Downtown Richmond

Downtown Richmond is kind of dreamy, right?

Roadtrip Snapshots

These snapshots from the road are my absolute favorites. Good people, good cats, good food and good books on tape truly are the perfect recipe for a great roadtrip. (If you've never roadtripped with a cat, I highly recommend it. It adds just the right amount of hilarity and weirdness to it all.)

Now that the weekend is finally here, I'm headed to Houston for some sister time (LOVE that she's only a three hour drive away now). We've got hair appointments and Christmas shopping on the agenda, and Mason will be spending his first solo weekend in Austin, exploring the city a little bit more. Have a great one!

P.S. - That "Watch for Snakes" sign was posted at the entrance to the restrooms at a rest stop somewhere in west Texas. Scary!

Thoughts on 30

It's official! I'm 30 years old - and I can't even believe it. (Even typing it feels weird...and wrong.) I'm sure I'm not the only 30 year old to say they still feel 23, but it's true! I don't feel old enough to have my 20's behind me and my 40's only 10 years away, but thankfully, even though I don't feel 30, I'm really not that sad about being 30.

Don't get me wrong - it can be a little freaky when you let yourself dwell on the fact that your 20's are gone forever - like gone, gone forever - and you'll never be that "young" again, but once you pull yourself up and out of all that mumbo jumbo, you kind of realize 30 really is just a number - and you're the same person you were on Friday when you were 29 - and you can act as "young" as you want for as long as you want - and then you feel much better (or at least I did). Because, honestly, I'm extremely happy with the place I am in my life right now. It's exactly where I pictured I'd be at 30, and I'm not only excited to see what my 30's bring (a house! dogs! babies! perhaps?), I'm also perfectly ready for all of those 30 year old things - not kind of ready, not a tiny bit ready, but ready, ready - and that feels really good.

For those of you wondering why I haven't posted my 30th birthday list yet, I've got some sad news - I've decided not to make one this year. (Don't cry!) The point of the birthday lists was to inspire myself to have new experiences and fun adventures throughout the year, and while I've had a ton of fun scratching things off my lists for the past 3 years, I have a sneaky little feeling that my 30th year is going to include more new experiences, exciting changes and fun adventures than any birthday list could hold. So, while I'm sad to not post a list this year, I'm also completely excited by the thought of all the fun this year could possibly bring (and looking forward to sharing it with all of you along the way!).

And now for some photos of our Vegas birthday shenanigans (think endless buffets, cold pools, and amazing balloon hats!):
















And now, on to the next decade...

Wish me luck! :)

Germany in Photos

All of the photos above are from Dominik and Soni's fantasticly fun wedding reception. The ceremony took place at the City Hall with their closest family and friends, and the reception was held in a barn that belongs to Soni's family with a larger group. Everything from the dress code (everyone wore yellow - Dominik's favorite color) to the food (steaks and kabobs were grilled outside over the bonfire), was so fun and so Dominik and Soni. We're thrilled that we could be a part of their special day!

(Want more? See Germany through my iPhone.)

Paris in Photos - Part 2

1) Arc de Triomphe 2) View from the top of the Arc 3) Ferris wheel 4) Gelato 5) Banana and Nutella crepes 6) Paris metro 7) Cruising the canal 8) Eiffel Tower at night

Our last night in Paris was like a mad dash to do and eat and see everything we hadn't done and eaten and seen yet. We started the night off with a cruise down the canal where we got to see the city in the most romantic light, and we finished it off sitting on the curb of some cute cobblestone street, eating gyros and paninis, sharing a Coke and watching the people. On our walk back to the hotel, we grabbed one more gelato and squueeeezzzed it in - because you can never have enough gelato in Paris. Never.

(Want more? See Paris through my iPhone and Paris in Photos - Part 1)

Paris in Photos - Part 1

1) Paris at sunset 2) Mug of hot chocolate 3) Locks on the bridge 4) Park sitting 5) Statue copying 6) Pretty packaging 7) Laduree macarons 8/9) The Eiffel Tower

Here are a few more shots from Paris. The first one may just be my favorite photo from the whole trip. (If you look alllll the way to the left, you can see the Eiffel Tower!) I took it on our first night in Paris, the only night we took advantage of our hotel's 8th floor deck with an amazing view of the whole city. We went up at 7:30pm, not wanting to miss the sunset (little did we know the sun doesn't set until 10:30pm!), and we sipped red wine, ate olives and took a ton of pictures before heading off to dinner at some little sidewalk cafe. It was a great night, and a great first introduction to the city.

(Want more? See Paris through my iPhone.)

Germany (Through My iPhone)

1) Wheat fields 2) Barns 3) Castle touring 4) Window sitting 5) The armory 6) View from the top of the castle 7) The happy couple 8) A yellow wedding 9/10) German wedding traditions 11) Souvenir shopping 12) Ice cream and coffee on the lake

When our friends, Dominik and Soni, dropped us off at the airport, they asked what we'll remember the most about Germany, and I said - without a doubt - the windy, windy roads (and the terrible, dizzy car sickness that came with them) and I was only partially joking (I really do think that'll stay with me forever) - but I'll also remember the wheat fields, the fun finger-food dinners, the oh-so-spicy mustard that turns your whole face to fire, the amazing beer and the most unique yellow wedding ever.