Port Aransas 2014

So tomorrow is my birthday. And for my birthday, I treated Brendon and I to a long weekend at Port Aransas. Because it's my party and I'll go to the beach if I want to. And because I wanted to check on the ocean. I hadn't seen it in a couple years and I wanted to make sure it was still there. And we've both been working our butts off and deserved a little break!

The weather was a bit funky for the beach, as you might have noticed from the first photo, however I actually loved it. It was cool and often intensely cloudy with a near constant chance of rain (I don't think we saw the sun once, perfect for us vampires), and thus the town and beach were pretty bare. It was wonderful. We still did everything we wanted to do, it just wasn't sweltering hot and there weren't a gazillion people everywhere. Also, no seaweed! I feel like there is ALWAYS seaweed everywhere (see our last trip to Port A as a prime example), but maybe because it was spring instead of summer?

See that pink triangle up there? I made that kite! I actually made it for the Zilker Kite Festival, which was cancelled this year due to bad weather, so I was very excited to try it out and see if it would actually fly. And it did! So well! I think it deserves it's own post, so hopefully you'll see more of my hot pink kite baby soon.

And even though it was not exactly warm out, we swam! And it was so fun! We jumped and played in the waves (and screamed) like little kids. It was awesome. I've never been a huge fan of getting in the ocean, but it was seriously enjoyable this go round.

No trip to Port A is complete without a photo in the sharks mouth! We are so good at being tourists:

Not our bunker in the sand. But a very cool one! A family staying in our condos made it and it held up all weekend! Kudos to them.

This was a seriously awesome and very relaxing trip. I am and always will be a mountain lover at heart, but man did I miss the beach. It felt so good to be back. The sound of the ocean, the damp salty air, even the sand, I missed it! We relaxed and played and ate like pigs, and although Brendon had to do a little studying, it gave me a chance to veg out (and nap)! We even got some running in! We did two four mile runs barefoot on the beach. And we will never run barefoot for that amount of time again. Although it was lovely at first, I ended up with some seriously horrendous blisters on the bottoms of my toes. Shoes next time for sure.

And here are the trip details! We stayed at Casa Condominiums and it was really great. Like RIGHT on the beach. Shortest walk ever. And room 107, if it's just a couple of you, is perfect. It has the most fantastic upgraded kitchen! I've stayed a lot of places in Port A, and I think this might be my favorite.

As far as places to eat, our favorites were Shells and Venetian Hot Place, both delicious Italian food with excellent service, and then Taqueria San Juan for the yummiest, speediest, and cheapest breakfast. Oh and Coffee Waves! The cutest coffee shop, which is actually quite huge for a coffee shop, with the most helpful team! We asked what vegetarian friendly places were available and they pointed us in the right direction. I wish we would have stopped by again before we left, I love me a good coffee shop. In general, as far as being vegetarian friendly, Port Aransas doesn't kill it. But there a few places with good options, like those mentioned here. If there was ever a time where I wished I still ate seafood, this was it!

Brendon and I agree that vacationing together is the best. Ever. Even if just for a couple days. So thank you Port Aransas for our little escape! You were lovely as always. I honestly can't wait to go back!

Running love

Totally unedited selfie of me after running. Like those blotches? That's what happens to us vampires when we run. More on this in a second, but first: OH MY GOODNESS SORRY I AM A TERRIBLE BLOGGER. Seriously. It's just, my life! It's so busy and really not that interesting. But I PROMISE I am doing (relatively) exciting things in the near future and I will TRY to document and share. For the four of you that care.

Anyways, back to that ridiculously large photo of me. No matter what Anastasia Steele does, don't run in pigtail braids. They will beat your shoulders, arms, chest, and even your face. So stupid. Anyway, running! It's a damn addiction. But the good kind. We have been running our BUTTS off. Like four times a week, at least. And holy hell have we (I) made progress. For a while it was just running the same 5k route and always stopping to walk a bit. Then one day I ran the whole thing. And then I stopped having to walk at all. And then we added more miles. And then more. And then the other day I ran six miles, which is the farthest I've run, ever. To you pros, that's nothing. But to the girl that couldn't run an entire 5k at the beginning of the year, this is exciting. A half marathon seemed impossible a couple months ago, but now I think it's totally attainable and something I am working toward. I'm still really slow pace-wise, but I don't care. As long as I'm running, I'm happy. I just love it. I love the way you feel afterwards, although during sometimes I feel like I am going to DIE. And I love that I'm almost always sore and can feel my legs getting stronger. I can't see it (no visible muscle growth... yet!), but I can feel it when I run or stretch. Also my skinny jeans have a rougher time getting over my calves these days. Ha.

We've got two races coming up, a 5k at the end of the month and an 8k at the end of May. I haven't run a race since the Trail of Lights 5k and I'm excited to pin on that number again now that I've made the progress I have. And there's just something so awesome about races. So much positive energy and just generally good vibes. Man, I love good vibes. Also there's snacks.

