Monday Morning Thoughts

It's Monday morning, and I am in one of the best moods! Mostly because it's a 4 day week, and Christmas is this Saturday!!! I attempted to finish my Christmas shopping this past weekend, but it was all in vain. 

We went to the Mall, and Michael tried to make things better by saying that dealing with the crazy crowd was part of the "Christmas Spirit." Aww how cute, but Honey, let's face it - we are the losers who decided to wait the last minute, and we are just facing the consequences! 

We had a pretty low key weekend, and it felt good to relax. Sunday, I cleaned up our apt because I am having my girl friends over for dinner tonight for a little pre-Christmas dinner; and we watched the Falcons game. Yes, they won! Yes, they are 12-2. And YES, they are in the playoffs! I am so excited, and really really really hope they make it to the Superbowl - but I am not getting my hopes up just yet. 

Oh Matt Ryan...how I love you! via

Needless to say, I am not done, and I still have a few things to get. Luckily, I don't need to go back to the mall for these, so I am not as worried. I just hope I will be done before Christmas Eve! 

I finally got the chance to upload some of my pictures from France. It turns out I took a lot more family pictures, than I did of Paris - I'm sorry!!! But for those of you who are still interested, here are a few :) 

 My cousin Yoran, and his daughter Mahau

My cousin Ellie - yes, she is going to break hearts!

 

Michael and I at Atlanta Station in Atlanta

Did I mention that I got to see my favorite singer, Raphael, while in Paris?! (I'm sure I did before I left - if not, shame on me!) Every time I go to France, I check to see if he is going to be in Paris at the same time - and the last couple of years, I always missed him by a week or so. 

This year, he came out with a new album in September, so I knew he had to be touring when I'd be in France. What do you know, for the first time EVER - he was playing in Paris while I was there! My cousin bought be a ticket as soon as I found out, and I got to go see him. I have to say it was one of the coolest things I've done in the last couple of years. 

I know, it's a concert - not THAT big of a deal, right? Well, it was for me - because I have a huge fan of Raphael for 6 years now, and I had never seen him play live. I stood there, about 10 feet from the stage, and felt like a little girl when he came on stage. I watched him play for two amazing hours, singing a mix of his new album and some older favorites. He sang my favorite song (I mentioned in one of my Music Tuesdays here), which of course left me speechless. Is it corny for me to admit that I even had tears in my eyes!? 

It was probably the highlight of my trip, and one of the most memorable moments of my life. I'm sure for those of you who are music lovers out there, you understand what I am talking about. His music, his lyrics, and some of his songs just mean so much to me; that finally seeing him live just made it all real. 

I hope you all have a GREAT Monday - the countdown to Christmas has officially begun!!!

Fill In the Bank Friday

This is it ladies - we are officially one week away from Christmas Eve! Needless to say, I am starting to feel nervous because I know that I have SO much shopping left to do, and I am dreading the parking lot crowds! 

With that said, I just have to make through one more day of work before I can sleep in, and spend some time with Boo this weekend. I requested a "no plans" weekend so that we can start finish up Christmas shopping in time to cheer on our Falcons this Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. Yes, this is true, the Falcons are 11-2!!! 

Enjoy this Friday's Holiday themed fill in the blank :)

{photo via Thompson Family Life via weheartit}

1.   Giving is  what the holidays are all about. There is nothing better to me than seeing the faces of the people I love while opening their gifts. I always wait until everyone is done opening gifts until I open mine!  

2.  Receiving is   nice too...although now that I am getting older, I get a lot more pleasure out of spoiling my niece and seeing her enjoy the magic of Christmas. I think I enjoy getting gifts more on my birthday now - it just feels more special :)

3.  The best gift I ever received was  oh gosh...as a kid, anything Barbie related could make my day. But I remember one Christmas when my parents went crazy, and bought me the house, along with all kinds of accessories for all my Barbies! As an adult, I'd have to say that the best gift I've received so far has been my engagement ring :) :) 

4.  The best gift I ever gave was   I am honestly drawing a blank on this one - I feel like always try to get gifts that reflect the persons personality...they might not always be the best gifts per se, but I know that they are the best gifts for that person - if that makes sense!?

