~Gone to Carolina in my mind…~

We’re coming baaaccckkk…….

(disclaimer: please disregard the shade of blue on this print... it was a gift bought for my husband who somehow prefers this team to the darker blue devil blue... how we married remains a mystery to this day...)

As much as we LOVE Austin, we were always hoping to someday get back to NC… little did we know it would be so soon!  Patrick has an incredible opportunity with a new firm that would’ve been pretty hard to turn down if it had been in the middle of nowhere – the fact that he will have the Southeast region made it a complete no-brainer - we can move home and be near college basketball, the Carolina coast, friends, family and Bojangles (for Patrick, not me... I missed the sweet tea loving gene somehow... yes I'm aware that might make me somewhat un-southern ya'll ;).   A co-worker told me the other day “I bet once you get back, you’ll look back on your time in Austin and think “That was a fun vacation huh?”  lol… it’s probably true.  I HIGHLY recommend a visit here to anyone who hasn’t been to this awesome city, and consider myself blessed to have been able to really spend time here and establish great friends (now I’ll have places to stay when I come back to visit! ;)

I haven’t blogged in a loonnnngggggg time, but I figured since I started the blog when we were preparing to move here, maybe I should pick it back up again in prep for our move back and the next chapter in our lives.  I’m sure we’ll live it up the last month, so wanted to make sure to include a couple more Austin based entries. 

One thing I haven't blogged about but am LOVING here is the Zach Scott Theater.  Anyone who knows me knows I love music theater and I jumped at the chance to volunteer here through the Austin chapter of Junior League.  What makes this so cool is that it's actually a campus of theaters - there are three on the premises.  Two are relatively small, seating only one hundred and two hundred something guests and the larger theater still seats under five hundred, so no matter what, you get a more intimate experience and there isn't a bad seat in teh house.  The larger theater is your typical set up with a stage in front and seating directly facing it.  The other two, however, are unique.  One stage is set up like a peninsula with audience seating surrounding on three sides, and the smallest is actually in the center of the room with the audience completely surrounding the stage.  It gives you such great respect to the actors - if you've ever been in ANY kind of production, you know that it takes getting used to "cheat" out to the audience and make sure you're facing and gesturing in an unnatural way so that the audience can see and hear you.. I can only imagine having to constantly shift to address multiple viewpoints like that!  I volunteer as either an usher or ticket scanner and then get to see most of the shows, which has been so much fun as it's been an incredible opportunity to see plays that I wouln't normally have even heard of or necessarily gone to go see but ended up really enjoying. 

I'm sure we'll be out and about a decent amount this last month or so :)  My parents are coming Easter weekend for a few days for my birthday and my converting to Catholicism (which needs to be a seperate post or maybe seperate blog!). Showing them some more of our favorite places should be a perfect way to end our time here!

Until next time

xoxo

~Know it's good now~

Cheesiness alert! :)  So I tend to listen super pop music while I'm working out, especially when I go before work and need an extra wake up call in a.m. (and before you judge, I KNOW that a bunch of you have Britney Spears and Destiny's Child on your playlist too, don't hate!).

Anyway, I usually put my iphone on Pandora to switch it up and the Kris Allen song Live Like We're Dying came on this morning and I started thinking about the line in the song that we've all heard a million times in life "We never know a good thing til it's gone" and how true that can be in so many aspects.  We spend soooo much time wanting more, waiting for the next thing in our life and not enough time focusing on the good in our lives right now. 

Maybe it's because it was Valentines Day this week and I'm still feeling the love, maybe it's the endorphins kicking in, who knows, but I'm feeling pretty blessed this morning and wanted to encourage everyone to focus on the good today.  Find a reason to celebrate something and have a fabulous weekend knowing that life is good!

~Discovering Dallas~

We spent the weekend after last in Dallas, which I’ve been wanting to get to since moving to Texas.  (Everyone constantly says that Austin is the best city in TX but I haven’t been anywhere else since moving here and I feel like I need to explore).  Anyway, a friend of Patrick’s was in town for work with his wife, so we drove the 3ish hours to Dallas to spend the weekend with them catching up, eating, and going out J

The highlights:

The ReUnion Tower:

I was advised by a friend to not eat at this Wolfgang Puck restaurant on top of the spinning ball  towering 560 feet over Dallas (the food is good, just not worth the price apparently).  However, it WAS worth going up and having a few drinks and taking in the view.  The outer perimeter of the dome spins slowly, so if you are eating or drinking at the bar in that section, you can take in a panoramic view of the city, which was beautiful.  The drink menu was amazing ( I highly recommend the Elderflower martini) and a great way to start our evening.

