What I'm Loving Now...

It's been a cold weekend - perfect for snuggling up on the couch with a Starbucks, blanket and an attention-loving cat. This has given me way too much Internet surfing time in which I've found way too much to put on my wish list.

Here are some things, I'm loving right now: James Twiggy Denim Leggings

French Country Design - done beautifully at this amazing blog

Idea of planning a trip somewhere warm and beautiful...

Scottish Folds - they are so adorable. I'm thinking about having Kitty's ears stapled back. J/K...

and lastly, I'm craving anything with butternut squash...Giada is one of my favorite chef's and this butternut squash lasagna looks delish.

I have to thank my dear friend, Meagan (and one of my very few blog readers ;)), for introducing me to three of my favorite websites. They are incredibly different and special in their own way. I don’t make daily visits (thanks to work) but I try to stop by weekly and always leave satisfied…If you are sick of browsing the same Facebook, Twitter and news sites – check these out.

· icanhascheezburger.com – cutest website ever! Find hilarious pics of cats and dogs with captions written – sound cheesy? Give it a shot. IF you don’t LOL, I wil be surprised.
· www.perezhilton.com – Perez is a celebrity blogger with a love/hate relationship for most stars. He’s also snarky and has a penchant for drawing gross pics. I love him for his extreme bluntness, infrequent but occasional signs of compassion and quickness in reporting breaking pop culture news…if only he’d stop drawing the stick figures....
· seaofshoes.typepad.com/ - this site is incredible. It features a young woman and her love for high fashion, art and photography. She has made quite a name for herself through the blog and will be designing for Urban Outfitters in the near future. She’s also been featured in Vogue and several other fashion publications.

The picture is of Meagan and I before we went to the hottes/sweatiest dinner ever at the Oasiss in Austin over the 4th of July.

Writer's Block

Wow - this can't be good. I'm less than 3 weeks new to the blogosphere, and I'm already having writer's block. Ugh!

One thing I'd like to share is my new love of Jersey Shore. The show is amazing! I love that the guys are bedazzled from head to toe with their own language - (e.g., going to "creep" means going to scope out chicks...I think.) I also love Snooks and her incredible bluntness (LMA!! )

This weekend my college gf's were in town for a fun weekend of going out, eating, games and bad TV... so fun! Here's a picture of us freezing in between dinner and Eight. Start with the top left and using our self-given "Jersey names", we have 'The Impact', 'The Rack', 'ABall', me (The Receiver), 'P-Train' and 'Tight-End'.

I miss them already! Can't wait for St. Patty's 2010!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! We had a great New Year's Eve celebrating with a group of friends at Azuma then the State Bar downtown. Lee chose an interesting ensemble - using his favorite thrift store finds. His shirt was actually short-sleeved, as he was going for the "Office Space" look. Lee's "unique" sense of fashion and style is one of the many reasons I love him.

Here is another picture of some of the ladies all dressed up. We had a great time dancing and catching up. Around 1:30, the night ended kind of abruptly for me when a 4 inch stilleto went into the middle of my foot. I didn't really feel too much like dancing after that. =)



I'm not great at keeping New Year's resolutions, but here are a couple I hope to keep in 2010:

• Feed Kitty less - we went to the vet today, and he weighs 20% more than he should...The vet said she was "very concerned" about this. I felt like such a bad cat-mother!
• Take advantage of Houston more - we have such great museums and art exhibits - if we're ever here for an entire weekend (and Lee doesn't have to work,) I want to do a full Houston Tour starting with the zoo!
• Learn a new skill - I'm thinking something crafty like refinishing furniture. Lately I've been reading a bunch of DIY home decor blogs, and it's been inspirational.
• Read more and watch less "E" channel ...this one is going to be really hard...
• Take a crazy trip - maybe Croatia?!?
• Volunteer...Lee and I have been wanting to do this for awhile... any suggestions where??

and lastly, make 2010 a year to remember! Best of luck and many well wishes in 2010!

Goodbye 2009!

Wow - where did the year go? Many websites are doing Best Of's which has inspired me do a Best Memories of 2009 for our family...

We were very blessed to have lots of opportunities to travel and spend time with family and friends this year. Many of my favorite memories came from the trips we took over the last 12 months. Here are some of the highlights...

