Delicious Recipes.

In honor of the first UT football game of the season, we made some tasty recipes.

We made shrimp enchiladas. Recipe via My Kitchen Cafe. These are delicious! If you're not a seafood fan, then I am sure shredded chicken would be just as good. These aren't very spicy, so if you like some heat, then add extra cayenne pepper or chop up some jalapenos (or both).

To go along with the enchiladas, we made a black bean and corn salad. Recipe via All Recipes. This had great flavor. Really anything with black beans, avocado, and lime is good by me! This would also make a good dip for tortilla chips.

For dessert, I made cherry coke cupcakes. Recipe via Annie's Eats. These were so good! The cake part is moist and fluffy. They aren't overly chocolaty, but have a really good flavor -- I think in part from the coke you add to the batter. They are great as is, but maybe next time I will add some cherry juice to the topping (mostly because I like the idea of pink whipped cream).

For snacking during the game, I took a play out of Meagan's playbook and made pretzel/rolo thingies (yes, that is the technical term for them). You just take bite-sized pretzels, put a rolo on top, and then bake in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes or until the rolo starts to get soft. Then, while still warm and gooey, put a toasted pecan half or m&m (or anything else that tickles your fancy) on top of the rolo. Super easy and delicious. I am warning you that these little bite-sized salty and sweet goodies are way too easy to eat.

Confession.

I swore up and down this day would never come, but I guess I'm eating my words now. I am embarrassed to say that . . . wait for it . . . I just bought a rolling briefcase (shudders).

I love a great shoulder bag (and believe you me, I have my fair share of them). But, there comes a time when 5 files, a laptop, and a bunch of other items becomes too much to carry on one measly shoulder. So I caved in preparation of an upcoming business trip, and bought a rolling briefcase.

It is not as bad as most rolling briefcases for two reasons: (1) it has a fun orange lining; and (2) it shares a name with the cutest dog ever (Riley).

Hopefully my shoulders and back will thank me (or else I have sacrificed my dignity for nothing).

Then.

(Warning: Super sappy post ahead.)

I hardly ever listen to country music, but I happened to hear Brad Paisley's song "Then" the other day. I have listened to it countless time since. I feel like at any time my itunes may say, "Hey lady, give it a rest. You have already heard this song 10 times today."

You can hear it here.
_______________

I remember, trying not to stare the night that I first met you
You had me mesmerized
And three weeks later, in the front porch light
taking forty-five minutes to kiss goodnight
I hadn't told you yet
but I thought I loved you then

And now you're my whole life
now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl
Like a river meets the sea,
stronger than it's ever been.
We've come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then

And I remember, taking you back to right where I first met you,
You were so surprised
There were people around, but I didn't care
Got down on one knee right there once again,
I thought I loved you then

And now you're my whole life
now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl
Like a river meets the sea,
stronger than it's ever been.
We've come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then

I could just see you, with a baby on the way
And I could just see you, when your hair is turning gray
What I can't see is how I'm ever gonna love you more
But I've said that before

And now you're my whole life
now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl
We'll look back someday, at this moment that we're in
And I'll look at you and say
And I thought I loved you then
And I thought I loved you then
_______________

I can't wait until the day I am 60 and look back to this time in my life and say to Justin "and I thought I loved you then." I certainly feel that way looking back only 5 years ago.

You can't say that I didn't warn you.

Google Image Search.

I did a Google image search tonight for "pearson chandelier." Unfortunately, my obsession with it has not subsided. I was surprised to see the following image in the lower left hand corner (see below and click to enlarge).

I also love the chair on the far right in the middle row (the Martine chair from RH). Guess you never know what an image search may turn up!

Jubilantly Jubilant for Jubilee.

(excuse the cheesy title)

I have found a new store obsession -- Jubilee -- a very cute furniture, gift, and clothing store in the Heights. I didn't quite make it to the back of the store to look at the clothes because there were so many amazing pieces of furniture and chandeliers that kept catching my eye.

I knew from the minute I saw this chair that it had to be mine, but I was so sad to discover that it was on hold. About an hour or so after we left the store, the lady called me to tell me that the person that placed it on hold was no longer interested. Yippee! We immediately turned around and headed back to the store to pick her up!

