December Adventures…

As I mentioned previously, the month of December was nuts! I left Evanston, December 4th and didn’t come back until January 3rd.  While the trip was lovely catching up with family and friends, there is something so sweet about waking up in your own bed and doing mundane, routine things like checking the mail…aren’t we exciting!?
Here’s a couple of pictures from our crazy month…
1) Traveled to Telluride with 800 of Lee’s Kellogg classmates, dressed up in our 80’s best and managed to escape with just minor bumps and bruises…


2) Celebrated Ashley’s engagement, Katie’s beautiful baby boy, Ford, and Abby’s baby due later this month


3) Met my sweet English cousin’s lovely fiancé (Gav) and celebrated Christmas in Dallas

4) Sadly watched A&M defeat Northwestern in the Meineke bowl at Reliant


5) Celebrated a lovely couple’s marriage and brought in the New Year with more family,friends and food!


Hilarious cake, right?


It was so fun, but I’m grateful to be home for the week!

Ski Nerves

In a couple of weeks we’re going to Telluride with Lee’s classmates and their Sig Others as part of Kellogg’s annual ski trip.   As much as I’m looking forward to the trip, the only time I’ve been on the slopes, it was a disaster.  Immediately I fell off the ski lift upon arriving to the top of the mountain creating a horrible ripple effect for the people behind me.  I didn’t wear the right clothes (wool mittens = frozen hands), and I got altitude sickness.  The rescue ski mobile had to take me down the mountain, since there was no way I was going to get on the lift again. 

This time I’m taking some precautions like 1) doing research on what to wear to stay warm and 2) going to ski school for two 1/2 days (this is kind of humiliating since my guess is I will be the oldest student x3).  Ideally I’d like to spend the majority of the time in one of these beautiful ski chalets shown below, sipping a warm drink and enjoying the mountains (from a heated room).  Alas, that is not the Kellogg way, and it’s time to get back on the horse (ironic, because I also have a fear of horses after being bucked off one at the tender age of 8-ish).

Enjoy the pretty pics, and please pray for my well being as well as the other skiers in my vicinity.


 


Heated pool – so gorg!

images via Vogue and AD

Tuesday Tales

Wowza.  I’m in a silly/delirious mood I believe to be caused by the lack of sleep and over consumption of caffeine and sugar today.  Here is a glimpse into the the glamorous life of someone who travels for work if you’ve ever wondered:

• 3:45 AM – Alarm goes off.  Snooze for 5 minutes.
• 3:50 AM – Alarm goes off again – feels like cruel joke.  Throw covers (and Kitty) off, stumble to bathroom and scare myself in the mirror.  Make mental note to pick up heavier concealer.
• 4:00 AM – Receive text from cabbie that he is waiting downstairs.  Consider making smart alec remark back.  Resist.
• 4:05 AM – Arrive downstairs to meet the cabbie and wonder briefly if I should text family/hubs cab number in case I get abducted (Disclaimer: I have experienced nothing but super nice cabbies in the Chicago area – I just want too much SVU)
• 5:00 AM – Arrive at airport – share sympathetic glances with fellow passengers. Wonder why I’m there so early – could have slept for another 20 minutes!?!
• 5:50 AM – Board flight.  Pray I don’t drop suitcase on other passengers’ heads while stowing luggage.  Make mental note to do upper body work outs.
• 6:10 AM – Depart Midway Airport – fall asleep
• 6:45 AM – Realize I’ve been sleeping with mouth wide open – embarrassed, but too tired to care. Fall back asleep.
• 9:30 AM – Arrive to work.  Realize I’ve been awake for almost 6 hours and have accomplished nothing productive except getting from Point A to Point B.   Le sigh…

On a fun note – isn’t this Houston weather fantastic!  Makes me want to dress like this instead of my “Airport Casual” outfit which I’m pretty sure is going to be a weekly staple.

Hope you’re having a good start to your week! 

My friend Paula (pronounced Pow-la)

…Is 8 years old

…Can do the splits

…Enjoys practicing English

…Likes to swim

…Stands up to boys older than her

…Shares her sandwich and towel

…Has an undeniably contagious sense of energy and a huge heart.

 

 

 

I met her on our Service Day during the Spain Andalucia KWEST trip (S stands for Service).  She was so sweet, fun and unbelievably smart. I’m so glad I got to know her, and I hope our paths cross again.

Spain Recap #2

One of my favorite activities was visiting The Alhambra in Granada where we took way too many pictures, and I went over heels for the Moorish influence – especially the tiles that still look beautiful and relevant after hundreds and hundreds of years.  They were doing Chevron way before Chevron became cool – I love it.   (I realize this sounds kind of superficial, and I don’t mean to downplay the historical and religious significance of this amazing place).  But let’s be honest,  I was kind of focused on the things that looked really pretty.

Here are some of my favorite pics from one of this gorgeous place! 

Lee looking muy guapo in the garden…

That view!

Love the color pallette in this picture

Those tiles…

 

I think this would make a beautiful backsplash!

  

So happy to be there amongst such beauty.

 

Adios!

Spain Recap #1

Wow – I have to admit I’m  surprised I’m awake right now writing this…We arrived back from an AMAZING trip to Spain last Saturday, and I hopped (more like threw myself) on a super early flight back to Hot Houston this morning.  After some necessary adjustment time, (I told the lady at Starbucks “Gracias” after she handed me coffee this morning,) I feel like we are getting back to reality.  Though from what I understand, Lee’s B-school orientation week includes performing school cheers and skits, going on a boat cruise, several happy hours and participating in the Student Olympics…He may have to join me in the real world later…

Back to the trip… It was full of wonderful people from all over the world, and I was constantly amazed and impressed by Spain’s beauty, culture and friendliness – the terrain, water and historical sites made me fall deeply in love with the country.  

