Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Good Bull (Part I)

We Fightin' Texas Aggies are a breed of our own, and we love our Aggieland! Blessed does not begin to describe how I feel about our road trip last weekend! 

Still rubbing sleep from our eyes on Saturday morning, we hit the road to College Station with a few of our favorite Aggies, Ray, Alicia, Colin, and Amy. Music was playing and the sun was shining on our girls car. 




As girls do, we chatted about everything we could possibly cram into the far-too-short, three hour ride. Amy could hardly get a word in edgewise with chatterboxes like me and Alicia.




Blue Baker was our first stop for a light lunch...a bread bowl and red velvet cupcake later, not quite as light as I'd hoped.




 Making our way to campus, it was a miracle neither car got in an accident with all the rubber-necking at the changes in the town. Even campus itself has a new building at every turn. We all thought the new designs were sleek and classy additions. 



Of course we had to stop by the Century Tree...



And visit the remodeled MSC.


Yep, those are gaming stations on the lower level of the MSC. Pretty cool.

If you know anything about Chase, you know he does not discriminate based on sporting event. He has attended just about every possible Aggie athletic event, and he doesn't mess around. When we were dating, we actually got into real arguments because he wanted to attend so many. And if you know anything about me, you know I enjoy watching sports myself (if failure to breathe, increased blood pressure, and sudden onset of involuntary shouting are what you call enjoyment). 

Check out this group of good-lookin people right here! 




Unfortunately, our Ags ran out of time (even though they had four overtimes!!!!!!!!) <- see what I mean about involuntary outbursts? Those exclamation points were completely out of my control. Reed Arena's atmosphere left much to be desired. While a student, my Aggie basketball experience was one of richness, excitement, and a lottery for conference game, student tickets. Not only were many seats vacant on Saturday, the people who did occupy seats didn't seem interested in making noise during a game that was within a bucket or two for much of the second half and overtimes. Empty seats could suck the life out of any arena. Complete lack of intensity from the coach and players seemed to do the rest for the Aggies. I wanted to see more fast breaks, penetration in the paint, and drawn fouls. Sorry for all of you who just lapsed into a comatose state as I pined for the days of Joseph Jones and Acie Law...maybe you could lend a hand as I step off my soapbox.

Ray and Alicia had to say goodbye after the basketball game so Ray could go kick the Cowtown Marathon's tail on Sunday Morning. Loved that we got to share these memories with them!



And all of this was only day one...stay tuned!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Good Hair Day

I like to style my hair. A lot. I've had my hair at about this length since about my junior year in high school. Needless to say, I get bored with it being the same style every day. People are always asking me how I do it...ready for my secret?

YouTube videos. If my husband can figure out how to program his computer or do some complex car maintenance by watching YouTube, then a hairstyle should be a breeze.

Sometimes I find these videos linked on Pinterest, and I immediately slap them on my board, "Hairography." Which is a title I stole from Glee...I've only seen about three episodes, but that was one of them. Interestingly enough, the term refers to using one's hair to distract from anything else that might be going wrong in a performance. I think I do just that...look at my hair, and maybe you won't notice that I'm not wearing any makeup...ever. 

Here's the style I rocked on Friday night for our Valentine's date.


 I've done this bun a few times. Normally, I do it a bit higher like I first saw it on Kim Kardashian.


Last week, I saw Kelly Ripa wear a bun on her show similar to this photo, and decided to try it out.


Minus the middle part, of course...that would look so weird on me.

Picking up this particular hairstyle was easy thanks to this video.


The bun is the second style she does.  While she is not the most professional of tutors, I learned a lot from this video.  You have no idea how sad I was when my hair wasn't long enough to braid across my head, btw. She does know some things you MUST HAVE in your hairstyling arsenal, namely dry shampoo and no-slip-grip bobby pins (that are close to your hair color if possible).

A special tip about pinning a bun (any sort of bun): don't pry apart the pin before you stick it into the bun. It seems like it won't hold, but trust me, it will.

Happy Hairography, everyone!

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Valentine's Day Part II - Progressive Date

Valentine's Day, no matter how much you claim not to care, always puts a certain amount of pressure on a couple. This can end well or not so great depending on the couple. This year, it was a good stimulus to goad us into romancing one another.

Camping a few weeks ago left an imprint on Chase's heart, and he was so proud of all the photos he took over the weekend of God's beautiful canvas. I decided to make these a lasting memory somewhere he would see them all the time. I also had blank wall space screaming to be filled.

Chase came home on Friday thinking he had a night of surprises waiting for me, but I had a surprise for him first. He went through his usual routine, but when he went to put down the book he's studying for the PE, he noticed something different in his office.


