Serendipity Sarah

Fumpkin Characters

2011-10-08T11:56:00.000-07:00

I want to share an activity we did at work this week that turned out to be pretty easy and super cute!
We have a volunteer group from BP that comes once a month to do activities with or for our patients. This month we put them to work decorating fumpkins (faux pumpkins- thank you KB for that word!) to make them resemble popular children's book characters. Here's how it goes...
First choose your characters-

101 Dalmations Puppy

Toy Story Alien

The Grouchy Ladybug

Buy craft pumpkins, tempera paint, Crayola model magic, pipe-cleaners, and googly eyes. You can get creative and add more embellishment, but those were our basic supplies for each character.

Depending on your character choice, you may need to paint your fumpkins. We painted mini fumpkins green to make the Very Hungry Caterpillar's body.

Glue on some felt, pipe cleaners, and Model Magic to create the character!

Set out with the book and enjoy!

I might have made the caterpillar a little more curvy, but he's pretty cute in the window!

Hint- we attached his body with popsicle sticks

Kids will enjoy reading the book while hanging out with their fumpkin character! Our patients had a blast doing this, and we've put all of them on display in our library. In a few weeks we'll have story time and give away the characters to our patients!

I have to say, the Toy Story alien, and the dalmation in the left side of this picture were two of my favorites!!

Oh, and the best part is, they won't rot so you can keep your character all year!

And then there were two...

2011-10-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

Today is a sad day in my home! As of this evening I will have only one roommate. Jenni is moving out as she starts nursing school, and although I hoped she'd never leave I'm excited for this new chapter of life she is starting! So long, farewell, come over as much as you can!! You've been the best roommate, and we'll miss you and Harlow!!!

2011-09-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my sister in law Jessica, I have a new obsession! It's replaced my Facebook habit, and I want everyone to join!
www.pinterest.com is a website that lets you 'pin' anything you like on the internet. Maybe a cute idea from a blog, a fun sweater to buy, a recipe for dinner, you name it! Users create 'boards' to categorize their pins as they choose.
I've been on Pinterest two weeks now and have already found lots of crafty ideas for home, work and the holidays. Fun decorating ideas for when I start to decorate my guest bedroom, cute photography ideas for my someday wedding, inspirational messages and reminders about who I am etc etc etc!
This first thing I made didn't actually come from Pinterest, but from my SIL Jessica again. She is so crafty that girl, and every time I go to their house I come home with new decorating ideas! She made a 'What's for Dinner' board out of a large frame, a little burlap, some ribbon, and chunky pinboard scrapbooking letters. Use a dry erase marker to write on the frame's glass and erase to change the next week!
Such a cute idea, and so helpful to stay on track with your menu planning!
Here's my copy-

This week I've also tried two new recipes from Pinterest. Such a yummy, inspiring, and better way to waste time online!

Blonde vs. Brunette

2011-09-17T10:33:00.000-07:00

Every 2 or 3 years I decide that I'm tired of highlighting my hair and decide to go brown.

The first year I did this was in college. I went to a stylist in town I had never used before, and it went terribly wrong! Blonde turned Ashlee Simpson black!

so many things wrong here....

The next time I had better luck, two years later when my first niece was born!

Baby Emmy! And kind of red-ish brown.

A few years later I tried again...this time it went really red!

Finally! My hair color matches my brows!

At last perfect success from highlighted blonde to my natural color. Bravo!

Eventually I got bored, and went back to my hair frying, highlighting ways.....and started this cycle all over again! Now that it's fall I've decided to go darker, and had hopes of achieving my natural hair color again...

The things us girls do...

This time, I'm somewhere in between. It's not so dark I hate it, but it's definitely darker than my natural color I showed my stylist. Every time I pass a mirror I'm shocked by the reflection I see because it's not how my brain thinks I look...but I'm getting used to it!
I'll probably be back in the stylist's chair come spring ready for the return of the blonde!

NYC Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island

2011-09-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

Tuesday July 12, 2011

Our final day of vacation didn't actually take place in New York City.
We had tried earlier in the trip to go to Ellis Island and to see the Statue of Liberty, but the ferry lines were crazy long and we thought we'd try boarding from the New Jersey side and make a day of it on Tuesday.
So we had one final breakfast with Aunt Martha and she kindly drove us to Liberty State Park where we boarded the ferry to Ellis Island. Before boarding the ferry we walked around the Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal where immigrants used to board trains to their new homes around the country!

The train tracks are covered with greenery now
but you can still see the signs for each track

Boarding Miss New Jersey to go to Ellis Island!

Leaving Liberty State Park

View of NYC from New Jersey

Arriving at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum
Jenni was really excited to look up the names of her ancestors
who came to America as immigrants.

Great Hall- immigrants were lined up here to be processed

We were able to walk through several of the check points that
immigrants were forced to pass through before being allowed to enter America.

After a quick lunch we boarded the ferry again and headed over to Liberty Island to see the statue.

I bought a little light up torch for work and had to strike a pose like the lady!

Jenni at Liberty Island

Me and Lady Liberty

Fun benches on the island.

When we had seen all we came to see we rode the ferry back to Liberty State park where my cousin picked us up and drove us to the airport to fly home. It was such a fun trip! We saw everything on our list and even a few places we hadn't planned on. It's safe to say we heart NY!

And that's what I did on my summer vacation...

NYC cont'd...

2011-09-09T14:57:00.000-07:00

MONDAY JULY 11, 2011

Monday was a day we had been waiting for!

When we decided to go to NYC, we decided it would be fun to see a TV show taping. After much thought we chose to try and get tickets to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. We love the show, and started calling the NBC ticketing line every day 2 months before our trip. About a month before the trip Jenni got through, and they were giving out tickets for the days we would be there! Tickets were free, but we had to show up early enough to get a seat in the audience because they overbook every show to make sure the audience gets filled.

So, Monday became the NBC day.

We woke up early, rode the train into the city and headed straight towards 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

Had to stop by Dean & Deluca (Felicity fans, anyone?!?) for breakfast
before our day of NBC fun! It's just around the corner from the Today show
and is where Kathie Lee & Hoda's coffee is made each morning!

To be in the lines for the Today show segments I read that you have to arrive at 4 or 5 AM, so we decided to skip on that and just observe from afar when we got there.

We caught one of the last segments from the Today show that was taping outside, something like outdoor grilling...

Today show outdoor set

Above the plaza at 30 Rock
In the summer it's a restaurant, in the winter the
famous ice skating rink and Christmas Tree!

After checking out the streets, we decided to head to the top for a better view! Top of the Rock is

(in my opinion) the best view of the city from above! We had visited Empire State Building and seen the city from the observatory, but I like that Top of the Rock has three levels of observatories. The higher you go, the better and less restricted the view.

NYC Summer 2011

From the top deck

Central Park from the top deck

Central Park

The New years Eve ball in Times Square

Empire State Building

After our trip to the Top of the Rock we decided to try and see the last stop on our City Pass. The Modern Museum of Art. It was a few blocks hike north, but we made it just before the museum opened for the day, and hopped in the front of the lines!

Jenni checked out Picasso

and one beautiful Starry Night

I found Monet's water lillies
Next to me there was a class of about 30 high school age kids with an art teacher, and they were discussing the painting, and what it made them feel. I was so tempted to sit down and pretend I was a student. Ahhh the life of a kid in NYC.....

Once we left the MOMA, it was time to hike back to 30 Rockefeller Plaza. On the way we passed Radio City Music Hall!

Love the Hipstamatic app for these fun pics!

Back at NBC. I've always wanted to go to the Rainbow Room- so fancy!

When we arrived we decided to get in line and go on the NBC Studio Tour.

I've done the studio tours on previous visits, but like to do it each time I go to NYC. This time we got to walk on the sets of Nightly News with Brian Williams, Sunday Night Football, and Saturday Night Live! It's fun to walk the halls of the studios where famous people work! Sadly, no pictures allowed inside NBC, but it was something I'll always remember!

After the hour long studio tour we sat in the NBC Digital Cafe to stake out our spot in line to get armbands that would guarantee our seat in the audience at Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

We sat for 2 + hours, scoping out how many people might be there for the studio tour, how many were there for Jimmy, and where our best place to stand was so that we could run to the front of the line when it was formed! Turns out I think most people got in, but we weren't risking it!

OMG we're going to see Jimmy Fallon!!!

So worth the wait, we were so excited to meet Jimmy!!!

We had two hours between the time we got armbands, and the time they would line us up for the show, so we decided to grab some lunch at a tasty sandwich shop called 'wichcraft in the underground shopping area, and then do some shopping in the NBC store. We each got Late Night t-shirts, I bought the 'Thank You Notes' book (based on the skit on his show, so funny!) and a few souveniers for our friends and families.

While we were shopping a girl approached us and asked if we would be interested in watching Jimmy Fallon rehearse his monologue in the studio. We were all about it, until she saw our wristbands and said that audience members weren't allowed to do both. So, if you want to see Jimmy but can't get tickets, hang around the NBC store and see if you can get invited to watch the monologue rehearsal, you just might get to help Jimmy know if the jokes are funny enough to make the final cut for that night's show!

With my wristband and Jimmy ticket...so fun!!

Two hours is a long time when you're really excited, so we decided to obnoxiously take
pictures in front of any and all things NBC.

NBC made from M&M's

Finally the time came to line up for the show! We had no idea how they assigned seating, but we were given a letter ticket, while half of the audience members were given number tickets.

We LUCKED OUT! Turns out letters were seated first, and we scored two seats in the front row!!!Again, no pictures allowed inside of Jimmy's studio, so the only way I could prove it happened was to hope we made it on camera!

That's right friends, FRONT ROW seats!!!!
When it came time to play a game called "The Roots Make up Songs About Audience Members"
Jimmy stood right next to me to announce the game! I was totally and completely star struck!

When we got home we took pictures of the tv as we watched the episode we had DVR'd. Above you see Jenni and I clapping, and below my 'OMG Jimmy Fallon!!!' face as he talks to the Roots.

He's RIGHT THERE!!!!!

This show was absolutely one of my favorite NYC memories! Jimmy was so funny, at the end he came around and shook my hand as he patted my shoulder, and thanked us for coming out. I swear in the middle of a commercial break he looked straight at me and smiled! He was such a nice guy!

The Roots were an amazing band, and I remember when they came out to kick off the show everyone screamed so loud -including me :) - that I thought I was going to pass out! The audience warm up guy was hilarious, and the show flew by in just an hour and 6 minutes! The guests that night were Kid Rock, Emily Rose, and musical guest Panda Bear. I wasn't a huge fan of any of the guests, but just seeing the whole process was incredible. If you're looking for a taping to attend in NYC, I'd say go for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, so so so fun!!

