A Girl's Trip / London: The Main Sites

At the beginning of this month, I had the privilege to meet two of my best friends on the other side of Europe. Our girls trip started with 4 nights in London and ended with 4 nights in Paris. And it was wonderful. We were able to explore these 2 amazing cities and have plenty of girl time...a perfect trip in our book! 

Prepare yourself for way too may pictures and way too many details. But, this is like my journal and I want to be able to come here and remember each moment. Hopefully, it will help those of you too who might be planning a trip in the future as well!

Our first full day in London was packed full but in the absolute best way. We started our morning off with the hotel breakfast and then made our way down to Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guards. This was a really neat and crazy experience. There are people everywhere, and I mean everywhere. There is a lot of pushing and shoving going on...it is a little insane. Even though we only arrived 45 minutes beforehand we were able to get a decent spot and see parts of the ceremony. It is a very big ordeal as you can imagine and it was worth the time and crowds you have to endure. And Buckingham Palace? Well, it is just beautiful.

Meet my travel buddies and incredible friends, the beautiful Lauren and Holli...

Afterwards we made our way to Big Ben, the House of Parliament and Westminster Abbey (my fav!). It is so nice that these are all right next each other and it is such a beautiful area! Before our first stop, we of course had to take a picture in the traditional phone booth....

And the whole time I couldn't get the Parent Trap out of my mind, well really the whole trip. Anyone else?? I associate that movie with London and since I was a little girl have dreamed of visiting. So to actually be here...it was a pinch me moment, for sure.

After admiring Big Ben, we then made our way into Westminster and oh my goodness it was spectacular! So, so beautiful and intricate. We did a little audio guide tour through the Abbey and really learned a lot. One of my favorites was walking where Kate walked when she married Will! I know I should say the history and beauty was my favorite part (and it was incredible) but I would be lying if I said seeing where Kate and Will got married was not pretty darn cool.

Once we finished admiring Westminster...we made our way to lunch. We went to a pub (you have to eat pub food in London!) recommended by a friend and had amazing "pies" (think savory deliciousness) and mash. It was so good and just what we needed after a long morning of site seeing!

The rest of our afternoon was spent walking around incredible neighborhoods like Soho, Covent Garden and Piccadilly Circus. And we happened to stumble onto Oxford Street which is so fun and filled with the best shops.

It was New Years Eve so that night we made our way to a pub and then club to ring in the New Year!

Thanks to a new friend, at the stroke of midnight we were out in the streets of London to watch the fireworks...they sure put on an amazing show.

Whew! Day 1 was a long one and definitely our most busy...but oh so good!

Along with the rest of our trip, later in the week I will be sharing my tips and tricks for London as well. Our favorite restaurants, neighborhoods, where we stayed and so on. So stay tuned!

Linking up with Bonnie.

My Routine, Good Reads and GREAT News.

Happy Friday! I did not mean to take a break from this little space but I did and now I have so many fun things I need to share! Our girl's London/Paris Trip, some fun ideas and some New Year "goals". So stay tuned...next week I will be back in action!

For today, let's play a little catch up...

O N E | A Routine
This week, Rob and I have been slightly lazy. Well, more so me. Rob practices twice a day so I don't think that counts as lazy. I on the other hand, have been relaxing quite a bit. My routine for the day...wake up, go workout (so that's something!), come home, eat breakfast/lunch, catch up on shows, nap, cook dinner, read and do devotional and then maybe a movie or more shows. Ridiculous, right? As I have mentioned before, this is a very rare time in life. Here in Poland, I have no job and really no responsibilities right now...which sometimes I feel guilty for but then I remind myself to soak this in. I know, this rare time will quickly be gone. And I get to spend loads of time with this guy...which is just the best.

