27Nov 2012

Paris Day 2 – Versailles

By K + Z 0 Family, Restaurants, Vacation Permalink 0

Sunday we decided to take a train to Versailles.  We both had been to the palace before, but we wanted to explore during the off season with less tourists.  I was nervous that going in the fall would be a disappointment, but I was dead wrong.

I have this weird love affair with French history – in particular, I adore Marie Antoinette.  I know, she kinda has a bad rep, but I wasn’t a French commoner during her reign, so I still love her.

The gilded gate, a sight to be seen all on its own.

The Hall of Mirrors.

After walking through the royal apartments, we stopped to eat in the cafe before we ventured outside to the gardens.  It was drizzling off and on for the majority of the day but luckily it stopped raining as soon as we were done walking through the palace.  The chateau is stunning, but the gardens are incredible.  True, the fountains weren’t on and the flowers weren’t in bloom – but it was still breathtaking with the colorful leaves.

We spent most of our time at the Grand and Petit Trianon – The Petit being my favorite.

We also explored the rest of Marie Antionette’s estate, including the farm.  If you were to ask Zach what his favorite part of Versailles was, he would tell you it was the goats.  He loves goats.

I love the structures at the farm, it reminds me of a fairy tale.  It’s a true fact that Marie Antoinette had this farm and its other buildings constructed so she could pretend to be a milk maid and escape “royal life”.  An interesting fact?  She had all the cows washed before she would touch them and would take lambs for walks using silk ribbons for leashes.  Her estate is my FAVORITE part of all of Versailles – truly extravagant and unnecessary, truly French royalty!

After seeing everything we wanted to see [and almost renting a golf cart to get us back to the chateau] we made our way back to the train station for Paris.  We went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in a public square near the Paris Opera House.  We ate here on our first trip back to Paris for first anniversary.  The only thing we could understand on the menu?  Cheese and chicken.  We got both of those things.

We stopped for a view of the Opera House on our way back to the Metro station.  It is so gorgeous lit up at night!

We ended our late night at McDonald’s so Zach could get a cone glace [an ice cream cone] this is, in fact, the only food item Zach knows how to say in French.  He says it with an authentic accent, too.  Amongst all the finest desserts and pastries in Paris, Zach wanted Mickey D’s.

Some things will never change.

26Nov 2012

Paris Day 1

By K + Z 5 Family, Personal, Vacation Permalink 0

Prolouge:

We had been planning this trip for our 4 Year Anniversary for months.  We were originally torn where we would go – but when your husband asks if you want to go to Paris – YOU SAY YES!  I said yes before he could change his mind, to be honest.  We both have been dying to go back to Europe, and so we made the arrangements and have been prepping for it ever since we booked our airfare.

We flew the direct Delta flight from Salt Lake City to Paris – not first class, not even comfort economy.  My boss told me, “You two are crazy for flying to Europe in coach.  It’s not even worth traveling to Paris if you can’t fly first class.”  Trust me, you can fly to Europe in coach – with the help of a neck pillow and a sleeping aid, of course.

We arrived in the city on Saturday morning.  We decided to try something new with the lodging this time.  We rented a small studio apartment near the Eiffel Tower.  It had a tiny office space, a kitchenette, a dining room, and a very clean bathroom.  It also was located near Laser Quest Paris, in case you were wondering.  The view was awesome, even with the fog that had settled in.

We checked out our digs, brushed our teeth, and set out.  We walked around our old stomping grounds.  We got a Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Light at our market on rue Viala, spotted our old hotel [where we stayed on our Study abroad trip in 2008] and walked along the Seine.

Paris in the late fall is a dream.  It was over 50 degrees our first day.  There were tiny French children everywhere bundled up in the most adorable and expensive clothing you ever seen.  There were still colorful leaves on the trees.  There were not as many tourists crowding the streets.  It’s by far my favorite time to go.

Zach thinks it is hilarious when people ask me for directions.  They are always disappointed when the gibberish that comes out of my mouth is English.  Either way, we love making friends, haha!

