Reality Escape

My wonderful husband planned a Reality Escape vacation for us- hence the title of this post :-).  We’ve been working 16-18 hour days, everyday since October (with the exception of 6 days for Christmas) and were due for a vacation.  Working everyday, including weekends, really takes its toll on a person, and we were desperate for a nap break.  I was ecstatic when Phil told me that he had planned a surprise vacation for us.  I thought about it through all the long days leading up to the get-away as the “light at the end of the tunnel.”  To be honest, I think I would have been happy if we just locked ourselves inside for a weekend, but not Phil.  That man always goes above and beyond to make sure I feel loved and have a fun and relaxing break.  God definitely blessed me with an exceptional husband.

The night before we left, I packed waaaaay more than I would ever need; waaaaay more clothes and shoes than I could wear in 5 days.  But the way I saw it, I was prepared for whatever adventures my husband had planned for us :-)  Before leaving I got a pedicure (my favorite little relaxation treat for myself) and I picked OPI’s Strawberry Margarita for my color, because it sounded like a great vacation color.  Don’t you think so?

Friday morning we left Houston pretty early so that we could have brunch in Austin at Flip Happy Crepes.  These crepes were phenomenal.  We ordered one savory and one sweet crepe to split: a shredded pork for the savory, and peanut butter, banana, and chocolate crepe for the sweet.  I skipped most of the savory, and spent the majority of my eating energy on the sweet crepe.  If you ask me, chocolate is always the best way to start a vacation.

In the afternoon we went to Barton Springs to go swimming.  This was my first time swimming in a spring and I loved how clear the water was. 

Check out how blue the water was!  I could see the bottom of the 15 foot spring pool! 

Friday evening, we went visiting 6th street and some of our favorite hot spots.  Saturday morning we woke up and went on a tour of the Hill Country, stopping at Driftwood Estate, Duchman, and Dry Comal Creek.  Getting out into the fresh air, admiring nature, hand-in-hand with my husband was picture perfect! 

In between our stops in the Hill Country we went to 2 famous BBQ restaurants for lunch in Lockhart, TX.  Yes, I said 2!  What do you do when you’re only going to be around 2 well-renowned BBQ places only for an afternoon? You try them both!  Our first stop for lunch was Blacks BBQ and we ordered ribs.  Our second lunch was at Kreuz Market, and we ordered sausage, ribs, and brisket.  Our lunches were amazing; however, we are now certain that we’re officially spoiled and will never be able to eat ordinary BBQ again.  I can’t believe that I actually shared with you I ate 2 lunches in one day, but that is how good it was!

On Sunday we woke up early and went to New Braunfels, TX to float the Guadalupe River.  This was our second time floating the river and visiting Gruene (check out our first visit in 2009).  This time we were the only ones on the river and the water was perfect.  It was truly the most peaceful and relaxing river float I have ever been on and exactly what the doctor ordered!  We went to the famous Gristmill for lunch and I can’t even tell you how delicious lunch was.  I dove into my meal so fast I forgot to take a picture, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.

Later on Sunday we traveled to Seguin, TX.  I have never even heard of this town, but it was the perfect location for our last stop.  Phil reserved a place for us at the Mosheim Mansion.  This house, turned Bed & Breakfast, was gorgeous!  The authentic décor, fabulous service, and delicious breakfast were enough to secure another visit from the Hawleys. 

The mansion is in a quaint town that was truly lovely to visit.  Take a lot at downtown SeguinWho sees the largest pecan and doesn’t take a picture? Not me!Their new river walk

The mansion...I couldn’t get the entire house in the frame…

…so this is another view of the front of the house

The San Antonio Suite, where we stayed, was extremely grand.

Where we ate the most delicious french toast ever.

One of the many gorgeous sitting rooms.

On Monday it was very difficult to pack up and head back to Houston, but the trip was totally worth it.  Some of my favorite moments from the trip were playing 21 questions in the car, floating peacefully down the Guadalupe River, all of the BBQ, touring the gorgeous Hill Country, the Mansion, pit stops at Buc-ees, and lastly but most significantly, getting some time away with Phil.

