Weddings and such!

Today's post is dedicated to a couple of cool cats who decided to tie the knot together (Literally! It was part of the ceremony.): Mr. and Mrs. M.  Mr. K and I had a chance to attend this affair while we were in the States in CA. 

Look at those two!  Such a cute couple!

 Mr. K was a groomsman, so he had to go early and do groomsmanly duties.  I came later with the rest of the family.  They were married in Calamigos Ranch, the same spot of Biggest Loser (the wedding facility is just on another part.)

Gorgeous scenery!  A photographer's dream.

 They even had a cool umbrella installation.  

Reminds me of Skittles, the candy, for some reason.  Taste the rainbow...

We came around the river bend and watched as the Bridal party finished some photos.

Mr. M is doing the scary dance for us, here. I think the photos were starting to get to him.  But doesn't Mrs. M look gorgeous?  *smiles*

Mr. M's brother and my Mr. K (also known as Shades) looking cool and stylish.

The ceremony was outside and there was live music.  I believe they even played Coldplay on harp for one of the songs as the party came down the aisle.

Really lovely trellis for the ceremony. 

Everyone took their spots and the best moment of all happened: the bride entered, led by both parents. I snuck a quick shot of the groom seeing his bride as she came down the aisle!  

Vows.

 Tying the knot that Papa taught them.

 And the greatest moment of all:  the kiss!

 Proud to present for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. M!

Happy day!

 Then we all turned around and went right up to the most enchanting reception I've ever seen.

 This is a shot of our table. 

The groom and his Papa wood-burned the crates.

 And the festivities began.  They turned on some heat lamps for us because nighttime in CA gets COLD.

A quick snapshot of the mother of the groom and the ladies K

Had to get a shot of the future Mrs. K in black and white along with the SIL in red. I'm in blue.  Almost a flag.  We call ourselves the K triplets. 

The dance floor.

The party favor was creating your own candy bag because Love is Sweet!

 They introduced the bridal party, and this was the only shot that was halfway decent.  I like it.  It makes me think Mr. K is in super speed mode.

Cutting the cake.

Happy couple. Very pretty cake.  (Delicious as well!)

 The first dance, followed by the Father/Daughter and Mother/Son dances. 

Yup, that's our family.

 A sneak shot of Mr. K dancing with his Gram.  So cute!

 And the groom's brother with his wife actually on the dance floor!

Cool guest book idea?  Have a photo booth! You put one set of pics in the book with names and a wish of good fortune and the guests get to take the other home.  It's a win-win situation!  Here are my faves.

The M and K girls are on the left.  Last photo is of a Charlie's Angel in training.  H will get the hang of it soon. 

The right is just the K side.  We're an odd bunch!

 

 
All in all, a lovely night to be remembered.  Thank you so much for having us, Mr. and Mrs. M! May you have as many laughs and as much joy as we had that night for the rest of your lives. Love you both! *muah*

Until next time!
Bisous

Family

Back in September I made a trip to the States to see the family.  Mr. K only had a week of vacation, and as he was scheduled to be a groomsman in a fantastic wedding in CA, we decided that he should spend his vacation there to help out and see his side (I'd join him a few days into his vacation after having visited CT and FL).

Here are some of the best moments from the trip.  Starting with CT:

The bear cubs.  They're growing up way too fast!!!
I got a chance to see Miss A run her first cross country race.  And where was it?  Only at Tarrywile Mansion, the site of Mr. K and my reception!

Pretty, isn't it?

While waiting to see Miss A run, Mr. O was showing me some tricks on his penny board.

I love this shot.  Good air, bub!

Then we watched Miss A try to escape the camera.

I will always catch you!  Hahahahaha! (It's the joy of being an older sister)

Here my brother turned into a model for Abercrombie and Fitch.

And then he sneezed and became Mr. O again.

The race has begun!

10 points if you can spot my sis

Go, A, go!

She finished in the top 3rd of the race, not bad for a first time!  So proud of her.

Nice work, dah-ling!

Oh, did I mention that Mr. O can ride a unicycle?  Well, here's proof.

Quite impressed.

I got a chance to meet up with some friends: Mr. and Mrs. M, Mrs. P, and Mr and Mrs F.  I didn't take a photo of B and K, but I can assure you that they looked fantastic and so happy in love.

