It's hard to imagine that we left for Paris a year ago today. At this exact moment 365 days ago, Emily and I were eating lunch in the DFW airport waiting for our flight to Atlanta and freaking out about what was about to happen. Turns out, those 3 months were some of the best so far. I couldn't even have imagined what would have happened had I not gone to Paris. In the words of the great Lisa Vanderpump, "Life isn't always diamonds and  rosé", and there were some rough times for us in Europe, but overall, I wouldn't want to change a single thing. 

Ready for adventure!

On the Red Carpet in Cannes during our first week in France.

At the gate in Versailles.

At Trocadero to see the lights of the Eiffel Tower.

On the beaches in Normandy. 

Photo Credit: Lauren

One of the videos from our trip. Taken in Normandy by Emily.

I miss it every single moment of every single day, but I take comfort in the fact that those three months in Paris were just the beginning of my adventure. 

So I'll leave you with an old French proverb, and perhaps my favorite saying, "La fortune sourit aux audacieux", or "Fortune favors the bold". 

-Samantha

PS. Thanks Jules and Dad for letting me go. You da best.

It was exactly 1 year ago that i was sitting in the game room of my house packing my suitcase.

I was nervous, and excited...and terrified!

Little did i know i was about to embark on the most amazing trip of a lifetime.

I don't really remember this day very well...i know i ran some last minute errands and packed.

Then the rest of the day i spent time with my family.

As you can see i packed WAY too much stuff...like way way too much...

I didn't know what i was getting myself into so i just packed everything i thought i needed.

If i could do this again...i would NOT pack this much stuff!!!

 I was able to fit everything into a suitcase and my backpack which was really nice HOWEVER...
I was unaware my suitcase was completely falling apart...like SO BROKEN...
I had to cart that bad boy all the way to Paris with one working wheel...
Even worse, i had to cart it home at the end with ZERO working wheels...

Funny story..we were walking through the metro stations in paris when i heard something dragging under my suitcase. I stopped and peeked under to find the support rod hanging out of my suitcase.

So i ripped it out and threw it away and kept dragging my suitcase...

Make sure your luggage is in good shape before you embark on a 3 month long trip..

{This is what it looked like when we landed in Dallas.......}

I can't believe it's been a year..it's absolutely insane.

I will always cherish the time i had in Paris and the people i met a long the way.

Amazing experience..If you have the chance to study abroad TAKE IT!!!!

-Emily

Here is an excerpt from my blog from March: 

I just got back from an amazingly fast five days in London. There is no way to condense everything down into one post but I’ll give you the highlights. Right after we dropped our bags off we started a walking tour around the city. First stop: Rosetta stone at the British museum (no big deal.) We continued on to the likes of Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, and a brief glimpse at Buckingham. 

My favorite part of the trip would actually have to be the excursion to Oxford and Stratford-Upon-Avon. Oxford is dripping with heritage and traditions. The Ivy League has nothing on this university. And what better way to commemorate my time in Oxford than with a crew sweatshirt? 

We also did the whole Shakespeare thing since he was kind of a big deal. We toured the Globe, but since it’s not quite summer were unable to see a show there and instead saw The Tempest in Stratford. It may not be quite the same, but it was still an amazing production. 

Sunday was spent at church at Westminster followed by lunch at a pub, outside of which they were filming part of the new James Bond film, followed by an afternoon stroll through Kensigton Gardens, the Victoria & Albert Museum and afternoon tea and scones. 

We had a free day on Monday before we headed back to Paris. Sam, Emily and I decided to brave the crowds and tourists and watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham. While I probably won’t ever do it again (it’s kind of a seen it one and done kind of deal) it was still one of those British rights of passage activities that you just have to do when given the opportunity.

We also went to Chipotle afterwards. You may be wondering why Chipotle when I could have it any day back home? Well, sometimes you just get a hankering for America and the familiar. Trust me, it did not disappoint. 

And what would any travel blog be without a quick discussion on food? Well it was more like a culinary trip around the world instead of just strict Brit fare that included Chinese, Thai, Mexican and of course several helpings of fish & chips. 

It amazed me how similar British and American culture is. Also, seeing signs in English made traveling that much more comfortable and relaxing. There is definitely a strong American presence in London, especially in the stores and restaurants  More so than in Paris. Driving down the highway almost made me forget that I was in England…until I remembered that we were driving on the left hand side of the road.