After our long day of fun we walked from 30 Rockefeller to NY Penn station to catch our last train ride from NYC to Summit. By this time we were really good at public transit, we had learned to navigate the subways, cabs and trains like a pro!

Stay tuned for our Statue of Liberty day!

NYC cont'd...

2011-09-04T10:42:00.001-07:00

SUNDAY JULY 10, 2011

Sunday morning we woke up in the apartment in Greenwich Village and got ready for our walking tour. We booked the I Heart NY tour with Celebrity Planet Tours, and arrived at The Pulitzer Fountain to meet our tour guide. Here's a photo re-cap of the sites we saw on the walk:

Plaza Hotel above, Pulitzer fountain below.

This summer they had these statues on display showcasing the Chinese zodiac symbols.
Another shot of the Plaza Hotel, reminded me of Home Alone 2!

Tiffany & CO--------Bergdorff Goodman

Trump Tower ---------- 30 Rock

Service was in progress at St. Patrick's Cathedral
The church is undergoing renovations right now, still so pretty!
We stopped to go in the lobby at the Waldorf Astoria, so so fancy! I wish we could have stayed here, it reminds me of the movie Serendipity, one of my faves!!!

Our tour guide made us check out the bathrooms while we were at the Waldorf, and we were glad we did! Possibly the fanciest bathroom I've ever been in my life!

Next we went to Grand Central Terminal...been here before but loved seeing it again!
Fun fact about Grand Central- any filming crews that want to shoot on location have to do it between some crazy hour like 1-3 in the morning. So, next time you see this place in a commercial, chances are it was filmed in the night and lit to look like daytime.

Later we walked by the New York Public Library, and wanted to go in to see the famous Reading Room. Sadly the library is closed on Sundays, so a picture outside was the best we could do. Maybe next trip!
Behind the NY Public Library sits Bryant Park, home of fashion week! It's gorgeous, and the weather that day made us see why so many people were camped out on the lawn with books!

Times Square was the last stop on our tour so we picked up a few souveniers and enjoyed all the lights and signs! Funny story- our tour guide was an aspiring actor (aren't they all?) and on the walk from Bryant Park to Times Square he started singing to us, bragging about how low he could sing. We laughed awkwardly, and he kept up the crooning all the way down the block!
After the walking tour we decided to head south to Battery Park and see if we could catch one of the afternoon ferry's over to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We hopped on the subway, grabbed a hot dog from a street vendor and headed towards the ferry lines. Turns out Sunday afternoon is SUPER busy, so we decided to put that off until another day. We walked a while to SoHo and visited the Shabby Chic store...one of my favorite places!!
I love how frilly and girly everything in this store is!
When checking in at Shabby Chic on facebook (we definitely abused the FB check in feature on this trip!) we noticed that Dash was just around the corner. I admit Keeping up with the Kardashians is my secret junk tv obsession, so we decided to go and see what their store was like. Turns out there's a line outside to get in, there's a bouncer at the door, and they didn't exactly like us taking pictures. Oh well!

Next we caught a cab and rode up to the Empire State Building to see the city from above!

When I went to NYC for the first time in high school we went to Empire State and before going to the observation deck decided to go on the Sky Ride. It was new at the time and is a simulated ride that makes you feel like you're in a helicopter flying through NYC. I told Jenni how fun it was when I went and that we should definitely do it. 20 nauseating minutes later I was sorry I did! Let's just say the technology hasn't improved and isn't as impressive as it was 10 years ago!

Anyway, here are the pictures from the top of Empire State...

After all that we headed back to NY Penn Station to catch the next train to Summit. Aunt Martha had a tasty dinner for us, and we had fun telling the family all about our day's events!

Monday coming soon...

NYC cont'd...

2011-09-03T16:11:00.000-07:00

SATURDAY JULY 9, 2011

Saturday morning we woke up, checked out of the Hilton Fashion District, and met Aunt Martha! She came to pick us up and take us to fun crafty places that she frequents! We started off with Pearl, an art supply that also sells really cool handmade paper. I LOVE some of the stuff I got here, and am so excited to get crafting with it!

Pearl is close to China town so we asked a local what a good place to eat was, and were directed to 'the place with the ducks hanging in the window' a few blocks down. They weren't kidding!

We were the only white people in the place, and were seated at a table for 6. When another couple of white girls came in they were seated with us. Guess they figured we could talk!
Next we were off to MOOD! I was really excited to go since I love Project Runway, and have been learning to sew with my new sewing machine at home. I knew I wanted to find some upholstery fabrics so I could make curtains, pillows or other home decor pieces. Here were a few things I liked....
Got a yard of the fabric above for pillows, and liked the sheer rosettes below...

Almost bought the one above for curtains, and did buy the one below (but in red) for my mom!
Oh so many buttons and zippers! Jenni almost got the fabric below for a shower curtain...

Once we arrived I knew I was going to have a tough time deciding! We joked when we left that I experienced every emotion possible while at Mood, first excitement over the endless possibilites, then I was overwhelmed because of the many choices, then completely frustrated and kinda over it because I couldn't decide...then pure joy over the purchases I made! Oh it was so fun though, I can totally see why it's so hard to shop there in the 30 minutes PR allows on the show!
"Thank you Mood!"

After Mood we walked over to Tinsel Trading Company. Aunt Martha had told me all about this place, and I couldn't wait to get there! The store was full of embellishments, trims, papers, you name it! Some of it was brand new while some of their finds are vintage from many years ago! I ended up buying a collection of glass glitter in pretty colors for my crafting!

Rubber stamps, buttons, letters, embellishments galore!
I was so inspired in this store! Wish I could have a crafting vacation in the city!

After Tinsel Trading we made a stop at NY Cake & Baking Supply- the biggest cake decorating store I've ever been to! I've really got to sign up for a cake decorating class!!!
After a day of creative shopping we headed over to Greenwich Village where Aunt Martha's friend Kim has an apartment. She invited us to stay there one night, and we were so excited to get to hang out in the village and pretend we were locals!
After we got settled in at the apartment we walked to dinner just a few blocks away at The Spotted Pig. We heard that Jennifer Aniston had her birthday dinner here last year, so we knew it had to be good!

We started with drinks, and decided that it would be fun to order appetizers based on the coolest name, no questions asked. We ended up with Roll Mops, Devils on Horseback, and Roasted Bone Marrow. Below are the Devils on Horseback- poached pear, stuffed inside a date, wrapped in bacon, sprinkled with chili powder. Talk about different, and definitely tasty!!!

The Roll Mops were slices of pickled herring all rolled up, and were tasty...forgot a picture!

Roasted Bone Marrow would NOT have been my first choice, but I figured I should take a culinary leap while in the city! It was slimy, fatty, and served on top of toast with parsley.
For dinner I think we all ordered the same thing! The dinner menu that night had a Chargrilled burger with Roquefort and a side of shoestring fries. It was SOOOO GOOD!

No lettuce, no tomato, just good meat and roquefort cheese. Paired with a red wine and we had a delectable meal!!!
After all that eating we were pretty full, and decided to walk through the village and get a feel for the neighborhood.
I can see why so many people (FRIENDS included) would want to live in Greenwich Village. Compared to the rest of the city the Village has a quaint, neighborhoody feel. If only it were cheaper!!!
We walked for two hours, and found ourselves at Union Square where there was a salsa dance lesson going on. We weren't brave enough to join in, but we had fun watching people shake it!

On our way back we stopped for dessert at Magnolia Bakery. We got several kids of cupcakes and drooled over the tasty looking cakes they were making!

After enjoying our cupcakes, we settled in at the apartment and got a good night's sleep! Here are a few pictures from the apartment, we were so thankful to be able to stay in such a cozy and beautiful place for free!Living room with a view of the street! Below shows the tri-level floorplan of this cozy home!

Thanks for hosting us Kim! Sunday's shenanigans coming soon...

New York City 2011

2011-09-03T10:56:00.000-07:00

In July my roommate Jennifer and I went to NYC for vacation! We had originally planned to make it a BFF trip with our 3rd Musketeer from high school. Sadly plans changed and she couldn't come after all, but we still had a great time! (We missed you Elyse!)

I've been to NYC three times before, the first time with my Gramma Rowe who took me as a HS graduation gift! Second trip was by myself to visit my Aunt Martha who lives in Summit NJ only 45 minutes from NYC! Third trip was right before my senior year of college with my parents and brother Brad. All very fun, but this time going with a friend was just a different vibe! I was pretty excited to visit a few places I had yet to see, and had a great time with Jenni running non-stop through the city for 5 days!

In order to make the posting a little easier I've decided to post on each day, so I apologize in advance for so many posts on the same topic!

Thursday afternoon we flew from Hobby airport to Newark. My cousin Axel picked us up from the airport and we headed out to Summit New Jersey where my family lives. We settled into our cozy basement apartment, picked up Aunt Martha and my cousin George and went to have dinner at a Jersey diner!

This tasty dinner began the fight for the check, in which I unsuccessfully attempted to treat Aunt Martha to a meal...and continued to be unsuccessful for many meals to come! She down right spoiled us and was such a sweet hostess and tour guide!

FRIDAY JULY 9, 2011

Friday morning we got up early to catch a train from Summit to NYC. The train ride was about 40 minutes, and we quickly learned that you DO NOT talk on the commuter train. People are serious about their reading, working or sleeping on the train. It was a pretty ride in, and our final stop landed us at NY Penn Station, right under Madison Square Garden!

We stopped at a Lenny's for a quick bagel breakfast and coffee, yum!

After breakfast we hopped in a cab and rode to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This was one of our places that the City Pass got us into, and we had planned on starting there and then heading to two more museums that morning. Little did we know the Alexander McQueen exhibit was there! Although I like to pretend I'm fashionable, I have to admit I only knew his name because of the work his team did for Kate Middleton's wedding dress. People seemed really excited so we figured it was worth checking out! We hopped in line, waited 45 minutes and were SO glad we wandered upon that amazing collection! I bought a coffee table book with all the images from the collection, which has been really fun to look through and remember what we saw. I loved that some of his stuff was so frilly, while others were totally structured and some were almost ugly.
After the McQueen exhibit we trekked across Central Park (where I wish we had spent more time!) and headed towards the other museums on our list. We stopped for lunch at a really tasty organic/vegan place called Cafe Blossom. Next we walked to the American Museum of Natural History and had time to see the planetarium show that I thought was kind of a waste of our time. But if you want to hear Whoopie Goldberg talk about how the sun will someday explode and life on earth will end, maybe you would like it.

