Home Sweet Tea... or Home ;)

I arrived back in the States on Sunday evening. My flight home was less than pleasant with a young boy kicking and hitting the back of my seat the whole trip home. All 10 1/2 hours. I even turned around and asked him to stop three times. Longest flight EVER, especially by myself.

Sunday evening I spent time with my family and my sweet nephew who is now walking and talking some. Crazy! When I was home for Christmas, he took a step or two and fell. It is crazy that he is now running all over the place. My favorite thing, though, is that his favorite phrase to say is "I love you." Melts an Aunt's heart!

Yesterday, I ran around town running a bunch of errands. Of course I stopped at Chick-fil-a and got a dose of sweet tea and a couple of chicken fingers. Mmmm I missed American food!

Overall, I've been having a pretty good time. It would be so much better if Jason was home with me right now, but he will be here soon enough. I can't wait!! (Miss you lovey!!)

This weekend is my bachelorette party in NYC. It's gonna be so much fun! We have so many fun things planned and of course I get to see some of my very best friends. I will definitely post pictures!
Until then...I hope you all have a very Happy Easter!!

Tomorrow Morning

I am off to catch a plane back to Atlanta! I have so much to do when I get home but am so looking forward to our wedding next month. So next time I post from Salzburg, I'll be a married woman. Crazy! :)

Hen's Night

Last night my lovely friends in Salzburg threw me a Hen's night, which is English/Australian for a bachelorette party. They dressed me up in crazy props, we played silly games, and had a fun night out on the town. I am honestly so blessed to have met such a wonderful group of ladies. I'm sad that I will not see them until June. What a great last night out in Salzburg as a single gal.

Can't believe the next time that I see these girls, I will be MARRIED! How crazy is that?! :D

Out of Place

While running errands around Salzburg this morning, I noticed the car in front of me had something that was out of place. Can you tell what it is?

Being that I am quite forgetful, I could see myself doing that in a couple of years. I thought it was kinda funny, so I had to post. :)

Snow? Really?

Yep, you guessed it! Today, it was snowing in Salzburg. It's so crazy because it has been in the upper 60s/70s for the last couple of weeks. I knew a cold front and rain were coming in this week but I didn't think it would actually snow. I'm a little bummed out because it is my last week in Salzburg until we return after our wedding. I was really enjoying walking around and sitting by the river in the sun. Oh well!

In other news, I will be home back in Atlanta on Sunday. Jason will be following me a couple weeks later. I can't believe the wedding is almost here. Ahhh! Super stoked!! :)

Typical Monday

Mondays here are my least favorite day of the week. It is my designated wash and grocery shopping day- two things that I am not very fond of. Usually I have the car on Mondays, making life a little easier.

This morning, as I started my routine early this morning, I went downstairs and started the wash. As I was about to put the first load in the dryer, I realized that it was not working (after it ate several of my coins). Since I leave for the States on Sunday, and I have 6 loads of wash to do today, I had to get it done. So, this is what my kitchen now looks like. I still have two loads of wash left, so I hope some of this dries real quick!

Of course, as I was grocery shopping last week, I almost bought a drying rack (since I had the car) so I could dry some items upstairs. I am now kicking myself for not doing so, especially since I don't have the car today and can't go out and pick one up real quick.

Happy Monday!

Celebrate!

Tonight we had a girl's night. There were 9 of us in all. I love nights like tonight because I alway learn something new and our topics of discussion are all over the board. One topic really interested me and I just felt like I had to share how I felt afterwards...

One of the most amazing things about living abroad is experiencing people and their cultures. I had never thought about it before but in general, people here actually CELEBRATE. They celebrate holidays, birthdays and life in general. I know that you are thinking, "hey, we do too!" But no, you don't celebrate like they do here. I'm talking real celebration here people- where the men sing and dance too and show real emotion (and aren't ashamed of it), where people kiss each other on the cheeks as a greeting, where you have to look each other in the eye when toasting a beer, and where people close their shops on Sundays so they can spend time with their family.

I don't know what it is but living in Salzburg has really opened my eyes to the beauty of life and in other people- perhaps it is the lovely group of friends I have made, but I honestly don't think that explains it all (but it does explain a lot!).

I guess what I am trying to say is that we should all try to CELEBRATE more. Don't sweat the small stuff. Take a vacation from work every once in a while for no reason but to spend time with the ones that you love. Because at the end of the day, it is only those people who will be there for you no matter what. Trust me, I know. It doesn't matter where you are or what music is playing... just DANCE!!

This is a picture of the jukebox at the restaurant tonight. Just looking at it and watching it play made me realize that sometimes it's the simplest things in life that can produce the most happiness. X

RIP Lexie

Lexie was Jason's dog. When we moved, she went to live with Jason's parents at their buffalo ranch in Missouri. She was two years old and had loads of energy. About two weeks ago we got an email from Jason's Dad saying that Lexie got hit by a truck. She didn't make it. Such a sad day for us!

So this post is for you, sweet Lexie! We love you and miss you pretty girl!

God turns clouds inside out to make fluffy beds for the dogs in Dog Heaven, and when they are tired from running and barking and eating ham-sandwich biscuits, the dogs find a cloud bed for sleeping. God watches over each one of them. And there are no bad dreams. -Cynthia Rylant

Spring in Salzburg

It was a gorgeous weekend here in Salzburg! It was in the lower 70s with the sun brightly shining. We couldn't have asked for a nicer weekend!

Saturday afternoon Jason and I walked up Mönchsberg, which is a hill right near the castle. After reaching the top we sat down for some beers at a nice restaurant  in a lovely location with a gorgeous view of Salzburg. There, some of my friends met us and we sat for hours talking and enjoying the sun.

That evening we had dinner with some of my friends and their husbands. It was a great time to introduce all the guys since all of us girls have been hanging out for weeks. Jason jokingly said that he felt like they were all being set up on a blind date of the sorts. I thought that was hilarious! We all had a great time!

Sunday we had a lazy day. After breakfast we walked down to the river and laid out in the sun. We played cards, listened to some good tunes, and enjoyed each other's company.

A couple sunburns later and the weekend was over! Where does the time go? On a happy note, we are coming home in 13 days. I can't believe it! See you soon Atlanta!

Painting

I decided to surprise Jason (and myself) with a painting. I have never painted before and figured why not. Being in Europe really does bring out the artistic side in you! After walking down the cobblestoned streets and seeing people playing music on street corners and painting in the middle of town, how could you not want to give it a go?

Now, it's nothing to write home about but I guess you have to start somewhere. So here are pictures of how it progressed...