She Likes Purple

Sponsored Post: Mondavi Wines and Summer Meals

I know there are Strong Internet Feelings about sponsored posts, and I understand them, truly, but I have a few strong feelings of my own and most of them involve wine. (And, alright, CW shows.) So when I was recently given the opportunity to try out a few bottles of Mondavi wine in return for a post about my favorite summer recipes (and how Mondavi wine pairs well with those summer dishes), it sounded like a fun project right up my alley. And, hey, I live in Texas. I usually only manage through a Texas summer with the help of a lot of wine and ignoring our oven almost entirely for dinners on the grill instead.  

(The grill that I should have probably cleaned before taking pictures of it.)

Anyway, we have so many dinners that we outsource to our grill during summertime, and a few of those favorites include veggie fajitas (we have no official recipe, other than throwing all the vegetables we've got onto the grill, though peppers and mushrooms are almost always a staple) and burgers (my particular summer favorite is a turkey burger with Swiss cheese, on a sourdough English muffin).

(Veggie fajitas!)

But, as I tasted the Mondavi wines, I realized that each of them--the Chardonnay, Scarlet Five, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Blonde Five--would all compliment my absolute favorite summer meal. Kebabs. The great thing about kebabs is that you can use almost any protein and almost any veggie and it becomes an easy, delicious, perfect-for-summer meal, made on the grill. And we always seem to make a ton of food when we opt for this dinner, so it's perfect when we have friends over. 

We usually use the same marinade for our kebabs, regardless of what we're actually grilling.

Kebab Marinade

• 1/2 cup worcestershire sauce
• 1/8 cup soy sauce
• a few dashes of liquid smoke
• 2 T of olive oil
• cracked black pepper
• a little Old Bay seasoning 

We marinate our protein--usually shrimp, chicken, beef, or salmon, cut into bite-sized pieces--and our veggies--mushrooms, peppers, potatoes, asparagus, onions, whatever else is on hand--in a bag for a few hours in the fridge and then place all the protein on their own kebab sticks and all the vegetables on their own. The protein (especially shrimp, of course) takes a lot less time than the veggies, so time accordingly! 

I serve with a salad or garlic bread or on top of rice. Whatever is easy and on hand. The thing about summer dining is that you're already suffering through insane heat (at least I am), so why not make dinner as easy as possible. Also, Mike prefers to manage the grill, so by "easy" I mean that I get to sit on the porch drinking wine and then I get to continue sitting on the porch when dinner is served. Easy indeed.

Depending on your meat, you can pair these kebabs with any of the Mondavi wines I tried--chicken with the Blonde Five; beef with the Cabernet Sauvignon--and it just makes all that work and lawn care and SUMMER HEAT more bearable. And, honestly, I have to give a special shout-out to the Mondavi Chardonnay because I don't particularly care for that kind of wine, so I put off trying it when my samples came, but when I did, I was SO pleasantly surprised. I'd seriously buy it for myself in a heartbeat, and it's a totally reasonable price point ($7/bottle). Seriously, I was in no way asked to say this specific thing about this specific bottle, but I genuinely wanted to. (And the bottle has since been fully consumed, ahem, so I need to go out and re-purchase.)

I'd love to hear what you're grilling this summer, so I can try out some new dishes. I've even got wine left over, if you want to meet me on my porch.

Oh, a couple things of notes about Mondavi: Mondavi wine is sold nationwide in every US state, and a percentage of each bottle sold between May - August is donated to Intrepid Fallen Heroes (up to $50,000).

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

ATX Festival: Take Two

Last year, I went to the ATX Television Festival--a festival created, you guessed it, to celebrate all things TV--and when I told people that's where I was headed for the weekend, I heard this a lot: A TV festival? I take it these people don't watch fan videos of their favorite TV couples on YouTube in their spare time and that's cool, takes all kinds, but perhaps these people shouldn't get a hold of my internet search history. 

It was an amazing weekend, so much fun that I snatched up my ticket for this year while I was still there last year. (Helped that I was practically a stone's throw from Chris Lowell while purchasing. Sure, I'll come back and gaze at the likes of you for a few days.)

This year, I took my mom with me because apparently being passionate about fictional characters is an inherited trait. We booked our tickets ages ago but we waited to book our hotel because we didn't realize that the DAMN X-GAMES were going to be the same weekend. In the same city. As soon as we realized this, our choice of lodging became a stupidly epxensive (but awesomely located) hotel or a slightly less stupidly expensive (but still awesomely located) AirBnB condo. We opted for the latter. 

We arrived in Austin around 5:30pm on a Thursday afternoon a few weeks ago, and had to pull our suitcases blocks to our place because so many of the roads were closed because of those X-Games. In Texas. In June. It was hot. 

