travel recap - paris (days 1 and 2)

When the wheels of our jet plane touched down, I looked over to Hubby and exclaimed "we're in PARIS"!  I was beyond excited - I couldn't believe that I was actually in Europe!

We got off the plane, grabbed our luggage, got our passports stamped, and headed to our Paris home.  As we drove through the city, we were silent.  Just taking everything in - trying to get our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower.  Suddenly, we arrived at the apartment, lugged our suitcases up four flights of stairs, and walked in to the beautiful apartment.  We dropped our bags in the entry way and started exploring the place - we were floored at just how beautiful it was.

living room of the apartment

We hadn't slept for basically a whole day, but we didn't want to sleep in an effort to beat the dreaded jet lag, so we decided to go for a walk.  We stepped out on the Paris streets and couldn't believe that we were actually there.  We decided to walk through le Jardin des Tuileries to le Louvre.  We soaked it all in and took a few pictures, then realized that we were starving so we found a small cafe near the apartment and had some lunch.  I had chicken with a mushroom cream sauce and it was, by far, the best chicken that I had ever had.  Eventually, the tiredness took over and we decided to go "home" and have a nap to get refreshed.  We set our alarm for one hour and passed right out.

outside the Louvre with a view of the Eiffel Tower

reflections

Did you ever keep a diary when you were younger?  Was your favourite part about that diary going back and re-reading some of your old entries?  That was definitely my favourite part.  It's also the reason that I've been going through and re-reading a lot of my old blog posts lately.

You really learn a lot about yourself by doing this. For example, I realized that I was a little baby crazy last year. Oh man, I had the baby fever and I had it BAD! I also got to see how, through writing down my thoughts, I was able to work through my feelings. In the end I realized that it wasn't that I wanted a baby last year, it was just that I couldn't stop thinking about what life with a baby would be like. Kind of neat.

validation

It happened over a simple dinner with two of my best girlfriends.  We were chatting about the usual topics (boys, jobs, and babies) when the conversation evolved into an outpouring of our innermost feelings about ourselves.  Strangely, we all were feeling the same way: inadequate.  We were all looking to each other, and to others we know, to validate ourselves.

This really got me thinking about how I always focus on what everybody else has (or what's missing from my life) rather than the things that I do have.  I'd have to admit, this is by far my worst quality.  The worst part of it all though is that it's not until somebody else praises me or fills me with positive words that I'm able to really feel and see all the blessings in my life.

The strange thing is, when I feel like I'm missing something in my life, it's not a new car, a bigger home, or even a family of my own that I feel like I'm missing, but rather, something that I can't quite put my finger on.  Perhaps it's this inability of mine to be completely happy with life that's making me feel this way.  A vicious cycle if there ever was one.

I yearn for the day that I don't seek outside validation.  I yearn for the day when I know that I am the confident, smart, driven, talented woman that I feel like I am ninety percent of the time.  Although, another part of me wonders if maybe we're not supposed to know.  Maybe that's why we have to surround ourselves with friends and family; so that they are able to give us a boost when we need it most.

wordless wednesday - new home

vanilla bean creme brulee

This past week was one of the most stressful weeks of my life.  Here's a recap:

Last Sunday evening we put an offer in on a new condo, which was accepted.

On Monday we officially sold our condo.

All week we worked furiously (on top of our already busy full-time jobs) to secure financing, arrange inspections, and read stacks upon stacks of documents for our new condo.

On Friday we had confirmation that we were 100% buying the new condo.

With all this craziness going on, Hubby and I were also hosting a dinner for some of our close friends on Saturday night.  Dessert is always my downfall.  I'm more comfortable cooking than I am baking.  I like to freestyle my measurements, rather than measure them out perfectly.  Dessert and I are not always friends.  I had originally thought of making meringues with fruit for dessert, but those thoughts were squashed when my mom bought me a cookbook called "Creme Brulee".  I admit that I was a little extremely intimidated by the thought of making creme brulee from scratch.  But after the week that I had just conquered, I felt like I could tackle anything.  And I did.

wordless wednesday - vancouver spring

dear 12 year-old me

Dear 12 year-old me,

Stop looking forward to the day when you'll finally be a grown up. Sure, being a grown up means that you can stay up as late as you want, that you can drive, and that you will be completely in control of your own life. However, when that time comes, you'll come to LOVE sleeping and going to bed early and you'll hardly ever get to drive your own car because you have to share it with your husband. Being grown up is overrated. Big time.  Just be a kid.

Love, 25 year-old you.