Swim.

"Oooooh. You are not alone.

Oooooh. For the last time I am sure."

- Fickle Friends.

While today has mostly been consumed by my binge-watching of the new House of Cards season, I have been thinking (and taking breaks between episodes) to this new jam. Seeing them the other night in a bar basement was completely worth it due to the fact that this band reminds of summer while keeping the spirit of the UK alive. Best of both worlds, I guess.

Check them out.

IRELAND, I'LL SEE YOU TOMORROW.

Budapest.

"And give me one good reason

why I should never make a change."

- George Ezra.

My cloth wristband seems to be impossible to get off, but I can't decide whether or not that's a good thing. Probably is.

Since we found out we were going to London, Kelly and I were dying to go to the Brit Awards. We didn't care how much it would cost or where we were seated; we just wanted the chance to go to what could be considered the British Grammys. As we splurged on tickets spontaneously in media class last week, our dreams became realized and true all at once. Upon walking into the arena, I could feel myself dancing. 

And I did not stop all night long.

From killer performances by the angel-voiced Sam Smith and newbie George Ezra to the mesmerizing talent that is Ed Sheeran, every song made me want to move right out of my seat and onto a dance floor. And don't even get me started on Kanye. (I admit to standing and screaming the whole time because I've waited 3 years to see him.)

I don't care how much money I spent last night. I don't care that I didn't go to bed until 2:30 am. I don't care that it was only a Wednesday.

The #BRITs2015 rocked my world and that, my friends, is beyond priceless.  

City Of Blinding Lights.

"And I miss you when you're not around.

I'm getting ready to leave the ground.

Oh, you look so beautiful tonight."

- U2.

La vie est belle en Paris.

A weekend away in the most romantic city in the world is just enough to take a deep breath and let it all in. Although we may have been confronted with physically getting lost and having no way of communication, maybe I'm seeing it's a nice way to explore and escape in all of its magic. The planner in me hates not having things set in stone, but it made for some beautiful discoveries nonetheless. 

From the Eiffel Tower in the dead of night to the skyline view from the Sacre-Coeur Basilica above the city, I felt as if pictures I'd seen in books or magazines had come to life. I felt on top of the world when I stood on my tippy-toes to touch the tip of the Louvre Pyramid. I indulged in the sweetest of treats, which happened to be an Oreo-Nutella crepe, while walking along the indulgent street of Moulin Rouge. My heart sang the songs of the Phantom as I made my way up the stairs of the Opera.

Paris left a stamp in my passport as well as on my heart for many reasons. In the uncertainty of it all, living without any means of direction led us down all the right paths to all of the picture-perfect landmarks. And for that, I am forever grateful.

Au revoir, Paris. Je t'aime.

PS I ate escargot and let me just say...it wasn't too bad. Good for you, France. Gold star.

Beautiful Soul.

"I don't want another pretty face.

I don't want just anyone to hold.

I don't want my love to go to waste.

I want you and your beautiful soul."

- Jesse McCartney.

Guys. Guys. Guys. The most amazing thing happened today.

WE GOT TICKETS TO THE BRIT AWARDS 2015 NEXT WEEK. (!!!!!!!!!)

With that being on our British bucket list, it's another check added to the adventures. We don't even care that they were somewhat expensive. It will be worth every penny. We get to dance around to the performances of Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift. How cool is that? Plus, it's an incentive to get through our last week of school before reading week. 

AH TOO STOKED BEYOND WORDS.

Plus, we get to see moments like this happen...

I've Just Seen A Face.

"Falling, yes I am falling
and she keeps calling
me back again."

- The Beatles.

In today's sport class field trip, we tubed on over to the Arsenal Emirates stadium. With the sun beating down on our faces and the carefree vibes of the day, I walked around the place feeling like I was back in America for some reason. Maybe it's because going to sports fields remind me of the summertime where my family would take me out to the ball game for some good American baseball. It just felt so good to be back near a field where soccer matches happen yearlong pretty much. 

Plus, our teacher is a rebel who likes to test the waters and by that, I mean he snuck onto the actual field and picked some grass for us to prove it wasn't turf. What a champ.

Arsenal Emirates. Oh hey.

This is a hot tub. No joke. This is my dream bathtub.

Stole one of these jerseys. (Just kidding...I would get kicked out of the country.)

First pano. Woo woo.

Shameless selfie at the stadium.

OZIL OI OI OI.

Squad up.

The newest on the roster.

West side, for old time's sake.

All About You.

"Dancing on the kitchen tiles.

Yes, you make my life worthwhile."

- McFly.

