I'm in Manchester! I'm here for work until the end of the week, then I fly to Switzerland and sail up the Rhine to Amsterdam!!! Jealous yet?

A few months ago I left Talbots as their Social Media Art Director and started at Scenic USA, a luxury cruise line, as one of their designers for print and digital. It's been a complete 180º from what I'm use to doing, but I love every second of it. I'm being challenged daily fitting in a ton of content into a postcard, or trying to find new ways for consumers to interact with a direct mail piece, so they won't just chuck it. Stay tuned for a piece that I can't wait to share with everyone on here!

One of the perks, of course, is experiencing one of these cruises for myself. Outside of the US, I've only been to the UK, Paris, and Israel, so I'm extremely excited for this trip. I'll be going to Switzerland, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. I'm with my awesome co-worker too, my age and another designer, so I get the best of both worlds: traveling with a buddy, but also feeling independent and on my own. I did a study abroad in college, but once you make friends on that trip, you become attached at the hip with your peers. I'm excited to go out to a coffee shop alone and see how I do in the wild and left to my own devices. I think it's important to try to go to places alone, and do some self discovery, make new friends, and have adventures that can't be tainted by others. I'm honestly bad at this. Not too long ago, I went to see Dashboard Confessional alone, this was my independent moment, and I failed. I texted my roommate roughly 40 texts of how depressed I was seeing this band alone, that I felt like a loser, no one wanted to befriend me, and within a half an hour I somehow managed to make friends and end up on the tour bus (I know sick!). Point of the story is, I couldn't do one night, in Boston, alone, so I'm excited to see how I do this week. (God, give my co-worker strength). 

This week I've been working out of the UK office in Manchester. Manchester is a tiny city in comparison to London. It has a very similar feel to Boston, that you can walk its entirety, with some Brooklyn, NY vibes. Because I like to familiarize myself with a new place, I usually associate it with somewhere I'm comfortable: Manchester reminds me of one very large Downtown Crossing. It's grungy (to be honest, a huge homeless problem), but making a turnaround with a mix of high-end shops scattered amongst hipster bars. Also, there's a massive Primark right in the middle of the city, similar to the huge Primark at DTX Boston. Manchester is great if you want to travel abroad, visit a city, but not be overwhelmed. You're also only 2 hours via train to London, and about an hour to the countryside if you really want an escape.  

I brought my co-worker to Gran Cafe in Selfridges, Manchester, and we did afternoon tea (of course). It's a must when visiting the UK! Gran Cafe is right in their department store; makes shopping and noshing all the easier. And a huge shoutout to her for taking my photos, on top of our crazy schedules!

Ok, and yes.... my hair is blue. I was going for gray, and this was the outcome. I'm hoping it washes out some, and if not, I'm fixing it once I get back to the states. I don't necessarily hate it, nor do I care all *that* much, it's just hair, but blue was unexpected. I think it looks cool, just not what I was going for. But, I match the interior here!