I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends...

Here's a confession:

I still think of Keane 

as new to the music scene.

Coldplay concerts make me feel hip.

My life long dream is to see

Elton John + Billy Joel in concert.

(Also, this picture still makes me laugh. Viola = Elton John.)

To summarize:

I am a music scene failure.

I only know of good music

when my friends tell me about it.

In return for travel tips & pastry shots,

can you comment below with 

a couple of songs that you are really loving

that I should pay $0.99 for on iTunes?

(Remember, I'm cheap- so make that dollar count!)

*  *  *

Ready, 

Set,

Go.

Pack Your Bags: Carcassonne France

We were eating dinner tonight

and in the middle of my (second) bowl of soup,

a thought appeared in my brain

out of nowhere:

I never blogged about Carcassonne!

I'd been so excited to share 

this hidden gem

tucked in the Southwest of France

with you & the rest of the blogging world...

I edited the pictures,

I put them in a folder on my desktop,

and then...

well, honestly, who knows.

But here it is today!

Better late than never, right?

With a place this special,

the answer is: absolutely.

*      *     * 

It was about 1.5 hours drive

from where we were staying

(remember the crazy-gorgeous-yet-affordable Chateau Les Carrasses?)

to Carcassonne....

On our way towards the Spanish border,

I grew increasingly allured to drive

to Barcelona for dinner.

{Tyler did not, however, or this Carcassonne adventure would have ended here.}

All I knew about Carcassonne before arriving

was that it was a medieval city...

which, to me, meant

it was a city during the medieval times

and not today.

So imagine my surprise when 

we walked through the city gates

and then realized:

it's still an active/real place!

The flavor of the city

(and yes, I believe that cities have distinct flavors)

was undoubtedly French...

with strong Spanish notes.

A crepe stand would sit next 

to a store selling handmade espadrilles...

A cafe sign would have the price

for une biere & una cerveza.

It was one of those days in traveling

when you are left totally refreshed

even after a long day out.

The four of us

(Tyler, Lauren, Viola & our dear friend, Kyla)

wandered through the cobblestone streets,

explored the gorgeously preserved castle overlooking the valley,

and, obviously, ate enormous crepes

stuffed with nutella, coconut & almonds.

I've tried to say it in previous posts,

but I'll say it again:

the southwest of France

is one of the best-kept secrets there is.

Affordable, stunning, rich with history & gorgeous.

It's waiting for you.

*   *   *

More Southwest France posts here

for your drooling pleasure!

Chateau Les Carrasses | Baby's First Swim

On My Plate.

image

In busy periods of life,

people often remark

"Wow! You've got a lot on your plate!"

And yes, it's true as life ebbs & flows,

responsibilities tend to mount up

at some times more than others.

It seems that there is a unannounced level

of obligations & commitments

that we expect everyone to have.

The maximum, if you will,

of things going on

that one person can take on

before they start slacking 

in the others.

Do you know what I mean?

If someone is frantic,

others will always remark

at the level of busyness

that they have going on

and somehow surmise that

"they have a lot on their plate."

Or we offer to withhold tasks or invitations

because we assume that other's "plates are full."

But it seems to me

that not everyone has the same plate.

Just as each of us has different styles, preferences & passions,
so we also have tailored thresholds of sanity.

What's overwhelming to some is exciting for others.

What's constricting to one is ordered to another.

Some of us are better focused on less.

The idea of layers of events & to-do's

leaves us overwhelmed & anxious.

We can dominate and perfect

a smaller list

and that brings a lot of satisfaction.

The absence of loose ends
offers a sense of completion, 
that helps keep sanity in tact.

And then there's the other camp

who walks through life

like they constantly parading down

the Thanksgiving buffet line.

Weekends packed with social events? Of course!

Summers spent bouncing from here to there? Duh.

Homeschool all your children? Oh, that sounds fun.

And while there may not be precision in all of these endeavors,

there is joy found in taking them on

and doing your best at them.

So while I'm trying to figure out

how big my plate actually is

(I fear it may be more like a cafeteria tray),

I'm enjoying the ride

and feeling thankful for a husband & baby

who enjoy the craziness with me.

* * *

This post was adapted/stolen from one of Leslie's about a year ago.

I've been chewing on the idea ever since

and whenenver things get crazy,

I start to reevaluate the concept.

One thing I don't question 

is how awesome Anthropologie 

does homeware.

These plates are kicking.

A Random Afternoon in Paris?

Here's a question for you:

What would you do with a

random afternoon in Paris?

Because that, my friends,

is the question

I need answered today...
or tomorrow (depending on your timezone)

Early Wednesday morning,

I'm hopping on the Eurostar

and heading to Paris

for some work meetings...

but Ive got the afternoon & early evening free.

I'll get to spend some time 

with a super cool and amazing friend...

I'm hoping that the combination

of her amazing faith & foxy style

sat amongst the gorgeous autumn weather

and the charming Parisian streets

will be a good pick-me-up.

{Ye olde Aspiring Kennedy has had better years!}

But forget about the years...

let's just take one day at a time.

And the particular day

we need to focus on right now

is in Paris, France!

