Hallelujah

Can I get a hallelujah for a relaxing weekend?! It was very much needed to get things ready for sending Tess of to the kennel for the first time (tear), our trip south of the border, and a busy work week ahead.

We were really happy to have found out a little while back that a friend from high school (rare - I keep in touch with maybe a handful of people from my days at KHS) and her husband, who are also Red Raiders, moved to Katy a few months ago. We have been trying to get together for a while and finally had dinner last weekend at our beloved La Finca. Erin and Chase met up with us again on Friday for a little cookout at the house, and we were joined later that evening by Troy's fraternity brother and his wife, also named Erin; we just found out that they have lived right behind us for over a year -- and we had no idea! I am really glad to have friends (old and new) that live so close to us, and am especially grateful that my husband now has two guys that he can talk 'huntin' and 'fishin' with. I do fear that I will not see him much this fall though... Either way, it was a nice Friday night, catching up and sitting on the back porch, enjoying the beautiful weather that Texas has been blessed with these past few weeks.

We met Allison for a day at the pool on Saturday and I played it stupid - no sunscreen (except on my face, of course, which always gets a healthy dose of SPF). I swear, there is something about taking a shower after sunbathing that really brings out the tan--ehem, burn--lines. Ya, I looked like a lobster when it was all said and done. After some serious aloe-lathering, I am much better, and thanks to my partial Italian genes, this redness should (hopefully) turn to a nice brown and all should be well for Mexico. Hopefully...

We are so excited about our trip by the way :) Can ya tell?? I can't believe we live a hop skip and jump away from Mexico and have never been. But this vacay couldn't have come sooner. We are looking forward to sleeping in, yummy food and margaritas (all included, might I add!!), ziplining, snorkeling, and sitting by the beach... ahh Mexico.

Let the countdown begin!

Never a Dull Moment

I am fighting through the pain taking over my body from P90X to sit here and write this post (yes, my abdominals hurt that much, and my arms ache at any slight muscle flex), but we had such a wonderful weekend that I have to post pics! Must...fight through...the pain...


I was so glad to have a relaxing weekend at home, and by home I mean in the Houston area. We still had so much to do, including getting ready for our trip to MEXICO next week!! I can't believe it is finally here :) Maybe next week's blog posts will be in Spanish!...Troy was off of work Friday so when I got home (around noon), we went out to Katy Mills to shop for some beachy attire, and other things required for our trip. We made out like bandits before heading home -- in a torrential downpour might I add--to watch Friday Night Lights and Forest Gump, and hit the hay early. We tried to keep it simple around here last weekend - mostly for Tess :) She was spayed on Thursday morning and was quite groggy! Plus, we had to keep a close eye on her to make sure she didn't scratch or lick her wounds. She was such a mess when I picked her up - so loopy!

It was a quiet Saturdaythough...until Saturday night! We went to Troy's co-worker's house for a birthday BBQ, then ducked out after a few drinks to head down the road to Whitney's second annual Martinpalooza. There were yummy snacks, smoked chicken wings, and boiled crawfish -- true Loozianne style! We played beer pong and chatted it up all night. Nothing beats a good night with good friends (and good food)!

The hostess!

The grub

Troy with a money shot!

What?! I needed that drink...

Anne and Loo - True Beer Pong CHAMPS!

Sarah and Matt got engaged last month and we celebrated with their families at an engagement party on Sunday. It was truly the most unique, and one of the best engagement parties we have ever been to! The food was awesome - Indian cuisine, with a beautiful cake and good company. We are so excited for Sarah and Matt and cannot wait for the big day...whenever that may be :)

Erin, Allison, Sarah, Me

Celebrate Good Times - Come On!

Is it already Thursday?! My how the week has flown... I guess it is just an after-effect of our whirlwind weekend back 'home' in DFW. We went up originally to see my mom for Mother's Day, but we ended up cramming a lot of {fun} stuff in the weekend as well.

We drove up late on Friday and hung out with my mom a bit, then took her and my dad to an early Mother's Day breakfast at this great place just down the road from their house. It was a simple and very nice morning with my mom, I just wish I could spend more time there. It always feels like we are in and out {except for the holidays, where we stay put and don't leave the house for days!}. I couldn't sleep that morning so I went for a walk to the lake at about 7am to let Tess free for a bit and snap some photos. I have way too many to post, so I will spare you all and just post this one of some great red roses growing in my parent's flowerbed.

It wasn't long until we were off to stop #2 - My grandma's house for a secret event. Yes, secret. My sis, Mandy, got all of us girls over there for a surprise get-together to ask us all to be her bridesmaids/maid of honor/flower girl, etc. It was a really nice party and I cannot believe she pulled it off without us finding out! I haven't seen my sis since she got engaged back in February so it was good to hang out and talk 'weddings' with her. I am excited to say that she and Brian are getting married next spring -- end of April, I think -- in east Texas, at a beautiful location. Mandy will be a stunning bride and I am honored to be with her on the big day!