When we finally pulled our suitcases to the front door of the condo we rented, the owner was waiting for us. A 32-year-old and her 65-year-old mother, sweating profusely. He said, "You're not here for the X-Games, are you?"

I don't know what about ME says "not in town for the X-Games" but it apparently says it very loudly. 

After we relaxed at our condo for a bit, we walked to dinner at Bess, a place I'd been dying to try for ages (despite the music on the restaurant's website, WHY DOES THIS STILL HAPPEN?) because I heard the food was good and also because befriending Sandra Bullock, who owns the place, through witty dinner banter is on my life list. 

Sandy was unfortunately not there, but we did split a bottle of wine, the burger, and then the beignets. All were amazing, just outstanding from start to finish. It was one of those delightful meals where the food and company and service were all effortless and enjoyable. And it was in walking distance from where we stayed. 

Let's back up a bit, though, because when I say the X-Games were in town, I don't think you quite understand just how close we were to the actual X-Games. 

So, good news, bad news. Good news! That ramp was only there Thursday, clearing up the traffic and road closures for most of our time in town. Bad news! The ramp was gone by Friday morning because they spent all Thursday night taking it apart with hammers and other tools that are not found on a white noise machine. 

We woke up Friday morning exhausted. 

Thankfully Austin has coffee. And Diet Coke. And more coffee.

We stayed just a few blocks from the festival's central hotel (the Intercontinental), where registration and a handful of the panels were held. In fact, everything is a quick, easy walk from the next place (all the panels, screenings, and other events were held either at that hotel, the State Theater, or the Alamo Drafthouse). It's one of the things I love most about the festival. Both years have felt small and cozy, almost exclusive, and that's half because I still don't think people realize just how awesome this festival is and half because the organizers are simply amazing and have figured out how to maintain that feeling.

Our first panel was Orange is the New Black.

We got to screen the season two premiere before the panel. I haven't watched the rest of the season yet but only because I've become a bit obsessed with MTV's Catfish. I can't stop watching when there's a new episode on my DVR, no matter the episode's premise, though I do want to shake each and every person on the show and ask, "HAVE YOU HEARD OF GOOGLE."

Anyway, sorry to get sidetracked, from there we basically camped out at the Alamo for the Bates Motel, Revenge, and Justified panels. My ticket to the festival was $99 and I think I would have paid that to watch that many awesome TV shows on a big, movie theater screen with beer and queso, but I also got to listen to writers, producers, and actors talk about their shows. Basically, the festival became worth it two hours into it, no exaggeration.

After the Friday panels, my mom and I drove to the San Jose Hotel (a favorite!), to watch an outdoor screening of Friday Night Lights.

It was such a cool experience, watching my absolute favorite show on a big screen with dozens of other fans (and some of the cast, including Tyra and Grandma Saracen!), but we got there at 6pm in order to get a parking spot and a place to put our folding chairs and the screening didn't start until 9:30pm. We were so tired, and though, again, it was really cool once the show started, I'll likely skip the screening next year if they have it. 

My mom and I slept in the next morning, thank everything, and then had breakfast at the Intercontinental before one of my favorite panels of the weekend: An Assistant's Tale. Such an impressive group of ladies, talking about their start as writers and casting directors and producers. I could have listened to them talk for hours.

From there, we nabbed a front-row spot at the Everwood reunion panel, and it was another of my favorites. The cast oozed appreciation and love for the show, and they showed clips and cast messages and behind-the-scenes video.

Chris Pratt FaceTimed in the middle of the panel. I mean, TICKET PRICE WORTH IT, SERIOUSLY.

After that, we headed to the Parenthood panel. We had heard rumors all weekend about so-and-so showing up here or Tim Riggins showing up there, so when there was a Lauren Graham and Peter Krause rumor swirling around, I kind of ignored it. BURNED ME TWICE ALREADY, TV FESTIVAL RUMOR SPREADERS. 

But then:

I'm going to put an unpopular opinion out there: I love Sarah Braverman more than Lorelai Gilmore. She's my favorite part of Parenthood. She's a far more realistic, relatable character (for me), and it was a treat to be in the same room as her. 

After that, I don't think I could have handled much more excitement (and I wasn't feeling great that evening), so we turned in early.

Sunday, our main goal was the Roswell reunion panel, and that was so much fun. 

Honestly, the weekend just flew by, it was relaxing and so much fun. I got to spend some quality time with my mom, while watching a lot of TV in Austin. All such wonderful things.

