I'm Turning into my Parents!

So we had big plans for Friday night. 

Badda Big Plans. 

The possibilities consisted of (A) going to a balloon festival and seeing the art all lit up on a chilly autumn night, or (B) heading to downtown Dallas to a super cool renovated venue to listen to a Jack Ingram acoustic concert.

Are you on pins and needles wondering which plan we landed on?

Well the answer would be plan (C): the old couple plan.

Instead, I sat in the kitchen putting together a step ladder from Ikea while Patrick hosted the kitchen making me fish and chips to kick off my birthday week (Yes, I get an entire week to celebrate my grande entrance to this world and surviving thereafter), and listening to live music on the Palladia channel (I'm turning more into my parents every year). 

Patrick wouldn't let met capture this image on camera because he was afraid he'd "look like a sissy" in the kitchen with his wife using tools in the living room.....but the truth is: any man that can make fish and chips that good is no sissy.
AND....he surprised me with bottomless wine in my favorite antique wine-drinking-glass.

Oh yes, and the cold front made for extra cozy weather. It might not have been snowing outside, but it was a hell-of-ugh lot better than 80 degree weather in late October!!!
In my world, birthday week is super special because: it indicates the beginning of Texas fall weather, and it kicks of the holiday season. Before we know it, it will be NYE!
In other notes, I've been cooking.

This egg white omelet is filled with spinach and arugula mix, grape tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, thick smoked bacon, and topped with feta cheese......with a side latte from my new kitchen feature: the coffee bar.
And it was a party in my mouth.

Mixing unpredictable flavors is my favorite. Garlic sauteed asparagus, Cuban baked sweet potatoes (Tip: Skip the squishing and the butter bathing;just spray with Pam and put a hefty amount of seasoning on top. Put on bottom rack of oven with it set on Broil. The seasoning will get crunchy, and you cut out unnecessary fat.), mesquite boneless pork chops, with a side salad of spinach and arugula, feta cheese, fresh caramelized cinnamon apple slices, and right out of the oven honey/agave baked pecans with ground black pepper.
Sigh.....this is my version of food pornography. I ate every last crumb.
And that's just a couple of things I created this week.


What were your big plans this weekend?

A Rare Hare

I didn't organize my time management very well last week; all I could think about is finishing up everything I wanted to do around our new place. So when I got home on Friday evening and realized I forgot to finish sewing my costume, Patrick was confused. 

"What time does it start??? When are we getting there? We are going to be late!!"

Then he realized comments like that might make me flustered, "Oh, no...it...doesn't....matter......Whenever we get there is when we get there...."

We might have been the last ones to get there, but we were red carpet ready!!! Besides, it takes time to look this smokin'......I had to fix mine and Pat's hair!!! 

Have I ever mentioned how much I love to celebrate Halloween?? It's just so fun to have a reason to exercise one's imagination and get all dressed up as someone else! I also enjoy seeing other people's creativity in action.
Above, we have a sexy chef and her spice rack!  

There was a lot less drama this year since the Rangers weren't playing, and I told Jess and Bobby there was no way they could come as Rangers again. As soon as I found out they were going to be Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, I had Bobby doing his, "Lucy, I'm home!" impression, every time I've seen him over the last month!!! I'm sure his glad it's all over now. 

This year Patrick and I went as Hugh Hefner and his playmate. My man looks good for an 86 years old, no??
I didn't want to be just any generic playmate, I wanted to be a rare hare.......so I went old school Marylin Monroe style (with a little more meat on my bones than the typical modern bunny), and brunette (since those seem to be few and far between). 

Apparently Missy is my booty sister......

Our milkshakes brought 3 boys to the yard.....it's just coincidence that we already live with those same boys.

It's fun to see what kind of action poses people can muster with a little encouragement. 

Looks like our detective lost his mustache, but snatched his convict. 

And the chef got too hungry to wait for her food to cook. 

I'll forgive these two for not doing anything creative, since I had to take their picture 4 times to get a good one!

Carol Anne, our lovely host, must have practiced that pose a few times, because she's got it down!!