I appreciate the slower pace of country life, but deep down, I’m a city girl.  I loved escaping from the city, but I still love coming back :-)

Virginia Girl

Virginia....where the tea is sweet and accents are sweeter, summer starts in April, front porches are wide and words are long, macaroni and cheese is a vegetable, BBQ is the state food, y'all is a proper pronoun, chicken is fried, biscuits come with gravy, everyone is honey, someone is always getting their heart blessed, and we are all "fixin" to do something.

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Even though I am from Virginia, I posted the Texas version of this a few weeks ago,  because that’s where I live now and I appreciate the Texan culture.  But when I put the two states together, there are hardly any differences.  I think the real bottom line is that I LOVE the South!  It just does not get any better!

Plates From Around the World

We haven't had a week like this in a while, but sometimes I get this brainy crazy idea that we should have a week where every meal is indicative of a different culture.  I decided to do this the week of Cinco de Mayo, and totally forgot to include Mexican food.  How lame is that?! Please forgive me: I’m super oblivious sometimes.

30-Minute Chicken Paprikash - This was my first brush with Hungarian.  Before this I had never tasted Hungarian, and I had certainly never attempted to cook it.  It was a really tasty chicken stew, but would probably be better on a day that is cooler than Houston in May.

Skillet Baked Ziti and Bread Sticks- I never leave Italy out of an around the world week. NEVER!  Looks aside, the taste was great. I used whole-wheat penne and Kraft Italian Cheese Blend instead of the parmesan.  Considering the taste, time to prepare, and having all of the ingredients on hand on a normal basis, I will probably make this again.

30-Minute Pork Vindaloo- This was also another first for me.  A couple weeks ago Phil asked me what I wanted for dinner and I said that I wanted an adventure and something different (normally I request Italian.  Are you seeing a trend here?).  So he surprised me with reservations at an Indian restaurant downtown and it was beyond fantastic.  Because of my new found affection for Indian food, I had to include Indian last week. 

The biggest issue I had with this recipe was finding the spices. First I went to Kroger for the garam masala and couldn’t find it. Then while I was flipping through the cookbook I found a recipe for garam masala. Since I still needed 2 of the ingredients to make my own (coriander and cardamom), Phil & I walked to Central Market to pick them up. When we finally found them in the spice section our jaws hit the floor at the sight of the price tag. It was going to cost us $16 just to make the spice I originally wanted.  What?!  We decided that it wasn’t worth it and we would just pretend it was there.  Since we were already at the market, we walked over to the coffee section (we’re BIG fans) to get our weekly coffee. Since the coffee section is adjacent to the make-your-own spices section, we decided to check if the garam masala was there. *It was there AND for $5.99/lb!*  I probably got more than I will ever use for only 42 cents!!!! So the problem was solved and we didn’t have to pretend! It was certainly a hunt but well worth it. I was expecting the spice to be really hot, but instead it had a sweet flavor. I served the vindaloo over whole-grain rice with naan crackers. I was pleasantly surprised with how well this dish turned out. I especially liked the flavor that the cilantro added to the dish.

I just LOVE around the world week at our house.  Do you have special recipes that are famous from where you are from or where you are living? Please share them, because I would love to incorporate your favorite recipes into our next around the world week.

Adobo Sauce: Don’t Get Scared!

Recently, I have encountered chipotle chilies in adobo sauce as an ingredient in the cookbook I’m working through right now (The Best 30 Minute Meal by Cook’s Illustrated). For the past couple months, every time I have flipped through the cook book and seen a recipe with them in the ingredients list, I have skipped the recipe. <wamp wamp>

Why was I so recipe-skiddish? I had no idea what chipotle chilies in adobo sauce were!  Never even heard of them before!

One day I got brave, and purchased a can from Kroger.

