Pretty Little Pieces

Happy Wednesday, Babies.

xoxo

Just Another Wild Saturday Night

Hi guys. I went to another "BARcade" last night.  That makes the second one this summer, and I'd never been to one before in my life.  This one, Pinballz, was up in north Austin (a.k.a Suburbia).  I've never really experienced much of the north side aside from going up to Jason's parents' place about once a week or so.  We met up with our friends, Corey and Helen, who are newly engaged!  I'm so excited for them AND the fact that we'll be attending another wedding in the spring.  I just love the energy of weddings...and the food...and the cake...and the dancing of course.  Anyway, back to Pinballaz - it wasn't really a bar exactly, but it was BYOB in an odd fashion.  You could only bring in one drink at a time; you had to keep the rest outside of the business.  Luckily one of Corey's friends brought a cooler that he just kept in his car out in the parking lot.  So this place was 13,000 sq. ft of crazy awesome pinball machines, old school Sega and Pacman games, skee ball, air hockey and the oh-so-addicting ticket machines.  Thanks to Corey, Helen and Jason's contributions I had 296 tickets at the end of the evening and picked a mood ring, a scented pencil, a fortune-telling plastic fish and two jolly ranchers as my prizes.  And let me tell you, that mood ring sure changed some colors at work today!  Boy oh boy.

Quick Little Post

Oh, hi there.  I guess I let the weekend run away with me there.  It was quite the weekend, lemme tell ya.  My sweet friend Rachel and her boyfriend Adam came down for a visit so I spent Saturday night on Rainey Street with them and a few of their friends.  Even though we spent most of the night crammed and huddled up inside Bar 96 whilst it poured rain like a mad woman outside.  Not complaining too much though; we Austinites most definitely welcome the rain any chance we get.  I had such a great time I ended up staying out until around midnight regardless of having to work at 7 a.m. the next morning.  Of course I was rather tired Sunday at work, but it was all worth it in my humble opinion.  Besides I had yesterday and today off so I've been able to rest up and watch plenty of my guilty pleasure - Gossip Girl.  I'm on season four, and it just keeps getting crazier!  I'm shamelessly obsessed.

Anyway, this morning I've been doing a little planning.  Jason's birthday is coming up next month, and mine is in October, so, naturally, we've been discussing possible plans for our special days.  Jason is still super interested in brewing his own beer, so he wants a starter home-brewing kit, and I'm sure we'll go out to dinner or wherever he wants.  I previously wanted to go down to good old Magnolia, Texas for the Texas Renaissance Festival, but I've decided on a more mature outing - a hill country winery tour!  I am so excited!  I've been researching a bunch of wineries the past couple of hours and I've narrowed it down to the Driftwood Estate Winery, Bell Springs Winery in Dripping Springs and the Duchman Family Winery.  In addition to the tour, I figured we could eat some delicious Salt Lick barbecue while we're out there.  It just seems silly and irresponsible not to, ya know?

Now, I must go get ready for a little afternoon date with my favorite man.  We're going out for lunch at this cajun place called Evangeline Cafe.  I'll let you know how it is!  Have a lovely day. xoxo

Flashback Friday

Ahh, the sweetness of young love.  This is mine and Jason's first picture together as a couple!  It was taken sometime toward the end of 2009.  I always refer to this picture as the "baby seed" picture because our relationship was so fresh and new like a baby seed that needs nurture and care in order to blossom into a beautiful piece of nature.  And if I may say so myself, we've got a green thumb.  It's absolutely mind-blowing that we've been together for almost three years!  We are better than ever, and I have such an enormous, ever-growing amount of respect for Jason.  He inspires me every day and makes me want to be the best possible person I can be.  I cherish all of the time we have together, and I feel so lucky to be able to grow and prosper with my best friend beside me all the while.  I love you, Jason.  xoxo

A Much-Needed Update

I know, I know it's been a while.  I blame our apartment complex for making us move, Time Warner for not hooking up our cable/internet until yesterday and myself for procrastinating.  Now, that my pity party is over, let's talk about what I've been up to the past week and a half!

