Weekend in Review

While it is officially spring according to the calendar, not all areas of the U.S. are feeling it - my friends and family in Chicago just got dumped on by another huge snow storm this past weekend.  Here in Houston, though?  The weather is beautiful!  Well, mostly.  We've had a few strings of heavy rain come through (it was pouring out all day Saturday), but as a result Spring has officially sprung!  Everything is green again and the trees are all flowering and budding (even my little meyer lemon and lime tree have new shoots and pretty little blooms on them - I didn't kill them yet!!!)  My favorite view so far is walking out the door and seeing all of the gorgeous pink buds on the little tree in the front yard (picture above) as it's so beautiful right now!

On Saturday we had a vet appointment to get the last of Pandora's booster shots and afterwards we ran a few errands.  The weather was so crummy, but we made our day better by picking up some Nobi bahn mi sandwiches for lunch and stocking up on more weird beers for S before we headed home.  After we ate lunch and gave the pup some snuggles, we got to work on our to-do lists.  I had a huge stack of onesies that were decorated a few weeks ago at B and J's baby shower that I needed to wash and dry, so I got that done.  I don't think I really reported back on the baby shower yet - it turned out so great!  A bunch of friends helped with food and decorations which both turned out phenomenal (we had guac, tamales, queso, rice, stuffed jalapenos, and salsas for food plus key lime pie and chocolate cupcakes topped with a bacon cream cheese frosting*.  The latter were AMAZING).  B and J got a ton of great gifts that will definitely help with the two little bundles of joy that they're expecting, and we also had a onesie decorating station so everyone could put their own artistic touch on some clothes for the twins.  People were SO creative!  Look at this:

So anyway, back to this weekend.  After I took care of the onesies on Saturday afternoon my super productive streak continued and I cleaned out and organized both the refrigerator and the pantry.  Booyah!  After that I wandered back to the bedroom where I found S and Pandora both in the midst of a rainy day nap (the best), so I joined them for an hour of snuggles and snoozing.  That evening we went to a friend's house for a pot luck dinner (I made rice krispy treats as both rice krispies and marshmallows were unearthed in my pantry overhaul) and to watch Hot Shots! as many of us had seen the sequel but not the original.  General consensus was that while the first one was funny, Part Deux is still better.

On Sunday the weather was GORGEOUS - 70 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, light breeze - officially spring weather.  S spent a good chunk of the day outside doing yard and garage work with Pandora hooked up to a line so she could happily explore the front yard - she definitely loves spending time outside.  I got some fresh air when I took the pup for a long walk, but I was mostly cooped up inside working on my taxes for a majority of the day - boo.  Whatever, they're done and I'm broke.  I am pretty psyched that I got so much accomplished this weekend though.  Our next big adventure?  Pandora's first training class tomorrow night...

*For the bacon cream cheese frosting, I omitted the bourbon in the recipe and used 1 Tb of vanilla extract instead.  I also candied my bacon before incorporating it in the frosting.  Just preheat oven to 350 degrees then place 8 strips of bacon on to a foil lined baking sheet.  Sprinkle brown sugar over the bacon until the it is covered with a consistent layer and pat down.  Bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes or until the bacon is cooked and crispy. 

Spring 2015 Wish List

Clockwise from top left: Dress | Starburst Ring | Ankle Boot | Cropped Jeans | Tassel Mid Heels | Lacy Top | Sneakers | Gold Choker | Midi Skirt | Turquoise Ring | Tassel Sandals | Embroidered Tunic

It definitely seems like I'm craving a more bohemian aesthetic for spring this year, which I guess isn't that far off from the 70's trend that's been deemed the "it" look of the season.  When I was younger I always used to claim I was born in the wrong decade that I should have been a child of the 60s not the 80s and I think I'm veering back into some vintage obsessions again (not that I every really stopped fully...), although I like to think they're a bit more sophisticated this time around.  I confess that I already bought a pair of the purple and black suede mid heels with the turquoise tassels as a little present to myself with my work bonus this year, but I had to include them in this list because they were by far my biggest fashion craving for spring.  That red print dress is pretty much my ideal beach cover up so I'm thinking that will definitely find its way into my wardrobe this year too.  And that ring is not even close to being in my budget, but I've been obsessed with that style ever since Cameron Diaz's character wore a similar one in the move The Sweetest Thing (the ring was probably the best thing about the entire film...).  One day.  With an upcoming trips to vising my brother in Mississippi and to NYC with my friend R, most of these items will probably remain relegated to the wish list though.  I always love a new shoe or bauble, but I'd much rather spend my time traveling and being with friends and family!