Friday night we booked a hotel so we could stay in the city for one night, and we chose the Hilton Fashion District. Although the room wasn't huge it had just opened in February 2011, and was down the street from Martha Stewart studios!
Since we ran around all day in the heat we checked in around 5 and showered, got dressed and fancy, then headed to Broadway!
Seeing Wicked was on the top of my to-do list this trip, so I was SO happy we made it happen! I am officially obsessed with this show!
The show was AMAZING and I wanted to go back the next night! Too bad Broadway isn't cheaper.... Wicked is traveling the country though and will be in Austin this next January, so you can bet I"ll be there!!!
After the show we walked a few blocks down to Times Square to check out all the lights at night.

It was raining a little bit but we had took it all in, snapped a few photos and then hailed a cab over to the always delicious Serendipity 3.I've visited this cozy little restaurant each time I go to NYC, and was excited to actually have dinner there since in the past I've always gone for their famous dessert! I love how girly and quirky this place is. Always something fun to look at.

I tried a tasty chicken salad that had lots of avocado, tomatoes and cucumbers! It was a HUGE portion though, and I wanted to save room for something sweet, so I know next time to share a meal!Jenni and I decided to share the Strawberry Fields Forever Sundae, and it was a great choice! Cheesecake topped with ice cream, strawberries and whipped cream...YUM!!!!!!!
After Serendipity 3 we went back to the Hilton to shower, sleep and check out the next morning!

Saturday coming soon....

Goodbye Blaze, Hello Quin!

2011-09-03T07:36:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking for a while now about trading my car in, but the problem is I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Trailblazer! I know you're thinking I'm crazy for having an emotional attachment to my car, but for some reason I was super emotional about the idea of letting Blaze go! I might have cried a little tiny bit...anyway....

I got her in college, she's green for Baylor, she's pretty on the inside, comfy with lots of room, and I have lots of memories in that car! Sadly Blaze has lots of miles, was requiring frequent repairs, and was losing trade in value....so I began the process of car shopping.

I had a few things on my wish list-

-iPod line in (so I could get rid of my FM transmitter!)

- similar size to Blaze

-dark color (green or slate gray)

-better gas mileage

-sunroof (I got spoiled on this one with Blaze!)

I compared the Ford Edge with the Chevy Equinox, and the Chevy Traverse. Traverse was out right away because of it's bigger size, and a third row of seats that I would never use. Ford Edge had a cool sun roof that was the length of the car, but the all around winner and fave was the Equinox! I test drove Monday morning, brought Blaze in that afternoon for a trade analysis, and brought in my secret weapon to seal the deal! (weapon of choice- wise man and highly skilled negotiator Mr. Dad Rowe)

After about an hour in the sales office I signed on the dotted lines and said goodbye to Blaze...

...& hello to Quin!

She's super cute, comfy, gets better gas mileage than Blaze, and is all mine!

I'm so thankful that this could happen, and have had loved driving anywhere and everywhere this past month! The color is called Mocha Steel Metallic and is absolutely gorgeous! We even had a little photo shoot out in the country where we got this beautiful picture!

Blog design for dummies?

2011-07-22T23:52:00.000-07:00

Well I'm clearly no pro at blog design, but I decided to mess around this afternoon and make a new header to go with my changed background. I've always taken backgrounds from Cutest Blog on the Block, but this time I made the header in powerpoint. I'm sure some of you may know an easier way I could do it, and maybe how to get the header centered on the middle column? If not, oh well, it's good enough for the next couple months until I'll begin to feel bored with it and change again!

27th Birthday

2011-07-04T19:40:00.001-07:00

This year we continued the tradition of celebrating my birthday at the houseboat! My roommates came along for the celebration and we got to see Greg, Gina, Ava and Austin too! My parents were so sweet to take us out on two lake cruises, and to cook tasty food for us all weekend! I felt so loved and really enjoyed being with my family and friends on my birthday! Here are the photos!

My sweet roommate Lisa donned the house with birthday decor! There were really fun streamers outside my bedroom, it was so fun to share the weekend with them!
Here's what I get when I ask Greg to smile for a picture....ohh brother... :)

Of course I had to bring my little furry friend with me! Willow loves the lake!
My sister in law Gina made me this AMAZING cake!! I could not get over how much detail and love she put into this tasty cake! I kept the flowers for two weeks at home and re-used them on my mom's birthday cake! Inside were two layers of chocolate with chocolate chip buttercream, YUM! Gina is so sweet!!!
Here I was swimming with lil Ava Claire! She was super brave and jumped right in the water with me! We had a blast swimming on the raft!
When I got back to work my co-workers made me this fun banner! Another reason I really love my new job!
Here's to twenty seven, may it be a year full of heaven! :)

Labster

2011-06-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

4 months ago (after MUCH begging on my part) my younger brother Brad got a lab puppy! Her name is Labby and I'm in love! Here are a few of my fave photos from her first 4 months!

The last time she and Willow peacefully co-existed, glad I documented it! Now Willow is super growly when Labby gets near her, I think she's just intimidated by Labby's size and energy!

Puppy graduation at Petsmart! She was the best in her class and passed her final with flying colors!

Above celebrating Brad's birthday, and below her favorite way to get a drink!

She may chew on everything, bite all fingers in site, and play a little rough with Willow but I love this girl! I'm so glad Brad got her!

Weekend with the Munoz's

2011-06-05T21:02:00.001-07:00

Last month one of my very best friends from Baylor, Kristyna came to visit! She and her husband are considering starting a business and wanted to come to town and see if Houston is a place they could make it work. I love living in Houston, but I always feel like it's hard to explain to people why it's so great here. To me it's just home!

Anyway we had a great time driving around some of the best parts of town, eating Texas steak (chicken for me of course!) and going to an Astros game! It was so fun to spend some time with Abraham, since I'd only met him twice before their wedding last September. Hope they liked Houston enough to move here and start their business!!

Best reception ever!

2011-06-04T20:42:00.001-07:00

OK married friends, don't be offended...

Tonight I attended the most creative and fun wedding reception of my life! My friends Laura and Will got married today at a beautiful church, and then had their reception at the Houston Natural Museum of Science! We had SO much fun checking out the giant dinosaur exhibit, reading about all sorts of ocean wildlife, and my favorite was going into the gem exhibit! I saw some of the most beautiful jewelry you could imagine! Laura and Will had their first dance in the middle of the gem hall and it couldn't have been more beautiful! The food was delicious and we had so much fun exploring the museum while the newlyweds mingled!
I was pretty forgetful as far as photos go during the ceremony and sadly never got a picture with the happy couple either! At least at the end we managed to get a few roommate photos in this great setting!

Oh and here's Jenni and me before we went to the rehearsal dinner Friday night. It was held on Rice University's campus, since that's where Laura & Will met. It was absolutely beautiful as well, and again super yummy food! We used this wedding as an excuse to shop for some new dresses, and loved having a reason to get all dressed up for the weekend! Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Conrad!

Birthday Season

2011-05-31T20:15:00.000-07:00

Tis the season to be older!
May-July is birthday season in my world! We start off with my brother on May 6, my 3 closest friends Elyse on the 18th, Lisa on the 21st, and Jenni on the 31st of May. June 4 is my cousin Laura's birthday, mine follows on the 12th, and then June 27 is my mom's (although we're required to celebrate her existence all month long!) June 27th is my Uncle Mark's birthday, then on July 16th we wrap up the season with my Dad's birthday. Oh, and then August 1 is my sister in law's birthday! So, needless to say I've had my fair share of cake lately, and by this time I'm starting to wonder what other celebratory dessert option I could pick for my birthday celebration. All this cake making has made me want to get into a cake decorating class, and my sister in law has inspired me to get crafty in the kitchen too! Check out her blog (Four Rowes and a Boo) for some really cute cake creations!
Anyway I'm rambling, but I wanted to just give a little shout out to my bestie who turned the big 27 today!

We've officially been friends for more than half our lives, and I am so thankful to have her in my life! She makes me laugh, she is the best roommate I could ask for, and we had a great time today celebrating her big day! We had breakfast, got our nails done, shopped til we dropped and then had Fro Yo to end the day! Happy Birthday Jenni!
P.S. The photo of us above was taken in Joplin 1 1/2 years ago, please remember to keep the people of Joplin in your prayers as they recover from the tornado devastation!

Duvet Shopping

2011-05-14T08:52:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was embossing a card for my co-worker and had a little ink accident that stained and ruined my duvet! Guess that's what I get for crafting in bed!
So began the hunt for a replacement. I love the all white bed because it seems to clean and crisp to me, so I was on the hunt for more white. I love the trend of ruffles and ruching that's been in style for the last few seasons so I decided to look at Anthro and PBarn. I settled on this gem from PBarn and absolutely love it! Super cute bow tie details at the bottom, and it's super soft too! Love this purchase! Let's hope I can keep the ink clear of this one!

Royal Wedding

2011-05-01T21:27:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I didn't really get into the Royal Wedding hype until the day of the wedding. My roommate had been talking about the event for weeks, and wanted to have a viewing party at 4 am complete with tea & crumpets! Turns out she had a viewing party with her mom, and at the last minute I decided to get up to watch the wedding live on TV.

I'm now obsessed. Here are some of my thoughts on their big day!

She's a REAL Princess!!! HOW COOL!!!!

Her dress was GORGEOUS! Also, totally what I would wear! I've been thinking it's about time for the strapless wedding dress trend to be over, and I think this dress will do it!

( I also loved the second dress she wore for the reception)

Speaking of, I wonder how quickly we'll see her dresses copied and in bridal stores.

I love that she wore her veil over her face, no one seems to do that anymore!

It was interesting to me how long her dad stayed at the altar.

I really loved how many traditions were tied into the ceremony.

I love that Catherine's brother read from Romans.

I love that the priest's comments about how every wedding is a royal wedding, as we are all sons and daughters of the Most High King.

Their kiss seemed so quick and rehearsed.

I think it's awesome that she did her own makeup.

Those official photos were so formal, I felt like they should have been sitting on thrones!

LOVE. THAT. TIARA!

I have got to visit London!

I loved the all boys choir, but some of that music made it difficult to stay awake at 5 AM!

I wonder if Kate was embarrassed that William had a hard time getting her ring on.

I got a tickle out of the fact that the queen didn't sing God Bless The Queen. Makes sense I guess...

I think we should wear hats to fancy events, however my head is abnormally large and I fear a hat would only emphasize the sucker.

I love that picture of the little bridesmaid covering her ears and crying on the balcony while William and Kate watched the air show. TOO CUTE!

Why is there a 5 in the license plate on their getaway car that said JU5T WED?

I can't imagine what it must be like to be her!!

You've Got A Friend...

