About Us



 At Willamette Valley Vineyard in my hometown of Salem, Oregon. 
Well hey there! Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek at our little blog/journal. We will quickly introduce ourselves here, but if you have specific questions, send us a message or post a comment for us to respond to. 

I (Lana) have always felt at home traveling the world. Maybe it's a result of my upbringing, or perhaps it's just the way my heart was wired. I grew up in Salem, Oregon - had a charmed childhood - loving parents - three little brothers - we traveled a lot, and I always felt a little bit more alive when I was exploring, learning, searching, and dreaming. At 17, I left home, intent on seeing more of the world, and I saw a lot! As these stories often go, I eventually found myself in the small college town of Wilmore, Kentucky. I loved my time at Asbury University, because it made me truly wade through my personal convictions, but I had no idea how important that time would be to the rest of my story.

It was in Kentucky that I met this sexy fellow!

Such a stud! He's ready for Oktoberfest - Munich 2012
He (Chris) grew up in Hurricane, West Virginia, and he also had this deep desire to see as much of the world as possible. I guess you could say that we were wired with the same heart or just wired perfectly for each other. I believe whole-heartedly that he is the man that I had been praying for my entire life. Chris has a great family - beautiful grandparents - wonderful parents - a younger brother and sister - and loving uncles and aunts. His journey took him to the University of Kentucky for college, and that is how our worlds collided. It's a funny story how we met, avoided each other, met again, fell in love on a cruise ship, met the families, went to Namibia, Africa, made wonderful friends, and eventually said "I Do." But that story may be saved for later.



We never expected that our lives would be all that "typical," and we promised each other that we would always adventure together, respect each other, constantly learn new things, desperately love people, focus on making memories, and ultimately try to - 

"Live Life Like a Best Seller."

We leapt into an unknown adventure in 2011 when we agreed to a three-year expat assignment in Europe with Chris' company. I tearfully said goodbye to a great job and an awesome group of coworkers and started wrapping up our world as we had known it. As a young, newlywed (if you could say two years is still "new") couple we sold most of our possessions, left everything familiar, and vowed to make the most of every experience along the way. This season of life finds us in Regensburg, Germany. Chris company just moved us to Germany in late 2013, but before this move, we spent a year in Roeselare, Belgium and also a year in Subotica, Serbia. It has been a whirlwind, but it's been fun to see where life has blown us. We feel rich for the lessons that we have learned, and for the wonderful people who have become friends and saving angels along the way. 

If you're new to our little journal/blog, here are a few posts about our wonderful year in Roeselare, Belgium and Subotica, Serbia. I also added a few links to some of our favorite 
European adventures to date. 

Our First European Adventure in Subotica, Serbia

- And just like that - we're moving to Serbia!

- My new "job" as a Housewife . . . without children.

When Lana dressed up for a Serbian parade in Subotica.

- Lana, the Serbian butcher, and a horrible misunderstanding.

- That dark night when Chris ran into 100+ sheep on the back roads of Serbia.

- If you're planning on moving to Serbia, here are a few of our tips.

- Saying goodbye never gets easier.


Some of our Favorite Trips to Date:

- Amalfi Coast, Italy

- Amsterdam, The Netherlands

- Antwerp(en), Belgium

- Barcelona, Spain

- Baska Beach on the island of Krk, Croatia

- Bruges, Belgium

- Budapest, Hungry

- Cinque Terre, Italy

- Cologne, Germany

- Dublin, Ireland

- Dunboyne, Ireland

- Gaubodonfest - Straubing, Germany

- Hvar, Croatia

- Krk, Croatia

- Ljubljana, Slovenia

- London, England

- Mallorca, Spain

- Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

- Paris, France

- Plitvica Lakes, Croatia

- Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius, Italy

- Prague, Czech Republic

- Regensburg, Germany

- Rome, Italy

- Rome, Italy (trip #2)

- Salzburg, Austria (Gondola Ride in the Alps)

- Venice, Italy

- Vienna, Austria

- Weltenburg Monk Brewery, Germany

- Westvleteren Brewery, Belgium

16 comments:

  1. So sweet! I love that last picture :) Where is that field of bachelor buttons!?

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    1. Ops - meant to reply here. :) Anyway, see the comment below for the answer. :)

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  2. That field is in Silverton, Oregon - on the drive to the Oregon Gardens where we got married. My little brother took this picture and it became my favorite from our wedding! Thanks for stopping by and reading!