5.  Something intangible that I wish I could receive is    singing talents. I have absolutely no singing talents, and I would give anything to be able to just break out a song at any given moment (you know, just like the Glee cast! )

6.  Something intangible that I wish I could give is   patience. I wish more people took the time to take a step back and realize that sometimes, you just have to let time go by for things to happen/to get better/or simply change. I feel like most people expect things immediately - but most of the time, you just gotta work hard, and stay motivated, and good things will come to you :)

7.  The one gift I always wanted as a child, but never got was   one of those mini-kitchens. You know the ones that are almost your size when you are a little girl...gosh I wanted one of those so badly!

HAVE AN AMAZING WEEKEND!!!! 

I Swear I Am Still Alive

I'm really upset with myself for not taking the time to update my blog lately, but I promise you, I have not had one minute to myself ever since I came back from France. I still haven't uploaded my pictures, I have not started our Christmas shopping, and I still have SO much to get done at work before the holidays. 

I came back to a ton of work to catch up on, followed by our month-end close week, and I've been so tired at night that I have not had the energy to get on the computer at home. My weekends haven't been light either, which is another reason why I have not started my Christmas shopping - I know I'm going to regret this when I am fighting for a parking spot at the mall this weekend.

I won't go into a lot of details, but to give you an idea, here are a few things that have happened since my return from France: 

My younger brother Kevin turned 19, my niece turned 4, my soon to be brother-in-law David turned 27, my cousin Jordan turned 18 one of my good friends Amy got engaged while I was in Paris, and asked me to be in her wedding; oh and...guess what...I have found my wedding dress!!!! 

Happy Birthday Lil Brother!!! 

Happy 4th Birthday my love!! 

(yes, this outfit is from Zara, and I was pretty much wearing the same one - no I am not brainwashing her...yet!)

Happy Birthday Gregors!

Happy 18th Dadou (Jordan, and his mother - my cousin who is battling cancer right now) 

Congratulations Amy and Kyle on your engagement!!! I am SO excited to be a part of your big day :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I know this doesn't sound like a lot, but let me just say that I have attended all of these birthdays, and have managed to stay sane during yet again another crazy month-end close at work. Is it possible that I ALREADY need another vacation!? 

At least, I took the time to put up our Christmas tree, and decorated our apartment for the holidays. I cannot wait for next week - we get the Friday and Monday after Christmas off - so happy about that! I'm ready for family time (which I missed while being in Paris during Thanksgiving), some good foods, fun presents, and spending time with my other half, because I really feel like I have neglected him these past few weeks. 

Our tree - with Hannukah colors for my mom :)

Oh and check out Michael's parents AMAZING tree!!! 

I love the stocking she had made for us. 

And as for the wedding dress...well, you will just have to wait! All I can say is that it was love at first sight, and I cannot wait to be able to show you pictures!!!

Ahh can you tell that most of these are mobile pictures?! I seriously need to take the time to upload my pictures! 

I hope you are all doing well, and getting ready for the holidays! We are so close!!!! 

XOXO

Home Is Where The Heart Is

I made it back from France in one piece (Dad's words), and oh how good it is to be back. I was only gone for 11 days, but it felt a lot longer. It might have been because this was the first time I was in Paris, and felt homesick. 

For the longest time, I called France (Paris)  "home"; because it is where I grew up, where I spent the first 16 years of my life. I moved to American 11 years ago, and for the first time, I realized that as much as I wanted Paris to still be my home, Atlanta is now where my heart was. 

I had not been there in two years - and this time, I felt it. I felt different there, almost like a stranger? I'm not sure, but I can tell you that there was a different feeling. I forget what it is like to live in a big city, with people walking around everywhere, and the fast paced life they live. I have to admit I felt like I was suffocating at times. I was missing Atlanta, the tree, the outdoors, and that feeling a personal space that I felt did not exist over there. 

I'm not sure whether or not it is related - but it was so cold, and so gray all the time, and people just seemed unhappy. No smiles, no friendly faces; just a lot of stressed people who seem angry with life - it made me a little sad. 

My dad kept telling me that Paris has always been like that, but that I am just now old enough to realize these things - I guess so?

Of course, I had an amazing time in Paris - who wouldn't? I spent some much needed family time with my grandmother, my uncles/aunts and cousins. I walked around the streets of Paris despite the freezing temperatures and the snow, and I managed to eat amazing foods and do a little bit of shopping :) 

 

I have not gotten the chance to upload all my pictures yet - but I promise I will very soon. I went to work the day after I got back, and between the large amount of work I needed to catch up, and the jet lag, I have not had time to do much. I did decorate our apartment, and put up our Christmas tree (pics coming soon). 

