She Likes Purple

What To Do in New Orleans: Eat at Commander's Palace

In April, a cowoker got married in Lafayette, Louisiana so another coworker and I made a weekend of it by spending a couple days in New Orleans beforehand. I had been to New Orleans before (here, here, and here), but she had not. Oh, we had such a wonderful time. We mixed the local traditions (drinking a lot) with our particular personalities (enjoying naps and relaxing in bed with a book). Example: We shared a bottle of champagne for breakfast one day (WITH ORANGE JUICE, OF COURSE) but were reading in bed by 10pm. 

Anyway, one thing I love about Adrienne (the lady I traveled with) is that really all we both care about when traveling (or just plain living) is where we're going to eat our next best meal. We had both wanted to try Commander's Palace and thought lunch might be the best way to do it.

We were both right.

The meal wasn't just incredible, the entire dining experience was. We expected this meal would be a splurge, but for a cocktail, a split appetizer, an full entree, and a split dessert, we each paid $50. That's not exactly affordable to do too often, but it was more than worth it for the meal we had.

I had:

A French 75 (probably the BEST French 75 I've ever had)
Spicy Shrimp Remoulade
Crawfish Grilled Cheese 
Strawberry Shortcake

Everything was delicious (the soup that accompanied the grilled cheese wasn't life-changing, I feel I should admit), but I do want to spotlight two particular things. The French 75 really was the most delicious cocktail I've ever had. It's how cocktails are supposed to taste, I'd say. Also, the strawberry shortcake was so good, it actually became one of my new favorite desserts right on the spot.

Honestly, if you're going to New Orleans without an agenda and with any meals free to fill, you need to head to Commander's Palace. You won't regret it.

(Adrienne and me in the French Quarter!)

Watching Them Grow

One thing they don't tell you, at least one thing they didn't tell me, is that watching your kids grow up with other great kids is one of the most adorable things around. A'Dell, how did this happen, anyway?

(March 2010; April 2013)

Seven Quick (Jumping Back Into Blogging) Takes

I have vacation recaps to write and Pinterest projects to share and suggestions for where to eat in both DC and New Orleans, and I hope I get to all those posts before 2014. In the meantime, let's dust off this blog. Seven quick (okay, not quick at all) takes...

1. Last week (wait, week before last...April you are so nuts), Molly's eyes swelled up and got a little goopy. At first, we thought it was just allergies, but then we realized she had also stopped eating and wouldn't take a treat. (Molly is like her mother. She will always take a treat.) Turns out, she had a severely abscessed tooth that had infected her nasal passages and was causing her eyes to swell. She is, thankfully, nearly good as new after a round of antibiotics and pain killers and shouldn't need surgery. Phew!

It really sucked, though, during the time we weren't quite sure what was wrong with her. Molly is usually fairly healthy. I mean, she's given us a scare or two before, sure, but it had been awhile. It was this weird wake-up call that our girl is nearly 10 and she's not exactly facing more years ahead of her than are behind her. 

When the vet went over our options with Mike, she mentioned that if the antibiotics didn't work, surgery to remove the tooth would be necessary and it would be expensive (MANY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS EXPENSIVE). We don't have a budget item for Very Expensive Pet Surgeries, but when Mike talked to me about it, it was just a given we'd figure it out. She's our girl.

She's a dog, yes, but she's also Molly. Molly! I've loved her for as long as I've loved Mike. While she can be pretty irritating on a day-to-day basis (she's the neediest living thing in my house), this was a reminder that she is absolutely part of our family. 

Again, she's feeling much better. She probably wishes she had pulled these shenanigans years ago because we've been giving her cheese on a nightly basis, and we don't protest at all when she worms her away into our bed at night. 

So many of my friends (online and off) sent out love to her, after I mentioned what was going on, and it meant the absolute world to me. Seriously, thank you so much if you were one of those people sending warm thoughts to our girl.

She's doing so much better, she's practically skipping.

2. Have I talked yet about Justified? Well, I fell down a Justified-sized hole on Amazon Prime a few weeks ago and basically watched the entire series in something like two weeks. You'd be disgusted if you weren't so impressed, right? (Or maybe you're just disgusted...)

At first I was hesitant to start this show because I was (foolishly) led to believe there are no love stories, and I'm a girl who really prefers her TV shows to have a love story or two. But, 1) there totally are and 2) who really cares when Timothy Olyphant is wearing that cowboy hat so well throughout the series.

I'm all caught up in time...to wait a year for the next season! Cable TV seasons routinely break my heart.

3. I hesitate to declare this here because I've been doing it for a WHOPPING two days, but I've finally started my 30-Day Shred Challenge. That would be 30-straight days of doing (level 1, I'm not insane) the 30-Day Shred. This is such a quick and effective work-out, and a few Twitter friends are tackling the challenge with me. Want to join us?

4. I read this beautiful post about Holly's grandmother who recently passed away, and besides being reminded that Holly talks about love and family and nostalgia better than anyone, I was also struck that I won't ever be able to write a similar post about either of my biological grandmothers. 