This girl scares me. (It took her 2 hours to do her make-up, and it looked even better in real life!!! I know because I asked.)

Those crazy girls.....

I made poisonous apples, which turned out to be quite the hit; that entire container was full!!!
Recipe:
1. Slice Gala and Granny Smith Apples
2. Soak for a few hours in Caramel Apple Liquor (they would be even better you added a bit of Everclear, also)
3. Devour

If you ever want to wear an outfit and think a jacket might cramp your style, just wear a wig. It's guaranteed to insulate your entire body to a steady temperature of about 100-110F. 

It's easy to see when things started getting silly. 

But silly is just the chocolate filling that everyone looks forward to at the bottom of their ice-cream drumstick. 

I'm not sure why, but all of our get-togethers always end up in the kitchen. Dancing. 

I hope the host doesn't mind that I had my butt on her counter half of the night.  I'm a wimp in heels. 

On the way home Patrick whined, "I wanna go to another Halloween party!!"
But I guess since we weren't invited to any more we'll just have to wait until next year.
Oh, what a fun one this was.

I promise I'm not about to punch Jessica in the back of the head; I just get so fired up dancing on the kitchen counter!
I hope everyone has a freight-tabulous and safe Halloween!

How will/did you celebrate?

Curing Withdrawls

I had just been telling Patrick about my live music withdrawls.....threatening to need hospitalization for professional treatment before I started having DT's. 
Thank goodness Tim and Lara called with free tickets to a concert we didn't know we wanted to go to!!!

After teasing Patrick for not getting the "wear black memo", and sharing some Thai food and Saki at Naga, we walked across the street to one of our favorite concert venues. 

 I know it may seem like music overload up there, but you should seriously consider giving those videos a try. The last two are Oberhofer, the opening band. I'd never heard any of their songs, but instantly liked several of them, especially the two I posted. I don't think I've heard a band thank so many people at the end of an act, like they were accepting the MTV music award or the Nobel Prize. 

Next up was Matt and Kim, an Indie band (and a real couple) from Brooklyn. It's obvious these two really enjoy each other and any kind of beat that motivates one's groove-thang to shake. Several intros, and song breaks, where cleverly mixed and mingled with popular old hip hop music.

 With no other band members, there's not much to hide behind, but they took every opportunity to jump onto something to clap their hands, do a little jig, kick out a leg, and any other thing they thought may pump up the crowd......Including throwing hundreds of balloons out to people, asking the crowd to inflate them and throw them up in unison on a count, while showering everyone with confetti. 

Apparently these two are known for their outgoing crazy attitudes towards music, and Kim proved her love for dancing by busting some moves while walking on the crowd in her Beetlejuice spandex. We all chanted "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejucie!" but nothing came of it. So much for the magical spirit of Halloween.

I didn't expect to recognize any of the music, since I didn't even know them by name before this concert.....so when Matt commanded, "You may not think you know this one at first, but trust me, you do. So sing along," I didn't think anything about it. Then the song got going and I did know it!!! I knew a couple, actually ("Daylight" and "Let's Go").

If you ever have the chance to see this band live, it's a lot of fun! Get ready to dance and sing along to old hip hop songs paired with Indie music!!

What do you have withdrawls from if you haven't experienced it in a while?

We Tried

I got to play hide and seek with this little guy in Stein Mart the other day after my toddler interview at Starbucks.

Blake: So...Where do you live?

Where does your Mom live?

Where does your Dad live?

My mom lives in Prosper.

So...Where do you work?

Where does your Mom work?

Where does your Dad work?

My mom works at the hospital. 

And the cutest thing was him asking, "Is it okay if I come?" each time we got out of the car at a new store.

We'll have to soak up the cuteness while it lasts, though.....because one day, he'll turn into the product of his preceding generation, transforming from wavy blonde locks with sweet blue eyes to match his blueberry muffin, to this pillow-feet-propped, granny-quilt-wearing, erect-tail-cat-loving, impostor of a miller-light-loving-man!

Sorry everyone, we tried. We really did. But nothing we could do helped Ryan look any more manly (just kidding, Ryan) or the Rangers win one of the most important games of the season. 

