Hoags in Europe

We're back! This was our first trip to Europe together and now that we've done it, we can't wait to do it again. Before we even boarded our flight home, Matt and I were plotting our return trip--hopefully next Spring for at least three weeks.

Thanks to my year abroad, I've done pretty extensive travel throughout Europe. But it's such a different experience to do it now that we're real adults. No more camping or hostels for this girl! But of course, I didn't do away with my backpack or steer clear of the street food we ate all the time as students. I was all over the two euro gyros in Athens!

And this wasn't Matt's first trip to Europe either, but he did leave with a little bit of apprehension about traveling in foreign countries. And I definitely don't blame him. When you take away the comfort of a common language and cultural norms and combine that with a reduced field of vision, everything becomes more stressful. But good news: he was much more comfortable traveling than he expected and has no apprehension about a return trip! We got pretty good navigating streets, crowds and airports as a team, after we worked out a few kinks here and there of course.

So what I'm saying is: the trip was amazing! We couldn't have asked for better company to travel with, we saw most everything we hoped to see, we fell in love with Santorini and made it home in one piece (slightly depressed that vacation is now behind us, but still in one piece).

Stay tuned for pictures and more specific details about our vacay.

Oh, and I should say that having a pup to come to makes the end of a vacation so much better. We were so excited to see our little Bounce man on Monday morning. And while we were away he filled in for me at work and made his very first TV appearance. It's worth watching, I swear! Bounce actually gets a fair amount of air time and proved that he can be a well-behaved dog (amazing, I know!).

 

A hop, skip and jump across the pond

It’s mid-June. And that means Matt and I are headed to Brussels and Greece in a few days!

I don’t think I’ve mentioned on here that we booked this trip. In February Matt and I were talking vacation plans and we had decided months earlier that this year would be a small vacation year since I haven’t accrued much vacation time in my new job and we took two big trips last year. But then I got the travel bug. Probably not hard to believe, but Matt was easily convinced that we should throw caution to the wind and book a bigger trip. Our good friends Brian and Jen moved to Brussels, Belgium last summer so it was an easy decision to go visit them in their new home.

And since we are going all that way we wanted to tag on another European destination. We toyed around with Switzerland, Italy and Greece, ultimately deciding on Greece. So we’ll spend ten days in Europe, fly into Brussels then to Athens where we will spend a few days and then end our trip in beautiful Santorini.

Ahh. This is the patio of the place we are staying at with Brian, Jen and their friend, DJ. To say I’m excited would be a vast understatement. Can’t wait for the break from reality and to experience new cities and cultures with the hubs. I promise to post pictures and anecdotes when we return. 

Come on over!

Well it's about time, but we finally got patio furniture so we can truly enjoy the wonderful weather we have in Sacramento. When we moved here last summer we were super excited about our backyard and the lack of humidity (remember we came from hot, humid Knoxville, TN). So the first thing we bought was a BBQ. In fact, I was so excited about the grill that I ordered it online during our cross country drive so it would arrive as soon as we got into town. We bought a Weber soley because I was obsessed with their commercials. Proof that marketing does work!




Did you watch it? We got the one that the cute old lady and the red head were dancing in front of. And yes, we have as much fun grilling as they do in the video. And now we can have even more because we now have outdoor dining furniture!

Last summer we searched and searched and couldn't find any outdoor furniture we liked for less than $1,000. We thought it was because it was late in the summer so there were slim pickings in the stores. Then this spring we started shopping around again and still didn't love anything in our price range. Turns out we are just picky. But we finally settled on a set and are thrilled with it. The table is exactly what we pictured. And while we didn't think we wanted wicker chairs, the ones we got look pretty sharp and are actually very comfortable.

Bounce is keeping an eye on the new dining set.

Ugh. Can't get this picture to turn upright. Please just tilt your head to the left to view properly.

So now we're ready for guests. This was a much needed addition to our home here because our kitchen table is crammed in a corner and can only seat three people. We foresee using this practically all year with the cool breeze we get on hot summer evenings, the long Summer nights and almost year-round sunshine we have in good old Sacto.