Ch-ch-changes

Ahhh David Bowie (RIP Father of Glitter Rock)... Classic song. Fits my life pretty well at the moment. I'm in a time of extreme transition. I am 22 years old; I am graduating undergrad, buying a house, getting married and starting law school all within a 4-month span. Needless to say, I am extremely excited and slightly terrified about my upcoming life changes and transitions.

Graduating undergrad Magna Cum Laude with a double major in Pre-Law and History is a light at the end of a long, difficult tunnel. College is hard and I worked my butt off in tough classes, extracurriculars, part-time jobs, leading clubs on campus, maintaining a high GPA and working to into Law School. I have loved my college years but I am ready to move on. I will be sad to say goodbye to my beloved undergraduate university, teachers and hometown but I am ready to spread my wings and explore somewhere new and transition into professional graduate school.

My fiance and I are moving to a new city where he begins his full-time job and I will attend Law School. Instead of renting, we decided to jump right in and buy a house. As exciting as it is to be budding homeowners and have our own space it is a daunting task. Loans and yards and furniture and budgets and possibly having a fixer upper..... Oh my. I am watching HGTV in every spare moment I have to try to prepare myself and I feel like I email my realtor every 5 minutes. Thankfully she is patient. I truly feel like I am #adulting hard core and it's quite scary. It is also exciting to look forward to decorating my own space and nesting. My fur-babies will love having a yard to run in finally! We are all over the roommate/sharing space/college lifestyle.

In July, I get to marry my best friend, my soul mate and the person who has put up with me for 6.5 years since we were little baby 15 year olds with acne. This is one transition I am not the least bit scared of. I cannot wait to be married to the man of my dreams and have the best support system I could ever ask for through all these other changes. Wedding planning is stressful and expensive and a pain but it will all be worth it when I can call this amazing man my husband and wake up next to him everyday.

My final and scariest transition is starting Law School in August. Everyone else says I am ready and will do great and the Law School obviously agrees as they awarded me a full tuition scholarship. Though I have prepared extensively and read everything I can, I still feel terrified. Law School is HARD. They set it up to weed out those who are not up to the challenge. I am just mentally preparing myself as much as I can to give my life away to case books, outlines and highlighters as of August 22nd and I hope I am up to the challenge and can live up to the standards I have set for myself. Tune in later this year to see how much of a stressball I am.... should be entertaining....

So yeah.... it is a time of transitions; some are exciting, some are scary and all are a part of growing up. Currently I am listening to Disney songs on Pandora to try to pretend I am not a real adult and remind myself of those carefree days where I had no responsibilities beyond entertaining myself and playing with my cat. I think it is safe to say that I am #adulting hard core. As much as I am nervous and scared, I am so ready for all these changes and moving into more of an adult life. I think I am ready.... we shall see. It will certainly be one big adventure and as Albus Dumbledore wisely said, "Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure".

I am ready to pursue the flighty temptress and if Harry Potter can defeat Voldemort at 17, I should be able to survive home ownership, marriage and Law School at 22.

P.S. You can now follow my adventures or misadventures throughout my transitions on Instagram @TheLegalDuchess and on Tumblr @the-legal-duchess. Follows would be appreciated :) 

Making the Most of Ireland in a Short Trip

It is no secret to anyone who knows me that I had a life changing experience in my study abroad trip to London last May. I cannot stress enough how much Studying Abroad impacted me as a person and expanded my worldview. I fell deeply in love with London and left a small piece of my heart in that beautiful city. We had a lot of freedom while we were there and we were able to take a short trip to Ireland during our time in Europe.

As a person of Irish descent, stepping foot on the Emerald Isle felt like coming home. Never have I seen a place so naturally beautiful, ruggedly wild and so beyond green. The people were as nice as everyone says they are, the food is incredible and I will never drink Guinness again after having a "cup of frothy cream" in its home city of Dublin.

I can go on and on about Ireland and how amazing it was. In truth, I was only there for 3.5 days. For a place to leave such an impact on me in such a short time shows just how incredible Ireland is. Below I have outlined my tips on making the most of Ireland even if you only have a short time there.

1. Walk
Something I realized very quickly in Europe is that walking is the mode of exploring. When we arrived in Dublin, Ireland, we took a taxi to the Hostel, dropped our bags and took off in search of food and entertainment. Just wandering around the city with no real direction helped us to run into all kinds of interesting things. We happened upon the Temple Bar area, found some adorable shops, walked by Trinity College, ate bangers & mash at a legit Irish pub and saw a bar fight or two. I cannot stress enough how much more you see when walking around cities in Europe. Get lost and see what you can experience. Some of my best memories came from unexpectedly happening across something. My feet ached at the end of every day but the memories and experiences are priceless. Compared to London, Dublin is a small city and we got to see so much of it on foot. (side note- comfy shoes with good support are a lifesaver)

One of the many beautiful things we saw while lost and aimlessly wandering around Dublin

2. Hostels 
We stayed in Hostels all 3 nights in Ireland. I was skeptical but I knew it was the only way I could afford to go to Ireland and I figured it was all part of the experience. Hostels were a pleasant surprise for me. Our first night we were in an 8 bed co-ed room with 2 German girls, a French boy and us 4 Americans. We literally stayed up until 3am talking, laughing and comparing cultures. It was such a cool and unforgettable experience. Our second night we ended up in a room by ourselves but ventured out to the common areas and met some more great people. The hostels were relatively clean, comfortable, safe and provided a decent breakfast. Overall, it was a cheap and memorable way to spend my nights in Ireland and I do not regret it one bit. Hostels are not nearly as bad as people make them out to be.

