Chatsworth House is a stately home in Derbyshire, England. It is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire and has been home to the Cavendish family since 1549. Standing on the east bank of the River Derwent, Chatsworth looks across to the low hills that divide the Derwent and Wye valleys. The house, set in expansive parkland and backed by wooded, rocky hills rising to heather moorland, contains a unique collection of priceless paintings, furniture, Old Master drawings, neoclassical sculptures, books and other artifacts. In Pride and Prejudice, Chatsworth was used as Pemberley, the residence of Mr. Darcy. It is believed that Jane Austen actually based her idea of Pemberley on Chatsworth House as she wrote the novel while in Bakewell.

Which brings me to the inspiration behind this post! Every single time I watch Pride and Prejudice or read the novel, I am in awe of the magnificence of the entire grounds that Chatsworth encompasses. This estate is probably one of the most breathtaking places I have ever seen. It is currently #1 on my bucket list to visit, and when I go to Europe in 2019 you better believe I'll be going here first! Make sure to listen to this song from the 2005 version of P&P, and you'll be whisked away into a dream-like space. I will have my headphones on when I first walk into the main entrance, and will be playing that song.. It is a dream of mine.

I'd thought I'd start off the week with some good thoughts since last week was pretty devastating in more ways than one...... I've had the itch to travel again probably every single day since I got back from New York in 2012, and it looks like it's going nowhere fast. I will say that I've been so insanely lucky to have been able to travel outside of the country, twice, in my lifetime. The first time was when I was in my Sophomore year of high school, I was in band and we were given the opportunity to travel to Ireland for a week! I believe I was 15 years old at the time and the only places I'd been to outside of Minnesota were other states in the U.S. My biggest anxiety about this trip was that I was about to go on an airplane for the first time, and I wasn't with my family. Eventually I got over that hurdle and I grew up day by day while I was there. The best part was being in such a beautiful country and getting the opportunity to see so much of it in a short amount of time. I'd say this trip was the first time I learned how to be independent.


Fast forward to my first, literally my first, quarter of college and there just so happens to be the perfect chance to travel to my favorite city in the world! Not only would I be abroad for two weeks, but I'd be able to spend it in London and in Paris. At this time I'm 20 years old, a little older and a little wiser and able to embrace everything this trip had to offer. We were given more freedom during it, which included the ability to venture off on our own, drink if we wanted to and go to clubs late at night. This trip was centered around fashion history, and what perfect cities to learn more about the subject?! We went to Bath, Versailles, the London Eye, the Eiffel Tower and so much more. I enjoyed London exponentially more than Paris, not just because in the latter I caught a nasty cold, but because the London was so incredibly inviting and friendly while we were there. I've been dreaming of London ever since, someone go with me?!


While my last 'big' trip wasn't abroad, it was something that completely changed my life. It was an inside and outside revaluation of everything I believed about myself.  At this point of my college career I wasn't really happy with how I was motivating myself to actually graduate, because I wasn't inspired enough to push myself in the direction I needed to go. One night something clicked and I took charge and started looking for my dream internship, which included me having inner dialogue about what I was exactly looking for and where I wanted the internship to be. All roads led to New York City, where I found the perfect internship company to help set up everything I couldn't. This gave me the ability to set sail to spend two months in the most magical city in the world. I landed an internship with a lovely fashion public relations firm, and spent my summer wandering the biggest fashion capital in the country. I have three words to sum up that summer: hard work, majestic and spectacular. It gave me the boost to find self-confidence and to learn to trust myself when left to my own devices. I grew up, very fast and it showed me that you gotta do you. Now I just hope that I will be living there when I get older.... Maybe if I win the lottery.


This brings me to today, where I'm dying to go back to the places I've been and to go to places I've only dreamed of. My list is big, but I don't think it's too crazy to put on my bucket list. These are just a few places on my list, hope you enjoy!


Who wouldn't love bathing in that water, and staying in that hotel?!

A wee bit of Scottish heritage makes me want to visit Edinburgh in a heartbeat!


