the one with my fashion awakening...

Authors Note: This blog is not going to turn into a fashion blog, I promise. No matter how many awakenings I have the one that matters most when it comes to my everyday wear is the alarm for my 9am class. 

This is just a post musing on how my style changed this summer, and how I would like to keep evolving into a more fashion forward dresser. It was charged by a conversation I had with Justin, about how we have changed over the years of our relationship and how we haven't taken time to sit down and discuss these changes so we can get along. So I was thinking about all the ways I have changed, fashion is definitely in the equation. 

My style since freshman year of high school has been to have the cutest clothes in my closet year after year, and consequently never wear them. 

Freshman year of college was similar, but as I neared the date of my departure I saw a need to develop my style. This was for practical reasons (skirts are more breezy in hot conditions) and a desire to look more my age, and fashionable. 

This is an outfit I wore in Egypt, covering the knees was necessary, but I think I wore conservative well by tucking my t-shirt in and giving myself a waist :]

When I first put this on I was soso about the high waist... but looking back I think this is a perfect Crista-attempting-to-be-fashionable outfit!

My mew found summer love: Pencil skirts! This one was made by grandma, and I love it! I wore it so much I think I will request she make me more!

This skirt is one of those super popular jersey mini's and I was unsure if I could pull it off but I think I did okay!

I admit, this is a bad photo. None the less it was a cute outfit, the high waisted skirt is a "Paper Bag" style skirt my grandmother bought for me last year at Aritzia an amazing store in Portland. I blame the fine ladies at that store for my new found love of fashion. When warn properly this outfit was cute, but by the time this pic was taken... not so much. 

Croatia! Ah I was feeling so fashionable in this country, and this scarf I picked up in Italy definitely fit my vibe, cute and pretty!

Check out Artizia @ http://aritzia.com/

Overall, my style has become more me, and less whats on the top of the drawer. I know I over wear the white t-shirt look, but I think sometimes you gotta go with what is comfortable.

the one with the last day on the trip...

Tomorrow I am headed back to Eugene! Wow what a summer it has been, it is still so hard to comprehend how much has happened this summer. The past week has been pretty great, just traveling around spending time with my family and Justin. But, let me tell you a secret, the one thing I miss most of all is going places by myself. In the next week at home I am definitely going to just spend a day going to bookstores and coffee shops all by myself! YAY!

Well after this blog entry there will be no more exciting travels to keep up on, so it might be a little silent on here for a wile until I decided what I am going to write about. Probably books, but it will probably include a little bit of average college life. 

Loves,

Cris

the one with american history, a much newer subject than I have become accustomed to

The past two days my family and I have been touring Virginia and Washington DC. Yesterday we went to UVA, I figured I should see the school that I just finished attending. It was a really nice campus, but much different (read: less green aka worse) then the UO. I did go to Pi Phi there and that was fun, I just walked up and knocked on the front door, the house mom came and gave me a little tour. Only 18 of the 140 girls live in the house but it was pretty cute, very much like our house. Then we went to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's house. It was beautiful, and I really liked both the house and the grounds surrounding it. For lunch (at 5pm) we had taco bell! OMG I missed taco bell and its disgusting deliciousness. haha. We then drove up to DC and found our hotel. I was beat at this point, but the family wanted to go see the monuments. So we drove around DC until about midnight when we finally had dinner and came back to the hotel. 

Today we took the metro to downtown DC and spent most of the day in the American History museum. I loved it, there were so many things there and it was really nicely put together. We spent about 4 hours there finishing with a tour of Julia Child's Kitchen! Thats one thing I cant wait to get home to do, cook! As I told my grandma, I am having wisk with drawls! After that we went to the National Archives to see all the important documents in the world. :] That was cool, I think it would be so much fin to be a archivist and go through old documents! Justin then lead us with its cool phone app to a restaurant recommended to me called the Dubliner, well thank you Hanna! It was wonderful!!! I am still stuffed from my chicken pot pie that I only ate half of! Were back at our hotel now, and tomorrow were off to williamsburg, and I might even get to go shopping! Yay America!

the one at the very end...

Well it was an eventful night for my parents and justin, it looked for a while like they were not going to be there when we came into port. But it all worked out, and they were here. We are now in Virginia, we spent the whole morning up on the top deck waving franticlly to specks holding signs. It was a fun morning, now we wait for like 2 hours until its time to get off.
See you all very soon!
-Cris

the one with the sentimental musings of a SASer...

The drawers are empty
The flash cards thrown away
America is on the map… even in the close up
The last noon report is said
The deans have sang their final song

We'’ve traveled the Mediterranean, and still have trouble spelling it. We’ve met people who have changed our lives, and our perspectives are forever altered. God has blessed us with safety in our travels and we come into port in the morning.

