Hi friends!

Well let’s get right down to it! I told you all to come here today because I have some really exciting news to share that I have been SO excited to fill you in on! So, without further adieu ….

In exactly two weeks from today, I’ll be touching down in London to LIVE THERE for three months!

Yep. You read that right.

Now here’s the back story:

Last year, during my trip to London & Paris, my friend Whitney [go say hi to her over on Blonde Atlas] and I dreamt up this idea of living abroad for a short period of time this year. We wanted to travel around throughout Europe, checking off all the cities that we have on our lust list, while keeping London as an intermittent home base. The dream really stemmed from our love of traveling but also our belief that, with God, these ‘unbelievable’ dreams can actually become a reality, that your life doesn’t have to be what everyone else’s life is or what everyone else deems your life should be because it’s ‘normal’ or ‘safe’. We really didn’t know how it would all transpire but we were just open to seeing what would happen and kept coming back to the idea during our conversations after we got home. There were a lot of unanswered questions at first, but the one thing we did decide on was that the Fall would likely be the best time to do it. It’s a beautiful time of year. It’s not as touristy as the summer. And, it would also give us plenty of time to plan.

Initially, we were going to go on this adventure together but, over time and through prayer and conversations, there were different circumstances and opportunities that led us away from that. For one, I am all about traveling, exploring and sharing that with you all here and there, but one of my biggest concerns was you all. If I’m being honest, I don’t want to force y’all to consume content that you might not be interested in. I’m a style blogger and, as much as I want to travel, I want to continue being a style blogger just as much. I want to keep things pretty normal around here with style inspiration, life updates, the Friday Five, etc. and I know that would be tough if I was constantly moving from one international city to another. So, after realizing all of this, my desire to hang tight at our home base in London [while going on mini-trips here and there] seemed way more appealing to me than constantly jumping around. On the other hand, Whitney is a travel blogger and wants to see as much as possible. I want that for her, too, because I know that’s when she feels the most alive, that’s when she feels closest to God, and that’s when she is in awe of His majesty and wonder. So, when we started having these real and honest conversations about what this would look like, we both just decided the only thing we can do is just keep our hands open to what God was going to do for each of those desires.

Now we can insert Ben, because I know that’s what y’all are waiting for, hah! At this point, most of y’all know my boyfriend, Ben, lives in London. This is a new [and unexpected] relationship that spurred out of Whitney & I’s trip there in December / January on, literally, the last day of our trip. [However, it didn’t completely gain traction until late, late February / early March after Whitney & I’s conversations about our dream had been well underway.] Ben and I communicate throughout the day via What’s App text and calls, and we also have nightly Skype dates. We’ve gone on a couple of trips together but have spent considerably more time apart, as you can imagine. If you’re familiar with long distance relationships, you know that it can’t be long distance forever without the relationship suffering. And while I certainly wouldn’t say our relationship is suffering, I would say that neither of us feel like we can fully experience what our relationship could really be if we maintain it in the way that we are now. Something has to give. Someone has to make a move. Hmmm. Remember that dream that had been stirring up? Remember how I wanted to be abroad, wanted to travel, but needed a home base?

God is good like that. There are no coincidences.
We need to keep our hands open. Our desires have a purpose.

Could what’s going to come of this relationship be why God has placed this desire in my heart? I guess that’s to be seen. I really want to know what life would be like in London as well as what a normal relationship in the same city as Ben would be like. We can’t do long distance forever. There’s no other way to know for sure. There’s only so much you can learn about a person via Skype dates so I, honestly, could not be more excited!

Now, before you go and think I’m completely ditching Whitney … I’m going to have you tap those breaks right in front of you there! Haha! Whitney took her blog full-time back in January and has been loving it. Her heart, contrary to mine, feels lead to travel around as opportunities find her and just make the most of being abroad. So, it’s definitely funny how it’s all come to fruition but, we’re both really excited for what we’ll be embarking on. We’re also excited to share it with each other even if we’re not together the whole time. I know she will definitely be sharing my flat in London with me from time to time and I will be joining her on some adventures, and we’re planning one exclusively together, as well!

I really just couldn’t be more excited about the entire experience. It seems a little unbelievable to me that it’s all beginning in TWO weeks. I booked my flat about a month ago but, because I’m bringing Fish with me, it’s taken a little longer to gather all the necessary information about traveling with him abroad and book our flights. So, I literally did that on Monday! That’s another reason why I took so long to share it. I didn’t want to share it without everything being paid for, secured and lined up.

My hope is that you’ll want to experience all of this with me. Nothing on the blog will change. Just my location. So, please keep coming back to S&T for new content. I’ll be Snapchatting and sharing on Instagram from over there, as well. If you have any London recommendations that I MUST go to that might not be on a normal travel agenda, comment below! I’ll have plenty of time to check them out. I have a lot of side trips planned, especially with Ben, so I hope you’ll tune in and engage in content I share from our adventures. This blog started as a destination for style inspiration but it’s called Sequins “& Things” because I wanted to build into so much more than that. I want to share my life with you whether it’s life updates or travel recommendations, so please let me know if you want to see anything in particular while I’m there!

Whew! That was a lot but thank you SO MUCH for stopping by today! It means the world to me that you would want to know what’s going on and I hope you’re sharing in this exciting life change wth me. I don’t know what the future holds after this but that’s what makes life exciting right now! The control freak in me has had to learn to just embrace it and ENJOY THE RIDE!

Now, I can’t end today’s post without acknowledging the obvious … the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is FINALLY underway for EVERYONE! Congrats, friends! Be sure to head to any of the following posts for all my favorites, outfit inspiration and a complete purchase review and fit guide:

MORE #NSALE BLOG POSTS HERE:

NSALE FAVORITES + SNAPCHAT SHOPPING PRODUCT REVIEW | THE FRIDAY FIVE: NSALE EDITION | TRANSITIONAL OUTFIT FOR SUMMER TO FALL | #NSALE FAVORITES UNDER $50 | CASUAL SHIRTDRESS UNDER $40 | FALL OUTFIT ESSENTIALS UNDER $50 | BEAUTY PRODUCT REVIEW + MAKEUP ROUTINE

I’m slightly obsessed with all the items in today’s outfit but I think I’m even more obsessed with the prices! Don’t miss them! Head to yesterday’s post for all of the items I bought [well, most of them; there were some that I couldn’t squeeze in!], how I styled them and my thoughts on fit and quality!

Have a great Friday, ladies! I love you all so much! Happy Shopping! xo.