This makes me sad, on a basic that-kind-of-stings level, but right after that thought struck me, it occurred to me that Kyle will be able to write something that heartfelt one day (if writing becomes one of his things) about either of his grandmothers. Kyle is such a lucky boy, for a million reasons, but the relationship he has with both of his grandmas (Nana and Mia, as he calls them) is near the tippy-top of the list. I've said this before and I'll say it dozens more times, but the fact that he has this beautiful, special, unconditional thing with them both, something I never had, is one of my favorite ways we're rewriting history together.

5. This feels like a very silly thing to mention, but I am trying to fill a list here. I made some small edits to this site all on my very own, so I'm basically a web designer now (ha). I added new social media buttons, new "top post" pictures (right-hand sidebar), new links, etc. Just messing around a little bit, but enjoy if you...enjoy sidebar badges and those kinds of things. 

6. We're debating taking Kyle camping for the first time this year. We need to make this decision pretty much immediately because Texas is going to get really hot in about two weeks. We'd just drive up to Oklahoma for the night, no big deal, and I think Kyle would love it. I mean, he's in such a fun stage, where everything new is So! Much! Fun! Mike really likes camping, too, and I really like when they do outdoorsy stuff together and leave me in peace to read, so it kind of works out for all of us. Last time Mike and I went camping, there was a burn ban, so we "camped" while eating dinner in nearby restaurants. That felt a little fraudy. Anyway, I'll keep you posted on our camping plans as I'm sure you're on the edge of your "WILL THEY CAMP?" seats. 

7. Speaking of Kyle, age four has been a lot of fun so far. I loved age two (so much), and still loved age three (though will readily admit that, oh boy, do you have to pay attention when parenting a three year old--they will take a mile if you give them half a centimeter), so I was a little nervous about age four. But, regardless how hard age four can be (friends start to mightily influence other four year olds, unfortunately, wiping away ALL MY HARD PARENTING WORK IN ONE AFTERNOON), the age is just so HILARIOUS. He says the funniest damn things. He has said in the course of a week, "Slip me some skin, Mommy," and "Oh phooey! Phooey is my new word, Mommy." He spells words and can read a little bit and I'm amazed anew that I get to hang out with this kid. He's my son! It's very delightful every time I remember that.

I've figured out that babies just aren't my jam. I love babies! I especially love snuggling your babies and just...passing them back to you when they show the slightest sign of being unhappy about something. But toddlers? Then kids? Oh yeah. They're my speed. 

I remember when Kyle was between one and two, maybe 15-16 months or so, and the weekends were kind of brutal. One, Mike worked weekends back then so it was just my boy and me, filling up two straight days, and I'd be so relieved by Sunday evening, which is a hard thing to confess. I was just so exhausted and he wasn't quite talking yet but he needed EVERYTHING and I couldn't sit until he went to bed. Now, we watch The Voice and he helps me cook and he makes me laugh EVERY SINGLE DAY and he asks me questions about geography and dinosaurs and stuff I really like answering. So much better than angry pointing, like he did back when.

Anyway, the other day he was looking at a picture of my mom and me from when I was in college and if there's ever a picture of me that he's not in, he assumes he was in my tummy. "Is that when I was in your belly?" "No, actually, that was before you were in my belly. That was even before I knew daddy!" He did not understand. He looked at me like I was nuts. Before him? BEFORE? No such thing. He finally said, "Oh, I must have been sleeping."

He walked off, cool kid that he is, with his hands in his pockets, and I thought to myself: I'm just so glad you showed up.

I'm so glad we're here.

Easter 2013

Easter is one of my favorite holidays, which I know may sound a little strange. I'm not a very religious person, but I do believe deeply in a few things and one of those things is the power of the people I love to make me feel wholer. 

I had a house full of those people this morning, and I felt it very good.

Including these little dudes, who dominated our egg hunt AND our confetti egg stash. 

We thought it might storm during our brunch and egg hunt. Sometimes Texas can surprise you in the best, most sunshiney ways.

I hope your day was just as warm, literally or otherwise.

***

Oh, and these beer biscuits that were on our Easter menu were DELICIOUS and you should make them immediately. 

Friendiversary

When we were 11, I made Natalie buy best friend necklaces. Like, all the time. You know, the really cool yin-yang-type necklaces that turned your skin green ten seconds after you put one on. I made her buy about a million of them.

It's not easy to be friends with me, but this lady has it down. She's been doing it for 20 years. 

Good, bad, really good, really bad. She's been there. And even when she wasn't there, she was there. Maybe especially then.

In college, I was having big issues with another friend. I was sad about it, so I called Natalie. When I got engaged at 5am, I called Natalie. (Fine, Mike made me wait a couple hours, so it was more like 7am.) On my honeymoon, when Mike was snorkeling and I was bored of my (really not fit for beach-reading) book, I called Natalie. When I found out I was pregnant, I called Natalie. 

She hated the term "friendiversary" that I said about a million times over the weekend. She hated it but laughed while hating it. I like to think that while Natalie and I are so very different, we always find a way to laugh. I like to think that's our language. 

When Natalie and I were in middle school, we lived just blocks apart. We'd walk to each other's houses, nearly every day, through our neighbors' yard. Over the course of four years, we created a ditch in that yard. We walked so often through it, we changed it.

This is Natalie's friendship, in a nutshell. It's changed me. 

Twenty years. Man, that's a long time to be so lucky.

Fun Things

Some super fun things: 

1. I got a Target gift card for my birthday (thank you, in-laws!) and instead of spending it on laundry detergent or groceries, I bought this purse. I really love it, and I would really love to link to it but where my love for Target is mighty, my love for Target's website is NONEXISTANT, OMG IT'S THE WORST.

2. After I passed on seeing Mumford & Sons when they came to Dallas a few years ago -- when tickets were something like $25, of course -- I swore I wouldn't make that mistake again. Anywhere in the state! I'll go anywhere in the state to see them, I swore! Or one state north, turns out. They'll be in Guthrie, Okla. this September and Mike and I are going. The concert is part of their small Gentleman of the Road series. I'm extremely excited, even if it seems like we might have to camp since hotels in the area are all sold out. I'm trying to convince Mike to buy a tent big enough to house a comfortable armchair. He has not stopped rolling his eyes at this idea since.

3. A couple years ago, I was in San Diego for Comic-Con and I got in a day early for set-up. There was no air-conditioning in the convention center that day and I was so tired when I left that I basically stumbled into the Hopping Pig to kill time before dinner. (Here's a whole list of my San Diego dining highlights!) I ordered a Lagunitas IPA because the brewery is in the town my stepmom and brother live. But, I loved it! Since then, I try an IPA every now and then and more so over the last couple months. I told my co-worker this, and she brought me a couple bottles last week, after a tough, stressful week. We've worked together for almost six years, and I would be such a mess without her. I would say that even if she didn't bring me beers.

4. Natalie and I are headed to College Station later this month, to celebrate being friends for 20 years. I get sappy when I think of Natalie because, well, it's Natalie. She's known me two-thirds of my life and there is really no one who has seen me through so much and still come out the other side to like me, except my mother. I don't know quite how to articulate what it's like to have a friend for so long, through so much, except to say that at some point she (thankfully) became a certainty. She'll be in my life forever. So, we toast that truth in our college town next month, over greasy potatoes and cheap drinks and, lamely but wonderfully, sleeping in. Twenty years! 

5. Mike and I were planning an Alaskan trip this year. A dream trip! But, siiiiigh, dream trips are not free. We just couldn't afford it. So, we swapped our tickets for a closer-to-home, much more affordable DC trip. We're still really excited about it. I've only been for work and something tells me the convention center isn't top of the must-see DC list. We have a lot of wonderful people offering us great tips, but if there's a must-try restaurant or an off-the-beaten path suggestion you think we should absolutley know about, let me have it! I love travel spreadsheets. Let me add your picks to this one. 

6. My mom turns 65 this year (she looks at least a decade younger, I know) and we've decided to take a girl's trip to Kansas City to celebrate. This is where she's from, and a place I've never been, so I can't wait to go. I can't wait to see where my mom grew up, where she went to school, and to just see this lovely new place through her eyes. I think there will be a bottle of champagne (or a couple cold beers; she's into beer lately) and a lot of good conversation in store for us. And a new map pin for me! 

7. I'm hosting a champagne-inspired dinner sometime in the next two months, and I'm excited to invite some of my favorite ladies to my house for a dinner with a bubbly theme. Here's my Pinterest board, but are there any recipes that really need to make this menu?

Seven Quick (January Seventh) Takes

1. Phew, we're through Christmas and New Year's and my birthday and we can finally stop eating, am I right? Well, I can stop eating. I'm sure you have enough will power to have stopped already. (Show-off.) Anyway, the Biggest Blogging Loser starts today, so I start my own new year too. I'm loosely doing the Whole30. I say "loosely" because I have a few (work and personal) dinner commitments I can't/refuse to cancel or suffer through drinking water at and also because I won't beat myself up over missteps or allow myself to go hungry rather than eating something non-Whole30 compliant. I'm going to try my best, I'll say, and I'm mostly just trying to use this month as a tool to become re-aware of what I eat after (so many) months of getting disconnected with that.

A couple things I'm giving up for the duration of the Biggest Blogging Loser, though, are alcohol and chocolate. I know! That's 12 long weeks without a glass of something or a slice of something, but I think I enjoyed my fair share of both over the holidays and this will be a good re-focus for me on fruits and vegetables and healthy dishes.

I was texting Holly tonight about eating wholer--and I hope she's okay if I share this--but she said to me "don't let anyone police you." This is just what I needed to hear. You put intentions out on the internet and you can feel (maybe just me?) that the internet then gets a say in those goals. So, I'm repeating those smart words to myself over and over. It's really empowering.

I'm doing my best! We'll see how it goes.

Anyway, here's my January menu, if you care to see it. (By the way, I love this template I found for 2013 monthly calendars. Maybe you'll like it too.)

(Click to enlarge!)

2. I've somehow managed to watch a ton of movies over the last couple weeks and while I'd like to sit down and write out thoughtful movie reviews for each, I never seem to have the time, so I'll quickly recap a few:

Go see Silver Linings Playbook. Oh, it's so refreshingly good! I found it funny and heartwarming and dark and romantic. Bradley Cooper just owned his particular character and Jennifer Lawrence was perfect, too, although I felt she had less to prove. She's done small, independent films and she's done The Hunger Games but she's just good, you know? You don't doubt this girl can act, and I now don't doubt that about Bradley Cooper, either. So, if you're looking for a (likely-to-be-nominated) movie to see in this particular awards' season, see this one. (Although I haven't seen some of the other awards' contenders, so maybe take actual critics' recommendations now that I think about it.)

So, I had heard a lot of buzz about The Cabin in the Woods for a while now, and I had been wanting to see it. I finally convinced Mike to watch it (with my sister and her husband) over the holidays and, wow, what am I missing? The twist was kind of in the trailer, so as not to be all that shocking. Anything beyond the trailer was...not good. It was ridiculous. It was campy but not funny (which I was told it would be!). I just didn't get the appeal, and neither did the three other people I watched it with. 

We also watched Lawless over the holidays and I really enjoyed it. Sure, it's kind of violent but I can't imagine you'd go into a movie about outlaw bootleggers and be surprised by that. For the violence, you also get a healthy dose of Tom Hardy, so go ahead and give it a try.

3. This is the point in the year where I go from Holiday Mania! to Planning My Child's Birthday Party! and somehow I'm always surprised by this. It's like the holidays are a buffer for the weird feelings that Kyle turning a year older bring, and now that the holidays are over, I can properly feel all of them. I try never to let myself get too sad because I have a healthy, awesome kid. I wouldn't trade that for anything. But it's still weird, you know? He's nearly four! I sometimes just can't reconcile that. Anyway, he is nearly four and we're throwing him a dinosaur birthday party (although who knows WHERE yet because we have a very small house and he has a February birthday--one of the few notoriously cold months in Texas--meaning we can't just let the birthday guests run loose in the yard and that always makes our at-home parties feel super cramped and chaotic, but we'll figure SOMETHING out) and he is very excited about it, and I'm very excited about it, too. Four! I just don't know.

4. For Christmas, I bought myself Young House Love, and while I know they are a Very Big Blog (which bring Very Big Blog Opinions), I mainly like this book because I'm a home decor idiot. I'm bad at DIY and bad at decorating and bad at thinking of ideas while looking at my ugly walls. They broke down ideas and simple fixes all in one easy-to-reference place, and they also made it easy for me to show Mike "THIS! I WANT OUR HOUSE TO LOOK LIKE THIS!" and he understood what I meant without me fumbling through blog archives or Pinterest boards to show him photos. He's become re-inspired around our house (in part because of the things I've shown him from the book, I'd be willing to wager) and it makes it fun to dream up Home Fixes together. I love this book, really I do, and I'd recommend it to you, if you're anything like me.

5. Oh, hey, my college team won their bowl game, and I got to watch them do just that at my birthday party Friday night. That was a lot of fun.

We had a house full of Aggies, and it was a lot of fun to high-five and cheer together. I recommend watching your team win with friends, drinks, and snacks. (I just invented game-watching parties, didn't I? You're welcome!) 

6. One my favorite birthday gifts was a gift card to Target. I don't really understand people who don't like getting (or giving) gift cards. You're telling me I get a piece of plastic and can buy WHATEVER I WANT from one of my favorite places with it? THANK YOU, THAT IS FABULOUS, GIVE ME THAT GIFT ALWAYS. I don't want to buy groceries or things for Kyle or anything I would already pick up at a trip to Target with this gift card. I want to get something fun and something just for me. I've been looking at a necklace for ages (that of course isn't online since the Target website is THE WORST), but if it's still there at my next trip to Target, I'm getting it. What would YOU buy if you couldn't spend it on groceries or household things or anything you'd have to buy anyway?

7. I've been trying to think of a seventh thing for too long and it's time to head to bed, so let's just end by saying I have a super stressful week at work and I'm back to cooking and working out (I'm exhausted just thinking of getting to Saturday morning) so please diffuse the stress with some fun things. What are you most looking forward to this week? 

A Week of Holiday-ish Activities

Refresher: My sister, brother-in-law, and nephew will be in Texas the week of Christmas. Instead of a month of activities, I'm going easy on myself (and my wallet) and putting together a week of activities while they're here. Subject to change the week of, of course, since kids are notoriously predictable in their unpredictability.

1. Make bead ornaments. (Maybe they can make a handful for friends, other cousins, etc.?)

2. Make and decorate Christmas cookies. I thought it might be fun for the kids to make some extras and...bring them somewhere to give to...some people. Yeah, I've clearly thought this kind act through.

3. Take a train ride! 

4. Let the kids color paper lanterns and then release them in our backyard. I'm about to make it a Tangled-themed Christmas! 

