We are in Malta!

Hi everybody! We arrived in Malta a few hours ago and are all checked into our hotel. So far Malta is gorgeous and warm...20C can you believe it? I am using the computer in the lobby and will post pictures as soon as I can, we are sooooo happy!
Love and Hugs

Back in Paris

Hi everybody! Vince and I landed in Paris this morning and went straight to his sister's house. The movers came to pick up our big contanier and we have been napping and packing the rest of our things for Malta. We leave tomorrow around 1pm. Our home computer is busted so I'm not quite sure how I will keep in touch over there for the first few weeks but where there is a will there is a way!
We both had such a great Christmas in Halifax and Ontario. Thanks so much to everyone! We love you and can't wait to see you in Malta!
Love and Hugs

Christmas Dinner at the Dodges

Goodmorning everybody! Last night we had Christmas at Mom and Dad's. Ryan and Britt left this morning for Florida :( to celebrate Christmas with her family so we wanted to do Christmas a little early. Grandpa drove in and Blake came over for dinner too. We opened presents and I got a Kindle! It's so cool...it's a computerized reader...I can download books to it which will make travelling so much lighter. Vince and his parents also got me a beautiful pair of pearl earrings that I love so much! After that we sat down to a traditional turkey dinner and Vince opened his very first cracker. Pretty cute! Then we played one of the new board games he got for Christmas and went to bed. We were still pretty worn out from the all day engagement fiesta from the day before!

Love and Hugs

Engagement Partay!

Good afternoon everybody! We had a wonderful all day/night party at mom and dad's to celebrate our engagement. It was awesome! They had food from all of the countries we have lived in and are moving to. There was a trivia game about how well you know the couple....Mom won that of course. They also made a large dice out of cardboard with pictures of us on all sides and actions like, "hugs all around the room" and "sing or dance or share" and a we also played the clothespin game where you couldn't say the words, France, Engagement, Sam or Vince. Karly won that one! Lots of people came and went all day and night and it was such a warm and happy atmosphere! Thanks so much to everyone who made the long trip in and for coming to share our happiness! I love you all sooooooo much!

Love and Hugs

Love and Hugs

Dinner at Casa Amberlino! Ciao! Ciao!

Good evening Everybody! Well Vince is here and we are gettin' really excited for our engagement party tomorrow at Mom and Dads! Come over if you not busy it's gonna be awesome!

So I have so much more to share with you from my 5 days in Halifax! Here are some pictures of dinner at Amberlie's house. She cooked up an Italian feast fit for a queen! We had aubergine parmesan, salad verte, chicken lemone, and the best part fo sho was the smooth vanilla bean panna cotta! OH MY GOD was it ever good! So light and creamy and delicious! Doug and Amberlie and I devoured it in 30 seconds flat with a little after dinner shot of Lemoncello! How perfect! I can't say enough about how my girls went all out to make me feel loved and right at home! Thank you Thank you Thank you! I love you ladies!

Love and Hugs

P.S. okay I am my brother's house and having a little trouble uploading the rest of the pics for this post...hopefully I will get them up tomorrow so please check back then! Thanks guys!

Halifax for the Holidays!

Good afternoon everybody! I am waiting patiently for Vince to arrive. His flight is 3 hours late! Oh man!

Anywho I wanted to share with you some pictures from last week in Halifax. I had an amazing time visiting with Amberlie, Brooke and Sue. On Friday night we rented a room at the Marriott courtyard downtown and checked in early. We shopped and pub crawled (many Ceasers for me!) in the afternoon before going back to our room to get ready for dinner. We had an amazing meal at the Press Gang and a great table thanks to Amberlie. My oysters and lamb shank were to die for! I was not disappointed. After that we mozied to the Triangle, The Shoe Shop, The Bitter End, The Pogue and Durty Neilly's for a sec to check out the crowd. I love Halifax! It's so friendly so walkable so old and so perfect. It was a great night! Thanks ladies! Love you!

Love and Hugs

My Brother The Librarian

Here Ryan is answering his one phone call a day!

Holding up his new business card, so classy!

Here's a close up...Ryan's title is "Library Technician- in charge of Acquisitions, Circulation and Interlibrary Loans.

Ryan bought this Library-esque cardigan specifically to hang over his chair at work

Here is My brother the Librarian pushing a Library cart back in the archives.

Hi Everybody! Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I am really enjoying myself visiting and lounging with my family. Looooove it!

I wanted to share a few pictures I took of Ryan in his new office at the ROM. He is so happy there milling around the rare books and whispering in the Library. Me and Mom and Dad and Britt couldn't be more proud or happy for him. He truly fits his career. It is so inspiring to just be in there with him watching him go about his daily work. He has what we all what....a job he's excited to go to every single morning!

Love and Hugs

Sorry it's been so long!

Hi Everybody! I am so sorry it's been so long since my last posts! Oh my goodness! I am having internet and time issues......and I have so much to share! URGH! Hopefully I will have time on Sunday to get back up to date. The biggest thing right now is our engagement party. It's on Saturday the 19th from 2pm onwards at Mom and Dad's in Toronto. Everyone is welcome and it going to be so much fun. My fmaily is working so hard at putting together games and prizes and food from our adventures. I would love to see you there!
Love and Hugs

The Ring!

Hello everybody!

Okay okay so this is the ROCK of all rocks! It's handmade by Korloff on rue de la paix in Paris. It's a cushion cut kickass diamond set with baby diamonds on the band. The band also tapers up to the main rock. Oh man it's awesome. I actually take time alone with just me and my diamond so I can stare at it non stop with no interruptions. HA! It's the most beautiful diamond I have ever seen. I am so proud of Vince's long commitment to designing it and striving for the best of the best. Awesome job Vince! I am so proud to wear your ring!

