The second major event was my Senior Fashion show in May!

My next major event was graduating with a Double Major in Textiles & Fashion Design, as well as Fashion Merchandising from California State University, Long Beach! I was so proud of myself for graduating Summa Cum Laude as well!

The next highlight was earning my first full-time job as a Costume Assistant with GLEE! After interning with the Costume Department for the first three seasons while in college Here is a photo I took with the cast back in Season 1!

Attending the London 2012 Olympics and traveling to Edinburgh, Scotland was the next major event!! Including going to the Closing Ceremony and seeing the Spice Girls! As well as a trip to THE Downton Abbey castle, aka Highclere Castle

I also had the pleasure of working at the Emmy awards and escorting and chatting with such people as Hugh Bonneville, aka Lord Grantham on Downton Abbey!!
The Brad Paisley concert with my Mom at the Hollywood Bowl was amazing as well:

I also attended the MLS Cup Championship to see the LA Galaxy win and David Beckham play in his final Galaxy game!

Most recently, I went to a great concert by Josh Kelley and met him for the 2nd time, along with meeting his wife, Katherine Heigl!

That was a very brief re-cap of my 2012 year, but all the memories I have are too grand to put into words or even pictures. Thank you for taking a trip with my down memory lane!! I absolutely cannot wait to see what is in store for me in 2013!! Cheers!! Happy New Year!!

Cheers,

andrea ♥

From my travel memories of my trip to the London 2012 Olympics, the day I visited Highclere Castle is without a doubt one of the highlights! Prior to traveling to England, I started watching the television show, ‘Downton Abbey,’ and instantly fell in love! I had my mom watch it as well, and she loved it just as much. When we were planning what to do in England besides the Olympics, visiting the castle that IS Downton Abbey was high on our list.

My mom and I traveled to the castle via a train to Newbury, and then took a cab to the castle itself. The ride was about 45 minutes through gorgeous England. Our cab ride was wonderful as well, because the driver was from the area, and told us a great deal of interesting information. Something exciting happened on the train ride though that started off the day perfectly. I decided to send a message via twitter to one of the actors telling him we were on our way to the castle. His name is Hugh Bonneville, and he plays Lord Grantham. I didn’t expect any response really, but to my surprise, shortly after I sent the message, he sent me this hilarious reply:

I don’t think I could have asked for a better reply from him, haha. Also, this September, I worked at the Primetime Emmy Awards, and had the pleasure of escorting him and his wife backstage. I had the chance to talk to him about that message he sent me, and he remembered the exact tweet he sent. We then proceeded to have a good 5 minute chat about the Olympics and my previous study abroad experience in London! He and his wife were so sweet, and it was great to speak to him in person!

Back to the castle, as we pulled up in our cab, my breath was taken away by the beauty of Highclere Castle and the vast amount of land surrounding it. We stepped out of the cab, and walked down the road to the castle entrance. It was truly surreal to see the massive castle in person. This was my view looking down the road:

We first explored the outside of the castle, including the gardens. The amount of open land and flowers surrounding the castle was astonishing. After exploring for about an hour or so, we then took a tour inside! Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside, but I made sure to take many mental pictures. We walked through the main entrance, and walked the same steps as the Crawleys do when they enter Downton Abbey. This is the first room we saw, as seen in the television show, the door in the back of the photo is where we entered:

We first took a tour upstairs, inside of each bedroom. In each room that is used in the television show was a sign, stating the character it belonged to, and a little biography on them. The most well-known room on the show, aka the “Red Room,” was definitely the most buzzed about amongst the tourists. As we moved through the sitting rooms and library downstairs, there were workers there to answer any questions we had. It was interesting to see all the real life family photos of the people who actually own Highclere Castle. Seen in many of the photos were members of the Royal Family, including Her Majesty, the Queen, as well as Princess Diana. Overall, the house was divine, and it was fun to stand in the rooms and the gardens seen on the show. After our tour, my mom and I went to the cafe, and had tea, scones, and clotted cream! I am so grateful for having had the opportunity to spend the day at Downton Abbey

Here are the photos I took that day!

Cheers! andrea ♥

The day after my mom and I returned from our side trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, we attended an athletics, aka “track and field,” event in Olympic Stadium. It was our first time being able to actually get into Olympic Park, because in order to visit the park, you had to have a ticket to one of the venues inside. Those venues included sports such as swimming, water polo, basketball, cycling, field hockey, and athletics. This day, we exited the tube at West Ham station, and took a 20 – 30 minute walk to Olympic Stadium. We were sporting our Ralph Lauren, Team USA shirts, along with our USA scarves and flags. Finally making it into the Olympic park was such a thrill, after watching thousands of spectators enjoying it on TV from our hotel room.