-Jess

Le Sigh

Well.

 It's happened again. 

It's Monday... 

After a weekend full of good food, movies, and shopping, my regular routine has lost its appeal. However, school waits for no man, so on we go. 

In preparation of what is sure to be a long and busy week for all of us, I'm sure, I've prepared a little Monday gift for all of you.

 It's no secret around our apartment that I have a thing for middle-aged British men. It just so happens that my love for them is benefiting you, too! You can thank me later. 

#LeSigh

From

He was pointing at me. Back off. 

From

So much thought went into selecting this picture. You have no idea.

From

Best part of the whole movie.

From

This one's for Jess.

From

Yes, please.

From

And so you have it. After many exhaustive google searches that may or may not have included "Jude Law in cable knit sweater", my gift to you.

It's later. So you can thank me now.

-Samantha

We have a chalkboard in our kitchen and it's become 

somewhat of a center piece for the room!!

My dad made it using a board+chalkboard paint then 

added the wooden border which is our old fence 

that we took down to make way for a newer/nicer fence!!

The wood is seriously gorgeous, couldn't have worked out better!

So i first decorated the chalkboard for Christmas as you can clearly see here :)

you can also get a tutorial for writing on a chalkboard here:

When we got back from school it was clearly not christmas anymore

so it was time to redo the board.

It took me 3 seconds to think of the perfect thing to write on the board,
mostly because i was listening to Mumford and Sons when i decided to re-do the board.

"Where you invest your love you invest your life"

Probably one of my favorite Mumford Lyrics of all time!!

It's incredibly true, that whatever you put your love into

you're going to have to put your life into it also, if it's that important to you!!

I'm enjoying the new festive chalkboard 

and i'm enjoying the thought of Valentines day even more than usual!!

Valentines day is 21 days away and walmart and target 

have been prepping for it since December 26th!!

I like to call them holiday Preppers!!!

Have a great friday!!!

-Emily

It's the best feeling in the world having people 

in your life who accept you, awkward moments and all. 

And it's even better when they have their fair share of 

laughable moments as well. 

Emily and Samantha are those people. 

We watch Pocahontas together. 

Sing all of the songs.

And maybe possibly definitely are choreographing 

a few dance numbers to turn it into the next Broadway sensation. 

{We were told last night that it wasn't a musical, but that is about to change.}

And we are going to see Aaron Concert {yes, the 90s pop sensation} together.

Apparently he wants to revitalize his career or something. 

All I know is that I still remember all of the words to "That's How I Beat Shaq." 

Perhaps he's coming to a town near you. 

{For those in the Little Rock area: March 26 at Juanita's. Mark your calendar.}

For the small price of $50, you can get VIP/meet&greet tickets. 

Not that I thought about doing that or anything...

Some people might think that it's odd choreographing in the kitchen, 

or getting excited about a washed-up 90s rapper. 

And to those people, I say you might be a little right. 

However, it's times like these that make me laugh until I cry.

And I'm just glad that there are people laughing along with me. 

-Jess

You know those super inappropriate times when you shouldn't laugh, but that just makes you laugh harder? 

I pretty much invented those.

I don't know what it is about being in uncomfortable situations that makes me giggle.

Yesterday was just one of those days where I would LOLZ at anything. 

I think it's because I watched The Office while I was eating breakfast....

I also don't think it helps that Emily and I sit next to each other in quite a few of our classes.

I pretty much ended up sitting like this most of the day to control my giggles.

A dramatic reenactment of what went on today.

When I do get a case of the giggles, I try to think of something sad to calm me down. Like dead puppies or the ending to Titanic. But today, nothing could cure me. I just kept on laughing. In fact, my obliques are killing me right now from all the LOLing. Not even kidding. 

For even more reading about awkward moments when I laughed uncontrollably, look here. You'll thank me later. 

But for real. I need to control this. Any of you ever have this happen to you? PLEASE tell me I'm not the only one. 

-Samantha

Living in a city for more than a week is going to give you great insight as to what that city has to offer. 

Lucky for us we got to live in Paris for 3 months so i feel like i have the experience to write a blog post about where you should visit and what you should see!! 

First of all You should probably get the Eiffel Tower out of your system pretty early on. It really is one of the most magical landmarks of all time and you will enjoy basking in it's history for a good hour or so. *Hint take the metro stop to Trocadero for the best view possible of La Tour Eiffel OR just go hang out on the lawn and have a nice picnic!!! 