3. Sightseeing
We did our sightseeing on a bus tour around the countryside. This was the perfect way to fit a lot into our short trip. We had hilarious and super knowledgeable guides and got to see many things out our bus window as well as spending time at some of the biggest sights. We went to: Blarney Castle, the port of Cobh, the city of Cork, the Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle, the village of Doolin and Dublin. It was unbelievable and unforgettable. I may have kissed the Blarney Stone and acquired the gift of gab but I will stop here and let you go read my overview blog post on my Irish adventures if you so choose. http://oneblondeacrossthepond.blogspot.com/2015/05/day-8-11-on-top-of-world.html

The adorable Port of Cobh

I kissed the Blarney Stone!

4. Eat the Food and Drink the Beer
Irish food = heaven. Bangers & Mash was my personal favorite. It is wholesome, filling and soooo good. Eat your heart out. As for drinking, I am not much of an alcohol drinker but I must say, Guinness tastes incredible in Dublin and I will never drink it anywhere else. It could not compare. It was described to me but an Irishman as a "cup of frothy cream" and it was pretty darn accurate. Try it even if you're not a beer drinker; you may be pleasantly surprised or you can just brag that you drank Guinness in Dublin. I did find a great Irish ale called Magners (Bulmers in Ireland) that is available in the US and every time I drink it I get all nostalgic.

It tasted as good as it looked

5. Enjoy the Scenery and the People
Ireland is truly the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The natural beauty of the fields of green is just something I cannot describe. I urge anyone who visits to soak it in because you will never see something like it anywhere else. As for the people, Irish people are friendly and kind. I was told before going that Irish are the friendliest people and it was proven true. The atmosphere is one of a warm, inviting homeland filled with people who wish to be your friend. Take advantage of that and talk to the locals. They always have a funny story to tell in the jaunty, lilting accent of theirs. Irish people could not have been more different than the people of London and it was a refreshing change.

Feeling like I was on top of the world at the Cliffs of Moher

No matter if you are in Ireland for a few hours or a few weeks, I hope you get to experience some of the wonder I did. The Emerald Isle is a place like no other and I am counting the days anxiously until I can go back. Enjoy your time there and make the most of it and as many pictures and memories as you can because it is over before you know it and you will be back home yearning for some good Irish food and to have your breath taken away by the Cliffs of Moher one more time. I left a small piece of my heart in Ireland and someday I have to go back and get it. Ireland seems to have a way of making you feel so welcome that you just want to go back again and again.

Happy Irish vacations to all! Make a load of "craic" (the Celtic word for fun and crazy great times!) and memories!

Rustic Wedding DIYing

I did some shopping today while it was raining. I wasn't really looking for wedding things but I always keep my eyes open. I happened to come across this adorable blue box, with bird wire on top and a little chalkboard on the front. I thought it would be the PERFECT card box for my wedding. I have not decided if I want to paint it or "rough" it up at all. For now I like it and I will decide later exactly how to DIY it.

I also found these large shutter/doors to be used as a back drop or decorations piece. I am thinking of painting it in my wedding colors or "roughing" it up a bit so it seems more rustic. 

My plan is to use them as a photo display station as well in this style found on Pinterest: 

I also found a smaller set of shutters that I want to use behind the cake or on the head table or something. Similar style to the previous Pinterest idea. For $5, I I couldn't pass it up!!! 

Overall, I am super excited to have stumbled upon these awesome rustic decorations that I can DIY into fabulous country rustic wedding decor. Now I just need to find more! 

Happy DIYing :)

How to Save Money While Studying Abroad

Tips to Save Money While Studying in london

·         Make a budget before you ever leave the USA. Know how much money you have to spend and make allotments. $__ for food, $__ for souvenirs and so on. Knowing how much you can spend and on what you can spend it will help with the urge to impulse buy while overseas. Also, go online and budget (translated into US dollars) how much all the activities you want to do cost. This way you can have a list of everything you want to do, how much it costs and then a cutoff point where you run out of money; below that cutoff point I put the things I would like to do if I can scrimp and save or if another activity doesn’t work out. I suggest filling out this budget in an app of some sort so you can update as you spend money and keep tabs on it. You know you will always have your phone and therefore also your budget.