I am slowly trying to catch up on all your blog posts, prepare for the holidays, get ready for our month-end close at work, and between all this, I still have a wedding to plan! Can you say busy?! 

On an exciting note - I am going to look at wedding dresses with my Mom tonight - I can't wait!!!! 

I HOPE YOU HAVE AN AMAZING WEEK!!!!

Home Sweet Home

I just felt like I needed to stop by and let you know that I am leaving for France today :) 

I will back in 10 days! I hope you all have a wonderful and amazing Thanksgiving!!!! 

XOXO

Wedding Wednesday!!!

It's official - the very first Wedding Wednesday post is here!

I am really excited, yet a little overwhelmed about this new weekly post. Not because I am not sure what to talk about, but because I feel like there is SO much I want to say - and I am not sure where I should begin! 

First of all, we have set a date: Saturday, October 22nd 2011. We have a little less than a year to plan a beautiful wedding - and I can't wait to get started!

The first thing I wanted to share with you is our venue. Yes, we booked it 5 days after being engaged. Yes, I might have had it in mind for months, and just needed a ring to finally go see it. And yes, we fell in love with it even more when we saw it in person. 

For those of you who are familiar with Atlanta, the place is called Sandy Springs Heritage. It is this little park (or I like to call it little gem) hidden in the middle of a busy part of Atlanta. The park itself is not too big, and has a historic house, bricked areas, a covered deck, an area for a cocktail hour, and this gorgeous gazebo. 

We are planning on an outdoor wedding; however the venue has a lodge style room that we can use is somehow, Atlanta is hit by a tornado the day of our wedding. I did some research, and October is not only the most beautiful month in the south, it also has the least amount of rain. Let's keep our fingers crossed! 

I am confident that we are going to do something amazing with this place. I feel like we will basically have our own little park that we can set up any way we want - what more can we ask for. 

Fall has always been my favorite season, and my goal was to find an outdoorsy venue. I knew immediately after looking at pictures on the website that this was it. I didn't have that feeling of wanting to look at other venues "just in case" anymore, so I knew there was something special about this place. 

Our colors are a mix of Orange/Cream/Taupe/Bronze. I originally wanted Orange and Gray, but I feel like brownish tones will look a lot better with this place. 

So here were are - we have our venue booked. This is such a relief, especially before I leave for France! 

Music Tuesday

In the spirit of my leaving for France next week, I chose a French artist for your Music Tuesday.

You may have already heard of her, as she is actually Johnny Depp's long time companion/girlfriend. I have listened to her since I was little, and saw her evolve from her teenage year, to the beautiful and talented woman she is today.

 

She does modeling for Chanel, and she has starred in many French movies. Oh and did I mention she is pretty much married to Johnny Depp??! So yea...she is pretty much one of my idols!

The song is called Il y'a (There Is) - and she sings about the challenges and obstacles that we face through our lives and how we approach them. It is one of my favorites from her newer stuff. Enjoy!!!

I HOPE YOU ARE HAVING A GREAT WEEK SO FAR!!!!

27

This is true. I turned 27 years old yesterday, and all I know is that I am now officially closer to the big 30! 

I wanted a low key weekend with good friends, and family, and it was perfect. For one, I am still under the "I just got engaged and I am too excited to focus on anything else" spell - and two, I feel like the older I get, the more I enjoy intimate celebrations. 

I went to the last GSU home game on Saturday, followed by a nice dinner with friends. We ended the night at Betsy and David's apartment. It was a lot of fun, even though I had one too many shots! 

Sunday was my actual birthday. With the time change, we were up pretty early, and decided to stay in for breakfast. I watched too much 90210 on Soapnet, then Michael and I watched the Falcons win against Tampa Bay - woo!!! 

After the game, we headed over to my parent's house where we had a nice family dinner, and the traditional birthday cake. I got a new black purse (finally!), some clothes, and gift cards to go shopping - what else can a girl ask for?! (I will post pics soon). 

Haha obviously my dad was not ready for the pic!

All in all, it was a good birthday. I got to spend it with all the people I love. 

I hope you all had a GREAT weekend!!! Happy Monday!!!

Fill In The Blank Fridays Are Back!!!

 As promised, I am back, and so is your Friday Fill in the Blank. I missed it, and I missed all of you! 

Thank you SO much for ALL your sweet messages about our engagement, the ring (YES I am obsessed with it!), and all your sweet congratulations - they really warmed my heart! 