 We brought out old hats and wore them in ridiculous manners.

We switched remote holders. 

We ate pizza and drank beer. 

Nothing was going to help them win this time, but themselves.....and they let everyone down. On the bright side, we had this ridiculous cat, with the most constantly erect tail I've ever seen in my life, to entertain us. 

I think somehow he knew we all needed a little cheering up, because this is the first time he's ever graced us with his presence during a visit!

Dear Rangers, look what they've done to our friends; you've killed their hearts and turned them into Zombies.
Oh well. I like basketball better anyway. 

Are you superstitious about sports?

Runaway

If you've ever met our oldest yorkie, Callie, then you probably know she's not a fan of hectic situations. Needless to say, it's been overly unorganized lately, and it's flared up more anxiety than a thunder jacket can muffle. So in order to decrease her (and our own) worries for adverse events occuring during moving weekend, we had all the animals stay at the Jessica and Bobby Hotel for the weekend.

Everyone knows Sumo is our adventurous one, so when we received a phone call from a stranger on Saturday saying she had our dog in her possession, we went into shock. "You only have one dog?" was our first question. 

Patrick was immediately pacing the floors and we started blowing up Jess and Bobby's phones until we knew Sumo was safe. 

As it turns out, Callie was the only one outside, and somehow squeezed under the fence, made it down to the main street in Little Elm, and didn't get run over. I think there was just too much change at one time and she freaked. Luckily an honest person found her and saved her life for us. (It's times like this, and several other occasions as well, that having a florist for a mother-in-law comes in handy.)

After too much drama for one weekend, Jess and I went for a run to try out a new trail and de-stress. It was nice, once our lungs figured out how to breathe through air you could cut with a knife and serve for a meal.......and I finally got past the elephant that's been camping on my back for the last few months. 

We passed the cutest duck crossing that made us both smile through the pain. I don't know why there are feathers everywhere, I swear we didn't touch those ducks!! And on the last stretch back, it sprinkled on us, which I'd like the think was God's way of saying, "Here ya go, a nice little reward for working so hard." 

Speaking of running.......
I'm the kind of girl that would do almost anything to meet my goals. If I say I'm going to do something, you don't have to worry about whether I'll follow through or not. The only kind of flakes I can tolerate are snow flakes. I don't even care too much for Corn Flakes. Not scalp flakes, and definitely not flaky people.

With that being said, as much as it killed me to do so, I had to make a very grown-up decision and drop out of our San Antonio trip. A "Did Not Finish" title for my second half marathon. With everything that's happened in the last few months, as nice as it would be to get away, it's just not a good time. 

But at least I still have my running buddies, human and canine, to keep me company until the next opportunity. 

Utterly Embarrassing Timing

Source: quickmeme.com via Amy on Pinterest

When you're single, you have to always be on your toes about your appearance.....who knows when you're going to get lucky, right? But when you've already met the man of your dreams and you can predict your "lucky nights" a little better, it's easy to slack off on certain habits......and by "certain habits" I mean hygienic routines......and by "hygienic routines" I'm referring to using a razor......and by "using a razor" if you still don't know what I'm talking about, I hope you pay big bucks for waxing or lasers, because if not, you behind on the times, my friend.
But you can bet your bank account that if we go on a road trip, I will be in tip top shape (just in case we get in a accident, so I look nice for the health care providers). 

This is why I was beyond embarrassed last week after my doctor's appointment. 

I'm about to go into a T.M.I. zone, so those of you who can't handle the truth should stop reading this. 

I called to cancel my followup GYN appointment, since Mother Nature came for a visit. So when they told me to come anyway, I didn't think there would be an exam.

Imagine the horror in my eyes when we walked into the private room and the nurse told me to strip from the waist down and don a sheet. 

Me: Oh no, they must have not told you. Shaking my head adamantly in the "No No No" motion.  I called two days ago to tell them Aunt Flow is visiting. 

Nurse: Yes, I know. Shaking her head reassuringly in the "Yes Yes Yes" motion. It's okay. I can just lay a padded sheet down for you.

