minty fresh and floral fierce!

Let it be known that while I love all things France I was kind of in need of some space.

You see, spending hours looking through my pictures has made me a bit well...homesick. For a country that I don't live in nor have I ever called home (except in my heart!). It was so dreamy..yes it was.

So in the midst of my french "breakup" of sorts, there are a few things I've been obsessing over...allow me to elaborate.

 

Mint. It is a glorious color.

Florals...especially my new floral sequined flats. bomb.diggity.

Sweet Potato chips! Have you had these yet? Do it!

Love this show. Loooooooove.

Snow. Because even if it's cold, it's still so dang pretty.

and finally...

 

Red, White, and Blue? Oh I'm feeling it...but the Nautical version. All in favor of Newt G. being one annoying guy? Aye! Aye! Captain!

and now a word from the gal who writes this blog...

Attention lovely Ladies and Gents!

Although it seems I've been a bit absent lately I would like to blame my M.I.A status on the following:

1.) Being a wife, mama, housekeeper, cook, laundry-doer, and church-goer. Oh and did I mention a full-time Cosmetology student?

2.) Watching endless hours of "Parks and Recreation" while doing most of the things listed above.

3.) Chasing after my little babe..she's walking and talking and more precious than ever. Her new words? "Um" and "Whoa"...the first to be used when I ask her a question, but she has no other words in her vocabulary. The second whenever she gets a little tipsy trying to walk..well anywhere. She catches herself midfall and yells "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" 

4. Searching for the person who taught my 1 year old the words "Um" and "Whoa".

5. Spending the weekend in Salt Lake City with the guy of my dreams...we shopped. We ate. We loved. That is all.

6. Recovering from a near fatal hair incident..don't worry, I intend to fill ya in on the story soon.

Love!

castles and chocolate

Sleeping Beauty's castle was modeled after this castle

castles, castles, and more castles..

 

We walked along this bridge in Tours, France at nighttime..so pretty!

i lovest all things pretty

Saint Malo is a sweet little seaside town in France. And I could've stayed there for days...

One of the cutest shops..did you notice the Christmas tree hanging upside down?

I adored these shoes. The shop was closed otherwise they would be in my closet right this moment.

 

This little Vespa snapshot is in honor of Jihan and her love for all things Vespa!

 I don't think we went anywhere in France without enjoying a cup of hot chocolate..this was served with an apple tart. So good.

And then there was the Pear tart and Chocolately Chip cakes with banana custard.

Somewhere...beyond the sea someone's waiting for me..

                                                         Oh Saint Malo you were so lovely.

the "Tangled" castle in real life!

Who doesn't love a good Castle?

 

Does it get any better than this?

"Mont St. Michel in Normandy, France, inspired our castle in “Tangled.” It sits out in the bay surrounded by water and feels so very fairy tale-like. When I visited it I knew this has to be the kingdom that Rapunzel will someday be Queen of. "  -GLEN KEANE

Just below the castle there's a small village filled with hotels, creperies and dreamy lights to guide the way..

 

The island of Mont Saint-Michel has inspired the likes of:


- the castle in Disney's "Tangled"


- the city Minas Tirith in "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King"


- French Composer Claude Debussy ("Clair De Lune") who frequented the island often


 This castle is only 100 kilometers from the D-Day beaches (see this post!)


P.S- Do I even have to say that this was one of the best days of my life?!

Beaches of Normandy

 

 

Things to know:

-this sacred place was so beautiful and I was humbly reminded why I love America.

-it was a very cold, windy day that matched the somber feelings we felt there.

-this memorial made me so proud of my husband who is choosing to serve our country.

-the next time you are in France..be sure to visit this special place.

Learn about the Beaches of Normandy here.
 

fries good enough for stealing

We spent some time in Caen, France which is a bit North of Paris.

Home of:

 *William the Conqueror's Castle.

*Some of the best food in the whole country

*a fry thief

*the coziest bed on the entire trip

I love this house.

the castle was pretty cool, but not as exciting as I thought it would be (we're so honest around here)

So we practiced guarding the cannon just in case of an attack. Andrew wins, but I'm still fierce. Kind of.

Elle played "Prisoner for a day"..she loved it of course.

Alright she didn't actually like it that much.

I fell in love with this church and for a moment I wished I could live there..in France anything's possible, didn't you know?

While walking the streets of Caen that night with some french fries a guy walked past us and stole it right out of my brother in law's hand. And then he ran off.

Being the (fierce) woman that I am I yelled "Hey!"...which did absolutely nothing for that guy's conscience, because he kept running. Maybe I should have tripped him.

Weirdly enough, the guy's friend stopped and apologized and offered to pay for our fries. We said no, mostly because we were in shock. I spent the rest of the trip looking over my shoulder..especially while hoarding my precious fries.

But this was a valuable lesson to me. Money in France is important. But the fries are so good they're worth stealing. Hmm.

No, seriously..they are really good.

We were fry-less, but happy.