H-town adventures

A few weekends ago we flipped our normal schedule - and by "normal" I mean a wackadoodle schedule that isn't really "normal" at all since we don't really live in the same city these days - and I went to Houston for the weekend instead of Craig coming home.  I'm sure he missed the puppy, and maybe even the crazy kitty, but it was so great to just have a couple of days of FUN instead of laundry and grocery store and flower beds and, you know, life stuff.  We had mini-vacation!

Craig picked me up from the airport and asked if I wanted to go drop off stuff at the hotel or head straight to dinner, and I think I grunted some primal version of "food, now, MEXICAN" and we headed straight for El Tiempo and proceeded to...wait. And wait.  And spill an entire margarita while waiting (yup, that was me).  But we finally sat down and went straight for the parrillada section of the menu.  Holy freaking grilled meat deliciousness.  I proceeded to take a truly horrendous and underlit phone picture, then we dug in and failed to make much of a dent in the giant pile of food.  I promise we tried.

Dinner was quite a production, so we went back to the hotel, dodged the armies of dance girls (some epic convention/competition/enormous shrieking slumber party was going on - I've never seen so much makeup on such tiny faces), and just crashed.  Saturday we actually woke up and met some of my dearest, dearest friends for a really delicious breakfast at Lankford Grocery...

Lankford Grocery is super cute, extremely down to earth, and also possibly a little on the dive-ish side - an excellent combination

mmmmm, BACON!  Along with quite possibly the most amazing french toast ever - my migas were good, but this french toast was GOOD

 ...and a trip to the zoo!  I was so glad the weather held out - we were threatened by clouds and teased by raindrops, but it never full out rained on us.  The most threatening part of the entire trip was really the parking lot adventure - that thing was FULL.  So we parked a mile away and got in an extra workout.

Feed the birdie!

Sneaking in a peek at the chimps

Craig and I fed the giraffes!!  It was so cool - their tongues are these crazy-long twisty blackish-purple things, and they would just amble up and take the lettuce.  Nature is so cool

An all-around awesome little man, and maybe just a little bit of a ham for the camera

Carousel time!  Mr. Alan insisted on the bench seating

Saturday night we drove out to Katy where Katie lives (Katie in Katy!  I just giggle at that) with her husband and two sweet boys (well, one sweet and one of the verge of that whole "I'm approaching my teen years and think adults are not with it" kind of...sweet...) to join them for burgers and catch-up time.  Well, catch-up time for Craig because he's known Katie his entire life* and "hi, nice to meet you!" time for me.

* it really is a small world, isn't it?

The aforementioned possibility of rain?  Yeah, it kicked in on Sunday, so we just slept in and nixed any outdoor plans.  Oh, what's that you say?  Maybe indoor activities like brunch?  And shopping?  Sign me up!  I think the only way I got Craig to brave the Galleria was a promise to go in the Microsoft store, and things almost took a turn for the truly expensive when I sent him in the Sony store (what was I thinking?!?) while I went to Sephora.  We embraced the moment, though, and even had fancy brunch in Saks at 51fifteen.  Bottomless mimosas making shopping better for anyone.

Technology. It can be a little perplexing.

We ventured out and about into Houston proper and did some exploring, but when we drove past Wabash Antiques and Feed Store, the cuteness got to me and we just had to go in.  I said it smelled like home (animal feed, hay, and leather), and they also had chickens, and crazy yard art, and a store cat.  Also a giant charcoal grill in the shape of a pig, which fortunately Craig didn't actually want to buy.  Phew.

Hi piggie!

Random shopping and driving and thinking about how much the ridiculous houses cost and making some laps of Memorial Park (laps in our car, not actual jogging - don't be ridiculous) = one Sunday afternoon and one too-quick weekend.  It's good to just get out and play every once in a while.

Are the extra large pictures too much?  I feel like they're exploding a little bit, but I also kinda like them.

Wreck 'em!

Yesterday. Hot hot HOT and not feeling very autumnal at all, but the essence of fall was in the air. And by the essence of fall, I mean that we journeyed allllll the way to Ft. Worth and followed a path through a random backyard...

...seriously - a very random backyard!  Park on neighborhood streets in Colonial Hills, seek out the house with the red brick driveway, almost walk past said house, get a little assistance from friendly TCU fans, and just scoot on down the driveway and through the path in back, over a bridge, and find yourself...

