Hi there, lovelies! I hope you all had a great weekend! On Saturday, I shared my weekend plans with you HERE. Whitney and I had a great time at Battersea Park to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day/Night [also known as Bonfire Night]! I had, honestly, never heard of this holiday before but I absolutely loved it! To catch you up, it’s a day to celebrate the failure of Guys Fawkes’ attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Can you imagine London without that beautiful building and its grand clocktower, Big Ben? It’s iconic, and London would be empty and a little less charming without it. I’m so glad he was caught! I remember seeing Big Ben for the first time when I was 18. I was stunned at its enormity and how detailed the architecture is. It’s absolutely gorgeous in person, and probably my favorite landmark here. 

Yesterday, we went to church in the morning and then I spent a few hours getting all packed up! I know I’ve made it seem like I’m packing up to head home. I was actually supposed to be on a plane heading home right now, probably as you’re reading this but, I couldn’t be more excited to share that ….

I decided to extend my stay here in London through mid-December
but I actually did pack this weekend but only because I’m moving FLATS!

I kept it a secret because I thought it’d be fun to share it with you in this way. There have been so many of you that have reached out to say how much you’ve enjoyed my London updates & snaps, how I’ve inspired you to want to come here, a place you had never wanted to before, or how I’ve encouraged you to get started on planning a trip here that you’ve been putting off for one reason or another. It’s all been so flattering especially because I can’t quite explain how much I love being here. This city is magic to me, something I’ve been looking for in a place to ‘be’ for a long time. I feel inspired here. I feel like I can satisfy both sides of myself here — the explorer and the homebody. Maybe one day I’ll be able to share more on that but, for now, I’ll keep it there. I hope you’re as excited as I am! I can’t wait to share what London looks like during the holiday season!

My friend, Whitney, will be with me for almost the entire rest of my stay here, which will add an even funner element to things! I had made the decision to stay and invited her to join me when she told me she wasn’t ready to go back so she was like … YOLO! We have a lot of fun things already on our calendar! Can’t wait to share more with y’all 🙂

If you’re wondering … I decided to move flats because my current flat is on the 4th floor of a building and, with Fish, I just felt like it was a little too much for both of us. I’m already getting 10x the amount of cardio that I normally get at home from walking around the city so much [I could literally meander for hours with no set path and I’m constantly like ‘oh, what’s down there?’ and end up somewhere super random, but cool] and Fish, being predisposed to joint and back problems, shouldn’t be going up and down stairs that much – if at all! I carry him as much as I can but sometimes he runs up before I can catch him. Thankfully, I’m not moving far, which was the biggest requirement. I’m literally moving caddy-corner to where I am now to a second story flat. I am finalizing all the paperwork this morning and should be moving in by this afternoon. I’ll be giving y’all a tour on Snapchat – don’t you worry! 🙂

Some of y’all might have missed this update, as well, because I keep getting a lot of questions via Twitter, email, Snapchat, etc. so I’ll touch on it again. If you are curious about another aspect of my life that I’ve gone rather silent about, I have to ask that you respect that silence. I’d prefer to keep it all to myself for now. I understand the curiosity. Y’all know I am QUITE the sharer, especially if you’ve followed me for awhile. I treat you all as I do my friends but, there are some things along the way that I will choose to keep to myself and to my close friends and family. If I don’t touch on something, it might be for a reason or it might be because I just don’t want to talk about it. Also, especially in regard to relationships, it involves other people, and the people in my life matter so much to me. I always want to respect them and their privacy, as well. But, I hope you know how much I appreciate you all and your concern for me. Just know that I am doing okay 🙂

So, let’s get to this parka, shall we? I mentioned it in the Snapchat Shopping Review last week and wore it on Saturday night out to Battersea Park, when it was going to be as cold as 38 degrees. I absolutely love it. I have it in navy blue and in green. It is, seriously, the best under $100 piece of outerwear that I have purchased this year. Definitely give it a try if you’re looking for some thing like it! Aside from the price, the other amazing thing about it is how many size options it has. I bought a petite size, but there are also options in regular and tall sizing, as well!

The regular size options come in these colors:

The petite size option come in these colors:

The tall size option come in these colors:

There is a wide variety of parkas, perfect for the Fall and Winter months, out on the market right now but this one just happens to be my favorite. 

What are your current favorites?? I want to know! 

Enjoy your Monday, beautiful! Thanks for stopping by!
xo.