In The Moment.

I had one of those moments tonight

where the gravity of how good things are

falls on your heart

and life just seems so precious.

I was sitting in a bubble bath

{pretty much my favorite time of day}

and suddenly got worked up.

Maybe it's the increase in hormones

or the big changes closing in on us...

but having this man beside me,

these crazy babies inside me

and family & friends that lavish us with support

makes me feel like a really lucky lady.

photo by Victoria Wall Harris

I know, I know

we aren't guaranteed what tomorrow will look like,

it could really suck.

But I don't like to live  

preparing for the worst-case scenario...

because it robs today of all it's goodness.

For this small window of time

...in this tiny flat 

that is gets increasingly crowded

with baby stuff, Tyler & I both working from home

and my ever-expanding stomach,

life is sweet.

Getting loved on by my friends at my Dallas baby shower.

Ok, now it's your turn to get all Pollyanna 

and look at this phase of your life 

through some rose colored glasses.

How will you look back 

on what is great 

about this stage of your life?

Go.

_________________________


PS. Congratulations, Heather Moore! 
Number #65 was the lucky winner for the giveaway
from Sunglasses Shop... and that was you!

Homeward Bound- The AK Movie

Today I'm flying to the States

for a short visit home

to be pampered by some really amazing women

who are spoiling our babies with showers.

{We feel pretty loved.}

I'm flying solo on this leg

until Tyler arrives later next week.

While that may seem pretty standard,

it's actually a thought that is rocking my world.

I've flown these long-hauls flights so many times alone over the years.

Whether I was flying home from a summer in Africa in college,

flying to/from a trade show in Italy for work,

or heading to the States while Tyler was in classes at Oxford,

I'm pretty used to doing this on my own.

So the idea that this will probably be the last time I do this journey alone 

for the unforeseeable future 

is kinda rocking my world.

I made this video last year 

for an American Airlines promo last year

and, for some silly reason,

it still gets me when I watch it.

Something about traveling, family, heading home, Coldplay...

well, it just combines so many things that I love in one short little clip.

Bon Voyage!

Is it bad luck to wish that for yourself? 

Oh well! 

With as much as my back aches while sitting these days, 
I'm taking all the self-prescribed well wishes I can get. :)

The New Term for An Aspiring Kennedy

After our big (and bigger) announcement last week,
I feel like I need to make a disclaimer here on my blog.

I know, I'm not showing at all. Hoping to graduate over the "ate too much lunch" look soon.

These little chunks are, undeniably, going to be a big part of my life
and Tyler & I are constantly chatting about what their addition in our lives will bring.

But I'm not expecting you to make them a huge part of your life, too.

 I'll try to keep my blog content generally the same formula.

European living + travel + love (family & friends) + spontaneous ramblings = AK

And when if sometimes I do overdo it in the months ahead
by posting too many baby pictures
because, instead of being in three countries that month,
I've only been to the mall and the park,
I know you'll be supportively indulgent for me...
and remember that I really don't want to be *that* girl.

I still want to be myself.

That chummy ex-pat girl who loves her husband,
feels lucky to have a job that meaningfully impacts her students,

wears too much fur and oversized jewelry,

 and constantly dreams of her next adventure & changing the world.

I'm just glad I get to share all of that with these two tiny souls.

Just a thought...

The other day I was having a really good talk with a dear friend.

Mind-blowing isn't it?

Girls talking over tea and apple tart tatins... with ice cream.

Ok, so that's not the interesting part of this post.

{Editor's Note: Until I arrive to said interesting point, 

enjoy some pretty pictures by the talented Victoria Wall Harris

taken in NYC for our 5th anniversary.}

The noteworthy part of catching up with my friend

was the articulation of a little idea

that has been bugging me in a big way lately.

It has to do with happiness

and the ever-seeking quest 

that people take to find it.

The thing is...

being happy isn't a destination that you suddenly arrive at

once you get everything that you've always wanted.

Nope. 

It's a choice that you make every day

to enjoy life as it arrives before you.

If you hold out for "happiness" to arrive

after something big happens,

you'll never find it.

Do you know why I think that is?