...taking in the essence of fall, which on this particular day meant emerging through a small patch of trees at the back of a random backyard to the smell of grills going and...well, it was quite strong...beer.  Ahhh, that means tailgating!!  Football time!!  I headed to Ft. Worth with Diana, Blonde Jen, and Red Jenn (it's the easiest way to distinguish!) to cheer on our Red Raiders versus those crazy horned frogs (really, "fear the frog!" as your "rah rah, let's intimidate the opponent!" tagline? I'm not really feeling it...). Not so bad having a conference game where the road trip for us Dallas gals is around an hour - I think we might make a tradition of this! Especially as long as Diana has these excellent tailgating connections.

A few pre-game festivities, which mostly consisted of fajitas and beer as well as some smack talk from the rowdier members of the group - you know that's Diana's job!  Especially since she's going around tagging TCU fans with tiny Masked Riders on their jerseys...

The game, of course, being a Red Raider football game, was ridiculous and almost gave me a heart attack four times.  I was also hoping for a gorgeous fall day, but it was a little on the toasty side (don't worry, I slathered myself in SPF 70 to preserve my Casper-like glow), and the sun was right in our face up until...ummm...yeah, overtime!

It's easy to forget about the sweat and the heat and the frustration and the craziness, though, when your team finally comes out with a win in TRIPLE OVERTIME.  Get your guns up!!

Glad you could pull this one out, Raiders - we celebrated your victory at Rosa's for a little taste of West Texas.  Yay for college football!  Also, we're a pretty loud cheering section all on our own - I have awesome friends. 

A swift punch in the face

Remember that cookbook I mentioned?  That just made my day?

Yes, that one.  I was so excited to receive this in the mail that I punched myself in the face.  Literally.  Ripped open that packaging so quickly that my hand flew back and connected with my face.  Which caused Craig to laugh and laugh and laugh at me, and I think I actually did something practical like ice my face.  Which was probably dramatic.  But so was the punch in the face, so it really all goes together.

I mean, this may be the only time my name makes it out in the world in print (unless you count any number of boring tax things I worked on while in DC, which I don't count since they were...boring tax things), so I overreacted.

There I am!  Woot woot!

My notes are responsible for things like pan de campo, ruby red sweet rolls, and coconut tres leches cake.  And I just had way too much fun testing recipes.  How to turn this into a job...

Go forth and make these things.  Check out the Homesick Texan blog.  Buy the book of deliciousness (Kindle edition, only $9.90!).  Make tasty food.

Battling the heat with frosty beverages

Weekend before last we hopped in the car and set off for the FW in this whole DFW metroplex thing - Craig had never been then, AND we had big plans to meet up with the Vaughns for an afternoon of...well...Mexican food and alcohol, when you get right down to it.  So, first stop was the patio at Joe T. Garcia's, an institution in the arena of Mexican food and Ft. Worth things to do.

Yes, please.

My previous experience with Joe T's has been (1) you can only order enchiladas or fajitas, and (2) the food's just ok but the experience/ambience/patio makes it all worth while.  So imagine my surprise when an actual MENU came out with TONS of options!  I stuck with the cheese enchilada but also added a taco into the mix.  And while I'm happy to report the expansion on (1), (2) still holds true...although you get a little less atmosphere when there's no live music rocking the patio.  But we had shade and fans, so that certainly helped.  As did margaritas.  Duh, margaritas always help.

After loading up our tummies, we headed over to Rahr & Sons brewery for the Saturday afternoon tour.   When we showed up, I was a little worried about the line...

...but we were in without a problem!  Into the un-air conditioned brewery, that is.  Which we knew going in.  And we knew it was going to be hot.  H-O-T.  But still.  I wasn't expecting to be quite so shiny throughout the afternoon.  Thank goodness for the fans.

And the tour wasn't much of a tour (ummm...we actually kinda missed the whole "tour" part of the afternoon, but our $7 for three beers + a glass bargain pretty much made up for that), but we did enjoy catching up with friends, hearing some tunes, and checking out something new.

She was pretty good!

Craig showing off his glass, and blocking his face, which is how he prefers to be photographed.

The sweetest baby alive handled the heat pretty well...although she looks a little worried here.  Good work, Gracie!

Tooooooooooo hot to do anything!!

Showering, no shampoo needed

Last weekend...ok, wait, make that weekend BEFORE last since time is completely disappearing and sneaking away from me...I got to spend the afternoon surrounded by dear family and friends at this only-comes-around-once kinda thing known as a bridal shower.  And it was absolutely fantastic.  Craig's mom flew in, the amazing Dana made the journey from Virginia, my MOHSOB (maid of honor sister of the bride, duh!) trekked halfway across the country, Mom & Dad (although no boys allowed at the shower!) drove down along with a wonderful aunt and cousins...and then there's all the people here in the oven who made it a point to be there, too! 

