Image Map

May 20, 2016

First Friday Faves in Forever

[source cause I'm still Paris dreaming]

Morning, friends! How is everyone doing today? I think I"m close to being 100% on EST time which is amazing. So weird thinking about Paris and being six or seven hours ahead. I thought I'd join in for Friday Faves for the first time in a few months, it's been too long since I was part of the party!

Sleep:  Even though I am still catching up on it, sleep is a favorite. Nights are still long as a part of my body is still on Paris time, but being able to sleep 12 hours the first day back was incredible. I am very much looking forward to playing catch up this weekend between unpacking, repacking and visiting friends.
[source]


Catching up with friends and family: We've only been home three days and have already been out to dinner two times with various friends. Both dinners were delicious in their own way and it was lovely chatting and stuffing ourselves with American cuisine. My calendar is already packed and it's so nice having people so interested in our trip and our future. So blessed and thankful for incredible people who support us no matter what.

WiFi & Cellular Service: Yes it sounds stupid, but you don't know how much free WiFi means until you lose it for a long time. Thankfully many places had WiFi abroad, you just had to pay for a coffee or something before they would give you the password which is fine. Honestly, we were too busy to do a lot online however if we were lost it was a pain not being able to look it up on google or use GPS. And it was a bit of a struggle being soooo out of touch with family and close friends. Wedding stuff was happening with Sportyspice and best friends were having babies and I felt so out of the loop. Now I'm back in the loop and more grateful than every that I can text and WiFi as much as I please.

English: So silly and ridiculous but I am so grateful for English. After thirty days of only being 75% sure I knew what was going on it is incredible to look at a sign and understand completely what action it entails. We were able to get around with very broken English, Italian and French, however a decent amount was done in pantomime in the more remote locations. Knowing people aren't talking about you and knowing you understand the instructions are two of the best things right now. I plan to learn another language becuse so many Europeans are bi or tri lingual and I want to keep up, but for now, good ol English is good enough for me.
[source]

Yooooooooooooooouuuuu GUYS: Blog friends, you rock my socks. I am so grateful for all my beautiful guest posters {thank you Emily, Katie, Kate, and Kristen} and to all of you who read this blog and my other family blog. Call me silly, but I was so incredibly worried people were going to stop reading and interacting while I was gone and that made me so sad. I enjoy all the relationships I've created because of this blog and y'all made my heart smile with your comments here and on Instagram [follow me here]. Want to know something incredible? I ended up having a BLATE in Rome with the beautiful Myra. How cool right? And I so appreciate everyone's thoughts and comments yesterday. I almost didn't post because I didn't want anyone to think I was whining or being ungrateful, because I am not either. It's just weird being home and not home and y'all made me smile with your sweet thoughts and encouraging ideas. Big hugs and thank you to all of you beautiful ladies. I heart you!

There you have it, my faves after my trip. Quite common and nothing special just the truth. I'm so looking forward to catching up with y'all and back to blog reading. I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

**linking up  Here  here herehere and, this week**

31 comments:

  1. YAY for being home and almost back on EST time! It's so rough getting your body to adjust. Can't wait to hear all about your trip! <3, Pamela Sequins & Sea Breezes

    ReplyDelete
  2. The ability to use your phone freely is pretty amazing! We were only gone for 2 weeks earlier this year and it felt amazing to turn the phone back on! Have a fun weekend! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

    ReplyDelete
  3. So glad you made it back safely! Enjoy all this catch up time with everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  4. WELCOME BACK!!!!!!!!!! Yay for being home!

    ReplyDelete
  5. yay for being almost all synced up :) i mean i think it'd be hard to want to get off paris time though. amazing! ugh still all the wanderlust over here :) have a great weekend friend!

    xoxo cheshire kat

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yay--welcome back!!!

    The Banana language picture is hilarious, and I can only imagine what it's like to feel like that for an entire month. Can't wait to hear more about your big adventure!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Welcome back home! Glad y'all had a great trip and that you're almost back on EST time :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. So glad you are back but I know you are missing it as well and that's ok. Now for the busy time before you pack up and move again. Stay calm and try to get in some rest in there as well.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Welcome back!!! Jet lag is rough, so glad you're feeling a little more EST. When we did a trip to Europe a few years ago, we ended up buying a sim card for my husband's phone so we could use it for wifi. I don't know how we could have handled that trip without Google Maps! So bravo for doing it!!! Hope you have a restful weekend! Thanks for coming over and linking up with us at H54F!

