Mel J/Mel K's Wedding

Happy New Year! (2 weeks late...)


We had such a wonderful New Year's Day this year. I worked NYE so we won't talk about it. My high school and college friend, Melissa, got married in Austin on New Year's Day at an AMAZING ceremony and reception at the Four Seasons.


Our trip started off a little hairy when we got in town at 3PM (wedding started at 5PM) and our room was not ready. I still needed to shower and get totally ready. I fiddled around a little, went to the bar, and met up with some of the wedding party. My friend Kathryn graciously let me shower in their room while I was waiting. Around 4, they finally let us in our room. Apparently, we were upgraded to a lake-view so I did not complain.

This was the first Jewish wedding I have gone to so it was so neat to see all of their traditions. In the program, they had a page devoted to explaining the traditions. Did you know you do not stand during the bride's processional? Good to know! Here is us at the ceremony. I know I took pics before their wedding but I think it is on my real camera. I did not take any during the ceremony because I cannot stand when people do that. It is so distracting. Johnny looks mildly possessed so please ignore.

Their flowers were beyond amazing. See below:

The Bride and Groom

Grooms cake. Ha! It was huge!

This looks like the most terrifying thing in the world!

Party favors: Whataburger Taquitos to-go. Superb idea.

This was the first night we left Gus. We left him with my parents so I knew he'd be in good hands. I only sent him with 1 page of instructions for the 26 hours he was in their care. Trust me, I held back. When we went to pick him up, he seemed happy and not starved and not stressed. I guess I'll trust the grandparents to watch him again!

I'll update this post with more pics when I upload my camera!

Aeros Game

My parents bought tickets for an Aeros game last Friday, and proceeded not to be able to go. Soooo they gave us the tix and we took our friends Katie and Jack. I have never been to a game before but it was so fun! They play in the Toyota Center so all of the seats are great!

Our first hockey fight!

As a promo deal, you can buy these rubber "pucks" to play a game during one of the breaks. The goal is to throw them as close to the center of the ice as possible where they've placed this helmet. It was much harder than I thought! They only went like 10 yards and you only had 30 seconds to throw your pucks, hence no pic. 

I would love to go back to a game! Fun times for a weekend night. 

Brooke's Bday Part 2

For Brooke's "friend" birthday party, we went to Collina's in the Heights for some yummy dinner. This place has amazing pizza and it is BYOB!

For dessert, I ordered a birthday pack from Sprinkles! They have a couple of options of flavor combos, I chose red velvet, chocolate and vanilla. Yum!

Even Winston and Gus got a doggie treat too! 

Happy birthday, Brooke! 

Lights in the Heights

Today will be blog-a-palooza since I've been a slacker recently. First up: Lights in the Heights! This was the post from last year. To freshen your memory, LITH is a neighborhood festival the second Saturday of December. The city was trying to scale-down the party this year because it became too expensive. They took away the parade (which I never went to), changed the hours (roads only closed from 6PM-9PM), and no vendors (which I never bought from). I think we still had a blast! 

My house is only 2 blocks away from the route so we started there with some drinks and appetizers. 

Katherine had a work Christmas party later that night but did not miss the chance to hang for a few hours. Reason #485 why I love her.

This is a pretty good example of what makes Lights so great! Pretty house, decorated for Christmas, with a band for everyone to enjoy!

Sisters!

Johnny and Kyle made some new friends!

Texas Tech vs Baylor

This weekend, we headed to Dallas for the Texas Tech vs Baylor football game. It was held at the new Cowboy Stadium. Johnny had been before for a tour of the stadium and it was my first time. We had a blast! 


I worked Friday night so we hit the road as soon as I got home. Luckily, I slept the whole time while Johnny and his friend did the driving. We got to Dallas around noon and went to set up the tailgate. It. Was. Cold. The actual temperature was fine, but the crazy wind was just too much. The Tech people were used to it from their days in Lubbock, but I spent my college years warm and cozy in Austin.

Luckily, I had my blanket from the car ride up to keep me warm.

Cowboy Stadium was so HUGE and great. I had a really good time. There were about 20 of us sitting together so we were probably not our neighbor's favorite. We were told that because it was a Baylor home game, alcohol wouldn't be served. I thought that didn't sound right.

My only dislike was that they played the bands over the sound system. That is kind of the point of college bands, ya know? To be able to hear them on your own. 

Soooo, the game didn't turn out exactly how Johnny had hoped. Here is a glimpse of his misery. 

Thanks for the free hat, State Farm!

I love neutral-venue games! I am sure there are tons more in the future thanks to Mr. Jones!

Las Vegas!

Let me just start off saying that I was going to have the cutest Instagram pics from my recent trip to Vegas... except that Las Vegas ate my phone. We'll get into that later.


Last weekend, I went to Vegas with 3 other girls Charlotte, Katherine, and Annie for a long weekend of fun. I got way more than I bargained for. Since I don't have any pictures to entertain you, I will just give you the highlights:


Favorite New Casino:
Margaritaville! This is Jimmy Buffet's new casino located in the Flamingo. We loved it because of the laid back atmosphere, young/fun dealers, and cheap tables. We learned how to play 3 Card Poker and made tons-o-friends. We ended up there every night.