1.   My last haircut was  November 2009. Believe it or not, I was having a bad week, and Michael and I had a fight. My mom is a hairstylist, so I have never actually BEEN to the hairdresser - but I went over to my parent's house and said: just chop it all off! 

2.  My most daring hair moment was  Spring 2004, when I decided to try hair extensions. I loved it for the first couple of weeks, but after a while, the hair was just too heavy, and I got tired of it. I did LOVE the feeling of having long hair though.

3.  A hairstyle I'd never be brave enough to try is  anything shorter than a bob. I have curly hair, and although it's thin enough to straighten, the humidity in Atlanta would make it look like I have a permanent fro! 

4.  I've always dreamt of being a (blonde, brunette or red-head): honestly, I love being a Brunette. I wouldn't change my hair color because I have olive skin and Jewish genes...so anything lighter would look silly on me!

5.  My go-to hair do is  well if I'm trying to be comfy, I usually put it up in a messy bun, with a little poof on the front and hair clip. But usually if I go out or anything, I like it down.

6.  My biggest hair disaster was the one and only time I tried highlights. They came out yellow, and it was absolutely awful. I had to dye it twice over to even get the yellow to fade away - disaster!!!

7.  A hairstyle I am dying to try is  well, with my hair being SO thin, there isn't too much I can do with it. But if I could..I would definitely try the braided crown.

8.  My best hair day was  this one time when I actually straightened my hair THEN curled it. I've tired to re-do it since, and I have yet to accomplish the same result

9.  The worst hairstyle I ever had was before I learned how to straighten my hair, and had curly frizzy hair all throughout Junior high.

10.  My hair is  thin, curly, and there is not much I can do with it. It took me a long time to accept that, and manage accordingly. I dream of better hair EVERYDAY!!! 

Of Course!!!

As promised, here are more details about what was the most amazing moment of my life so far!

First of all, I was completely taken by surprise. Yes, we had talked about it, and yes, I may have said a few times that I couldn't wait to get engaged, and YES, I may have started looking at wedding blogs well before I knew I would get engaged. Still - I had no idea it was coming.

It was last Thursday, and Michael had decided the night before that we should go out to eat at Maggiano's so we could try their "buy one, get one free" entrees. I was actually pretty excited because I love Italian food, so I barely ate all day Thursday in the anticipation of some good pasta.

I came home after work as usual, and put on E! Right as Michael got home around 6pm, this show called "What's eating you?" came on, and I said I wanted to watch it for a few minutes. It was one of the most disturbing, most depressing shows you could ever watch - and here I was, watching this awful show while Michael sat there, more nervous that he had ever been in his life, secretly praying for me to change the channel.

Finally, I changed to ABC Family, where we caught the end of "My wife and kids." Now listen, we never watch this show, and I'm not even sure what made us watch the end, but we did. At the end, I sat closer to Michael to give him a kiss, and cuddle with him for a minute before going to change for our "dinner" reservations.

I actually caught the bouquet at our friend's wedding last June!

We kissed and cuddled for a few minutes, before Michael said: "Remember that wedding venue you mentioned before? We should go see it sometimes"; of course, I wanted to have a "smart" come back and responded with "yea...but we gotta get engaged for that!" (and yes, there is possibility that I had kind of a "yea right" snotty tone to it)

That is where my life changed. Michael answered with: "Well July, Will You Marry Me?"

There was a split second when I realized he had pulled out a ring, that he had proposed, and that I was completely speechless. I had no words and before I could finally say something, I busted into tears.

After two minutes and Michael saying: "you haven't even looked at the ring yet!"; I finally answered "Of Course I Will!!!!"

I can't describe how magical, and amazing the moment was; and how much it meant to me. It was perfect because it was perfect FOR us. I always hope for an intimate proposal, when it would just feel like the right moment, and he could not have done it any better way.

So here I am, newly engaged, overwhelmed with happiness, and looking forward to planning our wedding. We chose our date, and will be getting married on Saturday, October 22nd, 2011. YAY!!!!

I promise not to let this blog turn into a wedding blog, and will limit myself to one wedding related post a week! So be ready for some Wedding Wednesdays updates!

Thank You so much for all your sweet messages - they honestly made my day!

Psssst

I'm just stopping by for a "pre-post" because I wanted to share with you some BIG NEWS!!! 

I believe everything in life comes in full circle, and I feel like October was an overwhelming roller coaster of emotions. I also believe that with all good comes some bad, and vice versa. 

