Thursday, July 29, 2010

My long lost blog

It's been a while since I have posted. I promise I haven't forgotten about my blog! We have been so busy this summer. Mostly getting settled into our new home and buying things for it. When I get everything more situated, I will do a home tour! I am very excited to show you guys the before and afters. Now, I am off to find the charger to our camera. I lost it in the move!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Maddie turns 5

Today is Maddie's 5th Birthday! She is the little light of our lives. When we got her five years ago, we had no idea how much she would change our lives. I know, that's a little bit over-dramatic. But, really it has taught us responsibility and what it is like to take care of something else. We love her so much!! :) Here are some pictures of her over the years...as well as today!

Here she is 10 weeks old! So little!!


Here she is on her first birthday! We went all out :)


Here she is today :)
Happy Birthday Maddiekins :) We love you little furry child!!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Weekend in Galveston

This past weekend Matt and I traveled down to Houston to spend the weekend with our good friends, Andrea and Tristan. They are our "vacation buddies". We have traveled with them a couple times, first on a cruise to Mexico our junior year in college, then to San Antonio last summer. We just LOVE traveling with them. They are so easy going, just like us and we really enjoy their company.

We left Friday and headed down to Houston to stay the night with them and then leave early Saturday morning for Galveston. As we were entering Houston, Matt and I both remembered that Luke (Matt's brother) and his girlfriend were in Houston! So that night, we got dressed up and went out to dinner. Luke and his girlfriend, Ashley, met us at a cute little pizza place that was amazing. We had a great time, but somehow forgot to take pictures! :(

The next morning, we headed down to Galveston. It was only a 30 minute drive, and it was so sunny! We quickly checked in to our hotel and headed to the beach. The beach was nice, but I couldnt see my feet, so I was NOT about to hang out in the water. Haha! So, we headed to the hotel pool! They had really good pina coladas, and we had a great time!!



That night, we went to eat at the Fisherman's Warf. Many people had told us to go there and the hotel recommended it. It was pretty good, they had great clam chowder. We got to sit by the water, so that was nice :)



Sunday morning, we went to the beach one more time and then made our way to back to Houston. We stayed the night with them Sunday night and left Monday morning. It was so nice to "get away" and spend time with our friends! :)


Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Our new home

I know this post is a LITTLE late, but we have bought our first home.

We are very excited to be homeowners and finally have something that is completely ours. We found the house in March through a friend of ours. He said his buddy was about to put his house up for sale and that it's what we are looking for and he thought we would love it. I will tell you, we almost didn't even go by. We were going to look at the house without our realtor, I was tired of looking at houses all day and I thought it might be weird..I mean, what if we didn't like it? Well, Matt persuaded me to go and the minute we stepped in we both LOVED it. The house is older, but it has so much character and is very updated. That night we debated for probably only 30 minutes and decided we wanted it. When you know, you know! :) They were going to put the house on the market the next day, but we called and told them we wanted it. They agreed and about a month later, it was ours!

I am so looking forward to moving into this house and starting to make precious memories there. I can't wait to show you all the inside!! :)

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

March Birthdays, playing catch-up!

Well, March was a whirl wind month. Lots happened, including Matt and I both turning 25! It's such a weird feeling getting older, but so neat because I am so excited for what the future holds.

Matt's birthday was on the 16th and we celebrated by going out to dinner with his parents and brother, Luke. I only have this one picture from that night. I really need to get better about taking pictures.


For his birthday, I got him a grill! He has been wanting one since we got married and now that it's getting warmer, I thought it would be the perfect time to get him one! (That will be another post, the grill :) ) He loves it! Next was my birthday, the 21st. Matt surprised me by taking me to The Woodhouse Day Spa and getting us a couples massage! He knew I would love getting one together- which I did! It was just what we both needed and it was so relaxing.

The following weekend, I went over to Matt's family's house for birthday celebration, while Matt went camping. He definitely missed out on this amazing cake my mother in-law bought for Ashlye (my sister in-law) and I!! It was sooo cute and tasted great!


In other exciting news- WE HAVE FOUND OUR FIRST HOUSE!!!! (There will be a post on this shortly!!)

That pretty much sums up our March. Is it just me or is this year FLYING by?!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

This is Matt and I's seventh valentine's day together. I am so lucky to be able to spend every day with my best friend! Valentine's Day just makes me think about how much I love him. I made a slide show today with pictures of us together over the past 7 years. Enjoy and I hope you all have a great day.

Happy Valentine's Day!!


Friday, February 12, 2010

Snow day

Yesterday morning when I woke up, there was about an inch of snow on the ground. I had to go into work, but Matt decided to stay home. With his job, he can make up the time. When I got to work the kids were CRAZY! It was pouring snow outside and they could all see it through the windows. But, it wasn't an annoying crazy, because all the teachers were kind of "excited" too. We couldn't believe all the snow. It just keep snowing, so our school decided to do a noon dismissal. I headed right home to Matt and Maddie, all ready to go outside and play.

We went to the VERY top of our closet and found the waterproof pants and things. We got all ready and went in our back yard to play. Maddie just LOVED the snow. She may be a four year old beagle, but a soon as she hit the snow, it was like she was a puppy again. Running around, Biting and digging at the snow. It was so sweet and cute. Here are a couple pictures of our day!





We had the BEST time with the snow. It was the perfect for building a snowman.



It snowed ALL day on Thursday. I don't think it stopped until Midnight! This morning when we woke up, they said on the news we got 12 inches!!!! We measured in our front yard and it said 10, that's still A LOT of snow. Now, I know it's not much compared to some northern states, but I have never seen this much snow in my life in Texas! It's the most beautiful snow I have ever seen too. We are going to attempt to make snow ice cream tonight..Hopefully it turns out good :)

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Back to blogging and pasta recipe

Hello friend! Well, it's been over a month since I have posted anything. I guess I have just been in a funk. But, since it is a new year...I keep telling myself I need to get it together and start blogging more! So, I will starting by sharing with you what I did tonight. I made Red-Wine Pasta. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out, but it was really good and it only took about 25 minutes to make. Here is the recipe!

Things You'll Need:
  • 1 pound pasta
  • 1 bottle red wine
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped (I just used minced garlic)
  • 1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
  • Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
  • Cookware: Large pot, Large skillet, Tongs, Large serving bowl.
Step 1
Bring 5 quarts of water to a boil and cook spaghetti, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. You do not want fully cooked pasta at this point.

Step 2
Reserve one cup of pasta water, drain pasta in colander, and return the now empty pot to stove.

Step 3
Add wine and sugar to pot and boil vigorously for about 2 minutes until liquid is reduced a bit.

Step 4
Add pasta and shake pot to prevent pasta from sticking to the bottom.
Gently stir with tongs until coated and boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.

Step 5
Immediately after adding spaghetti to wine mixture, sauté garlic and red pepper flakes in the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over moderately low heat, shaking skillet occasionally, until garlic is pale golden, about 5 minutes.

Step 6
Gently add the pasta mixture into the skillet with the garlic and pepper flakes, carefully toss with tongs to combine.

Step 7
Cook while stirring, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, season with freshly ground black pepper. Add freshly grated cheese and serve immediately.

Now, it may seem like a lot of steps, but it's really not. Also, if you do not like spicy things, you could leave the red pepper flakes out of it. They give the pasta a little bite. Good luck and happy cooking :)