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Using the chilies, I made Skillet Vermicelli with Chorizo Sausage and Black Beans from the Cook’s Illustrated cookbook. and all I can say is: I HAVE BEEN MISSING OUT!  This is officially our new favorite recipe from this cook book.  I did not want to put my fork down (I kept sneaking back into the kitchen once dinner was over! In fact, I’m willing to bet money that I’ll sneak back to the kitchen for another spoonful before I finish writing this post).  Cook’s Illustrated really hit the nail on the head with this one. I didn’t add the cheese to the entire pot; instead, I just let people sprinkle what they want on their own plate. I provided sour cream, but nobody used it. (FYI- I just tip-toed into the kitchen for another bite hehe) This was fantastic and I will be returning to page 150 for this recipe many times in the future.

Ok, so back to the chilies.  After this dish I HAD to know more about these chunks of deliciousness.  I asked the women in my cookbook club more about these little guys and they had a lot of chili-wisdom. Since they passed their knowledge onto me, I’m passing it onto you. 

The gals taught me that these chilies are really delicious and have more of a smoky flavor than a hot flavor.  You wont need a lot to get the desired flavor, so instead of chucking the can, you can either put a top on the can and use them during the week for other dishes OR freeze them.  Since each can is about 85 cents, I think you’ll be quite pleased with yourself.  In the grocery store you can probably find them in the ethnic aisle. 

So if you see chipotle chilies in adobo sauce listed in the  ingredients, DON’T BE SCARED.  Go for it!  You CAN do it!

What I’m Lovin’ Wednesday: Mugs

As soon as I saw these monogrammed mugs from Anthropology I fell in love with them *instantly*.  I HAD to have them.  If I didn’t share these mugs with you it would simply be a tragedy and I would be a horrible friend! So I’m doing my duty and passing it on to you.via

Aren’t they adorable?!  Aside from holding coffee, you really could use them for an assortment of things.  In the store they had them on display holding seedlings, which would really look great in a kitchen window if you’re growing your own herbs.  Also they would be a nice bridal shower gift or even a great birthday gift.

I purchased a few ‘H’ mugs (of course), a ‘P’, and a ‘D’.

Don’t you want some now too?  They’re just irresistible!

Spring Guests

I will be the first to admit that I am more than behind with telling you about the visitors we’ve had this spring.  I plan on making it up to you in pictures.

In early March Phil’s sister, Joni, and son (our newest nephew), Elijah, came to visit from Alaska.  We had a blast!  Joni and I had time in the kitchen together (isn’t time together in the kitchen with family the best?!), and got some shopping done.  We also got a pedicure that was fabulous.  I secretly plan on luring them back to Houston with a pedicure because I’m sneaky like that.

Elijah may be little and only 9 months old, but he has no fears about eating right off someone else’s plate.  So stand back, the boy can eat!

One day Elijah discovered our double french doors to the back porch.  He liked to make faces at us through the glass.  This series of pictures cracks me up every time I see them.  (Sidebar, I promise he wasn’t locked inside by himself when we took these pictures.  In fact the other door was wide open for him to crawl around to us.)

Elijah and I enjoyed our snuggle time on the couch together.  I seriously *love* this kid!

Like uncle, like nephew. Domination of the remote control.

At the beginning of April we had a dear friend from college fly in for the Final Four games.  Brett and Phil used to play ball together in college and it was so great to see him back in Houston (especially without a hurricanes this time).  The guys had great seats and spent the weekend enthralled in basketball.  I’ll say they had a fantastic weekend. We can’t wait to see you again Brett!

Ready for the games!The guys had great seats!

If you’re ever in Houston, or even near it really, please let us know and we would love to have to over or meet up with you.  We love opening our home to family and friends!

All the Rage: Moss Monogram

I think I have seen this tutorial on every single DIY blog this spring. So of course I had to try it too.  I have explained before about my love for monogram and my weird desire to have it plastered all over our house.  So when I saw a tutorial for these Pottery Barn knock-off monogrammed moss letters I simply couldn’t help myself (especially since I would be saving $72!!!!  Seriously, who would pay $79 for grass and dirt?!). 

