Trials by Melody: September 2017

Carter's Second Birthday Party

By Trials By Melody - 5:59:00 AM

On Saturday August 19, we celebrated Carter's second birthday by throwing a Mickey Mouse clubhouse themed birthday party. I cannot believe that he is already two years old! Time has never flown by more quickly than it has in these last two years.

This is such a fun age. He is definitely in his "terrible twos" but he is also getting bigger and smarter by the day. I love seeing his personality develop and getting to experience things through his eyes. See below for pictures from the party!

To see how much he has changed, click here to read our birth story and see him as a newborn!

We love you CJW!

Follow on Instagram

Like on Facebook

0 Comments

Featured

Warren's Do Paris

By Trials By Melody - 8:15:00 PM

WOW!

What an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience this trip was!!

Our trip started on Monday Aug 21 with a flight from Houston to Detroit. We had a long layover and met up with our friend Faisal We had lunch and got to experience a bit of Detroit before heading back to the airport to head to Paris.

Lunch with Faisal in Detroit

Arabic desserts in Detroit

After a quick 8-hour flight, we made it to Paris safe and sound.

We navigated through the clutserf*ck that is Charles de Gaulle airport (sorry, but it is) and headed to baggage claim. Although we found baggage claim, Terrance's suitcase did not. We waited and looked and filed a claim, only to realize that Terrance's bag was still in Detroit. Boo. Good news was that they would get it to us the following day. Although it was a bit of a damper on the first day of our trip, we made the best of the situation and took a cab into the city to check into our hotel and really begin our adventure.

The first 2 nights of our trip were spent at the Hotel du Louvre, a fabulous Hyatt that is centrally located in the heart of Paris and was a great home away from home for us. The hotel itself was beautiful, the location was wonderful, but the best part of our stay(s) was the staff. They really went above and beyond to make sure we were happy and taken care of.

Elevator shaft and main staircase of our hotel

Breakfast sent to us from the hotel #breadbreadandmorebread

Louvre

Street near our hotel

Louvre

Hotel balcony selfie

Sidewalk cafe

After a little exploring, we rested and then headed out for our evening adventures.

Dinner with the bride and family

After dinner drinks at Le Perchoir

The next day, we started our day by heading back to CDG airport to retrieve Terrance's suitcase. Hooray!

Navigating the Metro

My partner in crime

Brunch at Framboise #IAteTwoCrepes

Shopping at Collette

T in front of the Champs Elysees

Arc de Triomphe

Us in front of the Arc de Triomphe

Now everything in Paris was amazing, but this may have been one of my favorite things - the Galeries Lafayette.

View of Paris from the roof of the Galeries Lafayette

Eclairs at the Galeries Lafayette - I had the chocolate one and T had the raspberry one!

Spice selection at the Galeries Lafayette

Another view from the roof of the Galeries Lafayette #HiEiffelTower

After all of these adventures during the day - we went back to the hotel, rested, and then were ready for the nighttime adventures.

It was a very exciting day!!

The next day started with breakfast from a precious sidewalk cafe and a haircut for T.

T getting his haircut at La Shaperie

After the cut, we headed to the hotel to pack up and head to Chateau de Vallery for Mona & Raphael's wedding! Because of the crazy amount of pictures and information, the wedding details can be found in their own post here.

After the wedding, we headed back to Paris for a few more days of adventuring before heading home. I should mention that while we were enjoying ourselves in Paris, Carter and KK were hunkered down in Houston, braving Hurricane Harvey. More about that later.

Our "welcome home" amenity from Hotel du Louvre. #TheyWereTheBest

More adventuring

Our last full day in Paris was spent in Montmarte - an old, cute, artsy neighborhood at the top of the hill.

Montmarte is home to Sacre Couer , a roman catholic church that has been open since 1914 - so cool!

Lovely street art in Montmarte

We climbed to the top of the dome at Sacre Coeur - here was our view

Pic from the top of the dome at Sacre Coeur

Selfie of our group at the top of the dome at Sacre Coeur - it was 300 + steps to get up there, but totally worth it!

After A LOT of fun and countless new memories, it was time to make our way back home. We knew it wouldn't be particularly easy because of Hurricane Harvey, but we were ready for whatever it took to get home. The first leg of our trip (Paris --> Detroit) was an easy 8.5 hour flight, thanks to the upgrade Delta One.

After we landed in Detroit, we had a few minutes to decide what our next steps would be (since flying into Houston was not an option). So we flew to San Antonio, spent the night with Pat & Perla, then drove to Houston the next day. We know a lot of our friends were not as lucky with their return travel, or their outcome from the hurricane, so we have definitely been counting our blessings.

If you missed the pictures and details from the wedding, don't forget they can be found in their own post here.

Until next time, Paris! Xo

Follow on Instagram

Like on Facebook