2011-04-16T19:57:00.000-07:00

Meet my new co-workers! I've enjoyed getting to know these two gals, and am learning lots from them. We make a great team because we all have such very different experiences! I know God has knit us together as a team to start something really exciting at our new hospital, and I am excited to see how our working relationships and friendships develop!

And who wouldn't LOVE sharing an office with Buzz Lightyear and Woody????

AUSTIN!

2011-03-28T20:17:00.000-07:00

Finally!!! This weekend I was able to get away and meet my newest nephew Austin Gregory Rowe! That baby is adorable, and his laugh and smiles stole my heart!! Lucky me, I got to hold him lots, and was able to play with big sister Ava lots too! I love being an aunt to these cuties!!!

Survival Mode

2011-03-13T19:50:00.000-07:00

The past 6 weeks have felt like a blur to me! Lots has happened since I left my first job, the job I took right after my internship 4 short years ago! In fact I worked there 4 years exactly, my last day was actually my workiversary!

Four days later on February 7 I started my new position at Texas Children's Hospital. Since then it's felt like a whirlwind of activity! I was busy every weekend for the first 4 weeks, so when I wasn't at work I was taking care of kids, or attending my church's Women's retreat, or doing a training for the human trafficking ministry I'm involved in.

There were two or three nights in February that I came home, sat down on the couch around 7 PM and slept until the next morning, when I had to make the trek back to work!

The first two weeks of my job were spent training at Texas Children's in the Medical Center. I enjoyed getting to be in some new environments, but that 75 minute commute (each way!) was killer! I was so glad when March arrived and I got to begin work at my assigned location that's only a 20 minute commute from home!

Of course March also meant the opening of our hospital, so my work days have not slowed down a bit! Between completing orientation, learning new procedures, training staff, and seeing patients I've been moving ALL DAY LONG!

This week I started my new schedule of working Tuesday-Saturday so I'm looking forward to a day off tomorrow to get caught up on my to do list. Poor car has a long list of repairs and needs, and let's not even talk about how my house looks right now!!! Let's just say I won't be having anyone over until I have some big chunk of time to deep clean this place!

So, if you've been praying for me the past few weeks I greatly appreciate it! Hopefully soon I'll get used to the change and will find some time to update this little blog!

Thanks for checking in! Until my next free moment...

Sarah

Lazy dog days of....January???

2011-01-30T16:12:00.000-08:00

This weekend it was 73 and sunny, and I decided to soak up some of the beautiful sunshine in our backyard! Thanks to my Hipstamatic app, I got a few cute pics of the pups!

Can't wait 'til this kind of weather is the norm! Oh how I love Texas!

New Addition...

2011-01-25T22:27:00.000-08:00

Labby Rowe

My brother is getting her on February 4th, I can't wait to have her around!

Lighting McQueen Lunch

2011-01-25T21:54:00.000-08:00

For Christmas my roommate gave me a really cute cookbook that has recipes based on Disney characters. The recipes are easy, and designed to get kids involved in the kitchen, so of course I had to try it out when 2 of my nieces were here for New Years!

Since Emmy loves Cars we decided on Lightning McQueen turkey wraps. I got the ingredients and my mom, sister in law, Emmy, Hayden & Lincoln came over for lunch!

The girls enjoyed playing chef and since they were SO good I let them watch Cars while we ate! It was so cute when I told Hayden that I had the movie because she was quiet with a very thoughtful look on her face, and after a few seconds she asked...'do you have a couch?' Luckily I did, that girl needed a comfy place to watch her flick!

After the movie they played a quick concert on my piano, Emmy played hymns and Hayden played Happy Birthday to herself!

I hope next time they're in town we can have a full on girls night at my house, sleeping bags, popcorn and all!!

New Years!

2011-01-25T21:12:00.000-08:00

This year New Years was really exciting for me, it was the first chance I had to meet my nephew Lincoln Scott! Of course that meant some playtime with his big sisters, and lots of fun sibling time with their parents! Here's a recap!

Video games with Uncle Brad, and lots of cuddle time with Karo!

I soaked up the time I got with Lincoln, that boy is one good cuddler!

After Em opened her gift from me (a princess tea set with dress up clothes) we had to have a tea party to try it out!
Emmy & Hayden got special handmade quilts from Karo, here's Emmy's quilt.

She's SO excited!!!

Uncle Brad & the girls had fun at Chick-fil-A's playland, look at those smiles!

I'm not sure any of us made it til midnight after such a long day of presents and fun, but we managed to do some sparklers before bedtime. I shamelessly stole these pictures from my sister in law's blog, thanks Jess!

Happy 2011! May God's love be evident in your life all year long!

Lucky Willow!

2011-01-23T21:14:00.000-08:00

I know I love my dog an amount that some may call crazy...but let me just show you a little bit of proof that I'm not the only one crazy about this mutt! Over New Years my nieces were wacky for Willow! If they weren't petting her, they were reading to her, or watching movies with her. Emmy even helped me clean her ear one day when we noticed she was fighting a little infection off. I think they might need a little dog of their own...you decide!

Em helping inspect her ear, and both girls offering plenty of belly rubs...
melts. my. heart!

HK reading puppy stories to the puppy

Watching Toy Story 3 with Willow

Sweet kisses on Willow's head...just don't tell her daddy, he'd be way grossed out!

Oh, and I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual because this pup was one big mope after her friends went back to Dallas!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-23T20:10:00.000-08:00

This year Christmas was a little more low key than normal. Neither of my older siblings, sister in laws or nieces/nephews were in town for the holiday, so we decided to mix our usual traditions with some new ones!

Since Santa can't forget those children who are hospitalized on Christmas I usually go to work on Christmas Eve to see who will be there overnight, and wrap a few gifts for each child to be left in a stocking from the big guy in red. This year mom came with me and helped me wrap some cute gifts for the babes who spent Christmas at our hospital. Thanks mom!

My younger brother works for a church so we decided to skip the traditional service at our church and hold out til the midnight service at his church. It was a festive evening with a bell choir, wassail, cookies and lots of Christmas decorations in the sanctuary. Brad did a great job making it all look and sound good! We also managed to get a few family pics in front of the Christmas tree there...

The next morning we made the traditional Rowe Christmas breakfast (pigs in a blanket) and made sure to send the picture of those piggies on to our other brothers just to let em know what they were missing!

A few of my favorite gifts included:

Some crafty Martha Stewart glitters, ink pads, and adhesives. A cute doggy T for Willow, lots of gift cards and a Kitchen Aid food processor that I'm excited to try out! We were truly spoiled!

We had a great time, but I think the best part was that the celebrations continued all week long!

A few days after Christmas we packed up and headed to Austin to celebrate with my brother Greg, my very pregnant sister in law Gina & my niece Ava! We had a blast watching her open presents, like this cute Vet dress up set my parents got her! The CLS in me just HAD to do some medical play with her, and she was so good at prepping her 'patient' for shots!

Later we had birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, and Ava just loved blowing out his candles! It was a great way to celebrate Christmas together, even if we were just a few days off the schedule :)

Christmas Decorating!

2011-01-23T14:17:00.000-08:00

For the past two years I've participated in a blog world Christmas Open House of sorts, but I never got around to posting these during the season! So come on in and take a trip back to December 2010! I've tried to only take pictures of things that were new/different than last year, hope you enjoy!

One fun thing about a new roommate was all her cute Christmas decorations! Lisa had her own tree, which was the perfect size for the front window, and she had a great wreath for our front door!

Wicker reindeer from PB in the entry, and some new vase fillers and sparkly candles make for a simple display on the buffet.
The picture below does this piece NO justice, but this was my big goal/vision for the arch last year after I saw a similar idea in a PB store. I cut branches from the woods near my parent's house and spray painted most of them white, then used twin to hang the oversized ornaments from them. Like I said, much better effect in person but you get the gist.
This cute poinsettia pillow had jingle bells in the middle of the flower!

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed my little tour!

Nephews!

2011-01-18T14:21:00.000-08:00

For the past 4 years I've LOVED being Aunt Sarah, and have cherished every minute I get to spend with my 3 nieces! This fall I became Aunt Sarah to my first NEPHEW and last week my second nephew was born! I got to meet Lincoln at New Years, and have yet to meet Austin but my heart already melts over these handsome fellows! You can expect to see a whole lot more of them in future posts!

Meet Lincoln Scott-

Introducing Austin Gregory-

I can't wait to get my hands on this baby! He has so much hair and I bet he's just as cuddly as his big sister was! Happy Birth day Lincoln & Austin, Aunt Ra Ra loves you so so much!!!

Design Dilemma

2011-01-18T13:53:00.000-08:00

For the two years I've lived in my home, I've had a major design dilemma. My Front Room.

In the model version of my home it's a dining room, but since I don't really need that I ended up putting my piano in the front room. A few months later I got a fun rug for the floor, I found a really pretty chandelier from Pottery Barn to replace the low hanging dining room-esque fixture I had, and this summer I got a great brown couch to go in the room. I chose a paint color from the rug, which I have to say I don't really love, so someday I think I'll repaint a more neutral tan/mocha. Then there's the wall above the couch. As of my last post the room looked like this:

No tables, no wall decor. And it drove me NUTS! Luckily in the fall my new roommate brought with her a great round coffee table, and a cute little side table that look great in the room! I added some flowers, a few nick knacks, and still had the wall to do. I had in my mind some grand, creative, unique design...but as time went on I just wanted something on that wall! I blame the fact that I never sit in the front room on the 'unfinished' feel it has, so two weeks ago I decided to get it done! I browsed at several antique stores, searched the design blogs, and finally decided on a simple shelf to be centered above the sofa. It's nothing grand, but the shelf holds a really fun treble clef, a few cute photos of those that live there, and a fun R I saw at an antique store, but then discovered to be currently on sale at Hobby Lobby. (No worries, I bought it at Hobs Lobs for 50% off!)

I envision some lamps in the room someday, a cute chair opposite the couch, and maybe a few more decorative items or smaller shelves staggered on the wall, but for now I'm just glad to not have to stare at an empty wall every time I walk through. For me that's the fun of design, I like it now, and once I don't like it I can re-do it! So, for now here's the "Front Room" Come over and enjoy a cup of coffee in it, won't you?!? I promise to kick the pictured dog off couch if you do... :)

Lights In The Heights

2011-01-18T12:37:00.000-08:00

This year our singles ministry decided to head down to The Heights for their annual light festival! There's about 6 (long) blocks of old homes that close down their streets, decorate with lots of lights, and welcome the city to a giant block party! We saw some great lights, pretty homes, good bands, and LOTS of rolling beverage carts! We must have missed the memo that everyone comes already tipsy. Still, we had a great time and enjoyed the lights!