It needs a little work (nothing some wood glue can't fix), but isn't it so cute? I love its lines, the blue/gray fabric, and nailhead trim. It's not in perfect shape (let's be serious, who is?), but it will be a chair more for decoration than for function, so I am not overly concerned.

Before we knew the lady was no longer interested in the chair, we picked up this little set of nesting tables. I am not a fan of the 3 colors, but this should be an easy re-painting project.

How great are the legs and the scalloped tops? Now I just have to figure out the perfect spot for these little guys.

I will be stopping by Jubilee often. The good news is it is next to one of my favorite brunch spots, Shade, and also close to Mam's Sno-balls.

Welcome Print.

My mom recently gave me a print from Two Poodle Prints on Etsy. I love it and am eyeing other prints from the shop.

I couldn't get a good picture of it because of the glare (see below), but here is an image from Two Poodle Prints so you can see its cuteness.

It's now in the perfect location in our entryway. Our door is over where the light is coming from in this picture:

Hopefully people will feel extra welcome in our home now!

Mam's Sno-balls.

Eureka! Thank goodness it is hot in Houston most months out of the year, because we just found a super tasty New Orleans style sno-ball place! We used to go to Casey's snowballs all the time in Austin when we were in college. This place is very similar and is a heck of a lot closer!

(photo: mam's facebook page)

I got the orchid cream vanilla flavor (it is one of their top sellers). I don't really know how to describe the taste except for utter deliciousness. I had to take a picture of its pretty purple color. Yum!

Justin got the chocolate flavor, which is the same one that he used to get at Casey's. It took us back to old times! I used to always get the wedding cake flavor from Casey's. Mam's has it too, and it may be the next one I get. I am already planning my next trip back. They also have a cute dog sno-ball where they put chicken broth over ice. Riley came with us, but we didn't get him one -- I know, we are bad parents.

While we were eating, I noticed a little restaurant across the street. You may have to click on the picture to see it, but the place has "Chinese Food and Fried Sea Food." Is that not the weirdest combination? And, it's not just regular sea food -- it's fried sea food. Don't go in there asking for grilled or blackened fish.

Riley was tuckered out after his big Mam's outing.

Heidi "the Performer" Montag.

I know I am a few days behind on commenting on Heidi Montag's performance at the Miss Universe pageant, but I can't let it slide. It's no secret I am a fan of The Hill's, but Heidi and Spencer ("Speidi") drive me bonkers. Heidi's Miss Universe "performance" was no different. On the upside, at least her flesh-toned bodysuit matches her husband's creepy flesh-colored beard.

I saw a great clip of Anderson Cooper on The Soup this weekend discussing the production.



Best line: "If God has the time to work on this production, and that's the best He can do, we are all in trouble." Love it!

Rachael Ray (II).

So back in February I had a post about Rachael Ray, and asked why it always sounded like she needed a cough drop. Well, tonight she was on David Letterman and evidently she had a cyst on her vocal cord. This is probably old news, but she had it removed.

I feel slightly bad for making fun of a medical issue. But at the same time, I am slightly relieved to know that it wasn't just how she talked -- that there was a legit reason why her voice was so raspy (beyond having 247 tv shows).

P.S. How miserable does her dog look?

Chandelier Love.

Recently, I have been eyeing Restoration Hardware's Pearson chandelier:

I love its simplicity plus the little bit of glam with the crystal at the bottom.

I pulled up the webpage about 10 times on Saturday to ogle it. Then, we went to a client's house for dinner that night and she had it in her dining room. I pretty sure that means it's meant to be, doesn't it?

Rudy's (and an update).

Last weekend we picked up an air compressor from Justin's parents so we can re-paint a craig's list find (before and after pictures to come once we get it painted). On the way out to their house, Justin finally got to eat some Rudy's bar-b-q.

I'll have a post soon with his new "decor" contribution to our bedroom.

As an update to my post from Friday, my mom is still sore, but doing better each day. We took my grandma to an emergency clinic Saturday morning, and thankfully she doesn't have shingles. She was having a terrible allergic reaction to something, but we are still not sure what it was. It could have been food, medicine, pollen, etc. I am so thankful they are both on the mend.

A not so great start to the weekend . . .

My grandma came into town to help take care of my mom who had surgery today (she is doing okay). After getting my mom settled back in at home, my grandma starts coming down with shingles!

