A new addition

Faked you out, didn't I?  A new addition?  You thought the baby came!!  Nope, we just had a built-in wine bar installed between the kitchen and breakfast nook - a lovely new addition to our home.  I think this may qualify as the male version of nesting...we'd talked about doing it for a while, but then Craig kicked it into high gear and made this thing happen.  Do you know how many options are out there for wine fridges??  It's a little redonk.

Here's how things were looking about three months ago...

We committed to a wine fridge (this was actually the second one we bought...the first one didn't exactly run quietly...quite the opposite, which was causing me to go bonkers, which meant we definitely got a different wine fridge), and Craig did manly things like move electrical outlets and switches to make room for the new cabinets.  Electrical things scare me...Craig, not so much. He's very brave.

Fast forward a few weeks...

...and amazing things have happened!  We now have granite people and a cabinet guy and staining guys (yes, different people for each one...apparently this is not a one stop shopping endeavor), and the whole thing is really coming together.  They did an awesome job of matching the existing kitchen cabinets, but the process was a little scary - I actually spent two nights at a hotel while Craig held down the home fort and kept the animals alive while battling truly epic fumes from the varnish/staining/painting process.  We decided it was probably best if I didn't expose our unborn child to scary fumes...yeah, they were pretty bad.

And then we debated backsplash options and found yet another guy (the tile guy!) to come make it all happen and NOW...

All done!!  It's awesome.  And I told Craig I didn't care if the wine fridge matched the existing appliances, but now that it does, it makes the crazy person in me really happy.  Not that I'm enjoying wine these days, but soon enough.  Yay for successful home improvement adventures!! And it's alllll done before baby comes...which could really be any day now.  Yeeps.

Sewing...an actual garment...for me to WEAR...in public...

The last thing I attempted to sew that was actually meant to worn on my own body was a pair of pajama pants, circa sometime early 2000s...heck, let's call it a decade or so ago...and it was pretty much an epic fail.  Sorry to break it to you like that.  It did come together relatively smoothly - the legs ended up actually being about the length of my legs, my waist wasn't horribly constricted by some ridiculous elastic situation, the fabric was cute and everything.  I triumphantly pulled them on and went to curl up on the couch - and the entire crotch area riiiiiiiiiiipped apart because I did a horrible job of taking care of an important seam.  So much to learn about reinforcing and stitch length and so on and so forth.  I think I got frustrated and threw them in the trash.

Well, we've come a long way, people.  Skillz acquired and ready to go.  And when my dear friends Dan & Jeremy said "hey y'all, we're getting married in Mexico, you SO must be there, please wear white because it'll look awesome and beachy!!"...I thought big.  I mean, first I looked on ModCloth and scoped out my options, but then since I'm an insane crazy person I relish in at least starting craftastic projects, I thought about sewing a dress.  Yeah, let's go for it!  I can do this!!  I'm going to buy Rae's Washi Dress pattern and DO this thing!!!  So excited, LET'S BUY THE PERFECT FABRIC!!!!

There you go - March 9, 2013 - captured for posterity in a sad phone pic - found some great seersucker with a bronzey metallic thread running through it, super cute, tons of possibilities.  Let's do this thing, for reals.  I have approximately three months to make this dress happen, and I'm feeling dang good about things.

So excited that by MAY 27, two and half months into this three month window, I had done THIS with the fabric...

...yeah, that's right, I totally washed AND dried it.  And refolded it.  And let it sit.  Until Memorial Day weekend, about two and a half weeks before we were hopping on a plane to Cabo San Lucas.  I figured this holiday weekend better count for something, so I made some epic progress, like actually getting the pattern assembled (PDF patterns from online purchases...yup, you print those bad boys out on regular ol' paper, tape it together, and then cut it out - just putting the pattern together was a little tedious, yeeps)...

...and cutting out the pieces for this thing, where I gladly used whatever typical household tools were available to assist and was extremely grateful that we shelled out for the extra-long dining room table, which basically serves as a craft station far more frequently than it actually functions as a dining room table. 

Then I actually started sewing, and the piles of fabric started to come together in something remotely resembling a garment.  Holy hell, I'm feeling kinda good about this, even with the late start.

I mean, I have helpers and everything!

Craig helped by bringing me a glass of wine (a sewing machine doesn't count as heavy machinery, right?), and Harry and Zach are totally helpful when it comes to sewing.  Just look at all of that encouragement surrounding me.  And those shelves that still haven't made it onto a wall, but let's not think about that right now.

And then the dress really did start looking like a dress, which happens when you decide to line the dress (since it's white...I mean, come on, we need another layer of fabric in there), which means you're basically sewing two dresses instead of one and one of the dresses just happens to get sewn into the other dress.  Phew.  We're getting there.

Mission-critical pinning-together of the dress and the lining - fingers crossed!

So, at this point, I've basically exploded all over the dining room AND my office/craftastic room...

...and everyone's worried, even the dog, who is usually pretty laid-back about most things in life, so now I'm getting worried, too.

Mom, WHAT exactly are you doing??

And then it all went wrong when I botched the lining and basically sewed everything together backwards and cursed the day I decided to freaking sew a dress wondered what I had gotten myself into and spent more time than I would like to admit to picking out stitches and redoing hours of work.

Yes, I finished the dress the night before we left.  And it worked.  Thank goodness.

I'm going to call this one a craftastic win, even with my procrastination.  Because, I mean, just look how cute we are.  Phew.

