!feliz ano nuevo!

happy 2006!

i have to say, 2005 was a pretty amazing year.

our wedding. J selling the company. moving to london. meeting new people from all walks of life. traveling.

and, i couldn't have imagined a more fitting way of ending the year and ringing in the new.

my mom & sister came out to visit us in london. mom was here for a week and adri stayed for 3 weeks total.

it was so great so show them our world and the life we've built here.

they experienced taking the tube. walking everywhere. hopping on red buses. walking down our little streets. new smells. multiple languages. the crumbly entrance to our red-brick building. the long haul up the stairs to our cozy flat.

of course, i did my best to have the flat in tip-top shape. hung a great photo montage from the wedding. framed some travel posters. bought yummy throw pillows. and decked out our living room and mantle with christmas gear.

it was a jolly time. we did all the tourist favs -- madame tussauds, london eye, natural history museum and tower hill. we caught a friday evening showing of mary poppings (loved it!) and sampled amazing indian, thai and italian cuisine.

i loved to see my mom's face light up around every corner. i'm so glad we were able to share such a memorable christmas together.

then, my sis stayed on for new year's and a few more weeks in london.

we took the chunnel to paris and landed at a beautiful hotel (www.tablethotels.com) from our fav website. met up with dear friends from dallas ... L is 5 1/2 months pregnant -- so amazing to see. i want a belly, too!

[side note: we're trying for a baby, and it's so much fun! i'll keep you posted!]

most of our time in paris was spent in the st. germain de pres neighborhood, buying chocolate crepes from street vendors and sitting in quaint cafes eating croque monseiurs. it was super chilly, but we enjoyed walking on the river, to notre dame, the louvre and the orsay.

we spent new year's eve night at a funky morrocan-style restaurant. amazing fixed menu. great friends. fun resolutions. around 11:30pm, we booked it to the eiffel tower and watched it twinkle at the stroke of midnight. we then made our way to the champs-elysee and back to our hotel to enjoy a yummy bottle of champers at the bar.

we caught a performance of vivaldi's four seasons on new year's day ... we're thinking this might be a nice tradition to start.

we said our goodbyes to L&C and heading back to london the next day. i miss them so much. L&C have the amazing ability to energize and excite ... loved traveling with them and ringing in the new year with their new bump!

wooh - so much more to say. taking a breather for now.