Cliff's Notes Version of Paris

Don't you hate it when people that go to Paris tell you all about it?
Me too. So, I will only tell you a little bit about it.

The Sainte Chapelle.

Notre Dame

Most incredible doors everywhere. (I have a thing for old doors).

Stained glass everywhere. (I have a thing for stained glass too.)

The Louvre

The beautiful men in David's paintings.

My personal favorite, the Winged Victory.

And of course, l'amour.

King Tut

When we arrived in Paris I was feverish with exhaustion. I did not want to wait in the 30 minute line to buy a Metro pass. I did not want to get lost in the metro with all our luggage and make five different changes and I did not even want to go see the Arc de Triomphe while we waited for our flat to be cleaned and readied for two more hours. In short, I did not want to do anything but fall right down and die. But I did all those things and grumbled my way through the day. The Glediator told me:

"Maybe I should have asked someone else to come to Paris with me for our anniversary."

"You probably should have," was my catty reply as I plopped myself and all our luggage down on a bench on the Champs-Élysées.

And that is when King Tut sat down beside me and made us both laugh our heads off.

From Orlando to Paris: A Tribute to My Man

Ten years ago today, I lucked out on marrying the sweetest young, blue-eyed man there ever was. But at 23 and 19 years of age, we hardly knew who we were, let alone who each other was. Marriage is full of surprises and moments of self-discovery. This we first learned on our honeymoon (and NO, I'm not going where you think I'm going).

Our honeymoon was basically a disaster. We went to Orlando. ORLANDO! No offense to natives of Orlando, but it's not exactly the most sought-after honeymoon destination. I thought it was on the beach and my aunt, the travel agent, said she could get a good deal for us in Orlando. Did I think to check into my geography? No. Did I think that Disney World would get old after five days? No. All that I could think about was getting married. We wanted a really nice hotel, so we upgraded from our original hotel to a posh Hyatt Regency. Only, when we got there, Aunt Travel Agent had accidentally booked us at the Hyatt Hotel (different from the Hyatt Regency). The Hyatt Hotel was a smokey, pink Flamingo themed place with gray, polyester décor and we had paid top dollar for it. On our first day there, my handsome new husband's credit cards were all declined when we went to pay for some things. Awesome. I think I cried on the spot and wondered how in the world we'd ever get home.

We always said we'd go on a second honeymoon after the Orlando incident.

Today, I'm writing this post from a little apartment in Paris to proudly tell you that we did make it home from Orlando by the skin of our teeth (thanks to all the good souls who gave us cash at our wedding reception). We've also made it through ten years of marriage (also by the skin of our teeth at times). Ten really juicy years. I wouldn't trade the ups and downs, the declined cards, the dilapidated living spaces, the bathroom with no door, the baby with no crib, the fridge with only kethup and peanut butter in it, nor the ceiling that caved in for an infinite amount of perfect lifetimes. What would we have to laugh about together?

But, Paris. If you give me tickets to Paris, I will take them, thank you very much. Happy Anniversary to the man I want to travel through this life with.

My New Lover

Allow me to introduce you to my new lover:

He is just a little guy, but he's very musical and drop-dead gorgeous at that.

Disregard the fact that he was born in 1847, and he's all I've ever wanted.

Ooh-La-La-De-Da

Have you met my friend, Aaron Ashton? He will knock your socks off. On Friday, I made a little guest appearance with him at the Sandy Amphitheater to sing "Ooh-La-La-De-Da," which I had the privilege to record on his album, Split the Difference. If you haven't heard this song, you can preview it on iTunes. You will like it. You will see. You will like it in a tree.

Aaron is the most amazing violinist.

To hear more of his work, visit www.aaronashton.com.

CBC Paparazzi

Last Friday I had a BLAST with the ladies at the Casual Blogger Conference. I stole all of their photos off of Twitter and Facebook. Who snapped this one of me tweeting during my set?
Sarah of www.ladieslearn.com. That's who.

Who is everyone's favorite blogger that happens to play the bass and used to be in a band called "Garage Sale?" Jenny Eckton of www.formerlyphread.blogspot.com. That's who. (Yeah, she said their posters really confused people.)

(Top photo courtesy of Marie LeBaron of www.makeandtakes.com. Bottom photo by Shelle Blok of www.blokthoughts.blogspot.com)

Who has pretty blue eyes and a sassy little blog? Jessica Lowe of www.hunduddlehussy.com. That's who.

Who would like to thank you for such a delightful time? Me. That's who.

P.S. Thanks to MakeItWorkMom, we now have video footage: http://www.makeitworkmom.com/2010/06/video-proof-of-casual-blogger-conference/