12 Days!

I'm drinking coffee and feeling more human. I wonder what coffee tastes like in Europe. I've been told to not expect good things from the food but I don't care. I have such high expectations. I want to smell the air there, drink the wine and savor every moment.

We've been in a rush to get everything ready in time. A co-worker is going to be staying at our apartment to take care of the cat. She stayed over Christmas and it worked out really well. So there is that. Other than that we have been making sure we have comfortable shoes. Any excuse to buy new shoes is a good excuse for me :). Have ya'll ever worn Hush Puppies? www.hushpuppies.com They are amazing (and cheaper on Amazon). Other than that I think we need jackets that are good for 50*-ish. Too warm for all out winter coats but to cold for a sweater.

We booked this tour www.nessbus.com in Scotland. It had everything we were looking for and good reviews. We are also going to do the Double Dead Tour http://www.cityofthedeadtours.com/the-double-dead-walk/. We are going to be laid back the rest of the time we are there and explore the city.

In Ireland we are going to take a train to Cork and spend a day. The other days we will be in Dublin. We need to look into booking an activity of some sort there. Maybe the Castle?? Tom went to grad school in Ireland so we may try to  catch up with a couple of his friends that still live there.

Then there is London. LONDON! We keep looking at what to do there. I know we want to go to the London Tower. They have a Sunday Night tour that we are thinking about. I've read that the London Bridge experience is awesome too. The Globe theater is on our radar but we don't want to do too many tours. Tom is interested in seeing a  castle too. I have this city on such a pedestal that I'm not sure how to narrow anything down.

So that is where we are at with planning. Any recommendations???

Happy Valentines Day!

I love you. 

That means I’m not just here for the pretty parts. 

I’m here no matter what.  

-Claudia Grey, Hourglass

Is this real life?!?!

Aside from my wedding I have never been so excited for anything. We finally booked our honeymoon. Not just any honeymoon but a dream honeymoon! WE ARE GOING TO EUROPE! In less than three weeks we will be exploring Ireland, Scotland and England. We are flying into Ireland and spending a day. From there we are jumping on a flight to Edinburgh. We will be there for three days. So far we are planning on visiting a castle, taking a nighttime cemetery tour and maybe spending a day outside of the city. Then we will jump on a train to London. I HAVE BEEN WANTING TO GO TO LONDON FOR YEARS. I am so overwhelmed by what to do because I want to do EVERYTHING! Seriously, everything. Tom has some friends there so we are going to spend one night going out and about with locals but the rest of the time we are on our own. I want to go to the London Tower, Buckingham Palace, explore local stores (book and grocery store are a must), ride the London Eye and a double decker bus and so much more. After London we are headed back to Ireland for a couple of days. Tom wants to do a Scotch tour. We are still researching what else to see and do. And a bonus? We have a 13 hour layover on the way there in Chicago, yes I consider that a bonus. It gives us time to see Jessica and explore the city. I'm also not going to turn down deep dish pizza :)

Anyways, I'm thrilled and so excited I can't handle it. 

Five Years

I'm sitting here in my apartment reflecting, reminiscing and watching the Fault in Our Stars. I read the book so I know what's coming. Five years ago today I moved out of Ohio. Leaving there is the best thing I have ever done for myself.

Everything has changed these past five years. I became independent. I adopted a cat. I learned to live on my own. I found lifelong friends along the way and I found myself. I fell in love, twice if I'm honest with myself but only once for real. I met this man, my husband that I love with my entire self. I grow into myself and created a life that I always wanted. .

If I could talk to my 23 year old self I would say that its ok. Life isn't a race. You'll find Him when you are supposed to. You'll figure out the job thing and all the other things. Enjoy the mishaps. Remember the dating disasters--they will help you appreciate Tom. His name is Tom. He's worth the wait and you'll be so glad you didn't settle. Don't settle on anyone or anything. Keep exploring. You won't live in Denver forever. Enjoy your moments there. You will miss it,a lot. You also won't live in Texas forever....that is still a work in progress. If it doesn't feel right it probably isn't. Trust yourself.

