Stocking Up On Sun

During my 3-month break from France, I resituated myself a few times in America. First in New York, where...

I helped Shannon prepare to get herself married...

Kerri dragged me out of a blood sugar meltdown, just in time to get lost in Brooklyn,

Kerri and I gave Shannon the one-drink bachelorette party of a lifetime...

 

 

We did a bit of joshing around before the wedding...

But mostly Kerri and I just cried... the whole time...

Shannon and I had a great stroll around NYC and celebrated her new "wife" status...

I enjoyed my true love New York in the fall (and in a hurricane, and in a blizzard)...

I turned 32 in style...

And had a random trumpet player give me a serenade of not one but two versions of "Happy Birthday" on the Upper West Side...

I walked across Central Park and back to the French Consulate to get my proper visa...

 

I celebrated Obama getting re-elected...

I got my hair did...

I went to Austin, Texas to celebrate Thanksgiving with my big bro and his li'l lady...

(with some damn fine barbecue along the way)

I saw New York from a completely new perspective...

Specifically, from a "living room" an artist had built around the Columbus Circle statue...

I expressed my deep love and affection for Christmas trees...

I got Christmas-ed out with Emily and Rebecca, drinking wine, watching "White Christmas," singing Christmas carols and decorating the tree...

I returned to Arizona and had a lovely, sunny picnic with my family...

I helped make TWO Christmas lasagnas from scratch with my lookalike...

Of course, I went to Target...

I spent New Year's Eve in the best way possible:

And New Year's Day at a sweet French spot for a free brunch with Kerri...

And afterward we went to see "Pitch Perfect" at a dollar theater with the kind of wax figures you'd expect from a dollar theater...

Went to the Fiesta Bowl, 'cause why not?

Spent a lot of time wandering the halls of the Phoenix Art Museum, because it was free on Wednesdays and wholly inspiring (why did I never go there in the 23 years I lived in Phoenix?)...

Stopped by an old favorite....

Made the most of Mom's smile and spirit...

Had the very best Croque Madame at La Grande Orange...

And truly enjoyed the Arizona sunlight and all its benefits...

Then I got myself all Frenched up again...

Had a Manhattan at the airport...

And returned to Paris.

I've done a lot of moving around over the last few months...

But it's good to be back in Paris, my home... for now.

I hope you're ready for the next chapter of this adventure!