Life is Beautiful

Happy Christmas Parties!

2010-12-14T17:39:00.000-08:00

Some of my favorites from last weekend's Christmas party in Lago Vista :)

These Streets Will Make You Feel Brand New, Big Lights Will Inspire You: Day 3

2010-12-09T22:31:00.001-08:00

Day 3 - December 5, 2010

"Traveling is the great true love of my life... I am loyal and constant in my love of travel. I feel about travel the way a happy new mother feels about her impossible, colicky, restless newborn baby - I just don't care what it puts me through. Because I adore it. Because it's mine. Because it looks exactly like me." -Elizabeth Gilbert

I could totally relate to this quote during our last full day in New York. Even though we had been through a lot and hardly gotten any sleep, I still managed to get us up early and out to the Empire State Building. I really do love traveling and no matter how tired and cranky I get and how much I wish I could go back to bed, I know that there's so much to see and do and I can sleep when I get home.

We got to the Empire State Building (after I'd had my morning coffee) and waited in a short line. We stopped at the New York Skyride, a simulated ride through New York City, and got so dizzy we almost got sick. Then, we headed up to the top of the Empire State Building for a view of the amazing city we had been exploring for the last two days.

The Chrysler Building from the top of the Empire State Building

Once we had walked around the top and had a bird's eye view, we decided to stop over at Macy's to see the famous windows that were all decorated for Christmas. Then it was time to meet up with Marcella and grab some lunch at the market in Grand Central Station. We picked up some yummy food and brought it back to Marcella's apartment to heat up. The food was delicious and I just loved Marcella's apartment. It reminded me a lot of my own.

Marcella told us about a Christmas fair, The Union Square Holiday Market, so we took the subway to Union Square to browse the booths that were set up.

Spices at a booth at The Union Square Holiday Market

After taking a quick trip to a grocery store in Midtown Manhattan, we headed out to Times Square to Madame Tussaud's.

The wax museum was fun and we took tons of pictures with all the wax celebrities. A lot of the wax figures were created from actual sittings, so most of the figures were the same size as the celebrities they were modeled after.

Tommy blocking Yao Ming ;-)

We left the museum and walked out into Times Square to check out the scenery at night. It always amazes me how bright it is there. After stopping in at the M&Ms store and a few others, we went to Junior's to scarf down some Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake. It was deeelicious. But we had to hurry because we had a show to catch...

NYPD Officer on horseback

Tommy with his Junior's Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake :)

We ended up buying last-minute tickets to Elf the Musical. At first, we talked about skipping the Broadway shows because they are kind of expensive ($100/ticket) and we didn't know if we'd have time to fit one in. As the trip went on, I'd find myself saying "I wanna see a show." I grew up watching and acting in musicals so it was hard for me to imagine a trip to New York without seeing one. After all, I had seen a show each of the five previous times I had visited the city: The Blue Man Group, Chicago, Beauty and the Beast, Hairspray, and Wicked. Tommy finally gave in to my whining and we bought tickets that afternoon.

The show was awesome and they even made it snow in the audience at the end! I was especially impressed with the little boy who played "Michael", Matthew Gumley. What a talented actor and singer. I'm sure he'll have a few more starring roles in the future.

Hunger struck as soon as the show was over, so we stopped by a place we had heard a lot about, Shake Shack, for some burgers and fries. It hit the spot and was just what we needed for our trek home. I was so grateful to get back to Garrett's apartment for some R&R and even decided to sleep in the next day until I had to take Tommy to Penn Station to catch his train to the airport.

After such a long, sleepless, wonderful trip, we left the big city while a light, crisp snow was falling. It was the perfect was to end a perfect trip <3

A Place So Nice, They Named It Twice: Day 2

2010-12-09T16:34:00.000-08:00

Day 2 - December 4, 2010

After about 4 hours of sleep, Tommy, Matt, and I woke up and headed out to Battery Park to catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I only wish it had been as simple as it sounded....