Good friends are hard to beat.

After the short four days in CT, it was off to sunny FL.  And for once, Momma's dog was at ease!  That's because scary bearded Mr. K was not with me.  He doesn't like that man too much.  It has to be the beard.

The big scaredy-cat

I tried to get a picture of all my family members in FL, and looking back at them, I missed a few people.  This makes me sad.  Very sad.  I love you Aunt S, Bean, and Gpa P.  Sorry I didn't get you in photo!

But, we had a lovely dinner and great malarky was enjoyed by all.

Some of my favorite ladies.

 Here I'm testing the distance for a family photo.  Love my sister, Miss K, in these shots. Priceless!

"How about this? Is this good?"

"Oh no she didn't!"

"You're so droll, mumsy!"

Here's a partial family shot.

Love my FL family!

And then Gma wanted to have one with me in it, so here's her shot.

Strangely, it works!

After a glorious time in FL, which I was very sad to leave, it was off to C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A!
Land of Palm trees and sun- oh wait, that's FL too!  Hahaha!  I knew I liked CA just as much as FL.   What I didn't plan on seeing there were MOUNTAINS!!!

Gorgeous!!!

I was in awe of the majestic ranges.  Got to meet up with Mr. K again.  Very happy. Got my fill on Mexican food (is that even possible?  Nah!  I think I'm in withdrawal again...) And we got whisked away to a rehearsal dinner at Aunt C's house.  Love the family shots!

This is family.

PHOTOBOMB!  He's lucky he's the groom.

Mr. K and his Gma P.  They're adorable here!

Oh and I got to meet a soon to be new member of the family!  C's fiancée, Miss H!

They are such a cute couple!!!

And that leaves us with the wedding.  But, I'll do that for another entry.

Until next time,
Bisous

October, a great month

 Hi all,
Today I'm going to do a little something different.

I long while ago I did an Autumn entry (you can check it out here) and I thought it high time to do another.  So I went back to The Simple Woman's Daybook and entered into her October Diary.  It's really a fun thing to do.

She has others there for the month of October, so after you're done reading mine, go check out the rest! 

Enjoy!
 

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...is my balcony where my geraniums are valiantly resisting the onset of autumn.

I am thinking...that having only one more year in France is a sad, sad thought.

I am thankful...that we live in the country and can open our windows and get fresh air and hear birds chirping.

In the kitchen...are my dishes from breakfast that I'm putting aside until a little later.

I am wearing...a red long sleeved shirt and my favorite pair of jeans. Barefoot.  I like barefeet in a house.

I am creating...painted porcelain-next up is a vase with irridescent paint.

I am going...to my friend's house today to discuss everything in French.

I am wondering...why still after all my studies and having already lived here in France a year, I still struggle with the articles.

I am reading...a novel for a friend- proofreading if you will. Enjoying it immensely, I might add too!

I am hoping...to finish a chapter of my work today.

I am looking forward to...getting a web-cam this weekend so that I can set up Skype for when Mr. K goes on a conference in Japan later this month.

I am learning...how to make use of my free-time and how to teach children that English can be fun.

Around the house...it's still morning, so everything is quiet.

I am pondering...whether or not to include almonds in a breakfast bread.

A favorite quote for today... "As Rosemary is to the Spirit, so Lavender is to the Soul." ~ Anonymous

One of my favorite things... the subtle scent of lavender in the morning.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Go to the market for groceries, purchase some printer ink and a web cam, drink in some modern art on Sunday, and taste the exquisite decadence of cupcakes.

A peek into my day...arise at 6:45 or 7am, enjoy breakfast with Mr. K, do some correspondance (either handwritten or on the computer), visit friends, errands, cleaning, tutoring or preparing for it, writing, and dinner with Mr. K while relaxing in each other's company.

Outside on my balcony

Until next time!


Bisous

Well, hello, Fall!

Just got back from a whirl-wind visit of the states. Three states in 15 days = crazy, fun catching up with family! Love you all! *muah!*

(Okay, I need to stop with the exclamations...but they're so much fun!!!!!)

Seriously though, does anyone else suffer from an overabundance of exclamation points?

Any-way.

Stopped off in CT, then went to FL, and ended the trip with a sejour in CA.  Dad, Mom, and family wedding. All awesome.