    Katie @ Cup of Tea

    ReplyDelete
  10. Welcome Back!! Whenever I travel, I always feel out of the loop too. Traveling is so fun but coming home is also fun. And I always miss my bed even when it is just for one night. I'm so glad you had a wonderful trip. Looking forward to hearing all about it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Welcome home! I feel ya on the wifi thing! I didn't really mind it when we were in London not having it because I wasn't taking the time to scroll through FB but I hated not being able to look up directions!
    www.amemoryofus.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yay for almost being back to normal on the sleep thing! Love all the Minion inspired photos! It's crazy to think it's the little things we take advantage of like wifi and english!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I struggled with time change when we went to Texas - just 1 hour behind - I can't imagine going across the world & adjusting sleep.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Welcome back gurlie!!!! I love instastalking your amazing journey, and how cool that you even had a blate in Rome! Hope you can sleep off the jetlag soon and continue enjoying time with friends and family before the big move <3
    Green Fashionista

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh man, I was only 2 hours west, and it took me a solid 4-5 days to not be messed up! I hope you have a nice relaxing weekend!

    Meg, Borrowed Heaven

    ReplyDelete
  16. I can totally relate to these! Language barriers can be really tough sometimes!

    ReplyDelete
  17. So glad to have you back and speaking english! Hehe! Love ya! Happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  18. So glad you're back!! :) I totally know what you mean about the language- when we were in Punta Cana I kept thinking, "Man, I should have brushed up more on my Spanish!"

    ReplyDelete
  19. Understanding the language (or even the slang when you've been in another country that DOES speak english) is huge. I definitely know the feeling of coming home and being all AMERICA! ENGLISH! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  20. Welcome back to the states! I kind of liked how Europe doesn't have Wifi everywhere. It makes be present and enjoy what's going on around you. Hope you had an awesome weekend!

    Ashley
    acutelifestyle.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  21. Sleep is pretty much the best thing ever haha.

    ReplyDelete
  22. How fun you had a European Blate?!?!?! That is just the most fabulous thing I've heard all day.

    ReplyDelete
  23. my husband got a chance to brush up on his italian when we went to italy (he lived there for a while when he was a kid)... he was a bit rusty at first but quickly remembered most of it and thank god because it was so much easier than having to struggle through the language barriers. i remember when he first started and was talking to his aunt, he turned to me and said: "i totally made up some of the words in that sentence" haha! luckily his aunt switched to romanian so he was able to explain to her but man, that made me laugh. no wonder she had a weird look on her face!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Welcome back! Totally had to laugh at the last one because I definitely remember that one after spending a couple weeks in Europe in college! It's so weird to come back and be like oh, I actually know what people are saying and what's going on haha! It sounds like your first few days back home have already been great!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I hope you get lots and lots of sleep this weekend. When do you make the big move? I can only imagine trying to get around without a GPS and not speaking the local language but sounds like you made do and it was a successful trip. Can't wait to read your recaps! Which country did you spend the most time in?

    ReplyDelete
  26. welcome home! I sooo loved following along with your trip and this was such a fun post to read about being back and the little things in life that mean so much. I'm glad you've been able to sleep and hopefully will have your body back in this timezone soon :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Wifi is never something to be taken for granted :) Thank YOU for having me guest post!! It was fun to find a couple new blogger friends through it! And I can't wait to hear more about this blate, so fun!!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Jealous of all your sleep and your BLATE!!! Welcome home!!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. i totally know what you mean about the english.. KC and I both were so happy we had Ireland at the end of our trip. It wasn't bad by any means, but you are always a wee bit uncomfortable or awkward when you're not quite sure what problem will arise with a language barrier. It was nice to feel 'normal', if that makes sense. Like I can understand these people, this menu, this sign.
    welcome back again! and thank you for the shout out, it was a pleasure to guest post for you :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. There's nothing like coming home, is there?

    Tif
    www.brightonabudget.com

    ReplyDelete
  31. I still think I'm not used to having internet again. At least... that's what I'll tell myself on why I'm so far behind on blogging... that and getting the death flu in DC. Just kidding. I think I started getting in right before I left... but it got really bad when I was at IAD... so I'm blaming DC. ;)

    ReplyDelete

I LOVE LOVE LOVE your comments! Make my p!nk day and leave me some love!