DC Trip and White Cabinets With No Regrets!

We just got back from a trip to Washington, D.C. and what perfect timing!  The colors of the trees were gorgeous, and it actually felt like Fall!  Here in Texas, it's still warm and well it doesn't feel as quite as festive.  But in DC, it felt like the holidays, which really got us in the spirit for the upcoming Thanksgiving break.  We actually got to wear sweaters and coats, and we enjoyed walking around in the brisk coolness taking in all of the monuments and memorials.  Another reason that the trip was perfect timing is that it was a great time to remember and be thankful for all of the great men and women that have defended our country and led our country and have given us the freedom that I know I too often take for granted.  It's a great time to remember all that our country has been through and to be thankful for all the blessings that we do have.

I'll have to actually start posting pics from our trips, but for now here's a couple of snaps I took on my phone:

Shopping in Georgetown

My first attempt at showing what I wore! haha I'ts blurry, but you get the picture that I could actually wear boots and a fur vest.  Now back in Texas for Thanksgiving...have to change back to wardrobes more suiting for 80 degrees.

Now for a peek at the new house and what's been going on before we left for our trip....Oh yes, we did already have our kitchen cabinets painted white.  And I'm thrilled with the results!   I know, we just closed on the house a few weeks ago, and we didn't waste any time getting workers/painters in the house to make a few minor changes and also paint.  I admittedly was terrified that I was making the wrong decision or possibly picking the wrong paint colors.  I know also that my hubby was not 100% convinced that we should go white on the kitchen cabinets, especially since we have white countertops.  I know it was a risk, but we took it, and now I thank my lucky stars, we have no regrets about our (or my I should say) decision.  Without further adieu, here is our new kitchen in our new home.  Well, this is how it looked BEFORE:

And you are going to have to wait to see how it turned out AFTER.  When we return from our Thanksgiving break, I'll take some updated pics to post and see what you all think of the  kitchen makeover.

Hope you all have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving with your families!  We have so much to be thankful for.  What an amazing country we live in.

XO,

Tara

Celebrations and Vacations, Oh My!

Wow, what a month it has been.  I have THE BEST husband, family and friends. 

On my actual birthday, my friends gathered for dinner and drinks here in town to celebrate.  It was a great time, and I ate lots of these:

Then the weekend after my birthday, we were supposed to be visiting my family at the coast to celebrate my grandma's 90th birthday, but instead my husband had rented a house and they threw me a surprise birthday party with my best friends and a lot of family.  We got to sit out here and relax all weekend. 

We took a boat trip and hung out on the beach a bit and ended Saturday night with a big shrimp boil.  It was perfect!  Let's just say I definitely was surprised and ummm may have not been so nice to him leading up to my birthday.  Yes, I have a lot of making up to do!!

But the party doesn't stop yet.  Tomorrow, my husband and I leave for Costa Rica for 7 nights!  It's a much needed vacation.  There's so much going on that I'll have to catch you up on next week.  I've been a little under the weather this week, and I'm hoping I start feeling better soon to really enjoy all of this:

Here's to enjoying the last days of summer!  Cheers!

Tara



Summer Fun

We've been busy every weekend squeezing in as much Summer fun as we can!  This past week we took a small trip with both my husband and I's immediate families to rent a house in Concan, TX to float the river.  We had a wonderful time floating and swimming in the Frio River and playing volleyball and washers and lots of card and board games.  We are very fortunate that our families enjoy each other's company so much as then we can spend time with both of our families all at once!  I actually hardly took any pictures...I guess I was in complete relaxation mode, which meant a break from the camera too.  I did get a couple of snapshots of some funny or sweet moments, and I did get one group pic with my family before we left for the weekend, but that was it! and I haven't even uploaded them to my computer yet.  Of course now I wish we would've been taking more pictures. 

Here's what it looks like floating the Frio River if you've never been:

{via Frio Fun}

Gus has also been enjoying Summer.  We got him a pool to help him stay cool in this TX heat.  He wasn't quite sure what to think about it.  Jeff told him to sit and he started to, but as soon as his booty hit that cold water, he jumped right back up! hah 

I also picked up a couple of new collars that are bright and colorful - perfect for Summer! I got them from Target from the Polka Dog Bakery collection along with some dog treats as well.  You can see him sportin' his new neon collar in the pics below!

Wishing you all a great Summer weekend!

XO,

Tara

NOLA Bound!!

We are heading to one of my favorite cities, New Orleans, this weekend with some friends.  I'm so ready for a long weekend getaway.  My love for the city first developed when I visited during college for the first time with my mom, grandma and great aunt.  We had a wonderful time exploring the French Quarter and the Garden District, visiting plantations and historical homes and of course taking a ghost tour!! We started making a yearly visit for a girl's weekend, but of course the visits were different when my college roommate joined, and we explored Bourbon street more and the bars around the universities! hah  When Jeff and I started dating, we took a trip together as he had never been, and I was eager to show him all there is to love with the great music and amazing food.  Luckily, he also loved the vibe of the city.  I also had my bachelorette party there of course. Duh! Where else would I have it!?  It was one of the best weekends ever - so many of the girls I love in one of my favorite places all at the same time.  What wonderful memories!!!  But since then, I haven't been back, and I'm so eager to get on the road. 

