been there. done that.

with the Olympics coming to a close...it reminded me that we were actually at the Olympics once. 
WELL...at the location of the Olympics...many a year after they were held there. BUT still pretty amazing to think!!!

above we're in Barcelona, on our Honeymoon in October 2011:)

PS. i miss our honeymoon something bad...videos to come cause I want to reminisce:)

p is for packing...

and procrastination:)

SO I just know at 1AM (after a wedding reception we have that night), the morning we're supposed to be leaving for Chicago...to begin our honeymoon...to Spain...with only a carry-on bag (one for me...one for him:)...I'm going to be in my room, clothes piled to the ceiling on the bed, chocolate milk on the dresser and How I Met Your Mother reruns playing in the background....BEGINNING to pack for our 26 day stay in Portugal/Spain.

uh, yeah. That's how I roll.

BUT that doesn't mean I haven't found some inspiration along the way...or that I haven't designated this Sunday as Practice Packing Day:

- try on outfits (so that I can pack as minimally as possible and still have ALL that's packed work together:)

- pile ALL paperwork together (passports, printed airline ticket/receipt, and randoms - plastic bottles, bags, outlet shiat:)

SO yeah...so much to remember and there is NO room for error. None:) Kinda:)

photos courtesy of A Sorta Fairytale - what I'm loving is the middle girl. Crossover bag, rolled up jeans/capris, sneaks and a nice light sweater. Yep. Need this outfit in Spain for our walking about days:)

photo courtesy of Embarrassment of Riches - i could pretty much just replicate this entire situation.

photo courtesy of Embarrassment of Riches - again...perfection in packing happening here!

and then there's my sad attempt to bring it all together....hmmm. Going to go home and give it a go!!! I'll report back:)

10 - TEN - 10 - TEN daysssssssss:)

today's likes:)

sometimes it's a bit trying to get a post in EVERY day...on EVERY fun/amazing/pretty/awesome/interesting thing I run across on the Internet.

so here are some of Today's Likes:)

i went to Vegas once with the BFF. I'd like to go back. Now that I'm 21:) A lady trip would be fantastic!!!

Julie Harris Photo Blog - first off, beautiful work. Speechless. Love her style. But this pregnant bride is so perfect.

Running on Happiness - that Vegas trip mentioned above. Can't wait for some short trips...hopefully next year:)?!

Le Fur Coat - i believe she's from WI, originally...currently in Paris...and she'll be at Fashion Night in Paris while I'm eating my first meal with my new husband:)

Moto Mercado - our honeymoon is going to be such an amazing adventure. We're a huge mixture of emotions about it. Scared (shitless...for real yo') and beyond words excited (see thesaurus - excited;). But we want to do anything we want and try things, even without mom and dad there to guide us:):)

That means renting a teeny car and/or this teeny scooter. Doin' it!!!!

enjoy:)

student/teacher.

last night we had our first Spanish Class! Ahhhhh! It was mucho bein...I think?;)

as you can see...this doesn't come naturally to me. It apparently does for Jacob. Can I hate him for being SUCH a great student!? Grrrrr;)

regardless. It's been SO fun. So far. Things I noted from our first class:

1/ already, clearly, found who the kiss asses are (there are a few...Jacob is one of them;)

2/ the woman behind me can SHUT IT!!! When the professor says 'repeat after me'...she clearly means...'repeat AFTER me'. Completely screws me up when she's saying it with the professor. I will blame this biatch if I fail miserably.

UP pigg's going to be a problem. Mostly cause she looks better in a class room than I do and she's very dark skinned. I don't know how...but I feel this will help her 'feel' more Mexican and in turn..speak their native tongue more easily;)

UP did I mention I love being in class with Jacob?! After passing this to him...I realize he takes class VERY seriously. I'm still waiting on a reply;)

Oh, and the only reason I wrote 'do you STILL love me' is because on the way to class he claimed that I ask too many questions...therefore annoying the SHIT out of him.;)

in conclusion. After 1.5 hours of Spanish....I have nothing solid to report, except that:

1/ Jacob finds me constant questions...annoying.

2/ unfortunately, annoying people also take Spanish (besides me;)

3/ our professor seems pretty cool...

4/ i'm more pumped for the honeymoon. Didn't think that was possible:)

the beginning....of the end?!

trying a new blog header...sick of that old one and needed something a bit simpler....

and HOLY hell...it's freaking 10 minutes to 2AM. Which means the likely hood of me pulling my ass out of bed by 9AM for coffee with sisters...seriously unlikely. Boo:(

POINT: thoughts on the new header!?

obviously, I'm not a pro with these things but I know that something simpler is for surely me. Giving it a shot for a while and in these wee hours of the morning, I even threw around the idea of changing the name of the blog all together.

Once the wedding is over, I've questioned whether I'd keep the blog going...BUT then I figured I'd leave it be so that while Jacob and I are in Spain, peeps can follow here, if they'd like, to see what we're up to while on our Spain adventure:)

i'm going to give myself 30 days. The 30 days between the wedding and Spain. In that time...I may rename and start something fresh...more related to our lives and not so much our (old news) wedding;). OR I'll get us through Spain and then...you'll have to get your kicks...and fbombs...elsewhere:)

night...morning:)

sevilla to cordoba.

Honeymoon Part 2: Sevilla to Cordoba

below are photos of Cordoba, Spain, courtesy of Trip Advisor.

both Cadiz and Cordoba seem to have a lot to offer and I think it'll just come down to what time we get out of bed that morning and which direction we feel like going.

