taking dublin by storm.

Wow does time fly! Here we are at our last two nights in Ireland. Ireland has been such an amazing country filled with picturesque scenery, crazy escapades, & just the nicest people you'll ever meet. On the way to Dublin we were able to stop by a national site that was filled with religious houses, monasteries, and beautiful trails, lakes, and riverbanks — perfect for a mini picnic on the rocks.

[Peanut butter crackers are the best. &I know I may look like a loner, but I promise all the other girls were there too haha.]

[DAY FIVE]
top—nordstrom | pants—7forallmankind | earrings—nordstrom | combat boots—nordstrom
[Obviously nordy's has been good to me.]

Once we arrived in Dublin we dropped our stuff off at the University dorms we were staying at and then jet-setted off to go explore downtown! I was aware that it was the capital, but boy let me tell ya — Dublin is a BUSY CITY. Miranda, Abbey [lovee those girls to pieces] and I broke off & went to this delicious fish 'n' chips place for dinner [it might even have beaten fish 'n' chips in Dingle, mmmmhm].

 

Afterwards, we made our way to the "hip" part of Dublin — Temple Bar. We walked & talked & people watched up and down the streets; we even stopped to watch a totally talented indie Irish band.

[You can bet we bought their CD afterwards.]

teach me to irish drum, pah rum puh pum pum.

Let me start off with a few wise words: Spontaneity is the best recipe to have a freakin’ awesome time haha… but really. During our stop in Kilkenny, a few of us girls decided to go into town & find some good food for dinner. After asking a couple random locals [slightly awkward, but it’s what you gotta do!], we meandered around a bit until we came across this place — Kytelers Inn.

 

See, when it comes to pubs & places of the sort, you never really know if you're going to have a really fun experience or just be sketched out. This place looked pretty nice so we gave it a go! When we got inside we took a seat, ordered some food, & just enjoyed the authentic Irish drum music being played by a local musician.

Then—without warning—Damien, the musician, came over to our table & asked us if we wanted to learn how to drum [umm hello cute Irish drummer, do you think i want you to teach me how to drum?! yes pleasee!]. We just had the greatest time pretending like we knew what we were doing, & we even got a certificate for it in the end! Booyah.

keepin' the good times rollin'.

It's huge. It's complex. It's iconic, and it oozes with rich history & charming artisan appeal. On this day we were able to visit Cahir Castle & the Rock of Cashel [this is where St. Patrick arrived]. We went on a lovely tour & were even left with a little time for me to tap into my childhood roots and roll down some hills. Don't get too jealous, there was only a famous 900 year old castle behind us.

FROM LEFT, CLOCKWISE: Jessica, Anne, Me, Miranda, Amber.

These are some of the girls that are on the study abroad with me. They're so adventurous, so nice, & just so great :)

[DAY FOUR]
top—anthropologie | pants—target | necklace—nordstrom | shoes—toms

i normally don't kiss & tell...

Discovery's Travel Channel lists kissing the Blarney Stone amongst its 99 things to do before you die—check! Although not terribly massive, Blarney Castle is a pretty interesting castle. As the legend says, if you were to kiss the Blarney Stone, upside down, it will give you the gift of eloquence [can you tell?]. Ooo la la, right? Apparently so. Every year over 200,000 people travel from all over to come kiss this lil' guy. After succumbing to this tourist necessity we wandered over to a poison garden [so crazy, it even had a poisonous mandrake plant like in HP, not even kidding] and eventually back to our boy J.J.!

By the way, this is J.J. — our bus. Technically it's a charter bus by "J.J. Kavanaugh & Sons," but we [maybe just me actually haha] call him J.J.. It's great.

operation [ireland] cram session.

Soo I don't know if you've noticed or anything, but I've gone blog crazaayy. I've been putting up lots & lots of posts, all of events that happened... last week. See, that's the problem with starting a blog a week into a study abroad/vacation — things add up QUICK. Therefore, here is what I like to call "operation cram session;" a little smorgasbord of everything that has happened thus far into my trip. Okay so listen up.

Last Thursday [I'd say the jet lag was wearing off], being the first day we were all together, we made our first stop at Bunratty Castle. We were given a couple hours to explore, so with a camera & a castle of coursee I was going to do just that.

The next day we visited the Dingle Peninsula where we saw Dunberg Fort & "beehive" huts.

 

 

The last stop of that day was at the very pretty yet obnoxiously windy Inch Beach.

 

[ our little jelly belly friend C: ]

The next day we took a jaunting carriage ride through a national park...

 

... and of course visited a castle at the end!

 
It was also really interesting going to church in Cork. To be able to go to church halfway around the world & still be around the same doctrine & teachings is just so great to me.

[DAY THREE]
top—nordstrom | skirt—target | necklace—roxy | shoes—nordstrom

fish 'n' chips 'n' everything in between.

There is something about small towns, especially in Europe, that is just so charming. Friendly people, little shops, unique ways of life... it's just an adventure ready to happen! We stayed in a town like this, little ol' Dingle. Quirky name, I know. So great. After eating the besttt fish 'n' chips in the UK [the fish was literally caught out the back door] we spent the rest of the afternoon — ice cream in hand, of course — meandering around the little shops by the seaside & soaking in the Irish air and lovely accents. It was rather enjoyable, I must say.

I think souvenir shopping is so much easier when you have certain items in mind that you want to find. I had been really wanting to find a cool Celtic knot ring while in Ireland, & when I came across this little beauty in Dingle, well, I fell in love. My good friend Jenna got the same one and I don't know about her, but this baby is here to stay. 

challenge; day two.

On our second night in Ireland we stayed at a B&B in the cutest little port town called Dingle. I lucked out with having my own room for two nights, and the room was just oh so quaint & darling. 

[DAY TWO]

top—nordstrom | denim jacket—ice | necklace—forever21

the 30 day outfit challenge; day one.

30 days. 30 outfits. Packing away my life into a little suitcase I'd be carrying around for six weeks was no easy task, especially for a 19-year-old fashionista like myself. Now. I thought I'd be a little crazy & decide that for the next thirty days I am going to assemble a different outfit every day — no repeats. Every morning I take my picture of the day ("POD," as my fellow minions hear me call it), then snap.send.instagramize.post & boom. Another day down. Buckle up kiddos, because I have a feeling these next few weeks are going to be full of fashion finds & [hopefully few] faux pas. 

 [DAY ONE]
shirt—forever21 | scarf—nordstrom | pants—nordstrom rack