One last thing I love about this festival is the people who attend it. I felt like I became friends with strangers, in such a short amount of time, by just standing in lines and talking TV with them. No one shoved to the front or was rude or was anything other than cool, TV-loving people. I bought my ticket for next year while still there because it's now a place I just want to be every year. 

(And, hey! Tickets are already on sale for next year. You should be there too.) 

Two Hikes to Tell You About

Hiking has become our favorite weekend activity of choice. In Texas?, you might ask, but Texas has a seriously bad reputation for being nothing but tumbleweeds and flat landscape as far as the eye can see when we actually have plenty of hills! And plenty of trees! And lakes too! (We also have places like Lubbock, hence the reputation.) (Kidding, Lubbock fans!) (Except not kidding at all.)

So, anyway, we're determined to spend as much of our downtime--especially in the magical months we call April, May, October, and November, when we can actually stand to be outside for prolonged periods of time--exploring the different trails in driving distance from us. (See Possum Kingdom, Mineral Wells.) 

In the last month or so, we've been to two new places.

Lake Ray Roberts

This is just a thirty-minute drive from us, and we can stop for lunch on the way there or back in Denton (which has some great restaurants). Mike grew up camping at this lake, and we hope to get back to do just that soon, but the trails were fantastic for a day trip. And we've heard great things about the fishing too. 

Those gigantic sunglasses inspired by Elizabeth

Bob Jones Nature Preserve* 

This is a whopping ten-minute drive from our front door, and I literally had never heard of it until a few weeks ago. Seriously, my own home is a surprise five years later. This was nearly deserted on Mother's Day, and it was wondreful weather, and just an all-around perfect hiking day.

After hiking for about an hour, we were treated to a lovely beach, and though I saw a few too many beer cans for my particular beach liking, the breeze and the water nearly made up for that. 

Kyle also slept 2.5 hours after this hike (so *I* slept 2.5 hours after this hike), so let's stamp it the best hike there ever was. 

*There are some seriously awesome-looking programs, classes, and workshops offered through the nature center, if you're local!

Where should we head next? 

The Best Day(s) of His Life

I don't know if there's anything I've loved as much as Kyle loves motorcycle racing. Specifically MotoGP. (Okay, I do know, but they're all fictional characters from CW shows, and it's better I stop talking about it in public now that I'm 32.)

Anyway, I can't quite remember when his love first began. When he first started watching races, talking about the riders, reciting stats and numbers and exact reasons why so-and-so crashed. "He didn't lean enough to the right, Mommy. The corner got him." 

He began popping out of bed on Sunday mornings, asking if there was a new race on. If there wasn't (sometimes a few weeks pass between races), he'd just ask to watch another race over again. There are certain races I've seen a dozen times. Maybe more.

Mike races, and I first thought Kyle picked up this love because he wanted to be more like his Dad. Who could blame him? But as Mike reminds me, this kid knows way more than he does at this point. 

His love grew so strong that he got a Cycle World magazine subscription for Christmas and when a new issue arrives, he takes it to bed with him and "reads" it cover to cover. 

We watched the first race of the season a few weeks ago at my in-laws house and a few days later, as we drove home from school, he said completely out of the blue: "I'm just really proud of Scott Redding for coming in seventh place in his first MotoGP race."

Uh, me too, kid. Really proud of Scott Redding.

MotoGP is an international motorcycle racing circuit. It's a seriously big deal, though most people have no idea what I'm talking about when I talk about it. (But, one of the racers is on the Forbes list of the top-100 most-paid athletes in the world. Big deal!) They only race twice in the United States this season, and once is the new Circuit of the Americas track in Austin. One of two tracks in the entire country and it's in driving distance! Meant to be, I'd say. This is my son's DisneyWorld and Christmas and about 100 other awesome things all rolled into one. 

So, yeah, I bought three tickets like they were shoes, like they were bottles of champagne. I bought them with pure glee. Being a mother has changed me in really strange, beautiful ways.

The race was this past weekend.

It was one of the best weekends I can remember, and I like to think it was one of the best weekends Kyle can remember either. 

Funny story about his red Marc Marquez (Kyle's favorite rider and the winner in Austin!) t-shirt. We bought it for him Sunday morning, in a vendor tent at the track. We handed it to him to hold as we paid, and before we knew it, he began taking his other shirt off to change right there in the middle of everything. My shy kid is sometimes the absolute opposite of shy, kind of like how his shy mother sometimes loves to sing karaoke. 

I mentioned to someone recently just how much he loves motorcycles and racing and MotoGP, and they kind of sucked in air and said, "But doesn't that make you nervous?"