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This is probably the easiest, cheapest, and fastest craft project in the world (Have I been saying that a lot lately? I feel like I have).  I purchased the moss, ribbon, and the ‘H’ from Hobby Lobby for a total of $7.  I already had a glue gun so I was good there (If you do decide to make this, make sure you have several extra sticks of glue.  You will go through the glue quickly).

As you can see, this projects gets pretty messy very quickly.  Make sure you lay down some paper or something before you even open the bag of moss, and plan on vacuuming when you’re done.  I purchased the sheet moss and the loose clumps of moss because I didn’t know which I would like more.  I ended up using a mixture of both.  All I did was glue pieces of moss onto the ‘H’ making sure that all the edges are covered.  Then I attached a ribbon to the back with a small bow on top.  Easy, right? 

At first I had the ‘H’ hanging on a mirror in our entry way.  (A suggestion for you if you decide to do this: you may want to put moss on the front and back of the letter. This will both prevent scratching the mirror and prevent someone from seeing the back of an unfinished letter.)  I like a mirror by the door so I can double-check to make sure everything is in place before I leave, but I found myself dodging the moss just so I could see my face.   I ended up moving the ‘H’ to the solarium where we have all of our plants growing out of control (more to come on this later).  I figured that moss and plants would fit together nicely anyways. 

So there you have it: affordable, popular, mossy monogram!

Chairs of My Days: Desk Awards

Do you ever wonder what I do during the day? Where am I when we chat? I wonder the same thing! So I thought I'd take some pictures so that you could see where I am during the day. Attempting to make my life interesting, I thought I would give a superlative to every place I am. So here goes:

Most Boring Desk- Look how sterile this looks! I don't like this desk for one reason: the computer doesn't have the internet. I can’t live without the internet! When I’m here, I get a lot of my correspondence done on my phone. Thank goodness for smartphones! (Sidebar- I was sitting at this desk when I came up with the idea for this post....so you get the idea of the level of boredom here.) While I don’t have the internet, I do have plenty of cabinet and desk space to sprawl out. Also this is a pretty comfortable chair.

Most Productive Desk- No windows + no noises = complete productivity (which is obvious with the piles of paper. Yes, I have file cabinets in this office, but for some reason the pile system trumps). This is where I do a lot of my writing.

Oldest Desk- What year would you guess this desk was made in? I would guess some time in the 70's? This chair is not the most comfortable, but it works. I will point out the post-its and coffee.....if you know me at all you know these are a daily must!

Most Peaceful Desk- This is my favorite desk, no boredom, no piles of paper, and just a few steps away from my groom. This is a very happy and inspiring desk.

So now you know a little bit more about me and the places I jump around between during the day. Next time we’re talking it’s probable that I will be in one of these places. Hope you’re having a great week!

Date Do

After a day of running errands, cleaning house, and/or work, my hair is just not presentable for date night; nor, is my attitude ready to tackle my hair into something presentable for the public. My hubby and I had a double-date on Friday night and I was SO excited, until I looked in the mirror and realized my hair looked like it had been hit by the humidity nightmare that is Houston.   I felt like I hadn’t seen people in months so I had to glitz myself up, but I didn’t have time for the glam.  What’s a gal to do?!

I remembered earlier in the week, Beth from A2Z posted a picture of her hair-do (yes, I said “hair-do” hehe) and I thought that maybe, just maybe, I could replicate it with the 15 minutes I had before we needed to be back in the car and on our way.

I put my hair in 2 low pony tails.  I took a few small pieces of hair, twisted them, and pinned them up with a bobby pin.  There was no method or pattern to my madness; just twisting and pinning.

I know these aren’t the best pictures, but keep in mind that I was in a rush, and taking pictures over your shoulder is really hard. 

This date do took no time at all.  In fact, I spent more time taking the pictures than I did actually putting my hair up.  I really liked this quick date do and felt it was sassy enough to wear out to dinner with some great friends without having to fight with my hair.  Thanks Beth for the tips!