Friday Moving Day :)

Yesterday, we closed out a busy week with by MOVING. I get so much anxiety about moving and was pretty nervous, but it all went well.  And now we’re together in our new/super old house! HOORAY!!

 

When David and I first moved in together, we moved from Baltimore to DC on a brutally hot Saturday in July, 2011.  Some sort of freak weather system caused a “heat dome” around DC, and it was about 114 degrees with the humidity.  Brutal.  Janou and our friends were champs and helped us through it.  Two years ago, Janou again saved the day, helping me get everything cleaned up and shipped off as I moved to meet up with David in California.  Both exeriences were very stressful, so I had fierce combination of excitement and dread about his move.  Dread for the actual process but also intense excitement about finally, finally being in our home together.

It felt so wonderful to sit at our dining table last night, eating sandwiches, looking around the house , and think, wow, we’re finally here.  To a new chapter!

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If life gives you lemons (flight delays)….

Re-route the trip and enjoy a cup of coffee at your parent’s house! 

Last night, I was supposed to fly home from a super short work trip in Minneapolis. Long before the departure, I started to get the fly delay texts.  By the time I got to the airport, my options were: stick with the original flight and get into Oakland at 2AM OR fly into SFO, but likely miss my connection and get stranded in Denver.

No fun. But then I realized….if I can’t get to Northern California tonight-maybe I can at least get to Irvine and fly up in the morning? Roger, a Southwest angel, furtively searched the system to get me on flight that was boarding to Phoenix and lo and behold I got into John Wayne at 10:30 last night! 

Now, back at the airport bright and early but grateful the (very!!!) brief trip and catching up with my mom.

 
Also-hope to go back to Minneapolis again someday. It was pretty cold and rainy, so I didn’t explore too much, but I DID try tater-tot hotdish. Whoa. 

Back in Oakland tonight for one more night before we move tomorrow….. :) 

Paris!! Day 1

Excited to have a moment to write and remember this trip. It was such a short trip that there is a part of me that wonders–wait, were we really in Paris just over a week ago? Thankful for photos to remember how beautiful it all was.  

We arrived in Paris on a Thursday night after a long day of travel and a layover in Stockholm.  The three hour layover was much more bearable thanks to a nap and a shower at the Arlanda Rest and Fly.  Being able to lie down in a bed and shower after a night on an airplane was definitely worth $30.  By the time we got to the hotel in Paris, it was quite late.  Our hotel was in an excellent location, and we were able to walk to the Seine and catch the Eiffel Tower sparkle show before going to sleep.  

This whole trip was pretty impulsive and unplanned.   A few weeks before we left, one of my Favorite blogs posted information about a travel itinerary service, Journy.  While I love researching, researching and planning for vacations (the best part!) I don’t enjoy mapping it all out and make decisions.  Reading about Journy, I was intrigued…

 

I ended up going for it and the service was awesome.  Journy planned, mapped out and made reservations at excellent restaurants and destinations for our weekend.  There were a few places I wanted to see, and they were able to build it all into the itinerary AND google map it all out.  So cool.  Friday morning, we started the day with buttttttery croissants at Eric Kayser.   

From there, we walked to the Marais, and explored beautiful Merci.  I found the furniture of my dreams and just admired the beautiful design and layout of the store.   

   

Journy recommended Le Comptoir for lunch, and after a stop at an awesome craft beer shop, we made our way to St. Germain:   

    
 More butter, more salt, rich whipped potatoes…I would absolutely return.  It was so nice to sit outside, surrounded by Parisians, listen to French and imagine their conversation.  At this point, it was almost time for a nap, but first, I had to stop by the famous CityPharma.  What a trip! It was exactly as the article described-Black Friday for dry shampoo. I picked up a few fun things but was no where near as prepared–or invested–as most of the other patrons.   

 When we were in Monterey, Jon did a HILARIOUS reenactment of a dinner experience at Les Papiles Bistro in Paris, and we had to check it out.  It was an incredible, though incredibly decadent, experience.  The soup, the cheese, the wine, the CAMAMBERT PANNA COTTA-all wonderful.  We walked back along the river to the hotel in awe one little restaurant could turn out so much delicious food.   

 
  
Hope to write more about the rest of the trip soon!

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Friday, happy almost Passover, happy Earth Day, happy everything! Hoping to get through the day ok today and get to the weekend. 

David and I got back home from our wonderful and wayyyyy too short trip on Monday night. The long travel back really knocked me out and I’ve been pretty out of sorts all week. Lessons learned: 1) four days is not enough for a trip of that distance, 2) register for Global Entry because the Oakland Airport customs line is a nightmare after 16+ hours  of travel, and 3) walking 12 miles a day in Paris is AMAZING but wear good shoes! I was silly. and didn’t want to wear ugly shoes in pretty Paris and let’s just say now I’m paying the price…

Really hoping to get my energy back this weekend and document the trip-it was so gorgeous.

Thinking of this pretty patch of earth on Earth Day. We walked here, the Je T’Aime wall in Montmartre, on Saturday. Not pictured-the soundtrack of chirping birds. It was definitely spring in Paris!

 

Hello, weekend in Paris

Greetings from Paris!   
A couple months ago, I saw a wildly inexpensive fare on Norwegian airlines for an April flight to Stockholm. I texted David the fare price immediately, and we decided it was too good to pass up. And now, here we are! We arrived in Paris via Stockholm on Thursday night and we’re heading to London to see Katie and Kevin tomorrow before flying back to Oakland on Monday. A very quick trip.  Soaking up the beauty of this beautiful city and can’t wait to write more soon :)