I've got a rough draft in my mind

of how to fill the time,

but I'm curious to hear 

what you would do

if you could spend an afternoon 

in the lovely city of Paris.

And yes, of course,

I'll be happy to eat a pastry for you.

And a Croque Madame.

And a crepe.

Because I'm just a nice person like that. 

{PS. I think I'm going to have to make a pharmacy run for some Bioderm. Who wants a bottle?}

Weekend Rambles

This week was a long, tiring week.

There was nothing bad about it,
 in fact, it was packed full a lot of good/fun things.

If you follow my Instagram insanity,
you may have seen the non-stop line up 
that happened this week
Tower of London, Dover Castle, Canterbury Cathedral, Hampton Court, etc...
along with every tea room & bakery 
in between here & there.

But this morning we woke up groggy
with the immediate need to recover.

So we pushed the alarm to snooze,

cuddled the baby between us 

to convince her to sleep later,

and slept in till 11.

We walked around Portobello Road,

had lunch in one of our favorite pubs, The Pelican,

grocery shopped at the produce stalls & butcher,

queued up like lemmings for a cupcakes at Hummingbird,

and came home for an easy/early night back in the flat.

joining the masses all for a little bit of baked goodness. totally worth it, by the way.

Thanks for the hat, Caley!

A few hours out
with a day like that

and you'll be convinced

that the scales of life

are starting to tip back in your favor
and heavily on the side of awesome.

Except once we got home- 

the baby wouldn't nap,

the boeuf bourgnignon turned out to be more like boeuf soup...

and now, at 11:16, I'm sitting down

after cuddling a certain 7-month old 

who was definitely not wanting to go to bed.

(I suppose this was her form of payback for us conning her to sleep in?)

And perhaps this was my payback for her not going to bed?

Now I'm sitting here

feeling too tired to take a much needed bath,

defeated by the endless visa renewal whisper -talk

Tyler & I had while I rocked Viola,

and severely regretting offering my red velvet cupcake to Tyler

as he chomps in to it over an episode of Arrested Development.

Thank goodness tomorrow is a new day...

And for a husband who saved me the last bite of cupcake 
without me even asking.

*     *    *

Anyone have any special remedy 
for being really tired
and/or adding a few extra hours to the day?
I'll pay you in digestive cookies & ginger beer.

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

Homeward Bound

Every time Tyler and I have a free night,

I always ask for the same thing:

Can we lay in bed and watch a girly movie?

I don't think it has ever actually happened...

but if I have to fault Tyler for one thing

I guess ignoring this request

in lieu of getting Thai takeout and Arrested Development
isn't too severe of a mark against him.

Plus, he does the laundry

so I pick my battles.

I loved being pregnant for the very reason I was entitled to hibernate. I wished for bedrest!

So while my aspirations of lounging in bed
a la Charlie's grandparents 
as they wish him well for the chocolate factory
have yet to win out,
I could win big
with a lineup like this
for our next night in.

Too bad I couldn't find 

Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia to add to this lineup...

because that always join this house party.

What's your "normal" for a slacker night in?

Amber & Tyler: Notting Hill Engagement Shoot

If you don't know my friend, Amber, by now...

you should.

I was trying to think of her today

and how to best describe her

and the word "thoughtful" kept coming to mind.

I hope that everyone is as lucky as I am

to have a friend like Amber.

From hooking us up with the best hotel for our babymoon,

to the most beautiful "babies shower,"

to hosting & cooking for family after Viola was born,

and so many countless other ways 

she selflessly is a friend to me,

I feel truly honored to get to be a bridesmaid

in her upcoming wedding to Tyler.

No, not to my Tyler, 

her Tyler-

who deserves his own post for being great.

The wedding is also in Maui 

so, duh, I'm completely thrilled.

When I saw her engagement pictures,

I actually clapped with delight.

What can I say?

I'm a sucker for seeing

the people I love

being madly in love

in a neighborhood I love.

So here they are,

the Micklesons (to-be)

in all their Notting-Hill-lovey-dovey-goodness.

(And their little pup, Pippa!)

We love you both so much!

If you want to buddy up to Amber

(which I totally recommend)

start her by checking out her cute blog, 

Nouveau.


*    *   * 


If you're in the mood to look at more pretty pictures,
check out my maternity pics
taken in this same neighborhood
by the talented (and dear friend), Liz Denfeld.

*photography by Kytography

In Your Dreams, Baby Mama.

My good friend Beth Dotolo

is kind of famous.

At least,

you won't be able 

to convince me otherwise.

You've probably heard of her 

super cool totally unique design company,

PULP Design Studios.

{If not, now you have!}

She designed our little nursery

which you may have seen

on the Apartment Therapy tour

of our tiny flat from earlier this year.

{If not, now you have!}

You've probably already seen

that they are currently doing a giveaway

for a gorgeous nursery

worth $6000

together with Tottini.

{If not, now you have!}

The giveaway is open to US residents

and you can sign up

for your chance to win!

So what do you think?

Have you put your name in the hat to win?

{If not, now you should!!}

*    *   *

*photography by Kevin Dotolo