Here is our trip by the numbers:

• # of people on KWEST Andalucia 2011 – 24
• # of countries represented ~12
• # of cities visited – 4 in 6 days
• # of hours of sleep on average/night – 3-4
• # of times we repelled off the side of a cliff – 2 (OK that is a lie – most people repelled twice, I chose to be lowered down via a  makeshift pulley the second time.)
• # of shoes left in Spain – 2 pair (mine were killed during our mountaineering day and Lee’s were “accidently” left outside a window)
• # of lbs gained due to the amount of fried food/jamon/manchengo/sangria consumption – between 5 and 7

Overall I wouldn’t have changed a thing – mostly due to our amazing second year leaders and fantastic group of students/JVs (Kellogg’s term for sig others).  If you are reading this, thank you for making it so special!

I will be recapping parts of our trip all week, so if your interested, please stop back by.  Have a wonderful week!

A New Addition…and off to Spain

Wow – this week has been a complete whirlwind between settling into our new place, meeting Lee’s Kellogg classmates (and their lovely sig others), trying awesome restaurants and getting ready to leave for Spain!  I can’t believe we’ve been here for a week – it seems like it’s been both the shortest and longest time already, if that makes sense.  I thought I’d share some of the fun moments from the week if you’re interested…

Top Five Moments of the Week:

1. A delicious family picnic and concert at the beautiful venue,  Ravinia
2. Eating at The Girl and the Goat with Lindsay and Reid (lives up to the hype – but NOT for vegetarians (we ate pig face – yeah, really.)
3. Seeing The Help with a group of sweet girls – it’s so good!
4. A celebrity chef spotting – I have such a crush on Top Chefs! 
5. I found this nice (and inexpensive!) piece at World Market, and I love how it completes the living room.  We need all the storage space we can get, so the drawer and shelf are not only cute, but functional

 

Tomorrow at this time we’ll be on our way here!  Have a great week!

The Move in 3 Parts

Hello – and sorry for the lack of posting last week.  As you may have guessed, we were moving to our new home in Evanston, Illinois (just north of Chicago).  It’s beautiful here, and the weather couldn’t be nicer.  A lovely welcome! 

I thought I’d share a few pictures from our moving adventure.  Overall, everything ran smoothly with just a couple bumps (mostly related to our fur baby, Kitty)…All in all, a very good move. Here is our 3 part journey.

Before the move…

Some of the damage – points for spotting Kitty!

All of our belongings in a 20’ truck and one loyal Pathfinder

During the move…(p.s. all these images are via instagram – love it!)
6:00 a.m. Departure – Sunrise Day 2; somewhere near Blytheville, AR

Kitty watching from the passenger seat (aka, my lap)

Yes  - we can see the skyline!

Bikers on Lakeshore Drive – so pretty.  This is when we got really excited!

After the move… and Our new place.
We’ve been setting up our new living space over the last few days.  It’s funny because our old apartment was brand new, had high ceilings and lots of natural light.  It also had a smallish living/kitchen area, huge closets and 2 large bathrooms.  Our new place is older (est. 1955,) has lower ceilings, minimal light, a large living area, one tiny bathroom, and LOTS of character.  I love it!

Old Place – light/bright and airy (points for spotting Kitty)

New Place – Though I’m not done  decorating, I wanted to share a few pics of the new place!  it’s cozy and warm – can’t wait to light a bunch of candles and cuddle up here during the Fall and Winter!

Living area –> considering this console table for the back wall or to place behind the couch





Thank you for the well wishes and encouragement we received during the trip!  Now, come visit us!!

That's Bull...

As I mentioned earlier this week, we're headed to Andalucia, Spain in August and we're very excited. One of the optional activities on the itinerary is a Bullfight in Sevilla. I'm really torn about this... I'm a huge animal lover (no, not just cats), and the whole thing seems so barbaric, BUT... at the same time, I understand it's a really important part of the culture, and I don't want to miss out...

If you have been and experienced such a thing, will you tell me how you felt about it...Would you go, or would you suggest touring the town instead...? Thoughts and opinions welcome!

Andalucia, Spain

Recently we found out we're going to Andalucia, Spain as part of KWEST - a trip that Kellogg admits and their Sig Others (SOs) are invited to. Over thirty trips are offered, and we had to pref our top 10 choices. Luckily we got our number one choice, and we're so excited to visit the region in August. Some of the stops include Sevilla, Granada and a beach town. Several of our friends studied abroad in Sevilla and Granada, so I can't wait to see the areas they loved so much.

Last night while perusing Pinterest, I found this picture labeled 'Andalucia, Spain'...

Isn't it nice?

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Pinterest Faves of the Week

Are you on Pinterest?  It’s a great way to virtually organize all of your favorite things and share with the world – perfect for visually-oriented peeps.  There is so much inspiration out there.  Here are some of my favorite images by category…Let me know if you want to join, and I can invite you!

Food – spicy, heirloom salad sounds so refreshing.

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Decor – love this color combination!

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Funny

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Travel – wanderlust….Bora Bora

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Fashion - I’m saving this look for Fall

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All images via pinterest