Saturday, November 30, 2013

Paris - Day Three




Today we did the city tour and I about slept through the entire thing.  I'm exhausted, maybe a little jet lagged.  We took a break and napped for 3 hours and ended the night with an amazing meal at Les Cocottes by Christian Constant, wo has been on the Bourdain show.  Food was good, finally a nice meal.  Desserts were ok.  We stopped by the Eiffel since we had heard it's amazing at night, and it was.  Au revoir for the night.

Friday, November 29, 2013

Paris - Day Two

 

Here is a picture of the chocolate waffle I made mention of...so ymmy!  I have forced myself to stop eating these things because there are so many other things on my list of must eats.  I'm still on the hun for a great chocolate croissant...since Matt's brother Doug says, I must have a pastry in France.  Churros, which I thought was a Mexican thing, are everywhere here.  I need a chocolate croissant!

Everyday we get a coffee from Starbucks.  They can't seem to get Matt's name right.  The first day it was "Bent", yesterday it was "Batew", today, they got it!  But, they spelled it "Mathieu"...close enough!

We saw this art structure that is very similar to a structure in downtown, so I had to take a photo of it.  Lots of walking around, lots of eating, and I'm exhausted, it was a good day!

London/Paris - Day One

Only took an entire day of traveling to get to Paris, but I'm not complainig.  It was still enjoyable and I'm still pinching myself.  We arrived in London, beautiful!  Even though we only got to see the inside of the airport and train station.  I have been here before, but it will be nice to spend our last day in London on our final day of our honeymoon.  Thanks to Bruno for being so caring and helpful about gettng us around London, his hometown.  Bruno, you're the best!

It's cold here in Europe, but not unabearable, mid 40s.  I have to get me some ear muffs, but in the mean time I'm trying on a few pairs.  I look like a fob here!  Our hotel is pretty extravagant...until you get to the room.  Twin beds pushed up together!  Reminds me of grandma's place.  And you know, I love big cities, so I love the city noise coming from our balcony...ambulence sounds, horns honking, tires squealing, intermittent sounds of construction, love it all!  I'm in Paris....with my husband....it's still all so weird!

We settled in and decided to go out for food.  Frenchies aren't the healthiest peple are they?  How do they stay so thin?!  We could not ignore the waffle stand on the street...omg...you know, I am not an overhyper...but the waffles were sooooo good!  We got a regular and a chocolate.  I should have taken a better picture of the chocolate waffles.  It looked like a bear claw with black toe nails, which was the chocolate, and not just on the ends, but all the way through.  It was so crispy and tasty, perfect balace of waffle and sweetness, it was sooooo delicious!  I need to get me another one of those!  Aww...it's my husband...in the photo buying our waffles.  He's so nice, he lets me peruse the street vendors and do whatever I want to do, eat whatever I want to eat, and shop and look at wherever I want to, while it's cold and our fingers are frozen.  he's such a good husband.

Look!  They have rentable street bikes here just like they do in Houston and NY!  On our way to dinner, we decide our intended destination, found through yelp, is a bit too far away and decide on a local restaurant.  I had the steak frites and Matt had the lamb frites.  We'll have to stick to the plan next time.  It's 8:42am here and I can't wait to get the day started, but someone is still sleeping!  Ok, that's it for now!

I'm married...and in Paris!  It's so weird!

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Post Wedding Post & Tips

So…I'm married now.  It's very strange, this whole day has been.  Not completely strange, but just a little strange.  It's like a new sense of love.  A deeper one.  Is that too much to blog about?  It started mostly at the ceremony.  The ceremony was so surreal.  No one ever tells you how surreal it is.  I don't think I've ever heard that.  It's like I was in a dream.  It was beautiful, my most favorite part.  It's just like they say...you have the most fun, it goes really fast, and the day after you debrief about all the happenings.  It was awesome, I loved it all and want to thank everyone for coming, it made it that much more special.  Thanks to all our family and friends for coming and supporting us on one of the most important days.

Ok, so…my tips post wedding.  I had these thoughts throughout the day and new I needed to post for those pre-wedding brides before I forget.

First and most importantly, know that things will go awry…really awry.  The week of my wedding I pinched a nerve in my foot which left me with a limp.  I got an eye infection 5 days before the wedding which made it absolutely impossible for me to wear make up in one eye.  Matt's wedding shirt got shrunk.  The restaurant decides we need to change the floor plan, party favors get royally screwed up, dealing with momzilla, girls' appointments get lossed, needless to say, I had a melt down…with my make up artist…on the way to my rehearsal dinner.  But, once I walked into the venue and saw my family and friends and then Matt's family, it immediately changed.  The point is…expect it…things will go wrong, there cannot be a perfect wedding, as far as your details go.  Remembering, the point is…and it takes work to really absorb this point, it's about the fact that you're getting married to the person you love, your best friend, and everything will work out, maybe not like you envisioned, but nobody notices those details anyways.  So letting go, really letting go and expecting the mishaps, and reminding yourself…you are getting married to your love, in the presence of your loved ones.

If you want things perfect, hire a wedding coordinator for the day.  I think it would be worth it.  I, on the other hand, did not want to pay for one, so I had my friend and bridesmaid help manage.  She did awesome, but she can only do so much as she is part of the wedding party.  So, it's nice to let friends relax and instead pay a professional and not have to worry about the day deets.

My husband's tip...that's still so weird to say..."my husband".  But, he says to try to stay within the budget and that it's just one day.  I had a great time at my wedding, so I was ok with going over the budget a bit, but we did try to stay within budget, which is nice, after it's all said and done.  He also says that it doesn't make the day any less special...to stay within the budget.

Try to absorb every minute and really enjoy it.  I remember those quiet moments with my bridesmaids, in the hotel, getting ready, and in the wine room before the ceremony.  We had a lot of time and I got to really enjoy each moment.  Again, it does go really fast as people say it does, but I just remembered trying to take it all in and now, I still remember those moments.

I would really invest in a good photographer.  A really good one...that follows you everywhere, is in your shadow, basically.  I would also hire a great videographer.  It all goes so quickly and you really don't get to see a lot of things.  I kept saying I wish I was like a fly on the wall.  With a really good photographer and videographer, I think you can be.

I would definitely go see a nutritionist a few months before your wedding day.  I had been wanting to find one and happen to get a chance 6 weeks before the wedding day and it made my wedding day perfect!  I can't tell you how many people noticed the difference it made.  It made my workouts even more effective on my physique...probably my biggest push...go hire a nutritionist!

Ok, that's it for now.  I don't want to make this into a novel.  I'll post again soon.  A few photos...starting with our rehearsal dinner.  Enjoy!















Thursday, November 21, 2013

Last Single Lady Post

It's about that time, a few days left before the wedding.  Yes...I am a little nervous about it all going smoothly.  It's supposed to rain and drop to 54 degrees this Saturday and we forgot it gets dark around 5pm...which means half of the ceremony will be in the dark and it will be cold!  Not to mention, I twisted my foot while running last week and so just now getting over a limp.  If that wasn't bad enough, my right eye has been feeling irritated the past days and I woke up yesterday morning with a swollen right eye, turns out I have an eye infection.  I'm bracing myself for more to come, but hoping for the best.  As for now, it's not too bad and my limp is getting better and my eye too.  In times like these, it's good to remember what's important…that I am marrying my best friend and the next time I post, I will be Mrs. Eaker…in spirit, since I won't be changing my name.  Ok all, praying for a sunny day Saturday!  Toots!