bird of your dreams

Today is my last day enjoying the beautiful weather and family time in Sacramento, California. In a few hours I will catch a plane and head for LAX. Oh how I have loved being home. This last weekend my little brother became an eagle scout so we made a little celebration of it. My grandparents came up from Palm Springs, my sister came over from the bay, and boyfriend fly in from Arizona to join in on the fun. It ended up being so much fun. This was one of the few times Marlee and I have reunited, so we took advantage of our time and worked on a few new songs. This is a super raw version of our new song 'Bird of Your Dreams'. We hope you enjoy. Feel free to share this or let it float around the cyber world.

that post from the airport,

I am starting to feel like I live in airports. Not in the cozy-home-away-from-home sort of living. I have been attempting to fly back to the States since Saturday and clearly have been unsuccessful. But like my mom always says, "Look at it like an adventure". So that is what I am trying to do. Don't worry, I am already starting to laugh about it now. You know you have been there too long when the security guards start to recognize you and pay little attention to going over typical routines with you. I couldn't help but laugh when one of the security guards frowned while watching me get in line this morning and mouthed "Sorry". I am starting to feel like Tom Hanks from "The Terminal". OK, I realize that may sounds extreme...but really. As I am writing this I am waiting at the gate. Crossing my fingers and everything else that I can make this flight, or any flight to the States today. If so, these are my last hours in France for a while...but home never sounded so good.

Caine's Arcade,

I promise this will put a smile on your face. It is people like this who restore some hope back in the human race. I want to go to Caine's Arcade. Who's with me?

happy wednesday,

This is still my favorite song. It has been on repeat today. I hope your Wednesday is wonderful!

i'm going to miss living with this ice skater,

Remember how I told you how I live with a host family in Nice? I don't recall if I really introduced them. I live with the sweetest 79-year-old named Micheline, and her 14-year-old granddaughter Héllo Nà. They might just be the sweetest little souls ever. Tonight, I got to finally see Héllo Nà in her element...at the ice skating rink. She was amazing. I felt like a proud older sister or something of the sort watching her. Somewhere amongst the triple axles, I started thinking and realized how much I am going to miss this little one. I am going to miss singing our lungs out in the car to "la sens de la vie". I am going to miss letting her braid my hair into 50 tiny little braids so my hair looks like Medusa the next morning(Stew's idea). I am going to miss listening to her stories about all the cute boys at school. I am going to miss her planting kisses on my cheeks every time I sing for her. I am going to miss sharing a home with her most of all. She takes after her grandmother, and both are some of the sweetest people I have ever met. I wish my French was better so I could know them better...but I have a feeling I gained a few pen pals.

little ones,

This is Ethan. He is the adorable two-year-old grandson of the lady I live with. I just had to share his cuteness.

imagine dragons,

I like Dan. & his band. & this song.

So happy for them.

Monte Carlo, Monaco

The bus system here is amazing. They have a bus that takes you anywhere along the coast up to Italy for just one euro. Your eyes don't deceive you. One euro. After school, my friend Julie & I decided to adventure to Monte Carlo. Although it is just minutes away from Nice...the money-filled city is quite different. No, I did not see Brad Pitt at the casino, or anyone worthy of report...sorry. I loved just walking around and soaking it all in.

the week I became a Brazilian,

I have made some pretty amazing friends on this French adventure. No doubt, they are the kind that I will keep in contact with for years to come. I can't say exactly when it happened once I got here, but somehow I became close with my little Brazilian girls. Catarina & Beatriz. Cat has the most energy and spirit I have ever seen for someone her size. Bea is just the sweetest thing ever. This last week was their last here in Nice, so I lived at their house to never be apart. By the end of the week, we were weaving through so many languages, I was actually able to pick up a little Portuguese. I already am missing them. This last week Cat had her big 22nd birthday so we got to go out and celebrate! We went to the beach, out to dinner, out for some ice cream & crepes at our favorite spot in town, then out for some dancing at the best spot in town for live music. I could tell stories about them for hours, but they already made me promise not to post them publicly :)They are going to come out to the States over summer & I am already looking forward to our next time together.

London bridges, double buses, & a whole lot of shopping

For Stew's last weekend in Europe, we decided to make a quick trip to London. It was my first time in the city, so one weekend felt like one day. The first night we were there, we went to eat at the OXO Tower London. It sits on the very top of the tower with a wall of windows so you can just look out on the city all lit up. I quickly realized that I was not in France anymore. London was so different. The diversity of the people, the drivers on the opposite side of the road from what I am used to, the food(huge difference), hearing English instead of French, and plenty other differences. I loved London. But guilty as charged, Saturday we spent most of the day shopping. Literally. I am pretty sure I was in Topshop for six hours. The time that was not spent shopping, we went sight seeing. We did the London eye, visited the palace, etc. One of my favorite things was going through the street markets. We even got Fish & Chips. So touristy, I know. When the London trip was over, Stew had to head back to the States. He took one train & I took another to the airport to head back to France. Some time has passed since that trip & I can't wait to adventure with him again in a few weeks!



P.S. you have to excuse my lack of pictures..I wasn't kidding about spending a huge chunk of our time inside a store.