5. Candy cane hunt (stolen from Elizabeth who stole it from Jen)

6. Hot chocolate bar and then a movie (stolen from A'Dell; I have no original ideas)

7. Even though it'll be after Christmas, I'd like to take the boys to Barnes & Noble or the Target sale aisles and let them pick out an ornament or holidy book each. It can be the thing that reminds them of the Christmas they got to spend together since I'm not sure when it'll happen next.

Bonus! Paint pinecones. I kind of think if it's nice enough to hang outside at all that week, we should toss the kids in the front yard and paint pinecones.

There you have it! So much easier to pick seven activities than 25. 

Girl's Night

I bought some high, high heels a while ago (I'd link to that post if I weren't typing this from my phone) and told Kristie how impulsive and ridiculous such a purchase was. I work in a casual office. I grocery shop, go to three-year-old soccer games, and blog in my spare time. None of these activities require high, high heels.

She's a great friend, though, that lady. She organized a "wear your fanciest shoes" girl's night out, where cocktails and dessert were also encouraged.

I was really tired a couple hours before leaving. I also have a scratchy, kinda sore throat. I thought that sitting on my couch sounded so much better than high, high heels and even dessert with good friends. I was wrong, thankfully.

It was a good decision, the shoes, the friends, the night. Lesson: try to say yes more to shoes, to friends, to dessert.

(Oh, we also saw The Bachelor's Jake at our restaurant. I can add him to my Dallas-area reality star spotting list, which also includes David Archuleta.)

Christmas (Week) Menu

Now that Thanksgiving is an entire DAY behind us, let's talk about Christmas food. I think that makes perfect sense.

So, again, my sister and her family are coming in for the week of Christmas, and since I can't actually remember the last Christmas I spent with her (maybe in 2000?), I am ridiculously excited about this year's festivities.

I'm planning some special menus.

Christmas Eve

She flies in Christmas Eve afternoon and I assumed no one would feel like cooking a big meal, but Mike got very sad about breaking our breakfast-for-dinner Christmas Eve tradition, so we'll cook.

Brown butter blueberry muffins

Pancakes (either red velvet or oatmeal cookie)

Mike's Scramble. (Mike is going to whip up scrambled eggs with onions, peppers, cheese, etc. He's requested we refer to this as "Mike's Scramble" for the duration of the holidays.)

Bloody Mary's. I might need to buy this mix (#47 from the Food Lush gift guide)

Christmas morning

Cheap cinnamon rolls from a tube. (Delicious, though!)

Mimosas

Coffee

Christmas Night

Steak (Mike's taking care of this)

Scallops in hazelnut browned butter (I've been eating a little fish for about a month now--just once every couple weeks or so--and I'll enjoy these on Christmas night.)

Whiskey glazed carrots

Green bean casserole

Twice baked new potatoes

Store-bought dinner rolls

French 75s

French silk pie, perhaps? (Haven't quite decided on dessert.)

Other

I think I'll try to whip up these cranberry & brie sandwiches at some point and maybe these old-fashioned chocolate donuts, too, because why not. It's Christmas.

One other dinner will also be this (oh-so-good) veggie lasagna or these spicy shrimp with yogurt

Have you thought about what you're having this year?

Happy Thanksgiving

I ate all the mashed potatoes today. I wouldn't be surprised if I dream about mashed potatoes tonight, in fact. (No one should have been concerned I'd go hungry my first meat-free Thanksgiving, that's for sure.)

It was a sweet day, filled with family, laughter, and, yes, so much food. The kids ran around the backyard like monkeys, the adults kept wandering into the kitchen for more food, for some insane reason, and we crawled into bed at 7:30 (where I'm typing this from right now).

I'm so thankful for so much right now, and I hope you are too.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Bring it, Holidays.

Lights up BEFORE Thanksgiving, like holiday bosses. (I would have put our lights up in July and by I, I mean Mike, but he wouldn't. Scrooge.)

I look at this photo and realize that while Texas may not technically be part of the South, it's a very Southern thing to put up Christmas lights in t-shirts. Promise it was 70ish when this photo was snapped! We're not forcing manual labor without the proper wardrobe!

I also have our Christmas menu all figured out. (Post to come.)

I'm excited about the holidays this year, if you couldn't tell. Partly because my sister and her family are coming to celebrate with us, for the first time ever (as a family), partly because my Christmas menu includes mimosas and carbs, and partly because I hope my mom buys me SOMETHING off this list. She's usually the one I can count on to (not really) surprise me with one thing I (really) want.

Good things, basically. The next month is full of good things.

(Continually updating our holiday plan here! Two cross-outs already. HOLIDAY BOSSES.)

Get It Together

I've been regularly going to a yoga studio for about three months now. I say "regularly" but I want you to know that means three times a week here, no times a week there. It means I go, and I do love it, but I don't yet have a solid routine or a yoga physique. I assume both are to come, but for now I consider myself to be somewhat of an experienced beginner.

Anyway, I get a free guest pass with my membership, so I drag friends with me whenever I can. I like working out with a buddy, and I really like working out with Kristie.

