Morgan comes to France: Part 2

Day 2 in France was all about introducing Morgan to our tiny town of Egletons.  We drove her by my 2 dream homes (one with blue shutters), Logan's junior high school that looks like Hogwarts, the church where I sang at a Catholic baptism (IN FRENCH/ "watermelon"), our grocery store, and finally our hoppin' downtown (Centre Ville).  Then we walked to our favorite restaurant Al Mondo and had an amazing lunch! 

After lunch we headed to the castle ruins in town- Chateau du Ventadour.  I hadn't been here since Christmas of 2008 so I was excited to go back. The ticket office was closed so we trespassed. Oops? Our cop out plan:  "Je suis Americain.  Je ne parle pas francais."  (I am American. I don't speak French.)

 

The view is breathtaking from up there.  We decided it was be the coolest spot for a wedding reception, concert, or birthday party.   We had the entire castle to ourselves so we climbed over rocks picking out our dream bedrooms.  

Ask us in person about what went down in the dungeon... It was a bit frightening but hilarious! :) Look at the mischief in her face...

That afternoon Morgan had "band practice" with Logan, Bob, & Nolan to rehearse her Dixie Chicks song. That evening we had a Tex Mex dinner for 20 clients and Morgan was the highlight of the evening! 

Here she is prepping for her big French debut. 

French people, meet Morgan.  Morgan, meet Frenchies.  

Dixie Chicks performance.  "There's Your Trouble" - She rocked it!  Bob wants to hire her now. 

After the dinner was over, we came home and finally got to watch Monday night's The Bachelorette on my couch.  It made me SO happy to have a Bachelorette watching party in my little loft.  We ate ice cream and picked our final 5ish guys. I am claiming them officially on here for the record (in no particular order): Ryan, Sean, Chris, Arie, Jef (And maybe Doug/ Charlie)  

Sadly, Morgan had to leave early the next morning to head up to Paris on the one day the sun came out- bummer! BUT we had a blast and although I had an "ugly cry" breakdown at the train station,  I know that I get to see her again in a few weeks so that made it all better :) 


THANK YOU MORGAN FOR COMING TO SEE ME!!!! It meant the WORLD to me.  Come back, ya hear? 

Morgan comes to France: Part 1

Last week, one of my BFFs came to visit us in FRANCE!  Here is a snapshot of our time together. 


Waiting for Morgan at the Limoges train station. Isn't it gorgeous? 

Reunited at last! We lunched at a cute little place in Brive. 

After lunch, we stopped by my favorite village on our way home - Collognes la Rouge and picked up some local artisan treats. 

The nougat was amazing! We put together quite the variety pack to snack on :) 

It was a rainy day, but we made the best of it and explored the town.  It was SO green and flowers were blooming everywhere. 

Mustard tasting. 

Then we headed back to The Colorado, gave Morgan a tour of the place, settled her into her room and introduced her to the family.  Later that evening I cooked dinner while Logan and Morgan munched on cheese, baguette, and saucisson (dried sausage). 

Voila! Dinner is served :) I made my favorite new pasta.  Recipe here.

We ended the night watching a movie on the couch.  I had to pinch myself that I had a FRIEND in our place watching movies with us :) It was just like the good ol' days in Lakewood! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIBBY!!!

I am SO thrilled (and proud) to announce that my best friend Katie had her baby last night!!! 

Libby Allison Schulze. Born 5/27/12. 6.14lbs at 8:46pm.

She is the main reason I am coming to Texas in 3 weeks.  It seems Libby was just too anxious to meet her parents and came 3 weeks early!  Mom and baby are doing well and let me just tell you, she is PRECIOUS!!! I was sent this pic from the Proud Papa early this morning (France time) and I welled up in tears. 

How did we get here? How did we go from college roommates, to married, to parents? We are growing up and its all going by so fast...  When I left in August, Katie wasn't even pregnant and the next time I see her she will be a MOM.  The reality of all this washed over me on my couch this morning and I just sat there crying... amazed, grateful, sad I wasn't there, but happy and bubbling with excitement all at the same time.   It doesn't feel like we have been away for that long, but for such a HUGE life change to have taken place it makes me realize how many months really have passed. Today I am really homesick and ready to be in my familiar Texas territory in a few short weeks.  I cannot wait to hold that little nugget and love on her and her Momma.  Katie has been such a consistent, encouraging, loyal friend over the the past 9 months and always goes out of her way to make me feel special.  I know she is going to make the most amazing Mom and Libby is lucky to have her (and John Paul!) 

Love you guys to the moon and back and can't imagine a more amazing family for Libby to be born into. She is one lucky (and BEAUTIFUL) little girl.  

See you soon little one! 

XO, Your French Aunt Abby 

5 :)

1. THIS movie looks amazing. The Great Gatsby. This is drive-to-Paris-to-see-it-in-VO-worthy!

2. I love everything about this photo.  The color, the pose, the outfit. So cheerful!

Source: designlovefest.com via Abby on Pinterest

3. I love this quote.  It reminds me of my Friday morning breakfasts with Morgan, Nicki, and Jen.  We laughed, cried, vented, and did LIFE together for that year.  I miss having close girlfriends over here, but I am SO happy I got some good QT with Morgan this week :) 

Source: piccsy.com via Abby on Pinterest

4. I will do an entire post next week about out adventures... but Morgan Stallings and I had a the BEST time!!! The weather was crummy, but we made the best of it! The silly sun decided to come grace us with her presence the day AFTER she left.  Not cool. 

5. This picture melts my heart.  The kids came over yesterday to hang out and Logan watched Veggie Tales with them. He is going to be such a sweet Dad someday! 

Lately we have been pretty slow during the week and SLAMMED on the weekends...So naturally we have a huge dinner tonight and tomorrow night! It isn't so bad though since this week was pretty relaxing.  Hope everyone has a great weekend :) 

A Bachelorette Party at The Colorado

Two weeks ago, we were tasked with hosting a Bachelorette Party for one of Caleb's friends.  I had a tiny budget, but was able to throw together some cheap decorations.  The bride-to-be wanted it to be "Cowboy" themed with purple (her wedding color).  Seeing as purple isn't the first color that comes to mind when I think COWBOY, I thought it still turned out pretty cute. I put together some simple purple flower arrangements, found purple napkins, a special glass for Fabienne (the Bachelorette) to drink out of, and made some purple confetti to place on top of the doily runner I pieced together.

We started the night with Sangria, followed by dinner, and ending with us teaching the ladies a line dance while Bob, Logan, and Nolan played live music for their entertainment.  Let me just tell you... tipsy French women line dancing is HILARIOUS! They had dressed up the Bachelorette in funky clothes and one woman decided that Caleb would be her dance partner for the evening.  They left The Colorado around 1am and I think they had a great time....apparently we were not the last stop for the party crew!

I had so much fun ... If I could decorate tables for a living, I would! Here's to more party planning in the future :)