2014: A Really Big Year

Normally I prefer sarcasm over seriousness, but when I think about 2014 I get all mushy inside so bear with me for one serious post please! I promise as soon as 2015 starts (er...by the time February comes around) I will be back to my normal indifferent self. 

Here are my favorite and most memorable moments of 2014. I can't imagine a more emotional and rewarding year (but get back to me in like 60 years and I'll let you know):

Taking one last nap with my Grammy Linda

And the tears have started already. We lost Grammy Linda "GL" to cancer at the beginning of this year. She lived life to the fullest. I took this philosophy to heart in 2014, and I have to say it is a great formula. I'm lucky I got to take a great nap with her at the beginning of this year.  I will miss her.

 

Starting 2014 in China

Its hard to believe only a year ago I was sitting on a flight to Shanghai! As the man sitting next to me ordered milk to go with his Chinese noodles, I thought "what in the world have I gotten myself into..." I ended up having a blast learning about Chinese culture, visiting the bund, eating dumplings and experiencing real jetlag. It was a great way to begin 2014!

Getting to know new friends in Turkey

Turkey was my second stop on "a year around the world." What a cool country! Even better, I got to know some really amazing girls.   

Dream Job= Landed

It's amazing how quickly things can turn around. After a few notable rejections, I somehow managed to land the internship of my dreams in Providence, RI. Not only did I fall in love with the company, I fell in love with the city. My apartment was in a gorgeous refurbished knife factory. I walked to work everyday. I ate delicious local food. I met some wonderful new friends. Lobster Rolls. Del's Lemonade. I guess I did something right because that dream internship turned into a dream job offer. Now Eric and I are headed back to Providence this May! 

Spending the Fall in Paris

Ah Paris. Three months of croissants, sparkly lights and the home base for my exploration around Europe. I'm sure you read all about it in my other posts so I won't bore you with too many details. What I loved the most about Paris is how extreme it is. What I disliked most about Paris is how extreme it is. This made for a very exciting and exhausting twelve weeks. There is no grey area in this city. They have the stinkyest cheese, the prettiest buildings and the most confident of people. I loved every minute of it. Even the frustrating minutes.

 

Sipping Rosé in Provence

 

Little known fact: there are parts of France that are not Paris. Provence is one of these places and I love it. In fact I love any place where rosé costs less than water. Line in the sand: I love when any drink costs less than water. It's thrilling. I love coming home and saying "and in Mexico the beer costs less than WATER, can you believe it??" They usually cannot believe it so I say it again.
 

Afternoon Tea in London

When people say "what did you love most about Paris??" I usually tell them London. Nothing against Paris, but London is where it's at. Royals, Paddington Bear, scones, crumpets, Big Ben and afternoon tea...

 

Watching the Sunset in Croatia

Truth be told, I don't know that I even knew Croatia existed until this year. That's kind of embarrassing, but also probably why the country isn't the worst. Its not riddled with other 20 somethings looking for the next "un"discovered  part of the world. I give it a year.

 

Eating Frites Everything in Bruges

 

Recently Eric and I watched a movie about Bruges. It turns out there are things to do in Bruges other than eating and drinking. This was news to me. Then again, I can't imagine wanting to spend my time doing anything other than eating frites.

 

Crossing Carrick-a-Reed Rope Bridge in Ireland

Experiencing Flamenco in Seville

 

Having an Authentic White Christmas in Switzerland

 

Eating a $3 Fish Dinner in Marrakech (twice!)

 

After a year like this one, my bank account leaves much to be desired. In fact, if anyone wants to steal my identity, have at it. Poor Marrakech found itself at the tail end of my travel budget (by budget I of course mean obsessively refreshing my account balance). Luckily Marrakech was like, no problem, im real cheap. Like REAL cheap. One of our favorite Moroccan meals was had at a fish stall in the middle of the medina, right next to the chicken stall that "guaranteed, no diarrhea."  I'm just not comfortable with those odds. Anyways.... for $3 we ate a feast. It was so good, we went back on our last night.

 

Getting Engaged 

 

This was so monumental it deserves its own blog post, heck it deserves its own blog! For now I will leave you with some pictures and try my best to put into words what was going through my mind. It was without a doubt the best moment of my entire life.

 omg is he....?

 yup, I'm pretty sure he is!!

I can't believe this is actually happening!! Wait is this actually happening?!

 HOLY!

 I think I'll kiss him now.

let me get a better look at this thing...

 

 

Visiting Paris in the Winter

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of hosting my Mama on her first visit to Paris. As we strolled the crowd free Champ de Mars, it got me thinking about what a great time it was to visit Paris.

When to come:

Around December 10th ish the Christmas decorations go up. Its also early enough to avoid the Christmas season flight increases.

Galleries Lafayette Christmas Tree

What to consider:

The reason Champ de Mars was virtually empty was because it was cold and raining. I was bitching the entire time.

The best things about Paris in the winter:

Oysters
October to March is oyster season. You will see them on virtually every street corner, making oysters the Starbucks of Paris. For prime oyster spotting check out Raspail Market.  This is Ina Garten's favorite Parisian market too.

Winter Clothes

Paris is the perfect excuse to bust out your most treasured winter wear. While other cities bundle up in grey's and browns, Parisians seem to do winter right with lots of prints, textures and furs. It's also a great city to experiment with fashion.

How to mix prints like a Parisian:

While there are no rules for mixing prints in Paris, us Americans feel more comfortable with some guidelines to follow so here they are: use the buddy system. Let me explain. When mixing prints, make sure each item in your outfit has at least one other complementing item. The easiest way to do this is to match colors. In my outfit below I'm mixing hound's-tooth, leopard print, and stripes. The common color being black to tie them all together. Then I took inspiration from the pop of brown in my shoes and added a brown faux fur scarf and a brown feather in my hat. And voilà!

 

 

 

Christmas Lights

The city of lights, does Christmas lights right. A quick and festive way to see them up close is to take an open-air night bus tour. They give you a warm beverage and classy lime green blanket to stay warm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greyish Skies

Gloomy grey days make for great photos. No pesky sunshine to create shadows and glare.

 

 

 

 

Sweet Treats

Ok, so this isn't specific to winter, but there's something about Christmas time that make sweet treats even more enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

 And some bonus advice on how to take an outfit from chic to crazy in 5 seconds flat:

 

Whilst visiting London I picked up a delightful tulle skirt from Top Shop.  I saw someone else pair a similar skirt with jeans and thought it looked very cool so I decided to give it a try. I was quite pleased with the result:

 

 

The problem with these risky outfits however, is you can't do anything weird without looking bat shit crazy. That is generally a problem for me. For example, you can't walk around with a huge plastic bag, picking up giant ponies: