Mother's Day & Landa Park

First and foremost, lets take a moment to celebrate my sweet momma. I love her and she's the best mom in the world. THE BEST.

We celebrated with her on Mother's Day down in New Braunfels. We had some yummy Mexican food, chocolate for dessert, and then watched the Spurs game (sorry they didn't win!). Well we watched most of it. I have a problem with stressful situations (like stressful movies, or for example, a stressful basketball game), so Brendon and I escaped for a bit to Landa Park. We caught the last quarter but after it went into overtime we had to call it quits to have some Mother's Day time with my sweet mother-in-law!

Brendon and I split mole enchiladas and MAN they were good. So bueno.

It had been a couple years since we had been to Landa Park. Growing up I spent SO much time there, it's neat to see how much has changed and how much hasn't. When Brendon and I were dating in high school we'd come here and hang out, holding hands on the benches. You know, high school stuff.

Landa Park is pretty awesome. New Braunfels has itself a winner. It's huge, honestly it gives Zilker Park a run for it's money. It's beautiful and is full of the most grand live oak trees! And it's got: the natural spring beginning of the Comal River, both springfed and chlorine public pools, a train (!), putt-putt golf, a real golf course, a dance floor, wicked playgrounds, an awesome hiking trail, paddle boats, volleyball, horseshoes, and a snack bar that serves bluebell ice cream. Oh and ducks that love bread. I'm sure I'm missing other awesome things, but I mean geeze, that's a really legit park for a relatively small town!

And we ended our little park adventure how any day in the park should end, with a snow cone!

Sunday was a really lovely day spent with lovely people. I enjoyed every minute of it. Thank you again Mom for being a wonderful human and such a good mom. You really are the best.

My momma's birthday

Yesterday we shimmied on down to New Braunfels after work to celebrate my mom's birthday! Although I was completely exhausted (somehow I am sick, AGAIN, that's like the 3rd time this year? Not fair, life), we had a great time with good food and good people. I love my momma and I am so glad she was born! She's the sweetest woman in the world and seriously, the best mom ever. EVER.

We ate at Huisache Grill, which has been one of our go-to spots for celebrations since my teen years. It's super cute and the food never disappoints. Afterwards we had some dessert at 2tarts, which is an incredibly cute (like so cute there was a group of old ladies knitting, even the guests were cute!) little bakery and coffee shop. I wish I had been a little more awake to appreciate it. At that point I was doing good just sitting up. The place was adorable and I wish it had existed in my high school years. I would have totally chilled there.

Excuse the not so great quality of photos. Like I said, I was a zombie. Also, although I am not pictured I swear I was there. And my outfit was really cute I promise! My face, not so much.

Love for my momma

My mom is an amazing woman. She is one of the kindest souls in the world, incredibly hard working, and hilarious. I love her to death and I owe her so much. Like for starters, my life.

Thank you for being so great, mom. Seriously. I am so thankful for everything you've taught and done for me. You have always been there no matter what and have always supported me in everything I do. I would not be who I am today without you. You are such a good person. The values you instilled in me have shaped who I am, and I am forever grateful. Thank you for being so loving and giving my sister and I such a wonderful and fun childhood.

My beautiful momma and a chubby baby-me at what I can only assume is a tex-mex restaurant, knowing our taste.

Also, a huge thank you mom for giving me such a great environment growing up for creativity. I have been creating "stuff" since I can remember and you have always encouraged me. You taught me that the sky was the limit, I can do anything if I put my mind to it (or I can at least try) and I have taken that and ran with it. It fuels my life, making things makes me happy. And of course thank you for teaching me to sew and cook! Brendon thanks you for the cooking as well. You were, are, and always will be, the best mom ever. Happy mother's day!

And happy mother's day to all you other momma's out there who did not give birth to me! A special shout out to a few of my favorite mom's; my sweet step-momma Lynne, my mom-in-law Deb, and my bestest friend Kristy. You are wonderful and I love you all!

