adventures of an american housewife in the south of france

I Survived the East Coast Love Tour and All I Got Was This Lousy Blog Post

This is just a quick post to let you all know that I'm alive!  Sorry that you haven't heard from me sooner, but I'm sad to report that my trusty ThinkPad has finally bit the dust.  Yes, I am computerless and writing this post from our old, ancient, dinosaur of a Mac which I can't use to upload pictures or watch Slingbox.  But I can type and go on Facebook, so I guess I'm surviving.  I'm hoping to get a new PC soon (suggestions welcome!!) but until then, you may not be hearing from me as often.  Try to hold back your tears.

sunset in Little Neck, MA. photo stolen from shawn & kate since i can't upload my own

We had an amazing trip back to the U.S. for what I have fondly referred to as, The East Coast Love Tour.  We went through 5 states, witnessed 2 weddings, 1 engagement and spent 12 days with some of our favorite people on this earth.  Highlights include:
  1. The Two Weddings, Of Course:  Both weddings were so beautiful, personal, and FUN!  There's really nothing better than watching people get married who truly complete each other, especially when good food and music are involved.
  2. A Peek into Friends' Hometowns:  Isn't fun when you get to see where your friends come from?  We traveled to Kate's hometown of Albany, NY, which although had some ghetto areas, was overall super cute with fun hotspots.  Matt's home "beach" town of Ipswich/Little Neck, MA was really beautiful once the rain stopped.  We got in a few beach days which was really nice.  I'm hoping to tell you more about each of these towns in a later post.
  3. Checking State #47 Off "The List":  Can you believe The Hub only has 3 more states to go before he's hit all 50?  We spent a very rainy day down in Providence, RI to cross that 4th to last state off the list.
  4. Discovering New, Local Wine:  While in Burlington, VT, my friend Tessa and I tried out a local wine made with Marquette grapes.  I must admit, I had sort of low expectations and they were wildly exceeded!  I'll be telling you more about this wine in an upcoming Hump Day post.
  5. Seeing My Old Apartment:  The Hub and I took a day trip to Boston to meet up with friends and reminisce about my broke-ass, post-college life in Beantown.  Even though I ran away from that city as fast as I could, it was really fun to see my old digs (well, the front door at least).
  6. Making a Target Run:  Since we unloaded a bunch of gifts that we brought for the wedding and to ship out to friends/family, we had a lot of extra room in our bags.  Room to buy things we can't get in France like shampoo that smells good and brown sugar.  We also managed to sneak in a bottle of Kraken and sixer of PorkSlap Pale Ale.  Score!
  7. Quantifying My Weight Loss:  Both The Hub and I have lost weight since moving to France (and for those of you who noticed and commented, thank you!) but I wasn't sure how much.  I finally found a scale in one of the houses we stayed in and learned that I've lost 17 lbs, which officially brings me back to 2009 wedding weight!  I can attribute this to a variety of factors, but mostly, we're definitely just living a healthier lifestyle here.  Exciting stuff.
  8. Stocking Up on Trashy Magazines:  It's true.  I've still been reading the US Weekly that covered the royal wedding.  Now I'm all caught up with the Kardashian wedding and Jennifer Aniston's rumored wedding/pregnancy.
So for now, it's back to the land of 85º and sunny (that's the forecast all the way into next week) with no air conditioning.  But after a mostly rainy East Coast visit, I can't complain.  I'm also happy to tell you that Figgy had a great vacation while we were gone.  The Hub's co-worker friend and his family baby-sat Figgy during the end of our trip and he had so much fun I practically had to drag him home.  I don't think he missed us at all. Thanks for bearing with me while I operate without my own computer.  I'll be posting when I can, so keep stopping by! À bientôt!

2 Responses to “I Survived the East Coast Love Tour and All I Got Was This Lousy Blog Post”

  1. Lindsay R says:

    1. i love that you got trashy magazines
    2. you can’t brown sugar in france?
    3. And goooood job and the lb. shed! That is impressive! way to go girl.

    Lindsay

    • Natalie says:

      thanks girl! isn’t it weird that brown sugar doesn’t exist here? neither do canned black beans (only dried), chicken broth (gotta make it yourself!) or frozen corn (you’re lucky to find it raw). i guess the french don’t like convenience ;)

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