wahaca. The food was fantastic, the atmosphere was amazing and the company was just perfect too!
Venturing out to some of London's outdoor markets also gave us a chance to find some yummy food. Last weekend Leah and I went to Portobello Market, and explored the shopping scene there. I was able to pick up a dress for myself and a few gifts along the way, which was great. The market was filled with antique vendors, shops and numerous food stands (we found some pretty delicious falafel wraps).
Then this Sunday I visited what has become my favorite market so far in all of London- Spitalfield Market. I thought the area around the market was just as awesome as the market itself, there were some pretty cool independent stores surrounding the market. The actual market area is located under a glass canopy where art, clothing and food vendors set up their stalls. There is just about everything you can think of at Spitalfield Market and a few items caught my I that I suspect I'll be returning for. And again, you can't go to a market without trying some of the food, so we got breakfast crepes called 'The Londoner' that were filled with cheese, egg and sausage, and then we split a cupcake from the most adorable cupcake stand ever called Lola's.
Hope you all enjoyed these highlights from the past two weekends! Here's to some more exploring!

Paris

Wow. What more is there to say. It has been a few days now since I have returned from Paris, my first trip outside of London since I have arrived to study here, and now it is time to share the trip with all of you. Looking back on the weekend I can say without a doubt that we crammed almost every last thing into this trip.
Last Friday we left early in the morning from London on the Eurostar and headed off to Paris. First let me just say I LOVED the Eurostar. No fuss of planes, it was great! Since there is so much to talk about I'll just give you the highlights/ my favorite parts of the weekend. But first, not without a shout-out to my cousin Jess who studied in Paris for a semester and provided me with the best insider tips for where to visit while I was in Paris!!

Lets begin with the food! Yum!! I don't think I've eaten so many carbs in a 48 hour period in my life. From the crepes to the croissants to the baguettes, it was all so delicious and fresh!! Once we got to Paris our first priority was getting to the Latin Quarter to eat crepes for lunch! We also went to the famous home of French Macarons, Ladurée and I bought eight macarons for 17 euros.
#sorryimnotsorry Then I went and ate them on the evening river boat cruise. With the Eiffel Tower sparkling behind me. Ah, what a picture!

The sites! A few of my favorites included Notre Dame, Musée d'Orsay, and Sacre Coeur. And of course the Eiffel Tower!

On Saturday late afternoon we walked up to Sacre Coeur, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, through these winding, very steep road, but boy was the view worth it! Just an amazing sight and we got up there while the sun was setting! Again just perfect!

Well that is all for now! Hope that gives you a little taste of what my weekend in Paris was like! Will certainly look forward to going back one day!!
P.S. Tomorrow I turn 21!!!! Yeeeee!!