{from our trip to Warsaw}

T W O | Productivity
There are a few things I do every day (well most) to be somewhat productive...workout, read and do my devotional. These things are very important to me. So during this season of life when I have an abundant amount of time, I am trying to form good habits and do these things daily. That way, I am building a good foundation and will be able to continue to do them when life gets busier and crazier. Which brings me to a couple of books I am currently reading. First, The Gifts of Imperfection...

It came highly recommended by a friend and I see why. It is very good and honestly life changing. I will fill you all in more when I am finished. The second book, is my devotional that I just started this week. I am in the very beginning stages but I am already hooked. It is called Devotions for a Healthier You and is by Katie at Dashing Dish. I am huge fan of her and her blog, so when her devotional came out I knew I had to try it.

T H R E E | Inspiration
A favorite blogger of mine, Mint Arrow, posted this on her instagram the other day and I found it to be so true and so inspirational...

F O U R | Movies to See
This week, the Academy Award Nominations were announced. Last year, Rob and I saw every (but one) Best Picture nomination before the awards. And this year? We have seen none, zero, zilch. But we are hoping to change that and watch a few this weekend. Which nominations have you seen? Any recommendations?

F I V E | The Great News
Now the best for last...my GREAT NEWS! Drum roll please...we finished paying off my student loans!!!! We submitted our final payment yesterday and it feels SO GOOD. I graduated 1 year and 8 months ago (seems like so much longer) and our plan all along was to pay them off as quickly as possible while still  making sure we saved money to travel as well. It feels so great to have stuck to our plan and accomplished both. I know this is not the most "fun" news in the world...but for us, we are ecstatic and fully plan to celebrate this weekend!

I am so grateful you stopped by, today. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! I will "see" you  next week!

Linking up with Oh Hey Friday, Meet at the Barre, Five on Friday, Lauren and Jennie.

Five on Friday / 1.9.15

Happy Friday, friends! I returned home from my girl's trip late Wednesday night after having the best time. I was so sad to leave beautiful Paris, London and my friends, but also so glad to be home and reunited with Roberto!

As you probably have heard...there was a shooting on Wednesday in Paris. Thankfully, my friends and I left that morning before the shooting occurred. What a horrific and very sad situation...saying many prayers for those who lost a loved one and the city of Paris.

On a lighter note...let's get a little Five on Friday started.

O N E
London and Paris were both unbelievable. Best friends, 8 days, two incredible cities? It was pretty perfect. I have missed my best friends so much and a girl's trip is just good for the soul! I am so very grateful for this trip with them! Stay tuned...next week I will start recapping our adventure.

T W O
Last year for Rob's birthday, I got him this One Line A Day book. And with the new year starting, I wanted to share this with you all!

 Last year, before we started to fill it out.

It would be a perfect way to start your new year. On a single page there are spaces to write what you did/inspiration from that day, there are enough spaces to do that for 5 years. So we have one full year filled and have started the second year. It is so fun to see what we did on the same day of the previous year. And to think at year five we will be able to read little snippets from the past four years...that just makes me giddy! We love this book. It is so fun to remember little moments and always brings a smile to our face. It is such a fun way to document your day to day to life!

T H R E E
Earlier this week, I shared a little interview I did with the husband. And it turned out pretty darn fun! So if you are interested in getting to know Mr. Lew Party of Two or just need a good laugh...check it out here.

F O U R
I think one of the highlights of our girl's trip was the night in London we went to afternoon tea and then to see Wicked. I was so excited to do both and they most definitely did not disappoint. Tea was just so cute and everything you would imagine it to be and Wicked (really my first real show) was ah-mazing. Headed to London soon or in the future? These two events are a must...I will share more details next week!

F I V E
Have you heard this mash-up?? Oh my...so good!! Do yourself a favor and listen to it ASAP. {If video below doesn't work, click here to watch!}

So glad you stopped by today. I hope you all have a fabulous and fun weekend! We have a very relaxing one planned...which is the epitome of fun in our book :)

Happy Friday!

Linking up with Oh Hey Friday, Meet at the Barre, Five on Friday, Lauren and Jennie.