Rogers, party of 8!!

It's official! All of the Rogers kids are married off! My little brother got married this weekend in a beautiful and fun ceremony and reception. It was a fabulous weekend filled with fun, many of their friends and family, and tons of love for the new Mr. and Mrs!

Friday night they enjoyed (at least I think they did and hope they did!) a wonderful rehearsal dinner which was casual and meant to show them the love of their family and friends. We had a quick rehearsal followed by good food, funny and heart-felt toasts, and a fabulous slide show. Rebecca's maid and matron of honor put together a super fun video of all of their friends and family (yours truly included) doing our very own "Call Me Maybe" rendition and it is awesome! And a bit hysterical. I'll share it once it's on YouTube. 

 Our family of 8!

Mom had these darling (and delicious) sugar cookies made. They have Taylor's jersey number, baseballs and Pennants. 

Mom's family- My uncle Mike and Bill, my Nana, mom and Kristen

Taylor's besties/groomsmen and former teammates at Tulane

 And then the wheels fell off! Everyone needs a little limbo in their world! The bride and groom went first followed by the other newlyweds....Kristen and Brad.

 Dave and my sweet Teeny! And Rookie needed in on the glow action. He looks thrilled, right?

Saturday was wedding day! It was truly a gorgeous fall day. Sun shining, temps in the mid-60's, blue skies and hardly any wind. It was gorgeous. As were the bouquets....

The beautiful bride reading her card and opening her gift from Taylor. I can't believe I didn't get a pic but he gave her darling Texas Longhorn boots. 

The tables were so precious and each one was decorated slightly different. 

Everything was rustic and gorgeous! Complete with chicken and waffle appetizers and a BBQ buffet dinner that was to die for! 

 The cutest little flower girl I know! This is Blythe :)

 Kristen, Rebecca and Me...the Rogers girls :)

 Rebecca and her maids

The photo above and the photo below were taken by my mom's dear friend, Beth. It would have looked a little odd if the bridesmaid on the end were taking pictures like the paparazzi :) But I wanted y'all to have a glimpse of the ceremony....Above- Taylor seating my mom. Below- Mr. and Mrs. Taylor Rogers!!

 Me and the most handsome groomsman!!

 The desserts were adorable and delicious!! They had cake balls and mini pies- pecan, pecan bourbon, chocolate brownie, and then a tiny and adorable cake for them to cut. So fun!

The first dance for the Mr. and Mrs....

 Isn't her dress gorgeous??

 Congratulations and I love you, brother!

My besties were there, too! We hit the dance floor and at some point thought we were all gangster in our cardigans and cocktail rings. #we'renotgangster

 I think this should be my in-laws Christmas card :) I got them before they hit the photo booth!

 Mom and Kristen- Shakin' their groove thang!

My favorite ladies- Kristen, mom, me and my nana

 And I'll end on the groomsmen. They were out of control and so much fun! 

The DJ played the last song and everyone started chanting, "CALL ME MAYBE! CALL ME MAYBE! CALL ME MAYBE!" So the DJ cranked it up. These 4 very shy guys had no choice but to entertain the crowd by dancing on the stage- they were rump shakin' and eating it up!

 Here's my number....call me maybe!

Congratulations you two! It was a wonderful night for a beautiful bride and groom. Here's to your happily ever after...

we love you!

Sweet Sydney ~

Look at this gorgeous girl! Meet Sydney...

My parents have precious neighbors who have become family friends. They are a darling family with 2 little girls. Sydney is a complete doll! In November of 2011, the Hause family was sent into a tail-spin as Sydney was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Their days were suddenly filled with giving shots, counting carbs, calculating insulin, drying tears, treating lows, correcting highs, weighing food, poking fingers and monitoring blood sugar levels 24/7.

For Syndey, living with type 1 diabetes became her new reality, and for her family, so many tasks became their new normal to ensure her health. It is an overwhelming balancing act and currently there is no cure for this terrible disease. 

This weekend, they will join many others in the fight against juvenile diabetes and work towards finding a cure. A cure would mean a future without diabetes for Sydney and hope for the many children and families who are yet to be diagnosed with this disease. 