Every other time I have been to the Statue of Liberty, it didn't take more than 30 minutes to get our tickets and get on the ferry. This time was a different story. We stood in line to get through security for 2 hours and to top it all off, it was cold! Really, really cold! The weather had been perfect up until then; mid 40s and sunny during the day and upper 20s at night. Battery Park is at the southern tip of Manhattan on the bay, so there were no buildings to block the wind, which made it seem a whole lot colder than it actually was. After standing in the cold for what seemed like forever, we finally got through security and headed out to Lady Liberty.

The Statue of Liberty

We stayed on the island long enough to walk around the city and take some pictures of the statue and the city skyline. Then it was time to head back to the ferry to warm up again.

Me and Tommy with the NYC Skyline in the background

Ellis Island was the next stop. It is such a cool museum that tells the story of the immigration process and even some personal stories from the immigrants themselves. It was really interesting to see what a lot of people had to go through to be allowed to live in this country.

Luggage from immigrants who came through Ellis Island

Once we got back to Manhattan, we were ready to eat, so we went and grabbed some New York style pizza at a little pizzeria in the Financial District. I had the lasagna pizza and a Dr. Pepper! Yankees, or northerners in general, don't really have an abundance of Dr. Pepper like we do in Texas, so I was excited to see (and drink) it!

The Bull in the Financial District

Next we made a quick stop by the Stock Exchange and the bronze bull statue. They were filming a movie across the street from the Exchange. The film crew was out there with all of their equipment and the street over was filled with the actor's trailers. We should have asked what movie it was, but we were in a hurry to head over to Ground Zero to meet up with Marcella and Alex. Ground zero had changed a lot since the last time I was in New York two years ago. The "Freedom Tower" is going up and the 9/11 Memorial Park and Museum were being built. It should be done on the 10th anniversary next year. I guess it gives me an excuse to come back to New York and see it.

Next, we went to South Street Seaport and met up with Garrett. We stopped to watch the Gay Men's Choir sing some christmas carols under a beautiful Christmas tree and sang a long with them :) We walked around for a bit and took pictures from the pier with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background and then stumbled upon Heartland Brewery and it served pumpkin ale (ahhh!!!) so we stopped in for a drink...or two. The pumpkin ale wasn't nearly as good as St. Arnold's brew, but it was good enough for me!

Matt, Garrett, me, and Marcella at South Street Seaport (Brooklyn Bridge in the background)

The Bodies museum was the next stop. I had already been to the one in Houston when I was in high school and this one was pretty much the same. It was still interesting, though, seeing all the different ways the human body works while viewing actual human bodies. Tommy was shocked when I told him they were all Chinese people. Haha.

Matt had some friends that lived in the area, so we met up with them after the museum and went to an awesome wine bar called BIN No. 220. The cheese tray and wine were just what we needed after walking all over the city for a 2nd day in a row.

We had reservations for Tommy's birthday dinner in Little Italy, so we hurried over there after the wine bar and made it to Angelo's of Mulberry just in time for our reservation...that didn't exist. Even though I had called to make the reservation and called a 2nd time to confirm, they still had no record of my reservation anywhere. Not only that, but the maitre d was rude. He completely ignored us and the crowd at the door and kept disappearing. We weren't the only people who go fed up and left. Consider this a bad review for that restaurant.

Looking down Mulberry Street at the restaurants in Little Italy

We ended up walking to a restaurant just down the street, Da Nico. They sat us at the last minute and the food was excellent. We ordered a few bottles of wine and enjoyed a fabulous Italian dinner.

Tommy with his 25th birthday cake <3

Marcella and Alex had to go home, but we ended up bar hopping at the bars near NYU with our friend Amy until 4 am. I don't even know how we managed to stay up that late after the two busy days we had.

We finally made it back to Queens and passed out after another long, fun day in the city that never sleeps....

The Big Apple: Day 1

2010-12-08T16:29:00.000-08:00

I was going to write an entire blog about our New York trip all at once, but I realized after uploading all of the pictures I took, that wouldn't be possible :) So I've decided to break the trip up by days...

Day 1 - December 3rd, 2010

HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY, TOMMY!!!!