Feliz Cuplianos Madre!

Tuesday was my momma's birthday! The wonderful woman who created and raised me to be the girl I am today turned *bleep*. A lady never reveals her age, and I'm not going to do it for her, so lets just say she turned 21! Yay, 21st birthdays are great! We spent the day down in NB and celebrated that evening.

 I should have gotten a better shot of the card I made her, cats with party hats!

Brendon's gift, obviously.

We ate at a yummy place called Salsalito's in San Antonio. It was delicious and I felt like I was going to explode afterwards. SO good.

 The ladies! This picture is in black and white because Brendon has exposure problems when taking photos. We were blue before.

Of course we had to spill the beans and have them sing to her. It was awesome! They banged together silverware, she got ice cream, and they even showered her with straws, what more could you ask for?

After dinner we stopped and took pictures in some pretty blue bonnets like tourists. Because why not? They're so pretty! We had to hike through some seriously tall foliage (thank you rain!) but I think it was worth it.

 Good picture of me and mom, silly picture of Julie and Brendon. Actually, what is going on there Brendon? Is that blue steel?

We finished up the birthday night with a few rounds of uno (I didn't win once, no fair). It was a great day followed by a great evening. I love my family! I hope my momma had a good birthday, we love you mom. Thank you for being the best mom ever and being there for me 110% of the time, you are an amazing woman!

And this picture is mostly a joke, but it must be noted how pale my legs are:

I clearly haven't seen the sun in a decade. Also, check out that neon orange skirt! Found that baby at a thrift store here in Austin. It's pretty amazing (yes, it has pockets). It also came with a lovely 90's style jacket, complete with giant shoulder pads. Legitimate. Needless to say, I probably wont ever wear the upper portion, but the skirt is awesome.

We've been having great luck thrifting lately. We've had some awesome finds; clothes (Brendon got a sweet corduroy blazer for like 3 bucks), Pyrex (3 awesome bowls!), a bunch of dvd's for a dollar each, even an old ass Sound of Music record cover. Okay, half of the cover. No actual record, just the front half of the cover. It was 53 cents, I couldn't just leave it all alone at goodwill with a gazillion Christmas and aerobics records.

And do you remember ages ago when I found a little black dress at a vintage store but it was too pricy so I passed it up? You don't, but that's okay. WELL, this past weekend while Kristy was here we popped into that store and I told myself if it was still there I would get it since I have been thinking about ever since I saw it. It was there! And I got it! And it is as perfect as I remember. Although I may have to shorten it just a little to modernize it a bit. I am in love. It is the best dress ever. Just wait until you see it!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy love day to all you lovers (and haters) out there! I love Valentine's Day! Mr. H is spending the majority of the day at school, but will be home later this evening so we'll have a little low key celebration at home before he has to get back to studying.

So far today has been really wonderful. Because Valentine's Day is about celebrating all the people you love, this morning I drove down to NB with some flowers to surprise my momma at work. And I think I was pretty successful! I love surprising people, surprises are the best! I took her out to lunch and we had some yummy Mexican food! It was super relaxing and fun and exactly what I needed after a rough week/weekend. Hanging out with my mom is the bomb. We went to the Adobe which was my favorite tex-mex restaurant back in the day. It is still pretty damn good. I needed a siesta afterwards, I was so full.

Once my mom went back to work I headed a little farther south and surprised my dad at work! He gave me a little tour of their new warehouse/offices and I've got to say, they're pretty dang fancy. It is the biggest Sysco in the entire world. Literally. It was neat to see it all put together. We went to the ground breaking ceremony in 2010 and this past spring we meandered around while it was being built. It opened this December and they're finishing up combining the San Antonio and Austin offices this week. I'm happy for Sysco! Plus now the trucks I see in Austin will have come from my dad's work!

Ground breaking. My dad's the goon in plaid. Can't you tell we're related?

All finished!

