peek into the week

standing on the star on the Dallas Coyboys field

This past weekend I had friends in town. It was such an amazing weekend. Not only did I get to spend time with my oldest friend and her husband, but I also got to have a little staycation of my own. I feel like I saw more Dallas/Fort Worth in that one weekend than I have seen since I moved out here 9 months ago. We took a VIP tour of the Cowboys Stadium, got lost in Fort Work (where we wound up at the opening weekend of the Fort Worth Stock Yards), ate at my favorite restaurants, toured downtown Dallas, and more. James got to play golf, I got to teach my BFF what a kolache is (think pig in a blanket, but a million times better). Needless to say, it was a fun-filled weekend. That meant that this weekend, my only mission was to sleep in and relax. Mission accomplished. Bring on Monday!

BFF attempting to balance on the railroad tracks

Opening weekend and the Stock Yards

the hilarious book I finally started this week    

finally having a Saturday to sleep in. Looks like she might have needed it more than me!

breakfast for lunch on a lazy Saturday

my Saturday night. blissful.

peek into the week

my angel

waking up to snow and rain Tuesday morning

a little snuggle time with a friend's pup

surprise snacks at work

flu shot and blood drawn in the same arm - ouchies

finally broke down and bought a TV - exscuse: I'm having guests in town this weekend

Friday lunch with a sweet friend

instant gratification

  It's the little things...

resolutions

  I don't have a lot this year.   1. Drink more H2O - at least one full glass at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That is in addition to the ones I drink (or plan to drink) throughout the day.   2. Brainstorm every day - I can't make a promise to myself that I will blog every day, or paint every day, or even create something every day. But I do want to make sure that I intentionally block time everyday for brainstorming.   3. Simplify & enjoy my fitness - Pilates/yoga on Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays. Run/walk on Tuesdays and Thursdays.   4. Take more pictures of beautiful things - this one is pretty simple.   So, there you have it folks. Here we go!

a new day

New Year's Eve has always been one of my least favorite holidays. I'm not sure why. Although I do love dressing for it. I just feel like there is too much pressure. It forces you to look at the previous year as a whole, and judge it to be successful or not successful. I just don't think that is very fair. A year is a long time! And there are so many reasons why things happened they way they did. If you look at the past year in terms of whether or not is was a successful year, you will more than likely make yourself worried with stress. Either by having an "unsuccessful year", or feeling pressure to make the next year "even better than the last."

We should make promises to ourselves daily, not annually. Live out this beautiful life day-by-day. Take away the pressure of reviewing the year as a whole - "pass" or "fail".

This is why I feel that New Year's Day is so much more uplifting. This year I got to spend it with good friends and good food. And I savored every minute of it. Because it was a day to move forward - in whichever direction I choose.

new year's eve

Any excuse to don some sparkles is a welcomed occasion!

Elf's glitter liquid eyeliner. Just enough, but not too much.

Rose gold + sequins = my new go-to

Happy New Year, y'all!

* mental note for next year: now that I'm living in Texas, I will miss the ball drop in Times Square if I look for it at midnight central time.

friday night

Sometimes it is the little things in life that are the most indulgent. After all of the Christmas shopping, traveling, and festivities, I thought it was time for a little R & R on this chilly Friday night.




Using my teriyaki chicken leftovers from yesterday's lunch to make fried rice with edamame.




Finally relaxing to some Friends reruns by candlelight.




The icing on top: spiked hot coco. Mmmmmm.

name change

Quick note: you may have noticed a change in the title of my blog. Sometimes something just doesn't fit. This is one of those times. Sorry for any confusion!

instant gratification

To add a little nourishment to the office day.

instant gratification

Office space.

Christmas "break"

Here are some of my favorite moments of my trip back to Georgia for Christmas:

The puppy that we rescued. He stayed with us for a couple of days before I brought him back to Dallas to live with his new family - some good friends of mine.


Brotherly love :)


I was invited to take part in the annual pre-Christmas Jackson feast this year!


My dear friend, Joanna, works at a winery in California. She saw this wine from the field to the bottle!


A beautiful pastel drawing of the road horse that won my father the World Championship in 1993. This was meant to be his Christmas present 19 years ago. Sadly, he passed away 2 weeks before that Christmas. My mother gifted it to me this year, still in the original shipping tube.


The drawing I did for my brother's Christmas/Graduation present.


Brother attempting to keep the turkey's dry in the rain.


Brother, his beautiful girlfriend, and my lovely neices playing Headbandz (coolest game EVER!)


My sister-in-law and my cuz


Sis and her baby girl


And who wouldn't want to see another picture of this adorable puppy?!

Hope everyone had a merry Christmas!!

Christmas soirée

Our email invitation, courtesy of Cocodot.com, which sadly has gone out of business :(


Preparing for the feast.



Strawberry chocolate chip cookies: 1/2 container of Cool Whip 1/2 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 egg 1 box of strawberry cake mix   Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together ingredients, and bake for 8-10 minutes on parchment paper (these cookies are very sticky)



Baked brie & Holiday Jam



Bacon-wrapped dates (delish!!)



Dijon, ham & asperagus roll-ups



Vintage glass mugs with peppermint spoons: for our spiked pepperming hot coco



Champagne with fozen blackberries



Some of my girls :) LOVE them!!