Sorry for the blurry photo, but we had to take a picture with this sign, our dear friend Paige Lewis had played just an hour before we got there, so sad we missed it! We love Paige!

Cute Reindeer House!

Catching Up!

2011-01-18T10:01:00.000-08:00

The 2010 Christmas season just flew by! I have lots to blog about, so be watching in the next couple days for updates on Christmas, New Years & lots more!

#1 Parents

2011-01-10T12:19:00.000-08:00

My parents are so much help! A few weeks ago before the weather started getting cold they both came over and helped me take care of some long overdue landscaping maintenance! I had neglected the bushes in my front yard and they were just about taking over the house, so you can imagine how wonderful it was to have my parents (and their power hedge trimmer) come over and help get the job done! Thanks so much mom & dad! Not having to suffer from the yard-work allergies was more of a gift than you can imagine!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-31T20:41:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2010 was a weekend to be remembered! I got to spend the weekend at my parents house, sleep in my old bed, cook tasty food, chat with my sister in law, pet a yellow lab, ride my bike, sleep, rub sister in law's pregnant belly, watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, hang out with 2 of my 3 brothers, eat yummy food, ride in the golf cart, learn about the art of meat smoking, visit a meat market, put up a Christmas tree, hold a squirrle and play with my niece! It was glorious! Here are some photos:
Golf cart rides for the G Rowe family
Naps for Uncle Brad, Willow & Ava Claire

A trip to the meat market so Greg could pick out fancy meats for his new BBQ pit & smoker. Ava loved looking at all the different meats!

The feast... Plus a little sister time!

Karo and Ava read magazines, did some online shopping, etc etc.

Dad & I put out the log reindeer while Greg and Brad cooked meat and corn on the smoker!

Brothers cookin' meat...manly man stuff!
Me & Brad with the chickens pre-smoker. They were cuddly birds!
Greg & me, and Laura & me. Plenty of family time this Thanksgiving!
Meeting Sammy the squirrel! She's Uncle Mark's pet, and Ava LOVED this little critter!

It wasn't a traditional Rowe Thanksgiving, but I loved stepping outside of our traditions and trying new things! As long as we're together we have a great time!

Tacky Sweater Christmas

2010-12-30T07:30:00.000-08:00

Our singles ministry had a tacky sweater Christmas party this year! I had always wanted to do one of these, and had dreams of finding a perfectly tacky sweater at a thrift store. Turns out these things are hot items, there wasn't a single sweater to be found!

So, as a last minute effort I borrowed some Christmas garb from my mom, although I wish I had taken the creativity route like my roommate. Jennifer made a sweatshirt two hours before

the party and it turned out awesome!!

Lisa wore another sweater from my mom's closet, one I remember well from childhood holidays! We even borrowed some of her festive socks to complete the look!

Above is our small group, below are the roommates. Love these girls!

Merry Tacky Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-22T11:15:00.001-08:00

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21

Celebrating the birth of our Savior, and the eternal life He brings!
Merry Christmas!
Love, Sarah & Willow

Chris Sligh

2010-12-14T09:50:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday our church had a Christmas worship service instead of a normal Sunday morning worship hour. The worship ministry did an amazing job of getting everyone in the Christmas spirit, refocusing our excitement on Jesus' birth! We had help from a special guest as well, 2007 American Idol Contestant turned Christian Artist Chris Sligh!

Jenni and I got to help Chris' brother Alan run the merchandise table during and between services and if the CD sales from Sunday morning are any indication, this man will go far! Here's a few pictures from the morning!

Above is Brian Stone, our Singles Pastor, Jenni, Chris Sligh & Me! I'll work later on getting a YouTube link for the songs from service. We even got free signed copies of Chris' new CD for volunteering to help at his table!

It was just what I needed, because the past week or two I've been feeling the stress that comes with a worldly Christmas. (I even had to turn off KSBJ's Christmas music and switch back to worship music to help me feel at peace!) This Sunday helped me realize it's not about all the earthly celebrations, it's about the life we have to look forward to in heaven with our Savior who lives forever!!!

Thanksgiving Tree

2010-12-02T14:31:00.001-08:00

This year I couldn't wait to put up the Christmas tree! My family tradition is to put up the tree on Thanksgiving night, while drinking egg nog. This year mid November I was just itchin' to have that tree up so I could enjoy the twinkling lights at night. I didn't want to take away from Thanksgiving, so we found a way to put up the tree without moving straight into Christmas. Saturday morning Jenni, Lisa & I were home enjoying coffee and muffins and we decided to make a roommate bonding experience out of the Thanksgiving Tree. Here's the how to:

Each person gets several paper strips (in Thanksgiving colors of course) to record the things

they are thankful for. Next we stapled them together in paper rings and shared with each other what it was we were thankful for.

After we had shared we hung them on the tree, and made sure to leave extra papers out on the table for any guests who stopped by and had things to be thankful for.

It was a great reminder that we are incredibly blessed and that the things written on our paper rings were gifts from God! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Cookie Exchange

2010-12-02T13:59:00.001-08:00

Each month the women in my Sunday morning Adult Bible Fellowship get together and have a ladies social. Usually it's something casual, with coffee and dessert so we can talk and get to know other women in the class. For our December social event we decided to have a cookie exchange!

This was my first ever cookie exchange, so I was excited to participate! The idea is that everyone makes 3-4 dozen of one recipe (along with copies of the recipe), plus an extra empty platter, and everyone tastes, then takes home a few of the cookies you made! Everyone left with big platters full of tasty treats, and new recipes!

I took the Balls of Heaven (aka Oreo Balls) that I usually take when dessert is required, but this time I added a little bit of crushed peppermint candy to the tops for a festive look.

We came home with all these goodies, and if we're going to eat them all there better be some serious exercising going on!

I'm working my way around the plate, but so far my favorites have been the Buckeyes that my roommate makes, the Butterfinger Fudge, and the cute ornament themed sugar cookies!

Quitter

2010-12-02T13:35:00.000-08:00

So, you may have noticed I quit on the National Blog Posting Month 30 Posts in 30 Days Challenge. I realized the challenge was quickly consuming me, and while it was fun last year, it felt like a chore this year.

This fall my small group did a study called No Other Gods, and it really helped me realize how many things in my life have become gods, and thus have taken time and space in my life where I should be allowing God to be. Things like tv, facebook, shopping, eating, sleeping, blogging.... I could go on and on. Sure some of these things are necessary parts of life, but when you sleep too long, or you shop to fulfill selfish desires....they can turn into things that we turn to for satisfaction. Ultimately I need to turn to God for satisfaction, therefore things are changing!

So, back to blogging when I feel like blogging! I assure you this has saved you from reading random obligatory posts with little meaning. I'm back, and I'm bringing you the good stuff!

Emmy & Hayden's Birthdays!

2010-11-10T20:09:00.000-08:00

All 3 of my nieces celebrated their birthdays in the last month, and a few weeks ago I was lucky to get to head north to spend a pre-birthday weekend with Emmy & Hayden! Emmy turned 4 and Hayden turned 2, and those girls are just too cute! I got Hayden a few really cute Eric Carle books, and Emmy her very own Caboodle with chapstick (or as she called it, lipstick!) and nail polish packed inside!

They had a great time playing with their gifts and I had a great time celebrating with them! Look at those sweet sisters! We both agreed this picture above of Em putting 'lipstick' on HK will be perfect wedding slideshow material someday!

Yes, I know the flower in my hair is extremely large, but these girls usually rock some huge bows so I figure that if there's ever a time to wear this cream flower, it would be with Em & HK!

Stay tuned for another post about these girls next week, I'll get to see all 3 nieces this weekend! Lucky me!

Table Top 2010

2010-11-09T21:36:00.000-08:00

Tonight our church Women's Ministry hosted the annual Table Top Banquet. In years past tables were done by small groups and could be any theme, but this year things were a bit different! Each table was done to spotlight a ministry or cause that the hostess is involved in. Tables ranged from human trafficking to pregnancy help centers,and kids tutoring to pet therapy! My small group decided to focus on a safe house for girls rescued from human trafficking/sex slavery. We had super cute bird houses from Hobby Lobby as our centerpieces, and I made little swinging signs with the name of our organization. We accented the table with gold linens, and little bird nests for sugar packet holders. Overall I think it was really cute!

After table viewing and dinner, 3 women in our church were interviewed by our missions pastor, and you can read their stories here on the Go Beyond Blog! These women really felt God calling them to action in ministries here and around the world, and their stories really inspired all that attended to seek where God wants us to be investing.

I had a great time decorating, but an even better time with some of the wonderful women who are investing in my life right now! It was definitely encouraging to hear all the passions of those around me, and to see how women are using those passions to bring glory to God!

Can't wait til Table Top 2011, we had a great time this year!

Monday....

2010-11-08T21:58:00.001-08:00

UGH! Today has been one rough Monday! I started my morning by dropping off my car to get it checked out since my Engine Light has been on the past 2 weeks...I should know by now that the engine light is no light matter! 8 hours and $627 later I picked Blaze up and drove home...feeling totally beaten down! I had plans to do so many other things with $627 dollars this month, but God is good and He always provides! I'm grateful to have a running car, and very thankful that I have a good mechanic who I know didn't charge me an extra $100 just because Christmas is coming up and his kid wants a shiny new toy. So, on that note I have to plug the awesome place that helped me out today with the repair!

Katy Auto Care is located on the south side of the I-10 feeder between Mason & Grand Parkway. The owner of the shop is a member of my church, and truly runs his business with Godly integrity! He was honest, quick & even gave me a free car wash when they were finished fixing my car! Secretly one of my favorite parts about his shop is that he brings his dogs to work! Bear, a 10 year old yellow Lab & Bama a 3 year old Chesapeake Bay Retriever are the shop's mascots and will greet you at the door! Well, they'll at least be right inside the door sleeping on the floor! I think they're smart to have pet therapy in a place that can be so stressful! Anyway I took a little picture of Bear & Bama as I petted them this morning....I know, creepy!!!!!! I just love dogs!

You might remember these dogs from my VBS post this past summer, they were too cute in their cowdog skits during worship rally!

Thanks again Katy Auto Care for taking such good care of me, if you live in the area I definitely recommend these folks!

Running again..