But, I will post about that later. I have to adjust and correct and sort through the numerous photos.  In the mean time, I'll leave you with a few photos of some goodies I brought back with me to France!

Don't judge me. I love the pumpkins in autumn mix. I may like them more than candy corn!

The next one has a couple outsiders that I picked up in France to add some fall flavor:

Molasses and Pumpkin. You can bet your booties I'll be baking this fall!

The Butternut squash and baby punkin's are from Simply Market. Funny story about that. Apparently no one buys the baby pumpkins here. The cashier gal was very confused with them and asked me where I found them. I told her they were with the other pumpkins, potimarrons, and odd looking squashes. She looked at me with a funny expression and just shrugged saying they were weird. She didn't charge me for them, though!  Free fall decorations, I guess. Not complaining.

My friends, M et Mme G gave me these:

Physalis alkekengi (Chinese Lanterns) look so fall festive. I'm currently drying them so they can go with my Monnaie-du-pape (Silver Dollars) that I have already dried.

When I think of fall, I think of candles.  France, for all its perfume, is not very good in the scented candle department.

So, while in FL I went shopping with my Mom (Hi, Momma!) and we managed to get some candles from Bath and Body Works as well as The Yankee Candle to take back here. Yay!

I have some yummy votives for fall and winter: Marshmallow Fireside, Autumn Pumpkin, Spice Cake.

*stomach is beginning to growl*

Plus a few for spring: True Rose and Summer Scoop

I'm in love with the Movie Night candle from YC. Smells just like Kettle Corn. Makes the apartment smell divine and makes me hungry.

I like scented candles if you couldn't tell. *smiles*

Speaking of candles, YC has some new Man Candles out now and they are, well, bless their hearts, just weird!

Examples of aromas: First Down-with a picture of a football on a field (smells like grass and leather), Man Town- with a pic of a remote control and a tv (smells of Axe Deodorant and a hint of plastic), Riding Mower-with a pic of a lawn mower (smells of, you guessed it, cut grass), and last but not least, 2' x 4'- which has a pic of the wood itself (smells nothing like wood or wood shavings but more of cologne).

Sometimes I question the sanity of marketers.  Well, at least Movie Night smells good. :-)

Oh, I forgot! Today, I found out that YC has a French website. You know what that means?
It means that yankeecandle.fr is going to become my new friend and I won't have to pack a glass jar candle in my suitcase anymore! 

Anywho, back to picture correcting and sorting. And then on to the chapter revision of my piece of writing.

Until next time!

Bisous

Je voudrais vous présenter...

Always fun beginning with a French lesson, right?

I want you all to meet my new friend:

(I call her "Vera"...)

"Just look at the pretties!"
Okay, I'll stop quoting from my favorite TV Show of all time (i.e, Firefly).

But seriously. Isn't it the prettiest mat you've ever seen?
And, it makes me happy just looking at all the butterflies.
*smiles*
I like butterflies.

The mat may be a little thin for the activities I'll be using it for (only 6mm when it should really be about 12mm), but it was just too cute to not get.

For those of you who may not know, I have signed on to do Pilates with Blogilates for a month of beginner excercises. Boy, do they kick my boo-tay! But, I'm becoming less and less sore after the workouts and I am able to do them without muscle failure now. (Yay! and only after 2 weeks of working on them!) 

Basically, six days a week I do the workouts and they change everyday.  You follow the moves on videos and the instructor, Casey Ho (I believe that's her last name) is this positive, fun, hard driving ball of energy to get you through while you do it to Pop music.

Seriously! She makes working out so much fun that even though your muscles are crying out for mercy (and they do, oh how they do) you end up laughing at something she talks about while you're doing it, and you, for a moment, forget that you're working out hard.  It's awesome! (And that's coming from a seasoned former high school and collegiate rower- 2 seat in an 8 man sweep- Holla!)

Why do I feel the need to workout?
Well
A) it's great for the body!
B) Doctor's orders and
C) it gives me happy endorphins to fight the blues when they come around (mostly on rainy days- and in France, that is pretty common in Autumn through Winter).

Anyway, thought you'd all enjoy meeting Vera. 

Happy Friday!

Until next time,
Bisous!