Me: Oh.....okaaay then......Holy crap! Shoot! What a fool I am!!! 

I looked over at Patrick and made a scared face. 

We were smack in the middle of the moving process and even if I wanted to, I had no idea where my razor was hiding!!! I'd gotten out easy working days in a row, while having a "condition" to not be seen.....but now there was nothing to hide behind. Even the sheet wasn't going to save me for long. A double whammy against my flower points. 

It's completely understandable why my doctor reacted they way he did at the end of the appointment.

Doctor: "So........ how have ya'll been doing? You know, emotionally and socially?" 

"Socially" being the key work. As in, Have you been going out much? Because it looks like you haven't been doing anything around people in ages.....Or are you just planning to be a Cave Woman for Halloween and trying to look as realistic as possible?
At least it was the last time I have to have blood drawn for a while; I was starting to feel like a human pin cushion.
Oh, and the other good news is: I found my razor.

Source: themetapicture.com via Erin on Pinterest

Home Sweet Home

It took us a couple of weeks, but with the help of my family getting all of our belongings from point A to point B, we are completely moved into the new neighborhood. I don't rest well when there's decorating to be done, so we have been working like army ants to get everything finished. 

Most of our things have a long history or sentimental meaning, and I tried to display them in a way to create a functional and homy, yet vintage-eclectic-primitive-chic-look. I've had some requests to see pictures of what I've been doing, so here are some tid bits......

My velvet green chair from an Austin resale shop fits in just perfect. 

Patrick got me this chandelier a few years ago for Christmas and I love love love it. 

I created a corner collage of different romantic times in our lives with frames I've collected over the years, to draw the eye from living room to dining room. 

I picked up this ladder from the side of the road last year....had it hanging out the side of my car with the doors open just to get it home. Patrick wasn't happy with me for "brining junk home" at the time, but I think it looks great now!!.....And I hand crafted that burlap rose bouquet you see in my prized procession from an Anthropology clearance sale.

My Nana crocheted that super retro blanket years ago, and my $4 steel of a mirror fit into that old window frame my mom found like it was made for it! Ant that pillow.....I spotted it on Biggest Loser a couple of years ago, AFTER I already had mine. 

Ahhh, my other super cool velvet resale, in pink.....

My dad collects crocks and spared me those two one year for christmas, and his father brought that lamp home from an antique shop, to my nana, years and years ago. Our friends Krystal and Justin got us that cashmere blanket from Pottery Barn for our wedding gift and it's always been one of my favorites!

I painted that stand turquoise about 3 years ago and haven't been able to use it since. Patrick has tried to make me get rid of it every time we've moved, and I'm so glad I didn't since it functions perfectly as my barista bar!

I love my old windows, but didn't have a place for all of them in our new place, so I made one into a bright accent piece by backing it with this gorgeous material I found. It brightens up the dining room wall in a super cool way. 

All my "junk" came together to give the kitchen some pizzaz with a interesting combo of dingy and bright colors. 

We've never had stairs before! 

I talked Patrick into buying this coffee table in it's hideous form when we lived in California. It was practically nothing at a thrift store called, Out of the Closet (proceeds help pay for AIDS treatment), and after I gave it a makeover, it's been a conversation piece time and time again. Oh, and he loves it now. That dried grape vine we also got during our adventures in Cali, and I'm so happy I have a place to put our out wedding album now.

Speaking of happy, Lucie seems to be! She is crazy picky about where we live and has been very social at our new place. 

If you can look past the jungle that is our yard right now, you can see how sweet Callie and Sumo are, laying together on the little door slab. 

Not only did Patrick almost break my foot this weekend when he dropped his gigantic sized drill on it (I think it's majorly bruised), his heel is badly bruised from chasing the escapee, Sumo Wrestler, down the road in flip flops at full speed the other day.

We were all so zonked (and broken) by Sunday, everyone was ready to prop their feet up and take a nap. 

All that, and do you believe the biggest challenge was finding a place to fit the trashcan?

What's your most favorite thing in your house?