Love and Hugs

We're Engaged!

Sue made this cute signage for the bedroom door I stayed in while I was visiting her house. Isn't it the best? I kept it!

Vince's sister Delphine took these shots for us at her house a day and half after Vince proposed.
hehehe I just like saying, "Vince proposed!" hehehehe

Hello everybody! The title of this blog speaks for itself! Oh man I can sense there will be a lot of exclamation points in this post!!!!!! :)

Okay so Vince proposed on November 27th! It was the most intimate romantic moment of my life! I have never laughed or cried so hard and for so long simultaneously!

He is my most favourite person in the world. Everyday I want and wait and get excited to see his face and listen to him talk. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world that he chose ME! Can you believe it?! I know! It's so crazy and amazing! I can't wait for us to be old owls together! I get to be with him and only him for the rest of my life. It just seems like I have won the lottery of love. The ultimate prize! Whoa! Yippppehorrraywhooooaweeeeeeeeeeeyahooooooooooooooo! I get to marry Vincent jean-Pierre Klein! Whooooohoooooooooweohhhhyipppeeeeehorrayyyyyyyyyy!!!!

Love and Hugs!

Last post for a few days!

Hi Guys, I am getting ready to go and wanted to let you know that I won't be posting for the next fews days. You probably won't catch me here until next wednesday. I will be kissing Vince, packing, shopping and standing by for flights until then. Wish me luck, I'm on my way.....

Love and Hugs

Number One reason I can't wait to get to Canada!

To spend time with you people silly! My Family and Friends I love you so much and can't wait to waste away the hours listening to you talk.

I love you!

Love and Hugs

Why Canada rocks and I can't wait to get there!

Hugs and Kisses and the free for all that is Canadain Friendlyness. I am in a barren land of polite smiles and nods overhere. I can't wait to get back to my people who all live with their hearts on their sleeves. I am going to smother all you with my hugs!

Personal space. Space to move on the subway and in the street. I'm gonna take deep breaths and expand my arms all the way out without hitting a single person in the head. And roam around my families and friends houses with ease unlike my usual persona, "Samantha the humongous bull in a china shop."

Here's to Shopper's drugmart and the Atlantic Superstore with the NSLC attached to it. I miss shopping in stores where I can get everything I need. Such a luxury!

Acutally wearing my comfy pants outside and not feeling bad about it. Hell I might even pair those comfy pants with the above sweater and feel pride and joy when Canadains pull me over on the street to compliment my sweatshirt. HA!

A few more:

Chit chating with friendly strangers on the street

Brown and white sugar and that's it. I have had a hell of a time baking over here. I am clearly missing something. I thought Brown sugar was in everything?!

Love and Hugs and see you all soon!

Pic credits-

1-coe.int

2-rlv.zcache

3-wikimedia.org

Things I will miss about Paris- Part 2

1. My handsome, kind, wonderfuly perfect French boyfriend!

2. The outrageous architecture everywhere. It's like a dream and you have to squint and make sure you are really seeing what you think you are seeing. And then you realize Yes! I live in Paris! It's not a dream!

3. The wafting smell of butter on every street corner coming from the boulangerie. I am not lying. They must be flowing on a river of butter in the back it's that intense. I love it!

4. The gorgeous elegant stylish Parisian women that inspire my fashion everyday. I have never walked out of the house wearing comfy pants.


5. Watching the Eiffel tower from my street as I walk home everyday. Nuff said.

And a few more....

The fact that my French was improving leaps and bounds…I was actually able to get into the conversation with Vince’s family

Watching skinny french women walk home with a baguette in their left hand eating off the top of it with their right hand. Stumps me everytime.

On the same topic, here there is a lack of diets and diet advertisements and crazy plastic surgery looking women brainwashing me into believing I need to look the same way. Also there are hardly any gyms and the freak attack health nuts that go along with them. I never overhear people talking about cutting banana's out of their diet because they have too many calories. Or people taking about getting up at 4 in the morning to take a spin class and run 25miles before work. Parisians aren't afraid of food and fat like we are and it's sooooo refreshing.

Perfume! Everywhere! You can wear it in public over here, gasp I know. Come over and wear your beautiful expensive scent where ever the hell you want.

Next up, the list of things that gets me so excited to come home to Canada!
Love and Hugs

Photocredit: pic 2-eurocheapo.com

pic 3- cache.graphiclib.viator

pic 4-stylebyme.com

Things I will miss about Paris- Part 1

This post is dedicated to my Mom who has been reminding me through my bluey haze these last few days to keep my eyes wide open and enjoy everything they see.....
1. Lots of cheap wine and Champagne. I mean we got this beautiful bottle of St-Emilion 2005 Grand Cru for 10.00 euros. Can you imagine? Back home it would be like 65.00 bucks easy.

2.Exhilarating bike rides around the Arc De Triomphe. I know it's big and beautiful but riding your bike so close to it really makes you appreciate it that much more.

3. Bike riding with my Velib card. I love that I bike or walk everywhere. It's a cheap and easy and I always feel healthy after a brisk ride outside.

4. Cobblestone streets and alleyways. I don't know what it is but everytime I see one my heart swoons. Does anyone have the same reaction? I also love the way car tires sound on cobblestones as they pass me on my bike. Sounds so....Parisian!

5. My daily morning pain au chocolate and espresso. The pain is so flaky and warm and buttery and the coffee so strong and cheap. I love the smell of an espresso quicky brewed at the counter of a bar. I know I am supposed to love the muffins or donuts and coffee from Tim's but I'm sorry to say I think you've got a convert on your hands Canada!

The second pic is borrowed from: motorcapers.com

The fourth pic is borrowed from: terragaleria.com