Have a Fantastic Weekend!

Did you see the absolutely amazing Zoolander 2 annoucment made at the Valentino Paris Fashion Week show?!?!?  It made my day and my week.  Every time I see a post or picture about it I smile.  Just awesome!  I posted the video below for your viewing enjoyment, as well as the video where they actually play their characters in a meet up with Anna Wintour (the editor in chief at Vogue) before the show.  So good. Can you believe it's been almost 15 years since the first movie???

In other movie news, the little girl in me is so excited to see the new Cinderella movie.  The logical adult side of me kind of hates the story of Cinderella, the girl who doesn't do anything to save herself but sits by idly waiting for her fairy godmother and prince to rescue her.  But from the previews it looks like the new Cinderella has at least a little spunk.

Weekend plans include a pedicure, onesie decorating, and dinner with my friend B tonight.  Tomorrow we're going to an Escape the Room event with a group of friends.  Have you heard of them?  You get locked into a room filled with clues for an hour and have to try to answer all of the clues to find keys and more clues, etc in order to escape.  We're pretty excited!  And on Sunday we're tackling the backyard to try to make it dog-ready (we're missing a fence on one side, need to fill a hole under the fence, and there is some overgrown landscaping that needs to be scaled back).  Do you have any fun plans this weekend?

Here's the Valentino show (you only really need to watch the first minute):

And here's the backstage interview with Anna Wintour:

 

So good...

And a few more fun links for your weekend:

• What happens when you put away your cell phone for a week (it's good!)
• Have you heard about this effort to put a woman's face on U.S. currency?  Think about it - all of those important men being recognized but not one woman.  And Susan B. Anthony doesn't really count since her coin is no longer minted and is rarely used.  Let's put a woman on our $20 bills!  Go to the site to vote on your top 3 contenders from their list!
• There's a Back to the Future documentary in the works that looks really cool!  Just in time for the 30 year (!!!  anyone else feeling old?!?) anniversary!

(top image from here)

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Sorry I've been silent all week, but I've been miserably sick with a nasty sinus infection since Tuesday.  Bleh.  It came on super fast - I woke up Tuesday morning with a sore throat and by 2 pm I was full on sick.  I took Wednesday off of work, but with an active doggie in the house rest wasn't really super easy to come by.  I got acupuncture on Wednesday to help with the intense swelling in my sinuses and since then I've been loading up on Airborne, Tylenol Sinus, and some herbal pills that my acupuncturist recommended called "Breathe Natural".  Don't know how much the herbal stuff is actually helping, but I will say that as of about 30 minutes ago I can finally breathe through my nose again.  So that's something.  I'm hopefully I'll be back to nearly normal by tomorrow since I'm throwing a baby shower for my friends J and B!

And an update on pup - she's doing great!  The kitties have finally stopped hiding all the time.  They're hardly BFFs with Pandora yet, but they mostly tolerate each other.  We took Pandora to the vet last weekend and learned that she's probably closer to about 1.5 years old than 2, which explains all of the puppy energy she still has.  We've been taking her to the dog park every few days to help work some of it off and get her socialized with other dogs.  When I didn't have the energy to take her for a walk on Wednesday because I was feeling crappy, I took her to the dog park instead and she made a new friend who taught her how to roll in mud puddles, so that was fun.  She's been pretty good about listening and learning new commands, but we've decided to sign her up for training classes that start at the end of the month too.  I grew up with impeccably trained dogs and am hoping to get Pandora to that point eventually too. She is also a total snuggle bug (see picture above).  She loves to sit next to us and will frequently just plop her butt down on my lap when I'm sitting on the floor.  Such a sweetheart!  We're definitely loving the new addition to our little family!

This weekend during the baby shower we're planning to take her to S's parents' house for a sleepover with their dog Mojo.  Last weekend she did squeeze out the front door when I opened it and took a happy little jaunt down the street.  Only reason I got her back in the house is a couple of kids on bicycles freaked her out and then the neighbor helped me corner her.   I was not thrilled.  So with baby shower guests coming in and out of the house all day on Saturday, we didn't want to chance her sneaking out the door again.  We are planning to ask S's parent's to watch her in the future when we go on trips anyway, so this is a good test day.  They have a huge yard for Pandora to run around and play in along with a dog of their own to keep her company, so we're hoping she enjoys the little vacation.

Baby shower activities are going to take up my entire day tomorrow (it's going to be so much fun!), so Sunday is going to just be a clean up and relax day.  Especially since I've been sick all week, I could definitely use some low-key recovery time.  I'm definitely looking forward to a fun weekend!

(top image from here)