Well, sure, if he wants to ride one day, that'll probably give me a fresh set of things to worry about on top of the million things I already do. It's safe compared to riding a bike in traffic but a lot less safe than, say, writing or reading or some dozen other things I think would make for fine hobbies. Why not read a few blogs, Kyle! 

But I want him to be happy and full more than I want him to ease my worry. I want him to love something one day as much as he loves MotoGP now. If it keeps on being the same thing, I'll be thrilled. 

I really will.

Things to To in Texas: Visit Revolver Brewery

My ladies and I had a girls weekend this past weekend many weeks ago because I can't get my act together to post regularly these days, but we headed closed to home, just an hour away. We stayed in Granbury, TX, which is a 10-minute drive from Revolver Brewery.

We headed to the brewery Saturday afternoon (after pedicures!) and while mid-July in Texas is never ideal for outdoor activities, it was SUCH a fun brewery that I'd recommend it to anyone, any time of year. 

It had so much to do, to pass an afternoon: take a tour, listen to live music (they have a schedule of who's playing on their website), play in water tables and on playgrounds (if you're a kid or if you've REALLY enjoyed the beer), eat some local food. You could also taste beer, which I assume is why some of you would go.

The Blood & Honey, a wheat beer, is what the brewery is known for, and it was so much better than I remembered when I tried it at a local restaurant, but I preferred the High Brass, a blonde ale. 

So, if you're in or passing through Granbury anytime soon, swing by this brewery. I'm already planning my return trip.

Things to Do in Texas: Camp/Stay in an Air-Conditioned Cabin at Possum Kingdom Lake

I've been wanting to visit Big Bend for years. It's in Texas, but it's something like nine hours away from us. (Texas is just too big, my goodness.) Anyway, that's...a lot of hours in the car. That also makes it tough to get away for a weekend without taking time off work. Hey! We're here for three hours! Time to go now. When I was lamenting how unfair geography is, Mike told me to pick a place (much) closer to home for a weekend away, so I picked Possum Kingdom. 

Possum Kingdom is a glorious two hours away instead of nine, but it's also a place I'd never been, and I really love adding new pins to our wall map.

We originally planned to camp, but then we laughed at ourselves because camping in July in Texas is a really stupid decision. We instead stayed at the Hideaway Cabins, and it was a great, centrally located place. The cabins were clean and spacious and the staff could not have been nicer. I can't imagine ever going back and not staying there again. Really recommend.

We hiked nearby trails both mornings. Oh boy, the trails were awesome. If you like hiking, I'd recommend Possum Kingdom for the trails alone. Kyle was a freaking champ for both hikes and the one Saturday morning was long and hot. I don't know if I've ever been more proud of him, quite honestly. 

Oh, and we all enjoyed a three-hour nap after our Saturday morning hike. Hikes, you're my favorite.

We also made s'mores, swam at the lake, grilled dinner, introduced Kyle to Friends in our cabin's living room, drove around to explore and spotted ELEVEN deer (Kyle kept count), and just had a really wonderful weekend. And we brought Molly. It helped her forgive us for at least some of the trips we've taken in the last few years without her. 

Some pictures of our weekend:

Kyle cried when we had to leave, it was that nice of a weekend. The kind of weekend you hope to have when you plan for it.

Things to Do in Texas: Go to a Fort Worth Cats game

After we went to the Rangers game, we knew a couple things: 1) Kyle had a lot of fun and (unfortunately) 2) The cost of professional baseball tickets if you want to be anywhere near the field are stupid expensive. 

But, Fort Worth has the Cats (I don't think it's minor league, but I know that it's baseball with reasonably priced tickets, so that's good enough for me) and that's actually much closer to home, so I bought us three tickets for this past Friday's game and crossed my fingers.

It worked. It was so much fun. 

For $14/ticket, we sat in the first row behind home plate and Kyle actually got to experience baseball without saying every three minutes, "I DON'T EVEN SEE THE BALL."

What was most fun about this kind of game though, besides the cheap seats, is how fun they made it for the fans. They had fans on the field between many innings, playing games and winning prizes. They had "spotlight" players that, if struck out, could get fans two-for-one beers. The mascot danced in the stands and it was just...fun. Especially for kids, my goodness. Kyle had the time of his life. He is SO a Cats fan now. 

So, you know, buy a few tickets and enjoy a baseball game next time you're in Fort Worth. They also have funnel cakes so enough said, right?

Things to Do in Texas: Hike at Mineral Wells Park

This is a branch of my What To Do posts because I'd like to collect our cool advenutres from around our state into one series, so I can link to it whenever people ask, "But what on earth is there to do in Texas besides eat barbecue and ride horses?" 

I also hope this inspires me to get my family out to do more things in our pretty big, pretty great state. Especially this time of year when "STAY INSIDE AND WEEP" is all we really want to do. 

