one trip, a few words and I'm ready to discover what's in store for my life... My name is Karina and I am making the BIG life changing move overseas to the UK. It’s time for me to make the move and discover what could be awaiting me.

"you decide every moment of every day, who you are and what you believe in. You get a second chance every second"

Follow me on Twitter @wordofthetrip

February 29, 2012

Everybody has a story

I came to this country with my own unique story. A story I hoped to share with others. My own unique point of view of my life and what I do in that life.
The reason why I came to London was to discoverer what was on offer. Have I found what was on offer? Will I ever? I guess time will tell and discovering it is all part of the fun.
Being here I have met many others just like me - Travellers, students, ex-pats, new pats.  People who also have unique stories ready to share.
I have decided to create a little series of collections, featuring people like me telling you their story.


Week 1 - The Fiancé 

I’m a jet set playboy from Sydney living it up in London town. Well maybe not the playboy bit. I’m a telco engineer with my main passions being travel, music, food and sport.
So following the path not often travelled by Aussie's  I moved over to London to see this side of the world, eat the best food Europe has to offer, go to as many concerts as possible and see as many sporting events the bank manager will allow…and of course sharing the experience with my fiancée.
I want to be a musician, but I don’t have the voice or the fingers. So I aim to be best engineer in my field until I work out if I’m really good at anything else - I love eating, so maybe there is something there.


How did you get to be living in London?

We wanted a change from the life we were living in Sydney, so we resigned from work, packed up the unit, rented it out and booked our tickets to London. 

What helped you make this decision?

My friends, family and fiancée all pushed us to do it when we mentioned the idea. Also the Europe trip I went on when I was 21. I always planned to move back one day - it only took 8 years.

Who encouraged you? Who didn't encourage you? What was the feeling from your family and friends?

Everyone encouraged us, well other than my parents who didn’t want to lose us to the other side of the world.

Why London? Explain you love? If it wasn’t here where else would it be? Why isn't it there?

Because it’s the only place I can get a visa and it’s the only language I am fluent in.
I would love to live in Rome or Paris, but for a change of scenes somewhere like Africa or Central America would be great.

Are you happy with your situation here in London? Work, love, friends,  social?

Yea, I am loving London. I have found some great friends who love to party and check out new places.  I have also found a great and challenging job.  I’m caught in 2 mind sets - one to just work to pay the travel bill, the other to progress in my career.
It’s also been fairly easy as I've had my fiancée sharing the experience and keeping me company when I was bored and friendless. I do miss my family and friends back home a lot, but it’s fun meeting new people.

What goes on in your flat during the week? Do you rent alone, random share? Was it always like this? Where were you before? Do you feel a connection with the area you live in? Why/why not?  Name your favourite places in your area you can recommend to others.

Not much! We get home fairly late, so I make dinner or get takeaway. We relax and watch TV.
I tell myself to pick up the guitar or a book every night instead of watching TV, but the brain doesn’t act.
We live in West Hampstead, which is a nice part of town. I would like to move closer to the city, but if I was to live here permanently, it would be fine.  The area is nice due to the parks and the good transport links to town.  I Love the cafes in Hampstead, especially The Wet Fish, as it has great coffee and delicious brunches.

What is your favourite memory so far living in London?

One of the best experiences has been the Pret-A-Diner pop restaurant in the Old Vic Tunnels. It was an amazing venue underneath London in the old tube tunnels. The tunnels were transformed for 2 weeks to a Michelin star restaurant. The food was amazing with probably the best steak I have ever sunk my teeth into. I don't know what the Japanese do with their cows, but the 3 star meat was unbelievably soft.

Are you constantly wearing something in particular at the moment? Why? Do you always do that?

Hmm, skinny jeans and brown shoes. 

What are you anticipating at the moment?

I am anticipating our first European F1 trip to Barcelona. I can't wait to eat tapas and then have a lazy Sunday afternoon in the Sun watching the Formula 1.

The best colour in the world is…?

Blue. I seem to own a lot of Blue clothing. The missus is always trying to style me up in bright colours, but I always seem to come home with blue.

Fantasy question – if you could live in another era, be another person, have a secret talent, what would they be?

I think I should have been born in the 40s in USA. To grow up in the rockin’ 50s and 60s while cruising around in my Mustang is my dream.

Would you change anything in your life?

Maybe being more active, as I haven't participated in any sports since moving here.








February 27, 2012

5 - 2

Weekend filled with football, friends and Sunday roast. 


What more can I say?....



















February 24, 2012

Me to you

Taking a page out of a friends blog 'Diary of a fashion muse' I decided to join in doing my own version of one of her recent blog posts.


I think this is a fun way that you can learn more about me...


Listening: To the beautiful Lana Del Ray, enjoying Gotye and Kimbra - people say she reminds them of me (or is it the other way round?), Florence and the Machine, our Aussie Sia collaborating with the big guys and loving the power song 'Next to me' Emeli Sande 

Watching: I am in LOVE with Revenge (I've watched all episodes out so far...whoops)Hart of Dixie and New Girl 'douche bag' jar.

Reading: Joanna Briscoe's You. It took a while to get into it but now I'm in.


Eating: No meat on Fridays due to lent, I've given up chocolate but have replaced with macaroons! And I am eating out anywhere and everywhere...local breakfast hotspot Wet Fish in West Hampstead.


