HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

 

Last Month in Europe

I  was reading a travel blog the other day and this quote stood out to me. For some reason I think this will directly relate to me the days that follow my arrival home.

“…travel can become a compulsion. It keeps us away from friends and loved ones – even when we’re back. When I’m away, I often yearn for home. When I’m home, I’m listless. I seem no longer to fit. History and literature are filled with characters who see Asia, or Venice, and can never go back to the way they were.” -Anthony Bourdain

-- Alaura

You feed me fables from your hand...

Livet händer, och plötsligt befinner man sig så långt från var man har varit. Inga varningar, inga vägskyltar, ingen talar om vad som gick så fel. Man tar sig igenom det, man bygger upp sig själv, och när man minst annar det så händer det igen, han kommer tillbaka. Jag kommer inte ens ihåg hans ansikte längre och något någonstans kommer att påminna mig om honom. du tycks alltid komma tillbaka och matar mig med fabler från dina händer...

Life happens, and suddenly you find yourself so far from where you've been. No warnings, no signs, no one talks about what went so wrong. You get through it, you build yourself up again, and when you least expect it , it happens again, he comes back. I do not even remember his face anymore and something somewhere will remind me of him. You always seem to come back and feed me fables from your hands ...

- LC

Lucky Me

This year I get to celebrate the New Year in Stockholm, Sweden. Last year, I celebrated at Ruby Sky in San Francisco, it was a lot of fun; limo rides, private drivers and a beautiful suite at the Mandarin Oriental with a balcony overlooking the beautiful city. However, this year I think will be extra special.


One thing I love about the days that follow Christmas is the time you get to reflect on the year you will soon be leaving behind. What is your New Year resolution? I have yet to decide upon mine.

 -- Alaura

New Years!

""Fresh starts thanks to the calendar they happen every year. Just set your watch to January, our reward for surviving the holiday season. Bringing on the great tradition of new years resolutions, put your past behind you and start over. It’s hard to resist the chance for a new beginning, a chance to put the problems of last year to bed.
Who gets to determine when the old ends and the new begins? It’s not on the calendar, it’s not a birthday, it’s not a new year. It’s an event, big or small, something that changes us. Ideally, that gives us hope, a new way of living and looking at the world, a way of letting go of old habits, old memories. What's important is that we never stop believing we can have a new beginning, but it's also important to remember that, amid all the crap, there are a few things worth holding on to."

 Last New Years , we celebrated it at Berns....

 They had a burlesque theme...

she fed the guests with a cake...

 

And I think this New Years is going to be even better....

- LC

God Jul

I had a great Christmas Eve with Linda and her family. The food, drinks and company was so nice. My first white Christmas. I still love the snow. It's going to be weird to leave the snow and go home to sun and palm trees. I already miss Sweden.

 --  Alaura

Merry Christmas People!

Its' my Birthday and I'll cry if I want to...

Linda, 

 After reading your last blog post I am so happy to be able to post us almost missing the bus in deathly cold weather LOL. I need to laugh because the thought of leaving you really makes me sad. You have made my trip worth every bit. Yes, we were blessed with each other and a lifetime ahead of great friendship. I am going to miss you so much. But we better not talk about that, we already know what happened last time.

Thank goodness we made that bus tonight and thank you for making my 22nd birthday so special... I love you!!

--Alaura

" Idk what I've been told?... but someone here is getting old"

To day Alaura turned 22, so we went out for dinner at TGI Friday's where I used to work when I was in high school....

We had a real grils night with Cosmos

 Little did she know I had planed that my old cow- workers would sing the Friday's b-day song for her ;)

" I don't know what I've been told? But Someone here is getting old. Good new is dessert for free, bad news is we sing of key. Sound of, Happy, sound of , music, bring it on guys: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!"

 The sad part is that it's exactly one month left before Alaura leavs for California, I'm really gonna miss her and it's really going to be empty without her. But I'm sooooo blessed and lucky to have her as a friend and I'm thankful for the time we got to speend with each other here in Stockholm. But the best part is that I will be coming to CALI in the summer to visit her :)

Happy Birthday again my beautiful friend. I LOVE YOU! <3

- LC

No lights, no heat

Thank you Linda for all the pointers for Paris. I am so sad you won't be joining me. I am excited I get to see your cousin though. I will be in Paris from January 6th-10th.

Last night all the power in my neighborhood went out. Linda was luckily staying at her moms just minutes from my place and invited me over for a sleepover. We managed to stay awake until it was officially my birthday :)  

Then I gave her some nightquil and she was out :) 

-- Alaura

Paris s'il vous plaît

Soon Alaura is going to visit the lovley city Paris. Wish I could have gone with her, but I have to stay home and work.

Some places you have to visit if you ever go to Paris are:

La Tour Eiffel ( The Eiffel Tower)

Sacre coeur

Montmartre

Notre Dame

Château de Versailles (Castle Versailles)

Here is some pics from my trip to Paris, when I was there visiting my cousin.

 Me and my cousin Sarah

- LC

I love cozy weekends

Vanessa invited Linda and I over to her place to
 have some wine on Saturday night. 

She also had yummy chocolates for us :)

After a couple drinks we headed to a bar in 
Odenplan called, Storstad "The Big City". There we met up with
 Vanessa's fiance Alex and his friend.

Her balcony is so beautiful. I love the way 
Vanessa makes her place feel so cozy. 
I get such the Christmas feeling being inside.

--- Alaura

Barcelona was a lot of fun. Being sick in bed today has really made me miss the warm weather and festive music in Spain. (The attack of the pigeons, not so missed)

Winter and cold = sickness.

Today, we are both sick, so we have just been lying in bed and drinking tea and watching TrueBlood.

Me and Alaura at Gondolen in Sthlm having drinks.

Studying at the library

So far in Sweden

I have been in Sweden since August and I am lucky to have been able to do so many things in the little time I have been here.

I was able to spend time in Barcelona with my cousin Stephanie. I took my first small sip of Absinthe :)

I visited Drottningholm Royal Palace

I spent a weekend in Amsterdam

I was able to spend a day in Estonia

And I also got to take a cruise to Finland

I have officially seen snow fall for the first time :)
(There is no snow in California)

I had great nightlife experiences with Linda in Barcelona.

So far Sweden has been everything and much more than what I expected. It has really come time for me to appreciate every moment. Time is flying by so fast and before I know it January 22nd will be here and I will be on my way back to California.

-- Alaura