Because if you can't enjoy the small things in life

and be happy with the little moments & pleasures,

then you'll always be too bogged down to enjoy the really big wins in life.

Take today to find {authentic} pleasure in something simple.

Dress up something ordinary 

and revel in how good it can be.

Sleeping in.

Spooning someone you love.

Morning coffee from your favorite shop.

The ride to work in the sunshine.

A really good CD that you haven't heard since college.

A forgotten bag of jolly ranchers in your office drawer.

Whatever small thing that you can enjoy for "better than average."

Not only will it make today better,

but when you actually do strike gold in life...

it will be all the sweeter.

*all images by victoria wall and original to aspiring kennedy

The Olympic Opening Ceremony: LIVE.

Last night, we struck Olympic gold

and got to attend the opening ceremony

for the 2012 games here in London.

While I'm sure you watched them

and don't need a tour of what happened,

I am offering a peek at the ceremony 

from our view...

which was a view behind the big tree.

{Well, just above it actually... you'll see.}

So we got the park really easily.

{Bravo, London, for being so freaking organized. Public transportation was a dream.}

We breezed through security,

not because of a lack of screening

but due to the massive amount of screening lanes.

We wandered through the park 

got to giggle at what people were wearing...

... got to eat some bad food at the park

{which, I have learned, is a universal misfortune}

.... and then we kinda just wanted to go to our seats

and get this party started.

Who didn't love the Pandemonium scene 

when the English countryside

transformed into the industrialized city of London?

I got chills.

Then the NHS/British Lit part was fantastic...

Mary Poppins, Death Eaters, Captain Hook,

all of it was perfect!

{I was hoping that everyone in America stressing about socialized healthcare

paid attention to how happy the UK is about it

to have done a song & dance in it's honor!}

The Queen "parachuting" into the games...

the best Bond girl I've ever seen.

Tyler waving his "pixels" around during a light feature. They trained us before hand. :) 

The countries entry parade got, well, boring.

We didn't have commentators or commercials to help up through that one.

Then the flame was fantastic!

Beckham driving a boat?

The music?

The transforming torch?

Awesome.

And the crowd was pretty fun, too.

We made a few friends... like this guy, Ian.

{Who, as you may suspect, was off his head drunk.}

We didn't get home till almost 2:30,

but it was so worth it to have made such wonderful memories!

How did you celebrate the opening of the 2012 Olympics?

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

Olympic Sprint

The Olympics are almost here, y'all.

The 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

The Winter Olympics are pretty cool...

but let's be honest,

the Summer Olympics are the Mary 

and the Winter Olympics are the Rhoda.

(Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion reference, anyone?)

The city of London looks so great. 

In fact, I'm almost equally excited about enjoying London after the Olympics

when all the people leave and all the upgraded public spaces are "mine" to enjoy.

With the opening of the Olympic traffic lanes

and the pulsing addition of visitors to the city,

it's obvious that it's happening soon.

We have our tickets ready,

we've planned out our routes,

and all we need now are some temporary tattoos of American flags

and some face paint and we'll be ready to do this.

We scored tickets to four events:

water polo, football (read: soccer), women's field hockey,

and, as of today, the opening ceremonies!

WE ARE SO EXCITED.

If you are in London and need some tickets-
I have several to get rid of for July 31's game
where Great Britain's Women play Brazil in football! £60 each. 
Email me, if you're interested or share it with friends that may be in town!

I'll be instagram'ing (aspiringkennedy), facebooking & tweeting the whole time

if you want to catch an inside peek of the 2012 games.

Are you an Olympic fanatic

or are they nothing more than a disruption for your regular shows?

What events are your must-sees?

It's fun having cool friends...

... because when you have cool friends, 

you get to do cool things with them

instead of sitting around your flat

clicking through Suri's Burn Book, 

eating yoghurt that is past it's expiration

while waiting for your pants to finish drying on the radiator.

I mean not like I do that or anything.... 

at least, not every day.

A good example of this

was when I got to help Helena style her flat

for a shoot for The Everygirl.

And when I say "style," 

you realize that actually, basically, means:

eat almond croissants, chat up the photographer 

& root through Helena's make up & jewelry while she tried on clothes.