Happy New Year!

It's 2015?? It's an entire week into 2015!? I resolve to post at least once a week. I should really push myself and do two but I already didn't stick to that.

Hi.

Things are going well. I've been sick 2x in 2 months (that's not great) but I'm trying to be a trooper about. The holidays were good. We spend time in Arizona and hung out with Tom's parents. Went to Flagstaff and explored Phoenix. It is a really pretty state.

I have a financial plan. I won't bore you with the details--unless you're into that sort of thing.  You are? Okay, fine. I've recently become obsessed with paying off my student loans. Like, ridiculously checking the balance daily (no it doesn't change on a day to day basis). I have a goal to pay off the total in full in a bout a year.

We also have trips in the works. We are going to go to Denver at some point. I'm crazy homesick and want to hug all of my lovely friends still there. We are planning a trip to NYC in May---Ellie, I want to see you! I've never been there and I'm slightly afraid I'm not going to want to ever leave. We are also planning a honeymoon. Somewhere, suggestions? I applied for my passport over the winter break (two weeks paid off work, yay!). I should have done that years ago but better late than never. So, really we can go anywhere but we don't want to spend over $3,000. --> see, I'm all about a budget.

Other than that, I've started to knit. I know, I'm too young but I really enjoy it and its something mindless to do when I'm relaxing. I'm getting a lot better at it too :) Cheers to the small things.

I'll catch up soon. Happy New Year!

What I'm listening to

I love this song so very much. He wrote it for his daughter.  The lyrics are just so wonderful. You can really see how much he loves his daughter when he sings this song live. I also like that he touches upon what he has accomplished in his life. 

What songs are you all playing on repeat these days? The Taylor Swift album does not count, even though I want to be her best friend and I play the CD whenever I'm in my car. Most of the songs are good but some of them I can't stand. "Are we out of the woods yet" played on repeat 259,843 times does not make for a good song.

November!

I skipped November. I don't think that was intentional I just let time get away from me. I'll try to make up for it with a long post.

November was busy. I got a really awful cold. Yes, I am going to whine about it. I was really sick prior to and during Thanksgiving. The night before Tom and I went to an Andrew Mcmahon concert. He was the lead singer in Something Corporate and Jack's Mannequin. I wish I would have felt better because he put on an amazing show and I was pretty much leaning against the wall trying to breath. Still, totally worth it. There was an awesome oyster bar across the street that had the best coconut shrimp I have ever had---we'll have to go back now that I can breath.

Thanksgiving was good. We had some friends over and just hung out, ate, drank and watched football. There was only one small fire. It was the first time in a long time I didn't go shopping, again I was just too sick and we really don't need more things.

I was really anxious to put up our Christmas tree. We had the tree last year but hardly any ornaments. Over the past year we have tried to get a new ornament from every city we have gone to together as a way to make the tree a trip down memory lane. We also purchased red and green ornaments. Keeping it classic. Anyways, I have no patience so we put the tree up the week before Thanksgiving and I'm in love with it. We even have matching stockings! Hermione won't leave the decorations alone but it that is to be expected.

We've managed to get to a Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars game with our friends Gaytha and Lucas. The games were fun but I just cannot get behind any Dallas teams. Tom and I cheered for the Phoenix Suns and it worked out just fine. I have a sick pleasure cheering against the Dallas fans. I really need to get better about pretending to like Texas. We discovered this
amazing Chicago pizza place in Addison, there I found something I like.

With everything going on I decided I need a hobby so I have been learning to knit and I really am enjoying it.  It is taking me a little bit to get used to and I'm still making mistakes but I hope I'll be making scarfs and hats soon. Its nice to take yarn and turn it into clothing. Maybe I'll even start sewing, HA! Don't hold me to that.