Not sure if I've mentioned it before, but the reason we had to move was because our apartment would have been about $200 more each month if we would have re-signed our lease, and we absolutely cannot afford that right now so we opted to transfer to a different unit in the same complex.  It worked best for us because our deposits transfered, and we really only had to pay the pet fees again.  I was bummed about having to downsize as far as space and square footage go, but I actually prefer the new unit now that we're settled in.  Jason and I agree that it just feels more cozy and comfy and our stuff just fits better in a smaller space.  I also feel safer because we're on the backside of the building and therefore less likely to be robbed.  AND (don't make fun of me for this) our unit is raised up a little so looking out of the living room window, I kind of feel like I live in San Francisco because all of the houses there are elevated and you walk up stairs to get to the front door.  Just a little perk I suppose ;)

The moving process weighed heavy on my mind for a good month or two prior to the actual dreaded day of the move, but it was actually pretty great...not bad at all, minus the awful Texas heat.  And it went so smoothly all because of the amazing helpers we were blessed with - my mom, brother, sister and Aunt Delys.  My brother was especially crucial in assisting Jason move the larger furniture and appliances.  Poor guys had to manually dolly our bulky stacked washer and dryer from the old place to the new place.  They were serious champs that day.  Aside from the moving part of the weekend, it was so nice to get to spend some time with my family.  It had been about two months since i'd seen any of them so I was beyond thrilled.  Friday night we went up to the Texas State Capitol Building and even got to go inside and check it out at 9 p.m.  After exploring there, we went over to the UT campus and my mom gave us a tour of the places she used to "study" when she attended college there.  After that, I persuaded everyone to go to Rita's Ice Custard on the Drag.  I'd heard a lot about Rita's, but had never been, and I must say I was quite pleased.  Saturday, after the move, my family went to the pool and out to dinner while Jason and I stayed in and attempted to unpack mostly everything in the new place, and then when they got back from eating, we went to Amy's Ice Cream for an evening treat.  I was sad to see everybody go on Sunday, but hopefully I'll get to venture down to Houston in a few weeks for the annual Kousins' Kamp.

Aside from the move, we've watched some really good movies recently.  About a week ago we watched Chronicle about the teenage boys that find an unidentified object in the woods and develop super powers.  It was pretty entertaining for sure.  We also watched Splendor In The Grass which is probably one of my new favorite movies.  It's an oldie directed by the great Elia Kazan and stars Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty.  I loved it so much I'll most likely devote an entire post to it pretty soon.  Since we didn't have cable until yesterday, we started re-watching the DVDs of my favorite show, Six Feet Under.  So I'm getting wrapped up in that all over again!  I just love how many emotions it stirs up inside of my soul.  One minute I'm laughing my head off and the next minute and I'm bawling my eyes out.  It's insanely wonderful.

Well, I feel like I've dragged this on long enough for now.  I'll be back tomorrow with a flashback Friday post, and I'll try to do a Currently and/or weekend links over the next few days.

Below are some pictures from my busy week!

xoxo

sour cream chicken enchiladas I made a couple weeks ago

break time at work one day

a crazy car/plane I saw driving down I-35 - Keep Austin Weird, right?

our lives in boxes

Maeby helping us pack

a little bedtime reading

my brother and sister, Kaleb and Micah

Texas State Capitol Building

the Capitol dome

Kaleb way up at the top

Rita's Ice Custard Happiness

the three of us at Rita's

out in front of the Capitol building 

posing with Anne Richards

Delys, Kaleb and Micah eating at Chuy's

Pop's old belt buckle I used to wear in HS

Fozzie relaxing

precious kitties

best friends

bouffant hair

making mini peanut butter pies a couple of days ago

Playlist Post: August 2012

Here ya are, folks.  Yet another playlist!  These are some of my favorite blog posts for sure.  Music has always been such a huge part of my life, and it's so much fun for me to share my music taste with you.  Yes, I was the girl at college parties begging to deejay/obsessively control the iPod, and I'm pretty sure the whole reason I hosted parties in college was for an excuse to make a bomb playlist and share it with the world.

If You Really Knew Me

This is a fun little post idea I got from Danielle, the creator/writer of one of the blogs I read regularly, Sometimes Sweet.  Like Danielle, I tended to be a bit of an over-sharer on my MySpace and LiveJournal accounts in high school, and oddly enough, just a few years ago in college with my Facebook.  I used to update my status almost everyday, sometimes multiple times in one day, which seems like wayyy too much to my current self.  Although I do log onto Facebook at least once a day, I don't spend anywhere near the amount of time I used to on the site, and I rarely update my status.  These days I see it as more of a way to keep up with close friends and relatives than a way of life like I used to.  It all seems a bit silly to me now, and I've since realized how much personal stuff I was openly dishing out and because of that I now choose to be much more private in my online endeavors.

So here goes.

If you really knew me...

- you'd know that I absolutely loathe all things Harry Potter.  Sorry, people, I just never got into it and am therefore sick of hearing about/seeing it.

