Turns out, I had to go all the way to Paris to find out that I don't really like macarons!

 

 

That was a shocker!  I was so convinced I'd love them that I insisted we buy a whole box from a pâtisserie (I have no idea what that thing above the "a" is.  You can take the girl out of the trailer park, but you can't take the trailer park out of the girl).  I was just so sure I'd want a whole box of them!

 

I tried all the flavors and then we threw them away.  Macarons are yucky.

 

And that was the most surprising thing that happened while we were away.

 

The end.

 

Sike!

 

There was also this:

My favorite part of this picture is Matt's surprised face.  I can't decide if it's like, "Whoa, where did she get that ring?" Probably more like, "OMG, what have I done?"

Anyway, I'm sure this came as no surprise to any of you, as I was pretty adamant about notifying people so that they didn't find out via Facebook.  Although I hope my ex-boyfriends found out on Facebook.  And then went to bed and cried. 

In all seriousness, we're very excited.  And Matt's somehow under the impression that being engaged "gives him more freedom."  Which is hilariously adorable.  So we're off to a good start.


XOXOXO

Risking our lives to save a buck ($1200 bucks, actually).

Iron Maiden Singer To Pilot Iceland Express Flights

"Bruce Dickinson, perhaps best known as the lead singer of classic heavy metal band Iron Maiden, will be piloting some Iceland Express flights.

The National Post reports that the flights would be between Winnipeg and Reykjavík, on board a specially-marked plane known as "Ed Force One", named after Eddie, Iron Maiden's mascot.

For those concerned about the expertise of the singer to pilot a Boeing 757, it should be noted that Dickinson has logged over 7,000 flight hours of commercial aircraft, and took part in flying 200 U.K. citizens home from Lebanon during the Israel/Hezbollah conflict. He also flew some Iceland Express flights in 2008.

In an e-mail response to the National Post, Dickinson said, "I never intended to become a professional pilot, but as I became more curious about aircraft, and, well, not being John Travolta, I realized that the only way I was ever going to fly a jet was if I got a job!"

Iceland Express is not saying if Dickinson will be piloting the inaugural flight between Reykjavík and Winnipeg, but it did say that he will also be behind the wheel of some flights between the Icelandic capital and Boston and Chicago."

Godspeed.

Holy Christ, it's a piece of paper!

To round out our July of weddings, we hit up Cleveland, to see our friends Jeff and Sarah get hitched.  We had a great time and...get this...they had a photo booth.  It's like they knew I was coming.  I mean, I guess technically, they did, since I RSVP'd and all.  But still.  Congrats, you two!

Then I went home for my Dad's 60th birthday.  We ate and drank and hiked and swam and ate and drank more.

The following weekend, we headed to MI, where we biked in Tour des Lac for 36 miles!  Luckily there was ice cream and pizza and beer, so we were ok.  And Matt and I didn't even kill each other (despite the fact that I sang this for most of the way).

And in just six days, we leave for Europe.  If something tragic happens on Iceland Express airways, I want to make it clear that I don't want all of you to fight over who gets to raise Izzy.  She has enough love to share with all of you!

And I don't own a single polo.

My undergrad college was in HuffPo yesterday for being one of the "Preppiest Schools of 2011."

Over the weekend I met a fellow MU alum.  He and I got into a debate with some Michigan State grads about who had the prettier campus (MU, no contest).  WHAT A TOTAL FIRST WORLD DISCUSSION! 

So, see, I didn't need HuffPo to tell me MU was a preppy school.  All I needed was to remember that I got into a heated argument on the dance floor of a wedding about who had the nicer quad to throw up on to know that it was a pretty preppy school.

We do weddings real good.

Charlie and Lauren's was a blast and was incredibly beautiful.  Although I'm not sure how I know that, since I spent most of the night in the photobooth.

No joke.

What is that you say?  There are other people at this wedding who would like to use this photobooth?

Tough.  I haven't seen enough of myself yet.

One of my Thirty Before Thirty goals was to give up TV for a month.  In theory, this shouldn't be hard.  We didn't have cable when I was growing up, I don't remember watching a lot of TV in college, and when I moved to the city I just had bunny ears, which don't really work in Chicago.

 

Then I moved in with Matt.  Who loves TV unabashedly.  He frequently says very sweet things to me that I discover months later are direct quotes from Friends episodes (Do you think we're Ross and Rachel, or Monica and Chandler?  Probably Monica and Ross).  And before I knew it, I was making up for lost time, watching anything and everything.  Sometimes twice.  There was so much I had missed out on! 

 

So it's day 5.  And last night we had a 20 minute conversation about whether I should get an electric toothbrush.  Because that's the kind of shit you talk about when you're forced to do nothing but interact all the time.  And luckily we didn't come to any conclusions, so we still have something to talk about for the next 25 days. 

 

God help us.

I was never this good at cheerleading.