I've been dragging her to my favorite Thursday night yoga class for a couple weeks now.

This past Thursday, the class was pretty empty. It was practically an individual session at times, which is great when the individual session is with anyone in the class but you. It didn't make things easier that the teacher was tough. A good tough (I ultimately really liked her) but, still, TOUGH. Wouldn't let you half-ass a pose, would correct any mistakes, would encourage you with phrases like, "The burning you are feeling is temporary, and it means your muscles are doing what they're supposed to be doing" tough. I thought at one point, "I'm going to throw up and that will be what my stomach is supposed to be doing."

Okay, I'm getting off-track. So, yes, it was a tough, small class with a teacher we'd never had before. We introdcued ourselves before class, and she repeated all the students' names the first few moments of class, so it felt like we were becoming familar rather quickly.

So when she kept saying, "Jennie, move your ankle up an inch, lower your knee, LIFT YOUR HIP HIGHER, JENNIE," I was thrown because, honey, my hip is going to DISCONNECT FROM MY BODY IF I LIFT IT ANY HIGHER. I was showcasing my skills from the last three months at 200%--because, again, she was tough--and TRUST ME my hip was high.

It then became clear that she had my name mixed up with Kristie's. It's not that I'm some badass and Kristie isn't--she's a total badass--but we were clearly being corrected on THE WRONG THINGS. My hips were fine and when she firmly corrected Kristie on her knee rotation, that was alllll me.

It was hilarious after class, though, when I was talking to Kristie and she said, "She corrected 'Jennie' so much that I looked over and glared at you and thought, 'Really, Jennie, get it together.'"

GET IT TOGETHER. 

I plan to say this to her every time I see her now.

***

I'm dabbling with the idea of posting every day of November. This could be a very fun way to encourage more posting, something I've talked about recently. This could also be a very horrible idea that leads to nothing more than pictures of Kyle from November 20-30. We'll see! 

Sweet California

The first mistake I made when it came to our recent trip to Southern California--a trip to spend time with friends and to take Kyle to Disneyland--was to tell Kyle we were taking him to Disneyland. I have absolutely no idea WHY I did this except sometimes I make poor choices.

This was made all the worse by the fact that we arrived on Saturday morning and our day at Disneyland was Tuesday. Kyle absolutely broke the record for the number of times a three year old has asked, "Are we going to Disneyland now?" in a three-day time-span. Thankfully we had the beach, a beach house with a pool, friends and their adorable kids, pizza, ice cream, and a bunch of other consolation prizes. Still, learn from my mistake, friends! Surprise your kids with Disneyland news the morning of. Or as you are walking through the turnstile into the park. That's an even better idea.

Anyway, so California! We got to vacation there! It certainly redefines sunny, doesn't it? It's sunny the way sunny was intended to be. Not sunny that makes you want to stab things (that would be sunny in Texas) but sunny with an ocean breeze, sunny with just a slight chill at night, sunny without any stupid mosquitoes, sunny with a view. Mike has never had much interest in California, in general. Until he met me, he had no interest in ever visiting, but I slowly changed his mind (so much so that we got married at Lake Tahoe, totally his idea) and now I think he's fully in love. A few days with 80-degree temps and beachy views, and he started saying, "Yeah, we should find a way to get rich and buy a vacation home here." (I'll get right on that! My plan: either lottery rigging or straight-up bank robbing.)

California was good, very good, and my only complaint is that California isn't where I am right this moment.

Let's get to the pictures, shall we?

He hated the water, every drop of it.

Closed-eyed pre-schoolers, ruining family memories since forever.

Just a few people at the beach in California, on Labor Day.

Not bad.

He said, "What is that big blue pool?" Poor Texan.

You are shocked I enjoyed some champagne on vacation, aren't you?

It's always disappointing when you order a "large mimosa" and are brought something like this.

 

Oh, hey! I got to hang out with (and drink delicious drinks with) some S. California bloggers, all ladies I really really love and get to see in November at the Blathering. (Woo!)

I was a little worried Kyle would be timid with the Disney characters. He's just sort of a timid little dude in new situations. (He gets that from both parents, actually.) But he LOVED the characters and he wanted to see them all. (Pluto eluded us until the parade.)

Kyle's first rollercoaster! He loved it. That kid continues to surprise me.

MICKEY! You really can't tell--Kyle looks like he's always hanging out with Mickey, no bigs--but his mind was blown. Mickey was his top choice and when we walked into the room to see him, I could feel his excitment.

All the boys on the trip.

Kyle and his Nana.

Friends' kids holding hands. I KNOW, RIGHT?

I hope Kyle remembers the trip as I hope he remembers all his trips--an extra bright spot in an already bright life. That's exactly what they mean to me.

We miss you already, California.

(All the delicious food we ate coming next week!)

Perfect

I do this thing (maybe you do it too) where at the end of most days as I drift off to sleep, I survey all the things I didn't get done on that day's to-do list. Every day, there's something left un-crossed-off and those are the things I focus on at the end of most days.