We literally spent all day there, with our first stop being our Athletics event, which was from 10am to about 1:30pm. Our seats were incredible! We were on the lower level, right along the track, near where most of the races started. At times, it was hard to focus on one event, because multiple events were happening at the same time, such as races, pole vaulting, long jump, and the hammer throw. I also remember it being extremely hot! But it was all well worth it, because being in that stadium for one of the biggest Olympic events is something I will never forget.

After watching Athletics, my mom and I headed over near the basketball arena to find The Today Show!! We made a sign to say CHEERS to my Dad & Grandma back home in California, and it made it on TV!! As did glimpses of my mom and I! I got some great pictures of Matt Lauer and the rest of the Today Show anchors as well.

We then proceeded to eat! We had pizza at one of the food stands, and I had my very favorite No. 1 Pimms fruit cup, which was all the rage at the Olympic events, especially when we went to Wimbledon for Tennis! We then took photos underneath the Olympic rings, which was incredible!

We next visited the London 2012 Megastore, which was absolute insanity inside!! Another shopping pit stop we took inside Olympic Park was to the Coca-Cola store, where we were allowed to hold a real Olympic torch!

Later in the evening, we grabbed some more food and watched events that were happening in the park on a large screen, while sitting on a hill with hundreds of other Olympic spectators. We were in the same vicinity as Kate Middleton, as she was attending field hockey next to the park we were sitting in. We also happily caught the Women’s Beach Volleyball final on the big screen, which was Team USA v. Team USA!! I was so happy that Misty-May Treanor and Kerry Walsh won the gold again!! Especially since my mom, friend Hallie, and I saw them play live a week before! Also, because Misty-May is a fellow alumni of CSULB! Go Beach While watching them win the gold, it was great to hear our US national anthem play, despite the fact that we were the only Americans really there watching the big screen, haha.
After the excitement of watching Team USA bring home another gold, we called it a night, and headed back on the tube to Gloucester Road, where we exited for our 2nd London hotel, the Ashburn Hotel, in gorgeous South Kensington. The following day was by far one of my favorites, as we visited THE castle that is DOWNTON ABBEY!! More on that later!

Cheers,

andrea ♥

On our first full day, Saturday, August 4th, we took a bus trip through the Highlands and to Loch Ness. Yes, THE infamous Loch Ness where the tale of the Loch Ness monster is set. We took a boat cruise down the river, and I have to admit, I was a bit nervous, haha. The landscapes we saw during the bus and boat trip were simply breathtaking.
On Sunday, August 5th, my mom and I visited the Edinburgh castle. It was a very rainy day, but I suppose we were treated to an authentic Scottish experience. Speaking of experiencing the culture, that evening, my mom and I attended a Scottish dinner show called “Taste of Scotland,” featuring Scottish music, singing, and dancing.

On Monday, August 6th, we visited Queen Elizabeth II’s Scottish residence known as the Palace of Holyroodhouse. It is quite an old, dreary looking palace on the inside, but the center courtyard was lovely, as was the abbey outside. Later that evening, my mom and I attended the Royal Military Tattoo at the Edinburgh Castle, which showcases military bands from around the world, along with dancers. Throughout the show, unique lights and images were projected onto the castle, and the show concluded with a fireworks show. The very fireworks show we saw each night prior from our hotel. The Tattoo was a great way to conclude our time in Scotland. The following day, we headed back to London for more Olympic events! But more on that later.

Cheers!

andrea ♥

Today was an incredible day at Wembley Stadium in London! I attended the men’s football final, where México took home the gold against Brasil. Viva México! I’m half Mexican. One of the players, Peralta, stole the game with an amazing goal within the first 30 seconds of the match!! It was even more exciting to see him play, because my mom, who was with me, has the maiden name Peralta!! The energy was electric in the stadium, and I was so happy to attend such an anticipated event!! And I of course had to show some LA love for our Galaxy player, David Beckham!!! Cheers! Andrea

After the tour inside and around the Tower of London, we again were able to get a great view of the Olympic rings on Tower Bridge! The sight is simply breathtaking. I literally could stare at them for hours. My first sighting of the rings truly gave me the chills!

After admiring the rings over the River Thames, we headed over to the gorgeous Savoy Hotel for traditional afternoon tea in the Thames Foyer room. We chose the Olympic Tea option, which included pastries made to be the colors of the Olympic rings. The tea room was stunning, and the pianist set the mood for a lovely afternoon tea experience. The waiters were dressed in coat tails and made us feel like royalty.