Yeah, it was super fun.

photos by lbk

Sarah Hogan, the photographer, was amazing.

Not only are her pictures fantastic, 

but she is way fun to work with...

like, I want to go buy a huge house,

spend tons to decorate it

get in disastrous debt...

just to give me another excuse to spend the day 

hanging out with her.

I stole a few shots from the piece to show off her skills...

photos by Sarah Hogan

So, go on.

Click through to see the entire shoot

and fall more in love with Helena 

for being the incredible mix of exotically fabulous

(Greek girl- raised in Spain- who went to French school & works in London?)

and completely down-to-earth

You'll love seeing how NORMAL her house is.

It makes me happy to see her pretty life showcased this way.

I, in the meantime, will be sitting here...

drinking a tepid cup of chamomile tea & moving files to my external hard-drive.

Seriously. 

Annnnnnd that is why I'm thankful to have friends that are actually not losers.

Straight to the Heart {Home}

As you might remember,

I'm a contributor to the UK's beloved 

Heart Home Magazine.

I write a quirky little diary of my life as an expat.

{Yes, as a matter of fact, it does make me feel pretty cool.}

The spring issue came out last week

and I have been clicking through it's pages 

whenever I have a free moment.

 I have to say...

they did a really great job.

It's all spring-y, English-y, & happy...y.

Honestly, reading it made me a bit homesick for England.

When you have a little bit of time,

flip through the new issue- I bet you'll love it, too!

A few of the highlights from reading it were...
drooling over the recipe for an Orange & Pistachio Cake (pg 24),
getting inspired to rent an English cottage for our upcoming break (pg 132),
& Tina Bernstein's floor level day bed decked out in Missoni prints (pg 98).

I hope you'll go check out the magazine,

and stop by page 124 to see my piece!

Sometimes It Is Okay...

Sometimes you might find yourself grumbling 

on what should be the perfect day.

You might be feeling the lack of sleep while visiting the Loire Valley...

You might be distracted by the massive to-do list awaiting you

 while trying to enjoy a glorious site...

You might find yourself feeling begrudgingly broke

while shopping along a parisian market...

and, sometimes, that's okay.

Because, the truth is, life is beyond the pretty veneer

of beautiful pictures & glamorous settings.

In fact, having a happy life 

really doesn't have anything to do 
with either of those things.

But sometimes, 

when you start wallowing in your own grievances,

you need someone to call you out

and remind you that life is, actually, really good.

Maybe this reminder can help you like it helped me!

*images original to aspiring kennedy

Paris in Black & White

Our friend, Ali, came to visit this weekend.

Ali works at Oxford...

she's brilliant, clever & stylish

 in the most perfect English way.

She also throws one heck of a Robert Burns night.

Not only do I feel smarter after being around Ali,

but she has the most amazing circle of friends

that I get to glean off when I'm with her.

This weekend, Ali showed me around Paris.

Yes, that's right...

even though I am technically the one living here.

She's just cool like that.

Ali took us the Musee Rodin

to see Rodin's famous bronze statues...

Since the museum was closed and only the gardens were open,

we were let in to roam for free.... we had such a good time,

we stopped for lunch in the garden cafe. Yum.

we took a quick lap around Les Invalides ...

headed toward the iconic tower 

you may know as "La Tour Eiffel..."

broke for tea at the anthropological museum, Le Quai Branly,

which might possibly be my new favorite spot for afternoon lounging...

and went on a walk highlighting the French Revolution with Ali's friend, Clea...

a Canadian grad from Oxford who's an attorney in Paris.

{Yes, as a matter of fact, I did feel like a total ding-dong sitting beside these two women.}

We ate, we laughed, 

we talked about topics that made my brain swell...

and all-in-all, we had such a good time.

It made me miss my friends and our life in England.

I do love that place and the people we know...

daily life is so pleasant there.

But for the time being, 

I'm quite enjoying this place, too.

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

Confessions of a Brat- Paris Edition

Yesterday was Valentines Day,

and I was in Paris, France
with my dear love.

Everything about that sentence is perfect.

I have always loved Valentines Day.

Even though I never spent it with a boy

{until the first year I was married},

I've always reveled in the idea of one day

being all about love.