If you'd like to read more about Sydney and her journey please visit her race page. If you feel so inclined to donate to finding a cure you may also do so on her race page. Her school has fund-raised and donated...adorable! And finally, spread the word!! I watched her sweet video and my heart broke. Knowing this family and all they have been through, and seeing Sydney be such a fighter encourages me to help find a cure so no other children have to go through this. Spread the word, and help find a cure!!

GO TEAM SYDNEY!!

Fabulous Find Friday...

Back by popular demand! And by that I mean that 1 person- who is also one of my best friends- asked for this. I can tell it's a popular segment :)

Alas, I have been slacking on my shopping duties and now I must "give the people what they want"! So without further ado, here are a few items I'm currently crushing on.

I love this turquoise sweatshirt from JCrew! It's comfortable and casual without being frumpy.

Anyone of you who know me in real life know I have a bit of a coat obsession. Which is funny, really, because I am a born and bred Texas girl. That being said, I am so enamoured with this coral trench. It's perfect for fall and spring days and can even make winter for us Texans!

Another thing I love...bags. I mean, how many duffles can a person have? Hopefully your collection includes one of these.

 I've been a sleepy bug lately. I think the allergies floating around the hill country are partly to blame. I have wanted a vintage sleep set ever since that darling Cameron Diaz sported the Frette PJs in the Holiday. I really like this baby blue set from JCrew. Monogram that pocket and you've got yourself the perfect gift!

Again with the tote bags...I just love this one from Lands End! Great color, great size, great price!

 Stripes. 3/4 sleeves. Collar. It's a yes for me.

Finally, for those of you in a different tax bracket than me...I just love this reversible tote from Tiffany & Co. I love the colors, I love that it's big, I love that it is essentially 2 bags...love!

Happy Friday and happy shopping!!

Living Room Sessions...

A little background: One of Dave's co-workers is taking his US Citizenship test today and he was telling Dave some of the things he has been studying and some of the potential test questions. So, Dave was quizzing me during dinner last night.

Dave: Name 5 Native American tribes.
Me: Apache. Cherokee. Choctaw. Chippewa......
Dave: Are you just going through the Tim McGraw song?

I didn't stop laughing for about 5 minutes.

It's True. I am alive!

Though this is how we feel around our house these days!

I've been gone a while so we'll really just move forward rather than rehash the past. But I'll do a very brief "scratch the surface" of the last 3 weeks.

We had my (future) SIL's bachelorette party on Lake McQueeny and a very good time was had by all! It made me feel every bit of my 31 years when I was up for 1.5 hours...by myself...having quiet time on the doc while the 20-somethings were still sleeping.  

My sister- Kristen, My SIL- Rebecca, and me

I took a day off and mom talked me into going with her to get her hair done. While waiting for her natural hair color to set ;) I decided to let Terri chop my hair off.

Dave's Texas Tech Red Raiders were playing in our backyard so we took the 45 minute drive to watch them slaughter Texas State. We had a great time with friends and we got to see this amazing sunset!

 The Loj celebrated a birthday so we celebrated with her! We realized we were sitting right under and arrow...how fitting.

See an arrow flying high, bet it's coming from Pi Phi!

 We had to...

Pi Phi Love and Mine

My mom's best friend, and my fairy godmother, literally saved this sweet, precious dog from hell. It's a very long story but we knew she was being neglected so my mom called Coleen (we're in Austin, she's in Dallas- where Dixie was) and Coleen went straight to the rescue!! Dixie was SO matted and had been kept outside throughout the summer. She was just living under a bush to keep as cool as possible. She picked her up and took her straight to the groomer. They had to shave her, but she is SO happy, completely healthy, and she is being LOVED on now by her new mommy, Coleen!!

Dixie was so sweet that Coleen fell in love with her and Dixie now has a forever home with the most generous ANGEL!! (seriously...HOW can people be mean to dogs??)

 Speaking of dogs...mine is so spoiled and lazy!! But, I had a sick day on Wednesday and he kept me very good company. :)

And that, my friends, is a tiny recap of some of the goings on around here. Back to life, back to reality!

Remember...

Do you know the story of this tree? It's incredible- the last surviving thing to be pulled from the wreckage. This tree was burned and crushed when the towers fell. You will really enjoy this short clip (less than 2 mins) telling the wonderful story.

 

"Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children." -President George W. Bush, November 11, 2001

*Photos taken in October of 2011- New York City 9/11 Memorial