I didn't do the laundry (again). I didn't buy more checks (for another week in a row). I didn't email that potential Style Lush sponsor. SHIT, THE WATER BILL. (Small Texas city, can you please embrace auto-draft bills already?) I also didn't paint those mason jars even though I bought those mason jars IN 2011 OMG JENNIE JUST PAINT THOSE MASON JARS ALREADY.

It's probably that I have too long a to-do list but it's also probably that there aren't enough hours in the day and then there's also the DVR I like to spend time with. Still, all the good reasons (and good TV) in all the world don't stop me from focusing on the un-crossed-off things on my list at the end of each day.

I am a perfectionist who will never be (close to) perfect, and no matter how easy it is to type that, it's impossible to swallow. It's easy to focus on what I don't get done on any given day, and it's just as easy to lose sight of everything else.

This past weekend, we drove a few hours south to spend time with our new niece. She was a week old, that delicious tiny baby, and I could have snuggled her for days on end. In fact, we did little else this weekend than lounge on the couch, watch Kyle play with his new train track on the hardwood floor and snuggle this new person who will one day be playing with her own toys on the hardwood floor but for the weekend just slept in our arms.

Kyle loved her -- "look at baby Ava!" -- and I loved her and Mike loved her and it's really beautiful to see a family grow and I don't mean that in the technical way, but it's just really beautiful to see hearts expand to welcome more people into the world.

Most days I kick myself over all I didn't get done (THE LAUNDRY, THE WATER BILL, MY GOD, THOSE MASON JARS) and then some days I lounge on a couch all weekend, snuggling a new baby I get to spoil rotten without every worrying about the ramifications of that spoiling while watching my sweet boy play on the floor and I think...I didn't accomplish a single thing this entire day and yet this day is one of the days I'll conjure up first when I begin conjuring up perfect days.

I'm not perfect, not even close, not even close on a good day.

But sometimes life is.

Kristie's engagement party + the perfect party menu!

Whenever you ask Kyle to name his family, he'll name Kristie before he gets to his tenth finger. She's one of my very favorite people and best friends, and my kid wholeheartedly approves. Blood is thicker than water but sometimes water is turned to blood, or something less icky sounding than that. Kristie is our family, pure and simple, and as she grows her own family -- she's getting married this August to a wonderful man -- we wanted to celebrate with her.

So, A'Dell and I hosted a pretty kick-ass party this past weekend (if you don't mind me bragging a bit) in Kristie and Duvain's honor and it was such fun.

Kristie looked just beautiful -- I'm sure you'll agree -- and it was wonderful how many friends and family turned out to help the happy couple celebrate. It was one of those nights I didn't want to end, and that's how many of my nights with this group of good people is like.

The menu was also a hit.

We did straight appetizers and one kind of champagne and beer. Kept it pretty easy, thank goodness.

We served: baked brie bites (with and without pecans), pizza puffs (with and without pepperoni) caprese pops, jalapeno popper dip (OMG SO GOOD), southwestern eggrolls, mini fruit tarts (so easy!), smores bites, salsa, guacamole, and cupcakes.

I recommend co-hosting your next party, if you get the chance. A'Dell offered up her awesome home and tackled the decorations and booze, and I handled the invites (weren't they fabulous?) and most of the food. It wasn't nearly as stressful as when you handle a whole party yourself, and we also divided those tasks super simply. I did what I enjoy best and vice-versa. No arguments!

I also got to clean up nicely with Mike. That's kind of a rare thing.

It was a night full of laughter....

....and champagne and friends and food and love, and everything I wish most for Kristie and Duvain's life. Cheers you adventure-seeking, life-loving, beautiful couple, you.

***

All of the good photos in this post are courtesy of Jess, who awesomely made the five-hour drive from Houston to celebrate with Kristie and Duvain. Thanks for coming, Jess and Willy, and for letting me use your beautiful pictures!

A Perfect Day in Wimberley, Texas

I left town this past weekend (I know, I know, I just got back from leaving town) for a quick girl's weekend in Wimberley, a town nestled about 45 minutes west of Austin.

Kristie and I made these plans months ago, after looking at two very full calendars and realizing it was, quite honestly, the only weekend we could have a girl's weekend in 2012.

So, I thought I'd share our entire itineary from Saturday, our one full day there, because it was such a perfect day. (This way, if you ever find yourself with a day to spend in Wimberley, you can just use this and you never have to Google a thing. I'm like your online concierge! I accept tips, FYI.)

9 a.m.

We woke up, slowly, and then sipped mimosas and coffee in the backyard, watching the Blanco River running behind our rental house.

Note to self: start more days like this.

11 a.m.

We headed to Market Days, a flea market-type event held the first Saturday of each month in Wimberley.

I bought this fabulous ring after offering the (very nice) woman $20 less than she was asking. I still feel a little badly about that, which is proof I am a horrible negotiator.

I don't know how we ever bought a house. Oh, hey! I know! We probably overpaid.

