English by Heart.

Out of the 1, 2, 3, 4 countries I have had the amazing opportunity to call home, England reigns as my (current) favorite. 

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Interestingly, when telling Englanders this - I am met with a disgruntled response. I tend to pin it down to the fact that majority of us dream that everywhere else in the world is far more desirable than the place where one has lived all their life. However come July, when the time comes to bid adieu to the land of K-Middy and tea - tears will longingly fall on my cheeks. 

Why I LOVE England

1. The Royals

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Yes, I do own a commemorative tea-towel marking the wedding of Kate and William. 

Yes, I did pin it next to my bed.

Yes, I am proud of it. 

Queens, Kings, Princesses and Princes. 

With the amount of royal scandal which occurs, we sure do have ourselves one dramatic modern-day fairy-tale!

Although I might not have a blog dedicated to every fashionable choice Kate has made, I am a true fan of this newly crowned princess. She has grace, style and beauty and bar the fact that I have never spoken a word to her in my life, I am just going to assume that she is the nicest person in the world.

2. London

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Truth be told, I really disliked London when I first came to visit. It just was not my scene. My 17-year old self just was not feeling the mixture of accents, tubes and general commotion which took place in London-town. Maybe that was because I had been living in New Zealand for the past 5 years? 

It did not take me long to fall in love. 

Carnaby Street

Selfridges

Fortnum & Mason

Covenant Garden

Call me one to follow the tourists but I stand by the fact that that tour-books have got it right. Day and night the city is amazing. It might not have the 'city never sleeps' vibe that N.Y.C carries, but it sure is quintessential. 

3. Music

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Adele.

Need I say more?

I have been a fan of the English music scene long before I came to settle in this area of the world. Yes, the artists I love are loved by millions but that does not stop me from appreciating the fact that the Brits have got it going on when it comes to authentic and untouched talent. Rarely are we seeing over-vocalized, over-commercialized pop-Queens - but instead artists who sing about their experiences, feelings and most importantly artists who can actually belt out a tune. 

Check these kids out!

Emeli Sande

Ben Howard

Ed Sheeran

4. Fashion

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Is there any other country which can make the simple gum-boot a staple, must-have item?
I think not!
Although most assume top-hats and tweed when thinking of English style, I think freedom. Never before have I lived in a place where people are allowed to express themselves through fashion without falling under the watchful eye of the mass-'norm.' Of course there are trends, but you decide which trend you follow. Me? Leopard print is my current go-to. I am a sucker for a bit of leopard. Might be a tad outrageous for a simple-folk, yet in London I am simply a wee fashionista ready to be identified for my taste in the animal print. 

5. Surrey

Own Image - A Surrey scene.

City girl meets country girl.
Majority of those who know me would laugh till they cry if I announced that I, Christine, would be living on a farm. Who doesn't love a farm though? The roaming green grass, the clear blue sky...the smell of cow sh&*...
Welcome to Surrey - the place where you can have it all. You can wear your pink Hunter wellies without dirtying them up in the nasty. Sold?

There you have it ladies and gentlemen. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (out of many, many more) pure and simple reasons why although I might not have the passport (yet) or the heritage, I am an Englander by heart.

Puddle Jumper.

I was nineteen when I bought my first pair.

I just could not resist.

They were so shiny, pretty...and pink.

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Me and my 'gummies' were inseparable.

Indestructible.

Puddles became my bit*h.

Mud became my home-skillet.

And then they ripped.

Oh woe is me! I should have guessed considering I paid a mere $30 for them from K-Mart. But I was a student! I just did not have the dosh to get the good stuff. I do not even want to get into the denial which surfaced when I pulled my foot out one rainy, afternoon and it was drenched. Surely it has simply rained inside my gum-boot today? It was a pretty bad storm, the chances were...high?

It is never easy to say goodbye. 

Footprints were not only left in the mud, but on my heart. 

A year went past.

Gumboot'less.