- you'd know that I have a profound interest in the '60s, the '70s and the history/rise of punk rock as a beloved music genre.  The Misfits, The Germs, Choking Victim and The Adolescents are some of my favorite punk rock groups.

- you'd know that I love musicals.  Oklahoma! is at the top of my list, and I can sing every song word for word.  I was first introduced to it in the form of a school stage production at Crosby High School, my mom's alma mater.  I also own the full soundtrack, including the Overture, on vinyl.

- you'd know that I proudly own the entire Gilmore Girls television series on DVD.  Every time a boy would come over for the first time he would mockingly point that out.  Don't care.

- you'd know that I cracked my skull as an infant from falling backwards in my Nana's kitchen and would eat nothing but raisins in the hospital while they checked for brain damage.  They found none; although, some believe the results to be mistaken.

- you'd know that I am the eldest of three children in my family.  I am seven years older than my brother and eleven years older than my sister.  This didn't stop my brother from beating me up, haha.

- you'd know that I enjoy America's Funniest Home Videos from time to time, especially when I am in need of a good laugh.

- you'd know I can do an unmistakable impression of Cher singing "Believe."

- you'd know that I am a huge fan of both the Fast and the Furious and the Rocky sagas.

That's about all I can think of right now.  Perhaps now you know me a little better than before, and as always thanks for reading!

xoxo

MUSIC MONDAY

Cheers to you, my friends, on this best of Mondays.  Today's Music Monday is a true gentleman - at least according to his lyrics.  Mason Jennings is a singer-songwriter from Hawaii of all places.  His music first caught my ears when I was in college.  I think, if I remember correctly, the first song of his that I listened to was "Fighter Girl" and I remember falling madly in love with it and playing it over and over because it reminded me so much of myself.  I have always been a wild, boy-crazy, emotional little lady - I know it's so hard to believe (haha).  The song just magically transports me to times of young, baby-seed love; especially those high school days when I would stay out later than I was supposed to and be places I wasn't supposed to be.  Ah, the golden days.  Anyway, Mr. Jennings is an incredible songwriter; he writes about so many different subjects too - everything from politics and religion to crime, abuse and love.  Check him out!

Why I Have The BEST Friends Ever + Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday: Christmas 2008 Packed in Heather's Car
(From left - Emily, Sam, Me, Taylor, Heather)

I don't think I mentioned this in previous posts, but a couple of weeks before I left for Portland Jason informed me that I should try to get the weekend following my trip off from work, but he wouldn't tell me why, insisting it was a surprise.  I racked my brain for nearly three weeks trying to figure out what in the world would require me to take an entire weekend off from work.  I thought maybe we were going out of town; that was literally the only explanation I thought could justify this time off.  So last Friday Jason and I were getting ready to go out to The Nomad, a bar up north, for our friend Corey's birthday, and around 10:30 p.m. there's a knock at the door.  I couldn't imagine who it could be that late at night.  I looked over at Jason and even he looked a little puzzled, but he got up and opened the door, and who sticks their head in the door??  Emily, Sammy and Heather!!!!!!!!  I was so beyond ecstatic!  Basically, it was the best surprise ever and made me feel so loved.  I've always known I have such sweet, beautiful friends (inside and out), but this was the absolute ultimate reminder of that.  

Friday night, after the girls freshened up post-three hour car rides, we went out to Trudy's for Mexican martinis and caught up on one another's lives just like back in April when Sam and I made the trip up to Dallas.  It was a pretty late, but rather calm night.  On Saturday, we all slept in and once everybody woke up, Jason and I made bacon, eggs and waffles for our guests.  A little while later, we went to HEB to pick up some drinks/snacks and hit up the pool at my apartment complex for a couple of hours before coming back home to shower and get ready for another fun evening.  That night we drove out to San Marcos (our old stomping grounds, haha) for dinner at the always delicious Japan Latino and a trip down memory lane as I made a lap around the town so we could experience crazy college flashbacks and see what all had changed since we lived there.  Upon returning to Austin, we decided to paint the town by going out to Rainey Street and enjoying a few beverages at Bar 96 and Clive.  And, of course, there's only one way to conclude your night in downtown Austin - waffle sandwiches at 24 Diner.  Sunday was pretty uneventful as everybody had to leave fairly early to get home for various events.

I seriously cannot be grateful enough for this most wonderful of surprises.  It's such a special, sentimental thing to have been close friends with someone for most of your life through the good and the bad, the hugs and the fights and the tears.  It's so crazy to think of everything...all the memories we'll all hold so close inside our thoughts and hearts.  These feelings and remnants of life are truly unmatched by all else.  LOVE LOVE LOVE to my ladies :)