If you've never been to New Orleans, you should definitely put it on your list to visit.  For those of you that have, you know what a great treat I'm in for!

{image via wikepedia}

{image via aol travel}

I'll be back next week to share photos and a recap with you!

Have a lovely weekend,

Tara

New York City at Christmas Time

Wow, it's already been over a month ago since we went to NYC.  I've been meaning to do a re-cap on our trip, so here it is...finally!!  For starters, we had an absolutely amazing time in New York.  It was the first time for both Jeff and I to visit the city, and it was everything I imagined it would be...and so much more!  It was so fun to escape together and explore the city.  I already can't wait to go back as there are just so many more things to see and do.  I think we absolutely squeezed in as much as possible though!  We literally were like two kids on Christmas morning...so excited to explore the city!!

We stayed in Times Square, so right after gettting settled in at the hotel, we immediately took off to see the nearby sights.  My mom has a puzzle of Radio City Music Hall that we used to put together around the holidays, so this was a sight that held special meaning to me.

And of course, I am obsessed with the movie Home Alone, and I felt like I was in the movies when we walked up to THE TREE.  I was in awe!!

We kept walking around the theatre district until closer to showtime as we had tickets to Wicked. WOW! It was so much fun, and it was magical to actually see a performance on Broadway.  I had expected that I would love it, but I was so surprised and happy to see that Jeff really enjoyed the show as well. Such a great story and the talent is just truly amazing! 

We visited the Top of the Rock to see the views of NYC and to finally see the Empire State Building, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty although from afar.  It still was so surreal to actually be there in person.  I'm so grateful that we got the opportunity to go on this trip (very thankful for Jeff having to work for a couple of days there! ;) )

We did a tour of the NBC studios, which was really fun. It's not too long, but it was interesting to see a glimpse of behind the scenes.  We got to see the sets of Dr.Oz, Jimmy Fallon, and SNL.  It's really fascinating of how the production of SNL takes place and how they have to time everything so precisely. 

We went for a short stroll through Central Park.  The small bridges throughout the park were so beautiful.

We did end up making it to Soho and actually caught a little Christmas parade going through the streets.  We stopped and watched for a bit to see the floats by local businesses and to watch the kids excitement.  It was super cute.  We then made our way to Chelsea Market as it became dark and got colder.  I didn't really know what to expect, but I was really impressed with the market.  The shops and stores were adorable, the whole look was a mix of inustrial and shabby chic, and I just loved it.  We were amazed at the Lobster market that had every possible type of seafood for sale or so it seemed.  Jeff and I agreed that if we lived in Manhattan, we would make it a point to come once a month to buy something nice and treat ourselves to all of the fresh food to make a nice dinner! The Italian grocery was amazing as well. (I'll have to do another post on our food in NYC! If I start talking about the amazing food....)

This was the view outside of our room!  It would be a perfect view to watch the ball drop on New Year's.  If you looked straight down you could watch all of the people walking around Times Square.  It was just as busy at all times of the day as people said.  Crazy!!

One of the highlights at Christmas time is seeing all of the store fronts with their elaborate windows.  I was impressed by many but I must say some of the window displays were quite interesting and had unexpected twists.  I guess they have to keep people's interest!

We visited the 9/11 memorial, which makes all sorts of emotions flood through you.  If you haven't been, there are two big square waterfalls built where the old towers were with the names of those lost written on the sides.  (You can see the ice in the pic below as the water fell to the next level down.)

We were glad that we were there right at dusk because as we were leaving, the new towers that are still under construction are lit up with alternating lights of red, white and blue on different floors.  Seeing the lights, with the NYPD police car and the flag flying was an amazing and heart-touching sight.



Oh and look who we ran into sporting a convertible outside of The Plaza...so of course we had to snap a pic with him!!

Hope you enjoyed NYC through my pictures and ramblings!  That's all till next time....

Tara

A New York State of Mind

I'm so excited to share with you all that my hubby and I are going to New York City in mid-December!  I'm over the moon excited because it will be the first time for both of us to visit the big city.  We've had it on our "must visit" list, and the fact that we are going during Christmas time is definitely a dream come true for me.  I'm like a kid, and just can't wait to see the big Christmas tree, the window displays at Macy's and all of the other festive decorations!!  We are staying in a great location and will be right in the middle of it all on Broadway. 