2010-11-07T15:14:00.001-08:00

Now we all know I'm NOT a runner. However I have several friends who are runners, and when I read about their races, or the goals they've accomplished via running (weight loss, endurance) I'm always so inspired to run! I kicked off this year by doing a New Years Eve 5K, my first ever race. I didn't make any sort of respectable time, and I'm sure I walked more than I ran, but I did it! 11 months later and I'm still not running.
That's all about to change...
This week my roommate and I decided to put some effort in and reach our goals! I'm reaching for running an entire 5k, and to get there we'll be running 4-5 times a week. Last night we went out and completed a 3.1 mile course, alternating running and walking. We'd run from one light post to the next, then walk a post, run, walk, run, walk...you get the idea!
I did pretty well alterating and only two or three times did I skip a running light post, so when I got home I was pretty proud of myself! Today I think I'll ride my bike so I get some variety, but another big problem is that I BADLY need new shoes! My old Nike shocks that I wear to work just weren't cutting it in the foot support department!
SO, I've got a goal, and I've got a plan. All I need is your encouragement, tips and tricks! By the time Christmas rolls around I'll be ready for my 5k, and maybe buying some cute new clothes!

Antiques

2010-11-06T14:24:00.000-07:00

If you've been to my house you know I love decorating. I love Pottery Barn, but I also love antiques. Most of my favorite items in the house are antique store finds, such as this Baylor Bear piece I found in Montgomery Texas.

That same store produced the window frame that hangs in my kitchen, and the door knob that I hang my jewelry from. All fun pieces with plenty of character!

Over Labor Day weekend I went to a few shops in downtown Rosenberg, and though I walked away empty handed I found plenty of fun things while I browsed. Things like....

A white pottery collection, stacked against another simply worn window pane.

An ivory picture frame ready to be repurposed! I wanted this one to copy an item I'd seen recently in a PB catalog, they took frames and ran wire across the inside of the frame, hung it on the wall, then used it to hang all their earrings! So cute!

A Corticelli thread spool cabinet, filled with a rainbow of old thread spools!

A vintage looking gold R, which I found out wasn't so antique after I spotted it in the stores at Hobby Lobby!
A tin shelf that would have looked perfect in my front room...

Finally, I found Jesus! It really is true he's everywhere!! Once I found Him, I realized He was in almost every store!
I love the man, but I'm not sure my next antique purchase will be a Jesus statue...I'll probably just stick with home decor!

Labor Day 2010

2010-11-05T23:13:00.000-07:00

REWIND- I never got around to this post in September, so today's post is a catch up!

This year my ENTIRE family was in town to spend Labor Day weekend together!! Since I didn't get around to blogging right after their visit I've forgotten a little about the weekend, but I did manage to make a list of the highlights...

Friday- Dinner with Greg, Gina, Ava, Brad & my parents at La Finca. Check out Ava with her little backpack, she's such a cutie!
Saturday- Gramma Rowe came to visit and we had lunch at Another Time soda fountain, a really cute place in Rosenberg. After that I did some antique shopping (more on that later), we had Willow's 3rd birthday party, then hit up the candy store & had a tasty homemade dinner thanks to mom! Of course in the middle of all that the nieces had plenty of playtime with their aunts, uncles & cousins!

OH, and we had torrential downpours that day, so when I tried to go home and get Willow for her birthday party I had to park 2 blocks away and wade through 18 inches of water to get home!
Sunday we went to church- my parents HAVE to show off their nieces to the pastor and their friends, then we had lunch at las flores. Naps followed lunch and we ended the day with dinner at Fuddruckers. Our family loves to eat! Emmy got special permission to stay up late with me so we could paint our toenails, and she LOVED it! I got her nailpolish for her 4th birthday because she's so in love with it now! I'm sure her mom LOVES me for giving a 4 year old such a potentially messy gift, Sorry Jess!
Monday/Labor Day we all packed into the cars and headed to Conroe to visit my mom's parents, Dee Dah & Paw Paw. They prepared a delicious BBQ lunch for us and Dee Dah even made us tasty pies for dessert!

The girls enjoyed playing Paw Paw's piano and we enjoyed time with our sweet grandparents!

After lunch everyone headed their own ways, and I think it's safe to say we were all pooped from a long really fun weekend! Can't wait to see everyone together again soon, with two nephews on the way between now and January it may be hard to do, but we always have fun when we are together!

Tortilla Soup

2010-11-04T21:23:00.000-07:00

I figure after yesterday's post I owe an explanation for all the onion tears! My Dee Dah gave me a cookbook for Christmas a few years ago that was made by all the women in her church's auxiliary. This week I pulled it out in hopes of finding a good crock pot recipe, and settled on a tasty Chicken Tortilla Soup! Here's the recipe, perfect for the cool weather we've been having!

You'll need:

1 1/2 lbs skinless boneless chicken

1 (15 oz) can whole tomatoes

1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce

1 medium onion, chopped

1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles

1 garlic clove, minced

2 cups water

1 (141/2 oz) can chicken broth

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 (10oz) pkg frozen corn

1 T dried chopped cilantro

2 T vegetable oil

Fresh grated parmesean cheese for garnish

In crockpot, combine chicken, tomatoes, enchiliada sauce, onion, green chiles and garlic. Add water, broth, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. After 1-2 hours, pull chicken breasts out onto a separate plate and shred with a fork, then return to crock pot to continue cooking.

Sprinkle tortilla strips and grated Parmesean over soup! Makes 6-8 servings.

My only changes would be adding more tomatoes, and maybe some more cilantro. Otherwise this was an easy tasty soup and it makes plenty for the freezer!

Onion Eyes

2010-11-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

Here's what happens when you chop onions on the day you can't find your waterproof mascara...

CLOWN FACE!

Funnel Cakes & Funnel Clouds

2010-11-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went to Dallas to help my brother & sister in law move into their beautiful new home! (More to come on that trip later!) My parents were going and I decided to tag along to help, and of course squeeze in some Aunt Sarah time with two of my nieces. We had the craziest trip- starting with a minor fender bender in Madisonville when a Jeep rear ended us as we entered the city limits. Luckily we were pulling a trailer and he only damaged his own car.

This was funny because about 5 minutes before the accident I had felt like I needed to pray for safety during our trip, so I said a quick prayer and later realized I should be more specific with my prayers! I had asked God to keep us safe, then 5 minutes later we were pulled over after being hit! no one was injured, so we were technically safe! God is good!

We pulled over at Buc-ees to check for any damage, and while we were inside getting drinks the power went out and the entire store and parking lot was pitch dark!! Craziness!The next day as we were at Scott & Jess' new house the tornado sirens went off, but after checking the news we realized we were probably pretty safe. Whew!! Another disaster avoided!

Before leaving Dallas on Sunday we decided to stop at Jack in the Box to get some drinks and just as we pulled up to the pick up window Dad decided he wanted a funnel cake. So, we sat at the window a good 5 minutes waiting on the funnel cakes. Soon enough, we hit the road.

About an hour later we were driving south on I-45 when all of the sudden a cloud right before our eyes began moving towards the ground...in a spiral motion! Dad saw it about the time I did and he told me to grab my camera to get a picture, we were watching a tornado!

For about 2 minutes the cloud twisted and moved towards the ground, then raised back up into the sky and disappeared. Little did we know it had moved right across the path we were on, about 5 miles down the road! As we drove through the town of Rice, we saw the damage...golfball size hail everywhere, a school now missing it's roof, a de-railed train car on it's side, a football stadium in shreds, an 18 wheeler carrying a Caterpillar construction machine that had been picked up then tossed on it's side, landing on another small car! Here's a video of what we saw:

The 5 minutes we waited on our Jack in the Box funnel cakes kept us from being in the middle of that tornado! God is good, and He kept us safe!

A few minutes after we passed all that damage, it began to hail, and everyone began pulling off the road, we were sure another tornado would appear at any moment! We prayed again for safety, and scrambled for our phones to check the weather radar! After a quick look we decided it would be best to get the heck out of the storm, and we began moving again. We finally made it to Buc-ees where everyone inside was talking about the tornado. A few minutes later I'm pretty sure we hit a skunk, at this point we were just laughing and wondering what would happen next on our wild & crazy roadtrip!!

Moral of the story: Tornadoes are scary, but God is good! It was a once in a lifetime experience that I'm glad I lived to tell, but would be ok with never experiencing again! Also, there's no place like home!

NaBloPoMo 2010

2010-11-01T21:27:00.000-07:00

November is upon us! I have to admit I've been on the fence about participating in National Blog Posting Month, 30 days of blogging is no small feat! So, since it's 11:29 PM I figured I'd go ahead and put up a quick post so if I decide I do want to participate I'll be on track to complete the required 30 posts in 30 days.

I have lots to catch up on from the past two weeks, but for now I'll just post some pictures of our adorable therapy dogs that came to the hospital in costume last week for Halloween!

Here's Amy, a sweet long haired chihuahua...I want to steal her!
Addie was a hot dog- perfect for her breed! Below Gracie is Wonder Woman!

Little Piggy

2010-10-17T20:56:00.001-07:00

This weekend I took Willow to a local Pet Ranch that was having a hoe down dog costume party! She didn't really love wearing a costume, but I think she made one cute piggie!

OINK! OINK!!!

What's a dog's favorite holiday?

Howl-o-ween of course!!!!

Chicago Day 1

2010-09-30T10:29:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-22T10:06:00.001-07:00

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...

2010-09-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-10T00:44:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-09-10T00:13:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-09-09T22:10:00.000-07:00

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!

Tamales...

2010-09-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

My family has a really tasty tradition. Each year for Thanksgiving dinner my grandparents bless us with homemade tamales. These rolled delights are so good we often stuff ourselves so full we feel and look like giant tamales! We always fight over who gets to eat the few leftovers the next day, and feel sad when they're gone. They're one of those foods we dare not eat at Mexican restaurants, because we know in our hearts no one could possibly make a tamale better than Dee Dah's tamales.

Last year Dee Dah & Paw Paw decided it was about time they pass on the tamale making to some of the younger generations so that we can make them for our own families as they grow. So, last Christmas when everyone was at my parents house we had Tamale Day. Everyone was required to participate, and we all learned the secret and specific art of making Dee Dah's tamales! Seeing how much work it was made us all appreciate the hundreds they've made for us in the past. Talk about a labor of love!

We were each able to take home 2 dozen of the tamales we made that day, and I've been secretly hoarding my 24 in the freezer all year! I made 6 sometime in the spring, but have been saving the rest for days when I just need something special! A few weeks ago I decided it was time!

What started as an ordinary Sunday afternoon, ended up a trip down memory lane. I went into my nap with a full tummy, and a happy heart! Now if only I had more tamales...

Favorite New Toy!

2010-09-03T09:10:00.001-07:00

Last week I went to Toys R Us to do some shopping. Every so often our toys at work break, wear out, or get taken home by a sneaky child, so we have to re-stock our playroom and replace the toys we use in other areas of the hospital. Since I'm the one who keeps track of these toys I get to go and spend lots of (someone else's) money picking out the new ones!So, last week I was in the baby section looking for a new mobile to use on our infant cribs. This task is always a little tricky because in the hospital we have to avoid cloth toys since they can't be cleaned as easily as plastic. Lo and behold, I found the perfect gem of a mobile!