So, about a month ago, we took Kyle an hour outside of Fort Worth to hike around Mineral Wells state park. Kyle wasn't sure what hiking was, when we told him that's what we were going to do with our day, but he did like that I packed cookies for our post-hike picnic. 

Once we got there, though, parked the car and hit the trail, Kyle said (adorably), "Oh! Hiking is just exploring." Explore we did.

We hope to camp one day (the camp grounds seemed really nice), but it was a great way to test out the park, to see how Kyle would do on the trails, and he was a champ. 

If you're anywhere near DFW, or if you're in the area for whatever reason, I really recommend the fairly short drive to see the park. It's a great one.

Weekend Snapshots

It was one of the good ones.

 

Texas is growing on me

We now have In-N-Out Burger, Trader Joe's, and these views an hour-long plane ride away.

(It's not the Carribean or anything, I know, but it's not half-bad either.)

Okay, so we likely always had these views an hour-long plane ride away, but I had never hopped on a plane with my kid to see them before this past weekend.

Hard to tell if Kyle enjoyed things, though.

We traveled down to Port Aransas for our niece's first birthday. Even though the celebration fell on Father's Day, Mike already had a motorcycle race planned (with his dad) out of town, so I decided spending the holiday with the rest of his family was the next best thing to celebrating with him.

Kyle's four, but it was actually our first flight just the two of us, and I couldn't have asked for a better, more smoother flight experience on the way down (we'll ignore the flight experience on the way back, when American Airlines told us we couldn't get on an earlier flight unless we paid $75/each). On the way down, though, the lovely AA worker waived our baggage fees and let us jump the security line. Oh, airline companies, why do you have to keep us on our toes! Anyway, Kyle was a champ for all the traveling. I don't know how a four year old can channel such patience, but he was a total inspiration to me on the trip. 

It was a quick weekend away (we were gone from Friday morning to Sunday evening), but it was just what we needed. It felt like a real vacation with sandy feet and sun-kissed skin and reading on the porch of our beach house and early bedtimes (and very early mornings, which was less vacation-y than I would have preferred KYLE) even though we were gone less than three days.

I hope Kyle remembers this mini-vacation, holding hands while we walked to the beach each morning and building sandcastles and splashing in the ocean. I hope he remembers slathering sunscreen on his tiny legs and cannon-balling in the community pool, but I'll remember for us both, if he doesn't.

The only thing better than the trip itself was the company, which is the best truth of all the best trips, isn't it? Doesn't matter where we go, not really, just who we go with.

ATX Festival

Did you know I like a few TV shows? (Just a few.) (And a few more.) So, it's almost as if the ATX Television Festival was created just for me. It certainly sounds like my kind of weekend, an entire weekend of panels and screenings for TV shows past and present. I got to find out if it was indeed my kind of weekend this past weekend.

I snatched up a ticket last fall, determined for the chance see a few Friday Night Lights stars in person but really nothing could have prepared me for just how awesome a weekend it would turn out to be for a TV fan like me.

For the cost of your ticket, you can get into 3-4 panels/screenings a day. I chose FNL, Party of Five, Parenthood, and Veronica Mars on Saturday, and then an Actor's Roundtable on Sunday. Because of my work trip two weeks ago and also because of a pretty full plate, I couldn't head out of town for any of the Friday panels (next year, Friday, I am coming for you), but it was still a perfect weekend.

I hung out with Julie and Erica most of the weekend with a special shout-out to Natalie for letting us stay with her and drink coffee on her lovely back porch each morning.

The screenings and panels (at least this year) were all great sizes. You were near the actors, and it felt personal and like the cost of the ticket was absolutely worth it. The moderators, volunteers, and organizers were all great, too, and everything ran smoothly. 

Our first screening was Friday Night Lights, and we ended up in the first row of Austin's Paramount Theater. Oh, and I also ended up in the concession stand line behind Mae Whitman, which was a cool way to kick off the morning. I nearly said "You stink Justin Matisse" to her but resisted. She's probably thankful for that. As is security.

After they brought out some of the show's actors...

No big deal, just sitting in front of Scott Porter and Matt Lauria

...they introduced a clip from the show, a clip that was (as the audience probably noticed) just of Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler. Then the moderator went ahead and made all of our days (years, quite possibly) by INTRODUCING CONNINE BRITTON AND KYLE CHANDLER (they weren't previously announced to be there, total surprise).

I resisted the urge to jump on stage and touch her hair. Most restraint I've ever showed in my entire life.

This was my favorite panel of the weekend not only because of Tami's hair (although that was 90% of it), but also because the panel was a perfect combination of show clips, the actors talking about the clips, and then a time for audience questions.