It has not been easy to accept, and deal with my cousin's illness, but seeing her so strong, and motivated to fight for her life has given me a whole new meaning of life. I have faith in her, and her will to fight this cancer, and stay with us as long as possible - and I just admire her for it.

This was the bad - the very sad, heartbreaking, even life changing news that we receive earlier in October. With all bad, you need some good, because that is the true balance of life, right? Good vs. Bad - Black/White - Life/Death. 

Well, last week, on Thursday, October 28th 2010 at exactly 6.28pm, the most amazing man asked me to be his wife, and I said YES!!! 

It is true ladies, I am engaged! This is the GOOD in my life right now. What makes me realize that even when you feel like everything is wrong - you still have to live your life, and embrace it, because it IS your life to live. And Michael showed me that. I feel so blessed, so lucky, and so thankful to have met such an amazing man. 

I am still on cloud nine, and I am just soaking it all in! I am trying to get my thoughts together so that I can start the planning, and figure out where to begin! But let me tell you - this is by far the coolest, most fun, most exciting, and simply the most amazing feeling I have ever gotten to experience - and it is only the beginning. 

Now I know...it won't be easy, and planning a wedding can get a little crazy. But I know Michael, and I know myself - we are good so good together because we just love living our lives without too many complications. I know we will stress, but I also know that we will always be able to bring each other back to reality! 

OK - I guess this is a little more than a "pre-post", but I don't have pictures yet, so I will make sure to post these later tonight! And of course, I will have to tell you HOW he proposed!

I hope you are all doing great, and that you had an amazing Halloween! 

Happy November lovelies !!!

This Is The Life

I hate to stop by only to let you know that I have purposely not taken the time to blog these past couple of days. 

It has been a rough week to say the least - and to be honest, I am not sure that I have the words to truly explain what I am going through. We just found out that my cousin (who is also my Godmother) has breast cancer, and it has spread to her lungs, and her uterus. It is tragic, and I am speechless. The doctors will not perform surgery, because it is too late, and they do not want to put her into more pain than she is already going through. 

My heart is broken, and for the first time in my life, I feel absolutely powerless. I have spent the last couple of evenings at the hospital with her, with my aunt, with everyone. 

My family has always been very close, and live together on a daily basis. Even though I moved here from France, there are 32 of us here, and it feels like we all live in a big house altogether. What happens to one, happens to all of us. 

What scares me the most is that it is only the beginning, and the hardest part has yet to come. All I can think about is the fact that we are going to lose her within the next couple of months - and my heart is just breaking into a million pieces. 

 

I apologize, because I know this is not one of the happiest posts - but I had to say something. I did not want you to think that I had just abandoned my blog. I hope you are all having an amazing week - and please, take the time to tell your close ones you love them. We truly take life for granted sometimes. 

I promise to be back very soon. 

XoXo 

July

La Mer

I have come to accept that I am turning 27 in less than a month (sigh), and I am starting to think about a few things that I would like. Honestly, I feel like the older I get, the less I actually care about gifts - but I know my parents - and no matter how old I am turning; there will always be a birthday dinner, birthday cake, and of course a gift or two. 

Lately, I have been obsessed with La Mer watches. They are so unique, and I wouldn't mind getting something a little different. 

Here are my favorite models - I am torn between the second and last one. I think I will end choosing the one that my mom likes the most, because let's face it - I still like to have my mom's opinion for little things like that :)






check them out here

What do you think? And what do you usually ask for as a birthday gift?!

Music Tuesday

Last week was a bit (A LOT) hectic at work, so I didn't get around to it, but I promise that I did not forget about your Music Tuesday.

Have you seen 500 Days of Summer? I actually really enjoyed that movie, even though I felt so bad for Joseph Gordon Levitt; but Zooey Deschanel is so good in her role. I think I love her in any movie though - she is just too cute.

There is a scene when they are both in the car, and a French song comes on. I remember jumping off my seat when I first watched it, because it happened to be one of my favorite songs.

The singer is Carla Bruni, and believe it or not, she is the First Lady of France. She is an Italian model, gone actress, gone singer, gone political. Nevertheless, she has managed to stay classy, and she is so loved by all my fellow French peeps.

Here she is with out First Lady - via

The songs is called Quelqu'un m'a Dit (Someone Told Me) . It is a romantic, yet sappy song just as we love them! So check it out, and let me know what you think :)

via

I hope everyone is having a fabulous week!!!