High Five for Friday (2.22.13)

Week's like this always make me laugh - I've been "working for the weekend" only to realize this morning, that YAY! Its Friday... oh, wait... I am booked on a 7:15 am flight to Chicago for work! No weekend for me! BUT I will say I am excited to get back on the road.. its been a while.

 

Linking up with Lauren to celebrate my week!

 

1. As you saw in my weekend wrap up.. I fed a giraffe this week... how could that not be one of the highs?!

 

2. When visiting Chicago earlier this month, my grandfather had a beautiful orchid. I guess my hubby got inspired to try out his green thumb. I love it!

 

 

3. I ran across this on FB the other day and it pretty much sums up Me and Layla on a nightly basis (I, of course, am Max...)

 

 

BUT, this week J has had the privelage of having Boog on his side of the bed... and I have been experiencing some amazing sleep with all of my new found space!

 

 

4. I made a super yummy new quinoa recipe - Baked Chicken Parmesan Quinoa. It will definitely be made again in our casa!

 

 

5. I found this mirror yesterday for our bedroom... I cannot wait til J gets it hung and I finish up a few things to debut our revamped room :)

 

 

I sure do hope yall have a great weekend... and while you're out enjoying the sun, sleeping in or whatever else you do this weekend... drink one for me while I am workin away!

 

 

follow me on instagram @(a_dway)

   

 

Weekend Wrap-Up

We had a busy, but relaxing weekend. We started off with Supper Club at the Masseys. It was Mexican Night and it was simply delish (although, I expect nothing less from any of my SC hosts!) My favorite, was Amber's salsa with surprising chunks of avocado. OMG, so yumm.

 

At one point the boys had the babies (Jordan was cleaning up in the kitchen, but this is too presh not to share!)

 

 

Our sweet first supper club addition, Landon was too cute playing with the girls playmat. Hes such a little boy now - time sure does fly!

 

 

Saturday, J&I went back to Liberty Burger (if it were up to him we would go every other day!) The burgers were yummy, of course, but this time I tried an adult shake - The Eskimo Kiss: Chocolate chip shake with mint extract & vodka. Hello?! I'm in ♥

 

 

Afterwards, I went and got a mani/pedi with my new OPI color my mom got me - Casino Royale

 

 

Saturday we were bums - but no complaints here. It was nice to sit on the couch and not worry about anything at all.

 

Sunday morning I met 2 of my favorite people: My sister-in-law, Jordan & a good friend, Raquel, for brunch and a brainstorming session.

 

As you know, I am a meeting & event planner, and have a special love for planning parties/showers and have dabbled in weddings just for fun. JoJo has started a business, Charmed Vintage Rentals, for antique rentals for weddings, photoshoots, showers, etc. Raquel has an amazing floral business, Rlove Design - she did my wedding and has done so many since! So we have decided to join forces for a style shoot, showcasing Jordan & Raquel's talents, and well, for me, just fun! Plus I love to get my hands on other people's parties.

 

 

We picked out some amazing color schemes, and hopefully will be doing the shoot in April! I am super excited about it!

 

Sunday afternoon, J3A headed to the Dallas Zoo for Penguin Days - cant beat the price, especially with 70*+ in February!

 

I got to feed a giraffe!!

 

 

So much fun!

 

&& last, but certainly not least -

 

Happy HAPPY birthday to my first husband - Michael Jordan! XOXO!

 

 

 

Valentines Day 2013

Oh Valentine's Day... you are so not my favorite. I dont know about you ladies out there, but I much prefer flowers to be sent on a random day, rather than an expected day. Or a fun date night to be his idea, not a date night demanded by society.

 

BUT we all know, that I love to decorate and this was a great excuse to do so! I do hate how my camera doesnt do the room justice..

 

 

Who doesnt love some ombre ♥ ??

 

Clockwise: 2 of my favorite photos in 1 pic - close: engageent, far: Broken Bow photoshoot, Our first Valentines Day I got J this bottle of champagne & we finally broke into it, Layla & her Valentine, George, and roses.