The other panels were still really good, though.

 (From top to bottom, left to right: Party of Five, Chris Lowell & Rob Thomas from the Veronica Mars panel, my Veronica Mars ticket, and the Actor's Roundtable with a bunch of awesome actors including JOSHUA MALINA.)

SPEAKING OF JOSHUA MALINA:

Basically two degress away from Aaron Sorkin, no bigs. He was so gracious and kind, too, although his expression in this particular picture isn't proof of that. Really, so nice.

After that picture was taken, we had an actual conversation with Scott Porter, who is also incredibly nice. He said he'd be back next year "if they'd have him." Oh, Jason Street, I think any TV festival would have you. 

It was a great weekend, so worth the ticket cost and the drive down. I plan to be there next year, and if you like TV at all, you should come too.

If TV doesn't appeal to you, did you know Austin has both queso and margaritas? 

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.

The Best

Mike and I have finally begun putting together a living room we can be proud of. It's only taken four years to start this project and it'll only take (I'm sure) another four, but hell I'm calling any progress a victory at this point. 

In January, we painted the walls a nice steel gray, and we've bought frames for the many pictures we want to hang on them. Over our couch, we've decided to hang travel photos, just scenery shots, and it was such a fun ride through vacation memory lane, choosing which pictures we should display. We chose one from Puerto Rico, Chicago, St. John, Boston and in the middle we hope to find just the right photo from College Station. That might not be your vacation city of choice but all this travel, all this everything, began with that tiny Texas town.

Of course we chose a photo from the family roadtrip we took in the summer of 2011 (here, here). You might remember that trip if you've been reading my blog since then. We traveled through Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and a tiny bit of Arizona for a family wedding. We took Kyle, then two and a half, and Molly, then (and now) a giant but lovable pain in the ass.

As I searched through the hundreds of photos from the trip for just the right one to frame, I remembered how we almost didn't go. My car broke down (to the tune of many dollars) the week before the trip and the day before the trip Kyle got a Mystery Fever. No money and a feverish child. Yeah, that screams fun family vacation.

But, against all rational thought, we took the trip. We packed the car, we booked a couple cheap hotel rooms, we filled a cooler with snacks and filled my laptop with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes, and we hoped for the best. 

We ate burgers in Amarillo, drank margaritas in Santa Fe. We hiked in Arches National Park while watching a storm roll through one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen before or have ever seen since. Kyle threw up in the backseat on a particularly curvy Colorado mountain road but then we saw a deer inches from our car a few moments later, and he quickly cheered up. We visited the Four Corners. We graffitied the cars at Cadillac Ranch. We introduced Kyle to family he'd never met and we sat around the hotel pool with them, catching up and slapping mosquitoes against our arms. Mike's parents treated us to a once-in-a-lifetime helicopter ride above Gateway Canyons, where we stayed for the wedding. We off-roaded to visit Shiprock.

We also had this one giant fight, on a New Mexico highway late one night as Kyle slept in the backseat. It was ridiculous, as many giant fights tend to be, and Mike and I stewed quietly after it ended. I went to sleep angry. He slept with his back to me. We apologized in the morning, after coffee, a good night's sleep, and a strong dose of perspective, and we shared a family hug in our cheap hotel room before eating the worst continental breakfast we'd ever had.

There was also this beautiful moment on a straight stretch of road, driving out of Utah as the sun was setting one night. Kyle had just fallen asleep and Mike and I were talking about anything, nothing, I don't even remember. Maybe our trip, maybe stopping for gas, maybe Kyle. I think my favorite thing about my relationship with Mike, or maybe just my relationship with anyone I've loved so long, is the ease of conversation. You realize how rare that is, as you get older, when there is no anxiety or self-consciousness or even awareness of what you're saying. You just talk. It's like breathing, talking to Mike, and I realized on that Utah road that I was just so damn grateful we decided to say yes to a trip we nearly said no to. 

It was one of the most incredible trips, no weeks, of my entire life. It was magical, it was beautiful, it was exhausting, it was fun, even the fight, even the carsickness, even the bad felt good on that trip. 

We almost said no, but then we said yes. We hoped for the best, and that's exactly what we got. 

No other reason to write this than I just wanted to remember all of that today. 

(I plan to share the living room makeover when the room is done, of course. So see you for that in 2017.)

What To Do: Eat a Few Pretzels at Mellow Mushroom

This isn't exactly a super unique recommendation because there are Mellow Mushrooms all over the damn place but, let me tell you, if there is one near you, head there immediately and get a half order of the pretzels as your entree. Get the regular butter and kosher salt flavor and add a side of beer cheese.