Drinking: G&T's with cucumber for summer and loving Lock Taven in Camden. Just a great vibe.

Anticipating: Friends Sam and Sarah flying through London in March, celebrating Easter with friends with special guest appearance Jenni from Aus, our Barcelona Formula 1 trip in May and girls trip to NY in June. Also anticipating some short course in London, starting some selling and eventually when I get home working in a growing fashion company.


Rocking: Shorter hair, fluro pencil skirt and hopefully bare legs soon!

February 22, 2012

40 days and 40 nights

Officially the Lent season has started and to kick it off was Pancake Day (otherwise known as Shrove Tuesday).

It is such a huge event here in London but I do question if the actual meaning behind it is followed or known by many Brits.

So to celebrate our good Catholic ways we had a pancake feast sharing what would we be giving up for 40 days and 40 nights. 
Yea yea yea it sounds like a title of a teenage movie, but really - what will you be giving up for Lent?















February 20, 2012

Goki? Goki!

A weekend filled with vintage shopping, catching up with friends, welcoming an old friend to her new home and GOKI! 

Ok, so I see your slightly confused (I know I was) about what is this Goki? 
That is a really good question. Yesterday while sitting at the pub we spontaneously decided to play a game of Jenga - I know I know, daring isn't! But to our surprise when Jenga was handed to us by the friendly bar man its name read Goki!
At first we were sceptical but all in all its the same game as Jenga, just named differently.






I thought to have a bit of a search of this game on Google, but nothing came back but Wacky Stacky (which I do find to be a very interesting but literal name)

February 15, 2012

Pants, prints and poise

NYFW just finished and LFW is about to start - so what better way then to share my weekly fashion inspirations.

 Not having to wear a uniform at work any more allows me to be more creative with what I wear each day taking time to plan my outfits and gather my inspirations. 


 (source: facehunter)



 (source: style.com)



 (source: style.com)



(source: style.com)


  (source: style.com)



 (source: style.com)

February 14, 2012

V. DAY

Oh and a 
Happy Valentine's day 
to all the lovers out there...


Snow obsessed

Ok, so the snow has disappeared and I don't think it will be coming back any time soon. However, I am very thank full that I at least had one day to marvel in its joy. And yes I took photos! 

Please - sit back, relax and take a look at my day in the snow!












February 13, 2012

Car boot loot

I thrive off finding something unique, different to what is the normal. An item that has once told a story, belonging to another. 

Big in Australia are markets, big in London is Car bootin'. 

Schools on the weekends bring anyone and everyone selling trash or is it treasure? I believe its treasure! Yes, you might have to dig around touching items that you don't know where they ave been but the amount of rare finds out ways any of the dirty work.


Here are my weekend finds... 


Gold circular necklace = £5

Emerald, purple and gold earrings = £2


And this amazing skirt which inspired my whole 40's outfit today
=£4




February 9, 2012

Finally

There is just something magical about snow, the way it silences everything and blankets the world in gleaming white.

Living in London has given me a fascination with snow, yes I am one of the crazy few who have never seen snow
 - until tonight!

A friend told me that recently that every snowflake is individual, which makes the whole experience even more special.







Seeing snow makes me feel like I should be singing Dean Martin Christmas tunes and roasting chestnuts...

February 8, 2012

Wallet love


Don't you just love it's classic lies, smooth touch, envelope seal, gold hardware, bold colouring and extra pocket purse on it's behind!





Instantly I fell in love with this wallet when searching through @michaelkors instagram. 

I use to carry around the most amazing but massive wallet when living in Sydney, but now that I have moved (and carry my life on my shoulder) I have downsized to a teeny tiny black purse. Maybe it's time I looked something in between - please step in Michael Kors Saffiano Wallet.

Ahh wallet love!




February 7, 2012

I'm back

I had an amazing time in Sydney over the past two weeks, catching up with friends and family and sussing out what has been going on for the past year.
So while I didn't get to post very much I did update instagram (follow me @karina_han) with photos along the way and documented a lot of what was going on. 
Sydney is an amazing place although it rained almost everyday it was nice to be able to walk around without a jacket, sleep with no socks on and sweat the minute you walk out the door due to the humidity. Lots of catch up's were shared, our engagement party was had and lots of mum's food was eaten.
- That's the Sydney I know and love!








When I was away it also came up to my 1 year since I have been blogging. It was actually a very exciting moment to realise that I have been jumping on here and writing to you, my favourite people, and sharing my life and my thoughts. 
The reason I write on here is for you and because I love to let out exactly what I think about daily. Without you...there would be no blog!


So for the next few weeks I am ready to take on some new and exciting challenges. One being a new job, another is all about getting this blog out there and more reactive - so more stories, more fashion, more me and more photos which will hopefully lead into a little business type hobby venture.


To make all this successful I need your help! On the blog on the right hand side tool bar there are lots of likes and sections to follow - click those buttons! Jumping on and clicking on those sections ensures you get to read all my posts.
I'm excited to share with you more and more every day and would love to hear any comments, good or bad, as I want to make this a fun place to jump onto everyday!


Oh, and don't forget to pass on this blog to your many friends and friends of friends...thanks for your help x












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