To celebrate me.  Well, and this Craig guy.  It was pretty awesome.  Mexican food, margaritas, Bob Armstrong, and absolutely no games.  I'm not really a games kinda girl, especially when it comes to...myself.  But I do love board games.  Excessively, actually.

It goes against every ounce of my being to NOT take pictures at an event, but my goal here was to actually be present and enjoy the time with my family and friends. Which meant no picture-taking allowed - just soaking up the moments and memories.  Therefore, all of these pictures are courtesy of the amazing Sarah and her fantastic fixed lens that I just might go out and buy for myself.  And she's a pro at uploading and Picasa sharing in a timely manner.  Just one of the many, many reasons I love her dearly.

That being said, here's the one picture I'm contributing to this event, which was taken on my phone mere moments ago with a nifty little diddy known as Vignette, which I've completely fallen in love with.

Love love LOVE these invitations so much!!  Carolyn, you do good work.

And now...thank you, Sarah, photographer extraordinaire!

That sweet, crafty Sarah went and made me the cutest apron...with a "P" in the corner!  I think I wore it for half the shower.

Wonderful Sarah friend person crafter photographer amazing.  Just summing her up.

Diana was an absolute pro with the cake balls.  For bringing them AND for serving them so beautifully.  What a fantastic friend!



Ok, yes, I was enjoying my margaritas.  Amanda looks perhaps a touch concerned.

Quite a pile to work my way through!



My beautiful, amazing, wonderful beyond words bridesmaids (MOH and sistah friend is sitting next to me stage right, of course).  Love these girls more than you can ever know.

A giant thank you to everyone who could be there!  I had such a fantastic time celebrating with all of you!

Busy much? Also, adventures in weight loss

The last three weeks had just a touch of whirlwind to them.  You know, moving back to Texas.  Into an actual house.  And starting a "new" job.  In the middle of busy season.  And having Craig here one weekend and my parents the next and then Craig again.  And I'm going to NYC this weekend for a very dear friend's wedding.  And did you know that I've spent more time in Home Depot in the last three weeks than I have in my entire life?

And I don't want the blog to die.  Poor neglected blog.  It's had a whole lot of zilch going on the last few weeks.  I'm back, little blog, I'm back.

Especially since I need to document the latest step in the healthy living plan...

I could stand to lose a few pounds.  For health's sake.  And vanity's sake, of course - I don't want to worry AS much about my arm flab in a wedding dress here in about eight months.  I've put on about 15-20 pounds in the last year or so (I totally blame Craig taking me on all these amazing dates and cooking for me...plus I'm also buying into the theory that falling in love makes you gain weight...it's possible!), and I'd like to take it off.  Plus another ten on top of that to get to a healthy, stable place.  And Trinity's kinda in the same boat.  Well, not the wedding dress thing, but the "could stand to lose a few" thing.  So he offered up a weight loss challenge, pitting us against each other, sparking the competitive spirit in both us.  Motivation!!

Plus it makes it more serious if you give it a logo with Harry Potter font.  How could that be anything but motivational and awesome?

We weighed in a week ago, set our goal weights, and are going to check our percentage lost every two weeks - the winner (who's really the "loser") gets some kind of prize from the other.  And the ultimate winner (whoever hits their goal weight first) gets something awesome.  We just haven't decided quite what yet.

So far...I'm not off to a stellar start.  I mean, I just got back to the land of Tex-Mex.  What am I supposed to do, say no to shrimp taquito day at Chuy's (Wednesday, of course) or fried chicken taco day (Thursday, if you're interested) at Taco Joint?  Maybe I should also think twice about making a triple batch of homemade oreos (I took them all to work, don't worry - not a single one left in the house.  But of course I still ate plenty during the baking process...).  And I should actually join a gym and actually go there.  Getting on a consistent workout schedule would really help.  Which is where a 9-to-5 schedule would come in handy.  But no excuses!  Time to do this thing!

It's good to be back in Texas, y'all, even if enchiladas tempt me at every turn.

Holidayapalooza 2010, sweet babies edition

...and Dallas time is here!  Flew in the night of the 28th, jetted out the morning of the 31st, did a MILLION things in between.  A million things like...combing through all of our options and finding a really cute house to rent for the next year, checking out a couple of potential wedding locations (eeekk!), introducing Craig to the joy in my life that is Central Market, and stuffing our faces with deliciousness from the likes of Twisted Root and Chuy's and Smoke and Zorba's with some of my very best friends.  Oh, and a couple of their highly adorable babies.

Diana and sweet Gracie, just chillin' at Chuy's

Carolyn and tiny baby Rhett!  So glad I got to meet him and see his mommy!  And just to clarify...his mommy is Molly, not Carolyn.  Don't go confusing yourself on that one.

