Europe, Here WE Come...Wait, WE?! WHAT?!

So getting to this year's spectacular European adventure has been...well...AN ADVENTURE! If you're new to my blog, let me catch you up. 

Hi, I'm Kim and I'm addicted to traveling (Hi Kimmmmm). Long trips around the holidays are my particular weakness, but short jaunts to New Orleans, the beach, getting lost on the tollway, really whatever, does it for me. Most of my travel is solo and that's most of what I document on this blog. 

Well this year, I'm being bold and bringing along a travel buddy - MY MAMA! She's never been out of the country and her passport is burning a hole in her pocket. So I'm breaking her in by taking her to one of my favorite places on earth - Paris! But first, we'll discover Amsterdam for the first time together and then end the trip in London. 

Now that you're all caught up, back to this year's adventures. It's been a whirlwind of a year (head spinning craziness) so this vacation is much needed. 

So in the spirit of Christmas, I've summed up life since my last vacation in song "12 Days of Christmas" style:

**** Sing along very loudly like a six-year old and REPEAT ****

On the (insert number) day of Christmas, my good Lord gave to me: 

• A brand new job Downtown
• Two bathroom renovations
• Three inches of new growth (I still haven't taken the leap to loc my hair)
• Four new nephews/God babies
• Five weeks without puppies (during bathroom renovations - sad times)
• Six grad school hours completed
• Seven months until my birthday (I'm running out of stuff to include, this was harder than I thought it would be)
• Eight new hairdos (I've done them all myself)
• Nine months until my first CASA-versary (volunteer stuff)
• Ten months of marriage (again)
• Eleven days in Europe
• Twelve months until my next adventure 

I'm t-minus 36 hours from a beautiful vacation and am not even packed. Let me take that back, I don't even have what I need to pack. But, much like the rest of this roller coaster of a year, I'll get there. I mean, I'll probably skid in sideways, afro cocked to the side, french fries in one hand and wine in the other, with a big ass grin on my face. But I will get there dammit!

So hold on mama (and the rest of ya'll). Vacationing with me means you're going to get into some crazy situations, meet some crazy amazing people and do some serious self-reflecting. Ready?

These bathrooms were a labor of love, so I'm showing them off. This is the master. From the time I moved in, I've wanted to do this...so there.

The guest bathroom. In total renovations took about 5-ish weeks...the puppies were at mama's house that whole time terrorizing her...so I kinda owe her this trip to Europe! LOL