 

Since both J&I could do without Valentines Day, we opted for a yummo dinner in: Shrimp Cocktail, Stuffed Artichoke, Filet, Lobster, Asparagus & Garlic Mashed potatoes.... probably doesnt get any better than that!

 



 

Perfect night, right? I would agree.. and I could stop the post here, but that wouldnt be sharing our reality, where nothing ever goes perfectly!

 

J was outside turning on the grill and taking out the trash. I was in the kitchen and out of the corner of my eye I saw a billowing fire from one of my cute votives... Say Whaaaa?!

 

I ran to the back yelling for J, didnt see him, ran back to the dining room and looked - still billowing... ran and got a cute yellow measuring cup of water (how or why I took the time to get a cute one, no clue) threw it on the flames and it ignited even higher. I ran, yall. I ran. Screaming "JARRETT THERES A FIRE!!!!!!!!!"

 

Isnt water supposed to put out flames??? Should I smother it?? With what? Do I need to call our firefighter friend? Do I have time for that? Where the hell is my husband??

 

Do you know how many flamable items are on that table????! The "LOVE" letters alone are not only, cardboard and yarn, but then SPRAY PAINTED IN GLITTER... Holy flamable. As J ran in and I was ready to re-face the fact that I might be burning down our house on Valentines Day.. the flames were out. Thank.the.Lord.

 

 

If that doesnt scream romance to you, I dont know what does. Our night was just too hot to handle.

 

I hope your Valentines Day was as memorable as ours!

   

High Five (2.15.2013)

This week has been cray-cray, but I cannot be more thankful that its Friday, Friday, FRIDAY.. Ooooo! (dont act like it doesnt cross your mind EVERY week!)

 

Linking up with Lauren - as always!

 

1. Over the weekend I spent time with my favorite twinsies & Jacob... but totally failed at pics of Jacob, I was too busy feeding and loving on that handsome boy!

 

These sweet girls are getting so big!! Love the snuggles!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. I am newly obsessed with water. And am addicted to turvey cups... and I found a new one at Target this week I love. Reason #1 - its yellow. Reason #2 - huge straw!

 

 

3. I dont know if I have ever said anything about this crazy-pants cardinal that lives in our backyard and literally pecks at our front window as soon as the sun comes up and throughout the day. I have no idea what he wants, but I know I want him to not wake me up on a daily basis and to please not break the glass. Finally after far too long, we got this guy.. and our cardinal friend has stopped his nonsense (for now at least)

 

 

I do realize that people who walk by our house probably think we are weird, but well, sleeping past 7:00 am takes priority, people. Obviously.

 

4. I did a 24 hour road trip to Austin - not preferable, but at least I got to have dins with Kate & Jax

 

 

5. No better thing could hit my mailbox. Cooking Light and Pasta Edition?! Oh man... bliss!

 

 

Sneak Peek for Monday

 

My favorite Valentine! && her new friend George. (lets see how long it takes for her to de-stuff the poor guy)

 

 

 

Cant wait to share our V-Day with yall!

 

Happy weekend, friends!

 

 

High Five for Friday (2.8.13)

Another week has quickly passed! Linking up with Lauren for the best of this week!

 

1. Over the weekend we stopped in at Portillos.. The smell of this place screams my childhood, and not to mention the absolute yumminess that comes along with it..

Dear Dallas,

Do our city a favor and invite Portillo's to come play

Kindest Regards,

A Yankee Raised, Southern Grown Girl

 

 

2. Also, while in Chicago I got to spend some time with the little cousins - always fun!

 

 

3. When I got sweet Chara's birthday gift a few weeks back, I may have picked up a smell-good for myself too! I love Tyler candles and nothing beats the signature scent of our house, Diva! I cracked this baby open this week. Yum!

 

4. This week I got to help film videos for an upcoming meeting. Sometimes it is hard for me to be behind a desk five days a week. I am just not used to it! So if I am not traveling, I welcome new, fun, different projects and this week provided a lot of entertainment and helped me with my New Years Resolution of growing in my job - gotta love the opportunities!