And speaking of good vibes, everyone seems to be feeling and sharing the running love lately! We've got a few of us at work that are on that running game, and as silly as this sounds, the online love has been so good. Thank you Facebook friends for putting up with and supporting all my running posts, seriously. It's so awesome to share this new found love with others and talk about motivation! It's like we've got a little support group going on! Keep on running, y'all. You da best.

So that's what I've been doing. Running, running, running. And working of course. I'm a little concerned about what will happen this summer when it gets real hot. I run in the afternoons and evenings because, duh, working at a coffee shop means no morning runs. When you get to work at 5:30am, running before work is out of the question. When it's 101 degrees out, afternoons and evenings are going to be challenging to say the least. But I'm hoping we can keep up the frequency and progress. Running in the heat can do nothing but make me stronger! Or kill me via heat exhaustion. Hopefully the former.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Hogan (and other things)

Great Scott! I haven't blogged in over a month! Completely skipped February. OOPS, blame it on life. BUT FIRST, that very cute husband of mine just had a birthday, so let me love-vomit onto the internet for a bit.

And oh, do I LOVE that man. I am so so thankful that he was born 26 years ago. We've been together since he was 17, so I've been lucky enough to watch him grow into the wonderful and weird human he is today. He's such a good guy, y'all. I mean, the sweetest. And the most patient. And so smart and funny and weird. And he works his butt off everyday and I love to see it pay off for him. Brendon is one of those people that says, okay, I'm going to do that. And even if that is something insanely difficult and seems impossible, he does it. He makes me want to work harder and be better, because that's he does everyday. And he loves me. No matter what. No matter how grumpy or feisty or lazy or sleepy I am, he loves me all the same and makes me feel like a princess. He's my safe place, warm and fuzzy. Not literally. I mean, I guess literally too? Anyway, February 28th is definitely a day to celebrate. Glad you were born Mr. Hogan, you are my favorite.

This little month between our birthdays is the "I'm dating an older man" month. He's 26 now and I'm still a young 25. What an old fart! We celebrated his birthday with donuts, gardening, and veggie burgers. Oh and a movie on the couch. He had recently passed the cold he just got over to me, so I spent his birthday sick. Whomp whomp. We're always sick. Perks of going and going nonstop. But regardless of me feeling funky, it was a good day! For me anyway!

So what went down between my last post and now? Well, February happened. And February was a busy hectic INSANE month for me. LOTS of working. Like, A LOT. But, I got a promotion, woo! And we ran! A LOT. We've been stepping up our running game, which is I think the only new years resolution I've kept. I've got my eye on a half marathon and although we're SO far away from that business, we're running more often and I'm slowly but surely getting stronger. I don't know about faster though. Working on the faster. Distance and speed? Sheesh! One at a time please.

Oh my gosh and the Winter Olympics happened. I was ADDICTED. I watched it almost every night. Like, really, I think I missed two evenings. I LOVE that nonsense. I love how talented all those folks are and the insane things they can accomplish with their bodies. Also, how EXCITED they are! The skiers and snowboarders were my favorite, they were all just so happy! Even if they didn't win! Just thrilled to be there, happy to be doing what they love. The skaters, figure and speed, on the other hand were SO intense. And there was figure skating dramaaaaa of course. Ashley Wagner was robbed I tell you, robbed. But seriously, the Olympics consumed my life for a good two weeks+. I can't wait for them to be back. Four years!!!

The weather has been ridiculous, as Texas winters always are. 80 degrees one day, 30 the next. I guess it's always like this in the winter, but this year just seems abnormally bipolar. And we've had a lot of cold days. A lot of freezing. Which sounds whiny, but this is Texas! We can't handle too much of that!

And as I've resorted to talking about the weather, I think I'll end this post before I ramble off into oblivion. Sorry there aren't more exciting things to report about my month off of blogging. I'll try to do and document more things. Meanwhile, you stay classy, internet.

(And because I find it enjoyable, other birthday crown appearances. I'm hoping that giant thing lasts forever.)

52 weeks of baking: a summary

A month late, but whatever. Let's talk about that time I baked something weekly for an entire year!

The first week of January last year I saw a couple bloggers starting "a year of cakes" or "a treat a day". I'm a lover of sweet things and of challenges, so I came up with "52 weeks of baking". I wanted to be cool too. So I did it. Baked something once a week for a whole year. And it wasn't that hard. I love baking and was doing it a lot anyway as it was, this just took it to the next level. There were some close calls when things were especially busy, some OMG I HAVE TO BAKE SOMETHING RIGHT NOW THE WEEK'S ALMOST OVERRRR, but I made it. I didn't repeat a recipe once, although there were some doubles, like multiple chocolate cakes and quite a few chocolate chip cookie variations, but never the same recipe twice. It was FUN. And yummy. I ended up making some truly wonderful things and am a significantly better baker this January than I was last January. I mean, I'd hope so, right?

