cherhill/avebury

"I see a monument and a white horse!"

That's what my dad and his sister and brother would sing out anytime they drove by the Cherhill Monument and White Horse as children. What? You don't know what a white horse is!? Well, all over the English west country their are white horses carved into the hillsides. They're white because of the chalk content in the soil, here's the wiki page.

It was probably the nicest weather that we had during our trip, but by this point I was used to the fact that I had to layer up with a scarf and sweater. But I guess it was a fair exchange for the really cool places that I visited and getting to have cows in the back ground of my outfit shots!

When and Where:

• Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
• around Wiltshire, England

What I'm Wearing:

• sweater, jeans - Gap
• tee - Target
• scarf - Old Navy
• flops - Seychelle's via Ross
• boots - the factory store, Warminster

bradford on avon

First let me say, yes - that is my dad waiving in the above photo. Then let me say that I love the name of this town! I mean 'Bradford on Avon' just sounds so romantic! I remember noticing it out the window of the train on my way to my Grannie's house in April and I'm so happy to have gotten a chance to go on my family vacation!

We walked about a mile and a half along the canal from Bradford on Avon to a pub located where the canal actually goes over the river. It was a great activity with beautiful things to look at along the way. But, as per usual, it was cool and raining off an on that day! The great British summer, for sure!

When and Where:

• Tuesday, July 19th, 2011
• to walk along the canal

What I'm Wearing:

• top, sweater, scarf, jeans, belt - Gap
• flops - Seychelles via Ross
• sunnies - RayBan

fit style: lift

I realized this morning while I was lifting that I hadn't posted a fit style in over a month! So why not show you what I wear for lifting! 

I have a secret love affair with sofee shorts. They're so comfortable that I wear them for lounging around, over my bathing suit when I'm at the pool, and every time I hit the gym and I know I won't get too sweaty. That's the problem with them... they don't wick. Maybe that's an over share, but I get kinda sweaty when I do any kind of cardio! (and by kinda, I mean drenched)

Anyway... this outfit makes me think of the episode of HIMYM where they all join a gym and Robin dresses like a slob and they all give her a hard time about it. Usually I'm okay with function over form when I'm at the gym... however, I realized today that they gym is packed with attractive men at 6 am. I may have to up my game if I go that early again! 

When and Where:

• Wednesday, July 27th, 2011
• to Reston Sport and Health

What I'm Wearing:

• top - Tee via Loehmann's
• shorts - Sofee 
• sports bra - Target
• shoes - Asics

(Oh, the bandages on my knees are because I tripped and fell while running on Monday morning)

For more of my fitness/running related posts - see my tumblr

Nunney Castle

Castles might be one of the coolest things about England, and Nunney Castle is a pretty cool one to visit! It rained every day while we were in England, but we were lucky to have enough of a break to be able to walk around the castle, then town, and snap some family photos, in addition to these pics!

Silly me, I only brought short sleeve tops, but luckily I did bring a proper pair of walking shoes and a couple of sweaters. And even more lucky, I was able to borrow a rain hat from my Grannie!

When and Where:

• Monday, July 18th, 2011
• to Nunney Castle and around the English countryside

What I'm Wearing:

• rain hat - borrowed from my Grannie
• rain coat - Calvin Klein via TJ Maxx
• scarf, tee - Target
• jeans, sweater - Gap
• shoes - Saucony

to a wedding

Since most of the things in my closet are fairly causal, I usually buy a couple of new dresses a year for fancy things like weddings! I hadn't purchased a new dress since August of 2009 and have worn each of my dresses at least 4 times each, so my cousin's wedding was a perfect excuse for a new party dress!

I tried shopping online and going to a bunch of different stores, but ended up finding the perfect dress the same place I got my last two - White House/Black Market. I have the best luck finding dresses on their sale rack! I settled on this one after trying a gorgeous black one on, but it was full price and this one was under $85 including tax! Such a win!

When and Where:

• Saturday, July 16th, 2011
• to my cousin's Wedding in Ripley, England

What I'm Wearing:

• sweater - Gap
• dress - White House/Black Market
• shoes - NineWest

before and after

After being at my Grannie's house for just under 24 hours, it was time to head back to the London area for my cousin's wedding. It was suggested to us that we travel in our wedding clothes. I don't know about you, but a two hour car trip in a dress with boning is not my idea of fun, so I opted to wear my outfit for the following day both for the trip down and the trip back.

I was able to set my tripod up in my grannie's kitchen and take some shots before we left, even though it rained that morning. And lucky for us (and the bride and groom!), the weather later in the day was just fantastic! Couldn't have asked for a prettier day!

When and Where:

• Saturday, July 16th, 2011
• in the car on the way to Ripley, England

AND:

• Sunday, July 17th, 2011
• out and about the English countryside on the way to Warminster from Ripley

What I'm Wearing:

• raincoat - Calvin Klein via TJ Maxx
• scarf, sweater - Gap
• top - Target
• pants - Banana Republic
• shoes - Seychelles via Ross