 

 

5. Layla Bean is my favorite. If I am mad or sad this little one reads my emotion and wants to comfort me.. I had some downs this week and I couldnt be more thankful for this booger.

 

 

 Happy weekend peeps - hope you relax and have a great one!

 

 

30 Before 30 Update

Like my New Years Resolutions, I have decided to update you monthly on my progress to help me be accountable and well... not forget about this!

After January here is where I am....

1. Go Ice Skating

2. Roll my own sushi In the works of planning.. stay tuned!

3. Create a cookbook of favorite recipes

4. Shoot a gun (properly)

5. Successfully bake at least 1 dessert

6. Complete a 5k I have chosen the race I want to do, The Color Run, which gives my until April to get this booty in gear!

7. Do a grape stomp

8. Send at least 12 hand-written notes/cards

9. Have 4 day/night dates with my momma

10. Volunteer at least twice

11. Do a photo wall in the house

12. Go to the Perot Museum

13. Read at least 12 books this year
Now I didnt promise these books to be intellectual or even on the best sellers list.. these first 3 were suggestions from a co-worker and they had a very poor editor.. I would love to red line them, but I liked the stories nonetheless. Good old, girly, easy reads :)

Number 4 on the list was suggested to me froma reader - Angie... thanks for the suggestion! It was really good and kept me content the whole way home from Madrid!
            -1. Bridesmaid Lotto 
      -2. Gamble on Engagement
      -3. The Wedding Wager
      -4. Savannah Blues

14. Have a picnic

15. Build a fort and watch a cartoon movie

16. Buy bikes and ride often

17. Go rock climbing

18. Bowl over 150

19. Make homemade marshmallows and s'mores

20. Go to a movie alone

21. Go camping

22. Make homemade pasta

23. Do 5 kind things for strangers

24. Write our will

25. Ride a train

26. Girls only vacation/trip

27. Learn sign language

28. See a meteor shower

29. See 3 movies in a theatre with my hubby

30. Try a new fruit or vegetable

 

After 1 month, I feel like I havent scratched enough off of my list - I need to pick some February items and get to it!

 

Eight-O

I eluded to a surprise this weekend. That surprise was a 24 hour trip up to Chicago to join the festivities for my Grandpa's 80th birthday!

 

We do not get to see this side of my family often. The last time I had seen everyone was at our wedding almost 2 years ago (which we all know doesnt really count as a visit with all the craziness as a bride!)

 

My grandfather has had health problems over the past year, but he is doing so great and it is such a blessing to have gotten to spend this special day with him!

 

 

My G&G - the Man of the hour

 

My Aunt LizAnn put together a great evening at one of my Granpa's favorite restuarants (Jameson's Charhouse) There was a group of almost 25 - mixed with family and friends that my Grandpa has had for up to 70 years - I hope to have friendships like that!

Top to Bottom, Left to Right: The Menu, Zak&Chara, Daddio giving his speech, my little cousins - Melissa&Lauren, My parents, J&I, Aunt LizAnn&Uncle John, Uncle Mark& Aunt LizAnn, G&G with lots of friends

 Fishing is a pretty big deal with the men in my family. And once upon a time, I was invited to... until there was an incident on a row boat with a bee... and maybe some screaming and rocking of the boat, but ya know, whatever!

This Fishing inspired cake was so perfect!

My Dad is a bit older than my Aunt LizAnn... which then makes me much older than my cousins on the Lally-side.. like 10+ years (Yowzas!) Its so fun to see the girls grown up. Melissa is a junior in high school and Lauren is a freshman at Iowa.

For as long as I can remember my mom & Uncle John have always been "the life of the party" at family events.. and quite clearly, over all of these years, not much has changed!

Family photo time

 

Happy, happy 80th Grandpa! So glad we were able to spend it with you (even if it was freeeeeezing and snowy!)