Then, Justin and I go to grab dinner, and on the way back home, we get in a wreck after some girl (who is not paying attention -- and "thought she was in the right lane") turns into us.

My grandma's shingles are now spreading pretty badly, so tomorrow morning we are waking up early to take her to the emergency clinic so that she can get some medication.

And, I have a brief due on Monday.

Serenity now, serenity now. Please let this weekend get better . . .

Houston Restaurant Week.

Here are some pros and cons from the places we enjoyed during Restaurant Week. While the food has been great, I have definitely gained a few pounds!

Vic & Anthony's Steakhouse

Pros:

• Mac and Cheese (my heavens, this stuff is pure gold)
• Mushrooms
• Tasty steak (of course)
• Phenomenal croissant bread pudding (no raisins, delicious caramel bourbon sauce)

Cons:

• We had reservations, but we still waited over 45 minutes for our table. In full disclosure, we requested a specific server, but still . . .
• Feeling extremely full after over-indulging.
  

V&A was the first place we tried out and it has been my favorite place, hands down.

Gravitas

We didn't eat off of the RW menu at Gravitas. We are rebels, I know.

Pros:

• Great scallops
• Good bread pudding with a nice caramelized crust on top
  

Cons:

• Took forever to get drinks
• Food was decent, but nothing spectacular
  
• Super loud inside (this is nothing new there)
  

*17

Pros:

• Eating with Meagan and Jeremy
• The decor was great:
  

Cons:

• None of the food was worth mentioning in the pros
  

Del Frisco's

Pros:

• Great dinner salad with avocado dressing (and hunks of avocado) and bacon
  
• Delicious steaks
  

Cons:

• Mediocre bread pudding
• Valet parking took forever
  

Our waiter at Del Frisco's told us that they (and some other restaurants) were extending RW for another week. I don't know if my pants can take another week -- they are already tighter!

Donations.

We donated tons of clothes and (my shoes) to Goodwill this weekend. The huge box behind the bags was also filled with goodies.

It felt great to clean out our closet and some bins that were under the bed. I tried to convince Justin that for every piece you donate, you get to replace it with something new. He didn't buy it. Heck, I would even go for a "every 5 articles you donate, get 1 new" type deal. But I doubt he will go for that either.

Along those lines, J. Crew is having an extra 20% off final sale items + free shipping through Wednesday . . .

Bedroom Update.

So while our bedroom is far from being done, we accomplished getting it painted this weekend! As you will see, we went through a bunch of grays to find the perfect color.

Thankfully for people like us who can't make a decision based off the little paper paint swatch from the store, Benjamin Moore has new pint sized samples available for $6.99.

In the picture below, we tried Pigeon Gray (the lighter gray/blue color on top and again on bottom), Deep Silver (the darkest swatch), and Silver Fox (the small more brownish swatch right by the headboard and right next to the window). All colors are Benjamin Moore.

Once we got the colors up, we realized Pigeon Gray and Deep Silver were too blue. We both loved Silver Fox, but it was too close to the headboard color -- and I wanted more contrast.

We got three additional samples, which we put over the previous ones. The swatch by the headboard over Silver Fox and Deep Silver is Sterling Silver (the color we ended up choosing). The swatch over the lower Pigeon Gray is Silver Dollar. We also tried Stormy Monday, which is not pictured, but it is very close to Silver Dollar.

Here they are again in different light. The big swatch on the left is Sterling Silver -- we wanted to be sure that was the right color.

Here's a shot of the room in progress.

And as always, a picture of Riley helping us with the project. His nose was under the paper.

Once the floor became to uncomfortable for our helper, he moved to the bed.

After the first coat -- love it! (Excuse the ladder.) Both of our windows are open, so the opposite wall is getting good sunlight in this picture.

Here is the bed against the wall. It is just as I hoped it would turn out. And, sorry for not making the bed -- I didn't feel like it.

Our duvet cover hasn't arrived yet, but we should receive it next week. Here is a swatch of it, our headboard, and the paint. I am digging it.

I am thrilled with the way it turned out! Our bedroom is fairly large (13.5' x 18') not counting our sitting room, so this darker color really helps it feel more cozy. I can finally see it coming together. I can't wait to get it all completed!