In The Bag

London decided to surprise us and not be freezing cold and wet for the past few days.  I have still been stuck inside working on classwork and such, but it is nice to be able to run to the corner store without having to pile on seven layers and swim.  I realized that the British winter has changed my standard for "nice weather" when I gleefully commented on an overcast sky as being lovely. It isn't ice and slush so I'll take it.

On an unrelated note: I destroy bags.  I do not know how this occurs, but the average shelf life for any sort of bag in my possession is comparatively short.  A prime example is that lovely black laptop/carry-all bag I brought with me to use as my school bag. See the black bag I am carrying around before my flight:

Yeah well, it is missing a strap now. Less than six months of regular use killed my $24 TJ Maxx bag.  Me being me, I used this as an excuse to buy a nice leather bag to take its place as my daily laptop-and-whatever school tote.  I'm calling it an investment piece, but really I bought it because it is just damn pretty.

Enter: Cambridge Satchel Company oxblood "batchel"

They were running a special at the end of January for the start of the Chinese Year of the Horse for free embossing of a monogram and horse symbol.  I have horses at home, so yes. Sold.

The bag is thick leather, so it doesn't stretch out and hold tons of stuff.  This is good for me, primarily because I am a bit of a hoarder with trash and receipts getting stuffed into the bottom of my bags.  I can't do that with the limited space in this bag.  It holds exactly what I need and none of the crap.

That thing in the paper bag is a brownie. Also known as: Lunch.

Here are two photos of wet London taken on the street in front of my class building (The Strand, if you're curious)

Green Grass and Dying Leaves

In the morning, sweepers come through the borough and remove all the fallen leaves from the sidewalk.  I'm not sure if this is done for aesthetic purposes, or so the commuters don't have to slip on the rain-soaked leaves.  Either way, it has made me forget that autumn is coming to an end and winter is creeping up.  As more and more leaves begin to fall, the daily sweeping is no longer enough to keep them tidied up, and so I end up shuffling through piles of foliage as I walk back from the underground station in the afternoon.

 Morning leaves all nice and orderly

Clean streets, dreary skies

London leaves are funny things. In North Carolina leaves (that aren't pine needles, that is) turn amazing shades of red and yellow before they finally break loose.  The leaves around my residence sometimes fall when they are still green.  Consequently, all the piles of leaves on the ground are shades of green and light brown.  It is a bit like they don't want to admit it is cold.  When I took the train out to Norwich for Thanksgiving at a classmate's house, the landscape was still rich and green, even in a temperature that would be considered "the dead of winter" back home.

Flowers blooming on a tree with dying leaves 

Green and brown leaves 

My residence hall, with fake grass on the far right