Chicago Day 1

Last weekend I flew to Chicago for my friend Kristyna's wedding. She was one of my closest friends at Baylor so I was excited to see her so happy and in love with her man! She was a beautiful bride, as you'll see...but here's a recap of our trip! Jenni came with me to see Chicago and we had a great time! Day 1-

Wake up at 4 AM to head to the airport. Willow was so tired she refused to get out of bed!
Arrive at the gate and board the jet plane!
Take off!
Arrive in Chicago, head towards the subway, or as they say in Chicago, the L!
Ride the L from O'hare to Downtown!
Check in at our home away from home, the Congress Plaza Hotel!
Walk to the Buckingham Fountain
Watch the water show!
Walk to Millennium Park for some more fountain fun!

Self photograph in front of the shiny bean at Millennium Park, with Chicago behind us!
Giordano's Chicago style deep dish pizza for lunch, yum!
Stand on The Ledge at Willis (Sears) Tower, a glass balcony 103 feet above Chicago!!!

Walk State Street and see the Chicago Theatre!
Wait in line and consume Garrett's famous Chicago Mix popcorn, Cheese - Caramel Mix!
Go to open house at Kristyna's beautiful new condo on Michigan Avenue! She has a great view of Soldier Field where DA Bears play!
Day 2 to come...

Chicago Day 2

Day 2 started on a quest to get to Navy Pier!
We wanted to ride the giant ferris wheel

First we headed out on Lake Michigan for a skyline boat tour

It was really cold, and of course since it's Chicago it was super windy!

Next we had lunch at a fancy place on Navy Pier...Jenni wanted oysters

Finally we hopped onto the ferris wheel and see the city from above

I was a little nervous, it goes so high up in the air, but that view was amazing!

It was almost wedding time so we had to make a mad dash back to the hotel, then I left for the church, thank goodness Chicago is an easy city to navigate!

The 3 pm wedding at St. James Cathedral was a traditional hour long service.

The newlyweds couldn't have looked happier! Mr. & Mrs. Abraham Munoz!

After a cocktail hour (complete with a mariachi band) we headed into the reception at the Newberry Library, a beautiful place!

I had a tasty cilantro chipotle tilapia with squash and potato sides, so yum!

Another friend from Baylor, Diana Tavares who will be a bride in just 6 weeks!

We were all in the same sorority and had such a great time celebrating with Kristyna! After fun in a photo booth, a tasty dinner & dessert there was plenty of dancing and fun! On my way back to the hotel I stopped by the beautiful Chicago Water Tower.

We were exhausted at the end of our two days, and woke up the next morning only to head back to the airport and home to Texas! God was so good to provide a safe, fun trip! I was worried I wouldn't even get to go since I missed work the entire week before after a back injury, so I was pretty pleased with all we did and the fact that I got around all weekend! Thank you Lord!

#1 Mom

You can call me biased, but I have the best mom in the world!

After pulling my back out of line Saturday I've been in some serious pain for the past few days. Yesterday morning I called her at 7:30 in the morning when I literally couldn't get out of bed, and asked if she could come by and feed Willow before she went to work. Not only did she come over and feed my dog, she called her job and said she wasn't coming in, then ended up taking care of me all day!

She helped me out of bed, took me to the doctor, then to the hospital for x-rays, filled my car with gas, got me lunch and my prescriptions and THEN cleaned my house! Did I mention she brought me homemade cookies? Today she showed up again with a tasty lunch from Potbelly, and I just can't help but tell you all how wonderful she is! Thanks Mom, I wuv ewe!

We Need To Talk...

I want to talk about something that's heavy on my mind.

Human Trafficking.

I've been naive to believe that this is only a problem in corrupt countries far from the place I call home. I've been wrong to think that there's nothing I can do that will make a difference.

Over the past few months my eyes have been opened to horrific things that are happening only 10 miles from my happy, family friendly, seemingly perfect suburb.

Did you know...

~The FBI says Human Trafficking is the #1 criminal industry in the world.

~An estimated 600,000-800,000 people are smuggled into the US each year for trafficking purposes.

~80% of these victims are women and young children.

~Houston is known as the sex capital of the United States.

Are you uncomfortable yet?

I am.