We made our way to the Eiffel Tower, where Zach got some “french fries”, and we walked through the streets to one of my favorite boulangeries – Lemoine to get some macarons.

On the way back we noticed that a Saturday market was still open and we walked through the tents.  There was vintage Mies van der Rohe furniture, piles of candy, china, books, and tons of vintage clothing.  We stayed there until dusk – it felt like Christmas shopping with the Christmas light banners strung across the alley!

On our walk to dinner we passed the tower again, right on the hour while it was illuminated with all the glittering lights.

Then we ate dinner at Pizza Amalfi – I have eaten here every single time I have visited Paris.  They have the most amazing Margherita pizza and pesto pasta.  I also have a crush on the old Italian man that owns the restaurant – he’s always there!

We stuffed our faces, drank some more soda, and ate our macarons for dessert.  Nutella flavor was my favorite – Zach had vanilla.  But are you suprised?

We decided to make it an early night, considering we were dealing with an 8 hour time change.  We cozied up in our tiny apartment, excited for the next morning.

 

16Nov 2012

Away We Go

By K + Z 1 Family, Holidays, Vacation Permalink 0

We are off to celebrate four years of marriage.  Paris – London – New York City.  We couldn’t be more excited!!

We plan to visit the Loire Valley in France, to attend some local sporting events, walk through our favorite museums, and indulge in way too much French food – note two things, please…let the record show that we are attending more than one sporting event on our anniversary and also that I only mentioned French food.  True English food is not my favorite.

Cities and sports…and we’re off!!

12Nov 2012

Pre Thanksgiving Party

By K + Z 2 Activities, Family, Holidays Permalink 0

We are lucky enough to share season tickets with Zach’s siblings and his parents again this year for the Jazz games.  This season one of the games we picked were the Jazz vs. Lakers.  Oh, the Lakers…the team we all love to hate.  The game was Wednesday night and you would NOT believe how many Laker fans come out of the woodwork.

Kobe himself – I have never seen him play in real life before.

Yes, we have matching jerseys.  We decided to make the investment because we will be attending a few more games this season.  And by investment I mean we spent $5 on XL child size jerseys with a player that just got traded.  We also felt like we were going to Sadie Hawkins – with the whole matching ensemble and everything.

I drove to work in a complete white-out this week – I couldn’t believe the snow!

Over the weekend we had plans to drive up to Zach’s cabin and stay with some friends, but our plans got canceled last minute.  So we improvised and decided to get some clam chowder at Market Street [as the storm continued] and catch a late movie.

The clam chowder was delicious – the movie? A little tip, perhaps:  NEVER go to a movie about a plane crash when you are about to board a plane in less than a week.  It was pretty intense.  We did run into some friends, however, and managed to sit next to them during the flick!  That was pretty much the only thing that wasn’t depressing about the film.

Saturday it continued to snow – and we awoke to this…

We attended a neighbor and friend’s baptism in the afternoon and then ran our errands afterwards while the snow took a short break.  I also completed all my neighbor Christmas gifts.  It is amazing how snow can get you into the holiday spirit!

That night, since we didn’t go to the cabin, my friends and I went out to dinner at Stoneground.  I love these ladies – some of my favorite people in the whole world!  It was so fun to be with them!

Sunday, since Zach and I will be gone over Thanksgiving, my family had an early Thanksgiving dinner for us!  There was everything – including pumpkin and apple pie for dessert!  We haven’t had an official Thanksgiving dinner in almost four years [because the holiday always ends up being on or near our anniversary] and we were so grateful to be with some family to celebrate the holiday early.

Even though there was a massive snow storm, some cancelled plans, and an epic stomach ache from consuming too much gravy and pie…this week was pretty great.  What are we thankful for?  To be blessed with amazing family and friends.

05Nov 2012

Girls’ Weekend in Costa Mesa

By K + Z 8 Family, Food, Vacation Permalink 0

It’s tradition in the Henderson family that the men go on a hunting trip and the ladies go on a shopping trip.  Or as my sister-in-law puts it:  “The men hunt for elk, the women hunt for deals!”  For the past three years we have gone to Orange County and stayed at a hotel near the South Coast Plaza – probably one of the best malls on earth.  The have every store imaginable – and more!

