March Photo Challenge Day 2

Today's theme: Water 

March Photo Challenge

I've read about these before and I've always wanted to do one so here we go- I'm doing a photo challenge! I've taken one photography class and I'm taking another one this weekend, so I'm totally gonna be using my camera more and more! 
Here is the link if you want to join me! Facebook Photo Challenge 

Day 1's theme was green, so here is my green!

Late Valentine's Day

Apparently I never published this...

Valentine's Day, the actual day, was pretty quiet over here.  Since we had just returned from Austin, we decided to just celebrate Valentine's Day at home making dinner and opening a bottle of wine we got at one of the vineyards on NYE. 

This weekend on the other hand...we celebrated! 
Will decided to have people over for a Valentine's themed party.  I was quite proud of him...he decorated everything by himself (I only had to re-arrange a few things), cleaned his house, had plenty of wine and even had activities!  I didn't take any pictures, but here is a little recap! 
For the first hour or so, we did nothing but chat, drink wine and eat (note to self- next time eat more, drink less).  Since we had friends over who had never met, we did cheezy introductions and had a lot of fun laughing at stories. 

After everyone knew each other, we wrote each other Valentine's cards that had little funny stories on them!  Will had this valentine's mailbox that we put all the cards in, then one by one, pulled them out and read them outloud.  After someone read the card, everyone tried to guess who the card was to and who it was from.  There were sweet cards, funny cards, inside jokes, even a husband who forgot to write a card to his wife!

I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard!  It was great joining our friends together and just hanging out.  I did take a few "post party" pictures of valentine's so I will leave you with those!

Chris knows!

Keep Austin Weird

One of my Christmas presents this year was tickets to my favorite musical, Wicked! 

After work on Friday, we packed the car and headed to Austin!  Traffic wasn't bad on the way down and we were in Austin before we knew it!  Our hotel was in a part of town where there was little parking and quite a few cars!  I may or may not have been stressing out in the passenger seat for the last 10 minutes of the drive. 

After getting checked into the hotel, we had dinner at a little diner called The Snack Bar in front of the hotel. We met Will's parents for dinner and they took his dog back to their house for the weekend. After perusing the menu, I decided that I wasn't NOT in an adventurous mood (yep, it was one of "those" places) and ordered a cheeseburger.  Will was feeling like ordering something new, and ordered lentil Soup, then was surprised when he didn't like it.  Really?!?  It's lentil soup...what's to love?!? Just goes to show you that my theory of "when in doubt, order a burger" works! 

Saturday, we walked up and down Congress Street (mostly because I didn't want to move the car again), and wasted time going in and out of antique shops and boutiques.  My major score of the weekend was a black coat that was originally $150, marked down to $50!  We ate brunch and bloody marys at the fabulous Congress Street Cafe...it made up for the mediocre food from the night before. We also stopped by Hey Cupcake for some amazing cupcakes!  We walked around a little bit more, then went back to the hotel to rest for a bit before the theatre!

Wicked started at 8, and we got to the theatre around 7:20, so we got to people watch ( which means I judged people based on what they are wearing).  Wicked was as wonderful as it was the first 2 times! 

After Wicked, I had promised to take Will for Amy's Ice Cream, this local ice cream shop that he raved about.  Well the valet decided just to leave my car on the street and we had to hunt down the keys...those valet people aren't the brightest bunch...they wouldn't give us the key to MY car.  They wanted proof it was my car, I asked it the valet ticket we had with the number that matched the tag on the key was enough proof...idiots...

We didn't think we would make it to Amy's after the valet fiasco, but when we drove by it was still open...after hours!  We parked the car at the hotel and ran across the street, he got his Amy's Ice Cream as promised! 

We woke up on Sunday morning and had a nice long breakfast at IHOP with his parents and sister and then headed back to Dallas to make Mark and Greer's Super Bowl party!   All in all it was a great weekend!

A box came in the mail today...

I knew this box was coming today...I waited all day for it.  I couldn't wait to get home, and when I did, it was waiting for me on my doorstep. 

This is the box that was waiting on me.  That's right, I get King Cakes shipped to me.  My Granddad and Nanny love me. 

And this is not just any King Cake...this is a Meche's King Cake!  Meche's is a donut shop in Lafayette that puts Dunkin Donuts to shame.  No other donuts even hold a candle to Meche's.  The shop in Lafayette that I always go to when I am home always has at least 3 cashiers working at all times and there is usually a line behind all 3 cashiers.  On the weekends, they usually have 6 registers open and the line is out the door. 

Yep, Meche's is voted the BEST King Cake and BEST Donut in town!   Meche's includes a history of the king cake, just in case you have been living in a place that doesn't celebrate Mardi Gras, like the place I live now...

And if you are really good, your Nanny sends you Mardi Gras beads in the box!

After unwrapping cutting through 2 layers of packing tape, 2 boxes and 4 layers of saran wrap, I was ready to dive in!