Fredericksburging finale

Taking in the wildflowers at LBJ Ranch

Last full day Fredericksburging, boo.  Can't we have just a few more?  Oh well.  After eating peach pie with ice cream (hellooooo, we're on VACATION!!) for breakfast (that was just me, actually - far more reasonable people had breakfast that actually resembled normal breakfast) and lounging around Avery Haus for a bit, we divided up into three groups.  (1) A group of travelers to Luckenbach for a little beer and a little music and the purchasing of t-shirts, (2) families to a wildflower farm for really adorable pictures, and (3) the boys + Diana + me to LBJ Ranch for some learning and wildflowers of our own and other historical/nature adventures.  

Can't get enough of the pretty flowers and beautiful day!

Our time at the ranch was pretty awesome!  You pick up a CD that you play in your car as it guides you through the whooooole ranch (completely free, too, which is a nice perk), and you can get out at different stops along the way and do things like listen to historical reenactors explain how to make cheese (eeekk!) and admire fancy old hats...

 ...and entertain yourself 1860s style...

...and watch out for feisty barnyard animals...

...and explore cool old barns...

...and meet some really large animals and learn about things you didn't know existed like the ability to brand HORNS...

...and make new friends with the guy attached to those horns...

...and see cool old airplanes affectionately known as Air Force One-Half...

...and pretend to be the President...

...and just generally enjoy the beautiful, wide-open spaces. 

beautiful day at the ranch 

We also took a guided tour of the Texas White House (no pictures allowed inside, boo) with a pretty enthusiastic park ranger, and it was really interesting to learn about the history of the house and check out LBJ's office. After making our way through the house, we took a little swing break down by the Pedernales River...

...and then went to meet up with Groups #1 & 2 for some winery time!  First stop was Grape Creek, where they most fortunately had some awesome ladies serving BBQ (we were STARVING - historical adventures are hard work).  We set up shop outside in the shade, listened to some live music, and worked our way through brisket sandwiches and several bottles of wine.  So right.

beverages of choice for the afternoon

the gang under a dang big tree

Number Three

cheers, parenting style

ummmm, excuse me!  mom needs some more juice!

Then we headed up the road to Becker for some more wine, some more quality lounging time in the shade, some more wine, a couple of bug adventures, and some more wine.

Diana, Dan, & Jeremy outside Becker

It really was just a beautiful afternoon!

Back into town for dinner on the giant patio at Silver Creek, then we all headed back to the great backyard at Amoroso Cottage for a rousing game of horseshoes and a grand finale in the form of s'mores.

Isn't this such an awesome backyard??  I want to steal that stone fireplace.  And the Adirondack chairs.  And some of those people and just keep them here with us at home because they're so awesome.

S'mores.  Dan's doing it right.

Our house ended the night shouting curses, and then it was time to crash and hit the road the next morning in the hopes of avoiding epic traffic nightmares (although cars sure did seem to have a hard time not running into each other as we came up I-35 - fortunately we were spared).  Full photo spread from the long weekend here, and it was just a GREAT weekend.  Yay for awesome friends and awesome times!

Fredericksburging, days one and two

Memorial Day weekend adventures, go!  We pretty much did a repeat of last year's awesome adventures, just with more awesomeness this time in the form of more awesome people.  Same crew from last year (the Vaughns, who Craig now refers to as "Grianity" in order to capture all of those names efficiently; the Keffers; and the Reynolds, who are + 7/9 one more kiddo this year) plus the Horsleys and the fabulous Dan & Jeremy.  Quite a crew!  Necessitated two house rentals this year - one for the families and one for the childless, which worked out swimmingly well.  Phew, we're a lot of people.

Let's hit the road!  Absolutely mission critical to stop for kolaches in West (Craig and I made this our lunch...AWESOME)...

...and after picking up the keys for our overly adorable house, we met up with the boys and Grianity and hit up winery #1 for the weekend, Messina Hof.  We all did a tasting (well, except for Grace, who really wanted some juice but made do with water and crackers) and then enjoyed a happy hour glass or two while just relaxing and catching up.

Number One in my series of "Trinity's Awesome T-Shirts"

I think The Craig is happiest when toting around a case of wine, I really do

Back to Avery Haus we go!  Quality time in the porch swing with a few high fives thrown in for good measure...

...and summertime sprinkler adventures are ALWAYS a good thing...

...as is dinner at Rathskeller and just relaxing with friends and drinks and PIES.  This year Trinity thought ahead and picked up the pies pretty much immediately upon arrival, so we had friends in the form of German Chocolate and Key Lime and Peach and Cherry hanging out with us all weekend.  So good.

New day, new adventures!  Shopping adventures!  Which means that Jen and I quite obviously need coffee to start the day, so we picked up icy caffeinated cups of goodness while the boys did this...

Beer for breakfast, anyone?  Just look at those smiles.

Oh, boys.  And have you always been able to wander around Fredericksburg with obvious booze in hand?  We didn't remember this being an option last year, but it was also so miserably hot last year that I think we actually wanted to just hydrate.  Curious.  At any rate, I think beer in hand keeps the boys generally happier with shopping adventures, so I'm all for it.  I just love all of the cutesy stores!  And we actually kept our spending pretty much in check, so that's a good thing.

We contemplated a moustache for Gracie...

...and didn't really contemplate adding "cardboard taxidermy" to the list of house decorating ideas, but it's still kinda fun.

Number Two

After a long afternoon of parting with our credit cards and racking up bags of cuteness and deliciousness, our party o' fourteen made it over to Hondo's for dinner where Mike finally got his club sandwich and we ordered enough fried ridiculousness for a small army.  It was awesome.