Jenni goes Stateside: california dreaming

I made it! Here I am, officially stateside. It seems really strange aswell because it's only 10pm over here yet it's already 6am tomorrow back home. I don't know how perceptive you all are, but I name almost all my blogpost titles based on pop-culture references; song lyrics or popular phrases or a play on words; and I didn't realise how many songs etc. referenced America until I started brainstorming for titles of the places I'll be going to. Right now i'm in Mesa, Arizona and even though its 10 o'clock at night it's still 37 degrees celcius! (i'm English, you didn't think id make it a whole paragraph in without talking about the weather did you?!) I'm hopeful for a pretty good tan this holiday it's safe to say (not to mention the fact that my hair has already taken it upon itself to become 5 shades lighter. If it carries on at this rate i'll be practically albino by the time i get home)

After spending Wednesday night in London, we flew from heathrow to LAX on an agonisingly long 11 hour flight! I got through so many films it's kindof ridiculous (for anyone who hasn't seen Wolf of Wall street yet i'd say you definitely should even though it is 3 hours long). The really weird part was taking off at 11am, flying for 11 hours and then landing at 2pm - the jet lag hit me pretty much straight away because after dinner I was tucked up in bed by 7pm (although my body was telling me it was 3am). I woke up feeling better though on Friday, in time for a tour round San Diego on a harbor cruise. San Diego is so beautiful - in fact pretty much everything is here. I was really surprised aswell by how much nicer everyone is in the states compared to England. In England, people seem to be permanently in a bad mood and they never interact with people they don't know unless they absolutely have to. Over here, everyone chats to strangers on buses and people compliment you in the street and tell you that you look nice. I've also been complimented on an accent i didn't think i had twice already.Moving to America was in my 10 year plan but I've fallen in love with it all so badly that i might have to move it forward into my 5 year plan (my plan pretty much consists of 'get rich' and 'buy nice clothes' i don't have much beyond that so suggestions would be appreciated). The San Diego cruise was about an hour long and we got to see loads of sea lions and birds aswell as a few dolphins, plus all the sights around the harbour. Then we drove back to LA and spent the evening in Santa Monica which is just so pretty. It's also filled with shops so when we return to LA in a couple of weeks, i might have to go and do some serious shopping (although my suitcase was already overweight on the way here so god knows how i'll be able to bring more new clothes back). Speaking of clothes, for my first day in the states, i wore these gorgeous topshop shorts which were either 32 or 34 pound (i'm using an american keyboard so they have no pound symbol on it. The american auto-correct also keeps trying to take the 'u's out of words and change the 's's to 'z's). I love the print so much and they're perfect for holiday because they're so light-weight, meaning you can pack more clothes in your suitcase and they keep you nice and cool when it's boiling hot. I paired them with a black cami (9.99 from new look) and my new la moda beauties (the black versions of my white favourites, both 24). And of course a pair of over-sized sunnies.

Then today we drove down to Palm Springs which is also beautiful and filled with palm trees (hence the name). We actually managed to get a little bit of rain while we were there despite the fact they have about 300 days of sun a year which is just so typical. We also embraced American tradition (tradition or cliches? who knows) by going to a proper American diner for Breakfast. The red leather booths, a big coca-cola logo sign on the wall, metal napkin dispensers and waitresses dressed in red and white striped pinafore dresses. Not to mention the huge portions - i ordered cinnamon roll french toast and they brought me three huge slabs of it, all drenched in maple syrup. It was so amazing but I could literally only manage one piece out of 3 - i think i'll be ordering off the children's menu for the rest of the week. For today i wore a new favourite of mine; this mint green patterned playsuit from missguided for roughly 24.99 (most of the stuff I've brought with me is new so sorry in advance that i probably won't know the prices of most of the things i'll be wearing). The black edging is a nice detail and the neckline is really flattering and well-fitting. Again, i added my new la moda sandals to match them with the black edging.

The we crossed over the state border into Arizona, The grand canyon state. It's weird because you drive through so much desert to get here and yet somehow everything's green and fresh looking. It is ridiculously hot though - even the pool felt like a hot bath and there's no such thing as a cool breeze. I dread to think how much this state spends on air-con bills in total. I would like to say I pity you all stuck in England with thunderstorms and rain but i'm enjoying myself too much to care right now. And i'm so excited; tomorrow we go on a helicopter ride over the grand canyon so i'll have to try and take some good helicopter-over-the-grand-canyon selfies for my next blogpost, which will most likely be coming to you from Las Vegas, at which point i'll of crossed through another 2 states. Until then, i'll be busy cranking up the air-con and trying not to die of heat exhaustion - wish me luck!