Good friends, good food, good times!

How was everyone's Thanksgiving? We had a great time, definitely the most fun Thanksgiving weekend I've had since moving to Texas!

A few firsts for this year:

• First Thanksgiving as husband and wife (!!)
• First time hosting in our own home
• First time using our wedding china and silver (hey Macy's, how about sending us the rest of our crystal one of these days, hmmm?)
• First time making a homemade apple pie (mom's recipe, turned out soooo good!)
• First time spending the holiday with my two best girls K&G

we really need a bigger table

the girls cuddled the baby...

...while the guys played football

Everything turned out delicious (including Jake's pumpkin pie), and the company was fantastic. The party didn't end until Texas had defeated A&M - a perfect end to the day!

Friday morning was a little painful (too much wine the evening prior, perhaps), but we managed to drag ourselves from bed and hit the road to Galveston. It was a little chilly on the coast, not exactly beach weather, but it was a nice relaxing time. Long (bundled up) walks on the beach, strolls around the historic district, and yummy food.

it was sunny for all of about one hour

beach attire, winter edition

remnants of Ike on the Strand

Sunday morning we headed back up to Houston for the Colts game. Chalk up another win - 11-0! Our seats were literally in the top row of the stadium, which allowed me to stand and yell as much as I wanted, probably only annoying the Texans fans directly in front of us (poor guys were surrounded by Colts fans).

have I ever mentioned I don't like heights? this made me nervous

a view from the top. all of the Texans fans gave up and left early. not us!

Aaaand now it's December. I'm finding it hard to believe, but at least the weather in Texas is finally acting appropriately (40s today, brrr!). It's crazy to me that Christmas is just three weeks away - how this year has flown by!

I hope your December is filled with plenty of holiday cheer!

Give thanks!

The holiday season is finally upon us! The fridge is stocked, the house is clean, and we're ready to cook up a storm! This will be our first Thanksgiving hosting in our own home, so I am very excited to have some of our nearest and dearest over to enjoy it with us.

On Friday we're off to Galveston for a little "us" time, then to Houston on Sunday with our friends to watch my undefeated Colts! (Or as they refer to it, "the Texans game." pfft.)


So, in honor of Thanksgiving, just a few of the things I am thankful for this year:

• A wonderful, loving, generous, eternally patient husband. I am beyond blessed to have Jake in my life!
  

• That we have a home, our health and each other. Who could ask for anything more?

• Our friends and family, who love us, who are always there for us, and who truly want the best for us.
  

• My job. It's tedious some days, frustrating others, but it's a unique opportunity and exactly where I want to be.
  

• Practical little gadgets that make everyday life a bit easier. The rice cooker and the garlic press, they make cooking more fun. The Roomba, it makes cleaning more fun. The iPhone, I don't think I could live without.

• Football season. Thanks to you, Indianapolis Colts and University of Texas Longhorns, for making this year downright awesome. Keep it up! I can't even imagine what it must feel like to be a Lions fan. (hahaha, sorry Jake, couldn't help myself!)

• My blog friends/readers/followers. I really do appreciate each and every one of you who follow along and the kind comments that you leave!
  

Hope all of you have a very wonderful Thanksgiving!

Wine for the weekend

Some time ago, our builder invited us to come out and visit his winery, and yesterday we finally made it. Perissos is about an hour northwest of Austin, close to Burnet, and the weather was absolutely perfect for an afternoon drive (75 and sunny, oh how I do not miss the Midwest). The winery was so lovely and the wines very good. Our builder was there when we arrived, so we got the full tour, tasted some wines that haven't even been bottled yet, and met his family. So very glad we finally made it out there!

a strong influence on the design of our own home

After we left Perissos, we took an alternate route back to Austin so we could drop by Flat Creek Estate and taste a few more wines. Another lovely property, though a much bigger operation than Perissos.

Aside from our leisurely afternoon, Saturday was a pretty exciting day: our friends had a baby, found out another friend is pregnant; one of my brothers had a birthday and the other got engaged! More on that last one later (I will say, though, that it means some exciting travels are in store for us!), but in the meantime we send best wishes to all!

Progress, sort of...

We moved into our house at the end of February, and we've been really, really slow with decorating, for one reason or another (primarily because I suck at it). Finally, though, we have a room the way we want it (more or less... maybe we need more color??). I reframed a bunch of our wedding pics last week, which I think makes a huge difference, and bought some accents to soften the room a bit. So...here is the master:

I dunno, maybe we need curtains? It can get pretty bright, as you can see.