At night, Hallie and I headed to a couple of pubs in Leicester Square to celebrate a fantastic week together in London! I’m so happy I got to share the Olympic experience with her. On Friday, she departed back to America, and my mom and I headed to Edinburgh, Scotland, where I currently am. We had a great day exploring the Highlands and visiting the Loch Ness monster But more on that in a following post to come.

Here are some highlights from my 8th day in London:

cheers! andrea ♥

Yesterday, Tuesday, July 31st, was our Fencing event. We watched 4 matches total, including the bronze, silver, and gold medal rounds!! It was incredible to witness an actual medal ceremony!! Fencing is an astounding sport, and I was literally on the edge of my seat!! After fencing, we took a night stroll around London to check out Buckingham Palace and the Olympic rings on Tower Bridge! Such an amazing sight to see

Today, my mom and I went to Wimbledon for London 2012 Olympic Tennis in Centre Court. We watched 4 amazing matches, and saw Serena Williams from Team USA and Andy Murray from Team GB win their matches!! I loved every minute Below is a a gallery featuring highlights from my 5th, 6th, and 7th days here in London town!! Cheers!!

Cheers!! andrea ♥

We had an eventful day trying to get over to Olympic Park, only to find we had to have tickets to just walk around the stadium! And those tickets were only available on the site for UK residents, so we were not happy about that. If you’ve been watching the Olympics, you may have noticed tons of empty seats at many events. This is due to other countries currently not having tickets available to them, and online is the only place to purchase tickets, as they are not sold at the door. Luckily, we came to London with 5 tickets on hand for beach volleyball, fencing, tennis, athletics, and the finals for men’s football! We were looking into tickets in hopes of going to the closing ceremony and possibly swimming, but our chances looked very slim when we were told only the UK/European Countries site was available. However, I was more than determined, and found the loophole to search the available inventory of tickets. It turned out that Closing Ceremony tickets are still available, but at quite pricey rates. However, we were fortunate enough to plan for the high prices, and I was determined once I learned my favorite childhood group, the SPICE GIRLS!!!!!, will be performing possibly for the very last time together! They were my very first concert back in 1998!! Many thanks are due to my dad for making this phenomenal graduation trip possible for my mom and me. Also, thank you so much to my mom as well for attending these games with me, I am thrilled to share this experience with her!

One of my very best friends, Hallie, and me near Olympic Park:

Here are our tickets to closing ceremony!!

Today, when we collected our Closing Ceremony tickets, we also took pictures nearby Olympic Park and the Stratford Westfield Mall next door:

I fell in love with a couple fascinators:

I also found one of the most amazing dresses:

Our meals so far have been amazing!

Cheers to a fantastic first weekend in London for the Summer Olympics!!

Tomorrow is our first live event at Horse Guard’s Parade, Beach Volleyball! Can’t wait to cheer on Misty May Treanor (fellow CSULB alum! Go Beach!) and Kerri Walsh! Team USA!!! They play at 11pm London time, 3pm PST time.

Cheers, Andrea

PS. I’m blogging from my phone, so I will update with all my camera photos when I have a chance! Cheers again!

Despite that bummer, the Opening Ceremony was fantastic!! Cheers to Danny Boyle! And hooray for David Beckham bringing the torch to Olympic stadium along the River Thames! Well, it’s 3:00am here in London and we are headed to check out Olympic Park today, Saturday.

It’s so great to be back in my lovely city of London!!! Today, when we left our hotel to find a Barclays bank, we turned a corner a short walk away, and there was Big Ben!! That’s when it really hit me that I am back! Can’t wait for these next coming weeks in the UK! London & Edinburgh, Scotland Cheers!

Andrea

P.S. Our hotel is gorgeous!

Preview of the series:

I would love to go into detail about the plot of the show, costumes, and all the characters, but at the moment I am simply going to focus on a few images I have come across. One of my favorite story lines is that between the characters of Mary and Matthew. Throughout seasons 1 and 2, the audience is put through the “will they, won’t they” scenario. I of course was rooting for them all throughout! Here are some photo shoot images done for a magazine with actors Michelle Dockery and Dan Stevens, which are simply divine!!

Dan Stevens as Matthew Crawley is such a dreamboat!

I also love this image from Vogue UK last year featuring the Crawley sisters from the show:

I will leave you with footage from ‘Downton Abbey’ featuring the fantastic one-liners delivered by Dame Maggie Smith. She is hysterical!

I cannot wait until ‘Downton Abbey’ season 3! It premieres in the UK this September, but sadly not until January 2013 in the US.

cheers! andrea ♥