I flew solo to meet my mother-in-law and sister-in-laws late Friday night.  But don’t worry, I had company:  Kris Jenner sat across the aisle from me.

Just kidding.  But seriously…doesn’t it look JUST like her?!  I did the unthinkable and stared at her over and over – each time my eyes lingering too long.

And for your convenience, a brief overview of our weekend:

Staying up late talking + watching coverage of the election

Haagen-Dazs visits

Lunch at the Nordstrom Cafe

Browsing through Madewell and Zara, two of my favorites!

Relaxing and reading a fantastic book – thanks for the recommendation Angie!

“Hunting” for the perfect pair of winter boots

Walking through some of my favorite furniture stores

Margherita Pizza

Sleeping in

Watching a movie in our hotel room

Purchasing my new favorite winter coat

 Overall, I’d say we got the “big one” when it comes to shopping and dealing.  I even got a picture to prove it…

I know, I failed at taking pictures this weekend – and the ones I did take are not flattering.

On our way home, my sister-in-law Kristi and I sat across from a man who would not stop picking his nose and eating his findings, scratching his manhood constantly – I retract that statement:  DIGGING is the more appropriate verb, and talking to himself in gibberish.  Holy cow.  I’ve joked with Zach about writing a book on air travel (the dos and don’ts), but after this incident I think it should be mandatory for every passenger to read before they board their aircraft.  It’s happening.  There will be a whole chapter on why bringing ethnic food on a long plane ride is totally inappropriate.  Also, a small chapter on basic hygiene to observe before leaving for the airport.

I had such a fantastic weekend with these ladies.  Good conversation, great food, amazing shopping skillz, and the best company.  I love them all so much!  Thank you Jeanene for a great weekend with fun and family – already can’t wait until next year!

 

 

01Nov 2012

Henderson Halloween

By K + Z 3 Uncategorized Permalink 0

I’ll be honest – Halloween was not my favorite day this week.

Zach was finally coming home from Florida late afternoon Wed, and that was the only thing that was keeping me going through my work day.  Because work sucked.  It sucked so hardcore.  When 5:00 pm hit I finished up some pending tasks and then left the office.  Not even 15 minutes later, stopped [waiting my turn] at a stop sign – I got rear-ended.  I’m telling you, it was not my day.  Turns out this beautiful girl, who ran right into the back of my sweet Mazdarati, had been in another accident earlier this week.  I felt for her, seriously.  I have had my fair share of accidents in my short 9 years of driving history.  I was surprisingly calm, which shocked me because of the horrid day I had just experienced.

Then I arrived home.  I got to see my sweet husband – who assessed the damage immediately after giving me a big hug/kiss.  It instantly made my whole day better just to be with him.  I didn’t feel like going out anymore.  We had plans, but I begged Zach to cancel them and he obliged – so we ordered food, got in our sweats, and handed out candy to the darling trick-or-treaters while watching the Jazz game.

We barely had a handful of kiddies last year, and we weren’t prepared for this year’s turn-out.  We ran out of sugar sweets and started giving out snack packs of chips/Cheetos from our pantry.  Turns out pre-teens LOVE Cheetos, so that was a plus.

My favorite costume of the night?  Garret, our neighbor, in his T-Rex costume that he made himself out of cardboard and craft paint.  It was humongous and it had an ingenious design.  You stuck the candy in it’s mouth and it “swallowed” it into a pillow case of a stomach.  This kid is an artistic genius!

We didn’t dress up.  We didn’t attend any parties.  We didn’t even execute the elaborate spooky prank we had planned.  But after being apart from him for almost a week and a half (except a few days in between) – I was grateful to have him home.  So we were together, for the weirdest Halloween I can recall in my entire life and that was it.

Also, something that made me smile…only 15 more days until we leave for our anniversary trip.  I’ve never been more excited and grateful to see the month of November turn up!  Yes, we do lame count-downs on our kitchen chalkboard…