February- a chilly visit to Chicago to visit friends and family. Despite the cold weather, we had a great time in the Windy City.

March - St. Patty's Day in Dallas with the College Crew. This weekend is always hilariously random. One highlight of the trip was when we went to house party that was apparently at capacity. We were told we could come in, IF we'd stand in the corner. Turns out that was fine by us - marg machine was in the corner too =)

April - a long weekend in Atlanta with all of the Chenault clan to celebrate Lee's cousin, Amy, and Matt's wedding. It was beautifully done and such a great way to catch up with family.

June - annual Port A trip with the college girls. This trip is always amazing - I've got my countdown on for 2010.

June - a very quick trip to Colorado to celebrate my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary. It is amazing how they have loved and supported each other for so long. They are an inspiration to all.

June - celebrating Lindsay and Reid's engagement with the Chenault's and their family friends in Cabo San Lucas. Wedding magazines, banangrams, sunny weather and chi-chis - what else could be better!

July - Lake Tahoe with the Barry's. Lake Tahoe is absolutely gorgeous and the weather is perfect. My dad arranged the trip around a celebrity golf tourney, which made for a nice mix of celebs (for me) and sports (for Lee). We saw lots of famous athletes and spent our last night there gambling with Joe Buck, a sports announcer for Fox. The other exciting part of the trip is we learned our friends, the Lukefahr's welcomed their first baby to the world that weekend.

August - celebrating my brother's 21st birthday in Las Vegas. Unfortunately Lee had to sit this one out because of work, but the Barry's had a great time. We played blackjack at some of the shadier casinos with cheaper tables since Chris and I are newbies. Chris had a great time, and I became addicted to the eBay slots game. =)

September - long Labor Day weekend in

Dallas. We had a great time watching the first UT football game and having a rowdy game night! -->

November - Visit to my bff in NYC. This was another quick trip, but we saw lots of the City. Lee and I fell in love with Brooklyn and all its hipsterness. We had a great time catching up with Katie. She is not only the perfect hostess but kept us laughing 24/7.

I had no idea...

Here are a collection of things I learned later in life. Usually I found out in some sort of embarrassing fashion...

1. the title of the movie I referenced in my previous post. The ACTUAL title is Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. MY Version: Don't be Menace to Society While drinking Gin and Juice in the Hood. You can see the similarities.



2. the real name for croutons. My mom called them "crunchies" growing up.



3. that Hanukkah does not fall on the same days every year. This was especially embarrassing when I recently wished my friend, Erica, a happy one 3 weeks late.



4. not to presume to know a baby's sex based on looks alone. Instead of saying "he" or "she" - I now say "what a sweet thing..."



5. that phone/Internet connections are LAN lines not LAND lines (which I think makes more sense)



6. the definition of a Running Back - this upset Lee a great deal.



7. that rice krispy treats should be not warmed up in the microwave when they still have a wrapper on.



8. that I like things with birds on them so much, but recent evidence around our apartment proves I do. -->>
   

Game Night

I'd like to dedicate one of my first posts to one of my all time favorite things... GAME NIGHT! And since my dear college friends are coming down for a visit soon, this seems especially timely. We try to always inlcude at least one night of Game Night in our reunion weekends. This can be challenging because of the competitive nature often found among spouses or significant others, but we always have a good time.

My top five favorite games right now are:

Bananagrams - this is relatively new; just like the Scramble app for your iphone but with banana-like commands including "split" and "peel" that tell you to draw more letters.

Catchphrase - an all time favorite of mine - just beware of the person who flings the game at your head as the buzzer starts to run out.

Charades - a true classic. We ususally play Girls vs. Boys. My favorite rounds of charades were the more challenging ones where we gave the boys movies like 'Munich' and 'Don't be a Menace to Society while Drinking Gin and Juice in the Hood.' To get even, I pulled Obama's 'The Audacity of Hope' from the boy's choices. Yeah that was hard...

Cranium - vintage fun...Always a great game, except for when Ashleys already studied all the cards

Poker - a recent favorite. We had a Barry family poker tournament, and it was a blast. My Grandma won the pot, and I eventually learned the difference between 'Call' and 'Check'

The picture is of the last Houston reunion (July 2008). Game Night included Asian, Scene It and Charades.