{via}

I would love your help though.  Since we've never been, we want to make the most of our time there.  We'll be staying for four nights, but two of the days we'll be there, my husband will be at a conference.  I know for sure we want to visit the Ground Zero Museum.  What other things/places would you suggest should be on the top of our list to see/do? 

We will be going to a Broadway show one night, and we'd like to have an early dinner somewhere close before the show, so any suggestions on that would be great as well.

{via}

Also, I'm completely in the holiday spirit now.  I have been Christmas shopping already, and I got my first peppermint mocha this morning in the RED cup!! 

THANK  YOU for your help!

Tara

Belize

We went to BELIZE at the begginging of June this summer, and I talked a bit about it (see the post for Summer Love), but I never did a full post detailing the trip, so I wanted to share a little more with you. 

Where we stayed:   Las Terrazas on Ambergris Caye, Belize.  We flew into Belize City, and then took a small hopper plane over to the island we were staying on (which I loved and got a front row seat as I got to sit next to the pilot!).  We then took a small boat ride to our resort.  Upon our arrival at the pier, we were greeted with small damp handtowels to wipe our hands/faces and also Rum Punch!  Perfect greeting in my book!  We were traveling with two other couples, so we stayed in a 3 bedroom/3 bath condo right on the beach.  The resort was small and calm, so I wouldn't say it was a place to take kids or go to if you are interested in lots of night life.  It was perfect for relaxation and serene days of lounging at the pool or beachside and soaking up sun!

View from the plane

 View of our resort from the boat

Our room

What we ate:  Conch Fritters, Ceviche, Goat Cheese and Shrimp Quesadillas, and Pupusas and with that, we drank a lot of fruity tropical drinks and of course ate a lot of other things!

Conch Fritters

Pupusas

At the bar drinking fruity drinks

This was our favorite bar that we went to almost daily as it was halfway to town and well, a good stopping point to break up the drive.  It was wonderful to sit out on the water just taking in the views with a cold drink. I think we could have spent hours just doing that....oh wait, I think we did!

What we did:  When we weren't eating, but still drinking of course, we did the following:

We spent many hours lounging at the pool.

Or laying on the beach taking in views like these.

Fed the tarpon!  And yes, it did jump up and try to swallow my whole hand!! YIKES!!  Four other people had fed them and they didn't do anything but take the sardine and go about their business.  So when I finally got the nerve to do it, of course it would decide it wanted more to eat than the little fish I gave it. haha  It did scare me, but I only had lots of scratches on my hand.  Luckily they don't have big teeth!  (this is my husband's favorite picture by the way!)

We had kayaks right at our resort that we could use to kayak out to the reef about 300 yards off of the beach and go snorkeling.  It's one of the biggest reefs only second to Australia and the sights were unbelievable.  So fun!

Jeff and some others in the group went fishing.  One of the girls and I went to the spa instead to get a massage and facial!  Didn't get pics but it was pretty fantastic.  Followed with lunch at the pool and more lounging in the sun!

We went into town most days to eat lunch or dinner and see other resorts and restaurants.  I love that the buildings are so bright and colorful.

And yes, this is what we drove around in to get into town on the dirt roads.  :)  We loved it! 

Jeff driving the golf cart...but I just really LOVE how the building is painted in the background, so had to include this picture.

Some nights we did just walk to dinner.  Strolling along the beach is always so peaceful to me - the sound of the waves and the soft sand on your toes! Complete bliss to me.  Wish we were there again! 

Till next time....

Tara

Summer Love!

There are so many things I love about summer – pool days, lounging in the sun with a good book, drinking fruity drinks, BBQ’s with friends, but most of all I LOVE summer vacation!!   Okay, so yes, I’m not a student anymore, and yes, I work full time, so it’s not like I have a whole summer off, but I still get giddy whenever I can take a week off to go to the beach.  It’s the perfect way to kick off summer.  We just returned from a trip to Belize, and in one word it was amazing! Here are a few images of the beautiful scenery along with a little something new I fell in LOVE with while there.

Here is the view from our room.

And the magnificent pool where we lounged for hours - just fabulous!

But here is my new LOVE - PUPUSAS!  Have you heard of these?!  We had been told by a friend that when we ventured into town we just had to try a pupusa, so we did, and well that's when I fell hard in love.  They are so delish!  The dough is a corn masa that is stuffed with all different types of fillings - pork, chicken, lobster, beans, cheese, spinach, etc... this one below was a mix of chicken, cheese and beans!

Then to make it even better, you top it with their own special hot sauce!

Wait - there's more - it just keeps getting better.  Then you top it with a vinegar based coleslaw! 

There, now it's perfect! Mmmmm.  

We've already been looking into recipes to try so we can make pupusas at home.  We are going to of course go with the traditional fillings, but then also experiment with some of our own.  I'm thinking shrimp and goat cheese!  Before I get ahead of myself though, I need to figure out how to perfect the dough!  Have you ever eaten pupusas?  Anyone have any suggestions, please share!

Tara