What is that little tan thing on the left?  Why that is the baby!  Every King Cake has a baby.  When I was younger the bakery used to put the baby in the bottom of the cake for you.  The tradition is that who ever go the baby had to bring the next King Cake.  Apparently people are idiots and can't figure out how to chew their food before swallowing it.  People tried to sue bakeries and now they just include the baby on top of the cake and it's the responsibility of the person who brought the cake to place the baby in.  And the babies are quite a bit bigger now...maybe that represents how fat you get after you eat a king cake. 

Soo, I may have forgotten that I am eating healthy and working out more and had a little piece of King Cake...

I may or may not have eaten that whole piece...I'm just saying...

So, I have a huge King Cake that I'm offering out!  If you would like some, stop on by and I will give you a healthy piece.  This stuff freezes well, so you can cut it into smaller pieces and freeze what you don't.  Any takers? It's REALLLLLLLLLY GOOD!

Ok, I'm going to spend the rest of the evening working the King Cake off my butt!


You're welcome and I'm sorry

I found another blog that had a recipe I wanted to try.  I had all the ingredients, so no shopping trip was a major bonus in making this recipe. 
Without further adieu, I give you
Cinnamon Sugar "Donuts"
Ingredients:
Biscuits in a can (any size, any kind)
Cinnamon - about 3 tbsps
Sugar- about 3 tbsps
Butter- 3 tbsps
vegetable oil

1.  In a large pan, pour oil to cover bottom of pan.  Turn heat on medium.
2.  While oil is heating, open you can of biscuits- if you are using Grands biscuits, you can cut out the centers to make them look like donuts.  I used the smaller biscuits, so I didn't cut holes. 
3.  Melt you butter in a wide, shallow dish.
4.  Mix your cinnamon sugar in another wide, shallow dish.  If you want to add more cinnamon or sugar, feel free!
5.  Place biscuits in the oil and "cook" on each side until golden brown (about 1 minute).  If your biscuits are burning, lower the heat and wait a few minutes before trying again.  If they burn...they are still good...I speak from experience!
6.  After cooking on both sides, remove biscuits from oil and let drain on a paper towel. 
7.  Dip each side of each biscuit in the melted butter, then in the cinnamon sugar.

Like I said, you're welcome and I'm sorry...

Getting to Know You

Lauren M tagged me in a fun little "Getting to Know You" post, so I am passing it along!

Hope you enjoy!

First Things First, The Rules:

- First you must post 11 facts about yourself

- Then you must answer the questions the person who tagged you wrote for you.

- Come up with 10 new questions

- Tag people and let them know!

Eleven Fun Facts About Me:

1. I am an only child and have never wanted siblings.  When I was 9, I even told my dad not to get remarried because I wanted to be the only woman in his life. 
2. I was so upset when my parents told me I was going to Catholic school for high school, but it ended up being the best decision.  I loved my high school experience and I don't think my faith would be as strong as it is had I not gone to STM. 
3. The best $40 I have ever spent was the day I bought CC. 
4. I have lived by myself for the past 7 years and have loved it!
5. I used to hate my middle name, but now I love it because it's different. 
6. When people are late it annoys me.  It annoys me even more when they don't let me know they will be late or they don't have a good reason for being late. 
7. I owned my own home two weeks before my 25th birthday. 
8. I really like working.  I don't know if I could ever not work, at least part time. 
9. Mary Poppins is my all time favorite movie and Wicked is my all time favorite musical. 
10. If I could only travel to one place, I would go to Vatican City
11. My dad made all of my furniture in my bedroom and my guest bed. 

1. What is your favorite vacation spot? What fond memory do you have of the place? I love taking cruises!  My dad's family has taken two family cruises, so eating meals together is a great memory. 
2. If you could go back in time and meet anyone, who would it be and why? I have always wanted to go back to the Elizabethean era, just for the clothing.  I would want to meet the original Queen Elizabeth. 
3. If you could take a class to learn something new, what would it be? What would you do with your new skill? I'm dying to learn how to sew, but just haven't found the time to sit down and learn.  I want to learn to make things like curtains and pillows. 
4. What is your best childhood memory?  I think I have too many of them to name just one!
5. What is your favorite sweet treat to bake? I love making cupcakes!  There is something so cute about them!
6. What recent movie made you laugh outloud? Which made you cry? Laugh- Something Borrowed, Cry- I can't remember. 
7. What is a book you could read over and over and over again? Caddie Woodlawn...LOVE it!
8. What is something on your bucket list that you want to do? What is something you already have done? Something on my bucket list is to visit Vatican City and attend mass said by the Pope.  Something I have already done is get my Masters degree.
9. What is something you would NOT do for $1 million?  I would NOT betray my family. 
10. What is something you hope to pass on to your children? The importance of education and my faith. 

Questions to Answer

1.  How many times have you been in love?

2.  If you could go back and change one thing, what would it be?

3.  What is the first thing you do every morning?

4.  What is the last thing you do at night?

5.  What is something (not a person) you can't live without?

6.  What is your guilty pleasure? 

7.  Are you more of a workout person or a diet person? 

8.  If you never had to worry about money, what would you do every day?

9.  What does your makeup routine consist of? 

10.  What is the most expensive piece of clothing (not including accessories) you own? 

People I Tagged: 

Alisha 

Meagan

Whitney

Melanie

Kate 

Jennifer

Michael

Questions to me from Lauren M