How I've Been Passing the Time...

I've been traveling for a few weeks now (and a few weeks in August) so I've had plenty of time to read and plug my ears up with good music. Here's how I've been passing all the time spent in DFW and two airports in Virginia, time spent at 35,000 feet and the time spent in hotels...

Books: Bed of Roses (currently reading), Vision in White, Pack Up the Moon, On the Road, Songs Without Words, Sarah's Key, The Patron Saint of Liars...

Music:

AND. In just a couple of short weeks I will be attending the Regina Spektor concert with Laura A! Can't wait!

Loving this gadget!

I'm not usually a person who is into gadgets (I just bought my first i-pod if you need an example). However, these little gadgets have totally caught my eye...


This is a nook from Barnes and Noble (one of my favorite places to go and waste time). Its another version of the kindle (Amazon) and the Sony digital reader. BUT. This one has a "sharing" feature. Basically, if the publisher allows sharing, then you can share the book you have purchased with friends.

And, Kate Spade has designed some really cute covers for the nook...



The pictures are small but one cover is a girl in a library, one cover says "read a book" and the last says "she kept her nose in a book" (front) "and her head in the clouds" (back).

Love it!

Dinner and a Movie

Mike and I had a double date with friends Nick and Erica recently. We cooked and saw "Couples Retreat." First, the food...

Dirty Rice (my recipe) with

Sweet and Smokey Bourbon Chicken (inspired by this recipe)

As for the movie... pretty cute. Nothing particularly surprising about the way it ends but it was fun to see and was a good ending to our night!

Wedding Post 1 - Date & Venue

Earlier this month I posted about my hill country weekend. While there, I took pictures of the venues I visited with my parents so Mike could see them as well. We decided on Spicewood Vineyards. Our wedding will be October 10, 2010. Here are a few shots of the location:

Park... You Should Go!

I had a dinner date with Laura A. this past Saturday night at Park on Henderson.

Super-cute place! We sat inside because of the chilly weather but there was a nice porch in front and a busy bar inside. We had great comfort food... chicken fried steak and mac and cheese cooked and served in a cast iron skillet. Good night of catching up on life's fun and not-so-fun events!

Cake Balls - Attempt 1

For game day at the Stanley's, I made cake balls for the first time. I think they turned out pretty tasty! Here were the steps involved...

Step 1: Mix cake (already baked) with icing

Step 2: Roll mixture into balls

Step 3: Dip into milk or white chocolate and eat!

These will be made again! I need a bit more practice on making them pretty on the outside!

A&M/Arkansas Day

I'm a bit late with this post... however, here we go!

Lots of friends gathered at the Stanley's last weekend for the A&M/Arkansas game. Needless to say, the Aggies lost but we had lots of fun and great food!

Group shot of the girls

Hill Country/Venue Search Weekend

My parents and I took a short trip to the hill country to visit my great aunt and uncle and look for wedding venues. My relatives live in a great house in Spicewood. Beautiful and relaxing! See pictures below of them with my parents and their hilarious Portuguese water dog, Amy.




After visiting two venues in Spicewood, we were starving. We went to eat at Backstage Steakhouse and Garden Bar. Highlight was the jalapeno corn cake with crawfish. For those who will be at the Stanley's on Saturday, I am attempting to recreate this for the bar-b-que!


Monday we were in downtown Austin. After visiting two more places and walking all over downtown, we stopped at Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill for lunch. My dad had a yummy looking burger but refused to let me take a picture! My mom and I got spicy chicken tortilla soup and "corn dog" shrimp with mustard and blueberry sauce. Great food again!




I'll post about the venue once Mike and I have made the final decision and put down the deposit!