One year ago...

Exactly one year ago we were exploring the streets of London, England. We left Boise on May 30 on our first international trip and we had no idea what to expect or what the next 17 days would hold; but after months of planning and preparing, we were ready!

We knew we were going to have a great time, we didn't know just how great our trip was going to be!

It's hard to believe it's been an entire year since we left. It was definitely the best, most fulfilling trip we had ever been on. I'm so so glad I was able to do this with my family! 

We learned a lot during our time in Europe. We are pretty adaptable and work well together. Which is something I've always known about us and I'm glad we all get along so well. I know a lot of families don't have that. 

We saw and did SO MUCH! It's incredible to finally see all of the places you have only ever seen pictures of. Travel is something we have always loved, and finally getting to experience a new country and culture was so special.

A lot of people think that travel is so expensive and they'll just put it off until the 'perfect' time comes up or they retire.  Just go. Don't wait until the perfect time because that time will never come! Travel doesn't have to be expensive. Get a credit card that accumulates air miles (just wanted to add that I don't typically condone the use of credit cards, ours is treated like a debit card and payed off every month.) but that is an easy way to rack up the air miles! 

We saved a lot of money just by staying in Airbnbs and going to grocery stores/markets and buying our own food instead of eating out every meal. Buying local food is a great way to experience the culture as well! There's nothing quite like a fresh French baguette! 

We walked a LOT and used public transportation instead of expensive taxis. And we did a lot of research and were very selective about which attractions we paid for. You don't need to go to every museum or exhibit! 

As said by Mark Twain "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do."

I can't wait for our next adventure!

London

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

Paris

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

Normandy American Cemetery And Memorial

Mont Saint-Michel and Dinan

Lyon

Marseille

Heidelberg, Germany

What has been the best vacation you have ever been on?

Five for Friday

Hello and welcome to my Five for Friday! I am linking up with Cup of Tea , Della Devoted , and Bright on a Budget!

1. My brother's birthday was yesterday. I had kind of a crappy day at work and didn't end up getting home until around 4, so we didn't have much time to do anything. My mom and sister did take him to a French bakery yesterday morning, per his request. I did make his birthday cake on Wednesday though. He wanted a chocolate cake, so I made that with an Oreo cream filling. 

While it may not look super exciting, (I couldn't come up with any ideas on how to decorate it.) it sure tasted good! 

2. We went downtown for my brother's birthday dinner last night and we parked right by the capitol building. We haven't been by the capitol building in quite a while (we drive by it all the time, just never go right by it.) So I had to get a picture.

3. I had washed my bed sheets yesterday, and when I went to go remake my bed I had a hard time figuring out what way the fitted sheet went. AND THEN I FOUND THIS MAGIC TAG:

WHY IS THIS NOT ON EVERY FITTED SHEET?

Seriously. SO helpful! (They're these sheets. It wasn't linking directly to the white for some reason.)

4. Netflix just released the trailer for the Little Prince movie. I am pretty excited about it! It's such a wonderful book and I can't wait to see the movie!

5. I didn't get a Wednesday post up, but I did post a review of Wonderland - A Coloring Book! Be sure to check that out!

Hope you have a great weekend! Do any of you have any fun plans?

Wonderland - A Coloring Book by Amily Shen Review

 Alice in Wonderland was always one of my favorite movies as a kid. I was never really into princesses or things like that; I always liked stories that were about exploring and adventures.  

I was very interested when I came across this copy of Wonderland - A Coloring Book by Amily Shen on Blogging For Books!

First off, I was surprised at how well made the book is. The cover you see in the above pictures is a thick dust jacket, and then there is a pretty laminated cover underneath.

The pages are made of nice quality paper, perfect for coloring and not having to worry if your colored pencils or whatever you are coloring with will show through on the next page. 

Each picture is beautifully done and very detailed. If I had to say one negative thing about this book, it would be that some of the pages are a little too detailed! It's a little difficult to get your colored pencil sharp enough to be able to color some of the tiny little places.

This book isn't just a coloring book, it also has a story inspired by the original Alice's Adventures in Wonderland running throughout the book.

Overall, I was very pleased with this book and I will definitely be spending some time coloring it's beautiful pages!

I received this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review.