Category Archives: Holidays

Merry Christmas 2011

Posted on December 28, 2011 | Leave a comment

The holidays were festive and fun around here! We kicked off the holidays with a small shindig at our house the weekend before Christmas. We had yummy food, wine, and cocktails (The Cranberry Kiss is a great holiday drink!). The party really kicked off the week of Christmas appropriately!

On Christmas Eve we did the annual Day family gathering at my folks house. Since we did a huge family Thanksgiving party, Brady’s First Birthday, and a family funeral all within a few weeks of Christmas, mom and dad decided to just do our small family on Christmas Eve (10 people vs. 25 people). The party was great and mom and dad went all out with their menu. After dinner we did the gift exchange, which is my favorite part! This year my family used Amazon Wish Lists to help with the shopping and it totally worked. Also, I was able to order almost every gift online…awesome.

On Christmas Day Ryan and I woke up at 6am to see what Santa had brought us. Ryan got an XBox 360 and I got a Karaoke Machine and a new workout gadget called the FitBit. We sang and danced using our new gadgets till 9am when we had to leave for DeSoto.

Ryan’s mom, Karen, was throwing a shindig in DeSoto, but it happened to be the same time as my Grandma’s party (so many parties…so little time!) so we arranged with Karen to come for brunch and leave around 12:30. It worked out pretty good, we were able to visit with the outta town folks and open gifts with the kiddos. From there we drove west to Everman, TX (south of Fort Worth). My Grandparents have been doing this gathering since I can remember. It’s an awesome lunch spread followed by a chaotic and fun gift exchange. Each year we gain a few new family members (babies, husbands, wives, etc). This year we added the new tacky sweater contest element. I regret not getting any photos of the crew in horrible Christmas sweaters!

From there we drove back up north to Watauga, to open the wine and play with our new toys at my sister’s house. We stayed way too late, but we were having such a good time! Ryan had to work the next morning…sorry hun!

Overall it was a great Christmas season. I got to see lots of family, ate delicious festive meals, and received some awesome gifts. Below are some pics from the holiday festivities:

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Posted in cooking, Family, Fort Worth, Holidays

Tagged Christmas, Christmas Eve, cocktails, desoto, everman, Family, festive party, holiday gatherings, watauga

Mini Pumpkin Parfaits

Posted on November 26, 2011 | Leave a comment

A few months ago my sister and I were shopping at Pier One and came across their “Tasting Party” display. Basically a bunch of cute tiny bowls, shot glasses, and spoons, for just a taste of dessert. Ever since I saw them, they’ve been on my mind. Earlier this week I went and purchased the 24-piece set for $29.99. Woohoo!

With it being the week of Thanksgiving, I thought it would be appropriate to attempt Mini Pumpkin Parfaits for my aunt’s Thanksgiving party. I used this recipe from the Food Network. The next challenge was how to transport the cute little creations. Handyman husband to the rescue! The morning of the party Ryan cobbled me up a carrying tray for my dessert. Needless to say my family was impressed with my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner! Pics below:

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Posted in cooking, DIY, Family, Holidays

Tagged dessert, Family, fun party ideas for Thanksgiving, parfaits, party, pumpkin, shot glass, tasting party, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving treats

New Owl Couple

Posted on August 22, 2011 | Leave a comment

Check out my new owl couple I bought over the weekend. I haven’t seen the real owl couple around in awhile. Maybe it’s the hot temps, the scary Blue Jay family that lives next door, or my 25 lb Cat…or maybe all of the above! Regardless, I hope they come back for Halloween! In the meanwhile, these little cuties will have to do!

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Posted in Holidays, nesting

Tagged couple, decor, Fall, owl, Owls, trees

Cowboy Chow

Posted on May 10, 2011 | 1 Comment

For Mother’s Day I took my mom and dad to Cowboy Chow, a cute restaurant in the revitalized downtown Roanoke area. The restaurant had interesting decor and had a super exciting menu. The downtown area was bustlin’ and crowded, but we didn’t even have to wait for a table! They also have an outdoor seating area which is a great option.

You can read my full Yelp review here.

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Posted in cooking, Fort Worth, Grapevine, Holidays, Southlake, Texas

Tagged Cowboy Chow, mother's day, Mothers Day Ideas, New Restaurant, Oak, restaurant, Roanoke TX, Yelp

Appreciating Mom

Posted on May 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

Mother’s Day is this weekend…don’t forget! I’m not a mother yet, but I have a Mom, and have a few friends that are new moms! So here are a few ideas for celebrating Mother’s Day (specifically some ideas for folks in the Grapevine/Southlake area).

Take your mom to your local plant store and let her pick out a few items for her yard. Then, go to her house (assuming she’s local) and help her plant her present. It’s a good way to spruce up her yard and spend time together.
Cook a new meal together. Pick out a challenging menu, take all the ingredients to her house and whip up something new and interesting.
Try a craft. Ryan laughed when I told him this idea, I think he had a visual of me, my mom and sister sitting around quilting. I was thinking more of a DIY project for the home.
Afternoon themed movie marathon. Pick a genre or actor and rent 3 movies…watch them all back to back over a few glasses of wine. When we were little my mom used to do this (minus the wine) for us. She’d theme each month of our summer vacation with something like “back to school” or “beach movies.”
Did I mention wine? Go to a wine tasting. A few of my local favorite wine bars/wineries are Cross Timbers, CorkIt, or Into the Glass.
Live music! Who says you have to appreciate your mom on Sunday? I say make it a weekend goal to appreciate her! My mom likes to dance and hear live music, so I also thought about taking her out for some live music and dancing. Not a ton of dancing opportunities in our neck of the woods, so I considered heading out to the Fort. Billy Bobs is a classic, but also check out Rodeo Exchange in the Stockyards. I can almost guarantee you’ll catch a mullet, a Texas Flag western shirt, and some lace-up boots…but there are some great two steppers that frequent this place and the live music is typically local country bands.

Happy Mother’s Day!

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Posted in Family, Fort Worth, Grapevine, Holidays, Southlake

Tagged Billy Bobs, dancing, Gardening, Mothers Day Ideas, Mothers day in Grapevine, Movies, Rodeo Exchange, wine

Easter 2011 Recap

Posted on May 3, 2011 | Leave a comment

This post is kinda delayed, but here’s a quick recap on our Easter festivities for 2011.

Originally we had planned to head up north to the Property to spend the weekend in the wilderness with the fam and my new baby nephew. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans for us. Torrential rain and lovely April thunderstorms held us back from becoming one with nature. Instead, we spent the afternoon at my parent’s house (Lady YaYa and Grandpa Steve is what they are calling themselves these days). Mom and Dad made a delicious ham, salad, and potatoes…pretty traditional, and we celebrated my sister’s 29th birthday with a delicious Orange Cake (I’ll share that recipe another time). My nephew Brady made the cutest Easter Bunny ever! After dinner, we grabbed our wine/beer glasses and headed outside to the empty lot next to my parent’s house for a game of whiffleball. The only rule was you had to play with a drink in your hand, which obviously made the game funnier and way more challenging! Kevin even came into town from McMurray State (Abilene) so it made the night a real treat! Unfortunately, the Easter Bunny did not visit me this year….maybe next year!

Here are a few pics: