Post Christmas.

Christmas has come and gone which really makes me sad. It's kind of like your wedding day because you anticipate the traveling, family time, good food, booze and gifts. It comes and then leaves so quickly only to come another year (unlike a wedding). We had a fabulous Christmas this year and of course ate too much and drank too much. What's a girl to do? Say no to homemade egg nog? I don't think so. 

We received so many great gifts, but my favorite is this fancy little number! I was shocked to see that my Pops knew that Tory Burch is a perfect bag.

She's a beauty. 

E's favorite has to be his Luchese burnt orange boots or his new gas\smoker grill. They are both pretty fabulous.

Someone gifted these to E. They are u-g-l-y.

AND- he will never wear them.

In reflecting on the arrival of a new year and my sadness of E being in Las Vegas this week, I was looking at pictures from our island getaway to cheer me up. It didn't really work. ;)

I don't have anyone to nag. Sad.

Happy New Year!

Barbados

We jet set to the Caribbean last Saturday elated to finally get away from reality! E has worked so hard the past year without any time off, so this trip was a must. We flew out of Austin which isn't typical for us because my parents watch Marley when we vacation, but this year was different. Let me just say...it will be really hard to not fly out of Austin for our long trips! We went to Barbados to celebrate the end of a great year, the holidays and of course my 30th birthday. We have been fortunate enough to visit almost all the islands and we decided Barbados is definitely our favorite. I would recommend this place times a trillion to anyone looking for a relaxing vacation. The island is beautiful, the water is remarkable, the people are fabulous, there is no trash on the ground, it's beyond safe, it's not ridiculously expensive and the list of positives could go on forever. (Let me know if you want a cheaper than normal trip...I can hook you up.)

I am a Christmas fanatic and I cannot tell you how excited I was that the hotel had a real tree in their lobby! Of course, since I have the best husband in the world...he brought a tiny fake tree with ornaments and Christmas lights. He surprised me and had it all set up while I was laying on the beach getting tan. :) I seriously almost cried.

So instead of blabbing...

 Our baby Christmas tree.

 Our spectacular view from our balcony.

 We sat on the beach every night staring into the sunset. Most relaxing special moments ever.

 My three loves: E, the ocean and a Caribbean sunset.

 A little too much rum. We drank 5 bottles the whole trip, oops.

 AIDS.

 Sandy Lane Christmas tree. This is the hotel Tiger Woods wed. AMAZING place!

 E's caddy for the day, Roger. 

 Pictures and words really cannot do it justice.

 Beautiful.

 BEST. PICTURE. EVER. E put up lights on our balcony. So sweet!

 Catamaran cruise.

 Our new friends.

 Special moments.

 Perfect weather the whole trip.

 It's the little things that make me smile like a birthday card from the hotel.

The view from the hotel lobby. Sail boat sailing past just in time. :)

I am so very grateful for my E, for this year and for the blessings in my live. 

Happy Holidays!

Reflecting on my 20's.

December is my favorite month because it's my birth month and Christmas along with NYE! I mean, what month gets better than that? Oh- there isn't one. I turn the BIG 3-0 in a week and I am not really sure how I feel about it. As my bosses sang Happy Birthday! to me yesterday I just sat there thinking, I feel like I have been in the my twenties FOREVER. I think that's weird to say, but I really feel that way. I am kind of excited to get out of my twenties! I believe this might be the case because really nothing has changed much the past 10 years. 

Let's reflect shall we:

20: I was in college at Texas State University dating E. I didn't have a fake ID, so I would drop off and pick up the boys from Copper Tank on 6th Street. I was the best girl friend!

21: I was taking Spanish and hating life. I vividly remember having to change my major my Junior year of college and needing four semesters of Spanish. E's dog was put to sleep due to old age. E's parents bought a home in Maine for a Summer spot. My parents began to build their dream home on an acre of land. We thought my brother was going to marry a girl he had dated forever! I finally turned 21 and began to be a lush and drink way too often.

22: I worked my tail off in school. Moved to my own apartment. My parents gave me my Mom's Cadillac Escalade; I loved it until it stopped working on I-10 going 80mph. I graduated from college with a BA double major in Sociology\Health Wellness Promotion. I was hired for my first full time job as a swim coach. E proposed right after July 4th on our boat on Lake Austin right after I had taught swimming lessons that evening. It was my dream come true!

23: Moved jobs and became a billing coordinator; hated it. Planned a wedding from out of town. Definitely wasn't bridezilla, but did have two Maid of Honors that ended up hating each other by the end of my wedding. I let my parents do our cake tasting and chose the flavoring and look of the cake. My mom had a sense of what I wanted, but I was over planning and turned it over to the two people paying for it. Short engagement. Got married to my best friend. As my Father walked me down the aisle, I remember saying "you cannot believe it." My parents didn't think I would marry the man I met on a cruise. Honeymooned in Turks and Caicos. Began saving for buying our first home.

24: New job at my current work place. We bought our first home and of course we ate potatoes and Ramen (kidding...). Re-did and decorated our home and made it our own. Continued success at drinking too much and become Beer Pong fanatics.

25: Same ole, Same ole. Dear friends we had known for years finally moved back to Austin. Made new friends, new goals and continued our life of feeling and being young. We vacationed to the Virgin Islands for two weeks and "lived" in a condo that whole time. We debated leaving Austin and moving to the Caribbean. Of course, we decided the timing was right. Worked hard and played harder.

26: Worked hard and played harder.

27: Dear friends began to get engaged. Dear friends began to move away and join the military. Vacations came and went. Football season every year was always fun. E was in the construction industry and began to hate it around this time. It was stressful and he did bad things to his body all throughout this time. 

28: Dear friends that were engaged, wed. E's best friend moved to Oklahoma and we all knew he would not be returning to Texas any time soon. E decided to open Rita's and leave the construction industry. Life became different. The partying slowed down since the money pile slowly diminished. The first time in my life I was put on somewhat of a budget. My gray hair began to grow a lot faster. I chopped off my hair. I began to embrace exercising, eating right and my body. I began to love myself.

29: Rita's. Work. Friends getting pregnant. E and I talked about pregnancy and what it would be like to be parents. Partying and fun has changed a bit in the year. Mom and Daughter trip to NYC at Christmas time...a dream come true. Life looks different as we have gotten older. Priorities have changed, but still living life to the fullest.

30: What will it bring? I cannot wait.

Sweet treats

My most favorite thing above shopping, sleeping, exercising and drinking is baking! I love to bake as well as eat baked goods. Notice I didn't put baking above eating, duh. I love to eat! I feel this is a common trend in blog writing perhaps that's the reason my butt doesn't shrink, my stomach still has a pooch and I cannot get rid of my fatter than slim arms...moving right along.

I will be baking and making sweet treats for the holidays. I cannot wait to make these things!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Inception

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

Oreo Cupcakes

Rice Krispie Cake Balls

Cake Batter Bark

I think I will stop now.

Best gift ever

We went over to our dear friends' house on Saturday to watch the UT game which was disastrous, but we will not talk about that. Bad news bears; I am hoping RGIII wins the Heisman as that would make it all okay for losing to the bad azz on Saturday. 

Anyhow, prior to leaving E was determined to have a Frito pie. I made chili last week and we saved a bit, so he bought some Frito's and made this...

HUGE

He couldn't eat it all, ha. He ate about half and then took a nap. It was a rainy, cold weekend here so it was totally allowed. :)

K decided that she couldn't wait to give me my Christmas gift and of course I obliged since I absolutely love gifts. She knows me so well: I love mason jars and I love wine. 

E made Sunday sauce last night, so I poured myself some Chianti. Stinkin' hilarious! 

Best. Gift. Ever.

I hate Mondays. I hate being at work. I hate that fact that I haven't bought a single Christmas gift. I hate the fact that my gray is so bad I have to wear my hair back all week. Sigh. Where is the bottle of wine and my mason jar?

Friday Confessional.

It's Friday, AMEN. Let's get this confessional started.

-I only tracked my calories one day this week. Ooops.

-I made broccoli cheese soup last night and totally forgot the garlic, but didn't say a word about it to E because he thought it tasted perfect. 

-I am secretly wanting this weekend to fly by because I want next week to get here because it means we are days closer to our vacation.

-I wax my 'stache and really need to right now, but I am totally waiting until later next week because I want to have a fresh no hair lip for my whole trip. My hair grows like a weed. ;)

-I have gray that is out of control, but just like the 'stache I am waiting until late next week to cover that shizz up.

-I love girlfriends, but there is nothing like going to happy hour just with my husband.

-Everything I put on my Christmas wish list was over $50 an item. Is that bad?

-I think I am a closet monogram lover. I really want to get a Longchamp bag and have my initials monogrammed to carry on our trip. I don't need it. I don't need it.

-I have absolutely zero motivation to go to the gym. I think it's just the time of the year. I haven't gained weight, but goodness I know it will hit me like a ton of bricks come January.

-I am hoping Texas destroys Baylor tomorrow. 

That's all folks.

It's the middle of the road.