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  3. Thanks for the comment on my blog. You have a beautiful blog and wonderful pictures - glad we connected. I am the content editor for BlogExpat, you should consider adding your blog for others to find: http://www.blogexpat.com/en/add-blog.htm. Happy Expating!

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  4. That last photo is amazing! Love the colors. Just recently discovered your blog and can't wait to hear more about life in Serbia!

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    1. Thanks for following along! We are having a great time on this adventure!

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  5. Hey lana - our friend tad suggested we contact you - we're living in Europe for a year -at least- love your blog
    Steve Austin
    Sd.austin@yahoo.com

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    1. I will be sending you an email now .:) Thanks for reading!

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  6. Hi Lana and Chris,

    I am a Producer on the US travel show House Hunters International. I found your website when looking for expats who might be interested in being a part of the show, I hope you don't mind me contacting you?


    I thought I would reach out to see if you or anyone you know have recently moved abroad and might be interested in taking part in House Hunters International?! Ideally they should be outgoing and fun, aged under 45 and have bought a property within the last few years or are renting a property.


    House Hunters International is a half-hour TV show currently airing on the Home and Garden Television Network (HGTV) in America. The series is designed to de-mystify the international home-buying / renting process, by going behind the scenes of a house hunt where expats and their real estate agents tour 3 homes. At its core, House Hunters International is a travel show concentrating on the idiosyncrasies of the locales and what makes them special and different.


    Here are some examples of the show that you can watch on Youtube:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reYI3L3lC-c - Barcelona from LA

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOiump3__Mo - Vienna from California

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tblIVLw0coE – Panama from Pennsylvania


    Please do get in touch if you or anyone you know may be interested in the show.


    Best wishes,


    Michelle


    Michelle James
    CASTING PRODUCER LEOPARD FILMS
    1-3 St Peter's Street, London N1 8JD - +44 20 7704 3300
    michelle.james@leopardfilms.com
    www.leopardfilms.com

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    1. Eeeeek!! We are so excited to explore this possibility!

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  7. Hi, I stumbled on your blog by trying to find out how to see the inside of the synagogue in Subotica. We spent a spring in Timisoara Romania and got really interested in secessionist architecture. We have seen many of Komor and Jakab's famous buildings (Targu Mures, Oradea, Timisoara). We REALLY want to see the synagogue. In May we will be in Subotica for two nights. We couldn't find anyway to plan this in advance, so we were hoping to find someone there who would open it for us. Would you have any suggestions about who we could contact?

    My email is debra.journet@louisville.edu

    PS I love your blog. Any other Subotica recommendations would be welcome too.

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    1. What a small world! I am off to teach now, but I will email you later tonight. I do have an idea for a contact to get into the synagogue. When we lived there, I heard that they only opened it once every year for an event, but them may make an exception if you ask!
      Ohhh, and judging from your email address, it looks like you went to the University of Louisville? Chris and I met and fell in love and started our careers in Lexington, KY!
      We will be in touch! Thanks for reading!
      Lana

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  8. Hi!
    I'm literally watching your House Hunters International show right now. I'm such a huge fan of the show and the life you and your husband are living is absolutely amazing. It is everything I would love my life to be. With that in mind, I am wondering what do you and your husband do? I know you may not be able to/feel comfortable with saying the exact companies, but I am just so curious to know what kind of jobs people have when they are travelling and being relocated so often.
    You seem understand how lucky you are to have the life you do. It's amazing and I can only hope I'm half as lucky and happy as you seem to be.
    Best of luck and thank you,
    Rachel S.
    Texas, USA

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    1. Hey Rachel! Thanks for the sweet note! Chris and I have had a lot of fun on this overseas adventure that was initially supposed to be three whole years in Subotica, Serbia. . . . Chris is a chemical engineer, and he works for a large engineering company that has given us so much exposure and opportunities. It's been a lot of fun, and it's been stretching all at the same time. Not always easy, but we are loving the adventure.
      Thanks for reading!

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  9. I agree! Watching househunters now - if you would be comfortable sharing any information - I would love to receive it:)

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  10. Just watched your episode on House Hunters. You two are a beautiful couple and I'm so glad I found your blog. Thanks for sharing your adventures. :)

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The McCoys