this weekend, kacey and i took a little babymoon to san antonio, san marcos and fredericksburg, texas.

friday night, we found a fabulous sushi restaurant in san antonio where we ended up eating two nights in a row. it was so yummy, and i was a good girl and stuck to the cooked rolls.

saturday, we drove from san antonio to fredericksburg, a quaint little german town, and popped in and out of the shops including this cute one. for lunch, we dined at rathskeller. it’s a cozy, easily missed restaurant that’s located in the basement of what use to be a hospital. after, kacey grabbed a german beer at the fredericksburg brewery, and we continued strolling along main street. we happened upon this amazing german structure in a little park area. wonderful right?

sunday we headed to san marcos, had lunch at center point station and headed over to the humungo outlet mall. i think i spent an hour at the pottery barn outlet trying to decide on bedding and drapes for the nursery. after much going back and forth, i ended up just getting a mobile. it’s cute and was a great deal.

we had such a great + relaxing weekend. how about you, what did you do this weekend?

enough with this cold weather. right now, i wish i were here…

and while i’m at it, i’d like one of these…

followed by watching this…

ahh, i feel warmer already!  |  pics via our maui vacation taken in november of 2008.

this time three years ago, kacey and i were enjoying our honeymoon in st. lucia. care to come along as i reminisce?

for the first three nights on st. lucia, we stayed at ladera which is a magnificent resort that’s very open to nature. it has the most breathtaking views of the pitons and caribbean sea. everywhere there is this beautiful rich wood, and lots of it is carved.

although the suites & villas are close, each was super private and quiet. at night we only heard the sounds of nature and babbling water from our private plunge pool.

each suite and villa at ladera has only 3 walls. the 4th is an “open wall” allowing for uninterrupted panoramic views.

ah, and then there was the beach! such a beautiful beach!

ladera was very laid back. it was like we were on nature’s time. no phones. no tv. yes, there was internet, but it was on one computer near the open air reception area. it was a place to go for peace, quiet and inner reflection. it was the perfect calmness we were seeking after the whirlwind of the wedding.

Are you as excited about Autumn as I am? It’s my favorite season. For us, so many celebrations happen in the fall. My birthday. It’s when we got engaged + our wedding anniversary. Plus, all the yummy scents + colors of the season. I love it all.

So, how was your weekend? I was busy doing a bit of work, but Kacey had quite an adventure this past week + weekend. He went on a road trip with his two brothers and his father to the Black Hills in South Dakota. They rented an amazing cabin high up in the hills. They saw Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Devil’s Tower and went to the Badlands National Park. I can’t wait to see pictures. I hope to share some with you when I do.

do you remember this post about irish butter and how i was eager to try the butter in paris? well, i was looking through my paris pictures and happened upon this one we took beneath the sparkling eiffel tower. the butter in france is good. real good!

as soon as we booked our flight to paris, one of the first things we did was contact jim hoping he had space for us at one of his legendary sunday dinners. he did, and it turned out to be a big highlight of out trip.

i can’t recall where i first heard about his sunday dinners, but most hear about them on npr. he’s been hosting these sunday dinners in his parisian home for the past 30 years. fifty to sixty strangers from all over the world attend each sunday. people meet, mingle, and connect all over a casual dinner. 

we met students. artists. teachers. doctors. all sorts of people. all different ages. different backgrounds. different races. from all over the world. everyone had a story to tell. and it was wonderful. it was truly an incredible experience.

in paris, we also dropped by muji which has several locations around the city. if i remember correctly, we visited the two stores on rue saint-sulpice. each of the stores there are different. the first we popped into focuses on fashion + office supplies. the first two pictures above were snapped there. the second location on rue saint-sulpice focuses on the home + travel supplies. the third picture above was taken in the travel section there. i’ve been a fan of their online store, so visiting muji in person was such a treat.