Below was my budget before going to London

And My budget I kept while in London (mostly accurate but I certainly missed a few things)

·         Pay for as much as you can ahead of time. I bought all of my day trips before I ever left the USA. This way they were booked and paid for before I left and I could adjust my budget to relate this. I knew exactly how much they would cost and that helped me to know how much I could spend on other things. Also, when I was in London, I wasn’t worrying about the $150 day trip I was paying for because it was already done so I could enjoy it without the stress of money while there.

·         Think of everything in US dollars and download the translator app ASAP.  The conversion rates are always changing and you need to find out what it is as soon as possible and download a free app that will translate US dollars into UK pounds or Euro’s. When you begin to price out trips, activities, food, souvenirs, you can find out exactly what they will cost you in US dollars and this helps you to not overstretch your budget. Some of the girls I went with did not budget according to the exchange rate and halfway through our trip they were calling their parents for money.

·         Get a credit card with no foreign transaction fees. It adds up if you are charged a fee every time you use your card and carrying a wad of cash is not very safe. I got the Capital One Venture card and it worked great and I had no additional foreign transaction fees beyond the exchange rate difference. This is something to look into as soon as possible but I highly recommend it.

·         You do not really need an international phone plan. Everyone thinks they need international phone plans and to be able to text and call while there. I had no phone plan the whole time I was there, I simply used wifi. Wifi is EVERYWHERE over there so if you opt out of a phone plan, you can still communicate with people in the UK as well as those at home. If you truly want a plan, go for it but it is by no means a necessity and is a great place to save some $$.

·         Eat cheap. You’re not in London to eat like a king; your there to learn, research, travel and experience as much as you can. Eating cheap can save you a ton of money. I only ate “out” maybe 3-5 times throughout my whole London trip and yet I was never hungry. I packed PB & J sandwiches, a water bottle and chips when I knew I would be out all day. We stopped at the local Tesco grocery on the way home most days and picked up some simple pasta and sauce and a loaf and bread and had a lovely and filling dinner for a cheap cost. Breakfast was bagels and cereal. Buying groceries and eating in the apartment saved me a ton of money. I ended up spending about $100 less on food than I originally budgeted. The grocery over there is much cheaper than you might expect. When looking for cheap meals out and about, Pret-A-Manger is a great one. Also try the little grocery stores for a small sandwich and maybe a fruit cup.

·         Find the free activities. London has SO many free things to do. All the government-run museums are free, many of the outdoor attractions are free, the parks are gorgeous… so many great things to do with your time and not break the bank. Take a little extra time and find things to do that won’t cost you a thing. Along with the free activities, some activities are as low as 3-4 pounds. You can fill your time in cost effective ways if you just do a little research.

·         Keep track of souvenirs purchased already. Similar to my running budget of my spending while there, I kept a running list in the same app of what I had bought for different people and for myself. This way I did not overbuy for anyone nor for myself. I also did not miss anyone because I made a list before going of who I was bringing souvenirs for and just filled in as I purchased. 

How to Combat Senioritis

3 weeks.

2 presentations. 

4 papers.

3 final exams.

That is all that stands between me and graduation from my undergraduate institution. Senioritis is at an all time high... I am just ready to graduate, get married, buy a house and start Law School. Finding the gumption to get my work done and finish this semester strong has not ben easy but I am doing my best. Here are my tips for finishing that final semester strong no matter how much you don't want to.

Write it Out
I have lists all over with everything I have to do in order of when it is due. This gives me a list with priority so I can get everything done in a timely manner according to due date. Also, constantly bumping into lists showing me everything  have to do helps me to get productive and start crossing things off.

Don't Procrastinate
Though I have a hard time following my own advice, I have been trying harder to get things done early and over a period of time instead of waiting until the last minute. I have always been a notorious procrastinator and especially when trying to finish this last semester with zero motivation I knew I could not leave it all to the end. Therefore, I got some easy papers done early in the semester when I had time and have been picking away at the others in my spare time so I don't have to do them all at once in finals week. I want to enjoy my last few weeks of college and getting things done ahead of time will allow me to do that.

Save Good Classes for the End
I got all my annoying general education and harder major classes out of the way  other semesters so that my very last semester would be filled ith classes I enjoy. I have all History courses and a self-defense class this semester. Though not easy classes, they are subjects I enjoy and therefore I am not struggling through a subject I hate or something that challenges me significantly my final semester. This leaves me the necessary time to prepare for law school, finish wedding prep, find and buy a house and start packing for our move. It also gives me a nice farewell to undergrad with an enjoyable semester of learning.

Keep it Light
I have been making an effort to enjoy my last semester despite the workload. My fiance and I have weekly movie nights, I spend ample time at the barn getting some equine therepy and I am enjoying time with my college friends for the short time we will still be together. It is easy to get bogged down in work and stress and just wanting to be done so making a point to enjoy this time is very important. This is the last few months of college so make the best of them!

College is some of the best years of your life. Don't let the last semester bog down your happiness or your grades. Make some memories, try for a 4.0 and just imagine how sweet it will be when they finally hand you that diploma!

We can finish strong guys! What has helped you combat senioritis???