From here we moved uptown (Dallas is pretty spread out, you definitely cannot walk between downtown and uptown) and met another couple at Victor Tangos for dinner.  This popular tapas style restaurant was delish and so much fun if you like to share with others and try a lot of different things.  Literally everything we had was fantastic, but the lampchop lollipops, grilled octopus, and mini chicken and waffles were AH-MA-ZING!  I’d be here all the time if I lived there.

We ended our weekend with a tour of the 6^th Floor JFK Museum, which included features of his Presidency and of course the fatal shooting that took place from the 6^th floor in the Texas Schoolbook Depository in Dealy Plaza (the last picture below is the actual window Oswald shot from).  It is very well done and though everyone knows the history of the Kennedy assassination, it was fascinating to see the exact window where the shot was fired (the area is preserved to this day) and to see the artifacts surrounding the investigation.  Amazing that all these years late they still don’t have all of the answers.  Even more amazing was the video footage and media coverage on the world’s reaction to JFK’s death.  The impact he had on countries worldwide and personal impact on Americans was incredible and something you truly don’t see today.  Outside you can see two “x”’s in the road where the car was the exact moments the bullets hit.  Definitely worth the $13.50 if you are in the Dallas area (and this includes the headsets)!

I am still partial to Austin - even with the wonderful shopping at the Galleria ;)  Maybe that means it’s becoming home!  But Dallas is definitely a FUN city!

~Our 6 Month Austin Anniversary!~

Wow, I always thought that “time goes by faster the older you get” was just something that people said, but it really does!  January marks 6 months of being in Austin already!  In honor of that, I’m writing about my six most favorite things here so far:

1)       The Texas pride:  Okay, so this is not specific to Austin, but damn, Texans are proud of their state!  From the Texas star carved in the concrete on highway bridges, and “everything’s bigger/better” in Texas slogans (not to mention “keep Austin weird” slogans) on everything from billboards to t-shirts, to specialty Texas/Austin gift stores, these folks are proud of where they’re from!  The local grocery store, H-E-B even has tortilla chips that are in the shape of the state of Texas.  Not joking.   Obviously, I still think nothing is finer than Carolina ;) but the state pride is pretty awesome here.

2)      The people:  SO welcoming, nice, outgoing, friendly… I can go on and on.  I’d say we’ve been so lucky to meet so many awesome people that have become friends already but I think that it’s just how they are.  We’re celebrating Patrick’s birthday tomorrow night by going to dinner with ten others and I’m so grateful for the ease we had settling here with such great people!

3)      The Hill Country:  I had no idea until I moved here, but as soon as you are to the West of downtown, the roads are surrounded by gorgeous rolling hills.  It is stunning.

4)     The winters (or, the LACK thereof):  I never have an will never be a cold weather person, so I am a happy girl!  I haven’t worn a winter coat yet and was in shorts a week ago.  In January!!  We can take Sadie to the park, go on long runs/walks, eat outside, and never shiver!   To everyone living in snow flurries and bundled up, I know I’m rubbing it in but I just LOVE it so much I can’t help it.  I will take 100 plus degree days all summer in exchange for a 70 degree January any day.

5)      The location of our house:  I don’t know how long we’ll be in this specific location but it has been incredible.  We can walk to various restaurants, are close to the highway, and best of all, can walk or run to the pathway around Town Lake in less than 10 minutes

6)     Which is convenient because the FOOD is my next favorite thing….okay maybe my most favorite thing:  Seriously, the food trailers, the Tex Mex, the five awesome Italian restaurants I’m in love with… we are discovering new places every week!  Adding to my love is the fact that almost everywhere has a nightly happy hour ;)

 

Ladybird Lake trail

I can’t wait to see what the next six months have in store for us! 

~Recipe for a Happy New Year~

Happy 2012 Everyone!!  I posted this last year but I just love it so wanted to post again... lots of good resolutions in here!  Cheers :)

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Recipe for a Happy New Year ~ Anonymous

Take twelve fine, full-grown months; see that these are thoroughly free from old memories of bitterness, rancor and hate, cleanse them completely from every clinging spite; pick off all specks of pettiness and littleness; in short, see that these months are freed from all the past—have them fresh and clean as when they first came from the great storehouse of Time.

Cut these months into thirty or thirty-one equal parts. Do not attempt to make up the whole batch at one time (so many persons spoil the entire lot this way) but prepare one day at a time.

Into each day put equal parts of faith, patience, courage, work (some people omit this ingredient and so spoil the flavor of the rest), hope, fidelity, liberality, kindness, prayer, meditation, rest (leaving this out is like leaving the oil out of the salad dressing—don't do it), and one well-selected resolution.

Put in about one teaspoonful of good spirits, a dash of fun, a pinch of folly, a sprinkling of play, and a heaping cupful of good humor.

Happy New Year!!