We woke up at 6 a.m. to get ready to head into the city from my cousin Garrett's apartment in Queens. My flight didn't get in until 1 a.m. the night before and I didn't actually get to bed until around 3, but I was really excited to explore the city with Tommy so I had no problem getting up and out the door.

We had to stop in Times Square to get our New York Passes from Planet Hollywood and make our reservations for the NBC Studio tour. We saw Matt Lauer outside of the studio hosting The Today Show. Then we got on the Subway towards the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was one of the places in New York that, even after visiting 5 times, I had never seen. The museum was massive, and I mean massive. We spent a few hours browsing and didn't see half of it. Tommy really loved the wing of the museum with the knights, armor, and Samurai swords and I really loved all the greek statues. Once we got to the Egyptian wing, we realized what time it was and had to head to Central Park.

Central Park is definitely one of my favorite places in New York. It's so peaceful and quiet and beautiful and when you look up over the trees, you see buildings. It's kind of a reminder that you're sill in the biggest city in the country. We walked through the park on the way to the American Museum of Natural History and stopped at Belvedere Castle for an awesome view of the Great Lawn.

Tommy looking out on to The Great Lawn from Belvedere Castle

The American Museum of History is just as massive as The Met. There was no way we could see everything , so we stopped in the Marine Life, Hall of Biodiversity, Pacific Peoples, and a few more wings before our stomachs started growling and we had to get something to eat. Tommy really wanted a deli sandwich, so we stopped at Lenny's Sub Shop for a quick bite to eat.

The Origami Tree in The American Museum of History

On the way to the subway to 5th Avenue, we stopped at Strawberry Fields right across the street from John Lennon's apartment, The Dakota, where he was shot. I didn't even realize that we were there only a few days before the 30th anniversary of his death. There wasn't any talk or fuss about it then, but I know they had a candlelight vigil there for him today.

John Lennon Memorial - Strawberry Fields, Central Park

We got off the subway and started walking 5th avenue and I quickly realized it may have been a bad idea...it was the week after Thanksgiving and there were people everywhere doing their Christmas shopping. There was a line outside of FAO Schwarz! I had never seen anything like it. We walked down 5th and stopped in FAO Schwarz (to check out the Big Piano) and Tiffany's (to pick out my dream ring ;-))

Kids playing on the Big Piano in FAO Schwarz (from the movie, "Big")

After all that walking, we needed to relax, so we stopped in my favorite church ever, St. Patrick's Cathedral. It really is stunning; too beautiful to put into words. We just sat in the pews for awhile taking it all in.

St. Patrick's Cathedral from the entrance

But that didn't last long, because we had to be at the NBC Studios for our "behind the scenes" tour. The tour was a lot of fun. We got to see the Dr. Oz, Jimmy Fallon, and the famous Saturday Night Live sets. The Saturday Night Live Set was being prepped for the show the following night (hosted by Robert DeNiro with Diddy Dirty Money), so we got to see the stagehands hard at work. It was pretty cool. Finally, I volunteered Tommy to do the weather for our tour group. It was his birthday after all, and what's a birthday without a little embarrassment?

Hanging out in the Rockefeller Center area of town. It was all decked out for Christmas

Finally, we took an elevator up 70 floors to the Top of the Rock to see the city at night. All the lights from the building were twinkling like stars. I tried to get some good shots, but it was dark and windy and I didn't have a tripod. Pictures wouldn't have done it justice, anyways.

On the Top of the Rock with NYC below us

In front of the tree at Rockefeller Center

We were exhausted at this point, so we met up with my cousin Marcella and her boyfriend, Alex (who live in the city) for some drinks. They took us to this mexican restaurant, Sinigual, that was decorated fabulously for a mexican food place (or mexican chic as I would call it..haha). It was nice to sit back and relax a little after running around the city and I just love Marcella and Alex. I'm really glad my family is so close. It makes it fun to meet up with each other wherever we may be. It got pretty late and we were tired so we took the subway back to Garrett's apartment to meet up with him and Matt (who stopped in New York on his way to Paris...my family is so well-traveled, it's ridiculous). We somehow mustered up some energy to go out to the bar near Garrett's college campus only to have to leave because it was over capacity and the cops showed up. I didn't mind though, I needed the rest and at this point I wasn't going to bed until 3 a.m. and we had to get up early for the next day's activities...