Cadiz is 1-1/2 hours South and Cordoba is about 1-3/4 hours North.

to the shore or inland is the question:)

UP i haddddd to add this photo. If I would have been there...I would have done a slow clap for her. To be that unaware of the issue with her lady parts and where they belong in that dress...priceless;)

sevilla to cadiz.

over the next few weekends...or depending on how parents are doing on their own, raising their children, today...I may get a ton of honeymoon research done. AND I'm going to make you suffer through it with me:

A. because I'm allowed to have my laptop at work with me after hours

B. Jacob's currently out of town so you're the next best thing

C. I do what I want.

Honeymoon Part 2 - Sevilla, Spain to Cadiz, Spain

below are all photos, courtesy of Trip Advisor, of Cadiz, Spain. At the moment I'm trying to decide between Cadiz and Cordoba. They are 2 cities within 2 hours of Sevilla, where we'll be staying for 5 days:)

omg.Oh, my God.omg. OMG. Yeah. Sometimes it really doesn't hit me that we're going. For real. Spain. Big plane across much bigger body of water. A world away from my mommy and daddy, with a boy who is easily distracted by...shiny objects....

I can't waitttttt!!!!!:)

i plan on people watching from this EXACT location, drinking a moderate...healthy...amazing tasting amount of wine.

View Larger Map

sevilla is towards the top of the map and then you head south about 1-1/2 hours to Cadiz.

lisbon to lagos.

i decided to give my hand a break from writing out checks for the wedding and come up with some ideas of what we can do while we're on this amazing honeymoon of ours.

I'm surely not 'planning' anything...but I've been searching for ideas of what we can do while we're at each location and then we'll kinda just figure the rest out when we get there. Like how we'll get to these fun/beautiful places that I found online.

the photos below, all courtesy of Trip Advisor, are of Lagos, Portugal. It's about 3 hours from Lisbon, Portugal. The first stop on our Honeymoon.

my idea for this possible day trip - Lisbon to Lagos - would be to rent a car and drive down the coast. I've found that renting a car is very close in cost as riding the bus. SO why not rent the car and be able to have a bit more freedom!?

now...these photos are amazing and they're straight from traveler's just like us. BUT if you want to see why I wanted to come to Lagos in the first place, check out W+E Photographie. If it weren't for the way she captured Lagos, I would have nothing to do with it;)

and below is the trail we'd take in our compact rental to Lagos:)

View Larger Map

want it friday.

i feelllllll as if I'm not being spoiled enough as of late. And by that, I mean:

I WANT A LOT OF SHIT AND I WANT TO GO BUY IT FOR MYSELF AND I WANT JACOB TO BE COMPLETELY SUPPORTIVE OF THIS...even encouraging;)

besides all the history and beauty and fun and amazinggggg-ness we'll be exposing ourselves to in Spain...blah blah;)

I can't WAIT to do some shopppppinggggggggggggg!!! And I know for a fact there are some Zara's over there that are patiently waiting to be violated by 'yours truly':)

photos via Late Afternoon

the bag...Skirt...AND top are all from Zara:) Yum.

View Larger Map

and above is a map, courtesy of Google Maps, of the walking directions from our hotel in Seville, Spain (2nd stop on our honeymoon:) to the nearest Zara. It looks like we're walking across country but it's actually a 10 minute walk.

the best 10 minutes of my lifeeeeeeee;)

you got to click it.

after reading a post on a new adorable blog I found, Bower Power, I realized there's a SUPER easy way for me and Jacob to get great photos that include us while overseas!:)

Notes on Photography

UP/DOWN hopefully we can spare you the over abundance of self shot photos - 'arm out in front' ...arg.

and then there's always the timer...ahhhhh...'didn't quite make it' shots;)

Jupiter One

UP/DOWN and then after hearing from Bower Power that they used a camera remote for their most recent vacation...HELLO!? Why didn't we think of that!? And the funny thing is...we will have a remote cause we're purchasing one for our little moch Photo booth for the wedding reception...der.

Amazon

and the most ridiculous part...this thing is about $16. Awesome. It's already on the list...so I'll be working on crossing that off very very soon:)

my packing tip.

Shabby Apple A Day

the only words you need to know if you, again, need help packing...for Italy...OR any amazing vacation:)

And besides that, it's a fun read!

below is what I see for me and our trip to Spain. Although I'll need about a million more things for our longer trip. BUT something like this may work. Anything else I need...I'll just get along the way:)

Honeymoon Look by cmzimmerman featuring tall leather boots

Paul Joe long sleeve dress
$1,605 - net-a-porter.com

Marc by Marc Jacobs yellow dress
685 EUR - stylebop.com

White Verve shirt dress
$249 - frockaholics.com

Acne top
30,450 JPY - mirabella.jp

Moschino striped sweater
$695 - net-a-porter.com

DAY Birger et Mikkelsen silk top
499 DKK - musthaves.dk

Rag Bone crew neck sweater
$255 - lagarconne.com

T by Alexander Wang scoop neck tank
$128 - kirnazabete.com

Twenty 8 Twelve skinny jeans
$81 - theoutnet.com

BCBG Max Azria maxi skirt
$78 - revolveclothing.com

L Agence ruched bikini
50 GBP - farfetch.com

American Eagle Outfitters bandeau bikini
$40 - ae.com

Alexander Wang tall leather boot
$695 - mytheresa.com

Christian louboutin shoes
369 EUR - unger-fashion.com

Sam Edelman gladiator sandal
$100 - nordstrom.com

Wedge heels
$79 - jessicasimpsoncollection.com

J W Hulme leather shoulder bag
$690 - lagarconne.com

Kirra Socal Beach Bag Kirra
$17 - pacsun.com

Unfortunately, there's about 3 things on this list I can actually afford. OR I could cancel our Honeymoon and buy all the things listed. They're aboutttt even in price with our entire honeymoon;)