This week is dddrrraaagggiiinnnggg on and I am hopeful I can make it to Friday. Wednesday lovin' at it's finest.
I am loving that tomorrow is the first day of December. AMEN to a vacation, my 30th birthday, Christmas and the end of the year!

I am loving that I have finally figured out how to make my hair look good most days. Scrunch conditioner in it along with mousse and diffuse it. I typically didn't do any of those three things and am elated I asked a home-girl at Ulta what she did to make her hair so pretty!
I am loving that I have a husband that tells me I am beautiful and I that I love myself! I don't want to be like anyone. 

I am loving all my Pinterest finds this week...holy moly I wish I would have never downloaded the Pinterest app on the iPhone. 

Boob scarfs. Can I get an absolute hysterical laugh? 

I think so. 

Carb-a-holic

I love carbs. I could eat carbs with every meal. Well, screw that as every meal. I am an addict. Seriously. I try to stick to a lower* carb diet during the week and focus on healthy foods and exercise. This week- I would like to say it's really tough. I didn't eat that much for Thanksgiving, but all I can think about are things like pretzels, cupcakes, fettuccine Alfredo, pizza and Mexican food. And- ranch...don't even get me started about the addiction to ranch. Maybe I am PMS-ing? I will go with that answer. I am dying to make these as in I might stop by the local Walmart tonight and pick up everything I need to throw these together. Call me a pig or just fat girl. Either will work.

Heaven in a ball I tell ya.

Oh, the Holidays!

I would be lying if I said the time from Thanksgiving to Christmas isn't my most favorite time of the year! I am pretty sure I have said it about a hundred times, but alas it literally is my most favorite and it's hard for me to be in a bad mood the next month. 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with lots of food, booze and laughter! I am so very grateful that my family and my in-laws get along so well that we don't have to split Thanksgiving holiday. We are able to share the day as one big family and that's a blessing. My mom did much of the cooking and I did all the cleaning. It was awful and took forever, but I was done by the time the A&M vs Texas game started at 7. Can I get a Hook 'Em? Texas out-coached and beat A&M! The tradition ends this year and it's a very sad thing, but there isn't anything that makes me happier than to have won the last rivalry game. 

On Friday, E and I laid on the couch all day and watched football. I didn't get out of my pj's. It was fantastic! There was no way I was going to tempt going shopping.

Saturday at least I went to the gym and got dressed! We headed to Garden Ridge to pick our ornament for 2011 and then bought our tree. E demanded we take the Jeep that um doesn't have a top on it. It was quite comical and I am pretty sure the guy at Home Depot got a good laugh at us! Meet the Griswald's.

Sunday was a day of Holiday Cheer! We decorated the interior and exterior of the house as well as the tree. I am totally in the Holiday Spirit although I completely forgot to buy Egg Nog last night, fail.

Marley must have been playing when we left to get the tree because we came home to Santa toppled over and the fish was under him along with the singing pig. Too funny!

She's a beauty! (Skinny and tall...exactly how I wish to be, ha.)

2 weeks till Barbados...I. Die.

NYC Recap.

My mom and I had the best trip to the Big Apple. We ate, drank and shopped way too much. We went sight-seeing, walked a long ways, laughed, chatted, people watched, drank Starbucks, rode in taxis and saw a couple of shows. It was such a memorable trip I will remember the rest of my life.

(Picture over load)

 Radio City Music Hall- Beautifully decorated!

 Spagetti and Meatballs at Carmine's. The best meal of the whole trip!

 View of the city from Battery Park. Spectacular weather!

 Hey there lil fellow. 

 My favorite pic of the Statue.

 NYC from Statue of Liberty Island.

 The building in the center is the new World Trade Center. 

 Original baskets brought from immigrants to Ellis Island. 

Original bench the immigrants sat and waited on for their number to be called. Unreal.

 People actually buy these hats...hideous. And no, we didn't purchase this. Just laughed.

Occupy Wall Street movement. This guy was scary looking.

 It wouldn't be a successful trip without cannolis. I die. 

 I would shop here everyday.

McSorley's. The oldest Irish Pub in NYC. You ask for a light ale and they give you two beers. Fantastic!

 9\11 Memorial. My Dad's good friend transported these trees. Serene, for sure.

 The 1 acre pools at the Memorial.

 NYP and my Mom. Presh.

 OMG. Lombardi's pizza =  Heaven.

 Fashion in NYC. Don't think my Mom didn't buy those mink boot covers! ha.

Brunch at the Plaza.

 Inside Macy's. Believe that we shopped our hearts out.

 The Macy's window. I will have to upload the video. These Christmas windows were absolutely fabulous!

 Tiffany's window. Pictures definitely don't do it justice.

My mom and I. 

This trip was an absolute dream come true!