We're home, where are you Spring?

We're back from SF! I think I'm ready to chill out with the traveling...at least for the next three weeks. Since arriving home we've experienced our classic Spokane Disaster (whenever we come back from a trip, Spokane is not kind to us - disaster always ensues), a La Lune photoshoot, Easter, and lots of work and school!

It's been a quick transition from vacation to reality, but I'm actually enjoying getting back to my daily routine. Be warned, this is a photo heavy post! :)

And although I'm sad we couldn't join our family for Easter, we joined forces with our friends Megan and Kent who are also in Spokane for Grad school, and thus without family as well. We went over to their old Victorian and enjoyed Kebabs, good conversation, old school Nintendo, working on an exciting new project (more to come!) and lots of fun. 

In other exciting news, La Lune Events joined forces with a plethora of local talented vendors to produce a 1940's Aviation Engagement shoot - and it was amazing! Here are a few behind the scenes shots...keep your eyes open for the full shoot soon. A special thanks to Keri Doolittle for flying in from Denver and capturing all the fun. :)

Much Love...and Petit Fours

 Right now I am snuggled on a very comfortable couch, overlooking the foggy but beautiful city of San Francisco - and loving this very much needed downtime. Wedding week is over, and Katie & Dante Love have tied the knot. Aren't they beautiful?!

In other news, my recent Foodzie post is up - How to make Lemon Petit Fours. Go check it out! 

I'm thrilled to see some family and enjoy a few days of rest in this fabulous city. This has me pining again for California...

Almost one year

This morning MR and I were reminiscing about how we've been living here in Spokane for almost a whole year. This blows my mind. In some ways, it feels like we've been here a looooong time - all the snow, business development, and meeting new people - 

but in other ways it feels like a quick few months.

Before I go on, please understand that I am super grateful for this opportunity. This gradschool/small business experience has been stellar - MR loves his program, professors, and studies; I love running my own business, our clients, and exercising my creativity on a daily basis.

And yet...I've already started dreaming about what's next. We've already started the application process for several PhD programs, and it's gotten my wheels turning. While Spokane has been a good home for us, I cannot imagine us settling here in Eastern WA indefinitely. Especially after our recent travels, I am reminded of how much of the world we want to see and experience.

For now we are getting ready for Spring - our tulips are coming up and the trees are full of buds. There is promise of blooms and beauty everywhere - 

now if only it would stop hailing and snowing! :)

Euro Trip: Part ll

Our next stop was Prague. We had heard that we would notice a difference in trains when going into the Czech Republic - we said goodbye to the sleek, smooth German trains and welcomed the rickety Czech trains that had plenty of character.

We climbed to the top of Prague Tower - the views were breathtaking! There was an encounter with a winding spiral staircase at the top of the tower...and I may have shed a tear or two. It brought me back to the infamous Moaning Caverns fieldtrip in the 6th grade....yikes.

We ventured into many beautiful and freezing cathedrals.

We moseyed across the Charles Bridge, taking in all the beautiful, though dark, religious icons on the Stations of the Cross.

We enjoyed afternoon lattes and drinking chocolate at an assortment of cute little cafes, tucked into back corners and down winding streets.

We crested the hill and checked out Prague Castle.

 

And then we'd cross the bridge again, and make our way to another part of town...

And of course celebrated with our sweet friend Christina! She's an old Westmont pal, and she absolutely made our time in Prague. It was so good to catch up and meet her amazing friends. We stayed in Mosaic House - and highly recommend it! 

Overall, we loved our time in Prague - great friends, people, food, and sights. 

Up next: Cesky Krumlov and Vienna! More to come. :)

Funky Junk & Lessons Learned

This weekend I found myself, along with my friend Meg, at the ever so quaint Funky Junk Antique Show in Colbert, WA. We had such a great time! 

A few lessons learned...

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT try and park on a downward slope on the side of the road. I honestly thought the truck was going to start rolling down the hill with us in it...

Do not trust the weather man when he says Spokane will be experiencing temperatures in the 60's. He's a dirty liar. 

Always bring a trusty friend with you to antique shows to keep you accountable to your goal of not buying everything you love. We would have gone home with the whole show!

Thanks Hollie and Jennifer of Funky Junk for such a splendid time!

Euro Trip | Part One

It's hard to begin when summing up such an adventure. It felt like we were gone for at least a month instead of a couple weeks, which doesn't help when trying to think back and construct a coherent account of our time abroad. Also, while I took about a bazillion pictures, I'll only post a few so this post doesn't become a novel.

Our first bit of real food in 12 hours - thank you Amsterdam airport! 

We started our journey with an early morning drive over to Seattle to catch our flight. Eastern Washington is not the place for scenic drives, but in the wee hours of the morning it hardly mattered. Our flight left on time (yay!) and was actually quite enjoyable - thanks to the movies, music, and aisle seat- and we arrived in Amsterdam looking for a soft place to lie down and sleep. Our original plan was to spend our 6 hour layover outside the airport, exploring a bit of the city and getting a bite to eat, but we were total zombies and sleep sounded better.




Then it was off to Frankfurt, where Nathan (Matthew's brother) met us at the airport and showed us around his town. Frankfurt was full of good food, conversations, and sights with Nathan and a single truly terrifying drive on the Autobahn.

It was then on to Leipzig, via the fabulous train. I cannot recommend the EuroPass more - we loved it! We got a super saver pass that included first class, which was definitely worth it. The German trains were very efficient, comfortable and clean and we met some interesting people along the way.

There we stayed right in the heart of the old town right across from the Nikolaikirche (one of Bach's home churches) and loved the central location. We were able to walk everywhere and stumbled upon some great little shops, coffee houses and bookstores. It was amazing to watch Matthew put to use all of his German speaking skills - I'm not sure what I would have done without him! He translated everything from street signs to menus and helped us find our way by striking up conversations with locals all over the place. I was so proud of him!

Matthew's happy place. 

Sadly a lot of the museums we wanted to check out were closed the two days we were in town, but we found other places to explore. We spent a morning walking through various historical districts, browsing through bookstores and visiting Mendelssohn's house.

After two days in Leipzig we said goodbye to Nathan and boarded our beloved train to Prague.

The journey continues...more to come!