Introducing...the Luv U Zoo Crib n Go Projector Soother...I just have to share for all my friends who have little ones, or friends who like to shop for little ones!

This baby attaches to the side of the crib with your usual latch strap, but the elephant piece snaps out so you can take it to any room baby may fall asleep in! Also, the remaining piece on the crib has a mirror, great for infant development!

The best part is that the projector plays super soothing music with nature sounds as an option, AND projects super cute pictures of baby animals on the ceiling for baby to watch at night! I absolutely love this toy!

I purchased mine at Toys R Us for $35, but I'm sure it's available other places too! Happy baby shopping!

We heart cupcakes!

2010-09-01T12:20:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we really wanted to drive down to Crave or Sprinkles to try out the famed cupcakes everyone's been talking about! However, we decided to stay home and have friends over for game night, so we ended up having our own cupcake extravaganza in our very own kitchen!

I used the Hershey's 'Perfectly Chocolate' Chocolate Cake recipe, and Wilton's Buttercream Icingrecipe. Toppings included various types of candy, cherries, and brightly colored sugar sprinkles I've collected! Here are the end products...well, at least the ones that were left after several hungry mouths came through!

Happy Birthday Harls!

2010-09-01T11:52:00.002-07:00

Last weekend Willow's bestie Harlow turned the big T-W-O!

Of course we made her a tasty snack...

Which she scarfed down in about 20 seconds!

For her present we made her a pretty sign to decorate her cage!

We love you Harlow, Happy 2nd Birthday!!!

Everybody loves a good scarf...

2010-09-01T11:20:00.000-07:00

Last month a friend at work asked if I would help her put together a basket that would be auctioned off to raise money for STAR (South Texas Aussie Rescue)

Since one of my favorite therapy dogs is an Aussie I said I'd love to help!

I decided on making something cute for the pups to wear, and something tasty for them to eat! The tasty treat ended up being Peanut Butter Organic Dog Biscuits, and the fashions took form of a canine scarf!

I had experience making a paisley scarf for Willow last spring...

So (with my mom's sweet help) I whipped out a few fancy canine scarves for the basket...

The basket theme was red/cream/black so I went with dog bone, pawprint & cheetah fabrics.

It was fun to help out a good organization while using my creative urges! And now there are some stylish Aussie's running around Houston! I see many more of these scarves in our future, Willow and Harls will surely need something for each upcoming holiday!

Short Stack

2010-08-24T20:44:00.000-07:00

I got up at 5 am on Monday to surprise my roommate with breakfast on her first day of school. I made some fruit pancakes, and Willow strolled out of the bedroom at 6:30 on the prowl for some breakfast! I was just finishing up the batter, so obviously I made her a Willow stack. She LOVED it!

I guess I wore her out with the big breakfast, since she went back to sleep pretty quickly...what a life!

Happy first week of school to all you teachers and students!!!

FINALLY!

2010-08-19T14:00:00.001-07:00

If you've been to my house you know I've been living next door to a lovely bunch of nothing for the past 2 years. Somehow the developer messed up on measurements and the lot next to me was too small to build any of DR Horton's floorplans...UGH! So, I've lived with weeds, trash, and mounds of dirt for the past two years. Well, this month we had a breakthrough!
Guess they found a floorplan that works, because they started building!!! I always thought my house was in a prime location (cul-de-sac, high off the street, no back neighbors) but now that our street will be finished it's going to be even better! And the new house is spaced pretty far from mine (the other side neighbors aren't so lucky, they'll probably smell each other's dinners cooking!)
Now if only we could get the builders to wait until 7 am to start working, pick up the nails in the street, and perhaps keep their tejano radio station turned down...oh well! At least I don't have to worry about living next to the sandlot anymore!!!

Summer Shenanigans

2010-08-16T10:03:00.000-07:00

The past month has been full of fun! Here's a recap of a few things I've been up to:

July 31- Faith & Family Night with the Houston Astros

After watching a co-worker get married I headed to the ballpark with church singles to watch the Astros take on the Brewers, and we won! After the game Jars of Clay put on a show, and we enjoyed hearing some oldies as well as some of their new stuff.

August 7- Miller Outdoor Theatre

Another church singles outing, we went to watch A Midsummer Night's Dream. I admit I'm not the biggest Shakespeare fan I enjoyed our night at the theatre. It's a great place to sit out on a hill and look at stars!

August 14- Day trip to float the river!

We headed to New Braunfels with some friends and enjoyed floating the Comal River, twice! We also drove up to San Marcos to shop at the outlet mall (Pottery Barn outlet=heaven!) and had dinner at a place called the Tap Room, then got home REALLY late, but it was a fun day!

Lastly, I've been working around the house to prepare a room for my new roommate...more info on her in a coming post but for now here's a sneak peek at her room! Bye bye blue, hello pink!!

Willow here...

2010-07-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

I jus wants to tell you peoples bout some treats my Ma made me. I WUV em! She calls em organic, I call em tasteee! They got peanut butter and I gotsta have my paws on em! You gots to bake some if you gots a pup!

Here's da info:

Ingredients:

2 cups organic whole wheat flour (you can use another type of flour if your dog is sensitive to wheat)
1 cup organic rolled oats
1/3 cup organic peanut butter, chunky or smooth (I used smooth)
1 1/4 cups hot water
extra flour for rolling

Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients together. Mix in the peanut butter and hot water. You may need to add some more water if the dough is super sticky. Mix the dough with your hands, then roll it out onto wax paper. Use cookie cutters to cut out treats in your desired shape. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake in oven for 40 minutes, then turn oven off and leave in the oven overnight to cool.

Makes lots, cuz if you ran out...well that'd just be ruff...

Enjoy!

Willow out!

Happy Birthday Dad!

2010-07-19T08:46:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went to the lake to celebrate my dad's birthday! He's been working really hard at BP lately, so he deserved the day off to relax and be with his family! All my brothers and nieces came (we were missing Jessica, AlOT!) and we enjoyed some time swimming, snacking and cruising! Here's the evidence...

Happy Birthday Dad! Thanks for working so hard so we could celebrate you in such a fun way!

The 4th

2010-07-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day!I spent the 4th with our church singles group. We grilled at a friend's house and then walked to a nearby shopping area that hosted a big fireworks show! I hope you were able to relax, enjoy something grilled, and see some fireworks as we thank God for the wonderful freedoms we're provided in this country!

Happy Birthday to my Momma!

2010-06-28T10:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my mom's birthday, and while I won't spill her age I will dish about the cake I made her! I had been excited to try out a certain cake idea I'd seen recently on Whisk Kid's blog, so when my mom called and asked if I 'd make her birthday cake I knew just what I wanted to do! One problem...she wanted white cake, white icing, and pink and green decorations. Not exactly what I had in mind, but I pulled it off, creating an outer layer of her requested designs with a special surprise waiting on the inside!!!

Since mom's birthday is the 27th, we did 2 and 7 candles on the cake which she blew out in one easy breath! Thanks to Aunt Martha for those candles, I'd been waiting for just the right cake to put them on, and I think they were perfect for this occasion! Now for the cutting....

She was so surprised when I cut into it revealing 6 vibrant colors of the rainbow!!! Luckily it tasted as good as it looked, but we all joked we needed insulin shots after eating 6 layers of cake and 6 layers of icing! Glad you liked it mom, you deserve something special! Thanks for trusting me with your birthday cake!

If you want to make your own rainbow cake, check out this video when Whisk Kid blogger Kaitlin Flannery appeared on Martha Stewart's show to make the cake! The recipe is on the blog, and the video has some great tips on how to make it work! Happy baking!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Cards

2010-06-28T10:10:00.000-07:00

One of my loves in life is paper crafting, specifically making cards for those I love! Since I get most of my inspiration from other people's work I figured I might share some of the thing I've made in hopes of inspiring my readers! I love using unique things that stand out- texturized stickers, ribbon, buttons, glitter, rhinestones, flowers and sometimes a needle and thread!! As I keep creating I'll try to update with my new designs.

26th Birthday!

2010-06-25T10:09:00.003-07:00

Another year, another celebration! I love love loved turning 26! I feel like my life is so full of blessings, and although there may be challenges as well I have a wonderful circle of people to help me with both!
To kick off the celebrations I got some sweet smelling flowers from my bosses at work the week of my big day! It's so nice to have bosses that appreciate the work you do! What girl doesn't love flowers???

Once the weekend rolled around we hit the road and had a birthday celebration at my parents houseboat on Lake Travis. It's up for sale right now so I figured I better sneak in one more celebration there while we could! I invited some friends to come with me and just relax for the weekend, which is exactly what we did!
Gina & Ava came out for the day Saturday to celebrate and play on the lake, and OMG I died when I saw Ava Claire in her lifejacket! It's so cute!!! She had a great time with Willow Willow, they're in love! Thanks so much Gina & Ava for helping take care of Willow that afternoon, y'all are the best!!!

My parents came along for the weekend and spoiled us rotten! My mom cooked amazing food, my dad took us on a cruise around the lake, and even tied up the boat in a quaint little cove so we could swim and lounge for an afternoon! I love my parents! As if they hadn't done enough, they treated everyone to dinner at The Oasis on my birthday night!
The Oasis has the best sunset views on the lake, and we had a great view from our ballroom table on the top floor of the restaurant! We chowed down like there was no tomorrow on tasty appetizers, tacos, and got lots of plastic souvenier cups to take home!
To top it all off my friend Lisa made me the tastiest chocolate birthday cake ever!! It suffered a little during the long, hot drive to Austin, but it tasted so so good! Here's a pic of the chocolatey goodness, isn't it fun?!?!! It was so sweet, thanks Lisa!!!!

Thanks so much to everyone who made my birthday such a fun celebration!! I was spoiled with friend and family fun time, sweet gifts, and I can't wait to post soon about the gift I got that will no doubt provide fun all year round!!

Saddle Ridge Ranch

2010-06-25T10:09:00.001-07:00

Last week I spent my mornings with 25 soon to be 6th graders at our church's Vacation Bible School- aka Saddle Ridge Ranch! Seems like everyone and their mom chose this curriculum for VBS this year so let me assure you you're not alone if you've been singing the Tumbleweed song for weeks now... Don't beeeeeee aaaaaa......

Our VBS verse was James 1:5 "If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask God who gives to all generously & without criticizing and it will be given to him." We spent the week asking God questions, and learning his Word to find answers.

Our kids might have thought they were a little too cool for some of the things we had planned, but we figured they're just preparing for Jr. High. They're going to have a blast at Kamp next year!