The Good Life

2010-12-07T20:19:00.000-08:00

I've spent all night uploading pictures and I am still exhausted from this past weekend, so I'm going to crash. But first, here's a preview from our New York City Weekend along with one of my favorite songs that fits the weekend we just had :)...

Good Life - OneRepublic

Woke up in London yesterday

Found myself in the city near Piccadilly

Don't really know how I got here

I got some pictures on my phone

New names and numbers that I don't know

Address to places like Abbey Road

Day turns to night, night turns to whatever we want

We're young enough to say

Oh this has gotta be the good life

This has gotta be the good life

This could really be a good life, good life

Say oh, got this feeling that you can't fight

Like this city is on fire tonight

This could really be a good life

A good, good life

To my friends in New York, I say hello

My friends in L.A. they don't know

Where I've been for the past few years or so

Paris to China to Colorado

Sometimes there's airplanes I can' t jump out

Sometimes there's bullshit that don't work now

We are god of stories but please tell me

What there is to complain about

When you're happy like a fool

Let it take you over

When everything is out
You gotta take it in

Hopelessly

I feel like there might be something that I'll miss

Hopelessly

I feel like the window closes oh so quick

Hopelessly

I'm taking a mental picture of you now

'Cuz hopelessly

The hope is we have so much to feel good about

I'm Thankful For...

2010-12-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

...my family, my friends, Tommy, Josie, my job, my health, and my life :)

I was planning on writing a blog about Thanksgiving last week, but got so caught up in planning our New York trip that I forgot.

I got to spend Thanksgiving with both sides of the family. It's nice that my relatives live in the Austin area, it makes it easy to see everyone. Here's my Thanksgiving in pictures:

There's always a pie per person during Thanksgiving!

Uncle Gary being a squirrel and enjoying his pie

My adorable cousin with her turkey day treat

Erin and her favorite...Granny!

Me, my sister, and our littlest cousins :)

My Favorite Things: Tommy, Wine, and Texas

2010-11-14T20:15:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, Tommy came in to town to celebrate my 23rd birthday with me a few days early. We usually have to celebrate the weekend before or after since we live so far away from each other.

Tommy took a half day of work Friday and ended up getting to San Antonio right as I was getting off work. Perfect timing! We hung out around the apartment for awhile and then went to Fralo's for some awesome pizza with my family and friends. A cold front was coming in so it ended up being pretty chilly, and since most of Fralo's is outdoor seating, we had to brave the cold. But the food was delicious as always and I got to try some Saint Arnold's Divine Reserve No. 9 (Pumpkin Stout). It was by far my most favorite beer I have ever had. I've been looking for some more ever since, but the brewer (who is out of Houston and has a fun brewery to visit) only sold it in limited quantities. I guess I will have to go back to Fralo's ASAP and get some more! After dinner we went back to my sister's house for beer pong and board games but we didn't stay too long because we had to get some sleep for the next day's events.

We woke up Saturday and got ready to head out to FM1376 towards the hill country wine trail on 290. All the trees were changing color along the road, it was a beautiful drive. I had a special request: a stop in Luckenbach. Tommy had never heard of it, but he was sure glad I suggested stopping there once he bit into his pulled pork sandwich. We didn't spend a lot of time there since there isn't much to see or do (and since we were being chased by hornets!), but it was a fun stop along the way.

Tommy and his Pulled Pork Sandwich

The old post office in Luckenbach

Everybody's Somebody in Luckenbach

Our first stop on the wine trail was Pedernales Cellars, which had a gorgeous view of the hill country, but the wine tasting was double the price of the other wineries we went to and the atmosphere was a little too stuffy for my taste. If I had to skip a winery next time, it would definitely be this one. But the view....the view was the best of the day. If I do ever go back, I would buy a bottle of wine and sit on their deck and enjoy the scenery.