Then came Christmas of 2011. 

Once again, wish-lists were written (well actually, Amazon wish-lists were complied and e-mailed. Ew.) and there was me, skimming the Hunter Wellington Boot website, reminiscing on the pair of pink loveliness what once was mine. Could anything replace the hole which had been left in my heart (or in my gumboots for that matter)? I mean, don't get me wrong, I thought about buying a new pair. Maybe jazzing it up with a pattern or two but the timing was just never right. 

When the earthquake of 2011 hit Christchurch and volunteers were called, I even skimmed out and bought myself a pair of $10 black gumboots. Ew.

Anywho, Christmas knocked on the door and a big, black box was wrapped up all nice and pretty for me. Oh boy, I knew what this was...

You guessed it.

A red pair of gumboots.

Red?

Okay, before you start blaming my parents (or 'Santa') for misjudging me so wrongly I should admit something. 

This year I would be turning twenty-one. What sane, 'take me seriously please' twenty-one year old traipsed around in pink gumboots? It was time to bid adieu to the childish antics of my youth and move onto something more serious - red gumboot kind of serious.

Something just was not right though. I didn't even take them out of the box. They just sat in my room for multiple weeks, exposed to flinches and all as I glanced at them every so often. 

'You need to have the right colour, Christine' says Mumma J

'Yeah, I know. I think I prefer the Cranberry over the Poppy Red' says Christine

Who was she kidding?

She didn't want the Cranberry. She wanted the PINK.

Of course she wanted the pink! 

Why wouldn't she want the pink?!

So she bought the pink.

'What do you think?' she asks the family.

'Well, they are very you!' they reply.

(I am going to stop talking about myself in third-person now, it's weird)

And the moral of this story?

Fu*k growing up.

When it rains, go jump in a bloody puddle.

The Countdown Begins!

SO, I might have told a slight white lie.

I am not actually twenty-one.

In-fact, I turn twenty-one tomorrow. 

The number '21' has been my lucky number since I can remember. I distinctly recall informing my kindergarten 'crew' that I would be living alone, married and all grown up by the time I turned twenty-one. I also recall telling them that I would live in a castle and be a princess, so i might have been a bit of a dreamer but the foundation was there! 

I am not discouraged in the slightest by the fact that my dreams didn't fold out in-front of me like I hoped they would oh so long ago. Married? I was always an ambitious child. Not only am I far away from the thought of wedlock, let alone meeting my husband-to-be, I am still living at home, attending University and not 'grown-up' in the least. Okay, so I might be classified as an adult in all major areas of the globe come midnight, but what is it to be an adult anyway? Must i relinquish my love for puddle jumping in my bright, pink Hunter wellington boots? The immature giggle at all that is inappropriate? If so, I will stay the way I am please. 

Bring on the responsibility. I don't expect being an adult to be a breeze. Just like I don't expect life, no matter how old you are, to be a breeze. Life is windy. Windy, rainy, sunny, snowy...a bloody weather extravaganza if you ask me! I make no promises that I shall wake up tomorrow and be filled with a sudden sense of maturity. Please don't tell me that being an 'adult' is going to be boring. I hate boring. I despise boring. Twenty-one or not, my life is going to be far from boring. I shall make mistakes, complain, laugh and chuck a tantrum once in a while. Growing up is over-rated. Remember when you were young and couldn't wait to hit double-digits? Yikes! I can remember getting rather upset with my dad as he annually informed me that he would like to place bricks on my head to stop me from growing. Joke was on me though! Welcome to the life of the shortest of four, despite being the second oldest. 

And so it begins.

The belief that age is 'simply a number.'

21 with the heart of a child. 

Perfect way to be, don't you think?

Beautiful Inspiration.

"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, is in the street.
Fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."
- Coco Chanel

Adele.
Image: Google Images.

A simple pearl has the ability to define those who wear it.

A tattoo has the ability to define those who rock it.

A diamond ring has the ability to define those who love.