Goin' Back to Cali, Cali, Cali...

It took a few days but I am officially back to Central Standard Time, my bags are unpacked, clothes washed, and all 788 of my photos are uploaded. Yes, you read that right. We were gone for 6 days and I have 788 photos to document it. It's a bit absurd, but I took roughly 500 photos of Dave and Dad's bucket list golf outings. To them I say, you're welcome.

To you I say, bless your heart. Because I'm about to throw down a few from Napa, San Francisco, and watching my brother play baseball. Which was, in fact, the entire purpose of the trip in the first place.

We had so much fun! We made the most of California days, we left few leafs unturned ('til next time!), and we enjoyed the cool California temps as a welcome break from the Texas heat. Our first day trip was to Napa. We went to the Robert Mondavi winery where we had a great tour of the grounds and did a tasting. We went to another tasting room and for the life of me I can't remember the name...oops! We made a stop at Oakville Grocery (which is just darling) and then had a fabulous "Texas burger" at Gott's. 

         

 

 We went straight from Napa to the ball fields. We watched Taylor pitch a great game, saw some cute littles ask for his autograph (I always love it when that happens! They are so cute to ask. As a proud big sister I'll say, I think it will be worth something some day! :), and snapped a few family pics after the game.

 Day 2- (yes, that all happened in day 1!) We headed to San Francisco. We took Dave by AT&T Park, stopped in China Town for mom to get a "true red" scarf, took an obligatory trolley pic, had a ridiculously good lunch at the Warf, and then went on a sunset bay cruise to go up close and personal with Alcatraz, the Golden Gate bridge (y'all, it was SO foggy on that side of the bay that- get this- we couldn't even SEE the Golden Gate Bridge!!! We went right UNDER the darn this and couldn't even see it!), and my personal favorite, Sausalito. Which is quite obvious since there are like 15 Sausalito photos...you've been warned!

How cool are these last 2? The fog was creeping in and it was such fun to watch. It was amazing how fast it moved in and blanketed the city. I'm going to stop here because this is getting out of control, but Pebble Beach is the next (and final) chapter. :)

Mom: 1 - Dave: 0

I pulled my deodorant and makeup out of my suitcase this morning to make myself presentable for work. My purse is full of Southwest peanuts and my watch is still set to West Coast time, but I'm here! I will be uploading all 1,500 of my photos tonight and attempting to go through them, but for now I will leave you with my personal favorite from the trip.

Birds of a Feather...

Sisters are a lot of things...they are an additional wardrobe, someone to giggle with into the wee hours of the night, someone to shift blame to when your parents are investigating how nail polish got on the coffee table, they are loyal secret keepers, a built in slumber party, someone who understands you better than anyone else because they know every aspect of your life. If you're lucky, they are your best friend.

I'm one of the lucky ones. My sister and I have so much fun together, we respect each other, and we love each other. I had the honor of standing up as she married the man she had been praying for and the man I had been praying for for her. Although it was her big day, she thanked me for standing by her side and she gifted me with this precious bracelet.

We are

birds of a feather, peas in a pod, two of a kind, partners in crime, perfect pair...

She's my

BEST FRIEND EVER.

The Time My Sister Had to Settle for Me...

Everyone has stories from their wedding. I got married in early January so we had ordered 250 white poinsettias from our florist. We mostly used candles so the poinsettias were the only floral influence. 3 days before the wedding we received a call from the florist that in a complete misunderstanding in their warehouse, all of our poinsettias had been discarded. They though they were an "over order" during the holidays. That's code for, "We threw them away. Oops!"

In my sister's case, she was scheduled to take her bridal portraits but rain ruined the weekend. She was re-scheduled for the following weekend but sadly, my Papa passed away. With the wedding a mere month away and us traveling to Dallas for the service we knew time was running out. She decided to forfeit portraits. Mom and I knew that she wanted photos but with her living in Dallas, her photographer in Austin, and time running out we needed to think outside the box.

Specifically, we thought outside the photographer box. We were already in Dallas for Papa's services so we called my dad, asked him to pack up Kristen's dress, "Do you have the dress? The Veil? Her belt? Shoes? Ok, her jewelry is in the little box...."