I'm uncomfortable with the fact that young girls are enslaved in 'massage parlors' where they're raped as many as 20 times a day for profit that goes straight to a pimp.

I'm uncomfortable with the fact that girls are being taken from their communities, and within 24 hours are across our borders in countries where they cannot communicate due to language barriers...and we never hear from them again.

I'm uncomfortable with the fact that our police departments dismiss them as "run-aways."

I'm uncomfortable with the fact that our entire country only has about 44 beds to house those who are rescued from this sickening industry.

44.

Isaiah 42:16 says

"I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, in paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them and rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do, and I will not leave them undone."

If God promises to put and end to their darkness, shouldn't we want to do the same???

The church must get involved in ministries that are fighting the HUGE problem that is human trafficking.

This weekend we have a chance to raise awareness, and raise money to bring hope to those who are enslaved.

Just Run for a Just Cause.

A 5k or 1 mile family fun run/walk

September 18, 2010. 8:00 AM

Details Here:

http://www.kingsland.org/justrunforajustcause

We CAN make a difference, and God is calling us to bring his light into the darkness!!!

Hope to see you there!

Sprinkles vs. Crave

There's a sweet feud going on in our country as bakers everywhere are competing for the title of 'Best Cupcake Bakery'. Two of the top contenders in Houston are nationally known Sprinkles Cupcakes and locally born Crave Cupcakes. For a while now I've been wanting to see what all the fuss is about and make my own decision about which bakery bakes better, so I arranged a taste testing.

My first stop was Sprinkles. I have to say this place won me over in the atmosphere category. Though it's smaller than Crave, it's all around cuter, cozier and more quaint. I was so distracted by all the cupcake flavors I forgot to take a picture, but I found the one above on their website.

Next I headed a few miles west to Crave Cupcakes. The vibe is a little retro, and in my opinion kind of uninviting. However the competition isn't who has the coolest decor, it's about the cupcakes people! (Photo taken from Crave.)

For our taste testing I purchased a chocolate cupcake with vanilla icing, and a strawberry cupcake from both bakeries.

Once I got home we poured ourselves some milk shots to help 'cleanse the palette' between bites, and we got down to business.

A few comparisons to begin:

Prices are the same at Crave & Sprinkles at $3.25/cupcake.

Crave's cupcakes were slightly larger than Sprinkles'.

Each bakery has a cute distinct topper, Crave's is their signature stand mixer, Sprinkles uses a color coordinating dot.

Both make really yummy cupcakes....

However this was a contest...

and the winner is...

Sprinkles!

We felt that Sprinkles' cupcakes were much more moist and had richer, smoother, velvety frosting.

But....

there's a twist....

Truth be told, as good as both Crave and Sprinkles cupcakes were....we truly preferred a signature cupcake from our local Ooh La La Dessert Boutique!

Ooh La La makes a bigger, cheaper, tastier cupcake and we just can't find anything better!

Willow's 3rd Birthday!

I can't believe my young pup is 3 years old!

Last year I decided that for Willow's birthdays we'd have a dog party each year and invite one friend for each year old Willow turns. So, that meant this year she was allowed to have 3 friends at her party! Turns out due to some...personality conflicts...we had to have two party locations to be able to include all three friends in the party!

The friends were....

Harlow Rovell

Manna Rowe

Baylor Disano

Of course the party had a theme of 3's...

3 canned dog food cakes with peanut butter drizzle

3 cupcake designs-W, 3, paw

3 shapes of homemade dog treats as party favors

a 3 year old who absolutely adores Willow

She enjoyed her cake...

Karo got her a present which she LOVED!

...and quickly shredded.

It's her party, she'll shred if she wants to...

Happy Birthday lovie!

LISA!

Someone new is living in our house!

Jenni and I have become good friends with Lisa (above right) over the past year through our church singles group, and we've been joking for about 6 months now that she just needs to move into our extra bedroom already so we can hang out all the time and re-create the college life! Of course we're a bit older, busier (and therefore more tired) than we were in college, but it has been really fun to have another roommate to share daily life with!

When I bought my house, I began to dream that it would become a place where girls could live and grow together in the Lord, and God has blessed me with two wonderful roommates to bring that dream to life!
Welcome home Lisa!