Now, I need some advice. Below is our great room, which needs some serious help. It's just so... cold and impersonal. What we should put over the mantel (the clock was thrown up there as a placeholder)? We're thinking art, but haven't found anything we like and really don't even know where to look. The walls in the room are very tall, so we need something that can carry it's weight, and we'd really rather not go the mirror or oversized wedding pic route. Also, I hate that fricking tree - it looks so sad and droopy - so I'd like to replace that as well. But with what? I have no idea, that space needs something. So. Any interior decorating whizzes out there? Please help this sad, sad room!!

an older pic, which shows how tall the room is

Any advice is much appreciated!!

Sending love your way!

Hugs to my family and friends, some of whom are experiencing losses and are going through difficult times right now. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Halloween hangover

Hope you all had a wickedly good Halloween!

Our costumes: New Jersey guido and Sookie. Although Jake would have made the perfect True Blood Eric (he has the hair and everything!), he wouldn't go for it. I think he just really wanted to wear three popped collars. :)

I had fun with the makeup - bite marks and fake tan. Jake was actually worried he might not be orange enough (haha!).

Confession: I bought bunches of candy knowing full well we probably wouldn't have any trick or treaters (we did have just a few). I think I'm finally coming down off the sugar high!

I can see!! and other weekend notes...

Kicked off my weekend with LASIK, what fun! Went in Friday morning and walked out about 90 minutes later - the actual procedure was only 10 minutes or so. I think the worst part was just knowing what was going to happen (and being able to see some of it as it did happen), and the valium they gave me didn't kick in until we had gotten home, so that was kind of a bust. But honestly, it really wasn't bad and there wasn't a bit of pain. My vision is 20/15 now, and there's truly nothing like waking up in the morning and being able to see! If you're debating getting this done, I say do it!! (I could show you my post-procedure picture, but I think I'll refrain. No makeup + eye shields taped to my face = not pretty.)

I was pretty much back to normal on Saturday. Did some shopping (unsuccessfully looked for the perfect pair of heeled boots, but that's for another post), lounged around the house. In the evening Jake's company sent us out to dinner (because Jake is so very awesome at his job). We opted for the Driskill Grill. I'm not much for writing about food, but this was so not our typical fare; I mean, the food was almost too pretty to eat! We had a five course meal: cheese sampler, "rebuilt" salads, quail, filet mignon for him and prime rib for me, and apple tart and chocolate raspberry gateau for dessert. Absolutely divine and very thoroughly enjoyed (thank you, company!). Is it too much to hope that they offer to send us to dinner again? Like maybe weekly? :)

heaven on a plate

Sunday was a wonderfully lazy day. Slept in, ignored the piles of laundry, watched football while the roomba vacuumed, and headed to The Grove (one of my favorite spots in Austin) for some late afternoon wine and pizza. It was lovely!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well!

Four. More. Days.

There are few things I hate more than wearing glasses. They are uncomfortable, they give me a headache, and they're not exactly flattering on me. But because my LASIK is scheduled for Friday and no contacts allowed for a full week prior, God help me, I have to wear glasses for 4 more days. I feel like I'm going crazy and it's only a matter of time before they get hurled at the wall. At least any qualms I have about the procedure are being replaced by the urge to get it done just so I never have to deal with glasses again. Hurry up Friday!!

On a completely unrelated note: a HUGE congrats to my dear friends A&G who had their baby boy yesterday!! G is a big Texas fan, and the running joke amongst our friends was that the Red River Rivalry game might send her into labor. Well, it wasn't too many hours later that she was heading to the hospital! Mom and baby are both doing great, and I'm very excited to go meet the little one after work today!

Weekend hodgepodge

• After 6 weeks of wearing my hair in a ponytail following the hated soccer mom haircut, I finally went in to get it fixed. I decided to give my old salon and stylist the heave-ho - I felt a smidge guilty, but the new place is so much closer to home, and I am very pleased with the new do (which is perfect for someone like me who can't be bothered to actually style hair: just blow dry and go). Pat on the back for making the switch.

• Bought a couple pairs of skinny jeans so I could wear my new boots, then spent the rest of the weekend in said jeans and boots (and scarves!). Loving the (sadly temporary) fall weather. Now, I'm not a big fan of skinny jeans in general, but they are worth it for the happiness of wearing boots.
  

• Did some serious house cleaning and caught up on laundry, always exciting. I'm embarrassed to say how long it's been since we've done that. Ew.
  

• Watched the UT game with a group of friends - no small feat for this particular assemblage since one of the girls just had a baby and another is due in about a week. Everyone is having babies, everyone! (Well, not us, yet.) ;)
  

• Planned a little mini wine trail for our next free weekend (November, gah). Our destination is here, which is owned by our builder. There are a few other wineries on the way, so we'll make a day out of it.

• Made this and this, both delicious. Would halve the soup recipe in the future, though (for just two of us), and double up on the cider (I may or may not have had like 5 mugs).
  

183 days

183 days since we said "I do."
Happy 6 months to my husband! Love you!!