So to toot my own horn, because it's oh so satisfying to see it in list form, here are the 52 things I baked:

1. Banana bread

2. Betty Crocker fudge brownies

3. Mini-morsel shortbread squares

4. Everyday chocolate cake

5. Lime and blackberry cake

6. Yellow cake

7. Oatmeal cream pies

8. Zucchini carrot cake

9. Pumpkin cupcakes

10. Honey chocolate chip cookies

11. Coconut shortbread

12. Chocolate cake

13. Strawberry cream cheese cobbler

14. Coconut bread

15. Chocolate zucchini cake

16. Banana chocolate chip cupcakes

17. Simple white cake

18. Chocolate chip cookies

19. Grapefruit yogurt cake

20. Maple cream pie

21. Apple crumble

22. Snickerdoodle cookies

23. Peach hand pies

24. Quick breads

25. Molasses cookies

26. Chocolate caramel brownies

27. Fourth of July cake

28. Peach galette

29. Lemon cheesecake

30. Rosemary chocolate cake

31. Chocolate cake #2

32. Lemon cake with black tea icing

33. Chocolate chip pretzels

34. Coconut chocolate chip cookies

35. Salted caramel brownies

36. Flourless chocolate cake

37. Donuts

38. Lemon cupcakes

39. Salted caramel dark chocolate chip cookies

40. Pumpkin bread

41. Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

42. Pumpkin coffee cake

43. Pumpkin swirl brownies

44. Lemon gingerbread cupcakes

45. Apple slab pie

46. Snickerdoodle cookies #2

47. Cream cheese pound cake

48. Black bottom oatmeal pie

49. Spice cake

50. Chocolate lava cake

51. Gingerbread men

52. Double chocolate torte

They are here, just in reverse order, newest first. There were some minor fails thrown in there, but nothing inedible. For the most part it was all yummy. We were stocked up on dessert for a year! And now after dinner we're kind of like, awww, there's no dessert. Although I have baked chocolate chip cookies. And Brendon made banana bread. So the baking continues, just not as structured. Or frequent.

Highlights!

The most successful recipes in my opinion (in chronological order, not by preference, and pictured in the same order above) were the oatmeal cream pies, zucchini carrot cake, peach hand pies, rosemary chocolate cake, lemon cupcakes, pumpkin coffee cake, apple slab pie, and chocolate lava cake. Brendon's favorite were the lemon cupcakes, and they were without a doubt the best cupcakes I've ever made. The rosemary chocolate cake miiiiiight be my favorite, just because it was so different. And delicious.

It was really fun experience. I loved the challenge and the accountability. I also loved feeding all our friends. Thank you for helping eat all the baked goodies folks! I've got to give a special shout out to the future pharmacists though, you guys ate so much and sent Brendon home with the sweetest compliments. Thank you! And thanks to everyone who suggested recipes! And everyone who followed along with this nonsense throughout the year!

Thanks for tagging along. It was a good year of baking. And I'm not diabetic, so that's a bonus. 

K&K in Austin!

Excuse the quiet here on the blog this month, it's been a busy one! And clearly I am no good at documenting it. Where the hell has January gone? It's like... the end. The first month of the new year is already over? WHAT?

2014 graced us with our first sickness of the year. And I mean SICK. Stomach virus, hugging the toilet and puking your life away style. I got it first, then Kristy up in Dallas (who was here for the weekend, more on this later. Sorry you always get sick when you visit!), then Brendon. It was crazy. I haven't had a stomach virus since I was a freshman in college and boy does it suck! I hate puking. I know no one likes it, but jeeze you guys, I hate hate hate it. Along with the nausea came a fever and body aches, so awesome. Luckily the worst seems to be over and now I'm just achy and exhausted beyond reason. But I'll take it over feeling pukey any day. Mind if I say puke again? It's a fun word.

ANYWAY, what this post is really about, is Kristy and Kennedy coming to visit! They were here over the weekend and it was very awesome. I can't say enough how lame it is to live hours away from your best friend, but luckily every time we get together it's like no time has passed and we just pick up where we left off.

The weather was absolutely wonderful while they were here, so we took advantage on Sunday and spent as much time outside as possible. We flew tried to fly a kite at Zilker, walked around downtown, and then walked around the Drag and did a little shopping. Cutest thing ever? Kennedy thought the Frost Bank Building looked like the ice castle from Frozen. I mean, seriously? ADORABLE. And it kind of does! I wonder if they thought of the ice thing when designing it. It is FROST Bank after all. It will now forever be known as the ice castle. Anyway, I made the mistake of telling her we could go inside and check it out. She was SUPER stoked and wanted to see if Anna and Elsa were home. It was a Sunday and that bank was definitely closed. There were tears. I am the worst.

There was NO wind whatsoever when we went to fly the kite. Kristy did an excellent job of keeping it in the air by running, but that sucker would not stay up there on it's own. Kennedy did some kite flying on the ground. She drug that kite for a good 100 yards. But she had fun, and that's what matters! Also, this is her "smile for the camera" face:

We also went to Juice Land (my first time, HOW HAVE I NEVER BEEN?) for smoothies and Walton's for lunch. Oh dear lord, Walton's has this spinach salad, y'all. It's life changing. I'm still thinking about it. Kennedy had a chocolate muffin, clearly:

It was a fabulous weekend with my favorite Dallas ladies! Contrary to the illness we gave you, Austin loves you and wants you to visit whenever. Again, so sorry about the illness. That part sucked, I know. Let's all feel better riiiiight... NOW.