Pretty much this is the millionth time I am writing this with the agony of a burned mouth because I get too excited to drink my tea. First world British problems, shall we say?

Today seemed rather uneventful besides my continuous obsession with Bob's Burgers on Netflix. BUT...fear not. Yesterday was grand in every way. There were clear skies. There was warm sunshine. And mimosas were involved. AMEN.

In honor of #treatyoself2015, Kelly and I got on the Tube and headed to the unexplored territories of Trafalgar Square/Covent Garden. We brunched with our flutes held high and our pancake standards held higher. Christopher's Grill did not disappoint; we felt pretty high class if you know what I'm saying. Plus--gasp--they offered wine from the Central Coast. You the real MVP, Christopher's.

Trafalgar Square might have been a tourist haven, but it looked glorious in its nature. For a perfect London day, the place was buzzing and made me wish I could go back every day. (I mean I can, but I probably won't...for a while.)

Also, while I have you here, I'm forcing you to sacrifice 15 minutes of your life to watch what might be the best YouTube video I have ever found. Thank you, Tom Fletcher, for giving my future husband a huge run for his money when it comes to his wedding speech. You just killed the game in the best way possible and I may or may not have cried all five times I've watched this...

One Thing.

"Get out, get out, get out of my head

and fall into my arms instead."

- One Direction

Valentine's with the Galentines.

Keeping with the idea that my ideal Valentine is Harry Styles, the Redcliffe ladies "speedwalked" our way to Battersea Park, where One Thing was filmed. And the moment we found the legendary stairs, screams began. 

We all took on the roles of the members; Amanda was Zayn, Julia to Louis, Kelly to Harry and me to Niall. Awkward dancing and running around singing may have caused a lot of external embarrassment for people around us, but I promise it was all good and fun for us. We had no RAGRETS. (lol.)

Finishing off the day of love with some homecooked dinner and Love Actually made for one of the best Galentine's Days ever. Well, I only started celebrating it last year, but whatever. You know what I mean. It was great. And we are independent women who don't need no men in our lives to help us be cool. Well, besides One Direction. 

THEY ARE ALWAYS IMPORTANT.

Our take on this 1D video...

The Little I Know.

"The little I know,
thought I'd live in California.
Maybe not to settle down,
for a season, anyway."

- Dave Barnes.

EVERYTHING IS AWESOME.

Dave Barnes is the total bro. I've been listening to his music for probably five or so years now and he never disappoints. He is one of the kings of the Nashville singer/songwriter clan and he knows what he is doing with every record he puts out.

"Hymns for Her" follows that exact statement to a tee.

Why I love his music really just says it all about who he is as a person: it's calming and chill and just all about happiness. He knows how to make a song easy to listen to and he understands the musicality behind the laidback tones he gives off. To put it simply, he just kills the game at what he does.

With this in mind and with his new EP getting released, I decided to tweet for the occasion. Not expecting much, I just put my love for him in 140 characters and sent it out to my feed.

The next part of the story is where I completely freaked out and have been buzzing off of for today.

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. WHAT IS LIFE.

Thanks to Dave for this awesome shoutout. Although it may not be that much, it still made my day and quite possibly my week. (Let's be real: he made my year.)

In the words of Dave Barnes, YAY!

Four Five Seconds.

"Woke up an optimist.
Sun was shining, I'm positive."

- Rihanna, Kanye West & Paul McCartney.

Never thought I'd see those names in the credits for one song. Wow.

Anyways, that's beside the point. After reviewing all Grammy fashion (shout out to Taylor Swift and Chrissy Teigen for best dressed!) and performances (Miranda Lambert slaaaaayed), I decided to get a tad adventurous on my mundane Monday. Or should I say...Mon-dane? Okay, no. That pun is a little pathetic.

I've said it a lot lately and I'll say it again despite possibly jinxing it: it has not rained in London for a while now and the sun is practically out every day. Taking advantage of that and the fact that it finally reached 50 degrees out, I ventured to South Kensington to take on the Natural History Museum. Boy, that place is beautiful. It's got this Gothic cathedral architecture, but it's in the middle of a posh neighborhood in Zone One of London. 

I wandered among the masses to learn all about the dinosaur era, the biology of humans and the differences between mammals and other animals. Each section had a cool interactive gadget or facts you couldn't quite find in a textbook. It struck me funny, too, of how many kids were on a field trip there. Like, they get to go on the Tube during their school week and search the museums for worksheet answers. I got to do field trips, but not on this grand London scale. Plus, some of them had little lab coats on and it just made my heart so happy to see how enthralled they were with the exhibits. 