The baby transfer...always a delicate manuever.

Sweet Mr. Rhett is quite content with Kami

All the sweet baby pictures are here.  And I'm so, so glad I got to spend some time with my friends - I'll be back before you know it!

Holidayapalooza 2010, A-town style

...and now, landing in DFW the night of the 23rd.  And not going to A-town until the next morning.  Why is this, you ask?  Well, you try booking a flight from Norfolk to Amarillo within a day or two of Christmas and see what all you come up with.  That doesn't cost a bajillion dollars.  Hence a late arrival in the state of Texas, one night at the Hyatt Regency DFW (which was actually rather lovely and quite reasonably priced), and an early Christmas Eve flight into Amarillo...where I learned, in addition to the fact that baking adventures are generally always awesome, the following things...

Mexican food is, without a doubt, always delicious and guaranteed to produce a smile.  Love you, Abuelo's.

I love homemade Christmas ornaments, especially the bug-eyed gingerbread man.  He holds a special place in my heart.

I'm in need of some "keep calm" advice these days, for sure, as evidenced by the presence of this cute baby book in my stocking AND a "keep calm and carry on" coffee mug gift from my sister.  Deep, calming breaths...

Festive holiday socks are the BEST.  Thanks, Mom!

Nothing makes a man happier than beer, really.  Especially Shiner Holiday Cheer.  Doubly especially when it's cradled by a Seahawks koozie as gifted to my parents by Craig as semi-retaliation for their efforts encouraging him to become a Cowboys fan.  Oh dear.

A-town pictures here.  Enjoy.  Also, we spent a LOT of time playing with the Wii and generally chilling.  Also, I got to see some highly wonderful Sullivan gals who totally made my night.  Also, it's always, always nice to be home.  Really, really nice, actually.  Dallas time is coming...

Happiness is...

Sweet babies. Awesome friends. Other things.

I was in Dallas last week, theoretically imparting my tax skills and knowledge to some new associates over five days, but you know why I was really there.  To see the babies.  And my friends, both with and without babies.  I love my people!

I got in on Saturday afternoon and promptly called Sarah, who graciously allowed me to stay with her a couple of nights AND who immediately knew my #1 priority (Mexican food, duh!), so we met for lunch at Chuy's.  I didn't take any pictures.  I just enjoyed the cheesy, deluxe tomatillo-ey goodness while catching up with a good friend.  Tex-Mex, I miss you so.  We then indulged in pedicures (for both of us) and a manicure (for me - nary a week goes by when I know without a doubt that I won't be doing dishes and destroying my hands, so I just had to treat myself) before getting caught in a ridiculous rainstorm.  At least my flight made it in before that mess o' weather.

Ok, this will get reaaaaaallllllly long if I detail it all out, so here are the highlights:

• Dinner Saturday night at The Porch with some of my best gals.
• Met with a realtor and checked out some houses on Sunday - eeekk!!  Thanks again to Sarah for all the advice and for being my real estate buddy.
• A nice, long visit with the Vaughns on Sunday!  Hanging out with Gracie AND taking her on her first trip to Rosa's.  It was awesome.

Gracie doing the "I'm threeeeeee weeks old!" stretch

Gracie chillin' with her awesome mom

Duncan looks a little suspicious...or maybe just sad that he's not the baby anymore.

Gracie faceplanted into me - she's OUT, man.

• Kinda ridiculous and awesome dinner at Javier's with my two co-instructors on Monday night. Caldo xochitl, cheese panela, carne asada a la tampiquena, tres leches cake. I think I gained five pounds.
• A Tuesday night visit with the Peterson family!  Carolyn and I journeyed out to Rowlett to see Jenny and Chris and meet Miss Taylor - isn't she cute?

• Dinner with Molly on Wednesday night at...no, not Mexican food...but Fearing's!  We would have been perfectly happy with Manny's, but fate sent us to Fearing's, and we were glad.  It was amazing.  Have you ever had chicken-fried lobster?  Trust me, just go for it.  It was also great catching up with my Molls!
• I just keep talking about food, don't I?  And babies.  Sorry about that.
• One of my favorite traditions, Thursday night dinner with Kami and Carolyn.  I miss these girls.
• Semi-birthday celebration Friday night with some of my peeps at Veracruz in Bishop Arts.  It was delicious and just the right amount of festive.  Thanks, guys!
• Finally seeing Stephanie's beautiful new home in Las Colinas AND catching up over one of my favorite fall beverages before heading to the airport.

So glad I got to see so many of my friends and catch up last week!  Miss you guys.

They're babies.  They're adorable.  Check out all the (limited!  I'm trying not to go overboard!) pictures.