My parents always pampered us

with a card, some candy

& my mom's yearly dinner 

of heart shaped meatloaf.

After I returned from teaching my off-site class

with an armful of flowers & a enormous macaron cake....

{Editor's Note: If you ever teach in Paris, assign your students

to take you on a "date" around Paris on Valentines Day. 

Maybe one of my finest moments in lesson planning.}

Tyler had arrived from a quick trip to London

 and was waiting for me to start our day together.

He wanted to take me back to Guerlain

and pick out a perfume for myself.

How sweet,

but unfortunately, it was late & the store was closed.

Optimistically and feeling all lovey dovey,
we opted to head towards the Opera

and visit Galleries Lafayette instead.


In case you haven't heard of Galeries Lafayette,
just image Harrods gone French.


It's gorgeous, massive and the ceiling looks like this...

We happily strolled through the main floor 
and upon visiting the Guerlain display,
were disappointed to not find the perfume 
we had originally fell in love with a few weeks back.


We can find something else,
we said in agreement
 and continued on through the store.


As I found replacement treasure 
after replacement treasure,
Tyler repeatedly shook his head no....

I was picking things that he thought were too expensive,

and I was getting frustrated with the guidelines of 

"Pick whatever you want..." except for anything that I actually picked.

Our carefree attitudes soon melted away
and all that was left an annoyed brat 
weaving through displays and plush designer displays
and her dismayed husband trailed behind.

image

We didn't end up getting anything.


We headed straight on to dinner
via of the metro in silence
feeling completely annoyed at the other.


{Why is he so cheap?}


{Why can't she be thankful for a gift?}


We both eventually got over it
with a distraction of amazing food
& fun night talking to just each other.


The gift expedition was a fail...
and as I thought about it today,
I realized how ridiculous it was 
for me to get so annoyed.


For goodness sake, 
I used to get giddy over this holiday
because of grocery-store confetti and 
heart-shaped meatloaf with ketchup arrows drawn on them...


How could I not have a good attitude now?


I guess when so many things are going well,
it's easy to start picking at some of the smaller things...
which as luxurious as it may sound, isn't something I strive for.


Yes, I think I've adjusted my attitude back to "non-crazy,"
but I don't think any of these items I found last night 
are out of the question for being completely awesome.


Maybe if I can't call them my own,
we can at least enjoy them here on my blog. 

Guerlain perfume | Chanel No. 5 | Goyard wallet | Miu Miu wallet | Yves Saint Laurent scarf

Make Your Life Better: Volume 4

It's time again. 

One more round of me pulling on my bossy pants

and telling you how to live your life.

{I do love this special time.}

After being in France for a few weeks,

I've got several opinions

that I absolutely can not let you ignore.

These are more than just suggestions...

these are lifestyle changes.

Let's start with the crepes, shall we?

I know, I know...

nutella & banana is the classic order,

but until you try this crêpe,

 I tell you friend, you have not lived.

They grill the almonds. 

They grill them.

It's just... 

Well, just promise me you'll try one.

Valentine's Day is approaching.

I know some people out there don't like it, 

but we are going to have to agree to disagree on this day.

I have big feelings about this holiday,

and being in Paris, may only deepen them.

This picturesque restaurant hidden in the 14th
 is what Parisian Valentine's dreams are made of.

Le Coup Chou is the dreamiest destination for dinner in Paris.

Each cozy room is oozing with fabulous understand beauty...

and please don't mention the boeuf bourguignon or creme brulee,

I might get emotional.

Dinners start at €26 for two courses/ €32 for three.
Reservations recommended.

Flowers are so expensive on Valentines Day,

but if you're going to spend the money

 (or have someone else spend it on you)...

why not invest in a gorgeous handmade arrangement by Diane James?

No more complaining about just throwing them out in a few days,

these beauties are there to stay!

Finally...

you need to check out Dalani if you live in the UK.

It's our long-answered prayer to Gilt Home.

It's amazing, and I'm dying over today's sale on Liberty Stationery.


***


Ok, bossy pants off.
Pajamas on.


We are headed out of Aix-En-Provence tomorrow
and back to Paris to get settled...


That's when the real fun begins.

crepe image via, le coup chou image via