One of the best things I've eaten in ages. 

Oh, and if you're me, you'd probably add a draft beer to the side of those pretzels. 

Kyle's Fourth Birthday Party

I love birthdays, as you likely know, and I really love the birthdays of my boys. (And, yes, of Molly. We bought her a big piece of delicious cake last year and I know it was delicious because I ate it all. That was a good day.) (I totally thought I blogged about Molly's last birthday and intended to link to it but, nope, around her birthday I was blogging about Taylor Kitsch and Whole Foods smoothies. NO WONDER SHE SIDE-EYES ME SO OFTEN.) Anyway, what's tough about Kyle's birthday is that February is Texas' usually coldest but also most unpredictable weather month. One year, we reached insane freezing temperatures for like a solid week. (I really thought I blogged about that horrible icy week of terrible cold but nope. I'm apparently a poor excuse for a blogger.) This year, it was 68 degrees the day before his party. The day of his party, of course, it was cold and overcast and windy, and I was super grumpy about it. 

Like really fucking grumpy. 

I went to Target that morning to buy all the things I still needed to buy (and many things I didn't still need to buy) and just stomped around the store and tweeted about how grumpy I was and stomped some more and then comfort bought a pair of earrings. (This was after I had already comfort ate a donut from Kyle's donut cake.)

The party turned out a-okay--as these things just turn out, of course--especially in Kyle's adorable four-year-old eyes. He was happy the entire time and he ran around outside in the cold, with his friends (and even without a coat!), and laughed and laughed and laughed. And laughed.

(That bottom right picture is candy grabbing post-pinata breaking, in case you thought we encouraged a kid brawl or something.)

We chose a dinosaur theme--and by we, I completely mean me because I pushed the theme on Kyle like the overbearing, birthday-obsessed mom I unapologetically am--but it was still my favorite theme ever. (And, don't worry, Kyle really liked it too.)

We set up pools of sand on the porch for faux-fossil digs. I buried a bunch of tiny plastic dinosaurs in the sand and let the kids take home whatever they unearthed.

Mike drew dinosaur feet on the front walk with chalk. (I just have to quickly give a shout-out to Elizabeth, who I stole the party idea from last year, and when I asked her where she found her dinosaur feet, she said, "Oh, I drew them with chalk" and I immediately thought THIS IS WHY ELIZABETH NEEDS TO LIVE IN TEXAS. I could stress eat donuts and she could just calmly fix my party problems.)

One thing Kyle chose all on his very own was his donut cake. We went back and forth on his cake for a while and he finally said, "I want donuts with candles." At first I thought we'd just buy two donuts, stick four candles in them, and call it a day, but then I decided donuts sounded good for everyone. And they were good for everyone. I could use one of those donuts right now, truth be told.

It was a good day, and when I put Kyle to bed that night, he told me that he loved his party, that he had the best day, and while I still have memories of grumpily stomping around Target because of the stupid effing clouds, the bigger memories are the ones of Kyle grinning.

Kyle grinning trumps a whole lot. 

He's four! I still can't believe it.

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.)

I Didn't Break Open the Champagne Until Midnight. I'm Tired Today.

I've been with Mike for almost nine years. The year we began dating, President Bush was elected to a second term. In 2008, I sat on my couch, pregnant and hopeful, and watched those numbers roll in and when they were indisputable, I broke open a bottle of champagne and drank a (smallish) glass. It felt big, important, special. I had voted for the president. I liked that a lot. (I also wrote this because I liked a lot of people who didn't like it a lot, and I respected and understood that.)

Still, while my husband was happy for me and happy for the last election's results, he stayed mostly politically apathetic. I didn't blame him. It's a lot to watch an election's madness. It's even more to become invested in it. 

He knows my political thoughts, of course, and I don't think he disagrees with them. He just prefers not to talk about that stuff at dinner parties or even at our own dinner table. Again, I don't blame him much for that. 

All that's to say, I was surprised he decided to vote this year. Pleasantly, wonderfully, cried-actual-tears surprised. He said he did it for me, and if that's actually true, it's one of the best gifts he's ever given me. Voting means a lot to me, but I can't ask it to mean a lot to him. That he did it anyway made me fall in love with him all over again.

President Obama didn't take Texas, not even close, but we voted for our president, my husband and I. I like that a lot.

If you don't like it, and I know there are many of you, I hope you're given the time and space to be upset. No one should possibly begrudge you for feeling emotional. It was a lengthy, exhausting road to get here. 

I'll even share my champagne, if you need a glass. You might feel like celebrating something after a couple glasses. 

***

President Obama supporters, I have to share this picture with you. How awesome, right?  