Shows:
We went to see Charlotte's favorite- Chippendales! I had so much fun! It's one of those shows that you will get out of it what you put in it. Pic below.

Favorite new restaurant:

Lakeside at the Wynn. It was so yummy and pretty. Highly recommend!

Lost phone:
I have had the old iPhone 3G since (literally) January 2009. It was soooo slow. When the new 4S phones came out, I jumped on it and was SO happy with how FAST it was. I managed to keep up with it for about 3 weeks... until Vegas. All I know is, I had my phone at the hotel before we left for the airport and did not have it once we got there. The hotel didn't have it so some cabbie is enjoying himself a new phone with my cute old case- the pic is just a little blurry.

Summary: We slept for about 10 hours over 3 days. I have been sick ever since. I had too much Vegas.

Thanksgiving with Friends

This past weekend we had the third annual Thanksgiving with Friends. This is one of my favorite things of the year. I have everyone over to my house to celebrate the season with a pre-Thanksgiving Feast. Every year, I make the turkey and some appetizers and everyone brings a side. It is a blast. 

This is the "S" cutting board I bought for Johnny at the Nutcracker Market. Don't tell him, but it was only $19.99. There is a similar one from Williams-Sonoma for $100. I win.

Some of my appetizers plus the table scape. The table scape is up all season. 

More appetizers with the Paul Michael iron and wood cutting board I was telling you about last post. I did mixed cheeses and crackers with Spiced Cranberry Dip. Tip: to make this dip, you need (literally) 4x the amount of cayenne recommended to taste the spice. I also made this yummy Spinach & Artichoke Dip (not pictured). 

My new turkey platter! I used to always borrow the Judy's. I think she was sick of me taking it so she bought me one for myself! 

The boys' job! Carving the turkey. I bit the bullet this year and bought the turkey lifters from Williams-Sonoma. Again, I used to just borrow my mom's. 

Finished product

All of our grub! Sorry it's a little blurry and that I have no more pics. I just got too excited and forgot! 

Nutcracker Market

Nutcracker Market. Oh, the joy! The thought of it makes me smile. I purposely plan my work schedule to be off for it. 


Every year in Houston, there is a huge market to kick off the holiday season. It benefits the Houston Ballet, but I think that is the last thing on everyone's mind. There are (literally) hundreds of booths from all over selling their goods. They sell everything from home goods to Christmas decor to food. It is so fun! This year, we decided to have some breakfast at my house before heading up to Reliant. My mom, mom's BFF, sister, and sister's friend came over for some fuel. Here is the breakfast:


Coffee (of course)
Williams-Sonoma Pumpkin Bread with Pumpkin Butter, baked in my pretty loaf pan
Healthy Egg Casserole from Kraft
Fruit

Once we got there, the "grown-ups" (my mom and Lisa) split from the "kids" (sister, sister's friend, and myself) so we could maneuver more easily. We all walked away with tons-o-stuff. My purchases:
1. Large monogrammed "S" cutting board for Johnny (pic in next post)
2. Large iron and wood cutting board (pic in next post) from Paul Michael
3. Black and sparkle dress from Lot 8
4. Cute, patterned Gift Boxes from It's a Wrap
5. Cross for my Cross Wall from Paul Michael

6. The Pewter Lady- I have a few of her things and have loved them. The pewter is oven to table and always so pretty. This year I added a casserole dish holder and deviled-egg tray to my collection

We decided that all of the good stuff is on the perimeter: Round Top, Paul Michael, and The Pewter Lady. It would take you days to see every booth so save yourself the trouble and keep to the edges. This reminds me, I need to check the dates for next year to plan!

Rome! Part 1

I have a new love: Rome. This was definitely one of my top places to have ever visited in Europe and I will be returning. 


Once we were done in Tuscany, we headed to Rome. Abbey had to head back to work, so Erin, Jennifer and I were left to our own. Abbey had booked us at this hostel in Rome (which I would not recommend so I'll move on). Once we were settled into our digs, we started our visit to Rome with a free walking tour. All major European cities have free walking tours and I think it's a great way to get around. Plus, it's free! They just ask for a little tip at the end. We're talking 5 Euros here. It is led by locals or ex-pats who have some great info and are very entertaining. We did the New Rome Free Tour and I loved it! The tour started in the evening so we finished once it was dark, it was beautiful! Here are the highlights:

The Spanish Steps

The Pantheon

Trevi Fountain

Tossing the coin!

After the tour, our guide suggested a nearby restaurant with (literally) over 100 types of spaghetti. It was delish!

 Our table!

Monday morning, we started the day at the Colosseum with a guided tour. We looked look Tourist McGees with our cool headsets. I had made fun of people doing tours like this before but it was really neat! You can walk away and look at stuff while still being able to hear the guide. See below:

It was beautiful! 

After the Colosseum, we were sick of standing up so we went to a rooftop hotel restaurant and enjoyed a bottle of Prosecco. Yum!