Instead of hopping back on the public transport, I soaked up some good city sun and walked through residential lanes less traveled than my norm. Gosh, I love exploring this city because every corner and road holds the key to a new world. From snow-white columned townhouses to hole-in-the-wall businesses, there is just EVERYTHING here.

Here's to taking advantage of free sites and sunshine days. Can't wait for more to 'spring' upon me in the very near future.

(Get it? Because spring is coming...alright. I'm done.)

Partition.

"I sneezed on the beat

and the beat got sicker."

- Beyonce.

In honor of Grammy Day (and waking up too late for breakfast), I got to stuff my face with the breakfast of champions. And if you know anything about me, that means 0% health and 110% junkfood.

Enter Cereal Killer Cafe. Perched in the holes of East London, we find our restaurant of choice mixed with the market mess of Brick Lane. The whole street is crawling with vintage coats and eclectic residents alike, reminding Kelly of downtown LA and me of East Nashville. We had to queue for a solid 40 minutes just to get ourselves in the cramped space of the cafe, but it gave us ample time to know the menu. Yet I still asked more than enough questions at the counter because hey, a girl who loves cereal and breakfast as much as I do cannot decide between all the amazing foods. It's like choosing a favorite child; deep down, we have one, but it's hard to pick nonetheless. 

So what did I end up with? A full tray of goodies and sugar. My main was a medium-sized bowl of Reese's Puffs and Cocoa Krispies topped with Crispy M&Ms. (Still in nostalgic heaven over the fact that they brought them out of extinction.) Nothing goes better with cereal than a side of a S'mores Poptart and Lucky Charms hot chocolate. I may now be a diabetic, but it was worth every bite.

I don't care how long it took to get there. I don't care if we had to stand among the craziness that is Brick Lane. I will be back soon, Cereal Killer Cafe. You best be expecting me with open doors and an empty tummy.

At The Beach.

"I have worries

to give to the sea.

We can walk, dear.

The pier is farther than it seems."

- The Avett Brothers.

I got to feed my ocean addiction today and it was worth every single second.

Kelly and I traveled down south by train to little beach bum Brighton for a day to catch the glimpse of some waves and walks along the pier. And it surely did not disappoint when we came to these hopes about the sea community.

Despite being rather chilly for what I am used to down by the shore, Brighton opened its streets of Easter-pastel houses, piled right on top of each other from row to row. Graffiti splatted across all other walls through the alleyways and side roads. Antique flea markets and an eclectic mix of shops also guided the way to some of the best food in England (well, in my own opinion) at Bill's and Cloud 9. 

But even great meals and cutesy buildings do not get my heart pumping like the sound of the soft tide rolling into a hilly shore.

Brighton brought a new beach landscape I have never seen before: rocks and pebbles for miles meeting the grey-teal hue of the English channel mixed sea. While I wouldn't recommend taking off your shoes, I do have to say sitting upon these rocks makes for an excellent seat to listen to the waves crash. And knowing me, I just HAD  to touch the water. Its chilly temperature reminded me of winter water back home in the Pacific and yet, I found myself more than 6,000 miles away from that coastline.

The town of Brighton was the great escape from London that I definitely needed, even if for a few hours. As I told Kelly, it was England's version of Santa Monica meets Venice Beach and that was enough for me to feel like Brighton was special.

I hope the tides of my soul change like that in the sea and hopefully Brighton will still be there waiting for me.

The Great Escape.

"We'll scream loud 

at the top of our lungs

and they'll think it's just

cause we're young."

- Boys Like Girls.

I'm pretty sure I want to change my dream job to one at the BBC. While we were walking around the halls and newsrooms, it just reaffirmed my love of news and investigating and broadcast and everything in between. I even made a complete fool out of myself by performing in a radio drama with my friend, Amanda, which was then played back for the whole class to hear. Can you say mortifying?

No matter the humiliation, today's class field trip made me love my choice of a media studies career even more than ever. I want to be on that floor, making decisions about what stories air or writing my own scripts to broadcast to viewers from every which way. Ah, to say I was in complete awe is an understatement.

To calm down my excitement (and use my free coupon), we headed to the pub for an after-class drink. Thank you cider for always being available on tap for a pint because without you, I don't know how I would sustain this whole English drinking culture. 

But with everything British must come something American to neutralize the effect. And for tonight, that was in full supply as we ventured to Covent Garden for a little bit of stateside Shake Shack. Let me tell you: it was just as scrumptious as it is in NYC. I promise you, the grease of the burger and the crispy fries do not disappoint despite being 3000 miles away from the original spot.

Man, life is alright here.

BBC. Yoooooooo.

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Hello, I'm Kelly Brickey and here are your top news stories of the day.

London skies meet London nights.