Vote Cast

I live in Texas, a red, red state, and while my state won't go to my guy (and even if the whole shebang doesn't go to my guy), I was proud to vote all the same. Although, I will say that my polling place was prepping for some sort of church potluck when I showed up Friday night and I didn't find it all that fair to have to stare at so many pies without being offered a single slice. 

You can kinda see my "I voted" sticker on my jacket.

No matter how tonight swings, I think we've all earned a piece of pie for getting through this election madness with our minds in tact. Or, in my case, as in tact as it was before.

(And because adorable is a nice way to end all things political, if you ask Kyle who his mommy voted for he'll say, "THE O MAN!" Come on, that's cute no matter how you politically lean, am I right?)

TNT's Dallas Premiere

I was invited to a screening of TNT's new version of Dallas -- set to premiere June 13 -- last night, and when I read "screening" in the email, I thought I'd sit in a room with other bloggers, watching the pilot and tweeting. (My brain, it is adorable.) Guys, I can watch/tweet the heck out of a TV show, just ask anyone who has ever met me, and I also like going out on work nights from time to time, where there might be adult beverages and fancy snacks. So, yeah. I was game.

I noticed the screening was at a somewhat fancyish opera house in town, but the dress said business casual, so my mind assumed it was in a room within the opera house or maybe that was just the point of reference and it would be nearby? Or maybe they were pulling out the stops for a small group of tv-loving bloggers.

I invited A'Dell and we grabbed dinner beforehand. I was wearing a (cute, I think) dress from Target, and while I wasn't going to stop traffic, I thought it was appropriate for a small blogger-type event with a business casual dress-code.

Yeah. My thoughts. They were off-base.

It was the premiere! Of the show! With all the actors and media and probably C-list stars from Dallas-based reality shows! On a red carpet!

As far as I could tell, not a single other person was wearing Target.

There were plenty of people wearing ballgowns, though. With sequins. That kicked-off a fun game in my head I now call Who Invited the Poor Suburban Mom to This Fancy Event?

(At one point, we had to actually walk down the red carpet and on one side was a fountain-type wading pool and A'Dell said, "Please don't fall in," as I was taking a picture. She said it with experience as my friend, you guys. She said it because if there was anyone in the world to be invited to a fancy tv show premiere and then FALL IN THE FOUNTAIN, it would be me.)

Still, you know, it was a crazy awesome people-watching opportunity and I don't think I'll ever be in a room with Patrick Duffy again (or Parker from Veronica Mars!) so I enjoyed it. Even though I kept thinking WHY AM I WEARING COTTON? It was exciting. Also, a high-up at TNT gave a very sweet talk about how he took his now-wife out on their first date the night of the original Dallas series finale and they're still married and look! He's J.R.'s boss now! It was really cute.

Unfortunately, the show was....oh guys....not great. I know, this is coming from a girl who is very liberal with her DVR "record" button and who just last week watched (and enjoyed!) a few episodes of Hart of Dixie.

I thought it might have potential, being filmed in Dallas -- a grittier, less-produced feel or something -- but it fell short. The storyline also went wildly all over the place and the dialogue was so cheesy and emotionless, I literally rolled my eyes at times. While the end had a fun twist (sorta) that might lure viewers to tune in again, the twist happened standing on the star of Cowboys Stadium. Who schemes on the 50-yard-line of a football field? It was reminding you, too often, that this was happening in Texas, YEE-HAW.

Pilots are generally bad, I know, so perhaps the kinks will get worked out. I just couldn't help but think of Friday Night Lights, a show also filmed in Texas -- a show with "Texas Forever" as one of its catchphrases -- but a show that was basically about Anytown USA. It had such heart. (Why was I not invited to THAT premiere, I wonder!)

Anyway, some photos I snapped.

You can't tell, but I'm wearing my new Texas necklace. This is what I planned to lead with if anyone questioned my non-ballgown-attire. DO YOU SEE MY TEXAS NECKLACE. I HAVE MAD STATE PRIDE.

Do you see the very faint arrow? That guy was hugging a lot of people. He was either Someone Very Important or just huggy. Hard to tell.

You can kinda see the pool at the mid-left section of the photo. I did not fall in, praise everything.

I've circled Jesse Metcalfe. He's very pretty. He's also quite possibly the worst actor there has ever been.

This is Josh Henderson. He has been in ... some shows and stuff. I mainly know him as the guy who was dating Ashlee Simpson when her reality show first kicked off. (And I have vague memories of him dumping her via...text or something? Jessica was not impressed.) Anyway, if you just cringed because I WATCHED the Ashlee Simpson Show, I should tell you that it was better than Dallas.

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