Our next stop (our personal favorite) was Woodrose Winery. It was a cute, less commercialized winery. Instead of standing at a crowded bar waiting our turn to taste, we got to pick a seat outside on the deck in the woods while a waiter came to us with our wine selections. They had fire pits you could sit around and live music. I could have spent the whole day there! We did order a glass of wine after our tasting so that we could stay and enjoy it more.

Enjoying the scenery at Woodrose Winery

Their menu

Trees above the patio

The next winery was Becker Vineyards, which I had heard a lot about ever since I moved to San Antonio. We were apprehensive at first because it was so crowded and really loud, but the guy behind the bar was really friendly and attentive. We sat out on their patio and listened to the live music before we headed to the next place.

Boots at Becker

My handsome man

Grape Creek Vineyards was the next stop. The building and the ground were gorgeous. Our last two stops were Torre di Pietra (where I bought a bottle of Dirty Girl wine) and Rancho Ponte which were both a lot of fun.

Grape Creek Vineyards

Finally, it was time for dinner and margaritas at Bejas Grill in downtown Fredericksburg. After such a long day, we went home and fell asleep before 10 o'clock.

Our collection of wine glasses

It was such a fun weekend full of my favorite things: Tommy, Wine (and pumpkin stout), and Texas :)

I'm a College Kid Again

2010-10-03T21:07:00.000-07:00

“You have four years to be irresponsible here. Relax. Work is for people with jobs. You'll never remember class time, but you'll remember time you wasted hanging out with your friends. So, stay out late. Go out on a Tuesday with your friends when you have a paper due Wednesday. Spend money you don't have. Drink 'til sunrise. The work never ends, but college does...” - Tom Petty

I would advise every college student to take these words to heart as they are absolutely 100% true. I'm sure glad I did :)

A few weekends ago, I took a day off work and drove 5 1/2 hours to Lubbock to see some of my best friends and watch the ut game! The drive through the hill country on I-10 West was absolutely gorgeous, but I couldn't wait to get out to West Texas.

Friday morning was spent sleeping in. I finally drug myself out of bed and went to get a chopped beef sandwich at Tom and Bingo's BBQ featured in Texas Monthly's top 50 BBQ magazine. It's still a hidden gem in Lubbock. Not many students know about it, but locals flock to it, some of them daily. The rest of the afternoon was spent shopping before plopping myself down on the patio at my favorite bar, Chimy's, for a margarita...or 5...with my friends :) I think we were out at various bars along Broadway, the street in front of campus, from about 3pm until 1am. It was just like being back in college. Friday afternoons turn into Saturday mornings and you would wonder where the time went, but you don't care because it was time well wasted.

Saturday was gameday! Although I had been out for 10 hours straight the night before, I felt fabulous (I've still got it in me) and was excited to tailgate! Tailgating is one of my favorite college memories. There are so many people out grilling, drinking, and having a blast. The atmosphere on campus is so exciting. My friend Jenny and I went tailgate-hopping and ran in to some people I hadn't seen since graduation! I also got to go to the Frazier Alumni Pavilion for the first time as an official alumni. The pavilion was a lot of fun, but I think I'll stick to the fraternity tailgates until I get old (like 25).

The game was fun (we lost) but I still enjoyed getting to see the new stadium and running in to old friends. Nothing has changed about the atmosphere at the games, and that's one of the reasons I love coming back. The games are still very student-centered. The students still get the majority of the seats in the stadium unlike the "bigger" football programs like ut and a&m. Those programs have much bigger stadiums, but don't reserve as many seats for students. I actually think it's sad to hear that students have to be drawn in a lottery system for the bigger ticket games. If you're a current student, you should have dibs on seats. Okay, I'm done ranting now ;) After cheering on my team, I met up at IHOP with some of my high school (who turned in to college) friends and my old college roommate from sophomore year. It was great catching up, but IHOP was so crowded and it was so late, so I was ready to go home and pass out.

The next day, I had lunch with some of my sorority sisters, Jenny and Katy, at Spanky's and then walked around campus to take some pictures before heading home.