~Comfort and Joy~

Lucky for me, Patrick had work in Charlotte this month which meant that I got to come to North Carolina for a lonnggg visit this holiday season!  I spent the weekend of the 16^th-18^th in Charlotte and got to see so many old friends there before coming to Cary the following Monday.  Charlotte has two new stores – the SoBo Loft and Boutique and the Boulevard at South End, both of which have adorable home décor items and fun other gifts for anyone who is doing last minute shopping today ;)
 

I took the train for the first time since I obviously don’t have a car when I come home which was kind of fun!  It’s actually cheaper than driving since the $27.00 ticket beats filling up a tank these days.  You can check up to three 50 lb. bags for free and then get to relax in a fairly spacious seat and watch the world go by or read or catch up on email your whole trip.  They even have two outlets in each aisle so you can charge your phone/computer etc.  It’s not quite as cool as getting on at platform 9 ¾ and heading to Hogwarts, but it’s still a great way to travel and I highly recommend it!

After four straight days and nights of parties and get-togethers in Charlotte, I spent the first two days in Cary relaxing at home.  Tuesday night I went with a few girlfriends to Café Caturra which was so much fun, and good for the soul (you just can't beat old friends!)  A wine and tapas restaurant, there is a huge wood burning fireplace inside that we sat next to while we caught up (not that we needed the heat in the 70 degree weather…but the ambiance was nice!) Kudos to Cary on having such a fun, trendy spot!

There really is nothing like being home for Christmas… being with family and friends that are like your family really do bring the most comfort and joy J  I hope all of your final preparations are coming together and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

~The Life of a Housewife~

As someone who, until September, has never been married and never without a job since she was fourteen, “housewife” is definitely a new role for me!  While I am looking for a job and have a few prospects on the horizon (cross your fingers for me!), I am, for the time being, a housewife…weird. 

Maybe it’s my new found love of Mad Men, or maybe it’s the fact that I’m finally taking the advice of so many friends, but the last few weeks I’ve tried to let go of my impatience regarding the lack of bringing home a paycheck and actually enjoy this time (easier said than done).  I admit it's not exactly my first choice, I’m the type of person who's at a loss when she doesn't have a million things to do, but... I know as soon as I start working again I'll be wishing there were more hours in the day!  So I’m using this downtime to read, run, actually stay on top of things like wrapping gifts and mailing packages on time, cook, and of course spoil Sadie with lots of play time/long walks/etc ;).  Since I’ve been cooking so much, I decided to share a couple recipes I’m loving right now.

Our friends Ryan and Ashley are coming over tonight for dinner and I’m making wine stew.  I wanted to share this recipe because it’s perfect for chilly weather and takes no time at all.  I’m a huge fan of crock pot recipes because you can throw everything in and leave it for hours while you go to work (or you know, continue your job search and walk the dog..whatever). 

Ingredients

2 lbs. stew meat (find it in the beef section of the grocery store, already cubed)

1 can tomato soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can sliced mushrooms

1 envelope French onion soup mix

1 cup burgundy wine (I didn’t have burgundy and didn’t want to buy it just for this recipe, so I’m using Cabernet instead, which I always have on hand, naturally)

Instructions: combine all ingredients in crockpot.  If you’ll be around the house, put on high for one hour then low for several hours.  If you’ll be gone all day long, just put on low all day. 

Serve over rice… easy!

And for dessert… Pumpkin cake balls

YUM.  I love, love, love pumpkin bread this time of year however, my recipe makes so much that I had a ton leftover.  Enter pumpkin cake balls.  Easy, cute, and easily adapted to whatever your personal taste (I made two versions).  Basically take half a loaf of pumpkin bread (or chocolate cake or whatever you want, really) and combine with about half a container of icing, mixing together well.  I used half a loaf of the bread with cream cheese icing and half with coconut pecan icing.  Put the mixture in the fridge for a while to cool it down so it’s easy to form balls.  Once cool, form small scoops out of the mixture and place on parchment paper.  Put a toothpick in each individual ball then freeze. 

After freezing for a few hours (or overnight, it doesn’t matter), microwave your preference of baking chocolate squares in a small bowl.  Be careful as you do this, go for about a minute and a half, stir, then heat again in small increments of time to make sure the chocolate doesn’t burn.  Once chocolate is melted, dip the balls in the chocolate holding the toothpick and place back on parchment paper.   The chocolate will set almost immediately since the cake balls are so cold but if you’re quick and so desire, you can have a second bowl with finely chopped nuts or sprinkles that you can dip the ball in while the chocolate is still setting. 

And that’s all!  You can keep in the freezer right until about ten minutes before you want to serve, they thaw quickly.  It’s different and I think would be great at a party because you can grab a toothpick for a bite size of dessert instead of having to balance a piece of pie on a plate…. Enjoy!