On to stop #3, our final destination! Saturday evening we gathered with friends old and new to celebrate Cliff and Rachel's engagement. It was a wonderful party at Rachel's parents' house, with yummy Mexican food, tasty sangria, and chocolate-covered strawberries - yum! It was great to see a lot of the people we love and don't get to see too often, and chat about all the festivities that are sure to come during the next 4 months. I was also happy to meet the rest of Rachel's bridesmaids and start planning her bachelorette party :) This is a great group of gals and we are going to rock the socks off of Austin/the Texas hill country.

Whitney, Amanda, Rach, Brit, Mary, Me (missing - Elizabeth)

Saturday was also very special for another reason - RACHEL'S BIRTHDAY! Well, technically, her bday was Sunday, but since everyone was busy with Mother's Day, we celebrated after the engagement party with a surprise cupcake-and-presents party at Rachel's house and a night out at Pete's Piano Bar!

Pete's was an absolute hoot. We had so much fun singing and dancing, and we even got Rach up on the stage. I haven't seen that girl laugh so much - ever! She was such a good sport too...better than I would have been :) The best part was {of course} the school fight song showdown. Surprisingly {and I know many of you will be shocked}, the battle was not between A&M and UT, it was TEXAS TECH and Arkansas battling it out for their song to reign supreme. We put our guns up so much my arm hurt, but it was awesome to hear our fight song played over and over and over again. Troy even threw down a few big ones {$4 I think}. The pot got up to a few hundred bucks before it was all said and done! The Aggies had a few bucks in the mix, as well as Baylor, but there was absolutely no representation from UT and that made my night {and much to Cliff's disappointment}. We really had too much fun and I cannot wait to do it all again.

I seriously wish we were back in DFW sometimes, but that day will come :) Until then, we enjoy getting together with family and friends to celebrate some really special moments. I have a feeling this is just the first of many, many weekends of chaotic bliss...


We headed home early on Sunday morning, ready to be back home. Just as we were winding through some back roads, approaching a stop sign, I noticed the most peculiar thing - a peacock, sittin' on a fence post. I guess it is not so much peculiar as it was surprising, so what did I do? I took advantage of that gorgeous blue-and-green guy by snapping some photos of him like a paparazzo. Seriously...I changed lenses...three times... :) Troy made me! I love these pics though:

This weekend is a home-base one, but we are kinda busy nonetheless - date night Friday, a BBQ Saturday, and Martinpalooza (summer party at Whitney's house) Saturday night - complete with all the yummy goodness we have come to expect from this seemingly annual event. We also have Sarah and Matt's engagement party on Sunday, which we are so looking forward to! Have a great rest of the week!!

Painting with Pinot

Last night I had a night out, just me and the girls - Allison, Sarah, and Erin to be exact. We made the decision a while back to sign up for a unique event: a painting class. But this class wasn't your typical painting class, oh no, it was special. How special? Special enough that there was wine involved, and you can't get better than that! There is a place here in Houston called Pinot's Palette (formerly called Pinot and Picasso). You sign up for a class based on the featured painting and show up with your wine and snacks in tow. You get to mingle a bit as you enjoy your treats, then you get started on recreating the featured painting. It was so much fun!

Our painting was Winter Twilight and it was a fun one to recreate. It got my painting itch going so I have already started thinking about what to paint next...

It was a perfect night with the gals and we are hoping to do it again very soon. If you live in Houston and would love to do something like this, I highly recommend it!

DISCLAIMER: Do not store your new creation in the back of your SUV, then let your dog out when you get home and go to unload said painting. Dog will assume she is going 'bye-bye' and jump into your SUV, standing proudly atop your new masterpiece. Furthermore, do not yank her out of the car in horror because that will likely cause her to dig her claws into your masterpiece and rip a nice hole in its canvas... just sayin....

Celebrating One Fine Year

Yesterday, we celebrated the one year anniversary of buying in our very first house! We went to Perry's Steakhouse for a sinful lunch (why not?) and reminisced about the past year.

I cannot believe that a year ago today we were directing a team of movers, freaking out about denting the walls, and determining that we would be doing a lot of work to make the house ours - funny, because it was brand new!). I realize that we have done a lot when I look back to how the house was when we first moved in...

A lot has happened since we bought this house and we have had so many wonderful memories here - and it has only been a year! We are still in the process of making our house a home, but we have come a long way. Next on the list - painting! And boy do I mean PAINTING! We are hiring painters to do the two-story walls in the entry and living room, and we are painting the kitchen and our bedroom, and possibly the two rooms upstairs. Whew! We are also planning on ripping out the carpet on the first floor soon and installing hardwoods. THAT is something I can get excited about! Especially since...get ready for it...we are considering getting another pup! I love my girl Tess so so much but we want her to have a playmate. We had a BBQ last night with our friends to celebrate our 'house anniversary' and two of new 'friends' came over to play with Tess. She absolutely loved having dogs at the house to completely go bonkers with. It was awesome, and she slept ALL NIGHT! :) SO... we are planning on rescuing a black or yellow lab some time this summer (can you tell we love labs?). I think when it is all said and done, we will be happy with three doggies, but for now I will be content with two!

Wouldn't another one of these cute pups be just awesome?!