All in all, it was a successful weekend. I can't wait to do it all again this weekend at the Tech vs. Baylor game in the Cotton Bowl at the State Fair. And the weekend after that back in Lubbock for the Oklahoma State game.

I'm just trying to pretend like I'm still in college for as long as I can...until marriage and babies and all that forces me to grow up.

Will Rogers and Soapsuds with the Math/Science key in the background

The admin belltower on "the most beautiful campus west of the Mississippi"

Athletic Complex

The older side of the stadium (so pretty)

The newer side of the stadium (cool, but not as pretty)

The new parking garage/rooftop bar/restaurant/tailgate area across the highway

Me and my bff/partner in crime - Jenny

Vision and Tradition

2010-09-30T19:29:00.000-07:00

When I logged on to my Facebook today, the first thing on my news feed was a post for Texas Tech with a new video. Being the Texas Tech freak that I am, I immediately clicked on the video and I wasn't disappointed. It was awesome! Texas Tech is trying to reach Tier 1 status to gain more funding for research, education, and the University in general and I think my alma mater has the best shot of anyone in the running at attaining the prestigious status. Not only has the school grown in size, the flagship campus in Lubbock is the only one in Texas to house an undergraduate and graduate school as well as a law school and a medical school.

The video reminded me I forgot to write a very important blog...A couple weeks ago, I got to go back to Lubbock for the ut game. It was so fun being back and I can't wait to upload the pictures and write about my weekend back in college. But for now, enjoy the video of the place I like to call "home" and WRECK 'EM TECH!

www.visionandtradition.com

A Long Weekend in Colorado

2010-09-01T17:07:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago, I was lucky enough to take a day off work for a 3-day weekend in Divide, Colorado, where my mother now lives. She's been in her new house for at least a year now and I had yet to see it in person, so I was really excited.

My sister and I left Thursday after work and flew up to Denver. Unfortunately, a storm had blown through right before we got to Divide, so the power was out for the night. We ended up making guacamole, eating it by candle light and eventually going to bed.

The next morning we woke up and sat on mom's deck...

...and looked at this view of Pike's Peak while we ate our breakfast.

We realized that it was getting later in the morning and wanted to hurry in to Woodland Park, a town about 5 minutes from Divide, to shop around the farmer's market. When I was in Colorado two years ago, my mom and I walked around the market together, browsing the yummy-looking food and trinkets for sale. This was such a great way to start our day.

We then went back to my mom's, dropped my grandma off, and took a short 2 hour hike up to a little waterfall in the middle of the forest. I love hiking in Colorado this time of year. The heat of Texas seems a million years away. You can hike for hours and really get a good work out (breathing heavy, tiring legs), but never break a sweat!

After making it to the waterfall, we climbed back down, went home, and started packing for our camping trip in a Pike's National Forest Park. I forget the name. My mom said something like "100 mile canyon," but when I googled it, nothing came up.

My favorite part of the camping experience were the little critters running around. I tried to catch a lot of them on my camera. The chipmunks were the ones that were the least camera shy.

One of the big reasons a lot of people come to the park is to fly fish. You don't see a whole lot of fly fishing going on in Texas, so I was fascinated by all the guys running around in their fishing hats and vests and boots.

My mom's boyfriend, Mike, is an avid climber. He has been rock climbing for years and is even in some record books for being the first to attempt some really tough climbs. He wanted to let us take a shot at climbing, but I was nervous at first. I imagined all of the shows I had seen with people climbing vertical rock walls and didn't think I could handle it. Once I saw the rock we would be climbing, I realized it wouldn't be as bad as I thought and decided to give it a try. Mike hooked us all up and my sister, my mom, and I all climbed 90 feet to the top of the line. It was a whole lot of fun and a really great workout. I can't wait to go back and do it again! Maybe 100 feet next time ;-)

We packed up our camping gear and went home. After a quick, but late lunch, we decided to venture in to Woodland Park again to go to a geology show and do some shopping in the little stores. When we got back, there were some horses grazing on the land by my mom's house, so we fed them carrots and tried not to let them take our fingers off. (They thought our fingers were mini-carrots.)

