Weekly Recap #12, 2022

Well, it’s safe to say my go-go-go lifestyle of the past two and a half months finally caught up to me last week… I was feeling so under the weather the past few days, which isn’t surprising considering my wacky sleep schedule and diet. Anyway, I’m glad to finally be feeling much better today and look forward to sharing all of last week’s fun activities below! My parents are still in the area and will be for another week and a half as we continue our UK tour. Eventually I plan on sharing more travel-related blog posts once I return to my cozy flat in Glasgow, but until then, here are a few outfits…

Monday, March 21

Today was absolutely incredible because we got to do the Harry Potter Studio Tour in London. This was on my bucket list of things I wanted to do while studying abroad, and it was even better than every expectation I had! It was so exciting to see so many of the props and sets used in the Harry Potter movies (and crazy how much detail and how many people went into making those films). After our tour, I finally got to ride the London Eye—another bucket list item—which is the first pic in today’s post.

Sweater: Gift | Grey Mom Jeans: Express, $19 ($0.58 per wear), last worn here | Black Knee Boots: Clarks via DSW, $100 ($1.16 per wear), last worn here

Tuesday, March 22

We woke up bright and early this morning to catch an hour and a half train from London to Bath. Once there, we checked into our hotel and wandered around town a bit, sitting in a lovely park while soaking up the sun. We have been SO lucky with the weather so far on this trip—no rain, all shine! In the afternoon, we took a small tour van about an hour away to see Stonehenge, another bucket list item of mine. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but being there was much cooler than I imagined. There weren’t too many tourists, so we were able to get great photos all around the stone circle and could get much closer to some of the stones than we thought we would be able to. It’s absolutely mind boggling to think that the monument was built about 5,000 years ago!

Less interestingly, my outfits have gotten progressively more boring over the past few weeks, as I could only pack very limited items in my backpack for a very long trip. As such, there will be lots and lots of repeats in my outfits (good for cost per wear, though!). Today’s look was one of the exact outfits I wore the week prior.

Grey Sweater: Hand-me-down, last worn here | Maroon Moto Jacket: Denver boutique, $25 ($0.50 per wear), last worn here | Skinny Jeans: Express, $42 ($1.62 per wear), last worn here | Black Knee Boots: Clarks via DSW, $100 ($1.15 per wear), last worn here

Wednesday, March 23

Today, we toured the Roman baths for which the city of Bath was named. It was really interesting to learn about the Roman history here and how they used these bathing spaces (I could’ve gone for a nice bath, myself).

In the afternoon, we went to a very new tourist attraction called the House of Frankenstein, which was a museum about Mary Shelley’s life, her book Frankenstein, and the many adaptations and pop culture that stemmed from her story. I love the book and found the museum really fascinating—Shelley’s own life was just as tragic as the novel! My parents and I were both wondering what the heck Mary Shelley had to do with the city of Bath, but it turns out she wrote most of Frankenstein while staying in the city, hence the idea for the new tourist attraction. It was a spooky museum, and my favorite part was the haunted house-like basement—it definitely got a few good screams out of my mom and me!

Today was the first time I paired this maroon embroidered sweater (pardon the terrible hotel lighting) with these grey mom jeans. I don’t love the look but it got the job done for today.

Maroon Embroidered Sweater: Francesca’s, $45 ($2.50 per wear), last worn here | Grey Mom Jeans: Express, $19 ($0.56 per wear), last worn here | Black Knee Boots: Clarks via DSW, $100 ($1.14 per wear), last worn here

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Thursday, March 24

I forgot to take a pic of today’s outfit, but it was boring anyway—just a grey tee and jeans. Today was a very long travel day, as we took the train back to London from Bath, took a long subway ride to Heathrow Airport, and then hopped on a flight from London to Glasgow—which didn’t leave until an hour and a half later than planned. By the time we made it to Glasgow, we took an Uber across town to our bed and breakfast, got a late dinner, and went to bed. Talk about planes, trains, and automobiles!

Friday, March 25

I started feeling achy on Thursday, but today was the first full day where I felt really unwell, which stunk because I was really looking forward to showing my parents around my favorite spots in Glasgow. I took them on a walk along the River Clyde to see some of the important buildings in Glasgow’s skyline and the Finnieston Crane, before finishing at the Museum of Transport. We toured the museum for a bit, and then I decided to head back to my flat to rest for a while as my parents explored a few other places, per my recommendations.

We met up again in the late afternoon so I could show them around campus, and then we parted ways—my friend and I had plans to attend the School of Psychology’s end of year gala, which was Casino Royale-themed! I had been looking forward to the event for over a month, so it really was a shame that I wasn’t feeling 100%. I rallied though and of course enjoyed getting dolled up. I actually made my parents bring me this sparkly jumpsuit and my silver heels from home just for the occasion. I have only worn this jumpsuit once before (never on the blog) for a date at a fancy restaurant. We did not end up getting into the fancy restaurant, so instead I wore this full-glam sequin jumpsuit to a very casual pub—an interesting vibe for sure.

Since the gala was black-tie, I went back and forth for a long time trying to decide if I should wear a gown (I was thinking this black gown that I wore to my ex-boyfriend’s prom my senior year of high school). I mean, how often do you get the chance to wear a full-length dress?! But what I was hung up on was the ceilidh dance that was supposed to follow our dinner at the gala. May I remind you, a ceilidh is a Scottish/Irish group event that involves dances with lots of twirling, skipping, etc. I was concerned that my pretty black gown would get stepped on or torn.

Well, I felt a little disappointed when we arrived at the event venue and I saw all the girls in their beautiful gowns… but the second the dancing started, I realized I made the right decision. All the girls were tripping on their long dresses or instead decided to tuck them into the back of their gowns, thereby flashing everybody at the front. My jumpsuit was quite comfortable by comparison! Several girls even complimented it and said it was a smart choice for the ceilidh. I was glad to finally be able to wear it for an actual event as opposed to a disappointing restaurant.

Black Sparkly Jumpsuit: Denver boutique, $30 ($15 per wear) | Silver Heels: CL by Laundry via DSW, $40 ($2.67 per wear), last worn here

Saturday, March 26

This morning I showed my parents around the Glasgow Cathedral and the Necropolis, the incredible cemetery located next door (it’s also where the final scene of the latest Batman movie was filmed). Afterwards, we walked around downtown Glasgow a bit and I finally tried a deep-fried Mars bar, which for some reason is quite the thing here. By that time, I was feeling sick again, so we went back to our bed and breakfast, where I napped the afternoon away.

Fit and Flare Dress: Nordstrom Rack, $40 ($1.90 per wear), last worn here | Black Knee Boots: Clarks via DSW, $100 ($1.10 per wear), last worn here

Sunday, March 27

I wore the same dress as yesterday since I didn’t really sweat in it, and my parents and I took the three and a half hour train ride from Glasgow to Inverness, the capital city of the Scottish Highlands. I had not been there yet, but it is probably most known to non-Highlanders as the town near the famed Loch Ness. We ate linner once we arrived and then walked along the River Ness, which was absolutely gorgeous since it was yet again a sunny day.

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It’s been hard to take good OOTD pics in the various hotel rooms where we’ve been staying (some haven’t had full-length mirrors at all), so I’m trying to reuse old photos where I can or just post a scenic photo. I hope you all had a great week, and thanks for stopping by today’s post!

 

Miles of smiles,

Grace