I’ve said it before, but it really is bitter sweet. I have grown to love this ship that I once thought I would never be able to navigate. The community here is like no other, everyone, even those who you don’t have the slightest idea who they are, genuinely smile at you in passing. The staff that works day and night still go out of the way to bring you juice.

I have made one of the best friends of my life, and I am tearing up even thinking about leaving her. We have shared experiences that I will never have the opportunity to share with even my family. She was with me when I was told the family I had hoped and wished existed and dreamed of meeting was gone, and she was with me when we proved that statement false. We traveled together through every port, eating the best meals of our life together, not to mention drinking fabulous wine. We sat and talked for hours over delicious food, something I could do with no one else. We shared a cabin that is the size of some peoples closet never once arguing. We challenged each other to work harder (well more her challenging me). She sat patiently while I made 200 flashcards for one biology test. She played music through every evening, not to mention morning. We dined together at 7:30 every single morning. In return for the music she shared with me, I blessed her with night after night of star trek. I will never, ever, ever forget the memories that we shared and I will miss her so much when I go home.

Tomorrow we swipe our cards one more time, but I hope it will not be our last. Someday I will be back on Semester at Sea, maybe not until I am a professor but it will happen.

Until next time,
Cris

the one with a great movie...

today, we watched star trek and packed. Then the movie on the loop was Rudy a fantastic football movie. In the end he sacks the quarterback and its fantastic.
I was really excited when this happened and I can not wait for football season.

Cris

ps

GO DUCKS!

the one where she is done with classes...

Finally I am done with classes until the fall. I took my bio final this morning, and I don't know haw I did. Its so frustrating because yesterday I studied for this one test more than I normally study for all my finals combined. I made over 150 flash cards and studied like a maniac. Yet, I still know I got some questions wrong. Science= not my thing.

Other then studying we have just been hanging out on the ship, there is not a whole lot going on. Sabre and I tanned yesterday for a while, shes been reading a book a day. I am about halfway through her (yet to be published) book, I really like it and am excited to read the one that she already published.

Tonight is the alumni ball, I am very excited for it so I can dress up but most of my excitement stems from the prospect of good food! I am so so sick of the food on this ship, and we are running out of peanut butter so we cant even have pb&j any time of the day except breakfast.

We have just about two and a half days until virginia! I am SOOOOOOO excited!

Cris

the one with the beginning of the end...

Today we got our first memo about disembarkation procedures! I cant believe that I will be back in the states so soon. It has been a long summer, amazing and fun filled, but I am ready to go home.
I miss cooking and sleeping in my own bed. I miss no time changes. I miss texting, and talking on the phone.
Okay back to drawing class.
Cris

the one with me needing an email adress...

Kelly Pace?! If you are her or have her email please email it to me at cmcoven@semesteratsea.net
I want to talk to my big! Thanks :]

the one with morocco...

Moroccan Life…

Well I don’t want to say anything to offend any one but I didn’t really like Morocco. It was dirty, busy, and has a interesting (by that I mean bad) government system.
The mosque in Casablanca was really pretty, but built recently for tourists, so that put a damper on it for me. We did see a beautiful catholic church with gourgous stained glass windows inside. It was comforting to be back in a church.

Marrakech was much of the same. I think I would have liked it more except for the 2 hour camel ride. That was not a good idea for me or my spine. The food was great though. So was the shopping, I bought bunches of cute stuff including good shoes for recruitment and a leather purse/bag.

Oh yes, the first night in Morocco Sabre and I went on a “Sabre Crista Dinner” but we also invited Sam. We had a great time at ….. Rick’s Café! For those of you oblivious to life, Rick’s Café is one of the main settings in Casablanca the movie. This one was only built about 6 years ago by an ex-american forign service worker, but it looks very similer to the movie set that it was filmed in back in Hollywood.  We had a wonderful bottle of wine and some great food.

I don’t really have a whole lot else to say about morocco. It was just a short stopover before heading stateside.

Today I bought myself a sweatshirt in the store that I thought was on sale, it turned out not to be… o well I wanted to get one so I did, the sale was very poorly marked though.

Today is also a no class day and the shipboard auction is today. I  wanted to get the two books that Gerry Bowler wrote, he is our global studies professor and a Christmas Expert. I think they are getting to be a bit too expensive though, so I problebly will just get them on amazon.

Tomorrow we are back to the grind of classes for 4 days, until exams start. Fun fun fun.

Sorry this is not a longer more detailed entry, I am just not much in the writing mood.

See you all soon! I will be in VA on the 21st!!!!

Loves,
Cris