Sunday was time for mass in Woodland Park before packing up to head home.

I had such a fabulous weekend hanging out with my family in such a beautiful place.

YouTube is Amazing

2010-08-19T10:53:00.000-07:00

So today during our lunch break, a couple of my co-workers and I pulled out our iPhones and started showing each other our favorite YouTube videos. It brought up some good memories of sitting in the sorority house or the library watching funny videos during "study breaks"

Since today is my "Friday" because I took vacation tomorrow, I thought I'd share some of my favorite ridiculous videos. Happy weekend!

Leprechaun in Mobile, Alabama

Watch this....

Then this...

I wanted to do hoodrat stuff wif my frenz

Charlie bit my finger!

Dae's Day

2010-08-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

Tommy's bff Josh graduated from the University of North Texas this past weekend so, of course, I went to the ceremony. Here are some pictures from waaaayyy up in the top section.

Get off your phone!

UNT class of 2010

Josh Graduating!

BFFs

After the ceremony, we headed to Bedford to eat some BBQ with Josh's family. The food was delicious and it was fun to see Josh around his family.

Passing out after the delicious meal

Then, we headed out to Sundance Square in Fort Worth to celebrate! I always have a lot of fun in Ft. Worth and this time was no exception.

This picture describes them perfectly.

I'm so glad I was able to be there to celebrate with Joshy! Congrats!

Family Time on Lake Travis

2010-08-08T16:30:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I got to make a quick trip out to Lago Vista, Tx to visit my aunt Rachel and cousin Garrett for their birthday parties on Lake Travis.

The scenery at this lake never ceases to amaze me. I have slowly fallen in love with the hill country over the years and I love being able to pick up and drive out to this spot on the lake with little to no notice. Just another perk of living in central Texas!

I definitely appreciate how fortunate I am to be able to drive out to Austin and have dinner with my Granny in the middle of the week or head to 6th street with my sister and our friends any weekend we want. After living in north Texas and having to make it a big ordeal just to see my family, I really know how blessed I am to be able to spend more time with them.

I had a fabulous time catching up with my cousins and aunts & uncles, eating yummy pulled pork, watching "barefoot" fly his high-powered, remote-controlled helicopters and airplanes, and watching the sun set.

The spontaneous midnight trip on the sailboat was the perfect ending to a perfect evening at the lake.

Lake Travis @ Hancock Park

Aunt Terri and Uncle Ray

The boys watching "barefoot" fly his planes

Super-Cool boy's toys

Carl's intensity while playing washers

Being silly sharing apps on their iPhones (this is a common occurrence in this family)

BREATHTAKING Sunset

Perfect Day

My Hometown

2010-08-03T20:44:00.000-07:00

"I know they say you can’t go home again

I just had to come back one last time

Ma’am I know you don’t know me from Adam

But these handprints on the front steps are mine

Up those stairs in that little back bedroom

Is where I did my homework and I learned to play guitar

I bet you didn’t know under that live oak

My favorite dog is buried in the yard"

-Miranda Lambert

Home Sweet Houston

2010-08-02T19:57:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I got to go home to Houston to spend some time with old friends and make some fun new ones. I'm so glad I have the time to travel to see my friends while we're still young and single ;) I had too many favorite pictures from this past weekend...

the view from Alex's apartment

Southern Star Brewery in Conroe, Tx (Blonde Bombshell)

The girls and the brewer

Alex's shoes

boys and their stout

blonde bombshell

the crowd

escaping the Texas heat with the massive fan

Vino 100 in the Woodlands

Free wine tasting

Jen taking a camera photo with downtown Houston in the background

day view from alex's apartment

...more pictures and some fun stories later :)

My Not-So-Secret Obsession

2010-07-29T16:05:00.001-07:00

When I got home from work today and logged on to Facebook, a new Joe Simon Productions film was on my news feed. Ahhhh! Just like Christmas morning...