In a miracle of all miracles, Big Daddy came through big time and made it to Dallas with every single piece of the bridal puzzle! We took Kristen to Turtle Creek, I pretended to know what I was doing, and we took approximately 1 million photos in an effort to get just one that could possibly be used. They are certainly not professional, but when you have a subject as pretty as Kristen it's easy to get a few that work! Here's the beautiful bride...

Wednesday Randoms...

People are so funny in their passions and affections. My mom is a Diet Coke drinker addict and will literally walk out of a restaurant if they are a Pepsi property. I've been there and done that as her dining companion. She'll apologize profusely, admit her need for a Diet Coke and the fact that no substitute will do, and we will move onward and upward to Coca-Cola product bearing establishments.

Coffee drinkers...y'all are funny, too.

• "I drink coffee all morning but never past noon."
• "I have 2 cups of caffeinated coffee first thing in the morning and then switch to decaf for the rest of the day."
• "I spend 1 kabillion dollars at Starbucks a week." - Ok, I made that one up. But it's true! Some of you do.

My brother drinks it religiously, my husband drinks it religiously, my co-workers literally can't function until it hits their veins. I can totally take it or leave it. I basically drink milk with a dash of coffee when I drink it anyways. All that to say, I'm not sure what took me so long but I recently discovered a taste for iced coffee! When we visited my brother 2 weeks ago in CA, he took me to his all-time favorite coffee shop and got me a "mint-mojito iced coffee". I love me some mint so he had me at hello. It was delicious, refreshing, and I have been making them at work this week.

In other random news...I started Beth Moore's study of James: Mercy Triumphs this week. I am so honored to be studying this with my mom and very close friends for the next 8 weeks. We have watched the first video and I have done 1 day of homework and I can already tell you I am going to LOVE it! I think God is going to teach me so much thorugh this study.

Last night I got to watch Taylor pitch on the computer! When he plays at home his games are on TV. He has literally been the king of road starts this season. It seems his day in the rotation always hits on a road game! We were glad he finally got a home game so we could watch...He looked great, got the win, and I got to bed at 11:30. Dang west coast!

Last but not least...this one's for you! How stinkin' cute is this handbag? You guys know I have an affinity for gold. It's on sale at JCrew right this very minute. Go get it.

Happy hump day, friends!

90-to-Nothin'...

Dave and I spent the entire weekend in our own zip code with nothing on the agenda but items we hand picked and added ourselves, and it was fabulous. We ran 90-to-nothing but it was one of the most fun and filled weekends in a while!

We had friends over Saturday night so we spent Friday evening and the better part of Saturday preparing. We are proud to be 'Merican so I decided to make this wreath to go with our flags. It took me 30 minutes and less than $6 to make. I'd like to think Martha would be proud.

 

I have NO idea why I don't have photos from our cook out, but let me just tell you...there were adorable kids, super fun adults, lots and lots of food, 3 desserts and many laughs. I wish I could spend every Saturday night that way!

After church on Sunday we went and toured our new church which is still under construction. It will be completed in the next couple of months and I am so excited! Our church started about 5 years ago and Dave and I were one of the first "young adult" couples to attend. At that time there were about 4 "young adult" couples who came regularly and we have watched the church grow abundantly! We would have never DREAMED that in 5 years we would go from meeting in a strip mall to having a beautiful building like this where generations will be able to come and worship! God is good, and while this is only a building, we hope it will be a building where people can gather together and feel loved, find and deepen friendships, find JESUS, grow deeper in their love for Him, and have fun! We hope and pray this church- the people- minister to the city of Austin and take the gospel around the world.

After our church tour, Dave studied and I did my usual Sunday afternoon chore...the grocery store. In an effort to entend my Sunday night and not spend too much time in the kitchen I opted for a crock pot dinner!

Chicken Ranch Soft Tacos:

• 1-2 lbs. chicken breast
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1 pkg ranch seasoning
• 1 pkg chicken taco seasoning

Throw it all in the crock pot on high for 2-3 hours.

 (Depending on the amount of chicken. I did 1 lb for about 2 hours.)

Go to the driving range with your husband and enjoy your evening. When you come home, dinner is served!

Ahhh...I love weekends!

Sunday clears away the rust of the whole week. ~Joseph Addison