Weekending in Dallas #2

Last weekend we were back in Dallas again for Stacey's wedding and also got to catch up with Hoy, the Dudleys & their new baby Aaron, and Jarrod went out to the Wetzig's on Sunday afternoon while I went to a baby shower for a friend from work & I got to visit with lots of my former co-workers who were onsite with me at Dr. Pepper when we lived in Dallas. Stacey's wedding was very quaint & beautiful, set at a little chapel in Lewisville with close friends and family. It was a special time and we wouldn't have missed it for the world!

Here is little Aaron Sayres Dudley

Weekending in Dallas #1

I met a couple of my dear college friends, Sherry & Emily , at Cuba Libre for dinner. It was great catching up and getting to see Sherry's precious Chloe. She was so good even though it was way past her bedtime too.

I stayed with my good friend Catherine for the weekend so got to catch up with her too and had lunch before the bridal shower I was helping host for Stacey.

Later Saturday evening we had dinner at a favorite spot in Dallas, Tupinambas, to kick off Stacey's Bachelorette party. Then we went to see an Improv act at Ad Libs. The show was surprisingly good. We had a great time and I definitely got a good ab workout laughing!

They pulled Stace up on stage, but didn't embarress her too bad. They sang to her and then she had to make sound effects in microphone for the next act they did. And, I must say, she did a great job with the sound effects -- that is...when she wasn't laughing hysterically.Before heading back to Austin on Sunday, I made a stop by Alicia & Collin's to see their new addition, Andrew Grant Sharp, who was born on January 3rd. He is so tiny and precious.

Dallas Fun...

Something must be in the water b/c we have a ton of family & friends that are pregnant....Kim, Amy, Liesl, April, Alicia, Erin G, Naomi, Jo Neel....and I'm sure others who have not broken the news yet or I'm forgetting about. Anyway, I am so excited for them all and thankful that some of them are giving us excuses to visit Dallas! I was delighted to host a baby shower for my good friend Alicia who is due to have a little baby boy named Andrew Grant at the end of January. We had it at a cute little bakery in Plano called Tart that has a side room especially for events like this.

Since I was in Dallas for the shower, I got to spend the weekend with Stacey & visit other friends while I was there too. It was great catching up with everyone. My voice was very tired by the end of the weekend after talking for hours with each of them. Stacey and I had dinner and a movie Friday night. We went to see Four Christmas's which had some laughs, but not a movie I would see again. After lunch at Potbelly's (yum! I hadn't been since I left Dallas!) & the shower on Saturday, I had coffee with a friend, then dinner with a few others and then on to a tacky sweater Christmas party that Stacey, Josh & Brooke were at -- it was a very full day, but so fun! Here's some pics of the tacky sweaters. Stacey won 1st place, but her future sister-in-law was the judge so there may have been some partialness there! However, Stacey did have quite the outfit with her Christmas turtleneck, vest & even some earrings to go along with it.

Visiting the new Mommas...

Well, we made our first trip back to Dallas together this past weekend to go to Liesl & Dudley's (Jonathon's) couples baby shower in Frisco.

We had a great time getting to catch up with them & others at the shower who we hadn't seen for a while. I also got to meet Dudley's parents whom I have heard so much about, but had never met. So that was fun. I also got to meet Liesl's sisters. Liesl is due to have Aaron Sayres Dudley on December 31. Doesn't she just look so cute at 8 months pregnant though!

We also got to stay with Alicia & Collin and see the beginnings of the baby room. So far, the closet is painted blue & all decked out with baby boy stuff and the bedding/decorations she chose are farm animals, which of course I love! (being that I am a farm girl) We enjoyed our short stay with them. It was great to be with close friends for the weekend! We didn't get to fit in our usual Spades card game though (not sure who is ahead right now -- girls or guys), but Alicia and I have been known to kick their tails at Spades! We also didn't get to fit in a ping pong tourney. Last time we played, Collin was the champ, but I made it to the finals (yes, it is what you are thinking -- I BEAT JARROD)!! If you cannot tell, I am very proud of that. ;) It is a loving competitiveness that we have though, right Dear? LOL Anyhow, we'll have to make another visit to fit in all the competition with the Sharps.

Alicia is due January 30 & is so cute pregnant too! I hadn't gotten to see her since she was showing a little.

And, on Sunday, we went to service back at our old church, Stonebriar. The new sanctuary was completed about a month ago so we were so excited to go back and worship there! It was wonderful! The choir sounded so good & the organ pipes that were just put in sounded & looked amazing! It was great to hear from Chuck & just be in a place that was so familiar. After church, we made a pass by our "old house", which is really weird to say. It was still there of course and things looked pretty good, but the grass wasn't near as green as when we left it and my flowers I planted had grown a lot! But they looked pretty wilty & dying after going through the hot summer. Next, we went for some sushi at our old fave, Chaucers. It was yummy! And a stop in Frisco just wouldn't be the same without getting some custard at Sheridan's ---

It was a short visit so we hope to make it back up again soon to see everyone!

A little slice of Heaven...

I had a great night on my last night in Dallas, I got to have dinner and watch movies with a great friend of mine Stacey and we had so much fun. But the highlight of the night was when we had a little taste of heaven for dessert at Cantino Laredo! If you haven't had their Mexican Apple Pie, you must try it!! All I can say is "Too die for". It was the best dessert I have had in a while & I eat lots of desserts -- I'll blame that on my husband's sweet tooth. ;) I have one too, but Jarrod always caves to his so of course I cave with him. Anyhow, back to the Mexican Apple Pie...it is brought out on a skillet, Mexican Brandy Butter poured all around it until the whole plate is sizzling goodness! It is topped with your choice of cinnamon or vanilla ice cream. We had the cinnamon & it was yummy. So if you are having a craving for an awesome dessert, head over to Cantina Laredo. You won't be sorry! I wish I had a picture of the heavenly slice for you, but I don't so you'll just have to check it out yourself. :) Oh ya, & there food is really great too! http://www.cantinalaredo.com/

Making our Trail...

Well, after much nudging by our friends, we are entering the world of blogging! I'll try to summarize the trail that got us to where we are today. Our journey together began a little over 3 years ago when we met through a mutual friend on April 24, 2005 in Dallas, Texas. We had lots of fun adventures in dating and on August 4, 2006 decided we wanted to have a lifetime of fun adventures together. We were at the Dallas Museum of Art when Jarrod proposed & we were married a little over 9 months later in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. It was an amazing time sharing our union in marriage with our friends and family with the beautiful beaches of the Destin area as our backdrop! We had quite a few fun trips in our first year of marriage -- to the lake, tubing & canoing down rivers, Los Angeles, Napa & too many fun times with friends and family to list. To top off our first year, we headed back to Santa Rosa Beach for our anniversary & the memories of our wedding weekend flooded back! We had such a great time re-visiting the area. It will definitely always be a place that we visit often & that holds special meaning for us. As we were celebrating our first year together, we were also about to embark on our first big change together -- moving to Austin, Texas. Jarrod was offered a great opportunity to take a position at his company's Austin division. So, as of 5 days ago, we are now both in Austin. Although, we are very sad to leave our friends in Dallas, we are ready to embrace this new experience! We love the outdoors & relaxed nature of Austin already and are looking forward to visits from friends and family!

We hope our blog will help our friends & family keep up with the "trails" we are making on our new journey! Please visit us often and drop us a line!