We rocked out each morning in worship rally where there was music, dancing and skits to help us learn how to seek God with all we do!

Most mornings we had the help of some cute cow dogs who came to round up the kids for worship! We all know how lovable Labs can be, so of course we looked forward to seeing Bear & Bama each morning!

Later in the week a miniature horse even wandered through the ranch during one of the drama skits! As you can see the pony was super convincing in her role as 'buckin bronco!' Ha-ha!

The biggest surprise came at the end of the week when our 6th graders ended up winning the prize for giving the most to our missions offering! They were reminded all week to bring their nickels, dimes & dollars to help the church fund a boys home in India. Way to come through at the last minute kids! I can't remember the exact total, but on Thursday I think we were near $5,000!

I was exhausted at the end of the week, and sure the pre-teen attitude wore me down some days, but overall I had a blast and am so glad I chose to serve in this way! Now, to decide between VBS again next year, or saving vacation time to go to Kamp with the older kids....decisions, decisions!

Hipstamatic

2010-06-25T08:11:00.000-07:00

I have a new favorite iPhone app! Anyone remember the Hipstamatic cameras from the 80's? Rumor is only 156 of these cameras were sold, but the idea has really caught on and is a hit with people getting into retro photography. I recently downloaded an app that makes my iPhone camera into a Hipstamatic, giving me several lenses, flashes, and film types to choose from when taking pictures. If you're like me and don't know much about photography, but want your pictures to look like you do....this is the app for you! Here are a few of my favorite shots so far...

Obviously they're not the clearest quality, but perfect isn't the idea with Hipstamatic. It's sort of a thrill, wondering what your photo is going to look like each time you hit the yellow button! I don't typically buy apps, but this one is well worth it in my opinion!! Happy Hipstamatic-ing!

Work Project Complete!

2010-06-09T19:03:00.000-07:00

My design fun has carried over to work! I've been working on this specific project for 6 months and it was finally completed this past week! I was asked to create a kid friendly space in our ER waiting area that would help welcome the 800+ kids that come into our facility each month. After some sweat and (almost) tears I think I did alright, finding products that are bright, inviting, and able to withstand the traffic of the waiting area. So, drumroll please.....

We have:
Garden wall art/fixtures with movable beads/mazes
Buddy & Bonita characters with heat sensitive bodies- when a child touches their body the panel changes colors to reveal the body part being touched. Pretty fun!

I'm so glad it's done, and have been pleased to see kids playing with the wall each time I go through the ER! Success!

Latest addition...

2010-05-27T18:09:00.000-07:00

Finally, the front room of my house has seating!!! This week while helping Brad shop for a coffee table I spied the most perfect couch, exactly like one I had been drooling over at Pottery Barn! Luckily this couch was in the clearance center, and was WAY less than the PB version, and just as comfy!!! The saleslady really made my day when she said I could have the ONE couch left in the warehouse that was new, rather than the floor model I originally saw in the clearance center!! New couch on clearance price??? YES PLEASE!! Now I have a place to sit and read while I enjoy my fancy chandelier, or a place for guests to sit and enjoy my piano playing!!

Happy Birthday Lisa!

2010-05-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

Last weekend our good friend Lisa celebrated her 26th birthday...and we planned a surprise party to help her do it! Jenni & I made a cake, rounded up some party hats, balloons, etc and headed over to a friend's house to surprise Lisa Friday night! We convinced her to go to an Astros game, and when she returned....SURPRISE!!! We hope you had as much fun as we did Lisa, Happy Happy Birthday my friend!!!!!

Kemah!

2010-05-27T17:40:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was a work day full of fun! Once a quarter I get together for meetings with 4 other people that have jobs similar to mine. We all work in community hospitals as the only CLS so we find that we need the support and professional development that comes from sharing our work. This week we went to our system's Southeast hospital, where my good friend Julie works! Julie was so helpful and kind to me as an intern, and was the next person after me to leave the Medical Center and start a one person program. Needless to say she and I have known each other a while! Her hospital had lots of damage from Hurricane Ike, so this was our first chance to get down there and see everything put back together! Her hospital is a lot bigger than I expected, and I got several great ideas from her that I can implement in my work, so it was a great time! Check out the cute mural she had done to make the ER kid friendly!!

After we toured the hospital we decided to have the rest of our discussions at the nearby Kemah Boardwalk! I've never been down to Kemah before so I was pretty excited to check things out!
Cute hotel that overlooks the boardwalk and the water, as well as a really cute little train that carries people around the boardwalk. With shopping, restaurants, boat tours, roller coasters and fountains to play in there's plenty to do if you have young ones!
There's a spot near the water with gumball machines full of fish food, and these fish know it! They just hang out, one on top of the other, waiting for food! Craziest fish I've ever seen!

Here we are at the Kemah entrance with Lauren, Julie, Hollie, Me & Marni! I'm blessed with some really fun and sweet co-workers, so I really enjoy the chances I have to spend time with them! Thanks for such a fun day of team building Julie!

Brad's House!

2010-05-27T17:22:00.001-07:00

My little brother....scratch that....YOUNGER brother has bought a house!!!! AND it's it MY neighborhood!! How did I manage to get so lucky?!?! Brad closed last Friday and is pretty much moved in so I thought it was only appropriate to celebrate with dessert! I decided to work on my cake decorating skills and created this housewarming cake just for Brad!

Ok, ok so it looks nothing like the actual house, except that it's red, and it has driveway on the right side...but it's more of a resemblance than an exact liking. It sure was tasty, and we got to enjoy it with my parents Sunday night at Brad's new kitchen table!

I'm so excited to have my brother close and to have another fun place to hang out! Welcome to the hood Big Bad!!!

Backyard Photo Shoot #2

2010-05-20T22:11:00.000-07:00

After work yesterday it was too gorgeous outside to stay inside, so I grabbed a beach towel and a book and spread out on the grass while I let the dogs run and play. They were having such a great time I decided to try and capture some of their fun on film. I didn't get a really great one of the two together, but I got a few individual shots that I just love! Enjoy!

This one cracks me UP! Harlow is completely in the air, pouncing on Willow!

Weekend Visitors!

2010-05-16T15:19:00.001-07:00

I had fun with some cute little visitors today! Em, HK & Co came down for a visit and I got to have some fun with them at my house before they left town. Willow was SO happy to have two little friends who were more than willing to help dig out all her toys! Thanks for coming over guys!

Mini golf!

2010-05-01T16:40:00.000-07:00

Recently our high school bestie Elyse was in town and we decided to introduce her to some of our church friends. We agreed the best option for a get to know you was to bust out our mad golf skills on a nearby miniature course, guys vs. girls! I'm proud to say ladies won fair and square, and we had fun doing it! We can't wait until Elyse, Josh & Avery move here in June and we can make these get-togethers a regular thing! Note- above is Lisa, below is Elyse...someone recently pointed out I have a tendency to pick friends who resemble each other...anyone else see it? I just think they're beautiful in their own unique ways!

A Day at Brazos Bend State Park

2010-04-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

Our Singles ministry took a trip a few weekends ago to hike and explore in Brazos Bend State Park. I had never been out to the area so I didn't really know what to expect, but it turned out to be a fun adventure and I enjoyed our day in the wilderness! As you'll see we saw lots and lots of gators and thanks to a tour guide from church we learned a lot about the natural vegetation too! Here's the recap!

This gator was so still I swore he was fake!

Anyone wanna go for a swim? See the cute little turtles on a log?

Finally, some swampy roommates! We had a great time, enjoyed time for fellowship, & the weather was PERFECT! If you want to see the video our Singles Pastor created from the trip feel free to check it out on You Tube! Video

Day at the Dog Park!

2010-04-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

I know, I know it's probably a little surprising to some of you that I've never taken the time to let Willow experience the dog park. This Sunday the weather was too gorgeous to stay inside, so Jenni, Lisa, Harlow, Willow and I put on our summer clothes and headed out to enjoy a day in the sun with the pups!

I was a little nervous that we'd stand out like total first timers, but people were so friendly and everyone seemed to just hang out and love on any four legged friend around! After a few minutes of leash time, I decided Willow was probably capable of freedom, so I let her loose! I had hoped she'd make friends with some of the other cute little dogs, but NO, not MY Willow. She had to meet every person in the park, and insisted that they pet her.

Crazy dog didn't seem at all interested in the other dogs there, except for the moment that she noticed the big dogs on the other side of the fence. Not sure why, but that little mutt loves her a big friend. I think it's because she was OBSESSED with Holly, our family lab. You bet your bottom dollar that the second the big dog barked Willow ran like the wind! RETREAT!!!!!

Sadly she was too chicken to swim, but watched a few dogs her size dive right in, so maybe after a few more visits she'll get brave and jump in! For now all we managed was a drink out of the big pond....SICK!

We're looking forward to many more weekends at the park, and would love to have you join us, although I can't promise Willow will show any interest in your dog :)

Beach Bum-o-rama

2010-04-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again! Last Wednesday Aunt Linda, Laura, Gramma Rowe & I headed down to Port Aransas for our annual stay at Port Royal. We enjoyed our usual activities which included riding the ferry, buying shrimp from a shrimp boat, riding horses on the beach, and best of all soaking up the sun! This year the sun was in short supply, and the beach wasn't in it's best form, but we still had a great time doing whatever the heck we wanted!

One day we went down to the National Seashore and walked along part of the 72 mile stretch of un-developed beach. It was pretty, and we were on the lookout for the endangered Ripley sea turtles who are in nesting season right now, but we weren't lucky enough to see any this time! There was a cool gift shop where we got to play with lots of sea-things and learn about marine life in the National Seashore area.

Thursday afternoon we headed to a ranch on Mustang Island to ride horses on the beach. We did pretty well, only a few hiccups like Laura's horse kicking mine, and dogs running onto the beach causing our horses to spook and gallop in various directions. Here's Laura and I with our horses, she rode Diamond and I rode Conduit. Conduit did NOT love walking in the water, but I got him to wet his feet a few times.

This picture shows what most of the beach looked like, covered in sea weed and LOTS of washed up jellyfish! It left less space for us to play in the sand, but we still enjoyed a few good walks in the water and had a good collection of shells by the end of our trip.

Friday we went out on a jetty to see if there were good fishing spots for Linda & Laura to go back and fish the next day. We walked over giant granite boulders almost a mile out into the sea and finally reached the end where we had a great view of a herd of cranes, and a school of dolphins that were playing and feeding! We got soaked by the huge waves coming in, but enjoyed watching the water and all that lives in it!

It was a great trip, and I can't wait to get back next year, hopefully with a little bit warmer weather! Thanks Gramma for making our fun possible!