I was pretty impressed. And all the fork lifts they use in the warehouse run on hydrogen. They have like a little hydrogen pump where they all fill up. How cool is that?

Back on topic, today is the day of love! So let's talk about my sweet man. This is the point where you navigate away from the page if you are not a fan of mushy-love stuff. Jk, it won't be that bad.

He left this sweet card on my computer for me to find when I woke up (I like how he knows where I go immediately in the morning).

If you've ever used construction paper you'll recognize those little stencils. He might not be much of an artist, but I love his cards. They are hilarious as well as adorably wonky. And of course sweet as hell. AND as always, our cats are involved in everything.

I love this man a lot. He is the weirdest person I know, and also the best. He treats me like a princess and 99% of the time I don't deserve it. Even if I feel like crap, am in a bitchy mood, and refuse to decide what to eat (erryday y'all), he is always patient with me and endlessly kind. I can't imagine being married to me, but I'm sure it's frustrating constantly at times. I am beyond thankful for Brendon and so glad he wandered into my little world. Life without him by my side would be lame. Not only would I be even more of a hot mess, it would be hella boring. Being married to him is a blast. Everyday is an adventure and we are laughing all the way, mostly at fart jokes (kidding...or am I?). So thanks Mr. H, for yet another Valentine's Day together, our first as husband and wife. Can't wait until you're done with your test tonight. And although I am very grateful for it being in our lives, pharmacy school is not on my love list.

Scottish dress #1

Here is my little Scottish number... even though I finished this up almost a week ago... bad blogger!

(nerd alert!)

Ta-da! Do I look ready to play some bag pipes or throw a tree trunk? 

This dress was pretty easy to make. I spread it out over three days (tryin' to make these projects last), the blouse one day, the skirt the next, and then the vest. The vest was the most fun. I learned how to put on grommets! You get to use a hammer! So fun. Unfortunately, I set myself up for a couple challenges because apparently I cannot read. I bought too little of the white and plaid fabric. I had to go get more of the white (and I have officially banned myself from Joann's for a while, that place is my kryptonite these days), but I ended up just shortening the skirt to make the plaid I had work. Finding out that I hadn't gotten enough fabric was extremely frustrating and I felt like a fool. But in all fairness, have you ever tried to read the material lists on the back of patterns? Whoever designed those is obviously a fan of chaos and confusion.

 A blurry shot of Greg interrupting our photo shoot. He's always trying to steal the limelight.

I changed the skirt up a bit. Originally it was just hanging straight down, normal skirt style, but it was an awkward length because I had to shorten it, so I decided to add some pick ups in the front to add a little spiciness (yes, spiciness. Scottish spiciness.). I'm also thinking of taking the lace off of the neckline. It's really cute and all, but itchy as all get out.

I'm ready to hit up the highland games y'all! Any ideas on shoes? I know the barefoot look is just SO working for me, but I figure shoes are appropriate to wear outdoors. No one wants parasites, right Brendon?

Name that intersection!

Also, it rained! For a couple days! And not fake misty rain, but real rain. I spent this weekend with my momma down in NB and on Sunday we drove to Houston to see my g-pa, aunt, and cousins for some birthday festivities. It rained the ENTIRE way there! I'm not sure if Austin got as much while I was gone, Brendon said it rained quite a bit, but it sure was nice to see some dark clouds instead of the never ending burning sun of death. We even got some thunder and lightening! I love a good storm!

It was awesome to get out of Austin, if only for a couple days. I had a great time with my mom, as always! Saturday we got her fabric for her dress and ran around in the rain all day. Then we had some yummy hot dogs and watched a movie, Red Riding Hood. The movie was okay, a little silly but entertaining. I was scared that it might be spooky! But it wasn't thank goodness, I don't do scary movies. This weekend was just what I needed. As much as I dislike being away from Brendon, it was refreshing to get some girl time with mi madre. A tiny little escape from reality. And I'm sure he enjoyed the quality study time without interruptions from me asking him to take pictures of my latest endeavor.