I also hung a watercolor of our sweet baby Alice that we've been meaning to hang for awhile.


Surprised and grateful, he said, "Whoa! What's this? And you hung the picure of Alice, too? I love it!" We stood and discussed the pictures for a little while, and how I'd gotten away with the surprise (he stalks me through our finances on an hourly basis). Then we went to get ready for his surprise for me.

We had the toughest time deciding what to wear (it was ridiculously cold, and Chase told me we'd be doing "some" walking), but eventually we were dressed and on the road. He asked me at every turn whether I thought he would go "left or right." I mostly guessed correctly, but he threw me off a little here and there. We ended up in downtown McKinney. We have been to Sauced on the Square, Square Burger (grass-fed beef...LOVE), Landon Winery, and Aparicio's, but Chase told me we were going somewhere we'd never been. A note about us...we love new places. We often do not have a "favorite" place for a certain type of food because we like to try something new every time. 

Sadly, we didn't get any pictures of our first stop, Cafe Malaga. They serve Tapas, and their food was scrum-diddly-umptious. We had a late dinner reservation, so we had plenty of time to relax, dote on each other, and enjoy our time together. 

Second stop: Landon Winery. They treated us to a few samples, and we decided on the "Peach" and "Yellow Rose" flavors. Their wine is wonderful, and their "Wine-a-Ritas" hit the spot on hot Texas days.


We asked some nice ladies to take a photo of us...after several attempts, we got one! I mean, we should've known in a winery it might take a few tries, bless their hearts!


Our final stop was Rick's Chophouse. The mood was cozy and romantic. We had the perfect little booth where we could talk and feel miles away from the rest of the world. Our waitress, Jerah, was fantastic. She was the epitome of a sweet and sassy southern belle. Warm and welcoming, she cracked little jokes and made great suggestions. Chase ordered the peppercorn crusted elk with grilled asparagus and a potato gratine. I thoroughly enjoyed my filet with red wine demi, steamed asparagus with Bearnaise, and garlic mashed potatoes. When we couldn't decide on a dessert and were between her two recommendations, Jerah brought us both and comped one (did I mention she was the best?).

Extreme self-control was exercised in order to capture this moment.


Chase had the pecan pie with Henry's Mexican vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce, and I had the apple pie puff pastry with Henry's bourbon ice cream and caramel sauce. Jerah actually laughed when she returned a few minutes later to discover us both with nearly cleaned plates.

Holding hands on our walk to the car (Chase had offered to go get it, but I wasn't having that), we took our time at first, gazing in little shop windows as we passed. The crisp night air quickly chilled us to the bone, and we decided to make a run for it...heels and all. It was a bit like being a kid again, and was the perfect close to our magical evening. I could not be more thankful for the sweet blessing Chase is as a husband. Happy Valentine's day!

Singing Valentine's Day

Chase and I had the most fun on our Valentine's Day(s) this year! Thursday was very special for Chase because it was his first time to deliver Singing Valentines with the Vocal Majority. He's been a member of the chorus for...um...ever, but he's a little timid about singing in small groups. Last Independence Day, he got his feet wet singing the national anthem in a quartet for our church, and decided to help out with Valentines this year.

The special privilege of singing to a former VM president's wife was given to Chase's quartet


Here he is singing to me at work 


We had to snap a photo as well of these "Dapper Dans"



Surprising me with their serenade would've been difficult...Chase knows not to wake up the baby! But it had to be a surprise for someone, so I had Chase come during lunch and didn't tell Brooke. Holland stared for awhile, and then went right back to eating. Thanks, Brooke, for the videos and picture!


Smiles and a few tears characterized their day giving the gift of song. They sang for their dessert at Corner Bakery per the manager's request. It was a little like being Santa on Christmas. Everybody who saw them wanted to know what they were doing and watch them make someone's day. He loved every minute!

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Good Times

Last weekend, Chase went camping with all the guys from our church small group. Words cannot describe the fun they had just being men. While planning all the details, their eyes lit up like kids in a candy store. I have to say that I'm impressed by how well things went without a bit of help from the ladies.

Once they got their tents assembled,



they built a very manly campfire (so they wouldn't have to hold each other for warmth...it was cold!)



And, of course, there was the "Dutch Oven Mountain Man Breakfast", good fuel for...


FISHING! Don't they look so proud?!



Those little guys weren't quite big enough to eat...good thing they thought to bring hot dogs as a backup. Look at these men cooking! Ray and Michel cook delicious food (and not just when they have to!).


All that work cooking and fishing left just enough time for some male bonding.


Awaking to breathtaking scenery like this was well worth the chilly night.


As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17




For a look at what we ladies did without our boys, visit Alicia's blog.