Someday I will see you again!


Alas, I would not mind waking up to that view while I spent some time in Canada.

Now that the weather has been slowing getting warmer, even though it's going to get cold AGAIN next week, my wanderlust and traveling bug has been kicked in full force. I have been entering contests to win trips to various warm places to no avail, I've even been dreaming about laying in the sand underneath the warm sun. I might have a problem....

It's so weird to say I've never actually been to a place that was specifically somewhere on a beach where you could lay out in your swimsuit and tan. My family trips while I was growing up was always somewhere in the Midwest, and it was either winter already or beginning to become it. I use to watch those Mary-Kate & Ashley movies and dream about being a character in one of them. You know the ones where they always had the money to go traveling to some place ridiculously amazing? My favorite one is when they went to Atlantis in the Bahamas, 'Island in the Sun,' and spent their time going to parties and kissing cute boys. Ever since then I've wanted to go to this place since it seems absolutely breathtaking. I mean, look at these pictures! That water is so inviting and the lounge areas/rooms look so comfortable. I wish places this nice didn't have to be so expensive to go to. But if anyone ever wants to go with me someday, let me know! I'd be so down to split the bill with someone, haha. I guess for now I will just sit back and dream about the sun, drinking a nice cold beer and wearing maxi dresses again. Ahhhhh, yes please.

And now, while you're still dreaming also, I found out I got nominated for a Liebster Award! Thank you to the beautiful, becoming Hayley for the nomination. This is a beautiful celebration of finding new blogs and inspiring people to continue pursuing their passion. I am not going to nominate anyone since I know a lot of you already have been, so hope you all at least enjoy reading my answers.

  1. If you could spend a day with anyone, dead or alive, famous or not, who would it be?
This is a tough question, I have been going back and forth on who I would really want to get to know and spend a day with. Two people are in the forefront of my mind, but I will go with the one that I think I'd get the most interesting knowledge from. Jane Austen.... I mean, I think we're kindred souls and it'd be amazing to just see her process and her mind work.
2. Who is your style icon and why?
Keira Knightley is flawless in her fashion choices. She is quintessentially British and has the best designers at her fingertips where she can pick and choose what she wears to different events. Some of my favorite outfits of hers was doing her promotional tour for Atonement and The Edge of Love.
3. If you could have three wishes, what would they be?
A. Find a job where I can put my talents to use.
B. Have a steady income.
C. Go traveling around the world at least once.
4. What is one thing that you would do if you knew that you couldn’t fail?
Move to New York.
5. What made you start blogging?
I've been a very visual and creative person. I used to put together collages of photos that inspired me from different magazines, and was always interested in fashion and how I could relate to it. When Livejournal was pretty big back in 2003/2004, I enjoyed putting that creative ability to use online. I also did a lot of writing/sharing my thoughts and had a pretty big audience. After that started to decline in usage, I found a ton of inspiration in people who started blogging and deciding I would start it also. It was the best decision I made since it's now my biggest passion.
6. Describe your perfect vacation.
What a perfect question! Like I said up above, my ideal vacation would be somewhere warm and tropical. Laying on the beach, drinking a margarita and having fun with friends. I just need to do this sometime.
7. Describe yourself with 5 adjectives.
Funny, caring, passionate, sensitive, ardent.
8. What’s something that can always make you smile?
Pictures of my nephews growing up before my eyes.
9. What is one of your favorite memories?
It's literally the second quarter of my college career and I'm able to travel to London and Paris for two weeks. One week in London and one week in Paris. I had been dreaming of going to London for such a long time and I was able to go there, be independent and embrace the culture. I was sick in Paris so it wasn't as much fun, but I got to see the Eiffel Tower in person! I miss that trip so much because it was at a pivotal turning point for me.
10. What is your greatest fear?
Passing away and regretting things that I didn't do while I was younger. Essentially dying and not being happy with how my life turned out.
11. What would you do with a million dollars?
What wouldn't I do?! Pay my college loans, help my parents out with their retirement, move to New York, buy a new car and be content.