We left without saying "goodbye".

We were so super excited about our vacation that we left without saying "goodbye"!

We went to Paris...

Arc...

Delicious treats...

Versailles...

Flea Market...

Love at the Louvre

Way back when, Tyler and I had our first unofficial date here...

Notre Dame...

Cutie pie...

Inside...

View from Eiffel Tower

Florence!

Mercato Centrale...

My old stomping grounds...

Nice...

Mushrooms at the market...

Fountain...

More treats...

Our hotel in Provence....fanciest dinner ever!!!
Barcelona...
Columbus...
Gaudi...
Giant cat...
We ate, we saw, we conquered.
We truly had a wonderful, romantic, inspiring, relaxing vacation.
I'm a pretty lucky lady.

Travel tip...
Before the trip, I purchased a thin moleskin that I could stash in my purse.
After every couple of days we would go through and journal our trip.
In the back I had a section for restaurants we loved, hotels we stayed at and new recipes I wanted to try to duplicate.
Left the middle empty so we can fill in with photos.
I know journals for vacation are not a novel idea, but, I hate having mis-matched photo albums.
This way, as time goes by, we'll have stacks of black moleskin journal filled with our little adventures.

I have a post coming up that's dedicated to how the French do flower shops.
They were awesome, so get ready!

Earth Day 2009

I guess it all goes back to having the privilege of being a student in Mrs. June Boyd's 3rd grade class. She read Laura Ingalls Wilder, taught poetry and introduced the idea of saving the planet. We recycled, made our own butter and learned what a compost pile was. Ever since, I have had this feeling of personal responsibility to be in awe of our planet and do my part in protecting it.


It's awesome to see that more and more people becoming aware of environmental problems. It's even better that more of us than ever are taking action to combat the problems we have created.

Wednesday, April 22nd is Earth Day. Most of us are making small efforts to make a difference. We ride our bikes, BYOB (bring your on bags) to the grocery, unplug our energy sucking appliances and electronics, use cloth napkins at home, etc...


Take some time to read 50 Green tips for Earth Day at divinecaroline.com and add a few to your daily repertoire.


Also, if you have plans to see Disney's new movie, Earth, Disney will plant a tree for every ticket purchased during opening week.

Photos taken on our Honeymoon along the Pacific Northwest Coast

Have a Happy Earth Day! Go outside!

Arkansas

We had a beautiful time with Jeff and Michelle in the great state of Arkansas!

Got some lunch in Fayeteville (such a cool and pretty college town) and then headed to Bull Shoals Dam to fish the White River. Alas, the water was too high due to Gustav and Ike but we were able to fish about 25 miles away at the Norfork. I am so thankful to have such a great friendship in my brother and his wife and for the way in which Tyler and Jeff have bonded. Some pictures...