A while ago, an old friend of mine got married and he posted his wedding video on Facebook. I've always loved weddings, especially when I know the people getting married, so I had to watch it. I figured it would be one of those long, boring wedding videos with cheezy elevator music playing in the background, but I was way off. Everything about the video was beautiful, the quality was outstanding and Joe edited the film down to about five minutes, yet perfectly captured the story of their wedding day, almost like a movie trailer. By the end of the film, I felt like I actually knew them as a couple, even though I had never met the bride.

I immediately became a "fan" of Joe's on Facebook and I now get notified when he posts a new video. His newest video is stunning, but I still like Chris' the best.

I love it when little things like this make my day :)

Chris' Film

Joe's Newest Film

A Hill Country Weekend

2010-07-27T19:29:00.000-07:00

I needed this past weekend. Badly. I was still worn out from floating the river and 6th street the weekend before and had been sick earlier in the week, so I was excited for some fun, relaxing, non-work-related activities.

The weekend was supposed to be a double-date weekend, but as usual, plans changed. My friend hurt her back in a "cliff-diving incident" so she and her boyfriend had to skip out on the festivities. Nonetheless, I had a fabulous weekend, disrupted plans and all.

Saturday morning, Erik and I drove out to Boerne, a little town about 30 minutes from San Antonio. We walked around the adorable downtown shops and stopped to eat at a delish sandwich place my friend Kelly introduced me to, Bumdoodlers. I brought my camera along, of course...

The Old Smokey sandwich...it's all in the sauce :)

While walking around, we stumbled across the Boerne Wine Company. Being the wine-o I am, I had to check it out. The store is only 3 months old but it is gorgeous and was stocked with Texas Hill Country wines. We hung around for a while sipping wine on the back patio and wandering around the store.

Super cool wine-dispensing machine!

After our day in Boerne, we headed to Gruene for Roger Creager's Birthday Bash Concert at Gruene Hall, the oldest dance hall in Texas. I was too afraid to bring my brand new camera to a sold out concert, so my point and shoot Canon came with me. I didn't get the best pictures but I had the greatest time. The opening act, Cody Johnson, was so pumped to be there. It was his first time performing at Gruene, so he had a ton of energy and I loved his music so much, I ended up buying his CD. Roger Creager was possibly the best he's ever been. I went to a lot of his concerts in college, but this one was by far the most fun! He played all of my favorite songs and even did a few bits from Anchorman and The Hangover :) We had too much energy after the concert to go home, so we made a spontaneous trip to the Square in San Marcos and closed the bars.

Sunday night was spent in Leon Springs at Fralo's. It was the perfect way to end the weekend...relaxing outside in the Hill Country with a bottle of wine (BYOB restaurants are the best), pizza, and the music of Aaron Einhouse, a former Frost banker.

My First Attempt at a Blog Post!

2010-07-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

I remember my first blog. It was back in 10th grade when MySpace was still popular. I'm pretty sure AIM was still popular, too. My sister and I fought for time on the computer to IM our friends we had just spent all day with at school. I remember for awhile, most of my friends had a Xanga blog and, of course, I had to have one too. My blog fascination didn't last long, though...

I just recently graduated from Texas Tech, found a great job and moved into an apartment all by myself for the first time! Being on my own is tough, I'm used to coming home to a sister, my parents, or a roommate, but I really do enjoy having a place of my own. I feel the greatest sense of accomplishment paying my own bills and taking care of myself for once in my life.

The real reason I started this blog is because I just recently bought an AMAZING camera and wanted to be able to document my learning experience. All I have ever owned are point and shoot cameras, but I've always loved photography and wanted to learn more about it. The more I thought about starting a blog, though, the more I realized I also want to be able to remember this specific time in my life. The place I've been working so hard to get to...young, single, on my own with my whole life ahead of me. I want to remember the journey I've just begun. We'll see how this goes.

Some of my first (and favorite) pictures I took this past weekend:

My very first picture. Yes, I had a beer while reading the manual :)

LOVE this camera.

Beautiful Dog.

I just got involved with the Kappa Delta Alumni Association and love it! Here's a few pics from the pool party we had this weekend:

Andrea's beautiful backyard.

Allison and her brand new baby. I love both of their expressions.

It was Earl's birthday so we surprised him with a cupcake. He loved it.