We also picked up this kick-ass mini-motorcycle for Kyle and managed to squeeze it into my friend's Honda Civic (the same one all our bags had to fit in on the drive home). I have new respect for Honda Civics.

1 p.m.

We lunched at the Leaning Pear, which was delicious with such a fantastic ambiance. Sit on the patio, even if it's a little warm. I got half a caprese panini and half a panzanella salad. Both were really tasty.

2:30 p.m.

Dessert at Sugar Shack. Because it's vacation!

3:30 p.m.

We went back to our rental house to relax because eating and shopping isn't relaxing at all. I read on the couch. (An Abundance of Katherines, if you want to get really copy-catty and read the same book I read. Good thing if you do because the book was so good. Recommend!)

4 p.m.

I took the relaxation one step further and napped.

6 p.m.

Headed out for a tasting at a local winery. We settled on Duchman because it was the only one still open, but it turned out to be a great pick. I enjoyed the moscato enough to buy two bottles.

Intensely studying the tasting menu!

Ladies!

Cheers!


8 p.m.

Dinner at Marco's Italian restaurant. The mushroom-and-artichoke dip was incredible. My margherita pizza was just so-so.

10 p.m. to late

We stayed up late talking about...so much. Motherhood, husbands, weddings, good books, bad tv, our next girl's weekend, etc. It was perfect, of course.

I know that getting away, even for a weekend, is impossible for some and I wish I could offer up my child-watching skills so you could steal away for a girl's weekend sometime. (If you're close, let's talk!) But if it's not impossible for you, and you've just been waiting for the right excuse, the right place, the right friends, etc., here's a little nudge to seek those things out sooner rather than later. 

Until next year!

*More photos from our weekend in Wimberley

Baby Jack

My best friend had a baby and he is perfect. Jack is going to know soon enough something I've known for a long, long time: his mother is one of life's best things.

Now, so is he.

Welcome to the world beautiful boy!

Easter Happened A Long Time Again, I Know

I imagine if this weren't my blog, I wouldn't be able to get away with recapping Easter over a week after it happened, but this is my blog, thank goodness. (Well, thank goodness depending on who you ask.)

Anyway (and hilariously) the Easter brunch and egg hunt we hosted at our house was Kyle's FOURTH egg hunt of the year. It became so ridiculous that whenever I'd cheerfully tell him he'd get to see Nana (my mom) on Easter, he'd look at me, confused, and say, "But...we already had Easter." Like, wait a second, I don't get to see her for A YEAR? I DO NOT ACCEPT THAT.

It was a small group, just the three of us, my mom, and Kristie and Jackson. Small but sweet. We had brunch -- with mimosas because my house, my champagne-centric traditions, YOU ARE NOT SURPRISED -- and then let the boys loose in our backyard to find the eggs Mike painstakingly hid.

Yeah. They found all 75+ in, no kidding, three minutes.

Molly was pissed that she got nothing. That's pretty much been Molly's default emotion since Kyle's birth.

Then we brought out the four-wheeler for the boys because we expected the hunt to take longer than the length of your average commercial break.

Oh, and we got a family photo (with all four of us, see Molly we do still love you) for the first time since last Easter.

(Oof, come on beach vacation tan! Also, yes, Kyle's tongue is out. AGE THREE, MAN. It's weird.)

So, yes, we had a great Easter this year and then we all took naps. I hope yours was just as booze-, chocolate-, fun-, and nap-filled.

Everything

Almost right after I hit publish on the "this week is kind of crap" post last week, we got some spectacularly awful news. Mike's grandmother passed away early Friday morning and while I don't want to say much else (this isn't really my news to share or speak on; it's Mike's), I keep thinking one thing: how beautiful it is that Mike had the kind of relationship with his grandmother that he did. They were close, and she was a constant part of his life up until last week. 

While death is always hard and especially hard when you are close, there is some comfort in knowing you had so many good memories, you couldn't possibly choose just one. Mike's good memories of her are endless and they'll keep him warm for a long time to come.

It also gives me great comfort that Kyle already has similar relationships with both his grandmas. He adores them so much, his whole body lights up when he sees either of them. And he gets to see them often, too. I didn't have this kind of relationship with my own biological grandmothers, and I am healed a little more each day because Kyle does.

***

This weekend was okay, recovering from the flu, spending time with family in town for the funeral, continuing to ignore the laundry, but it felt a little like going through the motions, of course. At one point Kyle and I sat outside, waiting for Kristie to come over for dinner. He sat down on our front porch, all smiles, and said, "Mommy, sit by me please." We sat, he smiled at me, and this time I did pull out my camera. 

He helps shake us of just going through the motions. 

***

I am a big advocate of finding your passion outside the home as much as inside it. Work, hobbies you wholeheartedly enjoy, dinner with a friend who makes you full-body laugh, travel, books, Sons of Anarchy on repeat, writing writing writing, running. Whatever. Just do something that's yours. 

Still. At the end of the day (or in the middle of a Saturday afternoon), take a moment to remind yourself that while all that stuff is good and important, family is everything.

The family you were given, the family you make, and the family you collect along the way. 

Everything.