Ice Ice Baby

Its nice to know that the "Winter Formal" theme for Davidson this year is a nice throwback to the 90's. Heather's date David came over to our house for dinner (oh the days of not having a license) and then they were off to the dance. Scott and I tried our best not to eavesdrop, so hopefully Heather will invite him over again! Not to mention all parents failed on pinning the corsage and Heather ended up taking the reigns and fixing it.  Don't they look cute?



 

Even Lilly got to pose after promptly showing me her latest ballet moves. :)



 

Heather's dress turned out perfect. We ordered it online while we were is Paris and even had a backup just in case. But we thought the white fit the theme best.



 

I think Sadie Hawkins in next but I am not sure what they call it these days! :)

 

City of Lights

Paris is one of those cities that really can't be captured by pictures alone. Scott and I both agree that this city is by far our favorite place in the world and that when you get off the train you get this awesome feeling when you look deep into the streets. There is an amazing sense of history combined with the latest fashion and style. Pretty much everything in Paris is historical topped off with fresh bread, flowers and pastries on every corner. Not to mention French is kind of amazing to listen to in my opinion. Everything just sounds so much more formal! There is a story in everything.  I love getting lost in the streets of Paris and if anyone asks me what my favorite part of the trip is I would say the walks "to" the monuments or historical sites. (Of course there are snacks along the way.)



Since Scott and I were in Paris for the first time in March, 2012 we hit some of the same sites but added a few new ones as well including Sacre Coer and Versailles. Both were spectacular  I wish I was better at capturing proportion in our pictures.



We hit a few cafes along the way and then of course, the Eiffel Tower. Which I have to say 2nd to the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio, gives me chills every time I see it.



At this point we had our poses down for pictures but decided to have a little fun at the end of the trip.



You can view all our pictures here:

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I am going to start off the weekend dreaming about Paris and pretending my tea tastes like the amazing wine we had every night!

I Heart Belgium!

The second stop of our European Holiday was Belgium. We took the high speed train under the English Channel (which we were hoping was a bit more exciting unfortunately by the time we figured out we were under water it was over!) and ended up in Brussels. We stayed in Brussels for 2 nights but took a day trip to Bruge. For those that don't know the historic capital of old Europe was located in Bruge and was quite the site. Today the European Union headquarters is located in Brussels. Both cities are known for their historic charm, top choice of beer and chocolates and of course the famous Belgian waffle.  These were compared to the "crack" waffles at the North Market and blew them away. It was by far probably the best food I have ever eaten. Hands down.





You can see all the Belgium pictures here.

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We spent New Year's in Belgium and celebrated in front of the Grand Palace in the square. The Palace was set to lights to the music of Fantasia for the holiday.



It is very hard starting a New Year's resolution (i.e. trying to eat less chocolate!) when there is Belgian chocolate everywhere. Including pockets of my coat which provided a nice lunch time treat today. I guess resolutions can start anytime, specifically in this house when the chocolate supply runs out.

Here's to 2013! And one more city of pictures to go. The "City of Lights" is tomorrow :)

Recap of our "Holiday": First Stop London

Happy 2013! We are back from our "holiday" as the Europeans call it. We were fortunate that it that the weather was in the mid-40's and the rain was minimal for the region during the 10 days we were gone. Unfortunately we got off to a rough start with a snow storm on the 26th and Heather heading to the ER the night before we left with some sort of stomach bug but after surviving the long flight we were off in London to experience all things "royal".  For those of you that don't know, I have a little obsession with the royal family and even wrote the queen several times when I was a child asking to join her for tea. Not sure why she declined but almost 25 years later I got to see Buckingham Palace as well as the crown jewels and all things London. I think the rest of the family was just as excited :)



London reminded me so much of NYC I was really surprised. It was much more modern than I expected. We took the double decker bus tour and were able to see all the sights in the 3 days we were there as well as hit a few pubs, the changing of the guards and several castle tours including Kensington Palace which is currently being renovated. Unfortunately Will and Kate were not there to let us see their updated decor.

  



I posted the London pics here if you are interested in the rest. I'll put a few on Facebook too.

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We headed to Brussels, Bruges and Paris after London but due to severe jet lag (not sure why I can't recover) we are tackling one city at a time in terms of pictures. We took almost 500 so I am sure you will be happy that I am breaking them up by city.

Happy New Year!