If you happen to be hungry, and have about 25 Euros to spare, you HAVE to stop in at 

le relays de l'entrecote. You get a salad as a starter, followed by 2 separate portions of steak and Frites...yes 2....you finish one portion and they bring you out another!!! 

It's MAGICAL!!!! AND it will be the best food decision you ever make...

trust me, the green sauce may look scary but it's heavenly

 If you have a free day you really should take the train out to visit the Palace of Versailles.

You know the one where Marie Antoinette lived...

It also houses the very famous Hall of Mirrors!!!

It is a must see, and don't stop at the palace itself but walk the 

grounds until you come across Marie's personal 

home on the estate, it come's with her own little peasant village!!

Now Normandy is obviously not in Paris, 

but you can get here using any and all of the train stations. 

I'm assuming we left from Gare de lyon station. 

Normandy is full of rich history, 

such as where D-Day occurred in June 1944. 

It's also home to Mont-Saint-Michel which is an amazing 

fortress on a hill surrounded by water in Normandy!

We stayed in a cute little countryside cottage with our hosts Patrick and Dennis, 

Who made us a 4 course meal when we arrived at 10:00 P.M. 

They ALSO made us an amazing home made from scratch breakfast the next morning!!

Patrick and Dennis...If you're out there....THANK YOU!!!

Another Must see town is Montmartre France, as you see this is one of the best overlook spots in Paris, because it's the highest point in Paris!! This Town is full of artists and hippies, which adds to it's character and makes it such a fun place to visit!! It is also home to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica, which is an amazing amazing place to go see, if you can survive all of the stair to the top!!!

There are more spots that i'll have to tell you about in a future post but for now i'll leave you with this one. Tour Montparnasse, or Montparnasse Tower, A lot of people go up the Eiffel Tower for an equally breathtaking view of Paris but i really like Montparnasse better. It give you a chance to actually see the Eiffel Tower in the skyline, which is what going to Paris is all about!! 

Plus it makes the tower good for something since people hate it so much ;)

That's all for now, i hope to do more Travel Tuesday Posts like this one so you can have a better idea of all of the hits and misses Paris has to offer!!

-Emily 

Saturday Samantha, Emily, Lauren and I 

piled in to Reginald (Samantha's car) and drove through 

the Arkansas countryside to Memphis.

My birthday was last Tuesday (turned 21!) and Lauren's was yesterday 

so we decided to get out of Searcy for a few hours. 

photo by Lauren

When you live in a town where Sonic and Goodwill are the 

most exciting attractions, you go stir crazy quite often. 

I don't think many weekends go by when we don't get out of town 

at some point or other. 

The first thing everyone should do when going to Memphis 

is eat barbque. Our favorite is Corky's. 

When you go, you should be required to order the sausage and cheese platter. 

Trust me, it will change your life for the better.

Another option is the barbque nachos, which are good, but cannot even 

be compared to the smoky goodness of the sausage and cheese platter.

And any good roadtrip deserves some fun tunes  as well. 

When in doubt, 90s and early 2000s pop always hits the spot. 

We still remember all of the words to Britney (before her breakdown),

NSYNC, and Christina.

How fitting that JT's portrait was by our table at lunch? 

No trip outside of Searcy is complete without a trip to Target and Hobby Lobby.

Searcy has neither. I've decided that I will never live in a town without a Target. 

Period. Although I never go when I'm at home, I miss it so much more when I'm at school. 

It's the little things that mean the most in life, right? 

With our bellies full of smoked sausage and cheese, we drove around 

Beale Street, but since nothing too exciting was going on there 

we kept on driving because we wanted to get home to watch 

the Prosecuting Casey Anthony Lifetime movie that came on.

Clearly we are know how to have a fun time.

One of my other favorite things to do in Memphis is see a show at 

The Orpheum and have dinner at Spaghetti Warehouse just a few blocks away. 

I've gone to see Shrek! The Musical and The Nutcracker so far. 

It's such a beautiful old theater.

Hope you had a fun-filled weekend as well! We are out of school today,

which is well-deserved. That first week back is always the hardest. 

-Jess

*p.s. you can view more of my photographic genius by following on instagram @jesskboyd

Well, the end of the first week of school is almost upon us. The only thing this means is that I've been waking up before 9 am every day and washing my hair with some regularity... All I know is that I'm excited to have a 3 day weekend to relive my glory days during Christmas Break, but I digress.

