karma. or something like it.

tuesday was a day from hell. 

to not get too deep into the pity party i was throwing for myself, i will tell you that i hit the bush backing out of my driveway, i also hit a car pulling into the car park at the market, (the bush did damage, the other car was completely fine). i drove into the wrong queue to get on base and i'm pretty sure my fly was open the whole time i was out and about. hell, guys.

mr erickson is back in the states for the since saturday and won't be home until sunday. i think he will ground me from the car when he gets home and i will be happy to let him!

but then i woke up and it was wednesday. my cousin was in london for a few days and had a full free day to play. i drove an hour to the underground to find that the car park was completely full. i quickly googled a different car park that was farther away, but that one didn't work out either- knowing it was a lost cause, i drove back down to the station anyways, it was still full. duh.

i drove through a neighborhood, and being the helpless woman that i am- rolled down my window and asked a man if there was anywhere to park. he didn't even hesitate to tell me he had an extra permit for his apartment and let me borrow it. giving me an envelope and telling me to just pop it in his box when i got back. i gave simon a peck on the cheek (it's england) and was off.

we had a fabulous day in london which could have started out terrible. i hope karma is good to simon and that little act of kindness and mercy he showed me.

lexi and i walked through piccadilly circus, found a cute market. enjoyed the incredible wicked, ate amazing cupcakes, delicious food and laughed all day. 

if i can have a day like that after every bad day, that'd be fine by me.

can i join your book club?

i love reading. like carrying in my purse, with a 'to read' list as long as my arm, constantly looking for the next one to buy kind of love. 

i also think i have the best tastes in books. and when i fall in love with a book, i think everyone should read it. i will even push them on certain people. (my mom, aubs, jeane... not sorry)
and since i'm not part of a book club- *hint hint to anyone* and because it's my blog and i can do what i want- here are some of my favorite books i've read in the last few months.

Where'd you go, Bernadette? this is absolutely in my top five favorite books of the year, and do i dare say ever? maria semple was a writer for arrested development and ellen. need i say more? i smiled through the whole book. very clever and witty, a quick, awesome read.

My Story: Elizabeth Smart it's incredible. duh.

The Art of Racing in the Rain i read this on our honeymoon. (mr erickson had food poisoning, back off). written in the view of the family dog, enzo. it's perfect for anyone who has loved a four legged friend, or nascar... when we went to colorado, i immediately handed it over to mama hite (our second mother) she literally didn't put it down and had it finished in hours. read it.

The Paris Wife oh how i wish i could see paris in the 20s. it's a story of the hemingways- and even though you know how the story is going to end, john hemingway was kind of a douche, it's still a little heartbreaking. but so beautifully written.

The Fault in our Stars everyone is reading it. if you haven't- you should. having lost a best friend to cancer makes this one hit pretty close to home. the voice was smart, the story was emotional- there are a lot of really great young adult authors out here. 

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children speaking of young adult writers, here is another one for you. i was draw to this book by the cover (it happens more than i would like to admit) the photos in the book are something else, the way the story works with them is brilliant. it's a [new] series, the second one just came out. buuuut i will be waiting until it's out in paper. can't have a mismatched collection.

The Art of Fielding i'm not one for baseball. i'm not even sure what drew me to this book, but i was seriously mesmerized by it. maybe because mr erickson recently finished his ncaa career. i don't know, it was definitely different from what i usually read. but it was decent.

Let's Pretend it Never Happened i also read this on our honeymoon. out loud to mr erickson, side note-our honeymoon was a month long. while we were road tripping or laying out at the beach, we were crying from laughing so hard. jenny lawson is so screwed up i know we would make great friends. just a warning- if you are offended by the f-word this book is definitely not for you.

The Storyteller if you know me, you know jodi picoult is my girl crush when it comes to literature. her newest book doesn't disappoint. in fact, it quickly jumped to the top of my list. i've recently started to love historical fiction, and the way jodi writes- it's just like you were in the concentration camp with minka. and of course in true picoult fashion, there is always a twist. such an incredible page turner.

Currently Reading: the book thief and the harry potter series for the first time, seriously. 

what are you reading??

paris.

i took french in school. i was pretty good, too. but i got my two years credit and stopped. i now remember about three things from said class and it didn't get me anywhere walking about paris. when i was fifteen and i had no clue i would be so lucky to be living in the uk, to be within driving distance of paris. paris! 

being in paris was the most surreal feeling in my life. especially seeing the eiffel tower. 

i mean, you read about it, you've seen photos since you were little- you knew it was there, but until you actually stand underneath it do you really grasp the magnitude of it.

we got to the city just in time for a valentines dinner and a walk around the tower. it was perfect.

i made a 'paris bucket list' so we could hit as much as possible. we got a map, and planned out our days. the moulin rouge was our first stop. 

 the arc de triomphe

window shopping on champs-elysees

 and then there was the louvre. i didn't take many photos inside, i just got to soak it in- but we got to see our girl, mona. and a whole lot of nipples.

 if you look closely, you can see the arc. it's quite the walk.

 i have dreamt about seeing the love lock bridge and putting my own on it for years. i got to watch my love lock it on the fence and the two of us threw our keys into the river.

 the bells were ringing for sunday mass at notre dame, but no sign of quasimodo anywhere.

can anyone explain to me the fascination people have about holding/touching/lifting buildings for pictures? save it for pisa, please.

 the palace of versailles was incredible. i love the queen, but her castles can't hold a candle to marie antoinette's. 

we ended our stay the same place we started. eating a nutella crepe, watching the sun go down and the lights on the tower came on. it was perfect.

 we loved every minute of our holiday. [minus the hour mr erickson got stuck in our hotel elevator]. but even he can't wait to go back.