Saigon Saigon Rooftop Bar: A Last Birthday in Vietnam.

A great last birthday in Vietnam. We gathered at Saigon Saigon Rooftop Bar in Caravelle Hotel, the former watering hole and daily briefing location of the war correspondents, to watch the sunset and sip some fancy cocktails. When it opened in 1959, the Caravelle was the tallest building and the bar overlooked the capital.

 The sunset, the company, the cake, and the happy hour prices made for a delightful birthday evening. Thank you to all those who were able to join in person or in spirit!

Birthday Blues.

I've been celebrating this guy's birthday for five years now; 4 of which have been in person. I strongly believe that there are few, if any, other people in this world that I have shared that many in-person, on-the-day, celebrations with throughout the past five years.
Turns out the more you move, the more friends you get, but the less amount of days and special occasions you get to be a part of. So, I relish this tradition with one of my favorite people in the world.

Also, I got my nails done at Fame before heading to Mike's birthday dinner at Khoi Thom; the nails have nothing to do with Mike, but I think they look great.

Sights of Frankfurt's Christmas Market.

Love our Christmas tradition of drinking mulled wine in ceramic mugs while taking in the particular place's authentic Christmas decor, crafts, and foods.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Pristina.

Photo by Alicia English

Feeling Thankful.

This weekend, I'm thankful for a hand to hold while strolling through a Christmas market.



For homemade pumpkin pie made from fresh pumpkin.



For views of mountains and fresh air.



For Neptune's flair.



For afternoon dates that include spritzes.

For seeing a new city, Padova. 

For strangolapreti soaked in a savory butter sauce.



For trains with outlets and wine.

For cannoli that melt in my mouth and make my heart sing.

For Bambino and Italian sweets.



For Christmas cheer already in the air.

Happy Thanksgiving from Italy!

Happy Thanksgiving.

In Kosovo, preparing for Thanksgiving means making-do with no canned pumpkin.

Grateful for friends willing to take-on the creative cooking challenge to whip-up a delicious Thanksgiving spread and for my very charmed and full life.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Queen's Day. Soon to be King's Day.

Happy 75th Birthday, Dutch Queen Beatrix!

And Happy Throne Day to Willem-Alexander!

{And of course we did put on our orange clothing to cheers our Heinekens to the House of Orange-Nassau!}

I Love Birthday Love.

Love notes and care packages are definitely the next best thing to spending time with the ones who love me best.

So grateful for friends and family --near and far-- who make my birthday amazing every year.

It's My Birthday!

On my 31st, I woke up to pouring rain and our inn keeper knocking on our door hosting a smile and a candle topped cupcake.

{Best customer service ever?}

Susan continued the shower of birthday love with some presents all the way from America including a twenty dollar bill from my parents and some "chill pills" from my BFF, Emily Broyles.

While enjoying my presents and eating breakfast in bed – the cupcake and a chocolate covered Fiber One bar – my sister and I realized that my birthday date this year – when written European style {31/3/13} – is a palindrome.

Put your seat belts on because clearly my birthday is going to be a wild ride.

;)

Spring Break Equals Susan and Relief.

As much as I love my job, I really love my vacation time too.

And this year, I personally feel that I have really earned my Spring Break.
 Because this year, I have had to deal with seniors who refuse to stop farting, seniors who repeatedly ask if we're on page 69 -- even though I've just stated that we are on page 112, seniors who throw gum on the floor, and seniors who tell me "but I paid to come to this school, so I just GET to pass."
And on top of all of the insane antics of my seniors, I also have one class of baby freshman who make fish faces while I'm teaching and never use periods. Ever.
I mean, I promise that I NEVER became a teacher to yell at children every day; I really wanted to inspire.  To motivate.  To help kiddos love to read; to make boys want to grow up to be Atticus Finch; to wipe away tears while explaining the importance of Leslie Burke's death; to encourage students to write down the stories that are floating around in their hearts.
But lately, I've begun to think that "yelling at children" is my entire job description.
Which breaks my {whole} heart, but, good news, not only has Spring Break 2013 arrived, so has my sister.



So, to blow off everything that is driving me nut-zo at my day job, we headed to Nom Nom, a favorite happy hour location for some "high-on-life because your long distance best friend is in town" beers and cheers.
And, suddenly, I can't stop smiling.

Pink and Red Party.

It's Valentine's Month so, I invited all the ladies over for some girl time, some sweet snacks, and some cocktails.

Many things were learned this night.
Like that Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip is the best thing in the world.

And that you should never let this girl do your nails.  

Even when she swears she can draw great flowers.



And that you can use a heart-shaped candle to roast marshmallows. 

And that these girls are hilarious and provide some excellent girl love time.



And that Alexa looks like this after a few glasses of wine.

And even though the night got a little blurry, all ladies left with a homemade sugar scrub, a pink or red nail polish, and some euro-movies aka illegally downloaded or bootleg films sold in actual stores as though they are legit pieces of merchandise.

{It's just how they do.}

Merry Christmas!

 Nothing says "Christmas in Germany" like a beer garden and a pretzel and a horizon lined with Baroque churches.

Nuremberg For Christmas.

Christmas Market Dinner.

Brats and Gluhwein.

I heart Christmas in Europe.

Hello, Munich.

An excellent commencement of Christmas Break 2012!