If I had my way {and lots of money}, I would spend this long weekend traveling across the world.

Maybe I'd go back to Nice and spend all day laying on the beach.

This picture & manyyy more are on our "Travel" page; go check it out!

Or fly up a little earlier than planned to NYC & see what the city has to offer.

From

But I'd really want to hit up Russia & play in the snow.

From

Obviously I would try and make it to Egypt & see my beloved Pyramids.

From

But do you know where I'd be, given half a chance & crazy amounts of money?

Back on the banks of the Seine in Paris with my best friends, eating a crêpe Nutella & drinking my favorite hot drink. 

But some things just cannot be, so I'll just have to settle for a short jaunt over to Memphis for some shopping and bbq.

If you could travel anywhere this weekend, where would you go?

-Samantha

PS: Be sure to follow us! Unless you don't like funny stories & cool people... #justliveyourlife

Over the weekend my good friend introduced me to a new song...

She sent me the link in a text and told me i HAD to listen to it...

I take her musical knowledge pretty seriously!!

These girls won the UK X-Factor, they were the first group ever to win!!!

They have now signed with the same record label one direction is under here in America..

Their group name is Little Mix, they kind of remind me of 

5th harmony if you watch the American version of the X-Factor...

They're trying to spread there little wings and fly over here!!

And Speaking of wings that's the title of their super SUPER catchy song...

Like i have been playing it non stop for like 5 days...

These girls are British Hence the whole Spice girls comment...i mean is this the next big girl group for the UK??? I hope so, because so far i love them!!!

I promise this song is going to be stuck in your head for weeks....sorry i'm not sorry ;)

-Emily

via

I ran across Pantone's list for Spring 2013 colors

a while ago. And let me tell you, 

I'm excited. There are no more neons. 

{praise! they do horrible things for my skin tone}

Instead, think muted brights. 

My favorites?

Monaco Blue, Tidal Foam and Nectarine for sure. 

via

via

via

And according to people's pinterest boards lately, Emerald 
is the next big thing. I'm not complaining.

via

I can't wait to go shopping for clothes this spring!

And I'm sure these colors will get worked 

into upcoming design project multiple times.

Which color are you most excited for?

-Jess

I was probably the cutest baby ever. 

#truelife

Things started to go downhill in 3rd grade & really didn't get any better until I was probably 18. 

{For the record, that's 10 years of awkwardness...}

In an effort to correct the wrongs of my youth, I have composed a letter to myself that I wish I could send back in time. 

Dear 15 year old Sam,

Stop using MySpace. One day, you're going to go back & read all the conversations you had with boys & it's going to be super embarrassing//hilarious. On that same note, stop posting those survey bulletins. No one reads those, & they make you look desperate. 

Vintage Sam. YOU'RE WELCOME.

Please stop using text abbrevs. "R u going 2 the game?" is annoying. Take like 2 more seconds on your Razor T9 texting and spell it out. 

I'm begging you to stop shopping at Hollister. Trust me, those clothes will NOT be around in 5 years, & graphic tees flatter no one. It's just a phase. Go to Neiman Marcus and buy some nice clothes with your babysitting money. This will help you in the long run, promise. 

{Sidenote: please don't throw away your Britney Spears cd's. You're gonna want those in about 4 years.}

Letter jackets aren't cool. They're cool for a hot two seconds when you get them, but please stop wearing it all the time. No one cares that you were in the Top Ten Percent {okay, I still care} when you go to the mall. 

Bathroom pictures are never//will never be cool. Just stop. 

Learn how to use a straightner. ASAP. That ginger afro you got going on is not flattering. 

Afro. Bathroom pic. And BlackBerry. Now that's a throwback.

Practice doing your makeup before you leave the house and go out into the public. Sometimes, you just look like a hot mess express. 

And please, please, please, PLEASE remember that things are going to get better. High school should never be the highlight of your life. You're not going to talk to anyone after graduation anyway, so just be who you want to be.

-Forever yours,

Future Samantha

15 year old Sam meet Future Sam.  A look into your future.

P.S.: STOP ACTING LIKE A DOUCHE. Kthanks.

P.P.S.: Start tanning. You're incredibly pale. 

Also, Happy 21st Birthday, Jess! You da besttttttt!